Page 76 of A Forgotten Mistake

“What if I tell you, and you realize that you really didn’t want to know?”

“This isn’t up for debate, Liam. I told you to tell me, so either you don’t look into him or you tell me.”

“You’re right. Okay.” I just still don’t know if he’s ready to know. Tobias was different. Tobias was the nightmare that followed him in his dreams and when he was awake. This is something completely different… and I’m not sure if he can handle that.

“Thanksgiving is in a few days,” he says, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“I’m thankful that I’m going to be sick that day,” I respond.

“You’re going to meet my grandma and my grandpa and my cousins and my aunts and uncles.”

“Why the fuck are there so many?” I ask in disgust.

“Oh… and my cousin Tom who bullied me when we were kids.”

I nod, understanding my quest. “I will beat him up for you.”

Gabriel laughs. “We shouldn’t be joking about this so soon. Is it too soon? It’s definitely too soon. Why would I even have to ask if it was too soon?”

“It’s never too soon to joke about punching people,” I say as we finish up eating. “You ready?”

“Only if you promise that you’re going to be so good.”

“Like an angel.”

“Angel, my ass. Let’s go.”

SEVENTEEN

Liam

When we pull up outside of Cameron’s home, Gabriel gets to see why we can’t just “roll on by.” We can’t even see Cameron’s house that’s a good distance off the road and hidden by trees. There’s a pasture to the side where cattle roam and a couple of barns out back. One looks like an old milking parlor, even though the cattle he now has aren’t dairy.

“Alright… we saw enough. Let’s go home and be good,” Gabriel says.

“What if we called it in and said we heard a gunshot and someone screaming, ‘Help, Cameron the Shithead shot me after he abducted me, and I need that hot detective to come save me.’ She’s talking about you, of course. Everyone will know that. There will be no confusion.”

“I just… strangely, I feel like that might be one hundred percent illegal.”

“How hot you are? I mean… maybe, but they can cry about it all they want.”

Gabriel gives me a look as he raises his eyebrow. “No. Calling in a fake gunshot,” he says, which is foolish of him to believe, but I love him, so he can pretend. “Let’s call the department and see if they have anything more on him. Maybe see if this wife of his will come in?”

“She said she had no reason to, and we had no way to force her,” I remind him.

Gabriel’s quiet for a moment. “We can’t just walk up there. If either of us got caught, the case would be ruined. We can’t chance that.”

“Fine, fine. Then we might as well head home and stare at each other there,” I say as I put the car in drive right before I hear a gunshot.

“Gabriel… Gabriel, I heard a gunshot.” I’m trying my absolute hardest not to look so goddamn excited about this, but it’s rather difficult. I just don’t want Gabriel to be left questioning my manic grin.

Gabriel shakes his head. “There’s no way that was a gunshot.”

“It was very much a gunshot.”

He sighs, having no legit way to convince me otherwise when we both clearly know what a gunshot sounds like. “Did you stage this? To get me to cave?”

“I would never!”

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