Page 79 of Power & Punishment

I open my mouth, reaching for a lie, but my brain is completely empty.

Keith watches me closely, his expression slowly shifting from worry to realization. “You’re staying with someone? Fuck, don’t tell me it’s⁠—”

“Don’t.”

“Mia.”

“Keith.”

He doesn’t find my reply funny. Doesn’t even crack a smile. “It’s temporary.”

“You know how stupid it is getting involved with that man, right? Jesus Christ, I should’ve never let you go with him last night. I’m an idiot,” he mumbles, planting his face in his hands.

“Shit,” I curse under my breath, quickly looking over my shoulder to make sure no one is eavesdropping. “It’s not your fault, Keith. Just please trust me when I say I’m handling it.”

Keith leans back in his chair, worry pushing together his brows in a way that I’ve never experienced before. He rarely pushes like this. He lets me have my space when I need it, and I do the same for him. But now that I’m trying to completely shut him out, he’s not letting me.

And I should be thankful for that.

“You’ve been off ever since the Russo case. You said you were fine letting it go, but now…now I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me.”

I clench the arms of my chair, playing with the idea of letting him in.

But then I think about how every time I close my eyes, I either see my dad bleeding out in that parking lot or Vince’s corpse rotting away on the pavement.

I can’t risk Keith’s life too.

I won’t.

“Do you remember when we first got assigned together?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he says slowly, the wrinkles disappearing from his forehead. “You told me that you hate most people and you’d be surprised if we lasted a month.”

“To be fair, you were incredibly annoying.”

“Still am.”

I muster up a weak laugh even though it fades quickly.

Keith looks at me, his expression tense. “Mia⁠—”

“You were the first person I chose to trust in a long time,” I admit, cutting him off. “I know I’ve been acting weird, but I promise I have it under control. I just need you to trust me and be patient.”

He lets out a restrained breath, a conflicted look in his eyes. “Fine. But whatever mess you’re in, I’m here if you need me.”

Guilt presses against my ribs as I nod with a weak smile.

“Now I think you have some explaining to do for offering me up to Katy on a silver platter,” he smirks, tilting his cup to his lips.

I continue to smile, thankful for the space as we ease back into our typical back-and-forth. “How did you find out about that?”

“I ran into her last night, and she asked when I wanted to take her to dinner,” he shrugs, setting his coffee down and leaning back in his chair.

“And you said?” I ask.

“I went along with it. I figured my partner must have a good reason for making a deal with a medical examiner.”

I scrunch my face together, a comforting warmth sparking up inside me. I open my mouth to respond, but then I hear, “Esposito, get your ass in here!”