Page 5 of Sinful Deception

She purses her lips and clings to me, purely so she doesn’t have to meet Fletch’s eyes. “I could get you in trouble for that.”

“Tell him.” I laugh. “See what he does about it. He considers your former chief the third apple of his eye, and she’s placed third only because of the two biological daughters he had two decades before. Go ahead and snitch. Let’s see what happens.”

“How are you?” Fletch’s voice is softer. His eyes, round and hopeful that she’ll give him even a minute of her time. Never mind the fact we have a dead body waiting on Durban and Fourth. “Are you alright, Sera? I haven’t seen you at the bar lately.”

Finally, she rearranges her expression and meets his gaze. “I’ve altered my dining habits. With that, and my change of employer, it’s unlikely we’ll run into each other in the future very often. Current situation excluded.”

“I hate to be a killjoy.” I grab the sleeve of Fletch’s jacket and give it a gentle pull. “But we got a homicide to attend, so…”

“Wait.” Fifi’s eyes flicker to mine. “Someone has died?”

“Literally our job. Nine-ish days a week. Come on,” I give Fletch another tug. “She’s not gonna chit-chat with you today, no matter how much you wish she would. She’s working, which is when she’s the most stubborn. That means we gotta go.”

“Come to the bar for dinner,” he tries again. “Please. Mia’s been asking for you, so maybe you girls can eat together, and I’ll sit away if that’s what you want.”

“Don’t do that.” Her jaw clicks with tension while she cuts the man with a ferocious look. “Don’t use Mia to bother me.”

“I’m trying to offer you a chance to spend time with her outside of me! You care about her, Sera. Hate me if you must, but you care about my daughter.”

“I’m a month in.” She stands impossibly taller, her neck elongated as far as it can go. “Waltzing in and out of her life is not what’s best for her. Two months, and she won’t even ask for me anymore.”

“Sera!”

Heads swing this way. Eyes taking in the scene Fletch is too emotionally stretched to keep under control.

Worse, the mayor looks across, and he’s nothing if not protective of the hens in his henhouse.

“Let’s go.” I take a step and drag him with me. “Now.”

“I said I was sorry,” he groans, fighting my hold and turning to keep her in his sight. “I was in a fuckin’ crisis, Sera. I needed help.”

“You knew how it felt to be hurt. But instead of rising above that and being better to those around you, you chose to hurt me.”

When he reaches out, she brushes his hand away. “You took my traumas and wounded me with them, Charlie. With your eyes wide open and all of your faculties working for you. That’s abuse, whether you want to label it or not, and it’s not the type of relationship I wish to pursue ever again. Not in my lovers. Not even in my friends.”

“Sera…”

“Please encourage Mia to forget me.” Her voice crackles with an ache I know too well. “I’m doing what I truly think is the best thing for her. Just a few more months, and she won’t remember I exist.”

“She won’t forget, Sera! And neither will you.”

“Which is penance for having known her. It’s a price I’ll pay for eternity. Though it’s one I hope you’ll save her from.”

She turns on her heels and stalks away before Justin ‘I protect my chicks’ Lawrence waltzes over and smashes some skulls. So I fist Fletch’s jacket and pull harder this time, bringing him around and holding on when his injured leg would otherwise make him stumble and fall. “You need to get this under control.”

“I havenothingunder control!” He shoves my hand off, but at least he walks forward. Through the bullpen and away from the woman he wants more than any other. More, even, than he ever wanted Jada. “This is why I don’t sleep. Why I don’t eat. Women!” He stomps on to the escalator that cuts through the belly of our building and slams his palm to the hand railing, drawing attention from the cops moving around us. “One of them is abusing me, and in turn, I abuse the next. It’s a conga line of toxicity, and Sera is the smartest one of us all. She knows how to make it stop; step out of the fucking line and say no.”

“Fletch—”

“Clearly the same thing I should have said to Jada eons ago! If I was as strong as Sera is, I wouldn’t have let Jada fuck with my life. Which, in turn, fucked with Sera’s. I hurt someone who didn’t deserve it, for someone who doesn’t deserve my loyalty.”

“Makes you a sucker.” He’s not ready to listen. Not able to be sensible. So I let him rant, and I’ll be the kid with a magnifying glass. “You were told not to let Jada in. You did, and these are the consequences of your actions.”

“Fuck you very much.” The moment we’re at the bottom, he clomps off the escalator and charges into the police precinct parking lot. We’re not walking to our crime scene, and luckily for him, I already have a set of keys in my pocket. Or else he’d be heading back upstairs to sign out a car. “You should drive,” he snaps. “Because I might run some motherfuckers down just to hear them pop.”

I look at the CCTV camera that sees and hears everything. “Pretty surethatwill be served as evidence in court someday. He didn’t mean it,” I speak a little louder. “He won’t hurt anyone.”

His phone trills, vibrating his pocket and sending his temper flaring. He checks the screen and snarls.Guess it’s Jada. “For fuck’s sake!” He jams his thumb on the red dot and kills the call, then he squeezes the device until it’s at risk of cracking. “I feel like my head is gonna explode.”

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