“You know I’ll do it. We’re too close.”
“We still don’t know if they made you or not.”
“Why don’t you find out?” Fletcher growled.
West flicked his hand in a wave and disappeared down the hall. I was left in the bathroom with a bloodied boyfriend who was an undercover cop.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Fletcher
After West left, Saidy found me a pair of sweatpants (they were mine) that had escaped the great purge from her scissor hands.
My black jeans had been ripped beyond repair. I did my best to wash in the shower without getting my stitches soaked, then I slipped on the pair of sweats and hobbled out of the bathroom. Saidy came down the hall from the kitchen, carrying a tray full of food.
“Come lie down and I’ll bring you something to eat.” She jerked her chin toward the bedroom.
I hobbled down the hall, my butt hurting, but already losing its sharp pain now that the chunk of wood was pulled out and the bleeding had stopped.
Saidy set the tray down on the nightstand and began pulling all of the decorative pillows off the bed to set on her chair in the corner. I’d never understood the need for so many pillows that you weren’t going to use, but Saidy loved them.
I watched as she folded back the covers and then as she grabbed my elbow as though she needed to lift me onto the bed.
I laid down on my stomach and she pulled the covers back up around me.
“I made you some tea and something to eat. I thought maybe after losing all that blood, you’d be a little weak.”
I glanced at the tray full of grapes, croissants, a sandwich, orange juice, and a steaming cup of tea with cream in it. Based on that spread, I’d apparently lost every pint of blood I had and needed to start from the ground up.
“You’re the most amazing woman, and I haven’t told you that enough,” I said as I leaned up on one elbow so that I could pick up the teacup with my other hand. I took a long, satisfying sip, discovering that she’d also added enough sugar to turn it into a candy bar. She was aware of my penchant for less tea, more of everything else mixed in it. “And you make the best tea.”
She smiled slightly at that before she walked around to the other side of the bed and climbed on top of the covers.
I grabbed a handful of grapes before I turned to face her, my cheek resting against the pillow.
She sat there staring at me, her hands folded in her lap. Her eyes rarely blinking.
“Please say something, Saidy. Or yell at me. Something.” I couldn’t imagine what she must be feeling after finding out the truth. I knew that when the truth finally came out, there would be a fallout. But to find out in the heat of the moment like she did. Yeah, explosive. To know the person you’d been with had been lying to you for months. I wasn’t sure this was a betrayal I could have gotten over if I’d been in her place.
She leaned over me and broke a piece off a croissant and picked up a napkin to lay on her lap as she ate it.
She didn’t say anything until she’d finished every last crumb, careful to fold her napkin so it didn’t spill crumbs onto her cover.
She licked her lips, and my attention was drawn to her full lower lip that stuck out just a little farther than her top lip.
She turned to stare at me. I’d forgotten I’d already stuck a grape in my mouth, and I nearly choked on it when I tried to talk.
“Saidy, please say something.”
“You’re really a police officer?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“And you’ve been undercover this whole time?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve been working day and night on this case, haven’t you?”
“Yes.” I felt like a parrot with my repetitive one-word answer, but what else could I say? I didn’t dare move. I could practically see our entire relationship flashing before her eyes.
“So you’ve been pretending to run a start-up company?” She tapped her fingers against her knees.
I nodded.
“And when you said this would soon be over, did you mean us, or this undercover job? Was I part of your undercover persona in some way then?”
I leaned up on my elbow. “I meant this undercover job. I’ve been wanting to tell you the truth, but this job has been taking longer and longer. No matter what, it will be over next week. Either we’ll be able to make a lot of arrests, or my cover will be blown. Either way, the end is very much in sight. I shouldn’t have pursued you while I was undercover. It was dangerous, and careless, and it put you in danger. I know Sullivan has been checking up on you, and I can’t forgive myself for putting you in that position.”
I paused and caught my breath before I continued. “But if we went back in time and I had it to do over again—I would still ask you out on that date, Saidy. You’re incredible and I fell for you at first sight. Every time I’m with you I’m amazed at you. You’re smart—no matter what your Grandma says.”
That got a small smile out of her.
“You’re fun to be around. You take care of me even when I don’t deserve it. You are loyal beyond belief. And you’re so competitive, I’m afraid I’ll lose a hand when we play games.” I smiled at that one, remembered the time we’d played a speed game. Somehow a card game turned into a full-on wrestling match.
“Saidy, I love you, and for your sake I wish I had done the right thing and walked away from you the day I found you chasing down your mailman. But for my sake, I’ve been glad for every minute we’ve spent together.”
She pulled her
