“But they did things to you.”
I shrugged. “It was mostly just beating the shit out of me. Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
“And what happened that nobody trusted you?”
“We had been betrayed and nobody knew where I was. It looked like I just disappeared. It was wrong, but we were under attack and I was the missing link.”
“And you want to work for people that didn’t trust you?”
“They’re my family. Yeah, it took me a while to get over it. I was pissed for a long time, but they would have never thought that if things weren’t so fucked up. And holding onto that anger, no matter how much it was deserved, would have torn me up inside. So I chose forgiveness.”
“And what if that happens again? What if you get taken on a job or you get shot in the heart like Ice? Am I supposed to just accept that?”
“Yes. Because you love me and I love you. I won’t ever do anything to purposely get hurt-”
“You mean like having Alec shoot you on the job so that you could win me back.”
I flushed bright red. “Okay, to clarify, I didn’t ask him to shoot me. But no, I’ll never do anything like that again. If you just stay with me, I’ll do anything to make sure that I always come home to you.”
“Except leave the job that puts your life in danger.”
I didn’t say anything. What did she want me to do? She knew why I joined the military, and that was the same reason I was in security. It was all to protect people that couldn’t protect themselves. Not every job was like that, but most were. And it was rewarding to know that I was helping others. But she wanted me to ditch all that to be the boring spouse.
“Look, I just want a divorce. I’m not asking you to change who you are. I’m just asking that you realize that this isn’t going to work and let me walk away.”
But I was stubborn and that was never gonna happen. “No.”
Her whole body tightened in anger. “Fine. I’m going to start dating. A piece of paper that I didn’t want to sign in the first place means nothing to me.”
She opened her door and got in, slamming it and peeling out of the driveway.
“That went well,” Alec said from behind me.
“I’ll figure it out.”
“Maybe you should just walk away. I know you love her, but this train has been going down the wrong track for too long. Besides, do you really want a woman that doesn’t want you?”
I turned around and glared at him. “You don’t know what it’s like when we’re together. You see this and you think I’m chasing a woman that doesn’t want me. But she loves me, and if you could see the way we are when she just lets this all go, you would see that what we have is worth fighting for.”
I stormed past him, but he grabbed my arm, stopping me beside him. “I’ve been where you are. You know what it was like with Florrie and me. Sometimes walking away is for the best.”
“Reese isn’t Florrie though. She won’t come to her senses. She’ll walk away and think it’s for the best. I would lose her forever.”
“Then just walk away. She’s not worth it.”
I jerked my arm from his grip. “She’s worth everything.”
CHAPTER FORTY
Reese
I waited in the restaurant for twenty minutes before my date finally showed up. I hated waiting. Craig would never make me wait. I shook my head in frustration. I couldn’t think about what Craig would or wouldn’t do. If I was going to move on, I just had to rip off the bandaid. And if Craig wouldn’t give me a divorce, I would just have to go out on dates until he realized that we weren’t staying together.
I stood as the man approached, but he didn’t seem to notice and just sat down. Feeling like an idiot for standing, I sat back down and took a sip of my wine. The man was okay looking. Compared to Craig, most men were just okay in general. He was tall and had blonde hair, but it was shaggy and that really wasn’t my thing. And then there was his outfit. He put in absolutely no effort. His tie was hanging loosely from his neck and his shirt was wrinkled, like he picked it up off the floor after it had been there for a week. He also had a weird eye twitch that made my eye twitch every time I looked at him.
“So, Reyna, right?”
“Reese.”
“Right. Right. I’m Steven.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Were you working late?”
He looked at me in confusion. “No.”
“Oh.” I grabbed my glass and took a huge gulp of wine. But then he sat up and it appeared that he was collecting himself.
“You’re a school teacher.”
“Yes. I teach kindergarten.”
“Lots of germs.”
“Well, you get used to it,” I said with a smile. God, this was painful.
“I’m an accountant.”
“Oh. Is that exciting?”
“No.”
“Oh, well, I’m sure you have to be really smart to work with numbers all the time.”
“Yes.”
I tapped my finger on the table, trying to figure out what to say next. If I could get a response out of him that actually furthered conversation, that would be helpful.
“So, what do you do in your free time?”
“Free time?”
“Yes. Like, when you’re not at work.”
“I eat dinner and go to bed. I start work early.”
“Oh.” God, I wish I had something other to say than ‘oh’.
We sat in awkward silence for the next five minutes until the waiter came by to take our orders. When the waiter left, there was just silence again. And he seemed perfectly fine with it. It was like he had absolutely no desire to speak at all.
“My little Reese’s Pieces!” My head shot up in relief and anger when Craig stepped up to the table. How could he just show up here when I was on a date? On the other hand, this gave me the perfect excuse to walk away. “Brooke told me you were here.”
“She did, huh?”
“Yeah.” He pulled up a chair and sat down with us. “Hey, I’m Craig.”
“Steven.”
