Page 63 of Volt
“For introducing me to Danny in the first place,” I tell him. “If not for you, I wouldn’t be driving myself—and you—crazy trying to put together my portfolio.”
He laughs softly. “Happy to make the introduction but believe me when I say that it’s your talent that’s getting you this opportunity,” he says. “If Danny didn’t think you had it, he would never even raise the idea of your own show. He and I are tight, but when it comes to business, he’s all business.”
“Well, thank you for introducing me to him then.”
“You’re welcome,” he replies with a smile.
I slide my hands up his arms, relishing the feeling of his muscles. But then he flinches in pain and takes a step back. I pull my hands away quickly.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
He nods. “Yeah. I’m good.”
“What happened there?” I ask.
“Nothing.”
“What did you do to your arm?”
He gives me a smile. “It’s nothing.”
Blake steps forward and reaches for me but I can see he’s obviously hiding something. There was nothing wrong with his arm when I saw him a couple of days ago. I step back, avoiding his hands and plant my hands on my hips, giving him a serious look.
“What did you do to your arm and why are you hiding it from me?” I demand.
He sighs. “Honestly, it’s nothing. I’m fine.”
“Nothing? You jumped like I branded you with hot iron. Now, spill it.”
I can see by the expression on his face that he’s trying to decide whether to come clean or lie to me. And I don’t like that. Not one bit.
“You promised transparency. You promised that you’d never lie to me,” I remind him.
Blake shifts on his feet and looks down as he slips his hands into his pockets. He looks reluctant—telling me there’s at least some part of him that wants to be honest. I guess that’s something.
“Look, you promised me that you’d be honest. I told you this would never work unless you were one-hundred percent honest with me,” I tell him. “And you agreed. You promised—”
“I got shot. It’s not a big deal,” he blurts out.
I stare at him for a long moment. The tension crackles in the silence between us. I take a moment to gather myself then clear my throat as I cross my arms over my chest.
“I guess we have different ideas about what a big deal is,” I say. “See, in my world, getting shot is a pretty big fucking deal.”
He frowns and shakes his head. “It was in the arm. It was a through and through. No major damage. It’s going to heal up just fine. It’s just a little tender right now.”
I scoff and look away for a moment. I can’t believe that he can be so blasé about being fucking shot. I guess maybe in his world it’s no more remarkable than barking your shin on the coffee table. But that’s not my world. That’s a world I don’t understand. Worse than that, it’s a world that terrifies me.
“What happened?” I ask.
Blake clenches his jaw, but I can see that he’s decided since he’s come this far, he might as well tell me everything. It’s about the best thing he could have chosen to do in that moment.
“We raided one of Zavala’s stash houses. I came through the door first and caught a slug in the arm,” he tells me. “Doc patched me up and gave me a clean bill of health.”
I can see him still trying to minimize the fact that he was fucking shot. I guess he’s being so casual about it to avoid upsetting me. Yeah, well, it’s way too late for that. But like him, I’m determined to see this through. I want to know everything. In for a penny, in for a pound and all that.
“What happened next?” I ask.
He lets out a small breath and runs a hand through his hair. “We completed our mission. We found the dope and the cash they were storing there,” he says. “We seized the drugs and burned them but kept the money.”
