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But I’d like to be for Rory.
Rory pulls into the gravelly lot of Willie’s, pulling around the side of the building so the car is obscured in shadow. He parks so roughly my seatbelt catches me, presses painfully against my chest. “Oh my gosh!” I cry out.
“Sorry,” he grumbles.
Though he’s parked the car, he grips the steering wheel like he could take off again at any second. He heaves breaths so hard, his shoulders rise and fall.
After another moment, Rory rips his radio com off the dash and puts a call through for backup. When he’s finished, I nervously ask, “What are we doing?”
“We’re going to wait for Bea to show up.”
It’s midafternoon. Willie’s doesn’t open for another hour or so.
I have to be brave. I have to figure out what’s going on. Can’t be just the adrenaline from the case, can it? I’ll admit, it’s exciting and a little bit scary, but it’s not life or death. Is it?
“Rory?”
He doesn’t reply, clenching his jaw even harder.
“Rory, you need to…”I tentatively reach out toward his shoulder. “You need to calm down.” What did he say to me yesterday? Oh, yeah. “Breathe.”Wow, nice one, Constance.
I put my hand to his shoulder and he jerks away like a wounded animal.
Hurts my heart more than I’d like to admit.
“Don’t touch me,” he snaps.
“I’m just trying to help,” I say softly.
“I’mfine.”
I scoff. “You’re not fine.”
“Don’t tell me what I am, Chaplin.”
“Don’tspeakto me like that!”
With clenched teeth, Rory reaches the climax of his anger. “This isn’t how it was supposed to go!”
I don’t reply.
“I’m supposed to keep my nose to the grindstone, deal with the law, get things done, not get wrapped up in hijinks involving ancientdeer bonesand historians who can’t seem to crack a smile even at a bad joke. All of this should have been textbook.”
“I don’t see what could have been textbook about?—”
“And here you are, Ms. Contrarian to literally everything I say! Do you know how infuriating you are, Constance? Do you know how much you justexistinghas distracted me from my work and made this whole thing so upside down that I can’t—” He stops suddenly, grunts like he’s in pain, clenching his eyes shut. “I can’t…”
Every one of his words is filled with venom. For me? I’m not sure. I know I should climb out of the car, abandon this foolish effort. After all, I’m not a member of the force, I probably shouldn’t be here. However, I can’t bring myself to abandon him. Conflict of interest… yeah, it’s a conflict, all right. Because now, instead of evaluating the facts and the figures, I’m dealing with feelings. How have I allowed this to happen? So fast too…
I feel tears forming in my eyes. I duck my gaze away from him. “I didn’t realize I was such an issue to you.”
Rory lets out a low laugh. One he’s saved up for when he’s world-weary. “You don’t get it, do you?”
How can I? When he’s saying so many words and yet never getting to the point?
This was a mistake.
I can’t bring myself to say it.
