AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What is it that you want from me? You want me to forgive her? Is that it? You can’t possibly be asking me to take responsibility for her, not after what she’s done.” The anger was evident in Ryan’s voice, and he was doing everything in his power not to yell. Pete, of all people, should understand; he’s one of the only people in town who should understand what being accused of something like this would mean to him after what he’d been through.
“What about Marissa and her family? Do they know?”
“They know that you’re not responsible, but they don’t know who is yet. She’s a minor, remember.”
Ryan didn’t care; he was too mad to even see straight and decided to block out whatever else Pete had to say concerning the matter since it seemed like the other man was trying to talk him into taking responsibility for the girl who’d tried to destroy his life.
Celia was trying to get her mind around the quagmire of events that had taken place this morning. Her growling stomach reminded her that it was way past lunchtime, and she was just about to go on break when her phone rang. When she saw Riley’s name, she remembered his earlier call and hoped he didn’t give her shit for ignoring it.
“Riley?”
“Outside, now.”
“What? What’s going on?”
“Do you want me to come in there and tell you in front of your colleagues, or are you coming out here to me?” Celia was about to snap back at him, but there was something in his voice that warned her not to. He sounded beyond pissed. Surely he couldn’t be that mad because she’d missed one call. She wasn’t about to push her luck, though, so she picked up her bag and headed for the door. “I’m on my way.”
Riley was pissed beyond anything he could imagine, but he’d stopped to get her lunch anyway because he knew, along with everything else, she’d forget to feed her damn self if he didn’t remind her. He’d fast come to realize that she did that shit whenever she got caught up in a case. He watched her walk out of the building and jumped down from the truck.
Celia couldn’t tell what was going on with him since he was hiding behind a pair of shades, but from his stance, she started questioning what the hell she could’ve done to bring out his crazy this time. “Hey, what’s up?” Riley didn’t answer her, just walked around to the passenger side door and opened it up for her. Celia watched his face as she followed him and figured he couldn’t be that mad since he lifted her onto her seat.
Riley walked back around to the driver’s side and climbed in. He’d seen enough to answer at least part of his question, but before he went off and snapped her damn neck, he figured he’d give her a chance to explain. “Here, I got you lunch.” He passed her the bag with her favorite sandwich and the fancy juice she likes so much.
Celia took his offering but still didn’t take her eyes off of his face. “You gonna tell me why you’re so pissed?”
Riley clenched his jaw hard and damn near bit a hole in his tongue. He knew that he’d been crossing a lot of lines where she’s concerned, that there were things he’d let slide or overlooked with his ex that he’d not given Celia any breathing room with. Like the fact that he was micromanaging their relationship or something close to it.
He also knew that he couldn’t help himself and that it had nothing to do with how he was with his ex, that it was all her. He’s damn near obsessed with her, and his love for her is making him crazy. So he knew that going off the deep end without having all the facts wasn’t the way to go, but he was having a hard time remembering that shit and acting accordingly, especially in this situation.
He turned in his seat and gave her his full attention. “Where the fuck is your ring?” Celia stopped with the pickle that came with her sandwich halfway to her lips. “What?” She looked down at her hand where her ring was supposed to be. “Oh, that.” She was embarrassed to admit it, but after the way the guys at the station had reacted to the size of the thing and not only them but everyone who saw it, she’d decided that it was too much of a distraction at work, for now, so had taken it off.
She explained all of this to Riley after showing him that it was hidden on the chain around her neck. “How did you know that I wasn’t wearing it?” She’d only taken it off after leaving the house and had planned to put it back on before going home at the end of the day.
