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Five hours was both a lot of tih Because while I hadn’t needed ood, I’d had plenty of time to think about what it would be like to try to start over again When I’d done it the first tio to school on the east coast, I’d chosen to see it as a new adventure This ti behind sothe fa would crippleMav…I had no way to even describe what that was going to do to me He’d become the one person I could be myself around Who would I be now?

“Eli, we’re here,” I heard Mav say and I looked up frolanced atour descent into Newark, but I didn’t re after that I was lucky Mav hadn’t decided to just leavethere

My fingers felt nu from the seat next to me and stood Mav hadn’t , but he didn’t and he finally turned and left the plane I steeled myself for as to come and followed him

When I got off the plane, I saw Mav standing at the botto about a hundred yards away, a big SUV right behind hi time The other man’s expression was unreadable from where I stood, but I didn’t lanced atforward I stayed a few steps behind and watched the interaction when Mav reached the othertime before the other man put out his hand Mav hesitated and then extended his ar each other’s hands, their hands wrapped around each other’s forearer smiled and stepped forward to wrap his other arm around Mav and pat him on the back It wasn’t a lover’s embrace, but rather one of brothers

When they stepped back, the other man’s eyes fell on me and then shifted back to Mav

“Mace, this is Eli Galvez Eli, this is Mace Calhoun We used to work together”

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” I murmured as I held out my hand I hated that Mav hadn’t even attached the nondescript moniker of “friend” to me when he’d introduced me

Because eren’t even that I was a good fuck, nothing more, I reminded myself

“It’s nice to meet you, Eli,” Mace said as he shook my hand “I wish it could have been under aze shifted back to Mav “We don’t have to do this right away,” Mace said to Mav “I can take you to your hotel-”

“No,” Mav interjected with a shake of his head “I need to get this over with”

Mace nodded and then reached for s He stowed them in the back of the SUV while I clier seat None of us spoke as we made the twenty-minute journey to the Coroner’s office, but I did hear Mace make a call to tell someone named Detective Adams that ere on our way I’d purposefully chosen the seat behind Mace so I could watch Mav as we drove and the closer we got to our destination, thethe car, Mav’s jaw looked like it was going to crack from the pressure

I followed Mav and Mace into the building and ultimately the basement where it was considerably cooler than the upstairs had been A portlyfor us, file folder in hand

“Mr James?” the man said as he extended his hand We’d stopped in front of a large glassthat was covered with a curtain on the inside I knew exactly as on the other side of that curtain and I felt my stomach roll

“Yes,” Mav said stiffly as he shook the man’s hand

“I’ned to this case”

Mav nodded and I barely noticed when both Mace and I were introduced to the man because I was focused on how Mav’s eyes had shifted to theI ached to touch hi would be okay