Page 69 of Allegiance

It was when he heard the footsteps coming his way that he knew who it would be.

Elizabeth.

“Just kill me already. It hurts a lot less than life for me, Lyzbeth.”

She sat beside him and put an ice pack on the top of his head where he had a knot from being a dipshit.

“Well, doing stupid garbage like that, Dak, is not helping the situation. You’re lucky I stopped you. Had you gone at Mamba, she would have killed you. Maybe that’s why you did it.”

“Maybe,” he said, sitting up and holding the ice in place.

She held another one to his chest where she’d hit him pretty hard. He hadn’t been in Kevlar as he was out on the street.

That said it all.

He still had a death wish.

Elizabeth knew that if they didn’t get through, she would be getting the call that the man was dead. That was the last thing she wanted.

She didn’t want to bury a friend.

“You love her, don’t you?” she asked, staring him in the eyes.

He said nothing, but he didn’t have to. She knew him well enough to know the truth.

“And you love her more than you ever loved me or Sarah.”

He closed his eyes.

Well, talk about someone getting to the heart of the matter. Elizabeth was doing just that.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not good for her.”

Elizabeth pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, lit one, and passed it off to him.

“You’re going to need this,” she said. “Trust me. I’m not an advocate, but in times like these, sometimes, you gotta break the rules.”

That sounded ominous.

Even though he had just quit, he took it.

“Why?” he asked.

She explained.

“Because you and I are going to have one hell of a conversation that’s going to shake you to your very core. It’s going to make you question everything.”

He blinked.

“That doesn’t sound good.”

She was aware.

“I almost said yes,” she said.

He stared at her.

Maybe he had a concussion because he wasn’t sure what she was talking about.

---