Chapter 6

URIAH

I get away from Bryce long enough to give Sanders a phone call. I told him in not so many words that I would talk to him in the morning. It took a bit to convince him that I was all right. I couldn’t blame him for being worried, considering what I was getting myself into. Little did he know that my new situation had nothing to do with the case we were trying to solve.

My priorities had suddenly switched to something else entirely.

I sighed a deep breath and closed my eyes. I pressed my fingers against my forehead then slid them down toward my temple, my face pointed down at the table.

“Tired?”

I shifted my eyes toward Bryce. He had the tiniest little smirk on his lips. It was cute in a way.

“Not tired,” I said with a chuckle. “I just didn’t realize how much I drank tonight. There’s a hangover coming in there somewhere tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll have to tell Norman to cut you off next time.”

“You won’t have to tell Norman that. I don’t think I’ll be drinking much very often.”

“Same here.”

“I would think so.”

I looked around the diner that Bryce had brought me to. It was a typical run-of-the-mill place that you’d expect to be open 24 hours a day. There were only a few other people around.

“These people,” I said. “I think you and I are the only ones having a meal here.”

“Who? Them? Yeah, sometimes people come to this place when they need somewhere to sit or lie down. It’s better than sleeping on the street. There aren’t as many homeless here as there are in the Southern Block, so there aren’t as many shelters.”

“Maybe somebody should do something about it.”

“There’s an idea. You can tell Ashton Webb that these people could use a place to stay.”

“I’ll get right on it and give him a call.”

I gave him a wink. The way Bryce grinned gave him an innocence I wouldn’t have expected after meeting him earlier tonight. The no-nonsense man who ran the bar was gone, replaced by someone I felt like I could actually talk to.

“You come to this place a lot?” I asked.

“Not a lot. Sometimes I have long nights at the bar though, so there’s nothing better than coming in here and having a late meal. My hunger gets to me more than my fatigue and I just have to have a bite. This place is always there. There are a lot of diners like this one in the West Bay but this is the one that I like.”

“Right… You been living in the West Bay for awhile?”

“Born and raised. Been here my whole life. I wouldn’t trade it for anywhere else in the world?”

“Anywhere? What about the Northside?”

“The Northside is nice but it really isn’t my cup of tea. What do I need a big house and a fancy car for? I get by just fine with the way things are. That’s how they’ve always been. My brother and I…”

He stopped talking for a second. I widened my eyes at him.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

He didn’t say anything. He was just staring at me with a smirk slowly growing on his lips.

“You don’t really care about any of this, do you?” he said.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know. It feels like I’m telling you my life story—”

“Bryce, I just…”

I looked around to make sure that nobody was listening. Most of the other patrons were sleeping, so they probably didn’t even care. I leaned forward and whispered to make sure they didn’t hear.

“…I just got you pregnant. I’m already a part of your life story.”

When I said it, it hit me again. I’d just mated with an Omega. He went into heat right next to me and we lost control of ourselves. A moment of passion that neither one of us could do anything about.

“When you put it like that, I guess you have a point,” Bryce said, a soft smile on his lips.

He sighed a deep breath and shrugged.

“My brother and I were orphans,” he said. “We grew up on the streets together, bouncing from foster home to foster home.”

“That must’ve been tough.”

“It wasn’t easy. But we were always together, so I never got down. He’s always been there to pick me up. I know I can always depend on him.”

“Your brother… He still around?”

“He’s doing just fine. He’s not around as often as he used to be but he’s still a part of my life.”

“I have a question… You two were orphans. How did you end up running your own bar?”

“That… That’s a long story.”

I chuckled softly at his response. Bryce didn’t seem too reluctant to talk about it but he didn’t seem excited about it either.

“We’ve got all night together,” I said. “The rest of the night, anyway…”

“Right… Well… It’s not as interesting as you think it is. My brother and I just started working once we were old enough. We lived on the streets for a bit, saving as much money as we could until we finally got our own apartment. We kept saving. We kept working. Finally, we got a good deal on the building and opened up a bar. Figured if anybody else could do it, we could do it.”

“What’s his name?”

“Cade,” he said with a smile. “Hopefully you can meet him.”

“How do you think Cade will react when he finds out what just happened between us?”

“He’ll be happy. Cade has always been happy for me. He’s my older brother. I can’t remember a time when he wasn’t looking after me.”

“That’s good to know. I’m… I’m looking forward to meeting him.”

There was something in his eye when he talked about his brother. Something that made the subtle smirk on his lips even more genuine. I could tell just by looking at Bryce that he was being sincere about everything he just said. Strange to think that I was taking everything he said to me at face value. I knew better than to trust the word of a man I only just met but I found myself wanting to give Bryce the benefit of the doubt every time.

The waiter arrived to take our order. There was some surprise on his face like he didn’t think people came here to eat this late at night.

“Let me see,” Bryce said as he examined the menu. “I’ll have a burger, all the fixings. Side of french fries. And give me an order of fried chicken. That sounds good… Maybe a bite of mashed potatoes on the side. Some vegetables sounds nice, too.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Bryce’s big order. When he realized what I was laughing at, he looked up at me and shrugged.

