Page 21 of Committed

ChapterEight

Journey growled under her breath. He wasn’t going to make this easy, but considering how he looked, she couldn’t much blame him. Laz wasn’t the type of man to complain about being sick or hurt. He was the type to power through, no matter what.

Right now, though, his normally olive skin appeared ashen. He looked sick and drained. His long, dark hair hung loosely around his shoulders, with a few strands sticking out here and there. He was also clearly exhausted. She could see that even with the way he was scowling at her.

That part she could deal with. But seeing him like this—his left arm in a sling and a bruise on the side of his forehead—made her want to crawl into the bed next to him and hold him. She also wanted to beg for his forgiveness. However, the chilly reception he’d given her when she walked in told her she’d be wasting her time.

“How do you feel?” she asked and wanted to kick herself once the words were out of her mouth. It was a dumb question that he didn’t bother answering.

Laz continued with the silent treatment as the detectives entered. Journey recognized the older black man, Ted Asher. He’d been a witness on a couple of her cases over the years. “ADA Dimas,” he said, giving her a nod and a slight smile. “It’s good seeing you again despite the circumstances.”

“You too, Detective.”

Ted turned to the man who walked in with him. He looked as if he should’ve been on someone’s movie set with his blond hair, blue eyes, and deep tan that made it seem like he’d just returned from the beach. “I’m not sure if you know my partner, Detective Remy Jacobs. He just transferred to our precinct about four months ago. Remy, this is assistant district attorney Journey Dimas, Laz’s wife.”

“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Remy said and nodded at Laz, who barely spared him a glance.

“How do you feel?” Ted asked him as he and Remy stood on the opposite side of the bed from Journey.

“Like I’ve been shot,” Laz responded dryly.

Journey sighed quietly, still overwhelmed with guilt and the situation. Giving him anI’m sorrywasn’t going to cut it this time. She knew her husband well enough to know he was probably glad she wasn’t with him and Arielle at the time of the shooting. It was the fact that when he sent the guys to find her, they couldn’t. That’s what had Laz bitter; for that, Journey felt awful.

When she zoned back into the conversation, Laz was telling them why they’d been at the trampoline park.

“I had to park on the street because the parking lot was full, and as I headed to my SUV, a few guys were hanging out nearby. They were doing a…deal. After that, they went their separate ways.”

“Do you think they had something to do with the ambush?” Ted asked. “Did you recognize them?”

Laz hesitated for a second before responding. “No.”

Silence, except for the machines, filled the space, and Journey wondered if her husband was holding something back. She wouldn’t be surprised if he was, because there was no way he was going to trust them completely to find whoever shot at him. Considering the way that the detectives were looking at him as if waiting for him to say more, they suspected he wasn’t telling them everything.

“What happened next?” Remy asked.

“Nazir…. Damn.” The heart rate machine beeped faster. “I can’t believe he’s dead. He, um…I met Nazir years ago. He’d been an addict at the time, and….” Laz shook his head, and Journey touched his hand, hoping to offer some comfort. “He saw me, and we stopped to talk. He thanked me for helping him get clean. He hasn’t used drugs in over four years.”

“Did you and Nazir meet up often?” Ted asked.

“No. I hadn’t seen him in years.”

For the next few minutes, Journey’s heart cracked even more as she was forced to hear what he and Arielle had been through. She would never wish that type of trauma on anyone, and knowing how her husband and child could’ve died almost brought her to her knees. She was so grateful for Laz’s training and how fiercely protective he was. One of many reasons she had fallen in love with him.

She would never forget the first time she and Laz met. Late one night, after work, she was walking to the train station to head home and was attacked. Laz seemed to come out of nowhere and saved her from a vicious mugging. She had gotten hurt, but she honestly felt she would’ve died that night had Laz not come along when he had.

After that, he continued to watch over her even when she didn’t know he was watching. They had become friends. Or at least as friendly as a badass detective who skated on the edge of the law could be with a by-the-book assistant district attorney. From there, after Journey seduced him, they became much more.

Since then, Laz had been her biggest supporter and always had her back. He might’ve been a little possessive about her and Arielle, but she loved that about him. Their well-being was his top priority.Always. His love for her over the years had been unwavering in his words and actions. And even though he was mad at her, Journey knew without a doubt that he would always have her back.

But knowing all of that only made her feel worse.

“Then they just started shooting,” Laz was saying when she tuned back in, and Journey’s gaze met his. A shiver skittered down her spine. She could see the anger and pain in his eyes. “All I wanted to do was protect my daughter.”

“So, you shot back even though people were walking on the sidewalks and driving in their cars,” Remy said, a judgmental edge in his tone.

Journey braced herself for what was coming next. Laz never liked people questioning his decisions while he was with Atlanta PD, and that hadn’t changed since leaving the force. Especially if he thought he was in the right—which he was most of the time.

She and he had gone head-to-head many times when he was on the police force, and they were working on the same case. Though he used to drive her nuts, their confrontations also strengthened their friendship, leading to a love that she never saw coming.