Page 14 of Playing With Temptation

No, it revolted.

“Might fuck with our games if you bang someone connected with the Hope Center,” I told him lamely.

“A woman as fine as that one.” He shrugged. “Might be worth it.”

“If you’re not careful, you’re gonna turn into Preston,” I told him.

West gave me a one-finger salute in response to my insult.

Preston was that guy who no one could stand. Especially the guys he worked with at the station. The asshole bragged about the badge bunnies he nailed behind his wife’s back. At this point, the only reason he hadn’t been ratted out to his wife was because he was smart enough not to bring her around.

Three loud tones from my pager echoed through the gym followed by my phone ringing.

“Seriously,” Ethan complained. “It’s our day off.”

“Bet you wish you would’ve studied harder for that exam.” Jackson went in for one more dig.

“Yeah, I was really hoping for a spot on the evidence destruction team,” Ethan shot back and included a middle finger.

“See you next week,” I called out as I made my way to the bleachers to grab my phone.

“I’ll call Chelsea and let her know she can add your name to the list,” Echo said.

When Ethan didn’t respond, I realized he was talking to me. “I’m not going up for auction.”

“Come on, Jase. Be a good sport. It’s not like a date has to end with showing your wiener,” West yelled across the gym.

Wiener? West had the sense of humor of a six-year-old.

“Do we know how many times you were dropped on your head as a child?” I asked.

“Not enough to stop me from passing the⁠—”

“Exam,” I finished for him. “Yeah, we know. But, hey, I get it, that’s all you have to brag about when you boys are on your extended sleepovers. It’s like a big circle jerk, stroking fireboy egos with how smart you all think you are.”

“There you are.” West laughed. “I was worried you’d lost your sense of humor since you gave your last ride-along.”

“You mean the one your mom took?”

“You know my momma’s always up for a ride-along as long as the man giving the ride is in uniform.”

That was the truth.

West’s mom had screwed half the uniforms in Hollow Point. And that was when she was married to West’s dad. After they divorced, she’d made it her mission to be an aging badge bunny and she didn’t discriminate—some of them weren’t much older than West and not all of them were single.

From the outside, my jab might seem cold or below the belt. But it wasn’t. West’s way of dealing with the betrayal was to put it out there. Everyone knew who his mother was and what she did. He wasn’t using humor to mask his pain or shame. He genuinely didn’t care about the woman or who she was screwing. On the other hand, he did use the infidelity to further his reasoning never to trust a woman. But there was no underlying anger. Just complete ambivalence.

I made it to the bleachers, snatched up my phone, looked at Ethan, and told him, “Roger.” I swiped the screen to take the call. “Hey. Find something?”

“Hit the jackpot,” Roger, one of our techs, told me with more than a hint of excitement. “I know it’s your Friday off, but I got into Samantha’s phone.”

“I’m at the Hope Center with Ethan. We can be there in fifteen.”

It didn’t take long to toss out a few more insults at the smoke eaters and change before we were on our way through the lobby. Female laughter drew my attention to the windows of the multipurpose room Josie used to conduct volunteer orientation. Valentine’s woman, Sophie, was smiling at Josie, but it was the mystery woman whose back was to me who was laughing.

A sound so familiar it was an inexplicable ache in my chest. It made me want to interrupt whatever meeting Josie was conducting—barge in and lay claim before West finished playing basketball and made his excuse to meet her. The thought of my friend touching this woman made me want to tear his head off.

Mine.