“Is there anything else?” the waiter asked.

“Something to wash it down with,” Bryce said. “A glass of cola sounds nice.”

“And for you?”

“Just give me a burger and the fries,” I said. “Same as him. None of the extra stuff.”

As soon as the waiter was gone, Bryce let out a deep sigh.

“What’s wrong?” I said.

“Sorry. I just… I’m so hungry. I didn’t think it would hit me that fast. This baby is really doing something to me.”

“You don’t have to apologize for something like that,” I said, laughing softly. “I understand.”

“I know. It doesn’t seem fair to order so much food though. Working up that kind of a bill. Are you sure you don’t mind paying for it?”

“It’s not something I do very often but a meal like this won’t empty my bank account, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Right… So, you rich then?”

We shared a laugh. I shook my head at his enthusiasm. Even if he denied it, there was no doubt he was probably hoping I was someone wealthy.

“Not rich,” I said. “I get by though.”

“All right. Uriah…”

“Kennedy.”

“Uriah Kennedy. Where do you live?”

“I live in the Northside. But not in those fancy mansions you probably hear about. You know, there are some common folks up there. They’re not all rich, snooty socialites with their noses in the air.”

“I would never accuse you of something like that.”

“Good. Because I’m not anything like them.”

“And living up in the Northside… What is it you do up there?”

It took a second for his question to register.

Damn…

That’s when it hit me. The reason why I was in Brickstone in the first place.

I can’t lie to him.

I hesitated. There was no telling how Bryce would react if I told him the truth. It wasn’t even about the amount of danger I was putting him in. If he realized why I was in his bar, I could only guess if he would be upset about it.

He widened his eyes at me as I searched for a response.

“What is it?” he said. “You embarrassed about admitting what you do for a living?”

“Embarrassed… That’s not the word I would use.”

“Then what word would you use?”

“…Concerned.”

The smile left his face right when I said it.

I can’t lie to him.

It didn’t matter what happened. I had to tell him the truth. Every second that went by, I knew I was only making things worse.

“I’ll tell you the truth,” I said.

“Good.”

“But you have to make sure you don’t tell anybody. Not just because it’s a secret but because I could be putting myself in danger.”

“Sure,” he said with a shrug. “What is it?”

I leaned forward across the table. I sighed a deep breath through my nose and finally let it out.

“I didn’t go to Brickstone to have a drink,” I said.

“I know.”

“You do?”

“Sure. There are plenty of bars in the Snow Falls to have a drink. The chances of you coming into my bar are zero. It’s just like Judith said. You were looking for dope, weren’t you?”

“Not in the way you’re thinking.”

“What does that mean?”

Bryce was giving me one last chance to back out. I could hold the truth back. But those innocent green eyes of his… I couldn’t betray him.

“My name is Officer Uriah Kennedy.”

“Officer?”

“I’m with the Snow Falls Police Department. I’m in the West Bay because we have information that leads us to believe a major drug distributor is coming to that area. He’s setting up shop there. I’m tasked with getting information on him and making sure that doesn’t happen.”

I braced for whatever reaction he would give me. Anger. Frustration. Confusion. Concern.

But I looked into Bryce’s eyes and there was nothing. Just a blank stare like he wasn’t listening to a word I was saying.

I didn’t push him. I just let him put together everything for himself.

“…You’re a cop?”

I nodded softly.

He shifted his gaze away from me, lost in all of the thoughts undoubtedly running through his head.

“That’s why you were at the bar,” he said. “You were looking for information on someone.”

“That’s right.”

“You’re not lying to me, are you?”

He slowly looked back at me. I shook my head softly.

“You’re not mad?” I said.

“Why would I be mad?”

“Because I held the truth from you.”

“Just a few hours ago, I was a complete stranger to you. You’d be stupid to tell me the truth. Hell, I think you’re stupid telling me now. But… I do appreciate you telling me.”

“I know that we’re involved now. But this case I’m working on now… This is my case. I won’t get you involved in it. I’ll take care of it. My only focus is on making sure that you take care of yourself and the baby is healthy.”

“Are you sure you can handle it? Working on this case and being the Alpha to my child?”

I didn’t have a choice but it was still the decision I wanted to make.

“I’ll be here for you, Bryce. No matter what.”

He smiled softly at me. I reached out my hand to him and he took it. I squeezed it in my grip, trying to help him get my point. The waiter arrived though and interrupted our brief moment together.

“Burger,” he said. “Fries. Fried chicken. Vegetables and potatoes.”

He laid the plates out on the table for Bryce.

“That was fast,” I said.

“I told you this place was good,” Bryce said.

He gave me a wink and started digging into his food. The smell of my own burger made me forget the seriousness about everything we just talked about.

The case was still a priority for me. I would get on it as soon as I woke up in the morning. I was sure Sanders had dozens of questions for me.

For now, I could have this moment with Bryce while the two of us recovered from everything we did tonight.