JUSTIN’S WORLD TILTED, throwing him off balance enough he was forced to take a step to recover, planting his feet wide. “What are you saying?”
“I’m not sure.” The words were hushed but undeniably broken.
The police barged in, bringing with them a flurry of activity. They dragged Justin away from Grace as he was temporarily cuffed and the weapon taken and disarmed. By the time they hauled Gavin away, Justin was standing clear of the general ruckus and watching as the police took Grace’s statement. In an absolute twist of irony, the cop he’d been sent to kill had made detective and shown up today as part of the response team the patrol unit called in after arriving.
“How’s my favorite hit man doing?” Detective Stevenson asked, eyeing Justin.
“Just earned my doctorate and came back to work for the center.” It felt damn good to be able to answer him that way.
Stevenson whistled long and low. “Doctorate, huh? And you’re working here?”
“It was that or join hostage negotiations for the cops, and I didn’t think they’d take my application too seriously given our history.”
The other man laughed. “Yeah, they’d have eighty-sixed it.”
“Not surprised.” Justin looked around Stevenson again, checking on Grace.
“She yours?” the detective asked, pulling out a stick of gum and offering one to Justin.
He declined. His mouth was so dry he wouldn’t have been able to work up the spit to chew. “She was before this whole thing went down.”
“What changed?”
“I...um. I might have lost my temper a little bit. I got it under control, but not before I scared the kid. And her.”
The detective touched the side of his crooked nose. “At least you didn’t break the punk’s nose. Never did get this fixed. It’s a solid reminder that there are always people out there who’ll do you first chance they get.”
Justin’s stomach soured. “I’m so sorry about that.”
“No, no. I’m glad it was you.”
“What? Why?” Justin asked, confused. “You’ll have to bear with me. I’ve never had anyone thank me for almost killing them before.”
“Because anyone else would have pulled the trigger,” the older man said softly. “You? You might have beat the crap out of me, but you were willing to listen.”
“You wouldn’t shut up.”
“Yeah, well, you’re welcome.”
“Thank you.” Justin peered around Stevenson to see Grace again, happy to find that Stevenson’s partner, a woman, had finished taking her statement. Grace sat there nursing a cup of hot tea, eyes on the floor. “If you’ll excuse me, sir. I have to make this right.”
“My advice? Don’t stop talking.”
“Funny guy,” Justin murmured.
Crossing the break room took forever. Justin felt as if he was swimming through Jell-O. The haunted look in her eyes wrecked him in a million ways, large and small. “Hey.”