Page 54 of On Broken Wings

“Your captain know you been surveilling your girlfriend?” Dev shouted across the street as he came out of the office and over to my window with a bottled water. It was hot out today and I’ve been sitting in my car across the street all morning.

“I’m off duty.” I rolled my eyes.

“Un huh.” Dev chuckled as he nodded. “You look real off duty here staring at my business and scaring people away.”

“Is she in there?” I took the top off the water and swallowed a huge gulp.

“No.” He shook his head. “She’s stayed at home all week. I know you don’t want to hear this, but you need to back off.”

“I love her,” I muttered as I took another gulp of water.

“Which is why you need to back off.” Dev took a few steps back. “Come with me.” He waved his arm and against everything I thought I should be doing at the moment, I got out and followed him.

“Where are we going?” I rubbed my face as we briskly walked up the sidewalk, away from the office.

“Somewhere where my colleagues won’t be listening.” He laughed. “Mark is a nosy ass.”

I kept pace with Dev until we came to a small picnic area. It was one of the places that the city was using to encourage more foot traffic. “Here works.” Dev sat down. “I know I was hard on you, but I used to be you. I fell in love with a girl in witness protection.” He paused as my mouth dropped open. I’d heard things about his relationship with Sam, but I didn’t know everything.

“Should you be telling me this?” I twisted my mouth in confusion.

“Old news, bro.” Dev laughed. “You see, when I met her, she was lying about who she was. Before I knew it, the Marshalls moved her. It took years and a freak assignment for me to find her again. When I did, I was lying about who I was. I knew it was her, but she didn’t know it was me. My cover was supposed to be hunting her. I was falling in love with the woman I was supposed to murder. Let that sink in. You talk about protection. She was right in the mix.” He shook his head.

“That sucks,” I mumbled. I didn’t know what to say. They were together now, so things had to have worked out.

“Yeah, it did suck, but after everything came out and she found out who I was, she came back to me. We both knew that our bond was stronger than any of the lies we’d told one another and that’s my point. Stop being the creepy guy and let her come to you. You can’t force her to forgive you. Just be there and when she’s ready she’ll find you.” He slapped his hand on my shoulder before standing and walking back the way we came.

Dev’s words tumbled around in my head for the rest of the afternoon. It was eye opening, but heart breaking at the same time. How was I supposed to let her go? How could I stand back and wait for her to come to me? What if she never came to me? What if I broke her too bad to be fixed? What if she finally learned to fly and it wasn’t with me? What if I’ve lost her for good, then what? What was next?

Chapter 24

Jenni

When I woke up this morning, something felt different. My heart didn’t feel shattered. Only an ache filled my chest and I pushed it aside as I got ready for the day. It’s been a month and I’m slowly getting better. Mason hasn’t pushed me to talk to Evan and work has helped keep me occupied. I’d like to say that I wasn’t angry anymore, but that’s still debatable. Against my better judgement, I lashed out at Dev shortly after I went back to the office. He knew Evan was a cop and he helped him hide it from me. They all knew, and Mark’s reactions during my short affair proved it. I’ve forgiven them, but it still stings and every time they’re whispering about something, I wonder if it’s about me.

School starts back in a few days. I’ve bought my books and gotten my schedule for classes. I told Dev I’d still work part time, but I don’t know how well that’s going to work out. The office is closed at night and on weekends and that’s the main time that I’m free. With only a year left, I still don’t know what I want to do when I graduate. I’ve thought about leaving Chicago. I could go somewhere totally new and make a fresh start. No one would know me and I could be anyone.

“Don’t forget about meeting Dani today!” Mason called from the living room.

“I won’t.” I laughed. “You’re going to be late again if you don’t leave.” I was supposed to meet Dani at a dress shop downtown. She and Mason had actually been planning their wedding. She’d asked me to be a bridesmaid and invited me to help pick the dresses. It was helping keep my mind on something else, so I agreed.

“I’m going. I’m going.” He laughed as I heard the door click.

Ooooooooo

I spent the morning in the office and then left in the early afternoon to meet Dani. It was a cool day, fall was just around the corner and you could feel the slight chill in the air. Leaves would soon start changing and all the things I loved would be coming back. Pumpkin spiced everything, sweaters, the crunch of leaves under your feet, all things Halloween and best of all… snuggling under a blanket on a cold night.

The dress shop was just a few blocks from work, so I opted to walk. I pretty much walked everywhere unless the weather was bad and then I took the L. When I reached the shop, Dani was waiting by the door.

“I’m so glad you could make it today. I’ve got a few for you to try.” Dani clapped excitedly as she opened the door for us.

“I’m glad you finally got my brother to pick a date.” I rolled my eyes as I laughed. It was a foreign feeling and I guess my reaction showed on my face because Dani threw her arms around me in a giant hug.

“Since the wedding’s in November, I want to go with fall colors.” She tapped her chin. “Maybe a burnt orange or brown with a red or orange accent.”

“I like this one.” I pulled at the skirt of a navy dress that was in her pile.

“I do too, but I’m not sure about the color.” Dani’s lips twisted in thought.

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