Page 22 of In Death, Love Survives
Ryan takes a sip of his beer while he shrugs.
“Why not?”
“Law?” I say with a light laugh.
“Barely anyone is here. It’s fine.”
“Well, it was another eventful week, to say the least.”
“Very true.”
As he continues to hold onto his beer, I see a tic in his jaw. It’s slight, almost as if I wasn’t meant to notice it.
The problem is, I’m so used to picking up the small details, it’s impossible to turn off this side of my brain.
He flashes a bright smile, almost the complete opposite of how he was just acting.
“Work talk on a Friday night? We shouldn’t be,” he teases.
I give him a small shrug in return.
Wasn’t I the one just saying this?
“Okay…”
“I’m just messing around. It’s fine to talk about. From my end, the prisoners all seemed to be healthy enough… which is good. How about for you?”
“Great,” I lie.
It feels like Ryan’s mind had drifted to Wolfe, and now he suddenly doesn’t want to talk about work or the patients, at the very least. It’s odd, and I’m possibly imagining it, but I don’t feel like I am.
The problem is, I want to know more about Wolfe and how he got here. Why Ryan had to hide that and not the typical language he’s used before when I’ve asked. This may be my only chance to ask.
What more is there to Wolfe that Ryan knows and I couldn’t find online?
“What troubles you?” he asks.
“Just a long week.” Not a complete lie.
A few awkward beats pass.
“How did it go with Walker?”
I hadn’t realized I was looking at my wine glass while lost in thought. Ryan’s smile is firmly in place as he brings up the very person I can’t stop thinking about.
“He didn’t come back after the first session. I’m sure he’s fine then.”
Ryan nods thoughtfully as he takes another drink.
“Be careful around him.”
Was he thinking about Wolfe this whole time too?
“I won’t be around him. Like I said, that was it.”
“That’s for the best. All the therapy in the world couldn’t help someone like Wolfe Walker.”
I give him a sour expression.
