Run the Risk by Scott Frost Read Free Book Online Page A

small dog, in my mind. Maybe if I cooked more. I could take a class. I could. I really could. Yeah.
    I walked through the kitchen, through the living room, and down the hallway to her door, where I stood silently. I didn’t knock, I didn’t say anything. I just stared.
    â€œCan I come in?”
    â€œYeah,” came the reply.
    I opened the door and stepped in. I saw her eyes stop on my blood-encrusted nostril and then raise up to the stitches just above my temple. She opened her mouth as if she were clearing back pressure in her ears, then her face flushed and lost all color.
    â€œIt was you . . . in the explosion,” she said, her voice wavering with emotion.
    â€œI’m fine.”
    â€œI saw the news. They said a policeman was hurt. Was it Dave?”
    I sat down on the bed and nodded. “Yes, his skull was fractured, he’s pretty banged up. The doctors say he’ll be okay, though.”
    â€œYou could have called.”
    â€œI did, I left a message.”
    â€œThere wasn’t one on the machine.”
    â€œThe machine probably didn’t get it,” I said.
    â€œYeah, whatever.”
    I sat there for a moment, thinking about the phone machine, but couldn’t stop myself. Had Lacy heard the message and was just turning the screws on me for leaving her the night before? I tried to push the thought aside before I said something I would regret. Lacy saved me from myself.
    â€œI was on the news,” Lacy said. “They interviewed me. They wanted to know why I did what I did.”
    I took a deep breath. “We might have talked about it before you talked to the press.”
    â€œIt’s not about you, it’s about me.”
    Ignition.
    â€œThat’s not what I meant. It can be tricky, that’s all. You have to be careful you don’t get manipulated.”
    â€œI think I’m the one doing the manipulating.”
    â€œYou’re right there.”
    Blastoff.
    â€œMeaning?”
    â€œNothing.”
    â€œI’m not going to apologize for what I did because you got hurt,” Lacy said.
    â€œNo, you should apologize to me because you didn’t tell me what you were going to do last night.”
    â€œIf you knew about it beforehand, you would have been an accomplice.”
    â€œIf I knew beforehand I would have stopped you.”
    â€œCase closed. Direct action only works in secrecy.”
    The words “direct action” hung in the back of my throat like a strep virus.
    â€œDirect action?”
    â€œThat’s what it’s called.”
    â€œBy whom? You sound like you were trained for this.”
    â€œAnd you sound like a cop. It’s just a beauty pageant, give me a little credit.”
    â€œCredit isn’t the first thing that comes to my mind.”
    â€œThanks, Mom. I did what I believed in and I would do it again.”
    â€œI haven’t had a very good day. I don’t want to argue.”
    â€œI’m not the one arguing.”
    â€œYou’re the one who lied.”
    â€œWhen?”
    â€œSilence is just as good as a lie.”
    â€œWell, you would be the expert on that.”
    Jesus.
    â€œStop!” I yelled. “Just stop!”
    She took a breath and steeled herself. She was working real hard at being the tough one, but I could see the cracks showing. She had already lost a father, and I had promised her years ago that nothing would happen to me because I was a cop. Now my partner was in the hospital and I had come closer than I wanted to admit to breaking that promise today. The weight of that landed right on my shoulders. I felt like I had betrayed her trust, and had acted impossibly irresponsible. Looking at her now, I couldn’t imagine how I could take even the smallest of risks.
    â€œI was scared,” she said.
    My eyes welled up with tears. “I’m sorry.”
    I reached out, put my arms around her and held her for as long as she would let me.