Too Late

“That sounds like heaven.”

I crawl into bed and snuggle up to him just like I did at the hospital every day. He turns on the TV and begins flipping through the channels. After a minute or so, he says, “Thank you, Sloan.”

I glance up at him. “For what?”

His eyes scroll over my face, slowly. “For everything,” he whispers. “For taking care of me. For being as strong as you are, despite everything you’ve been through.”

I know the doctor said no strenuous activity, but I doubt the doctor knew Luke could say such appealing things. I press my lips to his, because it feels hella good being thanked. And complimented. Heck, just having someone be nice to me is so new, it makes me melt every time he opens his mouth.

His hand comes around to the back of my head and he kisses me harder.

This isn’t good. Luke is right. Four weeks of this and we’re expected to refrain? Jesus Christ. We’re screwed.

But then we’re spared by a loud knock on the door.

“I’ll get it,” he says, pulling back the covers. I yank the covers back over him.

“No you won’t. You’ll rest. I’ll get the door.”

He grabs my hand as I’m sliding off the bed. “Check the peephole first,” he says. “If it’s Ryan, he’ll scratch his neck to let you know it’s safe to open the door. If he doesn’t scratch his neck, do not open that door.”

I pause, wondering why their silent codes are even necessary. I don’t ask, though. This undercover shit is going to take some getting used to. I hope Luke was serious when he said he was switching professions.

When I reach the front door and check the peephole, sure enough, Ryan is scratching at his neck. But there’s someone else with him. A girl.

“There’s a girl with him!” I whisper loudly as I run back into Luke’s bedroom.

“Long blonde hair?” he asks.

I nod.

“That’s fine, it’s just Tillie.”

Tillie. Great.

I go back to the living room and enter the passcode to the alarm, then open the door.

“Hey,” Ryan says, making his way inside, followed by Tillie. She smiles at me, but I’m already intimidated by her. She’s a few inches taller than me, decked out in sleek black pants and a tucked in white collared shirt. She has the top two buttons open, revealing a shiny silver braided necklace. I’ve never seen simple look this good.

“Tillie, this is Sloan. Sloan, Tillie.”

She reaches out to shake my hand and it almost hurts, she has such a good grip. I can’t help but think about the fact that she’s made out with Luke. Even if it was just for work, it still makes my stomach feel weird knowing this fact about them. I don’t let it bother me too much though. I get it.

As if she can read my mind, she says, “I’m sorry about making out with Luke in your house. It was necessary, but will never happen again. Believe me. It’s almost as bad as when I had to kiss this one for show,” she says, pointing at Ryan.

Ryan rolls his eyes. “Tillie, Tillie, Tillie,” he says. “That was over a year ago and you still can’t stop thinking about my tongue in your mouth.”

She nods. “Nightmares are hard to overcome.”

I laugh. I instantly like her. I close the door behind me and point to the bedroom. “He’s in his room,” I tell them both.

Ryan glances toward the room and then back at me. There’s something in his expression that concerns me, but he’s trying to hide it with a forced smile. “You mind if we talk to Luke alone?” he asks.

I cross one arm over my stomach and grab the other. I look back and forth between him and Tillie. “Does it have to do with Asa?”

I can see Tillie look briefly in Ryan’s direction, her eyes revealing that Asa is exactly what they intend to talk to Luke about.

“I want to know,” I say to them. “If you don’t let me hear what you’re going to tell him, I’ll eavesdrop at the door.”

Ryan doesn’t laugh. His lips tighten together and he just nods. “Fair enough,” he says.

They both turn to walk into Luke’s bedroom and I’m forced to inhale a calming breath.

This doesn’t look good.





I can see Tillie and Ryan making their way into my bedroom, but my eyes are on Sloan. She’s standing in the living room with her eyes closed, looking like she’s about to be sick.

“What’d you say to her?” I ask Ryan.

Right when I ask him that question, she blows out a rush of air, opens her eyes, stands up straight, and walks toward my bedroom.

Ryan shakes his head. “Nothing. She’s insisting on being in here for what I’m about to tell you.”

