Every new facet of her I discover thrills me.
Can’t let her get away from me.
Storm once told me he knew Raylin was the one for him from the moment he kissed her.
It took me longer to realize it, but here she is.
With me.
I linger in bed as long as I can, but the need to piss is only getting worse. I finally pull my arm from underneath her, gently so as not to wake her up, and limp to the bathroom where I proceed to relieve my bladder.
I brush my teeth quickly and check the swelling in my jaw. That fucker is finally going down. My eye is red, now that I can see out of it again.
I allow myself a shiver at the memory of that basement and those assholes, then compose myself.
Rook and Storm said they wanted to talk to me. The less Layla gets involved in this jam, the less stressed she’ll be, so this seems like the perfect opportunity to talk with them alone.
I find my discarded T-shirt where I threw it last night on the floor and pull it on. There’s a glass with water and painkillers on a side table, and I take them, since my ribs still hurt like a bitch.
Then I go out to find my brothers in all but blood and figure this shit out.
***
A damn good thing I threw my T-shirt on, as it turns out, because there’s a cop sitting with my friends in the living room.
I can tell it’s a cop from the second I lay eyes on him, even if he’s dressed in civilian clothes. There’s something about a cop’s expression, the stiffness of their back, their correctness even in a social setting.
Especially when this cop is here on business.
“Mr. Fleming,” he greets me, standing up and extending his hand. “A fine morning.”
Can’t argue with that, and my mind rushes back to the bedroom where my girl is asleep. Yep, just fine.
We shake, and I sink on the sofa next to Rook. Someone has thoughtfully placed mugs and a Thermos with hot coffee on the low table, so I serve myself some.
“And who are you?” I’m slow, so sue me. Need my coffee.
“This is Detective Lopez, Baltimore PD,” Rook says.
See? I knew it. “You sure nobody followed you or knows where you are?”
“Positive. This is my job, Mr. Fleming.” He gives me a tight smile, and I shrug.
Hey, if he said it before, I missed it. Feeling more human after I down half the mug, I can finally pay attention to the conversation.
In short, it’s like this: the police can’t find Sandivar. They’ve managed to arrest the guys whose names I gave them and are hard at work to find proof of the accusations before the first forty-eight hours elapse, so they can keep them in jail until a trial is set up.
But yeah, Sandivar.
And then Detective Lopez drops the bomb, right on me.
“Sandivar must be furious as hell that you escaped him. I bet he’d do anything to get his hands on you again.”
Expectant silence.
“So what?” I mutter.
Lopez clears his throat. “I had this idea, that we could use one of you as bait. And, well, specifically…” He nods at me.