Page 75 of Gunner

“Anyone ever told you that you moan like a whore?”

I narrowed my eyes.

“That’s a compliment.”

Well, then…

I kept my face turned away from him so he couldn’t see how red I was sure my cheeks had become. The steak was already defrosted. I got a frying pan and seared the meat. Zeus wagged his tail and came over to sit a few feet away from me.

Woof!

“Yup, that’s your breakfast, though you should havehimmake it for you, since you went off with him.”

“Next time we’ll invite you along.”

“That’s exactly what Smoky Vale needs to see. Their police chief walking hand in hand with the town’s most notorious biker.”

“You keep sweet-talking me like that, Ben, and despite what I said last night, I really might fall in love.”

“Fuck off.”

Ignoring him, I got Zeus’s breakfast ready. Gunner sat at the island, but he hadn’t touched the burritos. Damn. Why did he have to be so intense? Hadn’t it been clear I was joking about eating all the burritos?

“I wasn’t serious about eating all of them,” I said, finishing up the eggs for Zeus. “The most I’ll have is two. Maybe three, but no more. I have to watch my weight, or I won’t be able to chase after perps.”

“Nothing wrong with your figure. Sometimes a man wants a body he doesn’t have to be delicate with.”

And he sure as hell hadn’t been delicate last night. My stomach was doing its usual jig. With more care than usual, I arranged Zeus’s meal by mixing the steak with kibble, spinach, and eggswith strawberries on the side. His tail thumped rapidly against the floor, and he whined, but he waited until I gave him the command to eat. Then he dove face-first into the food.

The phone rang as I washed my hands. Frowning, I picked up. Only the station called me on the landline when I was home.

“Hello?”

“Witter, it’s me, Thoms,” a gruff voice said. “You’re not at the station.”

The kitchen clock showed it was already past nine. I was usually in my office by eight thirty at the latest. From force of habit, an apology rose, but I held my tongue. Gunner was shoveling a burrito into his mouth and chewing with no sense of grace.

God, he ate like a pig. But it was kind of refreshing to see someone so unpretentious, someone just being himself.

“I’m sure you didn’t call to comment on my tardiness, Thoms. What can I do for you?”

Silence stretched, and I tightened my grip on the phone. When I returned to Smoky Vale, I’d addressed him about his attitude. I’d made it clear he didn’t have to like me, but while working with my unit, he was expected to do his job and do so effectively.

“We’ve found the pregnant inmate.”

My heart skipped a beat. Finally, some good news. “You have? Where? Have you taken her in for questioning?”

“She’s dead.”

Was that a smirk in his voice? He wouldn’t have deliberately given the news the way he had to raise my hopes, then dash it, would he? Even for him, that sort of tactic was sordid, given a woman had lost her life.

“I’ll be at the station ASAP,” I said.

“I can handle this.”

“This is a huge case, Thoms. It’s best we all work together to get to the bottom of this.”

“Fine. Suit yourself.”

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