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After a badnight’s sleep, Conner punched his pillow and got dressed for a run. His mind was plagued with wondering what Hannah meant when she said she had plans. Was it a date, was it serious? Did she go home with the guy? Were they sleeping together? The questions had forced him to toss and turn all night.
How strange that after years of ignoring each other, now all he thought about was Hannah. He’d been so pissed at Parker for not believing him five years ago, he’d never considered trying to convince him he didn’t sleep with Mariah. Jogging from his condo in the Georgetown neighborhood in D.C., he made his way to the boxing gym where he’d negotiated the use of a ring for the fundraiser. If he couldn’t sleep, he may as well get in a good workout to expel some frustration.
The sound of padded gloves hitting punching bags greeted him as he entered the gym. There were four boxing rings and a large area with weights, heavy bags, and mats down for grappling. There were already a dozen people in the gym that morning and several familiar faces. He’d been coming to the gym for years and knew most of the coaches.
The owner was manning the front desk.
“Maguire, you looking for a sparring match?” the older woman asked.
“No, ma’am, I can’t afford to mess up my pretty face. Just need to burn off some energy.”
With no hint of amusement, she nodded and handed him a fresh towel. “Remember the rules: the only fighting allowed here has to be in the ring.”
Looking up, he spotted Parker working over a smaller speed bag. Everyone seemed to know about their standing disagreement. He would bet a large sum it was Conner’s face Parker envisioned.
After grabbing his gear from his locker, Conner walked out to the gym and chose an area on the opposite side from Parker. For the next hour, he punished himself with a grueling workout. Just as he finished, Parker walked out from the locker room in his uniform and grinned.
“Looks like you’re still favoring that right shoulder. I’ll try not to use it too much to my advantage next Friday.”
When Conner was ten, he’d fallen out of a tree and dislocated his shoulder. Parker had been there and walked the mile back to his house with him. The pain had been intense until the doctor popped it back into place, and it was never the same since.
“You look awfully confident for someone who gets winded from the speed bag.”
“It’s not going to be easy for you to fight dirty with a crowd. What’s your plan? Cut glass in your gloves so you can cheat?”
Conner’s shoulders stiffened, but then Hannah’s sultry eyes flashed in his mind.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but I don’t actually want to fight you or prolong this feud. I’ve let you think the worst of me because I was so pissed you believed her over me, but now I’m just sick of it.”
“You’re sick of it? You couldn’t be any more self-involved if you tried, Maguire. And don’t think I don’t know exactly what you’re doing. Stay the hell away from Hannah, or else.”
“Or what? You’ll forbid her to talk to me?”
“Unlike you, Hannah understands the concept of loyalty. Besides, her standards are too high to give someone like you a chance.”
Parker stomped away, and a knot settled in Conner’s stomach.
It wouldn’t matter if Parker’s ex took a lie detector test and confessed on a stack of Bibles. Parker was never going to believe Conner’s claim that he didn’t sleep with his college girlfriend. Which meant it was going to be almost impossible to convince Hannah.
Leaving the gym, he tried calling Hannah, but there was no response. An urgency to get her undivided attention was nagging him, but he didn’t even know what to say. To make matters worse, his new assignment started Monday. He was heading up a task force against a new drug dealer taking over the upscale D.C. Palisades neighborhood. The case was in his district and being run jointly with the feds. It was going to require his full focus.
Although he’d left the narcotics team, his knowledge of the local distribution routes, dealers, and sellers was a huge resource. Especially when a millionaire had been deemed the new up-and-coming drug trafficker in their fair city. So the narcotics unit would take point, but as a newly minted sergeant, he was designated the Metro D.C. Police official to liaise with the federal reps from DEA and ATF.
It was Sunday, and if he didn’t see Hannah today, he might not get a chance to see her once his work with the task force started. He was a desperate man and could only think of one option.
A half hour later he had showered, contemplated shaving his beard, and was now looking into a glass case at a local bakery with various flavors of cake. In the end, he couldn’t bring himself to cut off his beard and strongly suspected Hannah preferred it, but he knew she had a weakness for chocolate. After selecting three different samples and grabbing a few cold mint teas, he drove to Hannah’s place.
She lived in a small row house just outside the city limits. He had to look up her address, which was borderline intrusive, but she wasn’t taking his calls and this was an emergency. Spotting her truck on the street outside a newly painted white fence with a blue sign that read 1309, he pulled in a spot across the street. Before he stepped out of his car, he tried calling her once more. She answered on the second ring.
“Hey,” she breathed heavily.
“Hey, yourself. I hope you’re decent. I wanted to take you to see my other idea for the fundraiser.”
“Actually, I’m biking,” she said between heavy breaths.
“Biking where?”
