New Orleans Noir by Joanna Wayne

Author:Joanna Wayne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-05-13T18:30:38+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Hunter turned away and cursed silently. He’d said too much. He’d been afraid he’d have a weak moment like this if he spent too much time alone with Helena.

“This isn’t the best time to talk about that.”

“Why not? There’s certainly no one around to hear it.”

“The investigation is consuming me and delving into old emotions could put it and you in danger.” That was neither an exaggeration nor a lie. But it was an evasion and he doubted she’d settle for that.

“I can take the truth, Hunter. I’m not looking for another chance with you or even an apology for the way you left. I just need to know why. Really why. Not the pathetic excuse that you gave about not being able to go through with the wedding.”

He leaned against the shooting rest and searched his mind for the right words.

“I wasn’t lying to you back then, Helena. Walking out was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I had too many inner demons I needed to deal with before I could be a decent husband. Marrying you then wouldn’t have been fair to you.”

“Do you think giving up on us without discussing those demons was fair to me? Was making me feel like our whole relationship was fake fair to me?”

He could hear the building anger in her voice, but it was tinged with sadness. He deserved the anger, but he couldn’t let her turn on him now. Her safety was at stake.

“The decisions I made had left an innocent woman dead and a young boy an orphan. I had to find a way to live with that before I could face myself much less have anything worthwhile to offer you.”

“It was self-defense, Hunter. The police cleared you of everything, only by then you’d resigned and left the area. Just one more question, Hunter.”

He nodded, anxiety riding him hard as he dreaded whatever was coming next.

“Why did you bring me here today? That can’t be a typical detective responsibility. Why did you go to the trouble to hook me up with Robicheaux and his security firm? We both know what we had died years ago, so why pretend like there’s something special between us now?”

A relationship that died six years ago. That made it damn clear how she felt.

He reached for her hands and was shocked when she didn’t pull away. “I care about you, Helena. I care a lot. I never stopped caring, but right now the most important thing is keeping you safe.”

“You never called,” Helena said. “In six years, you never once called. That doesn’t sound like caring to me.”

“I called Mia several times to ask about you. She said I’d hurt you enough. You’d moved on and the best thing I could do for you was to stay out of your life.”

“And you just took her word for that?”

“It made sense. I was stationed in Afghanistan. I watched friends die and worse. I wasn’t sure I would get out of there alive. I had nothing to offer you.

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