Page 54 of Gunner

As we stepped out into the cool air, the door swung shut behind us. “You’re so damn vindictive,” he snapped, his irritation slipping right back into place without a hitch, even after he’d spared a nice smile for someone else. “You don’t always have to retaliate.”

“And you don’t have to always be so nice.” I kicked a pebble. It sailed into the air and smashed into the windshield of a car, leaving a crack behind.

Witter stopped walking.

“What?”

“Aren’t you going to leave your contact number so your insurance can pay for that?”

“Why? Who’s going to know I did it?”

“You do. That’s the only thing that matters. Let me ask you something, Gunner. What killed that decency you should have as a human being?”

“Let me tell you something, Witter. A kid who was the punching bag for his father and forced to fend for himself by living like a dog at the age of seven doesn’t grow up to care about decency. Only survival. At least my method gets shit done. I didn’t see you worrying about decency when you wanted me to drown him so you could get your answers. And where’s the fucking thanks I get for standing in front of the gun that was pointed at you?”

Witter’s eyes went wide as realization dawned. “You—”.

“It was nothing. I knew he was too much of a pussy to actually shoot. Why else would I have put myself between you and a bullet? I don’t even like you.”

15

BEN

Ben's talking about a future, kids, a house... I already have an adult son. I don't think I can do this again.

Iwas worried about Gunner.

But worse, the shock of how I felt hadn’t sent me into a cardiac arrest.

To be fair, I wasn’t exactly worried about him. Gunner was a big boy—well, man, nothing boyish about what he carried below his belt—who could handle himself. When he’d dropped me off a few hours ago, he’d left without a word. Had he gone back to beat the shit out of Paddy?

Gunner didn’t listen to a voice that didn’t originate inside his head, so trying to talk him out of it was useless. Was it that same little voice that had told him to put himself between me and a gun?

Why else would I have put myself between you and a bullet?

A shudder ran through me. I’d been too keyed up on diffusing the situation and ensuring no one died in that apartment, it hadn’t even occurred to me what he’d done. With the threatpassed, I couldn’t get the reel of Gunner pulling me behind him out of my head. He’d done it so effortlessly like he hadn’t needed to think twice about putting his life on the line instead of someone he allegedly hated.

He’d said it a million times. He loathed me. Why would he have risked his life for a man he couldn’t stand? This was the same man who’d sent his goons to attack me at his bar. There was no love lost between us. Fuck, I wouldn’t have blamed him had he shoved me into Paddy and made a run for it. If he’d done that, I wouldn’t have been sitting up for hours, watching the clock and trying to make sense out of something nonsensical.

I rubbed my eyes and picked up my phone. No missed calls. Earlier, Jamie had confirmed Fox was still unconscious. Other than Jamie, no one called or texted me anymore. I’d even had to call the deputy chief to have him brief me on the missing inmate.

Was my loneliness the reason I’d made myself so susceptible to Gunner’s sexual advances, even though the result could only be disastrous? I could picture him smirking every time he thought of how I’d gone down on all fours for him. Would I become the hot topic at his clubhouse when he and the other bikers swapped stories?

God, I must have been insane to provide these bikers with material to make me the butt of their jokes. They already didn’t like me for the ones I’d put in prison. My persecution of Gunner over the years might not have touched the man personally, but I couldn’t say the same about his club members. I’d nabbed them for small offenses and misdemeanors to assault and drug charges. No amount of bribery on my part had inspired any of them to rat out Gunner, and now that I’d spent time with the man, I understood why.

They’d probably not live long enough to testify in prison.

I should go to bed. Just because he’d demanded a blow job for helping me out earlier doesn’t mean he meant it. He’s probablyfound a wet, willing hole somewhere for the night. No reason that needs to be me.

Yanking the sheet back, I got out of bed and sat at the table. If I couldn’t sleep, I might as well do something productive with my time. I swilled down a bottle of water and picked up the spiral-bound “book” Paddy had handed over. Earlier, I’d gone through it, but there was a lot I didn’t understand. Technical jargon and computer lingo protected the most valuable secrets hidden inside. I would need our IT department to decode, decrypt, and filter only the useful information.

The transcripts of phone calls, text messages, and voice notes proved we were on the right track. But nothing was mentioned specifically about babies. Paddy was more than likely telling the truth. He’d had no idea where the money came from he was asked to launder. They spoke in codes, mostly of song titles, which was pretty dumb. Once we identified the pattern, it made it easier for us to decipher, but my sleep-deprived brain could only make out a few things.

I stared at the words until my eyes crossed over and the letters became one black, dreamless hole.

Something brushed against the back of my neck. My eyes flew open. Bright light hit my pupils, and I closed them again, groaning. I’d fallen asleep at the table. My shoulders were stiff, and a dull pain generated in my lower back. My ass had gone numb. How long had I been sleeping?

Fingers crept into my hair, sinking into the roots and gripping me with a gentle yet firm pressure. Oh, my cock liked that. I moaned and tilted my head back into the touch.

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