Low Sided by A.J. Downey (best detective novels of all time txt) 📕

tugged on his jacket sleeve and asked, “Can I talk to you?”

He smiled at me, but there must have been something on my face, in my expression, because his easy smile faded into something far more serious when he said, “Yeah. Lead the way, babe.”

I took it outside, away from prying eyes and curious ears… at least I hoped so.

When I thought we were sufficiently alone, my emotions boiled over and I turned on him, holding out Angelica’s note and demanding in a clipped tone, “What is this?”

“Aw, shit… babe, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about it.” He at least had the grace to look embarrassed, which I wanted it to be something but…

“Mace, this is a huge invasion of privacy!” I cried and the feelings of fear at my discovery swirled in my breast. I mean, talk about red flags!

“Oh, hey… I didn’t approach it from that place at all!” he cried, as though his intentions made the result somehow okay.

I shook my head. “And the boxes of my stuff?”

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and hung his head.

“I was trying to bring them to you, make your life a little easier. I don’t know.”

“Why didn’t you just ask me? Talk to me? Communicate with me?” I cried. “Do they know where I am?”

He shook his head. “No. I wouldn’t do that to you. I just offered to deliver the note. Seriously, Raven, I didn’t want to ask you. I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Mace!” I cried and waved the note and envelope between us. “This? It hurts! This scares me! I mean… Jesus, fuck! Who are you?”

He hung his head and stuck his tongue into the side of his cheek like an errant little boy who’d been caught sneaking cookies and not like the grown man standing in front of me who’d gone rifling through my past that I had tried so valiantly to leave behind to protect the people I was leaving behind in it.

The same people those cops and Max had threatened to hurt next if I didn’t keep my mouth shut and disappear.

My leg bounced with anxiety the more upset I became and all he did was stand there and look at me, hand to his mouth as his dark eyes glittered in the streetlights and he looked me up and down, waiting for I didn’t know what.

“I’m sorry,” he said finally. “I fucked up.”

I sort of jerked back in surprise. I mean, that wasn’t exactly what I’d expected to come out of his mouth. I don’t know… I guess I expected excuses, but he didn’t give me any. Just looked at me plaintively, guiltily, and shrugged his shoulders.

A sort of helplessness flooded me, and I shook my head.

“I want my shit and I want to go home,” I said hollowly, and he nodded slowly.

“I can make that happen,” he said carefully.

“And I think we need to take a break,” I said. That’s when he deflated a little, but he agreed.

“If that’s what you need, you got it,” he said and sighed. He looked like he was getting a little emotional, which wasn’t that a bit rich?

“Let me grab Sauley and we’ll walk you back to your place with your stuff,” he said, and I hugged myself and nodded.

“You want to wait here?” he asked after a moment of hesitation and I nodded again, not trusting my voice.

“Okay,” he murmured, and he was gone, striding back across the cracked asphalt to the club’s back door.

“No going back, Raven. Only look ahead,” I told myself quietly and let out an unsettled breath.

I mean, what was I hoping he would do? Fight me on this?

21

Mace…

I insisted on carrying her shit all the way to her door, Sauley on my six as I watched Raven’s perfectly toned ass in front of me as we made our way up. I was afraid it would be the last time I got to enjoy the view, and that gutted me.

I’d fucked up in my order of operations. There wasn’t any question about that, and here I was paying for it. The price looked to be a damn heavy one.

I’d rather be looking at going back to prison than this.

“Thank you,” she murmured as Sauley set the tote he’d carried at the top of the stairs.

“Give us a minute, man,” I muttered, and he nodded, jammed his hands in his back pockets and with a sweep of his too-long hair getting into his eyes, he backed down the stairs. When I heard the door at the bottom shut, I raised my eyes to my girl’s.

I didn’t like the pain I saw in them. Pain that I’d caused.

“You know where to find me,” I said, and she nodded. God, those steely blue eyes were too wide, glassy with unshed tears that I could tell she was fighting back.

“I know I don’t have a right to ask,” I said, taking in a shuddering breath. “But can I get one last kiss for the road?”

Her lips thinned and I could see the wheels turning and finally, she nodded, tipping her face up slightly in permission.

I stepped into her, cupping her face between my hands and brought my lips to hers.

That kiss, the fact that it could be our final one… shit. It low sided me harder and more swiftly than I could have imagined.

She sobbed slightly beneath my mouth and quickly tamped it down as she returned my love, hers a suddenly timid thing – reserved, like weak sunlight filtered through heavy clouds whereas before I could bask in it all day long and feel warmed all the way through.

I’d fucked up. Hurt her. Broke her trust… and it was that kiss that told me just how deeply I’d fucked this. My only consolation prize was that she was safe. From Max, at least.

“I love you,” I whispered fiercely against her lips as I drew back.

“I love you, too,” she murmured, and she sounded absolutely shattered. “Which is why this