Slasherazzi by Daniel A. Kaine Read Free Book Online

just that.”
I reached over him to set my noodle box down and grabbed the remote, hitting the power button.
“Come on, Alex, I was watching that,” he moaned, pushing himself upright.
“We need to talk first.”
Vince cast his gaze to one side and sighed deeply. “I know, but shit, do we have to do this right now? I was enjoying just hanging out.”
“Just wanna make sure we’re both on the same page, that’s all,” I replied. “I don’t want us to end up repeating the same mistakes.”
Vince scooted closer, placing one hand on my knee. “What the hell, we were losing the game anyway. I'm listening.”
“I like you, Vince. I really do, but when you go into 'job-mode', it's like you're a different person, and you'll do anything to get a story, even if it means hurting me. I need to know that our relationship means more to you than furthering your career.”
We'd never really talked things through before— maybe that was where we had gone wrong—and instead, we shouted and argued, only to come back together after some time apart. And God, it felt so good to finally get it off my chest, like a weight being lifted and making it easier to breathe. I only hoped I hadn't laid it on too thick as the silence between us was starting to feel a lot more foreboding. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, until finally he spoke.
“I'm sorry.”
I exhaled and took hold of his hands. He stared at me, the green of his eyes reflecting the orange light of a nearby lamp.
“It's just journalism was something I always wanted to do,” he said, turning his gaze to the floor. “I really tried, but I was going nowhere. I only ever got short columns in the middle of the paper. No one knew who I was. Then I stumbled on some of your notes, and suddenly, I was going places. I wanted to keep that momentum going, and I guess I kinda got addicted to that rush. You have no idea how good it felt to finally be recognized.”
“That's not really an excuse.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “I thought if I explained you might understand. It's the same for you, right? You're always trying to outdo the competition, to find that one clue that will solve the case and get you promoted.”
Becoming a detective had meant busting my ass to show I could do my job better than the others. It meant spending long hours at the office and in the field— searching for witnesses and clues, trying to slot the puzzle pieces together before another dead body showed up. I’d blown off more than a few dates with Vince during our relationship because I’d been so focused on my job.
“I guess we’ve both let our jobs get in the way,” I said, reaching out to cup his cheek. He closed his eyes and rubbed the side of his face against my palm. “I think this time we both need to get our priorities straight. And we need some rules, too.”
Vince opened his eyes and nodded. “Okay. No more trying to get information out of you for my articles. But if we bump into each other at a crime scene, I’m still allowed to interrogate you for a comment.”
“And I reserve the right to say ‘no comment.’ Well, actually, I’m pretty certain I’m banned from making public comments after what happened today. The captain saw my little outburst on the news.”
Vince grimaced and sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Yeah, I can imagine that didn’t go down too well. If you ever do comment, I’ll try and make you look good. As for you, I’d rather you spent less time thinking about putting other men in handcuffs. Doesn’t do much for my ego, you know?”
I snickered and shoved Vince’s shoulder. “Idiot. I’m trying to be serious here.”
“And so was I, mostly.” Vince shuffled closer again and took hold of my hand. “It’s just that there were times when you would spend your whole day at work and I never got to see you. Made me wonder how much you wanted to be with me, and if I had to start killing people for you to give me some attention.”
I lowered my