Page 94 of Dining for Love

“Easy, tiger,” Willa says, smiling beside me.

That smile.Christ. I thought I’d never see it again. We’re outside, and I’m on a stretcher. I relax, then wince. “My head.”

“Yeah, Thompson really got you good,” Willa says. “But don’t worry, I gave him a taste of his own medicine.”

“Yeah?” I greedily drink her in. “I love you.”

Her face softens, then she smiles. “You sure that’s not just the head wound talking?”

“No. I love you. I should have said something long before now. I think I’ve loved you from the second you yelled at me about the burger.”

She laughs softly, and that’s when I see the tears.

“Is everyone okay?”

She blows out a breath. “Mostly, yeah.”

“Thompson,” I start, then try to sit up. My head spins, but I push through the pain. “I’m going tokill him.”

Willa smirks at me, then holds out a hand to help me sit upright. “I don’t think police officers are supposed to say things like that.”

Once I get upright, I blink a few times, letting my vision clear. “Doesn’t mean I still don’t want to.”

“Fair. The paramedics are working on the others.” Then she gives me the rundown: Thompson and a guy that Ox chased down are in the back of the cruiser, and the guy Thompson shot is being treated en route to the hospital. Her family is shaken, but physically okay. Tom and Jerry, who caused the initial ruckus that launched everything into motion, are their usual rowdy selves and are probably already plotting how to make themselves look like the heroes in this whole thing.

“And you?” I look her in the eyes, searching for a sign.

She swallows. “You need your head checked.”

My heart drops, but I let her hand me off to the paramedic. I squint at the guy. “You’re new.”

He smiles and pulls out his flashlight to check my eyes. “I’ve heard you’re pretty new to town as well. I’m AaronJoseph. My wife just got a job as the superintendent of schools down here, so here I am.”

I nod. “You’ll love it here.”

He hums, then takes me through an examination. After he’s done, he pulls his gloves off. “You’ve got a concussion; that’s obvious. You could use a scan?—”

“No.” My reply is immediate and leaves no room for discussion.

Aaron laughs. “Yeah, I figured. It’s mild. No working for a couple of days. Nothing physical. You know this drill, I suppose?”

“I do.”

Ox reappears. “Thompson’s responsible for everything.”

I thank Aaron and join Ox on the sidewalk. Willa stands a bit away, talking with her family.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” I answer, “but I’m gonna need you to explain that.”

“Turns out that Thompson is one of the Bunnies’ informants.” Ox’s voice is deadly calm, and frankly, it’s a little terrifying.

“Explain,” I say again. “And give me a good reason for mysterious bruises not to end up on his face.”

“Oh, you’ll have to get in line for those, my friend.” Ox’s voice is just as calm as before. “Apparently, the Bunnies have people all over the coast that they keep on the payroll for any ‘just in case’ measures. When you got into town, Thompson tipped them off immediately.”

“But how did he know who I was?”

Ox shrugs. “Lucky guess, I think. He didn’t like the sound of you from the minute Chief said you were coming, and with you being from Miami? It’s not hard to see how Thompson thought he’d be getting a solid payday for something related to you.”

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