Page 113 of Wild Card
“Better you than his father,” she said, making a face. “As long as he doesn’t decide to be a cop. I worry enough about you. I don’t want to sit here wondering if my kid is gonna get shot.”
“No,” I said quietly. “Me either.”
She froze, looking horrified. “I didn’t think. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” My chest tightened. “It’s true. Shane died too young. I should have done more to protect him.”
“You can’t think like that,” she said. “He signed up for the job, same as you.”
“I was his partner,” I said. “It was my job to keep him alive.”
“Shit, Dalt, I should have kept my mouth shut. You were so happy when you came in.”
I shrugged. “It’s okay. I never really forget.”
Axel had been a good distraction lately, but there was a reason I hadn’t stepped up as soon as the mayor asked. I didn’t know if I could trust myself with that kind of power over my colleagues’ lives again.
“Tell me what you were smiling about before I ruined it, at least. Is work getting better?” She paused, examining me. “No. You met someone!”
“How do you do that?” I complained.
“When do we get to meet him?”
“Who?” Bodie asked, returning with a half-drunk neon blue Gatorade in his hand.
“Your uncle has a boyfriend,” Camille teased with a grin.
“Seriously? Wait till Grandma and Grandpa hear!”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I said quickly. “I’ve barely got him to agree we’re dating. You’d all send him running for the hills.”
“Tell us what he’s like, then.”
“Well, he’s gorgeous,” I said. “He’s full of life, he’s bold and confident, and he loves animals. He takes in a lot of strays.”
“Aw, he sounds so sweet.”
He did, didn’t he? Of course, I’d left out the bar fights, illegal gambling, and offering to blow me to get out of a ticket. Not like he’d been wrong about my attraction, though.
Everything I’d told them was true, and it was just as valid. More even. Axel’s love for his animals and his brothers was stronger than any wild streak, but I liked that side of him too. He was charismatic and spontaneous. Put to a good use, Axel could own any room he walked into.
Just like he owned me.
My phone rang. It was the station, so I picked up. “Harvey here.”
“Harvey,” the sheriff bellowed, “get your ass to work.”
“But it’s my day off. I’m in Granville.”
“Not anymore. I sent out a changed schedule. You’re late.”
“But—”
“Just get in here, Harvey. You play shitty games with me, you get shitty prizes.” He paused. “Unless you want to turn in your badge and save us both a headache.”
So that was how it was going to be. Sheriff Hale was getting his petty retribution. If he fired me, it would raise questions. Especially with the mayor favoring me for a sheriff run. Hale was too much of a politician to risk the fallout from that. Instead, he’d try to bully me with the power he held over me.
But I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of running me off.
