“I sure hope so, but right now… I’m not so sure.”

Sam’s phone rang. “It’s Kyle,” she said to Malone as she took the call. “What’s up?”

“He’ll be here at eight. He usually sits at the left side of the bar.”

“What’s he look like?”

“Blond, handsome, well dressed. You can’t miss him. He stands out.”

“Thank you.”

“Sure, no problem.” His tone dripped with sarcasm. “If you’re going to make a scene, I only ask that you make it as quickly and quietly as possible. My reservations are down twenty percent from before Morgan and Angelo died.”

“We’ll be in and out so quickly, you won’t even know we were there.”

“Right. Is there anything else?”

“Nope. That’s it.”

“Great. Bye.”

“Was it something I said?” Sam asked Malone, who laughed. “I’ll see this through, and then I’ll go home.”

“I’ll see it through with you.”

Cameron drove Gigi to his place, feeling sick to his soul over what Jaycee had put her through. He’d died a little more inside every time she’d been forced to retell the story before everyone was satisfied that they had the necessary details and told her she was free to go.

Malone had said she’d be suspended with pay while the incident was investigated, but he’d assured her she had nothing to worry about, as it was a clear case of self-defense.

Cameron was worried for her anyway. These things had a way of blowing up into a much bigger deal than initially expected, and if that happened to her because of his ex… God, he was going to be sick if he didn’t get himself together.

“It’s not your fault,” she said after a painfully long silence.

“Whose fault is it?”

“Jaycee’s. She’s the one who couldn’t handle being rejected by a man and chose to make his life—and mine—a nightmare. That has nothing to do with you.”

“How can you say it has nothing to do with me?”

“Because it doesn’t. She made her choices, and I will never blame you for them. She was mentally unbalanced, and you were wise to end it with her when you did.”

Cameron’s eyes watered to the point that he could barely see to drive. He pulled off the road and put the car in Park, staring straight ahead as he battled out-of-control emotions.

Gigi turned to him and put her hand on his arm. “It is not your fault.”

“This is what I tried to tell you was going to happen, but you convinced me that she couldn’t get near us.”

“I let down my guard for one minute. That’s on me.”

“If I can’t blame myself, then you can’t either.”

She smiled for the first time, but it was a faint smile, not her usual dazzling affair. “We’re going to have to agree to absolve ourselves of guilt, or she’ll succeed in driving us apart. That’s what she wanted. We can’t give her that.”

“I keep thinking about what she did to you…”