Page 96 of Dream a Little Dream

Kenny hadn’t had the answers then.

Like he didn’t now.

Jack angled his head, trundling down the steps and walking off.

Kenny couldn’t avoid it, so he followed, all the way around to the back of the building. It had them away from the CCTV, away from prying eyes, and standing by the fire exit doors, where cigarette butts littered the ground. Kenny hadn’t wanted to smoke more since he’d quit them for good.

“I’m going to ask you this just once.” Jack kept his voice low, controlled, barely masking the bitterness Kenny knew was bubbling beneath. “Onthe record. Are you in a romantic relationship with my suspect?”

“No.” He was firm, but his pulse betrayed him. Jack couldn’t see that, though. And he was far enough away not to feel it.

Jack narrowed his eyes as if trying to find any crack in Kenny’s armour. “Then I’ll ask you this once,offthe record, me to you. Are you fucking Aaron Jones?”

The silence stretched. Kenny knew what he was supposed to say, what Jack needed him to say. But the truth lingered in the air between them, the weight palpable.

He forced out the,“No.”

Jack arched an eyebrow. Waited.

So Kenny reiterated his stance. The truthful one. “I’m not.”

“I have his phone, Kenny. So if you’re lying…”

Kenny said nothing.

“Fuck’s sake.” Jack twisted, raking a hand through his hair. “Are you completely devoid of any fucking responsibility for your selfish fucking actions?”

“No, Jack, I’m not. Iambeing honest with you. I’m not fucking him.”

“Yet.”

“Do you not think I’ve learned from my mistakes?”

“Which mistakes are those, Kenny?Me?”

“You know what I mean, and this isn’t about us, is it?”

“It is. It’s about you lying to me.Again!”

“I’m not lying.”

“But you’re being scant with the truth.” Jack took a step forward, each word quiet and seething with frustration. “Do you know who he is?”

Kenny clenched his jaw. “Do you?”

“I have a fucking good hunch.”

Kenny stood his ground.

Jack waited for him to confirm, say something. When he didn’t, Jack stepped forward, voice low. “Are youinsane?”

“Clinically? No.”

“Don’t fuck with me, Kenny.”

“I’m not.”

“But youarepissing about with Roisin and Frank’sson?”

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