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I clenched my teeth, resisting the urge to snap it off.
“Next time, this kind of behaviour won’t be excused, I don’t care what data she allegedly saves. One more wrong move, one more step out of line, and you’re both going to jail.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but she held up her hand. “I’m not finished. You’re skating on thin ice, detective. This is your last warning, too. I’m seeking advice from Ethics about a referral to the Crime and Misconduct Commission. I’m telling you this as a courtesy. Get some advice from your union representative because you might be going to jail regardless.”
“Am I dismissed?” I ground out.
Inspector Puglisi narrowed her eyes at my insubordination but thankfully didn’t call me out on it. Add another strike to my name that the CMC would investigate. “Get out of here. You’re done for the night.”
Ryder pulled open the security gate to the dock, and the bloke standing next to me handed over the pizza boxes.
“I can help,” I offered.
“No need.”
I clamped a hand on Ry’s shoulder, stopping him from walking away. “I’m sorry.”
“Water under the bridge, man. Let’s just forget about it.” His words were clipped, hollow too. He didn’t mean a word he’d said. His scowl deepened, the grooves in his forehead and thinning of his lips playing off the dim lighting so that he looked like a Roman statue carved in perfect relief.
Ryder was playing nice; he hadn’t forgiven me. Not by a long shot.
“They’re waiting for you,” he tossed over his shoulder as he walked away.
I’d gone home, showered, and changed, swapped my phone to my personal one and caught a rideshare over. Maybe I was being paranoid, but I wouldn’t put it past Puglisi to plant a listening device on me. Sure, anything she got would be inadmissible in court without a warrant, and usually the wheels of the legal system operated glacially slow, but no one liked a cop who was under suspicion. Every judge on the coast would move mountains to help gather evidence to rid the force of a bad apple.
The lights on the Noble Steed were welcoming, and as I walked up the dock, my shoulders unclenched. I didn’t have a right to call it home, but it was warmer and more inviting than my lonely apartment.
But before I could cross the gangplank, my phone vibrated. I hesitated, pulling it out of my pocket to check whether I wanted to answer it. Roe.
If he’d heard, he’d call nonstop until I answered. He was probably already at my front door, ready to administer a beat down. And it would be a beat down even though I could defend myself. The idea of using my skills in Krav Maga against one of my closest friends was out of the question.
Especially when he was the father of the woman I was secretly in love with.
Eight
Zali
An hour earlier
“S
pill,” Ryder demanded the moment I stepped onto the stern. We weren’t even on the main deck yet, only just having crossed the gangway.
I was gross and grumpy. Everything hurt, I had a headache, and I was sticky and sweaty. There was no way I was answering his question when he used that kind of tone with me.
“Yeah, I think not,” I snarked back. “I need a shower, food, and a drink before I start talking.”
“Zee, we deserve some answers,” Flynn countered, taking Ry’s side once again. “We’ve waited long enough.”
“You can bloody well wait for another five minutes,” I snapped, frustration bubbling up. Ry was in a foul mood, slamming doors, driving like a bat outta hell, and growling at me like I was a five-year-old. Even after hugging me, Flynn was still standoffish. It was better, but he still wasn’t his normal self. I shouldn’t be upset—he’d just spent half the night hours in an interview room because of me—but it hurt too.
“Order delivery so we can eat.”
I didn’t wait for permission from them, not that I needed it. Fuck that. Instead, I stomped to my stateroom and slammed the door before turning on the water and waiting for it to heat to scalding.
The shower was exactly what I needed, but hiding from them wasn’t my style. They wanted answers. I’d give them what they were after. Sighing, I adjusted my shower cap, tucking a stray piece of my hair into it and then scrubbed the lingering scent of interview room and the inspector’s unwelcome hands off me.
Within minutes I was dry again and yanking my grey off-the-shoulder knit top from my walk-in closet. It was as soft and snuggly as it was cute, and with the fireworks set to go off tonight, I needed that.
