super gave me the video.” She held up the CD. “We might be able to see who did it.”
“But there’s no proof I never left the building last night except for my word and Christina’s.”
“At the moment, no.” Before he could flip out, she added, “We’re on it. Freddie and the rest of the squad are ripping up the rest of her life. If there’s someone else with motive, we’ll find them.”
“And what am I supposed to do in the meantime? Any second now it’s going to get out that she’s dead, and the media will be on me like white on rice.”
“Which is why you’re getting out of here while the getting is still good. Go to your parents’ place or to Christina’s family. Go somewhere else until this dies down.”
“And that won’t look like I’m running away?”
“It’s a holiday, for Christ’s sake. People have plans on holidays. Go have dinner with your parents and act like everything is normal. If you stay here, you’re going to get stuck here when the story hits the news.”
“My parents invited us home for the weekend, but we wanted to spend our anniversary alone,” he said grimly. “I can’t tell you how much I wish I’d gone.”
“I wish you had too.”
Chapter Five
Gonzo went into the bedroom he shared with Christina and began throwing clothes into a duffel bag he’d pulled from under the bed. He’d heard the saying “coming out of your skin” throughout his life, but he’d never experienced the sensation himself until now. He literally felt like he was going to implode.
“Tommy.” The sound of his name coming from the woman he loved had him spinning around to face her. “Take a minute. Try to calm down.”
“Where’s Alex?”
“I put him down for a nap.”
“We don’t have time for a nap.”
She came to him, resting her hands on his chest where she could no doubt feel his heart racing. “Breathe.”
“I can’t.”
“Try. For me.”
He drew in a rattling deep breath and released it.
“Do it again.”
“Chris—”
“Do it again.”
Resigned, he did as she asked.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t kill Lori.”
“Everyone will think I did.”
“Let them think what they will. We know the truth. We
know
it, Tommy.”
“I wanted to.”
“You wanted to what?”
“Kill her. When I found out she had her lawyers looking into me, investigating me, looking for something she could use against me. Then when she discovered my connection to Morton and went to the media with it, I wanted to kill her.”
“Thinking that doesn’t make you a murderer.”
“I told Sam, last night when she called... I told her I wanted to wrap my hands around Lori’s neck and squeeze the life out of her.”
Christina gasped. “You said that
out loud
? To
Sam
?”
“Yeah.” A wave of nausea had him swallowing repeatedly. “I was blowing off steam. How could I know that someone was going to actually
do
that to her?”
“Oh my God, Tommy. No wonder she came here thinking it was possible.”
“She knows I didn’t actually do it, Christina!
You
know I didn’t!”
“What if she tells someone you said that?”
“She won’t.”
“How do you know that for sure?”
“I know it. I know her. She’s not going to tell anyone.”
“If it’s her ass in the sling, she’ll protect herself before she’ll protect you.”
He shook his head. “If you think that, you don’t know her at all. She always protects her team before herself. Always. I’m not worried about her telling anyone. She’s one of the few people in this world I trust completely.” He kissed her forehead and held her close for a minute he didn’t have to spare. “We gotta get out of here. Sam’s right about what’ll happen when they release Lori’s name to the media.”
Her hands trembled as she gathered her hair into a ponytail. He hated that he’d caused her such distress. “We’ll be okay, babe,” he said with more confidence than he had. “As long as we stick
“But there’s no proof I never left the building last night except for my word and Christina’s.”
“At the moment, no.” Before he could flip out, she added, “We’re on it. Freddie and the rest of the squad are ripping up the rest of her life. If there’s someone else with motive, we’ll find them.”
“And what am I supposed to do in the meantime? Any second now it’s going to get out that she’s dead, and the media will be on me like white on rice.”
“Which is why you’re getting out of here while the getting is still good. Go to your parents’ place or to Christina’s family. Go somewhere else until this dies down.”
“And that won’t look like I’m running away?”
“It’s a holiday, for Christ’s sake. People have plans on holidays. Go have dinner with your parents and act like everything is normal. If you stay here, you’re going to get stuck here when the story hits the news.”
“My parents invited us home for the weekend, but we wanted to spend our anniversary alone,” he said grimly. “I can’t tell you how much I wish I’d gone.”
“I wish you had too.”
Chapter Five
Gonzo went into the bedroom he shared with Christina and began throwing clothes into a duffel bag he’d pulled from under the bed. He’d heard the saying “coming out of your skin” throughout his life, but he’d never experienced the sensation himself until now. He literally felt like he was going to implode.
“Tommy.” The sound of his name coming from the woman he loved had him spinning around to face her. “Take a minute. Try to calm down.”
“Where’s Alex?”
“I put him down for a nap.”
“We don’t have time for a nap.”
She came to him, resting her hands on his chest where she could no doubt feel his heart racing. “Breathe.”
“I can’t.”
“Try. For me.”
He drew in a rattling deep breath and released it.
“Do it again.”
“Chris—”
“Do it again.”
Resigned, he did as she asked.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t kill Lori.”
“Everyone will think I did.”
“Let them think what they will. We know the truth. We
know
it, Tommy.”
“I wanted to.”
“You wanted to what?”
“Kill her. When I found out she had her lawyers looking into me, investigating me, looking for something she could use against me. Then when she discovered my connection to Morton and went to the media with it, I wanted to kill her.”
“Thinking that doesn’t make you a murderer.”
“I told Sam, last night when she called... I told her I wanted to wrap my hands around Lori’s neck and squeeze the life out of her.”
Christina gasped. “You said that
out loud
? To
Sam
?”
“Yeah.” A wave of nausea had him swallowing repeatedly. “I was blowing off steam. How could I know that someone was going to actually
do
that to her?”
“Oh my God, Tommy. No wonder she came here thinking it was possible.”
“She knows I didn’t actually do it, Christina!
You
know I didn’t!”
“What if she tells someone you said that?”
“She won’t.”
“How do you know that for sure?”
“I know it. I know her. She’s not going to tell anyone.”
“If it’s her ass in the sling, she’ll protect herself before she’ll protect you.”
He shook his head. “If you think that, you don’t know her at all. She always protects her team before herself. Always. I’m not worried about her telling anyone. She’s one of the few people in this world I trust completely.” He kissed her forehead and held her close for a minute he didn’t have to spare. “We gotta get out of here. Sam’s right about what’ll happen when they release Lori’s name to the media.”
Her hands trembled as she gathered her hair into a ponytail. He hated that he’d caused her such distress. “We’ll be okay, babe,” he said with more confidence than he had. “As long as we stick
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