Page 108 of Give Me Redemption

Harlow

I run to the bathroom and push open the stall door, throwing up into the toilet. I grip the porcelain and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. Coughing, I exhale and rub my face before grabbing some tissue and blowing my nose.

I’ve seen some sad shit in my life. I’ve solved some dark cases, but none of them have affected me this way.

Not one.

How he looked at me like I’d torn him in two. I watched him figure everything out. I watched as he replayed the time we spent together, connecting all the puzzle pieces.

And I saw the resolve in his blues.

He was done.

In that moment, he was done.

I knew that, and so I lifted my chin and acted like I was, too. Like what I just did was just part of my job, but it was so much more than that.

I’d not only torn his world apart; I’d fucked myself in the worst way.

As I walked out of the closet, I got pats on the back from other agents.

“Way to go, Dalton.”

“You got the job done.”

“Took long enough,” some of them joked. I walked beside Bryce.

“You know he’ll never forgive you for this,” he says.

“Keep your fucking mouth shut,” the cop warns.

I look back at the cop, but don’t say anything before my eyes return to Bryce. “Maybe not,” I reply to Bryce. “But I did what I had to.”

“But you didn’t have to,” he says as clear as my soul is black.

“And how do you know that?” I ask as we walk through the club, which is now cleared of people.

“We all get a choice, Michelle.”

“But some of us really don’t.”

“You love him?” he asks me.

I don’t answer.

“You do,” he confirms with a smile. How is he smiling? This man could be going to prison.

“Doesn’t matter,” I say. “Like you said, he’ll never forgive me.” I’ve said this in my mind a thousand times, but speaking it out loud has my soul catching fire.

It burns.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll get out of this, and you’ll be alone. Jace will move on because Jace is stronger than he seems. You did this for nothing, girl.”

I lean back against the bathroom door, closing my eyes as tears run down my cheeks.

“Dalton,” I hear. I shake my head and sniff before turning and opening the door.

Monroe stands in the doorway. “You all right?” he asks.

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