Page 42 of Somewhere in the Sunset

Now I turn my head to look, and my intuition was right. Itisfucking Luca. I remember his face from that morning in his and Gracie’s apartment when I went over there in search of my phone. I’m getting better at memorizing the faces of strangers and storing that mental image of them. It comes in handy at work, and it’s coming in handy now.

Luca’s not the biggest guy in the world, but he projects confidence and, right now, straight-up arrogance. He’s definitely had more than a couple beers tonight and he moves his hands drunkenly as he talks to his buddy. They howl with laughter, and my blood boils. I am fucking seething.

I stare straight ahead, taking deep breaths. The barman catches up to me now, and I’m on autopilot as I order three more beers. My vision blurs with anger as he returns with the beers and I hand over my card.

How could Gracie ever love this guy? Seriously. They dated forsevenyears, and this is how he talks about her? How the hell was she convinced their life was perfect, thathewas perfect? He’s a complete douchebag.

I take back my card and sign off the receipt, then grab hold of the beers. Luca is still running his mouth, and when he snickers with laughter as though Gracie’s feelings mean absolutely nothing to him, I can’t take it anymore. It’s really not my place to say anything, but I can’t just walk away and forget about it. I eyeball the half-full glass on the bar top in front of him, and I think of how easy it would be to tip it over. A simple accident. Happens all the time when the bar’s this crowded. It’s also really fucking immature of me, but my intrusive thoughts win, because that’s exactly what I do. As I turn away from the bar, I nudge my elbow hard into the glass. It tips over with aclinkand the liquid splashes over Luca’s shirt.

“Hey! Watch it!” he snaps, jumping back from the bar. His jaw tightens with irritation as he looks down at his shirt, patting pathetically at the fabric with some napkins.

I shrug nonchalantly. “Sorry, bud.”

“Yeah, you should be,” he mutters, and his friend next to him shakes his head threateningly as he takes a step closer to me.

What they don’t know, however, is that if they dared to get up in my face, there are two other guys across this bar who’d fly over here in a nanosecond. Cameron is all muscle, and Adam loves a brawl. I know who’d win, and it wouldn’t be Luca. That’s why I only laugh.

“Where’d you think you’re going? You owe me a drink,” Luca says, blocking my path and holding his hand in front of my chest. “I’ll take a vodka soda. Actually, make it two.”

I glance down at his hand and say, “Nah.” Rolling my eyes, I step forward to move around him, but his footsteps follow mine and he blocks me more aggressively this time. I sigh like I’m bored, but really my adrenaline is pumping.

Luca narrows his eyes and looks me up and down with intent. “What’s your problem?”

And I shouldn’t say it. Ishouldn’t.I’ve been in one fight too many as it is, and it’s really not a great look for an off-duty cop to keep finding myself in hostile altercations. But I think of all the tears Gracie has shed over this piece of shit, and how he couldn’t care less. So, I say it: “You, asshole. You’re my problem.”

“What the fuck?” Luca opens his mouth in surprise and exchanges a confused look with his buddy, then turns back to me. “Do I know you?”

And now that I’ve already let my temper slip, I don’t hold back. I’m too damn heated. “What – you don’t remember me? What if I said you had a nice apartment? Do you remember me now?”

Luca’s features gradually harden as realization dawns on him. I was the guy he caught with Gracie that morning in their apartment. And although there was a genuine, innocent reason for me being there, I like the idea of making Luca question otherwise. “That was you, huh? You know Gracie?”

“Sure do. You really believe she just found my phone at the club?” I scoff and say, “I left it in your apartment the night before.” And I know I’m insinuating that I hooked up with Gracie the night of her birthday after we left the club together, and I know it’s not the truth, but I want Luca to feel hurt. want him to panic at the thought of Gracie moving on without him. I want him to realize that maybe she won’t be his backup plan, after all. I won’tlether wait for this guy.

Luca lunges forward, his hand curled into a fist, but his buddy immediately grabs his shoulder and yanks him back. “Go ahead; be the rebound,” Luca hisses. “I don’t give a shit. At the end of the day, she’ll always come back to me.” His lips curl into a cruel smirk. “That’s if I even still want her.”

Would it really be so bad if Ididhit him? I release a shaky, furious breath. I edge in real close and bring my jaw up to his. “I think, Luca,” I growl, “you should shut your fucking mouth. She loves you, even now, and the best thing you can do is stay out of her life. I’d never hurt that girl the way you have.”

I barge my shoulder against his and finally walk away. I’m so blinded by rage I can barely find my way back to my table. The beers shake in my hands, my heart thuds inside my chest, and my skin feels like it’s on fire. I cast a glance over my shoulder to make sure Luca isn’t following after me, and I’m relieved to see he’s stayed put at the bar. He throws his hands around angrily as his friend calms him down. If we were outside, just the two of us, I’m sure things would have taken a different turn. I’d love to have that motherfucker sprawled out on the concrete, but I also would rather keep the job I hate so much. I don’t fancy having my sergeant pull me out of a jail cell.

“What was that?” Cameron asks when I reach them.

I dump the beers on the table and collapse into my chair. I wipe away the sweat from my forehead and focus on my breathing for a moment. I’m so amped up, I almost feel nauseous. I grab my beer and swig half of it at once, quenching my thirst. “Gracie’s ex,” I finally reply.

“Friends,” Adam says again with a laugh. “Yeah, right. You’re really getting into a tussle at the bar with some guy over a girl you’re onlyfriendswith? You’re not a good liar, Weston.”

I slam my bottle against the table. I’m ready to obliterate everything and anything within a twenty-foot radius. “Look, she’s a really sweet girl. She wants to be a teacher just like my mom. She’s keeping my head above water right now. I care about her, okay? And that guy .?.?. He’s a piece of shit. She deserves better.”

“And you’re better, are you?” Adam jokes.

Cameron gives him a pointed look and a quick shake of his head, telling Adam to cut it out. Cameron can always read my expression well enough to know that I’m no longer in the headspace to brush off Adam’s jibes. If Adam says the wrong thing like he did that night at the club, it won’t be Luca I’ll be fighting tonight, it’ll be him again.

“Weston, take a minute to calm down,” Cameron says. His frown is concerned as he studies Luca over at the bar. “Do you want to head somewhere else once we finish these beers? I need to head outside for a smoke, anyway. Adam?”

“Sure. Whatever.” Adam leans back in his chair and watches the baseball game on a nearby TV screen, silently enjoying his beer, unaware of the holes I’m burning in his skull with the force of my glare.

I grab my beer and push away from the table, storming through the bar toward the exit. I desperately need fresh air, and I sense Cameron following behind me. We break outside and I furiously pace the sidewalk while sipping my beer.

“You good?” Cameron asks. He leans against the wall and lights up a cigarette, scrunching his eyes at me as he takes a long drag. The plume of smoke fills the air around us.

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