Page 118 of But For You

“Because that was never on the table for me.” He made a face.

“What does … I don’t understand.”

Men came in then, and I saw the DEA badges, and everyone was taken out, except me and Dwyer/Salcedo.

“Before,” I began, “when you started to say you didn’t understand, you meant me and Sam, right? You don’t get us, how we’re together or why.”

His eyes narrowed with hatred. “Yes.”

I understood. He was a gorgeous man himself.

“He doesn’t think there was ever anything between you two. He thinks you used him that entire time.”

He started nodding. “He’s right.”

But it was crap, and my proof was right there on his face, in his eyes.

“He’s wrong. Tell me. It was new back then, this identity. You went to medical school. Come on. Tell me the story.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be my path. But the others weren’t smart, and it came time to step up or step aside … and then we had to get information from an idiot Chicago police detective, working undercover with a federal task force. He had the intel because he’d ended up busting a friend.”

Dominic.

“So, you and Sam … you talked.”

He shrugged. “He was broken then. His closest friend, everything was a mess, he drank so much, and when he got hurt and came to the hospital …”

“Go on.”

“Once I had my hands on him … there was more I wanted.” He exhaled.

I needed to hear it all from Sam, not this man. “So, now, everything you had been afraid of ended up happening anyway.”

“Yes, it did.”

“You had a lot of people on your payroll, your own marshal even—that Cranston guy from Vegas.”

“You have no idea.”

“And for what?”

He shook his head.

“Were you done with Sam, or were you always planning to reappear in his life?”

“When he left, he was very specific about what he wanted for his life and who … and like he told you, it was never anything at all.”

I shook my head as the door opened. “You’re both liars.”

“I suspect some truth in that,” he said as he looked up at Sam’s boss.

“You know you’re still wearing a wire, right?” Farmer gave me the same pained expression I got from Sam quite a bit.

“But you’re gonna erase everything from once the bust happened, right?” I smiled up at him.

“Consider it done.”

“Thanks.”