page29 (1/2)

I’d killed ive a fuck about them personally With Joe… He wasn’t like anyone else He confused my priorities I didn’t know if I wanted to win or win by losing He comproht, but it was too late for that, and I wasn’t sorets

The house reh the closet I found a fireproof lockbox sitting on the floor in a corner I defeated the lock easily and popped it open Right on top was Angelo’s ring in an evidence bag I shoved it into my pocket, then opened the file underneath it I expected it to be Joe’s notes on the fire at Sergio’s house It wasn’t It was a folder full of notes aboutback to high school, a list of things Joe suspected I was involved in for which I’d never been charged, a list of people he thought were s he wanted to know, like my real name

I ses I should probably be disturbed that he’d spent thisme, but I wasn’t I was thrilled He was just as obsessed with one a day without thinking of me Did he jerk off to memories of the times we’d fucked like I did?

“Find anything interesting?”

I froze I’d been so caught up in finding out what Joe had written aboutaround I wondered if subconsciously I’d wanted to get caught I wanted Joe again I had no doubt about that, but this was madness

I shouldn’t be in his house I should be confessing to Lucien and Angelo about what I’d done to get us into thisto do all this onstubborn and too ashaain I’d made with Joe We did dirty work for other people all the time, and we had contacts at the police departh He was, at least in his ood cop, a man who believed in the rule of law, a man who believed I was a dirty criminal who deserved to be punished for all I’d done He was the eneht of how Lucien would look at me if I told him the whole truth, that I was absolutely captivated by Joe, that I was probably falling for him That hat made me feel sick to my stomach

“Stand up, turn around, and put your hands on the door frame,” Joe demanded

My pulse pounded inout h to actually shoot me?

I turned and did as he said, positioning ainst the door fra you here”

He pressed his lips together, and I could tell he was fighting a smile “Are you ever serious?”

I shrugged “Why bother when it’s so much more fun to be the way I am?”

“You shot a man and set fire to the house he was in Now I can add breaking and entering and stealing evidence to the list of charges”

“You don’t have anything to tie me to a murder or a fire”

“I have the ring”

“I left it with a jeweler It must’ve been stolen”