Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“I agree,” Yamane chimed in. “Kage and the Feds and Homeland, they don’t want to cause a panic, so it will be one of those press bulletins where this individual is a person of interest and that’s it.”
“I love how it’s true but not at the same time,” Pazzi said, then grinned at Bodhi. “And by the way, when Redeker was my partner, he never got shot.”
It took a second for what came out of his mouth to sink in, and then a few more for me to realize he was trying to be funny.
“Holy shit,” I murmured. “Have you got a death wish or what?”
I had to give Yamane credit, he moved really fast to intercept Bodhi. With my bum shoulder, there was no way I could have kept him from killing Pazzi.
“What did you just say?” Bodhi roared as Yamane, with the quick help of Cho, shoved him up against the wall of the elevator.
“Wait, I was kidding!” Pazzi shouted.
“What the fuck did you just say?”
Oh, he was mad, like seeing-red-in-a-rage mad, and he was moving around, trying to get free but not wanting to hurt Cho or Yamane. His regard for them was the only reason he didn’t punch Pazzi through the steel wall of the elevator.
“Oh my God, Eric!” Lopez yelled at him. “Are you insane?”
“That was an evacuation protocol, you stupid sonofabitch!” Cho barked at him as she held on to the man I loved. “Do you even think before words come out of your mouth?”
“I was kidding!” Pazzi protested loudly.
“When I tell Doyle, he’s going to murder you,” Lopez stated with absolute certainty.
“No, don’t do that,” he begged her.
When the elevator stopped, Lopez shoved him off, even though we had ten floors to go.
“Come on, man,” he made his plea to Bodhi, “I’m sorry. It was funny and—”
“It wasn’t funny,” Yamane assured his partner, hitting the button to close the door before turning to Bodhi. “I’m sorry. He’s an idiot, but I also know he didn’t mean it in a bad way. Not at all. He was just trying to make us laugh.”
“Between his comment and the broken earpiece,” Bodhi told him, “I will beat the shit out of him, and no one’s going to stop me.”
“No, they won’t,” Cho agreed. “Kage has given him a chance to redeem himself, but idiotic comments like that will not make our boss happy, and we all know it.”
“I know,” Yamane said with a sigh. “He’s awkward sometimes.”
“He’s a waste of a badge,” Bodhi said, his voice a rasp of icy disgust.
The car was silent as we descended.
“Nobody’s mad at you, you know that,” I made clear to Yamane. “And sticking up for your partner is admirable.”
He nodded.
We all faced forward when people joined us on the sixth floor, and even when they got off two floors down, the subject remained closed. When Pazzi tried to get on when we hit the third, Bodhi just shook his head. It would take him a minute to get over that. He was not in a forgiving mood.
Bodhi and I drove to my place, and since my keys had the fob for the garage door, we parked in there.
“There’s an opener upstairs that we’ll put in your car,” I told him.
“Yeah, it’s nice in here. My car likes it.”
I chuckled as we got out. “Is that right?”
“Yep,” he assured me. “Feels like it was meant to be.”
It did to me as well.
Trudging up the stairs, I realized how bone tired I was. We’d been gone such a short time, but it felt like forever.
“There’s nothing in your fridge,” he told me, walking toward the front door. “I checked before we left. Since we gotta eat, I’m going to run down to the deli and get us—”
“No,” I said, stepping in front of him. “Just have something delivered. Kage wouldn’t want either of us to be alone. It’s not safe.”
“Kage wouldn’t want?” he baited me with a smirk.
“Fine. I don’t want you out of my sight.”
“All right, then.”
We stood there staring at each other, and it seemed so normal and easy. And yes, we were in a crisis, but at the same time, I felt so good.
Bodhi said, “I’ll order soup and sandwiches, and we’ll take a shower and eat and go to bed.”
“Go to bed?”
He shook his head at me. “You’re such a perv.”
“No, I just, you know, have been thinking about it since we met, is all.”
“Me too, but you are hurt and tired, and that is not what I call a recipe for a memorable night or day or whatever it is now.”
“Morning,” I told him.
“Okay,” he said, then chuckled.
“What?”
“I’m imagining falling asleep while giving you a blowjob.”
“Stop.”
“Forehead on the dick,” he said, cracking himself up.
I scowled at him, which only made him laugh more, and he was basically useless because of more images like that one running through his head.