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Jayela nudged me toward my desk. “Anyway. Come out with us. Let’s get a drink or something. Won’t be too late. I want to check out the Sinner’s hangouts again tomorrow so I don’t want to be hungover.
I paused. “Did Chief talk to you about that?”
“He might have mentioned something about leaving them alone, but we’ll stay well back. No one will even know we’re there. I just have a gut feeling I can’t shake.”
“There’s something going on with them for sure,” Johnson agreed. “If I were a betting man, I’d put my money on guns and drugs.”
Jayela nodded eagerly. “Yes! And we’re going to nail them.”
I could have killed Johnson for riling her up about it again. She was like a dog with a bone, and I should have known she’d ignore the chief’s warnings to stay away. But there was no point arguing with her when she had her mind set on something. It was a problem for tomorrow. I’d try to come up with some excuse to keep her occupied. Maybe we’d have a rash of home invasions or some other interesting crime that would keep her mind off the Sinners. “Drinks sound good. Just let me put this stuff away.”
I took off my badge and gun and locked them in the safe. One of the broken, sharp edges of the garden gnome protruded through the flimsy paper of my lunch bag, creating a jagged tear. I grabbed the top of the bag to throw it into the trashcan by my desk, when the entire thing split in two, the small rip becoming a big one. The bottom half of the bag hit the floor, contents spilling out everywhere.
A massive purple dildo bounced off my boot and rolled across the floor toward Jayela and the guys.
All four of us stared at it. It made a final rotation, displaying my name printed down the side.
The others burst into hysterical laughter. Johnson’s snorts of amusement were so loud they drew the attention of the rest of the room. Heads swiveled in our direction, other officers pushing to their feet to see what the commotion was all about.
Jayela could barely compose herself enough to speak. “Is it April Fools’ Day? What just happened here? Why do you have a ten-inch rubber dick in your lunch bag?”
Stewart poked at it with his toe, while tears rolled down his face. “The bigger question is, why does it have your name on it?”
I couldn’t stop staring. My face flashed hot, mortification creeping up my neck, while the others howled their amusement. Slowly, the embarrassment turned to anger. I was so fucking sick of being everybody’s punching bag. William. The chief. And now Eve. “Enough,” I snapped. I stooped and grabbed the dildo from the floor, shoving it beneath my jacket as I stormed out of the station. Any desire to hang out with Jayela and the others was lost in their mocking.
Jayela’s laughter trailed after me. “Don’t be such a stick-in-the-mud, Boston! If you needed some alone time with your little friend, you could have just told us.”
Without turning around, I stuck my middle finger up in the air. She only laughed harder, Johnson’s snorts grating my last nerve to smithereens.
I had no idea why Eve had put it in my bag. But the fact it had my name on it felt like a pretty clear insult. I was a dick. Or maybe she’d just done it to embarrass me. Or to discredit me in front of my squad.
Either way, I heard her loud and clear.
Any enjoyment in talking to her earlier tonight disintegrated. She’d just declared a war.
9
EVE
Iwas tired the day after William had set me up and tried to have me arrested. Like he’d promised, Boston’s friend had delivered my car to me, refusing to take payment for the tow, assuring me Boston had already covered it. Which only made me feel worse about what I’d done. I’d stayed at the club working on the books until my eyes had crossed, but once I’d gotten home and into bed, sleep had completely evaded me in favor of wondering if Boston had found the dildo.
The conversation after he’d dropped me off at the club had played over in my mind, and I’d lain there all night, regretting that I hadn’t just come clean and confessed. But our talk had actually been kind of pleasant. He hadn’t been a dick. I hadn’t been a bitch. Nobody had arrested anyone. That was always a bonus. He’d caught me by surprise by actually being nice, and I’d had no idea how to admit my mistake.
Trouble had always been easier for me than truth.
I knew that said something about me.
“Okay. So, best-case scenario. He just threw the bag in the trash. He didn’t see the dildo. Didn’t see his name. Everything is fine. Maybe I can ask him to coffee?”
My cat, Lexi, just stared up at me with large, judgmental eyes.
I frowned at her. “What? You’re on his side?”
She lifted one leg and began cleaning herself. I wasn’t sure whether that was a confirmation or a denial. Rude cat.
“Fine. Perhaps I owe him an explanation.”
Lexi eyed me, expression full of disdain.
