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After a few moments of contemplation, Garrett pursed his lips. “You know what? You’re right. Maybe it is time to move on. I mean, Lex clearly has. Might be time for me to do the same.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Too easy. Nico didn’t trust it for a second.
“Yeah,” Garrett mused. “Tell you what, I think I’d better pay her one last visit, though, you know? To say goodbye. Show her how much I appreciated meeting you. Tell her how happy I am for her.”
The way he said “happy,” like it was pure venom dripping from his mouth, had Nico’s fists itching to hit something—namely him.
“Maybe I’ll surprise her one night when she’s all alone in that big old house in the middle of nowhere. It’d be easy. Just break a window, slide into that nice warm bed, and remind her why she married me. It’s been a long time since she’s felt me inside her, but not too long . . .”
Behind him, Nico could sense Seth’s anger building as fast as his own.
“Have you fucked her yet?” Garrett laughed, like he already knew the answer and thought Nico all the more pathetic for it. “Man, you don’t know what you’re missing. That body.” His eyes glazed, like he was remembering every detail. “And the things she can do with that mouth. How about I spend some time breaking her in for you—”
Nico had managed to listen calmly as Kyle tested him, playing on the fact that he was a cop who would never blatantly assault a man in a bar in broad daylight. He’d never planned to do it, either. But then he just had to threaten Lexie . . .
Interrupting whatever filth Garrett was about to spew next, Nico grabbed him by the shirt collar and slammed his face into the table, startling the elderly man who almost dropped his drink. Garrett’s nose busted on the wood. Blood spurted out and he made a garbled sound of shock and fury before Nico was on him again, pressing his face down with more force than necessary. He took his handcuffs from his belt and snarled into Garrett’s upturned ear. “Now you listen to me you sack of shit. Lexie is with me now, and I protect what’s mine. You come near her again, I’ll break your fucking legs.”
“What the fuck?! This is police brutality!”
“No,” Nico growled. “This is my brutality. And after the shit you pulled last night, you’re lucky you’re still breathing.”
“I have rights. You can’t do this. Ed!” he shouted to the barkeep. “Ed, call the chief. Get him down here right now.”
Nico hauled the bleeding, raging mess of a man upright by the scruff of his shirt and swung them around toward the bar, all the while listening to Garrett complain about having rights, that Chief West was going to hear about this, and that Nico would be sorry he ever laid a hand on him.
“Hate to tell you this, Kyle, but your days of having the local PD in your back pocket are over,” Nico told him.
It wasn’t until he threw him against the bar and slapped handcuffs around his wrists that the weasel stopped talking long enough to frown in confusion.
“Wait—What the hell? You’re just gonna arrest me on one crazy bitch’s word? Ed!” he pleaded. “Are you seeing this, man? Do something.”
“Oh, I didn’t tell you?” Nico said in as pleasant tone as he could manage. “You’re also wanted for questioning regarding the murder of Isabelle Moss. You remember her, don’t you? From what I hear, you certainly should.”
Silence. Complete, utter silence. A blessed sound.
Leaving Garrett to gather the tumble of thoughts that were likely tripping over themselves in his mind, Nico handed him off to Seth and approached the bartender.
“Mr. Garrett tripped on a barstool,” he said, handing over a hundred.
The man’s apprehensive gaze flicked between all three of them, then he leaned over and took the cash. “Happens all the time.”
“Well, would you look at that?” A deep, drunk voice slurred from the darkest corner of the room. Nico stopped. He hadn’t known another customer—besides the ancient relic at Garrett’s table—had remained. Squinting, he could just make out George Riley sitting with his back to the commotion.
Shit.
“Lieutenant Dominici finally caught a bad guy,” he sneered. “Thank you for keeping our good community safe.” He gave a mock salute before returning to his drink.
Nico knew he should go over there, try to do some damage control, but the fact was, he had no excuse for what he’d done. It didn’t matter that Garrett had meant everything he’d said and been more than capable of following through, or that it had felt fucking great to hurt him, because in every way that mattered, it was still wrong.
Nico turned and shoved Garrett out of the bar.
The loud clang of the holding cell slamming shut was an ominous thing, echoing through the Mercy Cove PD like the executioner’s guillotine.
Nico sighed, turning away from the sight of Lexie’s outraged and bloodied husband, and went into his office to collapse heavily into his chair.
What the hell was wrong with him?
