Page 40 of Wicked Truths
“I didn’t want to drive distracted, so I pulled over.” It’s not illegal to park in a public parking lot, so what’s his deal?
He looks toward Francesca. “Where are you two headed at this late hour?”
She glances at me for a moment before saying, “We are heading home. We just picked up our grocery order from the store.”
She gestures to the back seat, and the officer looks at the bags of groceries.
“Well, I think it’s best if you two head on home and don’t make any more stops along the way.”
Before he can walk too far away, I stop him. “Excuse me, officer, can you tell me exactly what law we are breaking by enjoying a nice summer evening out and where it says that we have to head straight home from the grocery store?”
Francesca grabs my arm and whispers, “Rhett, what the hell are you doing? Are you trying to get us arrested?”
I shake my head and whisper back, “Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”
The officer leans through the open window and clenches his jaw. “Do I need to remind you I’m an officer of the law? I can have you thrown in jail and your truck impounded faster than I can snap my fingers.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “Yes, please do that, because then I can file harassment and unlawfularrest charges against you because this entire interaction is being recorded, and before you tell me that’s illegal, it’s not illegal to record in public. At least not in this state.”
His gaze immediately goes to my dash camera, where the red light shows that it’s recording, before he glares at me.
He lowers his voice and hisses out, “There’s a new graduating class of officers and we aren’t going to continue letting things slide because of who you work for. Pass that message on to your co-workers. We run this town, not you.”
“Well, how about you take that up with your superiors? They support theteam, and I think you should, too.”
Without another word, he storms back to his car.
Francesca removes her hand from my arm. “Oh my God, Rhett. For a moment there, I thought you were going to get arrested.”
“I told you I knew what I was doing.” I look into the rearview mirror and watch the officer get in his car and call someone.
“Did you piss that officer off? He seems to have it out for you.” She turns in her seat to look out the back window.
“I’ve never met him before tonight.”
I don’t know what he thinks he knows about me and what I do, but Arturo needs to know about this. We don’t need any problems in the near future with huge shipments coming in.
“Well, he seems to know you and your truck, andhe doesn’t seem to like the team.” She pauses for a moment before putting her hand back on my arm and chuckling. “It’s almost as if he caught you in bed with his wife or something.”
If I didn’t know she was joking, I’d be pissed. I haven’t been with anyone since her, and I’ve even told her twice. She’s all I want and need.
“There’s no one else I want except you. You’reitfor me, and if that means I have to wait another couple of years for you, then I will. I’ll wait an entire lifetime if that means I get to spend the last days of my life with you.”
When she doesn’t respond, I back my truck out of the parking spot and head home. There’s nothing else for me to say. I’ve laid my feelings out for her. Our future is in her hands, and whatever she chooses, it will be her decision.
The trip home is silent. Even the radio is off, leaving us to only our thoughts.
Did she turn the radio off when the officer came to talk to us? I don’t even remember if the radio was playing on our trip to the grocery store.
I pull up to the apartment building and park in my assigned spot. Neither one of us makes a move to get out and head inside.
There’s so much I want to say and do, but I can’t. I’m frozen in my seat, waiting for her to break my heart again.
“That’s why I left two years ago.” She doesn’t look at me when she finally speaks. Her gaze is focused on her hands in her lap.
“What?”
What or who made her leave two years ago? Was it something I did?