Err on the Side of Violence: Terribly Acronymed Detective Club Series (Book 3)

Chapter Forty-Four: Joe, Saturday

"This is new," Joanie said. "We've never slept in the same bed before."

"No. Not slept," Joe said, staring up at the ceiling. He didn't want to admit to Joanie how wrong this felt, because he didn't want to hurt her. Never in all the times he'd gone to Joanie's had he stayed overnight. That was against the rules. The kids could never discover he wasn't home at night and, if he was honest with himself, he hardly ever stayed away overnight in any case, even for work, because he missed his family too much if he was away from them. Those nights in the wilderness and in the hospital had been the only ones he hadn't been at home in a very long time.

What made it harder was that this wasn't his choice. He'd been banished to Joanie's room tonight. Joe really hadn't predicted Lauren would be so furious that Joanie had showed up that she would literally throw him out of their room. Well, maybe not literally. Her words might as well have lifted him by the scruff of his neck, though, and tossed him through the door. 

He thought her insecurity about Joanie would make her keep him closer, at least at night. What he'd wanted to see, though, when he'd originally asked Joanie to come, was if Lauren would attempt to get back at him during the day by trying to arrange an encounter with Al. So far, though, the two had barely exchanged a word at the hotel, and that had frustrated him more than relieved him. 

Bringing Rachel up to their room earlier in the night hadn't been in the plan either, and it had shocked him that they'd brought Tej along, and that Lauren had proudly admitted it. "Yeah, we all fucked in the shower, Joe," she'd said, low and angry. "I dare you to tell Sunny about it."

Her rage had been so ugly. Where had they gone wrong? How did they suddenly start hating each other? "Rachel I understand, that's your thing," he'd said, "but Tej? Do you want to alienate Sunny? Break up that friendship? Is it your intention to burn everything down?"

"Oh, fuck off, what am I burning down? Rachel, Al and I are as good friends as we've ever been, and you're getting everything you want, bringing fucking Joanie up here without telling me."

"Joanie's her own person. I told her this was what we were doing. She chose to come up here. I didn't bring her up, as you say. I'm not her sugar daddy."

She'd glared at him silently, but said nothing.

He'd gone on. "Have you thought about Sunny? What will happen if he finds out what you did with his wife? Don't just consider the friendship aspect, what if he gets so offended that he stops using your firm to do investigative work? You could lose money because of one impulsive act."

She'd crossed her arms and said, "Do you think Tej will tell him?"

He'd shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know if she gets troubled by guilt like I do."

"Lucky for you I let you off easy. Look what I let you do."

"Because of what you do."

"I think it would be best," Lauren had said, calmly, too calmly, and this had been worse than her rage, "if you slept in Joanie's room tonight."

"What?" he'd asked, astounded. Hurt, actually.

"You want to be with her? Go to her. Tonight. The kids should be asleep soon, so, quietly open the door, ease it closed, tiptoe down the hall to the elevator, and go to the West Tower." 

She'd given him Joanie's room number on a slip of paper, and he'd taken it, holding it just tightly enough that it hadn't floated to the floor. "She told you her room number?"

"Of course she did, because I asked for it, and the last thing she wanted to do tonight was deny me anything, showing up in that fucking bikini the way she did. That was for your benefit, I hope you know."