And I internally jolted when she rapidly brought her fist down. “Yesss. I knew that was you. It’s been driving me crazy.” She waved her hand. “Anyway, back to what I was saying. I know this may be hard to believe since you’re this take-charge, give ’em hell, intimidating badass, but those feel-good pieces are what I want to do. But even if I had the highest of aspirations to report on the grittiest of crimes, I wouldn’t risk my friends, their safety, or their trust. Plus, I literally work at Rye. Okay, I visit to drink and end up working through the crush, but still. I’m there. Why would I broadcast the story to the city and undermine you trying to keep everyone safe?”
The tension that’d infused my body loosened at that. If she spilled, and I got pulled, she could be in danger every time she worked a shift behind the bar or visited it as a patron on the other side.
It would be stupid.
I was already back on teamGirl’s Girlsbefore Piper added her endorsement. “Rhys told us what happened, and we just want to help. The group… Well, more the boys than us, but whatever.Wemight be gossipy, but it’s only within the circle. And even then, we can keep secrets when needed. We didn’t tell anyone when Joss was pregnant.”
Harlow held up a finger, and I hoped my relief didn’t dissipate as quickly as it’d formed. But when she interjected, it was to say, “Technically I did tell someone, but it was Joss, so I think it’s fine.”
My brows lowered as I looked between her and Joss, trying to make sense of that.
“We made taking pregnancy tests a group activity. I was the one to see hers was positive.”
I might not have a voracious social life, but I still knew that was a weird as hell group activity.
It didn’t change the fact that their point was made, and I was confident my cover was safe.
Nonchalantly moving back to pick up my poor, abandoned coffee, I admitted, “I like the fluff.”
Harlow smiled. “There’s enough bad news in the world.”
“Trust me, I know.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
OVERCOMPENSATING
RHYS
“You good, man?”
Pulling my focus from the doorway I’d been staring at, I looked to where Jake sat on a stool near a mint Land Rover he was inspecting for planned upgrades. “Yeah, why?”
“You were fuckin’ shot at a few days ago. That slip your mind?”
“It happens so frequently, they just blur together.”
He gave me a look that said he didn’t think I was funny.
I held my hands up. “I’m good. Barely a scratch.”
“Lo wasn’t so lucky.”
Like his wifey, Jake didn’t need to be reminded that she was Lo and not the Detective Oscar they knew. Unlike his wife, he hadn’t greeted me with a delicious cookie. Just the fucked-up reminder of how bad it could’ve been.
My fists tightened till my knuckles went white. “Could’ve been worse. Literal inches away from so much fuckin’ worse.”
He shook his head, his jaw clenched. “Any ideas what happened?”
“Not a damn one.” And that pissed me off almost as much as Lo getting scraped up.
“Fuck.” He tilted his head toward the doorway as Hollywood strolled by with a wave before hauling his equipment into a different room. “Between all of us, we’re fundin’ MayCo for the month with these security sweeps.”
Jake knew they were a biker club. Hell, his garage had become Court of Mayhem’s unofficial provider for all things parts, repairs, upgrades, and maintenance. But I wasn’t sure if he knew about the extractions they did to help the traumatized and vulnerable. I doubted it, though. Court of Mayhem was tight-lipped about those details.
But since funding MayCo meant contributing to those heroic efforts, I said, “There are worse things to throw money at.”
“True. And at least I know it’s done right with them.”
