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“I…think so? That’s where I’ve been.”
With a dry chuckle, he shook his head. “I think she might have something else up her sleeve, but she’ll let you know. You doing all right though? That bruise looks pretty nasty,” he said, nodding towards one of my arms.
“I’m good.” I shrugged. “Not the worst thing I’ve had to deal with over the last couple months.”
“Yeah, y’all like to get into some shit, don’t you?” He laughed. “But I’ll tell you just like I tell the rest of them—you’re not in a competition to see how much you can take. I know y’all are used to having to fight, used to having to survive out on your own. But Alicia’s made it her mission to change that, and I made it my mission to make sure she’s able to live that out. So if you ever need something, don’t hesitate.”
“Aw, are you two in here bonding?” Alicia asked from the door, making Cree chuckle and shake his head. “Here she go, had to make it weird,” he said, pushing off from where he’d been standing at the counter to go to the fridge.
“Excuse you, I elevate the space when I come in the room thank you,” Alicia quipped, turning to me. “I know you’re having lots of fun with the cleanup from our takeout, but you have a visitor.”
At first, I glanced at Cree, lowkey thinking she was talking to him.
She had to be, right?
But he was looking at me, turning up his beer, and Alicia was looking at me too.
Before I could outright ask, the visitor in question had stepped around the corner to join Alicia in the door frame.
“I know that ain’t who I think it is,” Cree exclaimed, laughing as Tati took a few steps forward.
What is she doing here?
Not that I was bothered by her presence, I was just…surprised. It was late, and with everything going on, I doubted thePredatorswere off lockdown. Besides the fact that no one in her crew could, at least to my mind, approve of her being here.
But here she was, in a thigh-length hoodie and those weird furry boots, looking comfortable and completely relaxed—and good as hell.
Tati looked at me, just briefly, before narrowing her eyes at Cree in response to his words. “Detective Bradley. Hello.”
“Not anymore, Ms. Tate.” He chuckled. “You can relax.”
“Oh I was going to do that anyway,” she said.
Alicia and I both looked at each other, confused by this energy. Cree was the one to speak up.
“I have a bit of history with Ms. Tate and her uh… organization,” he explained, taking another swig of his beer. “Going all the way back to when I wasOfficerBradley and I had to arrest the young Miss Tate and her fellow teenage hoodlums for trespassing, vandalism, all the usual stuff.”
I looked to Tati, and her lack of a rebuttal for that made me laugh.
No response meant the shit was true.
“So you were a delinquent?” I asked.
She sucked her teeth, but there was an amused glint in her eyes. “No way you’re surprised by that information.” She laughed.
“Oh I am though.”
“Really?” she asked. “I’d think you know me better than that by now.”
“We are going to leave you guys to talk,” Alicia said, motioning for Cree to leave the kitchen.
“Nah,we’llgo,” I said quickly, remembering what Cree had let slip about Alicia trying to get me to stay over here in her private residence. “I’ll walk back over to the other side with her.”
“Wait though,” Alicia started, but I’d already grabbed Tati’s hand and headed in that direction.
“Don’t worry, I remember the way back,” I called, a good cover for me getting out of there while I could, even though I knew that wasn’tactuallywhat she was trying to get me to hold up about.
“Why were you trying to get away from her so bad?” Tati asked, once we’d cross the threshold back into the area of the building meant for theRosesandThornsand had gotten back to my room.
