Page 71 of Gunner

“Then what?”

“The first time we met. We had no prior contact, but you seemed to have a vendetta against me. Why?”

Seconds ticked by in which he said nothing.

“Never mind.” I rolled over, sat on the edge of the bed, and took up the keys.

“I don’t mind answering,” Ben said. “But…are we really doing this? If we start to talk…”

Frowning, I unlocked the handcuffs. “You think talking to me will make me fall hopelessly in love with you? If that’s what you’re hoping for—that I’ll turn good and be worthy of you—you should know I have no love left in me to give.”

“When did I say that?”

“Then talk.”

Ben removed the handcuffs and rubbed his wrists. “That was a tough time in my life. After I left, I didn’t plan to return to Smoky Vale, but I didn’t have a choice.”

“You were transferred?”

He nodded. “Smoky Vale was the only precinct that would accept me after my incident.”

“What incident?”

“All your stalking and you don’t know?”

I smacked him in the head with the pillow. “Smartass. I just followed you around. I’m not too good with this new-age computer shit. If I’d asked anyone, the whole club would have known I was after you.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“Not from where I’m sitting. Why did you have to return to Smoky Vale?”

“Didn’t handle a case right. I let my anger get the best of me, and my contact with the perp was deemed inappropriate andexcessive. I got our city sued, and the perp got off and ended up killing the woman who pressed charges against him in the first place. If I hadn’t lost my cool, she wouldn’t be dead.”

Shit.

Now it all made sense how cautious he was about his police work. There was a lot more to it than just him being a by-the-book cop like I’d called him. He didn’t want to repeat the mistake he’d made because he felt responsible for that woman’s death.

“That the reason the other cops in the precinct have no respect for you?”

“They respect me. They’re just assholes.”

“Come on, Ben. They let me into your office, and they damn well knew who I was.”

“It doesn’t matter what they think now, does it? I’m still the one they made acting chief. They still have to do what I say.”

Ben sat up in the middle of the bed, pulling the sheet around his waist. Normally, sensing his vulnerability, I would poke and provoke him to anger, but the familiar words I’d always used on him like a weapon were nowhere to be found. Maybe he was right about the talking, but neither of us seemed inclined to shut up. As if the words we had never spoken had been saved for this moment.

“When I just joined the Smoky Vale PD, only one person would partner with me. With his support, I—”

“You what?”

He shook his head. “I shouldn’t be talking to you about this.”

“Maybe, but what’s the harm? You might be surprised what we have in common.”

“All right then, at the risk of you using my words against me later, with Mason’s support, I felt seen, like the old Ben and not the police officer responsible for an innocent woman’s death that could have been prevented had I followed the rules.”

Mason’s name from his lips was like cold water thrown in my face. I got to my feet and picked my clothes up from the floor.

---