Page 46 of Gunner

Gunner fell silent. He wouldn’t look me in the eye like he usually did. Was he doubting me?

“I’m not the kind of man who fucks around,” I said.

“None of my business.” He leaned over the table. “I’m here because I have Paddy’s address. Sullivan came through.”

“You have his address?”

“Yeah. Keep up, Witter. We’re going to nail that fucker tonight and find out what he knows.”

“I can’t just—”

“Do you want the culprit behind this or not?”

If only he knew the position I was in. Should we procure evidence that wasn’t admissible in courts, all our efforts would have been in vain. And I did need to answer to the mayor.

“Fine, but I’ll do the talking.”

“You’re the boss.”

Then why didn’t I feel like it?

I ordered another burger and asked for the check. When the server brought the food, I gestured for her to put it in front ofGunner. If he’d spent all this time looking up our lead, chances were he hadn’t eaten, or he could eat again.

He raised his eyebrows, but I got up to avoid showing him anything through my facial expression I didn’t want him to see. “Going to use the restroom. Be ready once I’m back. We both know you can wolf that down in two bites.”

Gunner’s eyes bored into my back, leaving an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. In the restroom, I leaned heavily against the wall and rubbed my temples. What the hell was going on with me?

Something wasn’t the same between us. The sex wasn’t even what had caused the shift. The words he’d said lingered as I tried to make sense of them.

What did he mean we had issues deeper than I could ever think? I always thought he held a grudge because I arrested him years ago, but that couldn’t be it. What else had I done to offend him? For him to fixate on deliberately being problematic to me.

When I stepped toward the sink, a guy in a jeans jacket walked away from the urinal. He gave me a nod and passed me. Pain shot through my head, and I careened into the sink.

The fucker came back after me, but I grabbed his fist and kicked his knee out.

“Fuck!” he cried out and stumbled back. I went after him, smashing his nose with the heel of my hand.

Had Paddy got wind that we were looking for him?

The man tackled me around the middle, and we both crashed to the ground. Fuck, I was on the floor of a public restroom. I kicked him off me and picked myself up.

The guy started to get up, but I pulled out my gun and trained it on him.

“Please don’t shoot!” He held his hands up. “It’s not that serious. Don’t shoot.”

“I think you assaulting a police officer is that serious. Who put you up to it?”

The bathroom door swung open. A man stepped in, his jaw dropped, and fear flashed in his eyes. With one hand, I removed my badge and showed it to him.

“I’m a cop. Keep everyone away from the restroom.”

He nodded and bolted, leaving me alone with my attacker.

“Come on, tell me who sent you.”

“Nobody.”

“Then why did you attack me?”

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