Page 19 of Traitor

My breath hitched and I fought to keep the tears at bay.Why did I let him have this power over me?

“Red—c’mon, Darlin’. Let me talk to you.” Mike caught the sleeve of my jacket just as I reached my car door.

I jerked my arm back and said coolly, “There you go again—whipping your badge out to get yourself out of a bind, but god forbid you do the same for someone else. It must be nice to not have the rules apply to you.”

His face fell. “Lauren, I did what I had to do. The guy was going to call the police—”

Little Ricky walked up and interrupted. “Let’s get out of here,mi sirenita.”

I pointed at my car. “I drove myself—remember?”

He nodded and stuck his hands into his jacket pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels against the frigid wind. “Well…we could grab coffee or something.”

I noticed his lip was split and starting to swell as I shook my head. “I think I’ve had enough excitement for one night, Little Ricky. I’ll just see you tomorrow night at the range.”

“Over my dead body,” Mike muttered and I gave him a chilly look. His hair was sticking out in several different directions and his left eye was almost swollen completely shut.

“I’ll deal with you in a minute.”

Little Ricky nodded. “It’s cool. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” He leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek as Mike grumbled obscenities in the background.

Once he was gone, I turned back. “I’m leaving and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t follow me again. You’ve done enough.”

He stepped into my path, stopping me. The smell of him enveloped me like a warm hug and every feeling bubbled up to the surface. The emotions I’d fought so hard to invoke with Little Ricky easily came to me just by standing near Mike.

“Darlin’, I think about you every day. I can’t let you leave upset. I still love you.” His face was the picture of innocence as he stood in front of me, arms crossed over his body.

I wanted to rake my nails down his cheeks until he remembered that he’d gotten my mother killed. And, just like that, him showing up was no longer amusing or cute. It was a dick move.

“Typical Mike Sullivan—once again thinking, that because you want something, it’s automatically yours for the taking. Well, flash your badge all you want, asshole. I’m not interested.” I stepped around him, but he latched onto my arm and pulled me into his warm body. It took everything in me not to throw my arms around him and hold on for dear life, but I managed. Just barely.

“Lauren, I love you. Can’t that be enough?” His eyes pleaded for acceptance, as his hands shook against my back.

I wasn’t going to do it.

“No,” I said calmly, before my eyes clouded and my throat began to tighten. “I told you I would stay with you even if it meant going to prison, but you—”

My voice cracked as the first tear fell and I had to fight to get my thoughts out. “But you wouldn’t do the same for me. I loved you in those gray areas, while you only saw black and white when it came to me. And I deserved better—she deserved better.”

“Laur—I—” His words tapered off and he sadly watched as I left him behind.

The remaining tears hit my cheeks as I pulled out of the parking lot and I began mashing at the various buttons on the radio until I got to a station that wasn’t in the middle of a commercial break.

“You get five minutes to cry,” I told myself, amid the flood. “And then, you are going to suck it up and stop being a little bitch.”

‘Come a Little Closer’ by Dierks Bentley came on and I sucked in a ragged breath before hurriedly changing the station.

I needed something angry, not something that reminded me of the handsome blond surfer who’d asked me to dance on a beach.

I let out a small wail at the memory before punching the next button. The next station featured Jack White belting out ‘Seven Nation Army’ and I let out a soft exhale of relief.

Five minutes to fall apart.

And then, I was going to banish Michael Sullivan, Jr. from my thoughts forever.

I hoped.

Chapter Three

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