We shot the shit for a while as he worked, and my mind wandered frequently to the other side of the building.
Kase and Eli joined us one after another, each offering the same commiseration and concern before settling in to chat.
Or, more likely, settling in so they didn’t miss any details, the nosy bastards.
Sucked for them that there wasn’t much to offer.
That didn’t stop them from trying.
“So what’s up with Lo?” Eli asked, rubbing his hand over a bandage on the opposite forearm. It was the plastic kind thatdenoted a new tattoo, not an injury. Didn’t think he had much available real estate for more ink, but he’d found a spot.
“Aren’t you a married man?” I snapped.
Like Glitch a few days prior, his smile at the reminder was nothing but contentment. He took all that loved-up sickness a step further by peeling away the plastic to give me an unobstructed view of his new floral tattoo. Didn’t know shit about flowers, but it was a safe bet they shared a name withhisPosey. “Happily. But I was simply asking what’s up with her. You know, since she’s gonna be around and has been through a lot.”
Dammit.
My own thoughts about her were far from innocent concern, and my projection—and the thread of irritation in my tone—snuck free without thought.
“She’s fine,” I said—and lied. She was better than fine. “And she won’t be around long. It’ll likely only be a couple days before she’s transferred to the next shitshow in this city.”
Thank fuck.
I didn’t think I’d given much away, but my tension didn’t go unnoticed.
Jake looked up from his notes with narrowed eyes. “It’s going that bad? Should I give Piper a warning?”
I waved him off. “Nah, nothing like that. You know how I feel about people in my space.”
Especially distractingly beautiful people with big eyes, fuckable lips, and soft thighs…
“Everyoneknows how you feel about anything more than a few hours, so how’s this gonna work?” Kase asked as he hefted himself onto a workbench. Like Eli, he was also covered in ink—some of it permanent and some of it courtesy of the custom paint jobs he did in the shop. It was the latter he was leaving streaked on the bench under him.
“We’re just gonna say she’s my cousin or something like that,” I said. We hadn’t had to nail down the logistics of our story with anyone who didn’t know the truth, but the cousin thing her captain suggested made the most sense.
Actually, the more I thought about it, the more perfect it was. No one would blink at her sudden arrival in my life. No one would be suspicious that she stuck around for more than the few hours Kase mentioned. And if she was family, I could get away with being overprotective. I would ensure the men at the bar would give her a wide berth since less distraction meant she was out of there sooner.
Since there was no good gossip to gain from me, conversation moved to what everyone still had to work on for the day.
And I split my time between watching my phone and the doorway.
When someone finally came through said doorway, it wasn’t the detective. It was Hollywood.
“All good,” he said to Jake.
“Whole place?” Eli confirmed.
Hollywood lifted his chin. “Studio, too. I accidentally interrupted your wife’s recording, though. The shit that innocentface says?” He put his hand to his heart. “My poor ears have never heard such naughtiness.”
Eli’s wife was a narrator for romance audiobooks, and the reason Rye now stocked honey and tea. She was sweet and funny, which was probably why Eli had gone away for a wedding and returned with her as his souvenir. I had a hard time imagining what Hollywood could’ve overheard that would have him reacting like he was. Because he might’ve been playing it up for shits and giggles, but there was a very real tinge of pink on his cheeks that his short beard failed to hide.
Worse has to be said at the clubhouse. Right?
I thought about some of the conversations and jokes I’d heard from the women.
Or maybe not.
“Wait, you got through this whole glorified strip mall already?” I asked Hollywood, earning a middle finger from Jake.
