Page 85 of Secret Obsession

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Hawk

“Idon’twantanybullshit, kid,” Nana said as she faced me at the small, round kitchen table. “At my age, I need to conserve energy to make it through another day, so if I’m going to waste my breath with questions, I only want the truth.”

I nodded.

“If you can’t do that, then there’s no point in talking.”

I waited for her to continue.

“My Charlie wasn’t much for words either. I guess we Wilders women like the brooding, silent types.” She took a sip of her tea. “Do you care for my Lila?”

I nodded again.

“I need words, kid. Cut that silent shit out.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Attaboy.”

“I already know you’ve beaten the shit out of someone for her, and by the looks of ya, I’m pretty sure you’d kill for her too. For someone like you, it’s probably not that difficult to take a life. Am I right?”

Was she expecting me to admit to murder? I doubted she was working with the cops, but no way in hell would I say the words, no matter who I was talking to. Jimmy had learned that lesson the hard way. It didn’t matter if it was whores or grannies, you kept your mouth shut.

I crossed my arms and glared at Nana. She didn’t even flinch.

“Tight-lipped, huh?” She waved her hands. “Forget I asked. Next question, would—”

“It’s my turn to ask a question.”

“Oh-ho, did you think this was a conversation?” She shook her head. “Nope, it’s an interrogation, kid. Let this old lady continue before my blood pressure meds kick in, and I’m too damned sleepy to keep my head up.”

“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Would you die for her?”

“Wouldn’t a normal question be ‘what do you like about her?’ or ‘how’s your credit rating?’ or ‘what will you provide for her?’”

“Bah! Where did you get those ideas? This isn’t a rerun ofLeave It To Beaver. If you really care for someone, it doesn’t matterwhatyou like about them. You could spew some nonsense that you like how her hair shimmers in the sunlight or how her kind heart has yours melting. Who cares what or why or how…as long as you like her?

“And credit rating? Things like that could change in a heartbeat. Now, what will you provide for her? That one is important, but I don’t need sissy answers like giving her a shoulder to cry on or buying her flowers on Valentine’s Day or that you’ll make sure she never wants for anything. All that shit is easy. It means jack squat.”

I knew I’d like Nana. All those things meant nothing to me either. But I didn’t even know what I was still doing here. “Then what?”

“Sacrifice.”

“I would protect her—”

“Sure, beating the shit out of someone or even killing someone to protect her proves you care for her. It proves that you’d risk going to jail or getting hurt. Those are big shows of sacrifices, I’ll admit. But there’s only one sacrifice that really proves you love someone.”

She stirred her tea and squinted. “Would you die for her?”

“I would do everything in my power to protect her.”

“Don’t pussyfoot around the question. Do you value her life more than yours? If someone sat you both down at a table and put one gun between you and said that only one of you could live, would you grab the gun before she could and take your own life?”

I shifted on the uncomfortable metal chair. “Lila and I haven’t known each other long enough—”

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