Page 71 of Falling For You

Knox called out from the end of the bar. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"There's no harm in being curious."

Andy pinched the bridge of her nose. Knox shook his head. "That's not how the saying goes."

The whole table lost it.

Andy caught my eye across the bar. I mouthed the words. I love you. Her smile widened.

I had a lot to be thankful for.

CHAPTER 28

Gus

ANDY

"The burglar from the Lockwood house? They matched him to the other two break-ins. Stasio's apartment downtown and the one off West Ashmont on Halloween."

The afternoon sun cut across the dash as we headed east on Charleston. We'd cleared two calls since lunch: a fender bender on Tropicana and a noise complaint near the university that resolved itself before we arrived.

"All three?" I'd been flagging that pattern for months. "Good. That's a solid case."

"That's basically what you're doing in the ride-alongs, right? Watching cases come together like that?"

"Sort of. It's different watching it from the inside, seeing how a detective takes the same details I'd put in a supplemental and turns them into something that moves."

Jeremy nodded. "I'm going to miss riding with you when you make detective."

That made me smile. "I've still got hours to finish. But it's coming together."

The radio crackled.

"Shots fired, 419. The Lantern, West Ashmont. Multiple victims. Caller reports at least three people down."

Jeremy and I looked at each other. He hit the lights and floored it.

I told Jeremy to secure the perimeter for incoming units and paramedics before I ran inside.

The bar smelled like gunpowder and copper. A man was on the floor by the far wall, face-down with a handgun beside him. Another was slumped against the base of the counter on his back, his handgun on the floor a few feet away. He looked familiar. I'd seen that face before but I couldn't place it, and I didn't have time to try.

Because Gus was on the floor behind the counter.

Terrence was beside him, on his knees, both hands pressing a bar towel into Gus's chest. The towel was soaked through. Terrence's glasses were crooked on his face and his hands were shaking.

"Gus!" I dropped beside them. "Gus, stay with me."

His eyes found mine. Glassy, unfocused, but there.

"Take care of my boy." His hand came up and gripped Terrence's arm. "You hear me? You're going to be just fine."

"Gus, don't talk. Paramedics are coming."

Gus's hand slid off Terrence's arm. His eyes were still open, still pointed at the ceiling, but there was nothing behind them anymore.

Terrence made a sound I will never forget. He pressed harder on the towel with both hands in one last attempt to revive Gus, but he was gone. Terrence leaned forward. He rested his forehead against Gus's shoulder and broke.

I should have worked the scene. Two shooters, an active crime scene, protocol I could execute in my sleep. Instead I put my arms around Terrence and held him on the floor of the bar while Gus's blood soaked through both our clothes.