“Hi, Steven. What do you do for a living?”
“Accountant.”
“Wow,” Craig grinned. “That’s sounds…exciting. Doesn’t that sound exciting, my little sprite?”
“Yes,” I said through clenched teeth. It was one thing for him to show up, it was another for him to be rude.
“So, Steven. Did my little woman tell you that we’re married?”
“No,” Steven responded with absolutely zero feeling. It was like he didn’t even care. If a random guy walked up to me and started hitting on me, would he care? This sucked.
“Yeah, we’ve been married all of a week. And then she just up and left me. Yeah, it hurt deep down, but you know how it is,” he grinned. “You either fight like hell or you move on. Am I right?”
“Sure.”
I eyed Craig, trying to convey to him that he was going to have to start some kind of fight to get me out of here.
“So, tell me, Reese, what does Steven have that I don’t?”
I rolled my eyes. Why did Craig have to be so dense? Either that or he was purposely dragging this out to torture me.
“I don’t know Steven, so I couldn’t say.”
“Yeah, but let’s look at this realistically. Steven, you work how many hours a week?”
“Seventy-two.”
“Seventy-two. Wow, that’s a lot of hours. Now, I work a lot too, but I have down time between jobs. Actually,” he started laughing like he was telling a really funny joke. “I’m off for a while because I was recently shot three times. In the ass, the foot, and the leg. Talk about bad luck.”
Steven still didn’t say anything.
“What about guns? How do you feel about those?”
“They’re bad.”
“They’re bad,” Craig repeated. “Well, Reese, if you don’t want a guy that has guns, then you should definitely go with Steven. He’s the safer choice. That is,
unless your house gets broken into. Then, I guess you just have to wait for someone to show up.”
“I have my bat,” I said testily.
He slapped himself on the forehead. “That’s right. I completely forgot. And that will really come in handy if someone comes to rob your silverware.” He nodded for a moment and then turned back to Steven. “So, how are you at hand-to-hand combat?”
“Craig!”
“I’ve never studied.”
“Really? A strapping young man such as yourself? You should stop by the company sometime. I’d be glad to show you a few things.”
“No, thank you.”
“Well, I think this has been enlightening.” Craig slapped his palms on the table and gave me a peck on the cheek before leaving. I smiled awkwardly at Steven. The thing was, Craig was right all around. Steven wasn’t the man for me, and there was no point sitting around here pretending that he would be.
“I’m sorry, Steven, but I think it would be wrong to sit here with you after what you just heard. I am married. I’m so sorry.”
“Goodnight.”
The waiter brought our food as I stood and Steven dug right into his food, not even bothering to give me a second look. When I got outside, Craig was leaning against the building, like he knew I would leave.
“What the hell was that?”
“That was me reminding you who you’re married to.”
“Like I could forget,” I spat back. “At least you’re predictable.”
“How’s that?”
“You’re still stalking me!”
He bobbed his head back and forth. “Technically, this wasn’t stalking. Brooke called and told me you would be here.”
“Of course she did.”
“And she thought that as your husband, I would want to know where you were so that I could look out for you.”
“So you could ruin my date, you mean.”
“Oh, come on, Reese. That guy was as boring as mud. He didn’t even try to have any kind of conversation with you. And he was twenty minutes late!”
I gasped. “How did you know that?”
“Because I followed you here and I’ve been watching from outside. Also…I may have planted a microphone on your purse so that I could hear the conversation. The way I see it, you needed the rescue.”
“But you didn’t rescue me! You ruined the date and then left.”
“Yes, but I did mention that you were married. That ended the date and you know it.”
“Fine. Let’s say that he wasn’t the most interesting man. What you did in there was so rude, trying to point out how he couldn’t rescue me because he didn’t know hand-to-hand combat. Like I need rescuing! You live in a fantasy world where there is always a damsel in distress. But I’m not one of those girls and I never will be!”
He spun me around, gently shoving me against the wall where he once stood. His knee nudged between my legs so he was nestled against my body. “Go ahead. Keep dating douchebags. I’ll keep showing up and proving that I’m the better choice.”
He kissed me hard, sucking me into his life with every swipe of his tongue against mine. He pulled away suddenly, and then he was gone, leaving me shaking with need against the building.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Craig
“Goddammit!” I shouted, slamming my fist into the locker.
“Problems?” Sinner asked as he stepped out of the shower.
“She’s going on another fucking date.”
He nodded, stepping over to his locker and grabbing his clothes. “Did you try yoga with her?”
“When exactly would I have done that? She doesn’t even want to be in the same room with me.”
“Look,” he stepped over to me, glancing around the room really quick. “I know a guy-”
“I’m not murdering anyone.”
“That’s not what I’m suggesting. I think we need to do a little snatch and grab.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I know this guy that’s an actor at one of the Benedum Center For Performing Arts. We snatch her real date and swap him out for this guy. He’s an actor. He can play it anyway you want.”
“What would we do with the guy that we snatch?”
