Page 96 of Inseparable
And I can’t lose sight of the facts.
I’m a noose around Devin’s neck. I thought by leaving I was setting him free. The knowledge he hasn’t given up on me has muddled my brain so bad. I wish it was enough.
Love.
But it’s not. Love can’t undo my past. Can’t wash me free of sin. The only thing I can do is make him hate me. And hope that this time he will finally be free of me to live his life.
Because I don’t want him fixated on the past.
I do enough of that for the both of us.
He should have a ring on his finger like Danny. He should have a happy smile on his face instead of a look full of regret.
And he can’t stay here much longer, because I’ve never been able to deny him anything, and if he continues to look at me with so much longing and so much love, I’m terrified I’ll cave.
And that just can’t happen.
I push my half-eaten plate away, appetite vanquished. “There. I’ve eaten. Now you can go.”
He props his elbows on the table, and rests his chin in his hands, probing my face with a familiar deep, intense, penetrating lens. A few strands of his hair fall over his forehead into his eyes, and my fingers twitch as the craving to touch him starts building momentum inside me. I sit on my hands, and he notices, his eyes crinkling as he smiles.
“If you don’t leave, I’m calling the police,” I blurt, desperate to get rid of him.
“I am the police.” He grins, extracting his cell from his pocket. “Call them, and then I’ll page them and let them know I’m already here.” His smile widens until he’s gracing me with that annoying cocky grin of his again.
“You have no jurisdiction around here,” I hiss, taking his cell and making a point of stabbing the buttons.
“I do now,” he replies smugly.
“What?” I’m sure my face has turned a sickly green color, and it’s not from my hangover.
“I’ve transferred to the local station on temporary loan.”
My mouth hangs open. “For how long?”
“For as long as it takes you to come to your senses.”
I jump up, biting on the corner of a nail. “That’s a long ass time, Dev, because hell will freeze before I’ll do whatever it is you’re waiting for me to do.” I refuse to confirm the “come to my senses” statement. This is a fucking nightmare.
“I’ve waited a long time to find you, and I have infinite patience.”
“You can’t do this,” I shriek. “I’ll leave town!”
“And I’ll follow you.” He crosses his arms over his chest, pinning me with a solemn look. He damned well means it too.
“I’ll have you arrested for stalking!”
“You can try, but I doubt they’d take your word over one of the youngest decorated homicide detectives, but feel free to give it your best shot.”
I launch myself at him, pounding my fists against his chest. “You can’t do this to me! I won’t let you!”
He restrains me effortlessly, holding my wrists up. His expression softens, and his voice is quietly determined as he speaks. “I’ve lost you a couple of times already, Ange. I’ve learned how to live broken, but I refuse to do that anymore. I’m not making the same mistakes again. This time I’m not letting you out of my sight. I’m back in your life, baby doll. The sooner you surrender, the easier it will be.”
“I’m not your baby or your baby doll or your anything! I have a life here. I have a job and a boyfriend, and you don’t get to stroll in here and try to take over!”
“If I had shown up here, and you were happy and healthy and in a good place, I would’ve left you alone if you told me that’s what you genuinely wanted. But that is not the fucking case.” He clenches his jaw. “You’re a drunk, working tables by day and stripping at night, and that loser you call a boyfriend is an alcoholic junkie who can in no way take care of you. How am I doing so far?”
I try to wrest my wrists away, so I can hit him, but his hold is too strong. Using the only other weapon at my disposal, I scream—purely to distract him—and raise my knee, burying it in his groin. He goes down like a lead balloon, his eyes watering as he cups his junk. He struggles to breathe, curling into a fetal position on the floor, cradling his manhood with his hands.
