Free The Strong Silent Type by Marie Ferrarella Page B

imploding.
    It was his idea of a living hell, being surrounded by an endless supply of people who did nothing but talk. And talk. And talk.
    Even people he thought kept mostly their own council, like his partner’s older brother, Shaw,couldn’t seem to pass up the opportunity to stop by and say something to him tonight.
    In Shaw’s case, it was advice. The tall, muscular detective took a chair next to him at the small table Teri had staked out for them while her older sister, Callie, flanked him on the other side. He was getting a triple dose of Cavanaughs, the only saving grace being that the older two didn’t talk nearly as much as his partner did.
    Straddling his chair cowboy fashion, Shaw took a healthy swig from his mug before saying, “You’ve got my sincere pity, Hawk.”
    With a lead-in like that, Hawk supposed he was expected to bite, so to save time, he did. “And why’s that?”
    “Being partnered with Teri.” He nodded toward his middle sister, who had temporarily gotten up to say something to one of the other detectives. “She’s relentless. I’m pretty convinced that she could get Satan to do her bidding if she kept after him long enough.”
    Hawk couldn’t help wondering if the other detective was somehow making a comparison here, equating him to the prince of darkness. The thought amused him. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d been thought to walk on the dark side.
    Which was fine with him. The less people knew about him, the better. He didn’t particularly like the idea of his life being up for public viewing. He was an honest cop—that was all anyone needed to knowabout him. Anything else was no one’s business but his.
    “Good to know,” Hawk murmured. He took the momentarily lull to finally drain the last of his beer. It was way past time to go.
    Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Teri on her way back. For a moment, he watched as her hips gently swayed with every step she took. And then he realized she was motioning to the bartender to send over one more beer, pointing to him as the recipient.
    Hawk set his mug firmly on the table. “You said one,” he told her as she rejoined them.
    Callie looked from her sister to Teri’s partner. “One doesn’t really mean one.”
    Was this one going to be as irritating as her sister? Hawk wondered. “It does in my book.”
    Looking at Callie, Teri shrugged. “He follows a straight and narrow path.” With a wave of her hand to the bartender, she canceled the new order.
    She was disappointed, but a deal was a deal, even if it hadn’t turned out the way she’d wanted. She’d hoped that since he’d finally joined her for a sociable drink, she could get Hawk to come around, to open up—at least just a tiny bit.
    Although he seemed to get along well enough with Shaw and Callie, as always, Hawk seemed to prefer to sit back and listen. Or least give the appearance of listening. With Hawk, you could never tell if he was taking everything in or if he was off somewhere else entirely in his head.
    She wondered why he was content to be alone. She wouldn’t have been able to stand it. There was so much you missed that way.
    Teri looked at the empty mug, knowing he was about to leave. “Doesn’t seem like nearly enough to say thanks,” she told him.
    He hadn’t come here so that she could say thanks. He’d come because…well, he wasn’t really sure why he’d come now that he thought about it. Maybe it had been his attempt at shutting her up so that he wouldn’t have to hear her invite him here anymore.
    Even as he formed the thought, he knew it was a lie. Nothing could shut Cavanaugh up for long, and after nine months, he’d be the first to testify to that.
    He shrugged noncommittally. “Like I said, one canceled out the other.”
    Teri studied him for a moment, temporarily ignoring the fact that they weren’t alone, that there was more than a score of ears within hearing distance. “Then why did you come?”
    He gave her the excuse