“You know, kidnapping isn’t completely out of your realm.”
“No,” I shook my head. “I’m not kidnapping some other dude and replacing him with an actor. She needs to see that anyone she dates is wrong for her. It has to be someone real.”
“Well, it’s not like I suggested you replace him with a dummy. Of course this guy’s real.”
“You know what I mean. No, I’ll show up just like I did the last four times she’s gone on a date. I don’t know where she’s getting these guys from. None of them are even close to her type.”
I grabbed my stuff out of my locker and headed out.
“So, that’s a no on the actor?” Sinner shouted.
I didn’t stop and talk. I got out of the building as quickly as possible and ran for my truck. I was just about to leave when Alec stepped in front of my truck with Florrie.
“Move,” I said after I rolled down my window. “I have to get to Reese.”
“Is she okay?” Florrie asked.
“She’s fine. She’s just going out on another date.”
Alec rolled his eyes. “Alright, lets go.”
“What?”
“Come on, this is ridiculous. Every time you show up, you make things worse. Florrie and I will go with you and we’ll spy on her for you.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. What time is the date?”
“An hour.”
“Florrie and I will grab some stuff and we’ll meet you at the location. Text me the address.”
“On it.”
I headed right to the restaurant that Brooke told me they would be at and found a good place to park so that I could see most of the restaurant. Alec and Florrie showed up forty-five minutes later and climbed in the truck with me.
“Alright, after her date shows up, Florrie will go in and plant a bug at the table. We’ll wait in here. You need to know how the date goes when you don’t show up.”
“Fine,” I grumbled. I didn’t like it, but he had a point. I needed to see how she acted on the date and use that to my advantage.
“I think that’s him,” Florrie said, pointing to some douchebag in a sport coat.
“How do you know?”
“Because, I talked to Brooke and she gave me the rundown. That has to be him.”
“You’re awfully chummy with Brooke,” I pointed out. Florrie didn’t get chummy with most people.
“Yeah, well, she’s cool. I like her style. Besides, the only girl friend I have is Lola and we’re more teammates than anything.”
“So, you hang out with Brooke?”
Florrie shrugged. “I’ve taken her shooting.”
“And? How was it?”
She grinned, sighing slightly. “It was…everything I had hoped it would be.”
“Just so you know,” Alec interrupted. “I’m not sharing, even if it is with a girl.”
“Shut up,” she said, slapping Alec. “It’s not like that. Okay, I’m going in.”
I turned my attention back to the restaurant. The sport coat had just sat down and Reese was smiling at him.
“That’s not good. She’s smiling.”
“Maybe he’s funny.”
“I’m funny,” I snapped. “She doesn’t need anyone else to be funny with.”
“Maybe he has a quality to him.”
“Like what?”
“You know, a certain quality.”
I stared at him. “No, I don’t know. What quality?”
“Look, I don’t know. Some guys just have something about them that makes them likable. You know, like Sinner is devastatingly charming. He can’t help it. All the ladies love him. And Cazzo has that whole broody thing going on. Plus the nipple ring. Something about that just gets the ladies going. And th
en there’s Knight. He’s so dark and…something. I don’t get it, but again-”
“The ladies love it. Yeah, I’m getting that. So, what’s my quality?”
“Your quality?”
“Yeah, I’ve got to have something. I mean, I kidnapped Reese and manipulated her into marrying me, but she still said she loves me.”
“Okay, well, if I had to guess I would say…you’re quirky.”
“Quirky? That’s what you’re giving me?”
“Hey, I’m not a chick. Maybe there’s something else.”
“Still, you could say that I’m devastatingly handsome or I’m deadly with a weapon, but you go for quirky? I’m hurt, man. Seriously.”
“I’m sorry. What the fuck do you want me to say? Yeah, you’re sexy as fuck and any lady would be lucky to have you. I mean, you have those really big, vibrant eyes and, yeah, you’re deadly with a weapon.”
I looked back at the restaurant and raised my binoculars. “It just feels like you’re saying that to placate me.”
“Fine, you’re amazing. Alright? There, I said it. I don’t get what the fuck is going through Reese’s head. She has one of the best guys I know, and she’s being a fool. That’s what I really think.”
I turned back to him and raised an eyebrow. “I wonder what Dr. Sunshine would have to say about that declaration.”
His fist shot out and punched me in the eye. “Ow!”
“You’re an asshole.”
“Still, you didn’t have to punch me. You know, I think you have some passive-aggressive issues that you need to deal with. First, shooting me in the foot and the leg, then punching me in the face. Seriously, I think you need to see a counselor.”
“You practically forced me to say that shit!”
“I think Dr. Sunshine would say that you have repressed feelings.”
“I think Dr. Sunshine would wonder why the fuck you’re goading me.”
“Hey, Florrie’s at the table.”
We both looked through our binoculars as Florrie approached Reese.
“Hey, Reese. Are you on a date?”
“Um…yeah.”
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