Touch of Red (Tracers #12)(46)

She glanced up, Sean’s face was tight.

“We got to my house, and I told him to go home and cool off. I told him if he ever touched me like that again, our relationship was over.”

“Did he leave?”

“He got in his truck and peeled off. And that was it. The next day he came over and acted like everything was fine. And it was for a while.”

The waitress appeared with two tall shakes topped with whipped cream. Brooke stirred hers with the straw and took a sip to cool her throat.

“Then a few months later it started up again. He’d been working all these weekends. Midnight callouts. He was under a lot of stress at work.”

“That’s no excuse.”

“I know.” She glanced at Sean. “Finally, one Saturday we both had the afternoon off, so we went to the river where some of his friends were hanging out at the sand volleyball court. You know the one by the campground?”

Sean nodded.

“So, we were standing beside the court, and it was the same old same old. We got in a disagreement about something minor. I told him he was wrong, and he picked up this big bottle of water and poured it over my head.” She remembered the icy liquid trickling down her neck and her back. She remembered her face heating. She’d been so stunned, and she’d wanted to disappear. “I mean, it was water. The most harmless thing in the world.”

Sean was looking at her now, his gaze intent.

“I was so shocked I just stood there. And I realized this was it. This was the end. He wanted to humiliate me in public and he did.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing. I laughed it off. I acted like it was a joke. But inside I knew that was it for me. It was only going to get worse.”

She took a sip of her shake, letting the cold soothe her nerves. Sean still hadn’t touched his.

“We finished the afternoon with everyone. Went home. I told him I was tired, so he could just drop me off. I think he knew something was up, but he went along with it. The next day I called him and told him I wanted a break. I didn’t have the guts to tell him in person. I wasn’t sure how he’d react.”

“What did he do?”

“We talked in circles for a while. He told me I was being unreasonable. Overreacting. He told me I didn’t understand the stress he was under at work. Whatever. I’ve got work stress, too. And I deal with cops all the time, so I know what the job’s like. Yeah, it’s stressful, but that doesn’t give you a pass to treat people like shit.”

She took a deep breath. “So, that’s it. The whole crappy story. Aren’t you glad you asked?” Another tear leaked out and she swiped it away. “I don’t know why I’m like this. I’m not sorry it’s over or anything. My instincts told me it was going to get worse, not better, so I know I did the right thing, even though it’s been bumpy.”

“Define ‘bumpy.’?” She didn’t miss the edge in his voice.

“Everything you’d expect. He came over drunk a few times. I pretended I wasn’t home. We’ve had some heated phone calls. He followed me around some.”

Sean’s gaze narrowed. “He followed you?”

“He’s not doing it anymore. I haven’t had a conversation with him in two months.”

Sean was watching her closely, but she couldn’t tell what was going on in his mind. She decided to omit the part about the spying app on her phone. Alex had removed it, and Brooke didn’t want Sean to know she’d been gullible enough to miss something like that. She’d agreed to talk, but that didn’t mean she had to share every unflattering detail.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

“I’m glad you told me.”

“That’s not all you’re thinking. What else?”

He put his hand over hers, and the warmth of it made her feel a pang of yearning.

She pulled her hand away and rested it in her lap. “Matt has plenty of flaws. I’ll be the first to tell you that. But you should trust me when I say he’s not capable of that shooting today.”

“You’d be surprised what people are capable of.”

“He’s been in law enforcement six years, Sean. He does good things, and he’s a volunteer firefighter. He’s got third-degree burns on his arms from rescuing a little girl from a house fire. I’m not defending everything about him, but that shooting? You’re wasting your time looking at him for that. That’s linked to Samantha Bonner’s murder somehow. I know it is. That’s the avenue you should be pursuing.”

“We are.” Sean pulled his shake toward him and finally took a sip, downing a third of it in one gulp.

“And?”

“And, as much as I hate to admit it, the drive-by reinforces my lieutenant’s theory that this whole thing is drug related.”

“What about the theory that someone’s gunning down an eyewitness to a murder?”

“If the target was Cameron? Yes, that makes sense. If the target was Kaitlyn, maybe not.”

“It was Cameron.”

The waitress was back with the check. Sean grabbed it. Brooke tried to leave money, but he waved her off. “No way. This was my idea.”

They left the diner in silence, but it was a different kind of silence from before. Brooke felt relieved. Lighter. Like two heavy sandbags had been lifted off her shoulders.