Page 146 of Gunner

“Kiss me.”

Ben lowered his face to mine, and I closed the distance between us and kissed him swiftly.

“Thanks for sticking up for me.”

He brushed a hand over my cheek. “I’m not just sticking up for you, Gunner. I know you’re innocent.”

“What’s all this about, then?”

“One of the officers working on the case was killed this morning. What’s strange is that last night he left me a voice mail that he’d made a breakthrough in the records Paddy had given me.”

“So someone involved must have gotten to him, but how did they frame me?”

“They found your knife on the scene. And your patch—the president one.”

“How the hell did they get their hands on those?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out. When did you last see your knife?”

“Last night. At your place. I couldn’t find it this morning when I left.”

He frowned. “Are you sure?”

“I’m positive.”

“Shit.”

Ben sank into the chair before me, his face pale.

“What is it?”

“I think someone broke into my house last night after we were in bed.”

“But Zeus…”

“Was acting strange this morning. Could they have given him something to sedate him?”

My stomach turned. “I should have taken him to the vet.”

“I will, but more than likely he’s fine and was just feeling the effects this morning.”

“This is insane. Why would someone go through all this to frame me?”

“They’ve been doing it all along. Twice we found bodies on properties that belonged to either you or the Blood Hounds. If they take you down for this murder, it’ll make it seem as if we’ve wrapped up the case and the bad guys get away with it.”

“Son of a bitch.”

Ben frowned. “But there’s one thing I can’t figure out. The president’s patch. How did they get their hands on it? Yours was on your cut when we picked you up. Do you have another?”

“No, I… Shit, actually, I do.”

“Where?”

“My closet,” I said quietly. The implication of what that meant hit me. Betrayed by someone close to me. “I got a new cut when I started seeing you. The old one seemed a bit too shabby. I’d tried transferring the patch to the new one, but I ruined it while trying to rip it off, so I didn’t bother to use it.”

“Gunner, this means—”

“I know.”

---