Page 23 of Spade

“Okay, her’s the truth,” Cynthia said as Razor and Spade made their way around the wall, into the family room where she was being held. Everything around her seemed to speed up andslow down, all at once. Melissa went for her gun, but Razor had her on the floor before she could grab it.

Spade walked across the room and looked her over. “You all right?” he asked.

She smiled up at him, “I will be as soon as you get me untied from this fucking chair.”

He chuckled and pulled a knife from his belt buckle. “That’s my girl,” he whispered, kissing her cheek.

“That’s not fair,” Melissa spat, “you promised to tell me about you and Eric.”

Cynthia stood from the chair and rubbed her wrists. She had pins and needles from her limbs regaining their circulation, but there was no way that she’d stay seated for this next part.

“I’ve already told you the truth, Melissa,” she said, standing over the woman. Razor had handcuffed her and left her on the floor. “I haven’t seen Eric since he broke up with me.”

“Then, where is he going every night?” she asked.

“I’m betting that the old saying holds true—once a cheater, always a cheater,” Cynthia said. “If I had to guess, good old Eric has found himself another girlfriend and is going to see her when he leaves you. Ironically, that was what he did while he was with me. He was sneaking off to see you and cheating on me. I guess karma really is a bitch.”

Spade took her hand into his and started for the door. “Wait,” Melissa shouted, “you promised that you wouldn’t press charges. You said that no one would have to know about this. What about my baby?”

“I’m guessing that you and your baby will be well taken care of in prison. Maybe Eric and his new girlfriend will raise your kid.” Yeah, that seemed to bother Melissa, but Cynthia didn’t give a shit. She wasn’t feeling very forgiving at the moment.

“As for the promise that I made you, I lied,” she simply said.

“You bitch,” Melissa shouted, struggling to stand from the ground. Razor quickly got her under control and told Spade to get Cynthia out of the house. He said that she could give her statement later, but for now, he wanted her to get checked out at the hospital. Spade agreed and grabbed Cynthia’s hand again.

“Let’s go, honey,” he ordered. She didn’t argue with him. The faster she could get out of that hellhole, the better she’d feel.

The ER was packed, and she had asked Spade a few times if they could just leave. Of course, he told her no, and she knew that there would be no protesting. Her headache had subsided, and she wasn’t feeling as sick anymore, just tired, but telling Spade that wouldn’t help her case. He seemed determined to keep her there until she could be seen by a doctor.

Two hours later, they called her back to a room and the doctor ordered some blood tests and told her to sit tight, as though she had no other option. “This is ridiculous,” she insisted. “I’m fine now. I have no symptoms of being roofied. It might not even show up in my bloodwork.” She knew that the last part was probably not true. The doctor said that drugs like that could stay in her system for a few days. She just hoped that she wouldn’t have to stay overnight like last time because all she wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed. The question was—would she be sleeping in her own bed or Spade’s?

They had practically been living together since the first time that Melissa roofied her and honestly, she secretly hoped that Spade would ask her to move in with him permanently. His house was bigger than her tiny apartment and she loved the neighborhood. But he had given her no hints as to what their future held—or even if he wanted a future with her.

“I understand how frustrating this is for you, but I need to make sure that you’re okay before I take you home.” She nodded, not wanting to look him in the eye for fear that she’d see her answers staring back at her. If he didn’t want her anymore, she wasn’t sure that she’d be able to handle that.

He brushed her cheek with his hand and the gesture was so sweet, she almost wanted to cry. “Look at me, honey,” he whispered.

“I can’t,” she breathed, trying to hold back the tears. “I’m afraid of what I’ll see.”

“Well, I’m not that bad looking, right?” he teased. She tried to laugh, but she just couldn’t.

“I’m afraid that you won’t want me anymore. I’m not in danger and with this nightmare over, you’ll want to get on with your life, right?” she questioned. She didn’t really want him to answer her question, but she needed to know the truth.

“You’re right. I do want to move on with my life,” he agreed. The tears began to freely fall down her face and she let them. There would be no hiding the pain she was feeling, hearing that Spade was going to go on without her.

He thumbed the tears from her cheek, and she chanced a look at him. “I want to go on with my life, with you. That is if you want me.”

“Really, you want to have a life with me?” she asked.

“Of course I do, honey,” he admitted. “I’m in love with you.”

“You are?” she questioned. Hearing him say that he loved her was more than she could have asked for, but a part of her worried that she was hearing things or even making things up in her head. Being roofied last time had her feeling completely out of it for days.

“I am,” he said, “I love you, Cynthia. Hell, I’ve been in love with you since the day that I sat in your chair, and you told me that you wouldn’t go out with me because I was your client.”

“Well, rules are rules,” she teased.

“Yep, and I’m glad you have that rule because I never want you to ever go out with one of your clients. In fact, I don’t want you to go out with anyone else, ever. Marry me, Cynthia,” he said. The doctor walked back into the room as she was about to give Spade her answer and the look of concern on the guy’s face worried her.

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