26
“I’d say unequivocally that was a success,” Cormac states proudly as he plants his backside in the chair opposite the restaurant. We were starving when we got back to Torres, and Blake pulled up at a Burger Fuel for gourmet burgers and fries for dinner. Blake also ordered a meal for Cormac when he finally showed up after driving the silver wagon into a field just outside the beach town, dousing it in gas, and setting it alight, destroying our DNA.
“Indeed, it was,” Blake agrees, holding out his fist for Blake to bump with his while winking at me.
“Thanks for that, Cormac,” I say bashfully.
“For what?” he plays dumb. “You shot well, Rae. Queen of the machine, you are.”
I snort. “Sure. You got him,” I argue, smiling proudly at my two beautiful men. Girls worldwide would be happy with just one, but I have two. Suck on that, sisters.
“Nah,” he shakes his head, “I struck the living room window just as you hit his head.”
“Really?” I’m so pumped and happy that I hold my fists in the air like a champion. “Yeah, me.”
Blake screws his face up in disbelief. “Are you serious?”
Cormac cocks his eyebrows, and I’m unsure if that means, yes, he is serious or that he’s fucking with me to make me feel better. Either way, I don’t care because the job is done, and it’s a massive weight off my shoulders. I guess I’ll never know if it was my bullet that killed Crow or Cormac’s, but that’s the last time I’ll be trying.
“How did you return to your car after scorching our getaway car?” I ask, then bite into my chicken burger, which is absolutely divine and hits the spot on my empty stomach after not having breakfast.
“Me,” a shadow casts over me, and I look up to see the handsome face of the detective, who pulls out the chair next to his son.
Suddenly self-conscious about my eating habits, I quickly wipe the mayo from my mouth with my paper napkin. “Thank you,” I say to Gabe, who is directly opposite me.
Gabe shrugs and looks at the menu board on the wall behind the counter. “I could use a beef burger.”
“Get the one with bacon,” Cormac tells him, pointing at the burger on his plate. “This is good.”
“Sorry, man,” Blake says sheepishly. I didn’t order for you because I wasn’t sure if you were returning to town immediately.”
Gabe flicks his hand dismissively. “It was clean. There were no witnesses apart from his mistress, so it was cut and dry. Quick job.”
He so enamors me as he speaks, those experienced lips moving, finger tapping on the table, blue eyes running over my cheeks, neck, and hair. I must look like a mess.
“I wonder how his wife would feel once she finds out that Crow has been seeing someone else?” I ponder aloud, thinking about Lyon’s wife and kids, hoping they’ll receive a good inheritance.
Gabe’s eyes fix on my face, holding his gaze as nerves dance about in my chest. “She’s probably glad he’s dead. The greatest cardinal sin is cheating. Women will turn a blind eye if they deal drugs or murders, but as soon as a man cheats, it’s all over.”
I snort, grinning at that analogy. “True.” I push my plate closer to him, offering my fries or a bite of the burger, and he declines. “Being skinned alive is a fitting punishment for cheats.”
“Point taken,” Blake’s charming mannerisms are in full force. “Not that I notice any other woman apart from you.”
“Agreed,” Cormac adds. “You light up a room with your smile and take my breath away.” He’s being sarcastic, but I don’t mind. I know these boys are nuts about me, just like I’m crazy about them.
Blake points his thumb at me, grinning mischievously. “That might be her hot air since she hasn’t bathed today.”
“You turned up when I wasn’t ready and gave me only a couple of minutes to change,” I say, digging my fingernails into his arm. That dimpled smile greets me. I look to Gabe to see if he will add to this flurry of halfhearted compliments, but he remains silent, although he watches me closely, giving nothing away.
“And you took thirty minutes too long,” he hits back, pinching my thigh and kissing my cheek affectionately, making me blush in front of Gabe.
“I hit him,” I say to Gabe, hoping he’d be proud of me. “I hit Crow. I mean…Cormac said I hit him.”
