Page 37 of Sundowners
“Then fucking tell me! Or don’t. But don’t treat me like I can’t handle stuff. I hate that. My family does that shit to me all the time and I can’t stand it.” He started to walk away again, and I blurted out the last thing I ever thought I’d tell him.
“I was in a cult.”
He stopped and spun around to face me. “You…what?”
What are you doing, Creed?
“Yeah. Ran away from home and ended up in a commune like some sort of cliché.” I laughed and it came out a little hysterical.
Roman approached, concern on his face. “Creed, I’d never think that. That you were a cliché.”
“I’m not ready to talk about it, but I know what you’re working on, and I can’t pretend like I have only a passing interest in what you’re researching.” It was true, but not the real reason I was hesitant to take things further with him. I didn’t trust myself. I couldn’t keep myself in check enough with him to let go. It wasn’t fair to him. So I guessed I was putting up another barrier to hold him at arm’s length. Which was real mature.
“All right.” He glanced around at the dark creeping in around us. “Let’s go get some coffee or something. We cannottalk about it, or talk about it.”
He held out a hand, and I gratefully accepted. He was pissed, I could feel it rolling off his shoulders, but he wasn’t going to walk away. At least not tonight.
12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Roman
I was still replayingthe scene on the beach in my head the next day after teaching my online Criminal Behavior and Psychology course.
Creed had me tied in knots, and I hated being in this position, but when he’d dropped that bomb about the cult after I’d been ready to write him off as a cock-tease, what else could I do?
Of all people, I understood more than most the toll spending any amount of time in a manipulative religious order could take on one’s psyche. He’d opted not to tell me more than he’d lived with them for a couple of years after running away to California, and he’d left after a bad situation, still not feeling like he was totally safe. That was it, though. Something held him back from talking, and I couldn’t figure out what it was. I got the sense he hadn’t planned on telling me for a long time, but I was glad he had.
It made his bizarre behavior more understandable.
My cell buzzed in my trousers and I pulled it out.
“Tita? Everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s okay. Why?”
“You’re the one that called me. No one calls me unless there’s a problem. You only text me.”
She exhaled. “I’m calling on behalf of the department.”
That had my back straightening. “Okay.”
“Captain Rojas would like to hire you to consult on the case.”
“Hire me?”
“Yeah.”
“Like a paid gig? Not just me talking cases with you over beers?”
“Yeah, Junior. Now when can you get here? We have a lead to discuss with you, so the sooner the better.”
I looked at the time. “I’ve got office hours until four and then I can come.”
“Good. Be here then. We’re ordering in dinner and we’ll get you out of here in time to go see Lola.”
“Thanks.”
