Chapter Three Benson
It’s been a while since I’ve had a drink, longer since I’ve been drunk, but fuck it.
I need something to numb this shitty day.
Motioning to our server—who’s been eye-fucking me since I got here an hour ago—I signal for another round of whiskey.
Usually, I would be all over her silent invitation, but my dick isn’t interested, which pisses me off because I know why.
I’m still in my uniform. I didn’t bother to go home and change. Doesn’t fucking matter anyway. They’ve already stripped me of everything important to me.
“I’m not holding your hair back tonight, Cunningham,” Sawyer says, sitting across from me. Dressed in street clothes, he takes an easy sip from his whiskey tumbler.
His first to my third.
“Don’t worry. I don’t plan on getting that sloppy.”
Leaning forward, he crosses his arms on the table. “Could’ve fooled me.”
The server sets the drink down in front of me, winking at me before she turns and walks away.
Fuck my life.
Nothing would be more satisfying than finding a dark corner or a bathroom stall and fucking my pretty waitress until all images of Karmen have been burned from my mind for good, but I know that won’t happen. I’ve been trying for years to fuck that woman out of my system with zero success.
Sawyer eyes me carefully as I toss my whiskey back in one gulp, welcoming the warm burn before slamming the glass down on the table harder than I mean to.
Why does it have to be her?
Why does it have to be the one woman I’ve never been able to shake? The one woman who was able to twist me into so many knots, I’ll spend the rest of my miserable life trying to untangle them. “Tell me exactly what happened,” he demands.
Levi Sawyer is a no-bullshit kind of guy.
He doesn’t care about feelings or emotions, just the facts.
We’ve been close friends since I started at the department.
I’ve tried to get him to come over to my unit multiple times, but he loves the thrill of the streets.
I can’t blame him. I miss it myself sometimes.
Less politics and bullshit.
“I can’t believe they suspended you.”
“They took my badge, my gun, everything. They’re treating me like I’m a fucking criminal.”
“What I want to know is how the hell the drugs have gone missing from our lockup without a trace, not a camera glitch, nothing?”
I let out a heavy breath. “Someone cloned my fingerprint.”
He coughs, choking on his beer. “What?”
“That’s the only explanation I can come up with because it sure as shit wasn’t me. Someone in my unit is dirty, and they want me to be the fall guy.”
“Fuck, man, that’s—is that even possible?”
I shrug, staring down at the table. “With AI these days, anything is possible.”
He nods in agreement. “Who’s investigating?”
The image of her flashes through my mind like a lightning bolt to the chest. “Agent Karmen Ashford.”
Sawyer blinks, mouth gaping. “Your Karmen?”
Back when I first started, and the pain was still fresh, I told Sawyer all about the woman who broke my heart.
Was she ever truly mine?
It doesn’t matter. She damn sure isn’t now.
“How the hell are they even allowing her to take this case?”
Leaning back in my chair, I cross my arms. “Because they have no idea. She acted like she didn’t even know me.”
My jaw tightens at the reminder.
Sawyer grunts. “Jesus, Cunningham. You had the perfect opportunity to call her out. You should have, after what she did to you.”
He’s right. I should have, but I didn’t, because Karmen Ashford still has me by the balls, no matter how much I want to pretend otherwise.
“Look, just tell me what I can do to help,” he says. “I got your back, man, always.”
I shake my head. “I appreciate it, but you just keep your nose clean. I don’t need you being dragged into this with me.”
“Fuck that. You’ve saved my ass more than once. I’m not sitting this one out. Tell me what you need, and I’ve got you.”
“This could fuck up your career. You know that, right?”
He leans forward, his eyes flickering with determination. “Let’s find the rat and make sure they never crawl out of their fucking hole again.”