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“Okay, smartarse! Anyway, let’s get to the real reason you’re here. What’s up?”
Her laughter falls away, and she begins to fiddle with the zip on her hoodie.
“I know we haven’t exactly had a lot of time to chat, but now things are settling down, I wanted to talk to you. You have questions, and I get that, but I’m not ready to give them to you yet, Roxy. What I can give you though is reassurance that I never blamed you.”
“Star, I’m not going to lie and say I’m not desperate for answers, but I would never push you. But you need to know that when you’re ready, I’ll be right here. And no matter how many times you tell me you don’t blame me, I’ll always blame myself.”
Her eyes fill with tears, and reaching out and wrapping her in a hug, we hold onto one another for some time.
“I love you, Star,” I tell her.
“And I you, Roxy…Lawler,” she says, humour lacing her words. “It’s perfectly you, you know,” she continues, just as Maddox and Zak come into the room.
“What’s perfect?” Maddox asks, dropping down on the bed beside me.
Star gets to her feet. “I was just saying that Lawler suits her, that’s all. I’m going to see what Maria has made because it smells divine. Are you still on for shopping tomorrow?”
“Absolutely. I have a whole house worth’s of belongings to replace. We are going to shop till we drop.”
After she leaves, I barely take a breath before Zak dives on me, caging me in on the bed.
“Tomorrow we’re going to talk about Noah’s letter, but right now, I want to know what your DCI wanted this morning?” Maddox asks seriously.
“I fucking knew you were bloody listening. He wanted to offer me my old job back. Apparently, good cops are thin on the ground these days.”
I try to make light of it because it’s not been an easy decision, but I’m confident I’m making the right choice.
“I’m not going back. And I don’t want a long discussion about it. It’s decided. End of. Can I temp either of you into taking a shower with me?” I say, tapping Zak on the chest, and he finally lets me up, a spark in his eyes. My distraction works wonders, and within minutes I’m being carried to the bathroom by Maddox while Zak strips off as he follows behind.
I know they’re concerned about me giving up my career, but there’s no way I could go back to being a cop after everything I’ve learnt in the last couple of months. And killing a man after mutilating and dismembering body parts is hardly conductive to upholding the law, not forgetting who I live with, who I love with all my being.
Even my name tells you where my loyalties lie.
I’m Roxy Lawler, the queen to the two kings of the underworld.
