Page 29 of Death, Interrupted

I didn’t know shit, but I knew he hurt her.

“No, I don’t,” I said instead of pushing her to open up about it. If she wanted to tell me, she would.Though knowing the details would only make me angrier, and maybe then I would actually go through with killing him.

Maybe it was for the best not to know. All I needed to be sure of was that she was happy now.

We let the quiet sit for a while, and when it felt like we could move again, I gave her a half-smile. “For what it’s worth…we’ve found each other, and I’m really glad about that.”

I watched her study me, then she scrunched her nose. “Be honest with me, Sly.”

“Always.”

“You can’t seriously be this infatuated with me.”

I tilted my head. “Why not? You’re a beautiful woman.”

“Thanks, but that’s not what I mean. Don’t you think the way we met is messing with your head? Like you feel responsible, so you think you have to look after me or keep…being interested.”

It was a fair question. I had asked that myself a few times before. But what I landed on was not what she thought. “I don’t like you out of guilt. I like you because my heart almost exploded in my chest the moment I first saw you. And I want to make sure you’re okay because you’re the first person I ever cared about. And I know it sounds cliché or like a lie, but I’m an honest man.”

I was rarely this serious, but I needed her to understand just how much I meant the words I said.

She held my gaze. She was being careful, which I didn’t judge her for. “I don’t want to be anyone’s project. I don’t want to be your redemption arc.”

“You won’t be,” I said. “And I told you before that I will give you all the time and space you need—”

“Yet, you kept stalking me.”

My jaw ticked. “I stalked you with respect.”

That got a real laugh out of her. My heart started to do flips as I watched her throw her head back, exposing her elegant neck. Her long hair fell over her shoulders, and her eyes met mine again. I knew I was done for.

That was it. If I hadn’t fallen in love with her back at the crime scene, I definitely fell now.

“Damn it,” I muttered. “You’d be perfect to tick that off my bucket list.”

“You have a bucket list?” She asked, brows lifting. “Was a kill list not enough?”

And she was mocking me. Yeah, I had to make her mine.

“No.” I grinned and kept my eyes on hers.

“And what thing would I be perfect for?”

The conversation had already moved on from the serious topic we'd just discussed, but I was fine with that. I liked this too. The honesty and openness. Her laugh.Fuck…her perfect laugh.

I pressed my lips together, ready to expose what #2 on my bucket list was. “A hot make-out session to Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon.”

Chapter 11

Sumner

Ihad to be honest with myself. Sly was the kind of guy I’d wished Joey would be. He was funny in a way that wasn’t forced, honest without having to ask for it, and protective without making it controlling. Those were three things I cared about, and Joey had never managed one of them.

The longer we talked, the more I noticed how my body settled. Having Sly across from me felt good. It took the edge off the bad noise in my head. I kepttrying to tell myself not to feel anything, not right now, not in this mess, but he made it hard to ignore the difference. He was kind. He made me laugh, which mattered more than I liked to admit. He kept an eye on me and still gave me space, exactly like I’d asked. He wasn’t pushing. Nothing felt rushed. Maybe I could let him come around more often. Maybe he’d be a good friend. I could start there.

“What else is on that bucket list?” I asked. I was sure there were more fun things on it.

“Many different things. Skydiving, go on a road trip with no real destination, write a romance novel.”