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Jayela recoiled so far she almost headbutted me. “Oh my God.”
A dead pig stared at us with unseeing eyes.
“Got him from a friend who’s a butcher. Going to spit roast him overnight, then have a party tomorrow. Want to come?”
“Pass.”
“Food will be good. Drinks will be free. Many illegal goings-on to keep someone like you entertained, I’m sure. Sex, drugs, rock and roll. Name your poison.” He winked at Jayela.
She stared him down. “While I appreciate the invite, I think I have to be literally anywhere else that night.”
Hayden chuckled. “Like that, is it?” He patted the pig’s rump. “Guess it’s just me and Wilbur then. See you next time, Officers.”
With a mock salute and a lingering look in my direction, he straightened and strutted down the street, no fucks given.
“I hate that guy.” Which was the truth, but I was also a tiny bit relieved we could leave. “Want to get some food on the way back to the station? Is it too early for Chinese? I think the place on Lewis Street might open early…”
I glanced over at Jayela. Her jaw was set tight as she stared out the windshield. She didn’t say a word for the entire drive back to the station. And when we got there, she stormed right inside the chief’s office.
I followed behind at a much slower pace.
The chief sat behind his desk, peering up at us. “Can I help you two with something?”
Jayela kicked the door shut behind me and folded her arms over her chest, glaring at me. “Why doesn’t this bother you?”
I blinked. “Hayden? He does.”
She shook her head. “No, I mean the fact that the last three stakeouts we’ve been on in relation to this gang have been complete and utter busts.”
“Maybe they actually aren’t doing anything illegal…” My excuses were lame, and I knew it.
Jayela shot a death look in my direction. “They’re as crooked as a dog’s hind leg, Boston!”
I glanced at the chief, praying he’d give me the green light to tell her everything. But his steely expression gave nothing away. There was no permission coming. We’d been through this. And he’d already made his mind up.
I sighed, turning back to Jayela and trying to be diplomatic in the hopes of calming her down. “I get it. I’m frustrated, too. But this is the nature of stakeouts. You know that. Most of the time they don’t produce the goods. We just have to be okay with it.”
I jumped at the slam of her hand coming down on the chief’s desk. “Bullshit! There’s something more going on here, and you know it.”
Shit. “Jaye, I—”
“Someone is tipping them off. They have to be.”
Someone. Not you.
But I couldn’t do this anymore. Lie to her. We were supposed to be partners, and I wasn’t acting like one. My resolve to keep her in the dark under the guise of keeping her safe and following orders crumbled with every second she stared me down. I couldn’t stand it. I opened my mouth to confess it all. She needed to know what was going on.
The chief cut me off with a glare, though his words were directed at Jaye. “I’ve told you before to stop worrying about Hayden and his crew.”
Jayela blinked at the harshness in the chief’s tone. She was a favorite of his, and she was such a good cop, he’d never had much reason to come down hard on her.
But he was coming like a ton of bricks on this.
“There’s something going on there, boss. I can just feel it.”
“And you?” The chief demanded, turning to me. “You share this same gut feeling?”
It was a question loaded with unspoken intent. I heard it in every syllable. A clear warning to end this now.
