Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 72561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
We were seated directly across the aisle from Channing.
And we were facing each other.
She was doing everything in her power not to look in my direction, and I was doing everything in my power to turn my head away from her.
We both lost.
Our eyes connected, and I could see the desolation in her eyes, and I suddenly couldn’t breathe.
I hated that I made her feel like I’d used her and tossed her away, and I didn’t know what to do to fix it. Hell, I couldn’t fix it until after I’d testified.
I was fucked if I did, and fucked harder if I didn’t.
Either way, I was taking it up the ass, and who knew how long it would take until I was able to talk to her. I may be testifying on Monday, but that in no way meant I was free and clear. There might still be instances that I was needed to clarify something, or add something to my testimony.
Channing’s head lowered in defeat just before she bolted for the bathroom.
I stared after her for all of twenty seconds before excusing myself to the bathroom myself.
I walked slowly in the direction of the bathrooms, but instead of going into the men’s, I went into the women’s, being sure to lock the door behind me.
The sound of Channing hurling was the first thing to register with my senses, and I instantly knew I just couldn’t do it any longer.
Walking slowly to the stall, I was relieved to find that she hadn’t found the time to lock it, and I pushed it open slowly, finding her squatting down beside the toilet with her hair hanging down surrounding her head.
Thankful that she’d chosen the handicapped bathroom, I squatted down behind her and gathered her hair in my hands.
“Oh, Chan, I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Her hiccupping sob caught me off guard, and my head dropped until it was resting on her shaking back.
“Please,” I whispered brokenly. “Don’t cry. I’m not worth it.”
I wasn’t used to girls crying. I didn’t have any girls in my life. I had a brother that was fifteen years older than I was, and a mom that refused to let anyone see her cry. The only women I’d seen cry, lately, were the wives of the members of the MC. When the first tear started to drop, I was walking in the opposite direction.
I’d seen plenty of crying in my day as a cop, but when it hits me then, I have my cop face on. Right now, I had my me face on, and I couldn’t handle it.
“It’s okay. I’m okay. I just ate something bad,” she lied.
Badly.
Leaning up, she pressed her weight into me, and I wrapped my hands around her waist.
My hands sprawled against her abdomen, and curled around until my fingers went around her back.
“Sure you did. Can you stand?” I asked, as I buried my head into her hair.
She nodded, but neither one of us moved.
“I’ve been getting death threats,” I said into her hair.
I left out the getting the shit beat out of me part. She didn’t need to know that much detail.
Her body froze, and she stood fast.
My hands missed the reassuring weight of her body immediately, and I stood, too.
She was staring at me wide-eyed. “Really?” She gasped.
Then she was in my arms, and I held her while she cried all the harder.
She’d put on weight over the past few months. In fact, so much so that her breasts were a lot more cushy, but I’d never, for the life of me, tell her that.
We stayed that way until there was a knock on the bathroom door, and an annoyed woman on the other end. “You need to open this door. There’s a line of women out here waiting to get in.”
Letting her go reluctantly, I walked out of the stall and opened the door to find a line of glaring women standing with their arms crossed. “Sorry we had a breakdown.”
Their annoyed faces immediately changed to understanding when they saw the woman still crying behind me.
The toilet flushed, and the sink turned on as she washed her hands as I held the door open for the ladies who were most assuredly not pleased to find a man in the women’s bathroom, but still understanding.
When I felt Channing at my back, I grabbed her hand and led her out of the bathroom.
When we reached the end of the hallway, I stopped and pushed her against the wall. “Stay and listen to what Dortea has to say. She’s the DA. Eat your dinner, and wait up for me tonight. I’ll be over when you get off work, okay?”
At her affirming nod, I let my hands slip from her face, and gave her a soft kiss on the lips before leaving her standing against the wall.
I didn’t look back.
I knew she’d follow.
Now I only hoped she’d listen.
Chapter 7
I’m not weird. I’m a limited edition.
-T-shirt
Channing
I walked into my house completely numb.
Would he be there? Or would he not show.
Forgoing the lights, I tossed my bag onto the couch and kicked off my shoes at the corner of the hallway.
My money was on him not showing.
I was afraid that if I let myself hope, that I’d be crushed just like the last time.
Cautiously, I walked towards my bedroom.
I was nearly there when a deep, resonating voice called out from behind me. “Your door is broken.”
I squeaked and turned to find him behind me and staring at me accusingly. Or at least what I could see of him.
Mostly, I could only make out his face and that he was wearing dark clothing.
“Yes, I know it is. That’s why I had that foundation guy come out. My back door stopped closing over five months ago. Now I just have one of those hook and eye locks that you lock from the inside.
He growled low in his throat. “Why didn’t you get the foundation fixed, then?”
My back straightened and I glared at him. “Because I don’t have the money,” I snapped.