Page 5 of Hooked on Trouble

Instead of saying the wrong thing, I watch her as she fills out the form. Her body is angled, her crossed legs jutting out beside my desk, and damn, those sandals. They snake up her inked legs, crisscrossing the waves and fish splashed over her skin. Birds and feathers fly up her arms. Flowers decorate her chest. All black and gray. All sexy as hell. I spent a lot of hours exploring that ink sixteen months ago. Each line is seared on my brain, except for her new sleeve.

More Raven to explore.

She puts the pen down and traces the rose tattoo inside her left wrist. “Anything else you need from me?” She avoids my eyes.

That’s okay. I’m happy to work for what I want. My life has been nothing but the job and family drama for too long. I haven’t had a woman since Aspen. Since Raven. Maybe that’s why I haven’t been able to forget her. Or maybe it’s my usual thing: Fall hard, fall fast, then lose interest. Whatever the reason, I need to find out.

“No,” I say. “We’ll contact you if we hear anything. And if any other details come back, give me a call.” I push aside some papers and lift my keyboard. No business cards anywhere. I go to lift my message pad and see Alessi’s scrawl on the page. My pulse speeds at the name on top: Luke Woodfield.

“How’s your brother? Any news on Josh’s case?”

I snap my head up at Shay’s question. At least there’s no judgment in her tone. No look of distaste that Josh got arrested for jacking a car. A car he didn’t know was carrying a fuck-ton of meth.

“Nothing,” I say. Unless this call leads me to the real man responsible for the drugs.

Raven regards me and holds my gaze for a beat. If I didn’t know better, I’d say there’s a hint of tenderness in her eyes. Could be she remembers the personal stuff I shared with her in Aspen. Could be she’s thought about me as much as I’ve thought about her.

Then her features harden. “Can we go now?”

Man, does she give good glare. I glance at the message pad again, wishing I could walk her out, finally get her alone for a minute to apologize. To explain. But a call from Luke is time sensitive. In an hour he could go underground. No word. No trace. Snitches are unreliable like that.

At least I’ve got Raven’s number now. Another week and I would have gone to Shay, tail between my legs, asking for it. “Let me grab one of my cards from my locker, in case you need to get in touch.”

Raven scoffs. “That won’t be necessary.”

Ignoring her, I stand and cross the room behind them. At my locker, I sift through my clothes and the briefcase I keep shoved inside. Ordered chaos. Alessi’s locker is pristine, like his hair and clothes—his shirts and jeans always folded, any papers filed alphabetically in folders. When I shoved my business cards into my locker, he grabbed a handful and said, “Come to me when yours get sucked into the Bermuda Triangle that is your life.”

Fucking hate when he’s right.

A minute later, I find a couple scattered at the bottom, under my shoes, and I hurry back to the girls. As I approach from behind, Raven leans toward Shay, their heads bent in quiet conversation. “He’s not coming out tonight, is he? Because I’m not going if he is.”

I hang back as Shay replies. “No. I made plans with the guys on a night he’d be busy. But I don’t get why you have such a hate-on for him. Nico is a good guy.”

Raven spots me lurking and raises her voice. “I have a thing against people who tell lies to get what they want. There’s nothing good about a guy like that.” She shoves back her chair, snatches her purse, and shoulders past me, elbows locked, sandals slapping the floor.

If I didn’t have the message from Luke nipping at my mind, I’d run after her. Force her to face me. Try to explain how messed up the past year and a half have been. But I’m not smooth like Kolton or funny like Sawyer. My words don’t always come out how I plan. If I blow this chance, odds are I won’t get another.

Shay plucks the business card from my hand. “Whatever you did to her in Aspen, you need to apologize. Raven doesn’t act like this with guys. She hooks up and moves on. So whatever went down must have been bad, and she won’t talk to me about it. You need to fix things.”

I glance at the door she stormed through. “She doesn’t act like this with other guys?”

“That’s what you took away from what I just said?” She shakes her head. “Fix it, Constable Makai. I love you, and Jackson thinks you’re his own personal action hero. I don’t want things to be weird when we all hang out.”

Shay stands taller, her big hazel eyes uncompromising. She’s taken to her role as surrogate mother to Jackson like a pro, which I’m beyond grateful for. When Kolton came home from the hospital, son in one arm, his wife’s lifeless body left behind, I did the only thing I could: moved in. Helping him raise Jackson was hard and amazing and heartbreaking, but I’d do it all over again. Now, eight years later, Kolton and Jackson have Shay, and nothing’s worth messing things up with them.

I nod. “Consider it done.”

She takes a step but pauses. “And no…Raven’s never been like this around another guy. Not sure if that will hurt or help your cause.”

With a shrug, she leaves, and I rub my neck. Hearing that Raven’s reaction to me is different tightens my ribs. Sixteen months is a long time to build resentment. It’s also a long time to keep a memory alive. Our night together was hot, but it was the hour before the shots flowed and clothes came off that keeps me up at night, and I’m guessing that’s the part that has her perfecting her glare. At least we didn’t have sex. Telling her no was excruciating, but she was too drunk by then. Not in the right mind to make that choice. There’s that, at least. I still need to make things right.

First step is to change tonight’s plans.

For now I have my brother and his sorry ass to save. I trudge to my desk and squeeze back into my chair. Breathing deep, I count to three, then exhale and dial Luke.

He answers after the fourth ring. “Woodfield.”

“It’s Nico. What have you got for me?” The longer he stays silent, the harder I bounce my heel. If he hasn’t found Jericho and I can’t get that punk to confess, my little brother is in for a world of hurt.