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“Shut the fuck up,” Grady growled, interrupting them. If he had to hear any more of this, he was going to do a Harley Quinn on all of them. He pointed his pen at Gideon. “Do you really think that talking to the kid that was caughtstealing,about which cars are best tosteal,is the best idea you could come up with for keeping him entertained?”
“We’re on a break,” Gideon said, rolling his eyes. “And we’re talking about agame.”
“I don’t care,” Grady said. “Either shut up, or take it elsewhere.”
“What’s got your bee in a bonnet?”
“He’s having withdrawals,” Quinn said from his desk, not even looking up at them, totally engrossed in whatever paperwork he was reading through. That’s what Grady had beentryingto do since the paperwork on his desk seemed to be multiplying like Gremlins in water right now, and he was so fucking sick of it.
“From what?” Ange asked. She threw a pen at Gideon, hitting him square in the forehead. Gideon fake gasped and threw one back. She caught it with one hand and then twirled it expertly between her fingers, raising an eyebrow at him.
“His boyfriend isn’t messaging him because he’s doing a training op,” Quinn answered. “So instead of facing his feelings of abandonment, he’s taking it out on you.”
“Partners are supposed to back up partners, not throw them under the bus,” Grady said snappishly. Not to mention, the statement was untrue. Not the training-op part but definitely the withdrawal part. It wasn’t the first time Lake had gone hours without messaging him. Grady was in a bad mood because he’d been listening to Mini-Riley and Gideon chirp at each other all morning. Everyone had a breaking point, and Grady was getting to his. He thought he should get a medal for lasting this long. “Don’t you two have work to do? We didn’t sign you up to stand around with your thumb up your ass.”
Mini-Riley glared, but he’d been getting better at biting his tongue when Grady—or Big-Riley, or basically anyone else at the precinct—baited him. He was a good kid, but they were learning he was too smart for his own good and needed to be constantly challenged, or he became a menace.
“When did you get a boyfriend?” Gideon asked. “Oh, are you talking about Lake? How’s he doing? Wait, you’ve kept him around this long?”
Grady wished he had an off switch. “I do not have a boyfriend. If neither of you have anything to do, I have some—”
“I’ve got a report to write up,” Gideon said, suddenly looking extremely busy as he stared at his monitor. He even typed on the keyboard, looking like he wasn’t just mashing it, even though Grady would have bet his life savings there was nothing on the screen. Or if there was, it would read like a cat walking across the keyboard.
Ange snorted. “You mean the one Big-Riley has been asking for, for almost a week?”
“You can’t rush perfection.” Gideon sniffed.
“Big-Riley will rake you over the coals, and this time, I have a ‘get out of jail free’ card,” she replied.
“That’s unfair; we’re partners.”
“I’m hanging you out to dry this time.”
“I thought you loved me.”
Quinn snorted.
“You could talk out your ass underwater,” Grady muttered. And give everyone in the precinct a headache at the same time. Ange also needed a medal, except hers would be for having put up with Gideon as a partner for so many years. Grady knew it was just because Ange got along with his ex-wife like a house on fire. Some friendships were worth putting up with anything for.
“Big-Ri—Riley,” Mini-Riley said, catching himself. “Calling us mini and big is degrading,” he said, his voice flat.
“Is he bigger than you?” Grady asked. He leaned back in his chair and fiddled with his pen, resisting the urge to throw it at Gideon as well.
“Well, yes, but—”
“Did he give you a task?” Grady asked. He’d already made his point; no need to drive it home. But he also couldn’t let the kid hang around Gideon all day. The point of work experience was towork. And Gideon had a pile of papers on his desk almost as high as Grady’s.
“He wanted me to work with Greer,” Mini-Riley said. “But he’s not here.”
Grady was hardly surprised. Greer was never around when you needed him. He was like a fucking ghost in the night, and why Riley put up with his bullshit, Grady had no idea. At least this time the rookie wasn’t around either, and Grady just hoped that meant that Greer had actually taken him with him and, you know,mentoredhim like he was supposed to.
“This time,” Gideon said, “I actually know where he is.”
Grady twisted his chair around. “Wait, really?” he asked. Why the hell did Gideon know whereGreerwas? Half the time, Riley didn’t even know where they were.
“A truck carrying doves for a wedding crashed on the highway,” Gideon said, trying and failing to keep a straight face, “and they called for backup”—he burst out laughing—“to catch the birds,” he wheezed. “And Big-Riley sent Greer and Henry.”
Grady couldn’t tell if he was taking the piss or not.
