“Don’t pretend you don’t know where this is going, Mia.If we hadn’t been interrupted today, we both know I wouldn’t have stopped at kissing you.”
“I find it hard to believe that you came all this way just for that.”
“I came all this way for you.I’ve given you your space.It’s time to stop running.”
“I’ve been right here for three years.Where have you been?”She took off her hip holster and hung it on the wall next to her bedroom door.“Oh, right.The job was more important than we were.I remember now.”
“We were a team, Mia.We’d still be a team if you hadn’t left.We could’ve had both.”
“You’re the only one that wanted both.I just wanted you.I guess I’m just different from you, Zeke.The body and mind can only withstand so much torture, and I watched enough friends die to last a lifetime.There comes a time when you have to evaluate your priorities and decide what’s really important.What we had—what we could’ve had—was never important enough to you.I’m going to take a shower.You can stay or leave.It’s your choice.”
Mia went into her bedroom and peeled out of the jeans and tank she’d worked in all day.She’d loved being a cop.But watching her best friend executed in front of her eyes had been the last straw.It was part of the job—putting your life on the line every day—but knowing it could happen and seeing it happen were two very different things.
She’d carved out a good life for herself.It had been a risk taking her entire pension and putting it into Pawn to Queen.But she’d made it work, and she’d been turning a nice profit for the last couple of years.Her life as a cop was in the past.She’d left everything behind to start a new life where the nightmares weren’t constantly screaming in her head.Zeke was part of that past, and she had no desire to make it her future.
Though the lie wasn’t sitting as easily as it once had.
What she needed was a shower, some time to think, and a good night’s sleep.She just needed a little more time to prepare mentally.Zeke had been the love of her life.And she’d worked very hard over the last three years to cauterize that wound in her heart.He wouldn’t stay.He couldn’t.Too many lives and operations depended on him.So all she had to do was keep her distance and keep her heart out of it.
“Stupid,” she said, shaking her head.
Her bedroom was white.White walls, white furniture, white rug, and white bedspread.But she’d added color with bold paintings on the walls—pieces she’d loved enough that she’d decided not to sell in the shop.Gem-hued pillows sat on the bed, varied in size and shape, and the throw across the chair in the corner was emerald green.She liked pretty things.Had learned to appreciate them, as well as having the personal satisfaction of being able to choose each piece because she’d worked hard.
She grabbed a pair of thin gray drawstring pants from the drawer and a loose black long-sleeve T-shirt.Before heading to the bathroom, she retrieved the music box from her backpack and tucked it into the small safe in her closet—top shelf, behind the stack of sweaters.Whatever people were willing to threaten her over deserved better security than a bag sitting in her living room.Then she went into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.Not that a lock would keep him out.
She found herself lingering beneath the hot spray, the scent of lemons from the soap she used permeating the air.And it wasn’t long before she realized she wasn’t stalling and giving herself the extra time to think.She’d already made up her mind.Part of her was waiting—hoping—for him to be there when she came out.To tell her he’d changed.That things could be different.
Her senses were heightened, her pulse pounding.She listened for any sound from the other room, but he never came.By the time she turned the water off, the anticipation had turned into disappointment.
Mia toweled off quickly and put on her clothes.She knew what he was doing.She expected him to push—to move things to the next level and assert his presence—and so he did the opposite and stayed back on purpose.Just to drive her crazy.Their life had been one constant chess game of the mind after the other.It was exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time.It wasn’t often a person found that kind of challenge in someone they loved.
When she came out of the bedroom she was even more surprised to find him stretched out on her sofa, his eyes closed and his breathing even.
“I’m not asleep,” he said.
“Whatever you say.Are you going to tell me why you’re really here, Zeke?And what you want from me?”
It was a good question.One that didn’t necessarily have just one answer.He made a decision and hoped it was the right one.They could deal with the rest later.
“You want to know why I came here?”he asked, sitting up.
Her eyes widened slightly.“That would be a start.”
“If I tell you will you feed me dinner?”he asked.
“No.”
“It’s been a while since we’ve had a real conversation,” he said, ignoring her refusal.
“I don’t think we ever were good at those.I’m pretty sure we argued more than we talked.”
“An oversight on both our parts.We should talk.”
“Three years too late.But I can put a frozen pizza in the oven.Mrs.Baker downstairs gives me things to put in the freezer because she’s afraid I’ll starve.”
“If she made it, I’ll eat it,” he said.
Mia kept her hands busy by putting the pizza in the oven and grabbing two bottles of beer from the fridge.She tossed him one and he snatched it out of the air with a quick flick of his wrist.
