"And you really don't know him?"
"No," I said. "Just from those couple of times. That's it."
"And you don't have any idea what he wanted tonight?"
"Well, Brittney did sort of threaten me, so –"
He jerked his head back. "She what?"
"It's a long story," I said. "She came into the diner maybe a week or so later. We didn't exactly hit it off, and –" I shrugged. "She said she'd pay me back or something, but I didn't really take her seriously. But if I had to guess, this was probably her idea of a joke."
I shrugged. "Or, it could've been the guys acting alone. But somehow, I don't think so. For one thing, Brittney knows where I live. They don't."
"I'm gonna kill her," Lawton said.
"You're not serious." I swallowed. "Are you?"
He turned to face me. "Is that what you think?"
"I don’t know what to think. You and your friend, Bishop, you guys act kind of strange sometimes, like you might not always follow the letter of the law, if you know what I mean."
"He's not my friend." Lawton's voice was quiet. "He's my brother."
"Oh."
"But you already knew that, didn't you?"
"I thought, maybe," I stammered. "But uh, you never said so, so, uh –"
"Oh just forget it," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's a different conversation."
"No, it's the same conversation," I said. "You hardly ever talk a lot about yourself. I'd really like to know."
He gave me a hard look. "Yeah, I know the feeling."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Look," he said, "I know you're not dumb, so stop acting like it."
I shrank back, his words hitting like a slap in the face. "I don't act dumb," I said.
"If you say so."
I didn't need this crap. My night had been awful enough already, and his veiled accusations weren't exactly helping. "You know what?" I stood. "I'm going home."
He gazed up at me, his expression stony. "Yeah? And where is that, exactly?"
I opened my mouth, and then clamped it shut again.
"Yeah," he muttered. "I thought so."
I shook my head, hearing my own voice soften as I said, "Maybe it's just time to accept it."
"Accept what?"
"That we just don't belong together."
Chapter 55