Gabe nods slowly. “Good.” I’m not getting the admiration I desperately want from him, leaving me dissatisfied and irritable.
“So, I guess you win the bet,” I prompt as if he forgot that he had more faith in me than the other two. Even though I’m lying, I hit the acrylic parapet first, but close enough to draw pride out of Gabe.
Those blues moved from my face to looking at Blake. “No more,” he directed, pointing his finger at me. “I don’t want her shooting anymore.”
“Why not?” I ask, noticing that he’s talking about me as if I’m not sitting two feet away from him.
“Your list is complete. There is nothing more for you to do,” he explains calmly, entirely in control of the table.
I protest because there is still one more on the list, and he’s the most difficult one to access since he’s surrounded by staff and bodyguards. “But what about Blac-”
He shakes his head. “No more,” he presses sternly, then looks to Blake again, who nods in understanding. “It’s sorted. Go on with your life, Rae. Go back to normality, your job, and school. Get that degree, go on and have a career, start a family…live your life as you meant to.”
My chest pangs when he says, ‘Start a family,’ giving me the impression that starting a family didn’t include him being part of that. “You want me to forget today?”
“Yes,” his reply stings like hell, and I swallow back the tears. “Pretend that it didn’t happen.”
I clear my throat to compose myself. “Do you want me to move back to my apartment?” I ask.
“You’ll be fine if you do,” he replies as if he knew I would ask. “You’ll be safe back there. They won’t come after you, I can promise that.”
“So, do you want me to leave?” the tears are clouding my eyes, but I shake my head to pull my shit together. I refuse to cry over this.
“It’s your choice,” he exhales as if his patience is running low.
I repeat the question to make what I am asking clear. “Do you want me to move out?”
“The job is done. You don’t need to be there anymore,” his answer fueled my irritation, and I clenched my fist.
“Answer me,” I spit heatedly. “Yes or no. Do you want me to move out?”
He hesitates a few beats before drilling me with those blue eyes. “Yes.”
I’m about to get up and run to the bathroom to splash cold water over my face and eyes, but he pushes his chair back first and stands, so I remain seated, staring at my burger.
“I already packed your bags,” he says smoothly as he stands over me. “You can stay one last night-”
“No,” I snap angrily, refusing to make eye contact. “I’ll leave as soon as I return to your place.”
“Your choice,” he answers indifferently as he walks away, slashing my heart into a million pieces.
***
The atmosphere at the restaurant changed after Gabe left. I wasn’t in the mood for lighthearted conversations and wanted Blake to take me back to Gabe’s, so I could load my car up and go.
Was it the houseplants? No, of course not. It was him seeing me being fucked by his son and Blake over the kitchen table. Or was it because I snuck into his bedroom and fell asleep in his bed that tipped the scales for him?
Who cares? The sooner I’m out of his life, the better.
I sigh in relief to find his car not up the drive, so I kiss Blake goodbye and run inside Gabe’s lakeside house. I don’t stop running until I reach my room. My bag is on my bed, and my clean and dirty clothes are neatly folded inside. I wipe the tears from my cheeks.
I check the drawers and the bathroom to ensure I have everything because I won’t return. For the last time ever, I gaze down the hall at his door and find it open a crack. The desire to plot revenge comes over me, but by the time I push his door open, that desire has evaporated, replaced with gratefulness.
He took me into his home, fed me, and arranged to have my apartment cleaned up after the break-in. Let’s not forget that he also arranged to complete my list with extras, such as planted evidence that leads back to Blackadder.
His room smells of his cologne, and the view of the lake outside his window is beautiful and enticing. I run my hand along his perfectly made navy bed cover, and the scent of new linen rises with each stroke.
“How about one for the road,” I sigh. “It’s not like we’re going see each other again, apart from my relationship with Cormac, so is that going to end too?”
Slipping off my sneakers, I pull back his sheets and crawl inside, bundling myself in his scent. I’ll stay here for a few minutes, nestling into his comfortable mattress.