Sloan is in the bedroom now, leaning against the door, watching as Ryan and Tillie make their way around the room to the couch. The last thing I want is for Sloan to be involved. If I could have my way, she’d never have to hear Asa’s name again. But I know we’ve got a long road ahead of us and a lot of court hearings. Possibly even testimonies on the stand. So until Asa is convicted and put away for good, I know I’m not going to be able to protect her from all of it. Instead, I pat the spot beside me on the bed and encourage her to come sit with me.

She does. Once she’s settled next to me and we’re both propped against the headboard, I look at Ryan. “What is it you don’t want to tell me?”

He shakes his head and leans forward, clasping his hands in front of him. “I don’t even know where to start,” he says, his eyes meeting mine. “I met with Young today.”

“And?”

“It wasn’t good,” Ryan says. “I don’t even know how to sugar coat this, so I’m just going to explain it in a way you’ll both understand.”

Sloan’s hand wraps around mine and I can already feel her shaking. I squeeze her hand for reassurance. Ryan tends to overdramatize situations; I just wish Sloan knew that so she wouldn’t be this worried.

“Asa is claiming he shot the guy in his bedroom out of self-defense.”

Sloan scoffs. “It wasn’t self-defense!” she says. “I was there!”

Ryan nods softly. “Not in defense of himself,” Ryan says. “He claims he was defending you. That he heard you screaming for help, and when he walked into his room, the guy was attacking you and he was holding a gun. He claims he had no other choice but to stop him before he killed you.”

Sloan is shaking her head. “It wasn’t...” She looks at me. “Luke, he didn’t have to kill him.”

I knew Asa was going to pull this shit. I wrap my arm around Sloan and refocus my attention on Ryan. “What does this mean exactly?” I ask. “When it goes to trial, his defense won’t stand up to Sloan’s testimony?”

Ryan blows out a quick breath. “That’s what we’re hoping,” he says. “If it goes to trial.”

“If?” Sloan says, voicing my exact thought.

Tillie speaks up this time. “The thing is...” she says. “It’s a solid case of self-defense. The guy was holding an unauthorized weapon. Sloan was screaming for help. He was attacking her. Even with her testimony, Asa’s defense holds up. And the gun he used was a legal firearm, registered in his name. Unlike the victim. Also, Asa is claiming to have no knowledge of who the men were who broke into the home. And the police haven’t located any of the men who fled. Only the victim, who, so far, has no ties to Asa that we can prove.”

I rake my hands down my face. I can hear Sloan’s breaths speed up as she begins to realize what Ryan and Tillie are telling us.

“But what about the three of us?” I ask Ryan. “It’s our word against his. We know he orchestrated that entire thing. He admitted to it out loud.”

Ryan nods. “He admitted it to you, Luke,” he says. “I never heard him say it, so I won’t be able to testify against him. I wasn’t in the room with the two of you. And...” Ryan pauses.

Tillie leans forward and says, “He’s claiming the two of you set him up.”

I sit up straight. “Are you fucking kidding me? What jury is going to believe that shit?”

This is ridiculous. They’re in here saying absurd shit and upsetting Sloan. I shouldn’t have let Ryan talk to me about this in front of her.

“I know this sounds crazy,” Ryan says. “We all know how guilty he is. But to a jury...how do you think it’s going to look that Asa’s fiancée was knowingly sleeping with the undercover cop who was trying to have him arrested? How do you think it’s going to look to a jury when it’s Asa’s fiancée and that undercover cop’s word against his?”

Sloan’s hand slips from mine and she covers her face. My chest is starting to ache with all of this.

“You knew I was pursuing her, Ryan. If I knew it would jeopardize the case...” I was about to say I wouldn’t have done it, but I shut my mouth. Because I would have done it. I did do it. I pursued her, no matter the consequences, and now it’s putting us in a huge fucking bind.

“Depending on the judge,” Tillie says, “he might throw the case out before it even goes to trial. Most cases of self-defense are ruled justified homicide if there’s a witness to corroborate the defendant’s story.”