Page 88 of Hesi-Dating
Bruno sauntered to the door covered in sweat. He scowled at me as if I'd torn him away from a life-altering workout. We stared at each other for a few long moments.
"How about we go to my car and talk?" I led the way down the paved path to my official SUV. I pointed at the passenger front seat and made eye contact with him. The evening was cool enough that if we sat inside the vehicle with the windows up, we weren't going to bake.
Once settled next to each other, Bruno said, "Are we out here so you can intimidate me in your James Bond tuxedo and work vehicle?"
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes. "Is it working?"
"Little bit." He stared out the windshield.
"I'm just going to ask you one question, Bruno." I let the silence sit between us, heavy and foreboding for several long moments. "Did Joley instruct you to tell me she didn't want to see me at the hospital or did you lie to me?"
"It was me, but I was?—"
"One more question," I interrupted. "Did you tell her I'd been at the hospital to see her? That you had spoken to me?"
He shook his head.
"You can get out."
"You have to understand things from my perspective. You put her in the middle of a situation that risked her life. My sister almost died. It wasn't the first time being with you ended with her facing a gun. She's been through some awful shit in her life. Like the kind of awful you don't even want to imagine could happen. It's my job to protect her. In my estimation, that means what's best for her is for you to stay away. There's nothing about who you are and what you do that is safe for her, even now with Nosh gone. We're all waiting for the Red Crips to seek revenge on us. You think they won't reorganize and come after us?"
I didn't acknowledge him as I cranked the car. He wasn't wrong. But it wasn't his place to decide for Joley, not when it came to us. "If they make contact, you call the police."
"As if they can help," Bruno muttered.
I gritted out through a clenched jaw, "I'm barely holding back from breaking your nose. So get the fuck out of my car before I hurt you."
Before Bruno shut the passenger side door, he leaned in and said, "Ask yourself this, Sheriff. Are you any better for her than Nosh? Who he was and what he did threatened her by association. At his core Nosh wanted to protect her." He rocked his head. "And control her. He got a bit confused and twisted this year. Was he a psycho? Yes. Am I glad he's gone? Yes. But what do you want from her? Would what you feel get twisted and confused after a few years too? Would you work too hard trying to control her out of your need toprotecther?"
I glared at him until he shut the door.
His words circled around in my mind while I drove down the street. At the stop sign on her road, I dropped my chin. The answer to Bruno's question was that I didn't know. If she was my girl, I would be worried about protecting her all the time. Would that lead me to try to micromanage her life?
I didn't know. I banged my fist on the steering wheel.Maybe I'm not any better than Nosh.
ChapterThirty-Seven
JOLEY
The house was dark when I got home. The stove clock said it was almost midnight. I poured a glass of orange juice from the refrigerator.
"He came by."
I jumped. "Holy shit, Bruno. What the hell? You scared me."
"The sheriff came by." Bruno messed with a few crumbs on the counter and wouldn't look at me.
"Seth came by tonight? While I was at the gala?"
"Yeah. He also came by at the hospital."
"Why did he come by tonight?" A sense of relief mixed with loss poured through me. He had tried to see me after I got shot. He must've been so devastated to be cut off.
"He came by to talk to me. I told him I spoke for you at the hospital. That it wasn't you who said he should get out of your life, but me. I'm sorry. I was angry over you getting shot in what sounded like a botched setup to nab Nosh."
"I get it." I set my juice cup on the counter to give him a hug. "I'm mad as hell at you. Don't ever speak for me again. But I'd probably do the same if I saw a girl putting you in danger more than once. I get it."
"He didn't give up on you."
