Princess she-devil:I make no promises.
“Who has you grinning like you’ve just discovered porn?” Caleb sniggers.
“Charming,” Alfie butts in, shaking my hand and slapping me on the back.
“Yeah, yeah, shut your holes and listen. I don’t have a lot of time, and I have plans later.”
“Fucking Katie, yeah, we know,” Caleb’s laugh booms loud enough for another table to look over.
I point my finger right in his face. “Don’t talk about her like that.”
“Whoa.” He holds his hands up. “Easy, tiger. I was just playing. It’s me, Caleb, your friend. No need to hulk out.”
If I hadn’t known the guy for fifteen years, I would have slapped him already. But Caleb is like this: he pushes your buttons until you’re ready to snap. Unfortunately for me, he knows exactly which buttons to push, so I react immediately.
“Help me, please?” I look at Alfie.
“Let’s get to the point, shall we? I also have plans this evening,” he says in that dry tone of his.
“Yeah, fucking Mia, we know.” Caleb laughs as Alfie’s jaw twitches, his fist clenching on top of the table. “Yeesh, you two are so boring since you’ve fallen in love.”
I feel heat spiraling around my body, like one of those twirly firecrackers that start exploding off at random times. Feelings...emotions. Sleeping with Katie is making me have these dumb needs, and now I’ve got to have this conversation with these two idiots to make sense of it all. We’re like the blind leading the blind.
“Oh my God, you have fallen in love with her.” Caleb laughs, and Alfie’s eyes widen, flashing with curiosity.
He’s not wrong, but he thinks this is a new development, and it’s not. I’ve been in love with her since I was eighteen. I’ve just been too stupid to ignore it and not fix things until now.
“It might not matter if I don’t sort out this pickle I’m in.”
“I believe Katie’s favorite flowers are sunflowers,” Alfie says.
“I haven’t messed anything up...yet. And her favorite flowers are tulips, dickwad,” I say.
His grin stretches slowly, and he gives me a nod as if I’d just passed a test. I run my hand over my eyes, wondering where to begin.
“My boss is transferring me to the East Coast,” I say, rubbing a hand over my mouth.
Caleb and Alfie’s jaws slacken, mouths parted like a pair of goldfish. Open, close. Open, close. The only noise is the low hum of other patrons and the sound of a coffee machine whirring in the background.
“Well, hey there. My name is Rachel. Can I get you boys a drink too?” our server asks, pressing a few buttons on her iPad.
“We’re gonna need a minute, Rachel,” I say as the guys have yet to remember how to use their voices. I thought talking to them would help, but they’ve been fucking useless so far since I dropped the bombshell.
“No worries, macaronies. I’ll be back in two.” She skips off to another table, and I wait for the boys to start using their brains.
“What happened? I thought you were settled here. They promised you wouldn’t have to move,” Caleb says.
It’s hard to explain to civilians. But if the military tells you to do something, you do it. You don’t get a lot of say. And I’d been lucky enough to be based here for the long term. It would have been longer if not for the case. There’s never been a problem before, so I’m being punished for not getting the case under military control and then not getting it closed quickly enough. The colonel seems to think I can manipulate an entire police department when I have no experience workingcrime scenes before. It’s odd, more than odd really, but I can’t exactly call the man out on it. He runs the show, and the rest of us sayyes, sir, no, sirwhen required.
“He’s the colonel. He can do whatever the hell he likes.”
“Man, this is so shit. What are you going to do? Fuck...does Katie know?” Caleb asks, his eyes widening as if it’s just occurred to him that Katie and I have finally progressed our relationship, and now I’m going to be leaving. It was my first thought when I got the call, and the reason I’ve called these idiots before talking to her about it. I don’t want to ruin what we’re doing here, but how can I keep her safe from her demons when I’m on the other side of the country?
“Not yet, I’m going to talk to her tonight. But...”
“But you want to keep being with her,” Alfie adds.
I nod before pushing my fingers into my brows. What the hell am I going to do? The girl I’ve been obsessed with for years is giving me a fighting chance, and some old prick is going to take that away from me. Just as she was healing, hell, just as we were healing. I’m furious. I’m ready to quit, or go AWOL if they don’t let me stay. The old goblin can go suck on a turd for all I care. My home is here. My life is here.
