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I was stunned by what he said. “You’re turning a blind eye?”
He drank some of his water. “I’m not a cop. I don’t have a case on my desk to prosecute and as far as I know, the DPP aren’t looking into it either. There’s nothing to turn a blind eye to as far as I’m concerned.”
I reached across the table and placed my hand on his arm. “And you don’t believe the end justifies the means,” I murmured.
“I believe in your happiness, Tatum. I don’t want to see you hurting anymore, and if this is what makes you happy, I’ll put my shit aside.” His eyes bored into mine. “Tell me you’re happy and I’ll not say another word about you choosing a biker.”
I took a deep breath. “I’m happy.”
He flinched a little at my answer, and I realised that while Duvall said he wanted me to be happy, he didn’t necessarily want Nitro to be the one to give me that. However, he gave me a tight smile and said, “Good.”
I loved him for that. If you couldn’t allow your friends to be happy in the way they chose, you couldn’t call yourself a friend.
* * *
On my way home from work that afternoon, Billy called in a pissed-off mood. “I swear I’m going to close this damn club down, Tatum. It’s a never-fucking-ending headache of staff fucking up and quitting on me.”
I laughed as I steered the car around a corner. “You threaten this on a daily basis, Billy. I think it’s time for an intervention. Maybe some Xanax mixed with some vodka and we could throw in some other shit too if you need it.”
He wasn’t amused. He never was, but I put up with him regardless of the fact he had no sense of humour. “This isn’t helping.”
“Okay, tell me what you need. I’ll make it happen.”
“I need a fucking new cleaner. And I need them tonight.” He said it like he doubted my ability to produce the goods.
I smiled. “Done.”
He took a moment to reply. “Why do you sound so fucking joyful today?”
“Because I am. Now, hang up so I can go get your cleaner.”
He grumbled some more shit before finally ending the call. I pulled the car over so I could access the files I stored in my Dropbox on my phone. Dustin’s résumé was stored in there and it had his phone number in it. Once I’d located what I needed, I dialled him.
“Hello?” He didn’t know my number and sounded hesitant.
“Dustin, it’s Tatum. I have a job for you.”
“Huh?”
“A cleaning job. Do you still need a job?”
“Oh… yes, I do!” Excitement filled my ears.
“Are you free tonight? Because they need you right away.”
“Yes!” Dustin’s easy nature had to be his best trait.
I gave him all the information and called the club to talk with the woman who he’d work with that night, organising with her to hold his hand a little. As I drove home with the intent to relax in the bath for hours, I thought about how happy and grateful Dustin was for the opportunity I’d just found him. That was what made my job worth doing.
33
Nitro
“One Night Girl” by Blake Shelton
I banged on Tatum’s door, irritated as fuck at her. She took her sweet time answering me and it only gave that irritation time to grow.
Swinging the door open, she said, “Jesus, Nitro, why all the banging?”
