“Is there something you want to tell me?”
“Uh…no?”
“You’re not sure?”
“I’m…I’m thinking?”
“Thinking. You know, there comes a time in every man’s life where he has to decide what kind of man he’s going to be,” Cap said, standing and walking slowly around to the front of his desk. “Some of those men decide that they want to be upstanding and do things the right way. Those are the men that make the impossible decisions that could possibly hurt someone, but inevitably those decisions are on the straight and narrow. You know what I’m saying?”
I nodded, clearing my throat again. “Yeah.”
“And then there are the men that make the stupid decisions. They lie, cheat, and steal to get what they want. And I have to tell you, I really hate all three, but liars are the fucking worst, you know what I mean?”
“Of course…liars are…bad.”
“And you wouldn’t lie to me, right?”
I shook my head rapidly. He knew. I was so fucked. Caitlin must have run right to him and now he was stringing me up and waiting to watch me swing. I needed to just confess what was going on. At least he would still respect me then.
“So, do you have something you want to tell me?”
“Yes.” I took a deep breath and let it fly. “Something happened today and I’m not even sure what it means, if it means anything, but I promise you, I took care of it.”
“From what I understand, you’ve got a front row seat to what’s going on.”
I nodded, because it was true. I had walked right in on it. “That’s true, but I swear, I didn’t let it go on. It was just the one time.”
“Well, I’d like to keep it that way, if at all possible.”
I sighed in relief. He didn’t seem that upset. Maybe I would be let off the hook.
“Does Florrie know?”
“Not yet. I haven’t had the chance to discuss it with her.”
He shook his head. “That’s gonna come back to bite you in the ass. You know she doesn’t like to be kept in the dark. I hate to see what this is going to do to her.”
“Do to her?” I asked, not sure why this would really affect Florrie in any way.
“She loves that kid. Surely you can see that.”
“Yeah, but I don’t really think this is something she would care about that much.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? This involves Reid. That kid is everything to her. There is no fucking way that this doesn’t affect her in a deep and profound way.”
“Uh…” I scratched my head, trying to see this the way he was. I mean, I guess it was a big first step for the kid. Kissing was a big deal, but not as big as sex. I wasn’t sure that my first kiss really affected me that much. And definitely not enough to run off to my mom and share it with her.
“Well, I’ll be sure to let her down easy,” I said, not sure what else to say. “I’m actually more surprised that you’re not losing your shit right now.”
“What good does it do to freak out about this stuff?” he shrugged. “I mean, I’m really fucking concerned, but we have to handle this like adults. The kids are the most important thing right now. We have to protect them in every way we can and make sure that they understand how to protect themselves, if you know what I mean.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “Cap, I think it’s a little early to be thinking about having that talk with them. I mean, protection is important, but I’m pretty sure that neither of them are ready for that step.”
“Neither of who?” Cap asked.
The door swung open and Cazzo’s team walked in, along with Florrie and Craig. “You rang?” Sinner asked.
“Yeah, I’m sending both teams out tomorrow on jobs. I just wanted to talk with Alec about Reid before sending you guys out into the field.”
“Why?” Cazzo asked. “What’s going on?”
Cap glanced at Florrie and sighed. “Florrie, I hate to tell you like this, but Reid’s social worker called.”
“I know,” Florrie said at the same time that I said, “What?”
It all became very clear to me that Cap and I had been talking about two totally different things, and I had almost spilled the beans to him. Holy shit, I had just come within an inch of ending my own life, and I hadn’t realized it.
“I thought you said you didn’t tell her?” Cap asked me.
“Uh-”
“About the social worker? I’m the one that took the call,” Florrie said.
“Then what were you talking about?” Cap asked me.
I stared at him for a few seconds and then put a confused look on my face, crossing my arms over my chest. “What are you talking about?”
“You said that she didn’t know. You said that you didn’t think she would be upset about this. What were you talking about?”
I continued to stare at him in confusion, because not a single fucking thing was coming to mind to clear me of the shit I had just walked into.
“You thought I wouldn’t be upset?” Florrie asked.
“Uh…no, I said we shouldn’t panic. He totally misunderstood what I was saying.”
Cap stared me down, not believing what I was saying, but he obviously had bigger things on his mind than what had really just gone down between us. “Anyway, I wanted to make sure that you’re good to go out with what’s happening with Reid. I know this is a hard time, but I need two teams and you’re the only two available right now.”
“No problem,” I answered quickly. “They won’t have any news for us for at least a week.”
“Well, that shouldn’t be a problem,” Cap said, walking back around to the other side of his desk. “This job should be quick. Maybe a few days tops. I’m sure you
