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“Thank you for taking me to lunch. I didn’t want to keep you any more than I already have,” Dortea, the new district attorney, said apologetically.
I smiled at her, but otherwise didn’t say anything else.
This would be our last meeting before I took the stand on Monday, and I couldn’t be any more excited about it. It’d been three fucked up months waiting for thetrial to take place.
I was so ready to get this over with that I couldn’t see straight. My life had been on hold for, what felt like, a year. I had a constant headache for the past three months, and in the last two, it’d progressively gotten worse.
Varian Strong had implemented every single scare tactic he could to get me not to testify short of actually offing me, which I was sure would only be a matter of time before he chose to try that.
I’d been warned. I’d been sent threatening letters. I’d had my car and home vandalized. Threats had been delivered to the club.
We’d arrested four of his workers who’d been acting on orders from him, and still he didn’t stop, despite every single one of his workers now sharing a cell next to his.
That was inevitably what sent me to Florida for an extended stay. The death threats had progressed to actual assaults, and I didn’t want to put my club, my fellow officers, or Channing in danger. Which actually was a breath of fresh air not to be sleeping ten feet away from her every night.
Plus, I got to visit with my mom and stepfather.
If anything else, not seeing Channing was the one thing that hurt the most. I could handle car bombs and death threats all day long, but one look at the sorrow in Channing’s eyes every time I saw her but didn’t approach, absolutely gutted me.
The look in her eyes, the accusation. As if I was being just like she’d expected me to be.
“Table for two?” The host asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Dortea confirmed. “I need somewhere with a lot of light,” she said glancing around the dimmed bar area. “Preferably by those windows right there. Perhaps beside that young woman?”
My head turned to examine the windows, first disregarding the beautiful woman sitting at the booth directly behind me, but as soon as my mind registered what it’d seen, my eyes flashed back to hers.
They were swimming with tears, and she was staring at the TV above the bar with a grim determination that broke my heart.
God, this all was so unbelievably fucked up.
I’d been using every tactic I’d learned in all my years of training to stay away from her. I knew what could happen to her if I started being seen with her in public. Varian’s cronies wouldsee, and then they’d carry that information back to him. He’d then send out orders to do whatever necessary to affirm compliance on my part. And I would have. In a fuckin’ heartbeat.
“Sure, that’s Melody’s section, and she’s on break, but I can definitely have Sean over there take your orders. Is that okay?” The young woman asked.
At Dortea’s nod, she walked quickly around the half wall that separated the entrance from the seating area, and placed our menus on the table before leaving.
We were seated directly across the aisle from Channing.
And we were facing each other.
She was doing everything in her power not to look in my direction, and I was doing everything in my power to turn my head away from her.
We both lost.
Our eyes connected, and I could see the desolation in her eyes, and I suddenly couldn’t breathe.
I hated that I made her feel like I’d used her and tossed her away, and I didn’t know what to do to fix it. Hell, I couldn’t fix it until after I’d testified.
I was fucked if I did, and fucked harder if I didn’t.
Either way, I was taking it up the ass, and who knew how long it would take until I was able to talk to her. I may be testifying on Monday, but that in no way meant I was free and clear. There might still be instances that I was needed to clarify something, or add something to my testimony.
Channing’s head lowered in defeat just before she bolted for the bathroom.
I stared after her for all of twenty seconds before excusing myself to the bathroom myself.
I walked slowly in the direction of the bathrooms, but instead of going into the men’s, I went into the women’s, being sure to lock the door behind me.
