AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Two in one,” Drake chuckles. “Saves on the expenses.”
I doubt Gunner needs to save his pennies. I suspect it’s more like the turkey meat thing; he’s cheap because he can be, not because he must be. Or maybe in his mind, he still thinks he must be. The hungry boy from so long ago can’t bear to waste.
“What does that mean?” I read the moving headlines. “Zhang and associates indicted on federal charges. Statements to follow?”
“Zhang’s a military supplier, no? Those are the shares Griffin dumped?”
I shrug. “I’m not sure. I’m a cop, not a business mogul.”
“Griffin ain’t in trouble,” Drake murmurs. “They want him to make a statement, but nowhere does it say he’s in trouble.”
“He won’t make the statement,” I whisper mostly to myself. “He doesn’t like to speak.”Except to me, my brain throws in my face.He doesn’t like to speak…except to me. “He won’t do it.”
“Hey, Tate? Can I ask you somethin’?”
“Sure.”
I rest my elbows on my knees and nibble on my thumbnail while Gunner’s eyes come to the camera. For the first time since I switched the TV on, he stares right into a camera rather than avoid it. He stares right into my eyes with such intensity that my breath stops.
“Lizbeth, you there?”
“Yeah, I already said yeah. What’s your question?”
“Why does he look at you the way he does? Why does he follow you to a cop’s house, refuse to pull a piece even after you do, and then stick around the cop’s house even after you leave, to politely discuss how we would share you in the future–”
“He… what? Share me?”
“Yeah.” He clears his throat and gives the impression that he’s smiling. “Yeah, it was something like, you’re his now, you always were his, you always will be his, and should I want to survive until my next birthday, I’m to never show you my dick again.”
“He said that?”
He chuckles. “I’m paraphrasing, but you get the gist. So tell me, Lizbeth. Why the fire? Why the intensity? Only for you to be sitting all alone in a boardroom right now, talking to your ex fun-time, and he’s all the way over there, standing in the street with a dude and a bad attitude? Why didn’t you go with him? Did you lovebirds have a fight?”
“He and I always fight. In fact, I’m not sure we’ve ever been nice to each other.”
“Lizbeth… darling. You’re deflecting.”
“Why should I follow him?” I huff. “I worked hard for my position here. I busted my ass to gain respect and the cop family I have now. Why is it up to me to quit that?”
“Well… I hear you, but on the flip side, you expected him to do the same? Why is it his responsibility to give up everything he worked for?”
“Because he said he loves me! If he loved me, he would sacrifice for me.”
Drake lets out a low whistle. Mocking, and judgmental. “Did you tell him you love him too?”
“Yes.” I clear my throat and close my eyes when Gunner finally releases me from his stare. “Yes I did.”
“But you’re not sacrificing these things for him? Lizbeth, honey. You’re my favorite chick in the most uncomplicated, zero-commitment kind of way. But you’re a fucking hypocrite. There are police stations where he lives. If you look hard enough, you might even find one that is understaffed and underbudgeted.”
“But–”
“But there are no Griffin Plazas where you live. So really, it’s not the same trade, is it? You can still do your thing there, but he can’t do his thing here.”
“He ran away the first time.” My voice cracks as twenty years of grief sneak back up on me. Or perhaps it’s not the twenty years at all, but just the past week. “He ran the first time, Drake. He promised he would come back for me, but he didn’t. I need him to come to me this time. I need him to choose me.”
“You’re so fucking stubborn, Tate. Seriously. What the hell is wrong with you? There is a family wedding today, but did you go?”
“No, I had to work.”
