Free Swerve by Michelle McGriff

arrived.
    Her heart weighed a ton.
    Gathering her purse, she stood to leave. The waiter came up to her table with a tray that held one single glass of red wine. “Oh, yes, I do owe for the time I spent taking up room here.” She smiled, reaching into her bag. The waiter held up his hand and slid the glass from the tray onto the table in front of her.
    â€œA gentleman bought this for you and told me to give you this,” the waiter said, holding out his hand. On his palm sat a small pebble. Capri’s heart leapt as she hungrily grabbed the stone and clutched it to her chest. “He also paid your tab.”
    â€œDo you know that man? Do you know his name?”
    â€œNo. I’m sorry. I’m new here—most of us on staff tonight are fairly new. He appears to be a regular but, I’m sorry, I don’t know him. He paid cash, so there is no way of finding out who he was tonight.”
    â€œIt’s all right. I think I know who he was…”
    â€œWell, drink up and have a good night, ma’am,” the waiter said, spinning on his heels and walking away.
    Capri sat back at the table and got comfortable again. She sipped the wine slowly, allowing all the pain, joy, and memories fade into the throat of it. It was rich French wine—not unlike a taste from home.

Chapter 12
    Back to the story
    Tommy woke up in Keliegh’s bed. She looked around, gathering her bearings. “That’s right, he’s on the sofa,” she mumbled, still half asleep, but fully disappointed. She had on his T-shirt and sweats, thanks to Romia mugging her the night before.
    Swinging her long legs over the side of the bed, she sat up and stretched. Keliegh’s bed was more than comfy. If only he had shared it , she thought, allowing her mind to wander into the forbidden place for half a second before snapping back to reality.
    Her head throbbed. She suddenly remembered the beating she had taken from Romia. “Crazy chick! You owe me big time,” she mumbled, again under her breath.
    After a pit stop at the bathroom to take the sleep off and all that, she shuffled into the living room, finding Keliegh on the sofa, scouring the newspaper.
    â€œNothing,” he barked, flipping the paper over as if maybe planning to go through it again, a little closer this time.
    â€œExcuse me,” she grumbled, thinking, hoping, praying he had coffee. With a girlfriend like Shashoni, he should have had all sorts of goodies because… baby has back and loves to eat …from what she had seen at the last precinct party. Shashoni put a hurting on that appetizer tray. Tommy ventured into Keliegh’s kitchen and, sure enough, the coffee pot, and some bear claws were right there waiting. Perfection! Gotta love a thick girlfriend , Tommy thought. Okay, so Shashoni actually had a perfect hourglass shape, but still, when one was tall and skinny like she was, everyone was thicker…well, except Romia. Now, that chick is stoked. She probably less than 1 percent body fat. She’s like a machine, Tommy thought now, remembering again the speed of Romia’s punches. Tommy was a third-level black belt and champion kickboxer, but still she would hate to meet Romia in competition. That chick is off this planet. She’s got some secret-weapon kinda moves ‘n’ shit, Tommy internally admired.
    â€œNothing about a cop killing. Nothing about Romia being on the run. Nothing on TV. No APBs, nothing…”
    â€œYou going in today?” Tommy asked after getting the coffee pot humming and the pastry arranged on a plate.
    â€œNo. I’m suspended, remember?”
    â€œMaybe you’re not,” Tommy said, sounding almost nonchalant. “Hank is a liar…an idiot, too. Cap’n didn’t say anything to me when I bolted outta there, like, ‘Stop her, he’s suspended.’”
    â€œWell, that’s what Maxwell What’s-His-Name told me. So…”
    Tommy