Page 45 of Last Mile

I sliced one of my hands in the air, silencing her. “You’re sorry? Marley’s been dead over a week, and during that time, you didn’t think one fucking time that you might oughta call and let me know how things were going?”

Sam’s remorseful expression darkened. “What the fuck, Bishop? I just lost my boyfriend.”

With a mirthless laugh, I said, “I mean, I get that you’re pissed at me for what happened, but it seems to me it’s pretty cut-and-dried to reach out to a man’s friend when he dies.” I shrugged. “But I guess it’s only complicated to a coldhearted bitch.”

Anger replaced the sadness in Sam’s eyes as she stalked toward me. “How dare you say that to me!”

“Just calling it as I see it, darlin’.”

“You ignorant bastard. Do you have any idea what I’ve been through in the last week?”

“No, actually, I don’t, but I’m sure I might’ve had a clue if you.

Had. Fucking. Called me!”

She shook her head so fast I was sure she was going to get whiplash.“And just how the fuck was I supposed to do that when I didn’t have your number? I came here to try to explain things to you, but you’re too pigheaded to see anything beyond yourself. Poor pitiful Bishop!”

When she started to turn away, I reached out and grabbed her arm. “Oh no, you’re not leaving. Not until you explain what the hell happened to Marley after the ambulance left.”

She jerked her chin at the sink. “Finish cleaning up and then meet me at the bar across the street.”

Standing toe-to-toe with her, I growled, “Woman, you gotta lot of fucking nerve ordering me around.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Just do it.” She then tossed her dark hair over her shoulder and walked out of the bathroom.

“What the fuck?” I muttered.

After rinsing off my hands with record speed, I hustled out of the garage. As I climbed onto my bike, I couldn’t believe Sam had just told me to meet her at Tucker’s. I didn’t know if Marley had ever told her that was where we went sometimes after work to unwind.

Just before I entered Tucker’s, I slid on my cut. Although I didn’t want any club affiliation at work, I didn’t know what I might find inside. While I might’ve thrown back a beer or two with Marley, I was hardly a regular, so I wanted to set the tone just in case.

When I entered the room, I searched for Samantha. Part of me had worried that my grief and guilt had driven me so insane that I had hallucinated seeing her back at the garage. But thankfully, I spotted her sitting a table with a pitcher of beer and two glasses.

I eased down in the chair across from her. While her eyes flared slightly at the sight of my cut, she didn’t say anything about it. “Hope

Bud on tap is okay,” she said.

With a nod, I said, “That’s what Marley and I always had when we came here.”

Her expression turned sad. “Yeah, he told me.” She slid her mug of beer back and forth between her hands. “I really am sorry that I haven’t called you, Bishop. The only excuse I can give you is it has been a really hard week for me.”

Although I was still pissed about what had gone down, I found that I couldn’t look her in the eye. I felt like too much of an asshole for the way I had acted at the garage. For fuck’s sake, who did I think I was? Hell, Marley was just a friend I’d known for a few months.

He was her boyfriend.

After downing a few sips of beer, I said, “No, I’m the one who should be sorry. I acted like a real bastard.”

When I dared to look up, Sam gave me a small smile. “While I won’t argue with you about that, I do appreciate the apology.”

“You’re welcome.”

Sam took a sip a beer. “The truth is that while I might’ve been Marley’s girlfriend, I wasn’t his blood family or next of kin. That was made really clear to me when we got to the hospital. I had no say over what happened to him. The next morning his parents came down and took his body back home.”

“Where was home?”

“Michigan or Milwaukee.” She shrugged. “Marley never really said. He didn’t care for his family that much.”

I realized that he’d never told me exactly where he was from, either. I think his answer had been a cryptic “around.”