Page 97 of Redemption

“Then why are you still here?” he asks. “Go somewhere else. Somewhere safe.”

“Where do you think is safe?”

“To the family you’re willing to sacrifice any chance of happiness to protect!” He leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees, his left leg bouncing.

Shaking her head, she laughs. “If I’m right, I’m just putting others in danger. I’m kind of between a rock and a hard place here.”

“Jesus Christ. I don’t like this Lex. You’re basically saying you’re on death’s doorstep.”

“What’d you stop by for, Grayson?” She can only change the topic at this point. He’s going to explode otherwise.

He cracks his neck and looks at her. “I heard you were going on a date. Is he coming here?”

Licking her lips, she wipes at her eyes. “Nope. Colt stopped by, and I couldn’t do it. Not tonight, so I canceled. Looks like it’s just me and whatever housewives I can find on TV tonight.”

“I decided to get my PI license. Basically just gotta pass a test, and I have it scheduled.”

“What?” she exclaims. “Dude, you should’ve led with this!”

“Well, you were kind of having a meltdown, so I didn’t want to interrupt.”

She reaches out and pushes him. “Shut up.”

“I need to tell Ashley, but I’m not sure if she’s going to be happy or not.”

For fuck’s sake. “Grayson, you gotta stop telling me things first.”

“You’re my friend.”

“Who you used to dress women up to look like while you fucked them. And who you at one point thought you were in love with.”

“I really wish you’d stop bringing up the wigs.”

“I wish I didn’t know about them, so we’re both shit out of luck. But it’s a sore spot for her. No matter how secure we seem, there’s always that one thing that creates that tiny bit of doubt and insecurity. I’m that insecurity for Ashley.”

His brows furrow. “What’s yours?”

“Lately? Fucking everything. But when Colt and I were good, it was any type of secret. He always went off the deep end when he was holding things back because he doesn’t function well in his own head.”

“That’s actually pretty accurate.”

“Ashley first, Lex second. Unless it’s the ring thing. Then, well, that order doesn’t really work. Wait, did you ever talk to Diesel and Ky?”

He nods. “Yeah, I did.”

“They said no?”

“No, they said yes. Well, Diesel did. I guess taking a bullet for his daughter puts me in his good graces, but things feel too unsettled to ask her to marry me now. I do have her mother’s ring to give her, though.”

She smiles. Part of her knew Diesel would give in for his little girl. “Don’t wait for a perfect time. Trust me, there isn’t one, and you’re good for her. Since you’re not a cop anymore, we can let you into the clubhouse! Well,theycan let you into the clubhouse.”

“I put a down payment on a lease downtown, and I hired someone to design the logo for my business. Looking at the sample test, I’m fucking stupid if I don’t pass. But I feel like I need to prove I can make a living this way before I legally bind us together.”

Wrapping her arms around him, she squeezes. “Congrats. I think this will be good for you. It’s not the dream you always had, but I think you can do a lot more good without the badge.”

“I sure hope so. I should probably go and talk with Ashley.”

“You think?”

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