Brutal by K.S. Adkins

said?”
    “No. Your job is to keep doing what you’re doing, and to share information. My job is to protect you, and use that information to my advantage,” he states, and I kind of want to choke him again.
    “Um, no. We’re partners. ” I air quote it for effect
    “I ain’t disagreeing with you. We are partners in some ways, but in some ways we’re not, ” he says, and I feel like this argument is getting away from me.
    “We are either partners in all things, or you can go protect someone else’s body,” I spit out, and wow did that come out wrong.
    “I’m protecting your body, so deal with it.”
    “I’ve been protecting my own body since I was eighteen. You need my intel. You need my resources. You need me. ” 
    “ I do need you, ” he growls at me. “But… you need me, too,” he finishes softly.
    “I don’t need—“
    “Yes. You do.”
    How his arms got to be around my shoulders, I’ll never know, but I do know that if he kissed me right now, I wouldn’t do a thing to stop him. If I knew how, I’d even go first. I’ve never kissed anyone before, and I want him to be the first. Desperately. Like mountain climb his body desperate.
    “You’re right, I do,” I concede. When I look up at him, I realize I have absolutely no idea what we’re talking about anymore.
    “Listen,” he says, not making any attempt to move. “My job is to protect, not be protected. You have to work with me here. This is new for both of us, it’s gonna take time,” he says, while his hands are rubbing circles on my shoulders. I wonder if he knows he’s doing it.
    “I need to head home, to get ready for work tonight. I need to get the guest room ready for you, so how about you go do your thing, and pick me up at nine?” I say, hoping he buys it. I have a meeting I can’t miss.
    “Got my bag with me, so I’ll come with you now,” he says, so I pull out the big guns. Guilt.
    “I need to decompress a bit, yeah? I’m a pretty solitary person, and I just to need wind down a bit. I feel like shit for what I did to you, and I could really use a few hours to work it out in my head space. Please,” I say, going in for the kill.
    “Nine pm,” he says. “Be ready.”
    “Thanks for understanding. I live over in Brooklyn Lofts, second floor. I’ll let Boss know you’re coming,” I say, feeling like a dick for deceiving him.
    “Venessa…” he starts.
    “Hmm?” I say, turning towards him.
    “Go straight home,” he says calmly. I can't help but wonder if he sees through my bullshit.
    “Where else would I go?” I ask sweetly, then I hustle to my next appointment. I don’t like being late for meetings.
    On my way to track Miguel, I place a quick call to Macy to give her the details on my run in with the Detective. She says it's fate, and that if she gets done with her shift on time, she might make an appearance tonight to scope him out. She’s an amazing nurse, but she will make a name for herself in pharmaceuticals someday. She wants to find that cure, and knowing her, she will. Did I ever tell you how Macy and I met? It was in Girl Scouts. I was investigating my friend Amber’s missing cell phone, and I fell out of a tree. She found me and patched me up. She told me she wanted to be doctor, and I told her I wanted to be a cop. We’ve been inseparable ever since. Where I’m below average in height, Macy Kowalski is 5’8 and 130 lbs of perfection. No, really, she is. She’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever known. She can kick your ass, too, but she’d rather not. She leaves that to me.
    Macy also has shit luck with men. Guys get one look at her and think ‘arm candy’, but she isn’t arm candy. She’s brilliant, and once they figure that out, they don’t last long. The only decent one in her life is her lab partner, Ben, but that’s because he’s a bookworm like her, and wouldn’t hurt a fly. It helps that she’s not into him, either, although by the way he follows her around I’d