Page 54 of Nightmare

He exhales, rolling to his back and fluffing the pillow beneath his head. “Fine, you got me. I’m sorry, but I’m always going to protect you.”

“I love that, just know that I’m probably always going to do exactly what you don’t want me to do, but you need to remember that’s the reason you love me so much.”

He snorts. “You got me there. Tell me, anyway. Was it good shit?”

I laugh, finally, he’s loosened up a little.

“The weed?”

He chuckles. “No, the beer.”

Smiling, I close my eyes. “It wasn’t bad, wasn’t bad at all.”

I have absolutely no idea what is good and what isn’t, but the method in which it was delivered was quite pleasant, so I’m going to base my decision on that, instead. Yawning, Leo falls silent beside me. Closing my eyes, I can’t stop the inevitable any longer. I’m too tired, high, and a little tipsy. I need to sleep.

Within minutes, that’s exactly what I’m doing.

~*~*~*~*~

WAKING IN THE MORNING, tangled in hot, heavy male, my eyes slowly flutter open. Leo is sleeping beside me, our legs intertwined, his arm thrown over me. He hasn’t got a shirt on, and he’s softly snoring. As my vision clears, I stare over at him, and wonder how the hell I’m going to get out of this bed without waking him. As I slowly untangle us, I can’t help but wonder how his future girlfriends will see this situation?

Or better yet, how my future boyfriends might.

I haven’t been on a date in a long, long time.

I’ve been so caught up in work that I haven’t had time.

Well, that’s not entirely because the male population hasn’t tried, they have, but I always turn them down.

My last serious relationship was three years ago, with a man I dated for four. He was good, kind, and sweet, but he was boring. That’s due to no fault of his own, and I’m certain there is a woman out there who will adore that he is a homebody and not very adventurous, but for me, unfortunately, it was never going to work. It broke his heart when I left him, but I’m certain one day he’ll thank me for it.

Pushing to my feet, I glance down at a still sleeping Leo.

I’m going to leave him right where he is, too.

I have business to take care of today, and for once, I’m not going to tell him what it is I’m doing. Instead, I’m just going to go ahead and do it. Mostly, because I’m not entirely certain that the choice I’m about to make is the right one. Still, as I sneak out of the room with my clothes in hand, I already know my mind is made up.

Getting ready quickly, I eat a granola bar and make a coffee to go as I turn and rush out the door, leaving a note telling Leo that I’m going to the gym. Hopefully he’ll sleep long enough that he won’t notice that’s not where I am, even if he does, I’ll make up a story and tell him I had a change of plans. Pulling on my shoes and gathering my car keys, I get in and make my way toward my destination.

The mayor’s office.

It’s risky, I already know it, but I’m angry, and I want him to know that what he did that day didn’t go unnoticed, and one day he will come face to face with his justice. Yes, I’m going to make sure of it, even if it makes people angry in the process. Just because he’s higher up in power doesn’t mean that he should ever be able to get away with the monstrous act he committed that day.

We won’t even get started on all the other things I suspect he’s covering up.

Reaching the offices, I glance up at the huge building in front of me. Bill isn’t mayor any longer, but he did run two full terms of eight years, which is quite impressive. Now, his son, and protégé, William, is running as Mayor, and Bill works alongside him. I just know he had a hand in getting him elected. Though, I have no doubt in my mind that everyone who has taken up that role has been doing whatever sketchy shit Bill has his hand in.

Still, he is still working in these offices and is still a strong part of the community after all these years, so I know I’ll find him here, shoving his nose into business that isn’t his and messing up more people’s lives. It’s interesting, actually, trying to find out how deep this all goes. Clearly the police officers of the town have a hand in the situation, also, and that makes me wonder just who else could be in on it.

Walking into the office, I approach the reception where a pretty young woman is behind the desk, dressed impeccably in her pantsuit with her hair tied up in a bun atop her hair. She looks up at me and gives me a warm, welcoming smile. “Good morning, how may I help you today?”

“I’m just wanting to see if Bill was in today?” I smile sweetly. “I’m his niece, I was hoping to surprise him.”

Her eyes widen, and her smile gets bigger. “That’s wonderful. He is in, let me call him down.”

“Thanks.”

I step back and watch as she makes a call. A moment later, she tells me to take a seat and that he’ll be right with me. I half expected her to tell me that he has no niece and to leave, but sometimes this little trick of mine actually works. I tell them I’m a relative, they call it through, and the person on the other line is curious as to why someone would be claiming to be a relative and so they come out. I’ve gotten a lot of stories using this method.

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