Page 74 of Code Violation

There was a moment of silence before Austin responded. “Already? That was fast, replacing me so soon.”

Austin sounded bitter now. Nero wasn’t sure he deserved it, all things considered and seeing as it had been six weeks since they’d even spoken, but he decided that maybe he should just be the bigger person and let Austin have his feelings. Austin was his past, and hopefully Forrest Cooper was his future.

“Maybe it is? I can’t say, it just feels right. I apologize for not realizing sooner that we weren’t right together. In fact, I think you probably knew it first, but we both ignored it. You don’t like what I do and I’m not stopping just because you want me to.”

“So that’s it, you’re cutting me loose?”

“Austin,” Nero said, exasperated, “we cut each other loose, and probably did so a long time before I actually left. Now it’s time for us to say goodbye. I wish you the best.”

There was a long pause before Austin finally spoke. He sounded resigned.

“Goodbye, Nero,” he said before clicking off.

Nero tucked the phone into his back pocket and stepped back into the kitchen. Forrest was still hunched over his steaming mug of coffee. From the gleam in his eyes, he’d listened to Nero’s side of the conversation but was trying—and failing—to act cool about it. Pretending not to notice, Nero lifted his mug to his lips and took a long sip.

Forrest shot him an exasperated glance. “Well?”

“Sheesh, I haven’t even had my own cup of coffee yet.”

“So now it’s really Austin the Ex?”

Nero didn’t even mind that Forrest had been listening in. “Oh, we’ve been ex-ed for a while. I do wonder if he thought I’d eventually come back. Maybe he figured he could bluff me.”

“Huh. Well, that’s good. I mean, it’s good that you’re really and truly ex-ed. Are you planning on staying in town?”

“If a certain sexy redhead is okay with me sticking around? He may have had some issues with me, but it’s looking like things have changed in the past few days.” Cripes, it had been fast. Nero shrugged.

“I already said I might ask you to marry me if you make me coffee every morning.”

“You did,” Nero acknowledged. “Every day is quite a commitment though. I’m not sure if I’m up for that quite yet. I am willing to put it on the back burner though.”

“We’ll start slow.” Forrest waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Slow is good.” He shifted around and patted his parted thighs.

Nero moved to stand in the vee of Forrest’s lap. “Probably should take care we don’t bump your arm.”

“I’m pretty sure we can think of something that won’t bother it.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

Nero – The Following Thursday

Nero slowed to a stop so he could fully appreciate the façade of the Cooper Springs police station. Andre Dear had agreed to speak with him today—on his day off—and Nero’s list of questions was long and tucked inside his backpack.

The station, designed in the 1950s, was hardly bigger than the library. Nero suspected it had been remodeled again in the seventies so that the building now looked like the bastard child of Walter Gropius and Frank Gehry.

Unfortunate.

Inside, Nick Waugh sat behind a metal desk that also looked like it came from the 1950s. He didn’t smile, but he also didn’t tell Nero to take a hike. About par for Nick.

“I have an appointment with Chief Dear,” Nero told him.

Nick pressed a button somewhere before saying, “Chief, your visitor has arrived. Have a seat,” Nick said to Nero.

The only chair was a spindly looking thing not meant for the likes of Nero.

“I’ll stand, thanks.”

“Suit yourself.”

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