Page 80 of The Hero
“I already do,” Ian growled.
“The feeling’s mutual,” Marlowe fired back. “Don’t screw me over again, Ian. Trust me, prison sucks. See you in two days.”
Marlowe reached out and clicked off the connection, then immediately lowered her head, resting it on top of her hands on the table.
The room was silent.
Bob wrapped an arm around her back and leaned into her. “Punky?”
“Give me a second,” she mumbled into her hands.
“Holy crap. That wasawesome,” Chappy exclaimed. “Not the part about the meet, but the way you smoked him.”
“If I wasn’t already happily married with my first child on the way, and if you weren’t already hitched to one of my mates, I’d ask you to marry me,” Cal said.
Bob ignored his friends. His full attention was on Marlowe. “Are you all right?”
She nodded but didn’t raise her head.
“Okay, well,thatwasn’t how I suggested things go, but ... I honestly think it might work out,” Chief Rutkey said.
He felt Marlowe take a deep breath, then she sat up and looked around the room. “I’m so sorry. I hope it was okay that I told him to meet me at that park. He blindsided me by insisting we meet in person.”
“We’ll make it work,” Rutkey assured her.
“He’ll be planning something,” Bob warned. “He wouldn’t insist on meeting in person if he just planned to give up a coin.”
“I agree. I’ll get with Tex about some high-grade video and audio equipment so we can monitor the meeting,” JJ said.
“I’ll go scope out the park and find places for us to position ourselves, so we’re nearby at all times,” Cal added.
“We can use my Jeep for the meet,” Chappy offered. “We obviously can’t use Cal’s expensive monstrosity, and Bob’s truck has more power than my vehicle. We’ll want to have that as backup.”
Bob didn’t like the sound of that, but he knew it was a smart decision.
“Thank you. I appreciate you all being here and willing to help. But I ... I need to go.”
Marlowe’s voice cracked on the last word, and Bob could tell she was on the verge of losing it. He stood when she did and grabbed her hand, leading her toward the door. “Keep me in the loop,” he told his friends, before getting Marlowe out of the room and the building, into the fresh air. He went straight to his truck and hoisted her inside, then jogged around to the driver’s side.
He immediately started the engine and said, “Hang on, Punky. Five minutes and I’ll have you home.”
He glanced over and saw she was sitting as stiff as a board. Her gaze was fixed forward, and her hands were clasped together in her lap. He drove quickly but safely, and within minutes he was parking the truck in the lot at his apartment complex. Marlowe met him at the front of the truck, and they headed up the stairs hand in hand.
The second the door shut behind them, the tears Marlowe had so valiantly kept at bay let loose. Bob scooped her up, carried her to the couch, and sat down with her on his lap. She was crying so hard, he was somewhat alarmed, but he didn’t try to convince her to stop. Simply let her get all the emotion out.
She clung to him, her body shaking with her sobs, and Bob felt completely helpless. It took another ten minutes or so, but finally her crying lessened. He leaned over and grabbed a tissue from a box next to the sofa and gave it to her. She gave him a watery smile and blew her nose. Then she snuggled back into him.
“Feel better?”
She shrugged. “I guess. I don’t know why I was even crying.”
“Because that was very stressful,” Bob said. “Because you had to act like someone you weren’t. Because you’re scared. Because talking to the man who caused you so much pain and terror wasn’t fun. Because you’re a kind person who doesn’t like hurting others.”
Marlowe snorted. “You make me sound like a paragon of virtue. I can be a bitch.”
Bob rolled his eyes. “Uh-huh.”
She lifted her head so she could see him. “I can,” she insisted.
