Page 20 of Parting Shot

The way he asked, nonchalantly, like it didn’t matter one way or the other, was completely betrayed by the way he chewed the inside of his left cheek. Like I wasn’t a police detective, trained to look at the whole person, or as though details were ever lost on me.

“I’d like to,” I replied sincerely. “But who would I be?”

“What are you talking about?”

I fixed him with a stare. “I mean, am I your bodyguard, a friend? Who am I?”

He walked to the window, stood there, and crossed his arms.

“I’m not tryin’ to be a dick,” I said honestly. “I just need to know.”

He made a noise of understanding, a hum and a sort of grunt.

“Either way, I can’t touch you, so⁠—”

“I got it,” he cut me off.

We were quiet, and in the silence, the buzz of his cell phone was loud.

He stalked across the room to it and checked the display. Anger flared across his beautiful features as he took the helmet off and tucked it under his arm before answering. “Yes,” he said sharply into the phone, and I was surprised that whoever was on the other end was on speaker.

“You can’t hide forever, Aaron,” the man barked. “And the board is convening in a week to hear the charges.”

“All right.”

“You’re awfully cavalier.”

“How else would you have me be?”

“I’d prefer that the rumors were true,” the man on the other end snarled at Aaron. “That you’re a womanizer and not a sodomite.”

“Anything else?”

“You will be charged with moral turpitude.”

“So you’ve said.”

“You will be removed, and I will be reinstated!”

“Think what you will.”

“You should be worried. When you’re out, I’ll take everything, and you’ll be on the street, where men like you belong.”

“Men like me,” Aaron scoffed. “Whatever. It’s not going to happen like that.”

“I think you underestimate your own board. Your dalliances undermine the credibility of this company and will no longer reflect poorly on Sutter.”

“I assume I’ll get a memo of the date and time of this witch hunt?”

“But here’s the thing,” the man sighed. “This time, it’s not a witch hunt. This time, we have proof.”

“I’m sure you do.”

“Jaden Cobb.”

“What about him?”

“He lived with you, and you put him through cooking school after you two broke up.”