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I scowl when she bats my hand from her face. When she reaffirms the fold of her legs and rests her hands in her lap.
I’d rather she was touching me. Reaching for me. Yearning for me at least half as much as I want her.
“If you get to act as…executioner,” I whisper the word, “then surely, you’ve collected and assessedallthe evidence. To feel good about the decision you make, you have to be certain of what is true.”
“I have access to files others don’t because of my work.” She speaks in a clipped tone and glances across the room, like my proximity bores her. “I read the reports, Archer. I speak with the police in some cases. I pore over the documents, and often, I watch the news and—”
“But the news is never right!” I tilt my head and demand she meet my eyes. “The news is never right, Mayet, so why the fuck would you depend on that for—”
“I never said Idependon the news. I said I watch the news. I get a feel for who is evading the judicial system. I look into it, and I go from there.”
“So you cherry-pick who you take out and hope you have your facts straight?”
“Have I been wrong yet?” Impatient, Minka snatches the drink Tim sets down, and pushes up to stand. Then she looks me in the eye and grits, “I’m not out here with an automatic weapon, mowing people down. I’m simply pushing forward the punishment that the judges and police failed to secure in the first place.”
She turns on her heels and spares me nothing but a sympathetic huff. “I’ll talk to you l—”
“Nope.” I grab her wrist before she can escape and gently tug her back until her hip touches my thigh and her ass almost drops into my lap.
Holding her close, I drag the long hair off her shoulder and work so very hard not to press my lips to her warm neck. “It’s the punishment you seek, right? Not the thrill of the chase or the glee of slitting a man’s throat?”
“No, Archer. It’s not…” She exhales an exhausted sigh. “It’s not the punishment, either. I do what I do to protect those who would become victims had that person been left to walk free. I do what I do because I’mfedupwith seeing innocents in my autopsy rooms, when, if someone had stood up in the first damn place and demanded better, these people would never have been hurt.”
Electricity pulses in my leg when she places her hand on my thigh and attempts to push up to stand once more. “Now, if you’ll excuse m—”
“We could work together.” My heart pounds deep in my chest. Slamming against her back and letting her know, even without words, that I can’t let her go. I can’t let this go without trying to find a way.
“We’d do it differently,” I amend as she slowly glances over her shoulder and meets my gaze. “Better. We can do it my way, but we can collect the evidence together. I can keep you safe. No one has to die. And we can tie it up so damn tight, these fuckers will never slither out again.”
“Isn’t that what the police are already supposed to be doing?” Pushing to her feet, Minka turns and slides her tongue along her bottom lip. Not in seduction, but it feels that way regardless. “That’s literally the police’s job. Catch the bad guy and collect the proof. Then present that evidence to a judge. Then the judge hands down punishment worthy of the crime. So why, Archer, was Justin Dowel still on the streets?”
“That wasn’t my—”
“It wasn’t your case.” Nodding, she pulls that bottom lip between her teeth and studies me with glittering emotions. “It’s always going to be someone else’s case. Someone else’s problem.”
“Minka, I’m try—”
“I’ve already said the things I’m going to say.” Reaching out for the first time tonight, she cups my face and closes her eyes for a moment. “Incompatible. And your choices are pretty clear.”
“What fucking choices?” I demand. “Let you keep doing it, or throw you to the wolves?” I reach up with a fast hand and take her arm in my palm. “Are you daring me to take this to Fabian? Are you challenging me to toss you out? Because that’s what it fucking sounds like to me.”
“No, it’s not—” Her eyes shimmer as she swallows her words. “I’m sorry we can’t come to an agreement, Archer. I’m sorrier than you know, but I said it a million times already. We’re—”
“Incompatible,” I spit out. “Yeah, I heard you the first time.”
“I’m not going to stop.” Her voice comes out quieter. Softer, as she drops her hand from my face and gently tugs away from my grip. “I can’t stop. And maybe you’ll never truly understand my reasons. But…” She shrugs. “Diane Philips.”
Stunned, I shake my head, as though to hear better above the din of drinkers. “What?”
“Maybe look her up sometime. Diane Philips. Onen, onel. See what you find, then come back and tell me to stop what I’m doing just so we canfollow the rulesand let a cop screw it up, or a judge. Or any one of the dozens of other incompetent jerkwads who get their hands on a case and mess it up.” Backing away from me, she clutches in one hand the drink Tim poured for her. “I’m going home.”
I push to my feet and leave behind my soda. “Let me come with you. We can discuss Diane and whatever else we need to discuss so that we—”
“I’ve never been in love before, Archer.” Stopping in place and turning her back on the door that constantly swings open and closed as patrons come and go, she steps forward and stares deep into my eyes. “I know it’s crazy, and I know it hurts.” Setting her drink on a nearby table, she presses her free hand to her chest and works hard to stop the way her brows pinch closer together. “Iknowit hurts. But it was kinda worth it, don’t you think? To touch that insanity and swim in it for a minute.”
“Minka…”
“I think so anyway. I’ve never in my adult life taken the time to stop and feel and experience something like this with anyone before.”
