Page 132 of Gunner

Throughout the day, even while I was busy, I could never quite let go of the fact that Mason had chosen Gunner. Knowing that hurt more than the cheating.

When would I get my turn? When would I belong?

The wave of relief washing over me as I left the station turned to apprehension as I drove to the Blood Hounds clubhouse to collect Zeus. Despite the strain in our relationship, Gunner still insisted on minding Zeus while I was at work. Trying to stop him was futile. When I was asleep, he snuck in anyway and took the dog, leaving me breakfast and a note that said I should pick up Zeus when I was finished.

I shouldn’t have allowed him to take Zeus, but while I pushed him away, a little piece of me felt better when he refused to stay out of my life. A part of me—an enormous part—liked him showing up in my house when I least expected it. I liked that, unlike Mason, he didn’t leave, although I told him to.

At the clubhouse, my nerves petered out from disappointment when Chris greeted me instead of Gunner.

“He’s all ready to go, Chief.” Chris smiled, rubbing Zeus’s head. He’d come a long way from the kid who’d been rescued from trafficking. His transitioning seemed to have helped him to regain his confidence.

“Thanks for taking care of him, Chris.”

“Oh, don’t thank me. He was with Gunner all day, but he had to dash out a few minutes ago.”

Or was he avoiding me? Since I read him that entry from Mason’s journal, I hadn’t spoken to him. He’d left so abruptly I’d spent the night tossing and turning, sick to my stomach I’ddriven him away for good. Finding he’d taken Zeus this morning had been a welcome relief.

“You still look after him. I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome to wait for Gunner. I’m sure he’ll be back soon, and most of the bikers are away now, so they won’t—you know.”

Yeah, make fun of me for sleeping with Gunner.

“Nah, I’m going to head out. Take care.”

He gave Zeus one last hug, and we went our separate ways. Zeus cast a longing look back, barking and whining.

“I know, boy,” I said, reaching in the back seat to comfort him. “Believe me, I know.”

During my recovery, I had grown accustomed to Gunner’s presence. Walking into the empty house felt wrong, like something—or someone—was missing. Zeus still seemed anxious, reminding me of when he first retired from the force.

“I have exactly what you need.” Zeus followed me into the kitchen. When he was this jittery, he remained glued to my side. Without a distraction, he would mope and continue to whimper.

I opened the doors to the pantry. What in the… I closed the doors and reopened them, but nothing had changed. The empty shelves I’d left this morning with only a few nonperishable items were now brimming with food.

Gunner.

I inhaled deeply, my throat tightening. No one had ever bought me groceries. And not only had he purchased the items, but he’d also stacked them neatly. Given how messy Gunner was, arranging the shelves must have been a tiresome task, but he’d done it. The items might not be placed where I usually kept them, but that didn’t matter.

You’re one of the most honest men I’ve ever met. And that’s why I can’t let you go.

His words hit me in the stomach. Fuck, I’d been playing the fool. Gunner wasn’t Mason. Gunner was a vile person, a menace to the public, but somehow…good to me. He went the extra mile Mason would never go.

Zeus bumped my leg and whined as if asking if I was okay. I scratched behind his ear, stooped, and hugged him. “I’ve been a fool, Zeus. That’s what you’re trying to tell me, isn’t it, buddy?”

Zeus barked, bobbing his head up. I laughed. “You could have at least hesitated in agreeing. What do you say? We give him an actual chance?”

I took his bark as consent.

A burst of energy surged through me. The peanut butter spread on the lick mat kept Zeus busy as I set about preparing dinner—reheating really. Beef stew straight from a can and garlic bread would have to do. While everything simmered, I sent Gunner a text message that we should talk, then spent way more time in the bathroom than usual to take a shower and prep for make-up sex.

I was salivating more from the prospect of sex with Gunner than the food, but hours passed without Gunner showing up. Neither did he send me a text message. Disappointed and trying not to think the worst, I had dinner in the living room while watching the news as commentators delved into a debate about a crime-riddled Smoky Vale, focusing on the recent kidnappings and murder without acknowledging that crime was at an all-time low in the city. When the motorcycle clubs were rivals, there had been a lot more bloodshed.

Watching the news put me in the right frame of mind to do some work, and I pushed Gunner’s absence from my mind and added clips of information to the board in my office to connect the dots. When I was finished, the board was full of entries from people to locations and events. I added as many details as I could to mirror the one we had at the police station.

I pushed my chair a few feet away and looked at it from every angle possible. The whole case started with the female correctional center. With the warden dead, we were still missing the names of the key players. Two bikers from the Blood Hounds had worked as transporters. An independent man from another city had been in charge of cleaning the money they all made through the illegal activity. Only a few of the babies had been discovered so far.

No link existed between the pregnant women who had been killed except for their due date. They were all from different ethnicities, ages, and backgrounds. They had no connection. They didn’t even visit the same doctor.

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