“You mean, why did I date someone like Kenzo?”
“Yeah.”
“Well,” she sipped her tea. “You know how I told you that Kenzo was popular, athletic, a jock?”
“Yeah.”
“I was none of the above.”
“I refuse to believe that the daughter of a millionaire didn’t have a group of friends.”
She looked at me, cocked her head. “Do you think money makes people more valuable?”
“Without question.”
“That’s a very short-sided, cynical way to look at the world.”
“You obviously came from a lot of it.”
“You didn’t?”
“No.”
When I didn’t expand on the subject, she pried. “What wereyoulike in high school?”
I almost laughed at the image that popped into my head.
“I was a tall, gangly, unathletic kid with braces, who also happened to be the captain of the math clubandthe science club. I was smart, which made me a nerd. And I was dirt poor which made me a target.”
“Ah,” she said. “Therefore shaping your jaded view about money.”
“Absolutely. I won’t deny that. Money makes life easier, opens doors, creates opportunities I never had.”
“I think you opened your own door, Jagg. Your reputation from your time in the Navy precedes you. Rumors are you were the youngest officer to ever be named chief. And after you moved back here, you were promoted to detective after only a year working the beat. People fear you. Respect you… Why did you leave?”
“Leave what?” I knew what she was asking, and God help me I didn’t want to get into it.
“Leave the military. The teams.”
I swallowed deeply, wiped my mouth. “I was deemed unfit for active duty.”
“Why?”
I shifted. “My back. Got hurt during a mission that went sideways. Suicide vest, ten feet from me.”
She stilled, blinked. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m one of many, trust me on that. And in most cases, in better shape.”
“I don’t consider carrying a bottle of pills in your pocket every day, better shape.”
I looked down at my pocket, where, sure enough, theoutline of a pill bottle was visible. “How did you notice that?”
“You’ve had a bottle in your pocket every time I’ve seen you.”
I blinked, realizing she was right. Every morning when I left the house, I slid the bottle into my pocket… how many days had I’d done this? When was the last day Ihadn’ttaken a pain pill?
I glanced up, into her eyes, into a pair of green irises saying so much with nothing at all.
