“Not happening,” he said as he pulled the bags free.
Bags.
Plural.
I might’ve gone overboard, but it was hard not to with Piper’s baked goods. The fact they also happened to be deliciousdiversions that doubled as a bribe was unrelated and strictly coincidental.
Mostly.
I waited on the sidewalk for Rhys to reach me so he could hook an arm around my waist and haul me to him the way I liked. The way we both liked. “Ready, hellcat?”
I was nervous. My family meant well, but I was the youngest and the only girl. They could be protective.
More than that, they could be a lot. I didn’t want them trying to scare Rhys away.
Not that they could.
In the three weeks since everything imploded, he’d barely left my side. It was easy when we’d both taken some time off.
Him because Rye needed repairs from the fire damage.
Me because… Well, because working myself to the bone to reach the next goal was no longer the way I wanted to live my beautiful life.
When my relationship with Rhys came out, I’d worried I would be out of a job. My little infraction was barely a blip on anyone’s radar. The department had bigger fish to fry. Actually, the state did. Butler’s reach through his super PAC included a lot of politicians and bigwigs who were now under scrutiny.
Despite everything that’d happened, Captain Talbot’s—or just Talbot now, since he was no longer anything other than an inmate number to the system—main objective was still keeping the city safe. As soon as he realized how badly he’d been played, he flipped on everyone he could. Even without Theo and Luca’shelp, Talbot had a good foundation of evidence to build cases against multiple idiots who’d been too drunk with power and bribes to watch themselves.
Matthews included. That secret jerkwad had been on Nash’s payroll from the start and had helped lure Talbot into the fold. He was also handy with spray paint and his artistic vision of neon dicks. I’d known I didn’t like him for a reason.
Shockingly, Murdoch wasn’t dirty. Not even a little dusty. More shockingly, he was alive. It’d been touch-and-go, but playing possum was the kind of lazy job he was born for. Even more shockingly still, I was relieved by that. I would’ve felt like shit that he’d rushed in to save me—or so he’d been told—and died in the ambush. But the bullet had caught enough of his vest to change the trajectory to miss anything vital.
It would take a while before they found everyone tied to Sean Butler and the Irish. I didn’t envy whoever had that job—it was way above my paygrade.
After nearly being taken out by my captain, the department had happily approved my request for leave. I would go back. I was still a detective. It was what I loved. And it was what I wanted to enjoy doing without being too distracted by future ambitions. But I needed a little time to spend with the people I loved.
Like Rhys.
Mayhem.
Piper, Jake, and the rest of the Hyde group.
Not to mention, so much more time for video games.
Oh, and also my family.
I needed to see them, too.
And make some introductions.
Which was why I went up onto my toes to press a kiss to Rhys’s jaw. “Ready.”
We barely stepped into my childhood home when footsteps rushed to greet us. Three sets were human. One was a pup.
I gave him my attention. “Hey, Goose. Boy, do I have a treat for you.”
“The dog’s name is Goose?” Rhys asked.
“Yes. Keep up. There will be a lot of names to remember, and I’m going to quiz you on them later.”
