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The comment was so left-field and, well, true that Bailey couldn’t help himself. A bark of laughter escaped him, and Henri snorted. There was that charm again, that ease Henri had of taking something that felt heavy and difficult and making light of it.
It was a gift. One that Bailey imagined had gotten him out of a lot of…sticky situations.
“Trust me, there’s nothing wrong with being the good guy in this scenario, officer. It’s what I like best about you.”
Bailey took Henri at his word and decided to let it go. He was just having a momentary lapse of confidence and needed to stop it. If Henri wasn’t interested, he’d already be gone—of that, Bailey was one hundred percent certain.
“About Sean…”
“Yeah?”
“You don’t need to worry about him anymore. He knows where I stand on him butting in where he’s not wanted, and he’s agreed to back off.”
Henri scoffed. “That simple, huh?”
Bailey didn’t want to lie. “I don’t know about simple, but it’s what he agreed to.”
“Right. And did anything you find out this morning bother you?”
Bailey thought about all he and Sean had talked about. “Only that you’re going to be dealing with some pretty bad people with whatever it is you’re doing for him.”
Henri let out a deep breath as though he’d been expecting Bailey to say something like that. “That’s part of the job. It’s why he wanted me. I fit in with the bad guys. I’m good at it. Don’t forget that.”
Bailey didn’t believe that for a second. Not the kind of thugs Sean had Henri going after. Drug dealers, pimps—that was so not Henri. “That’s not what I meant. I’m worried about your safety. Sean will push to get what he wants. Just remember, you have the right to tell him to—”
“Fuck off?”
Bailey chuckled. “Yes. And if you do that? Can you record it for me?”
Henri let out a low rumble. “I’ll be careful. I promise. Plus, once I give my report to Detective Dick, I have a date with a hot cop who I’m hoping puts me on house arrest for a couple of days. You really think I’m gonna do anything that makes me miss that meeting?”
And just like that, Bailey’s body was back on high alert. “I sure hope not.”
“Tomorrow, Bailey. At noon. You better be on my fucking doorstep.”
Bailey reached down between his legs and rubbed the heel of his hand over his newly awakened arousal. “Is that an order?”
“Let’s put it this way.” Henri lowered his voice to a raspy cadence. “If you’re not there, I’m gonna come find you. That’s another thing I’m really good at.”
So, apparently, was making Bailey completely and utterly obsessed with him. Because when Bailey was walking into the precinct later that night, he was still thinking about Henri’s order and the threat that had followed should he disobey, and he was having one hell of a time trying to decide which of those two he wanted to experience more.
Chapter Seven
CONFESSION
Not much makes me nervous—
except parking my car near these twitchy motherfuckers.
HENRI STARED OUT the windshield of the Aston Martin as he made a turn off the main road and headed toward Scooter’s neck of the woods. He was on the lookout tonight for Ricky G, whom he’d been told he could find a couple blocks over from Scooter’s local hangout. As Henri began to make his way up and down the desolate streets, he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and slowed the car to a crawl.
Henri eyed the Glock on the seat beside him. When his attention caught on one of the side alleys and he saw a couple of the locals conducting business behind a dumpster, he reached for the firearm and shifted to tuck it down the back of his jeans under his jacket.
He was really hoping this little joyride through the old shipping yards today would be quick, painless, and provide him with some information he could report back to Dick. He figured showing up to a rendezvous with Bailey’s older brother after finding out they were sleeping together might go over better if he could distract the detective. Hey, look what I got you. Told you I’m not a fucking loser. As opposed to: I didn’t find out shit. You were right all along. I’m worthless.
Not that Dick’s opinion mattered all that much. The only thing that really concerned Henri was the fact that Sean was Bailey’s older brother, and whether or not Bailey wanted to admit it, a family’s opinion always ended up mattering some way or another in the end.
There was nothing he could do about that now, though, Henri thought, as he returned his attention to the road he’d just made a right on. It was an alley between two abandoned warehouses, a narrow street where several fires were lit in old barrels and shopping carts full of bottles and cans lined the crumbling walls—one man’s trash becoming another’s treasure.
