This time when Raoul looked at me, his face was blank, but it looked like he was bracing himself for something.
Putting my hands on my hips, I leveled them both with a glare. “Ok, what’s going on?”
Holding his hands up in the air, Garrett took a step behind Raoul. “Nothing to do with me. He was meant to tell you last night.”
“If you weren’t already injured I’d kick your ass,” he hissed at his brother, wincing when Garrett did something in retaliation that I couldn’t see. “Cut it out.”
“No, dumbass. She was supposed to know by now, and now we…”
Whatever he was going to say next was interrupted by the door again, except this time the person just let themselves in - Ellis, who looked pissed off. “Pack, you’re coming to stay with us.”
Ever feel like everyone at the party knows something apart from you? That had never happened to me before now, and thanks to age and wisdom I didn’t feel like I was going to cry, but I did feel like I was going to start kicking asses if someone didn’t tell me what was going on.
“Someone start talking now,” I growled, glaring at them one by one. When none of them said anything, I held my hand in the air, feeling satisfied when Ellis’s face went pale. “I’m giving you five seconds, and then I’ll make you. Five Mississippi, four Mississippi…”
“Chad was granted bail last night, if someone pays it he’s out,” Raoul sighed, rubbing his face tiredly. “I was going to tell you last night, but…” he broke off, looking over at Ellis who looked like he was going to be sick.
I assumed that was because it was obvious why he hadn’t told me, but instead he shook his head and looked over at Raoul. “No, he was bailed this morning and the dude who was in with him said he was talking about ‘fucking bitches up’. By the time the guy told the guard, Chad was in the wind.”
Raoul“We need Alex through now,” I told DB, exhausted from spending the day looking for Chad. “Ellis spoke to Mace, so him and a couple of his friends are going to start hunting, but we need more bodies in uniform for this.”
Spinning his pen around between two fingers, he thought it over. “I’ll call Dad and see what we can work out. Ellis also said he was contacting Burt, so we’ll see if he can come up with something, too.”
This confused me. “Tabby and Jose’s dad?”
The look he gave me made it clear that was as much as I was getting on that subject, so I didn’t press the matter. I had better things to focus on just now.
“Logan and I will do regular passes by her house when we’re on duty, and I don’t doubt the Townsends and Montgomerys will help out. With Garrett on her during the day while she’s at work we should be ok, but like you say we need more uniforms,” he sighed, and then leaned back in his chair and groaned. “Which brings me to the next order of business. The mayor has been in contact again, we’re swapping out the deputy uniforms for shirts and blue jeans again. Kevlar’s to be worn under the shirt as often as possible, but our shield and rank are being put onto them so we can wear them over it, too. Jeans are to be dark blue, smart, no tears, no marks, and worn with our normal boots. There will be extenuating circumstances where a white shirt can be replaced by a black t-shirt, that’s the only leeway we’ve got.”
This was good news because I hated the uniforms we wore. They were ugly as fuck, made my balls and ass crack sweat, and they’d been made by an asshole with tiny ass fingers. Seeing as how I didn’t have tiny ass fingers, this was a problem.
“Why the change and why a black t-shirt?”
Shrugging, he picked up a bag from his table looking at me carefully. “Unknown, I just feed it back to you guys. Keep your badge on your waist, wear it at all times, and make sure you identify yourself clearly on calls.”
Nodding, I thought about the change of clothes in my locker. “Can I get changed now?”
“Absolutely, but there’s one more thing I need to show you before you go. When I show you this, I want you to stay calm, no bullshit. Do I make myself clear?”
I swear to God I felt my balls drop all the way down the leg of my pants into my boot. “What is it?”
Holding out the small plastic evidence bag, he reiterated, “Stay calm and no bullshit.”
Inside it was a small piece of paper with what looked like a child’s writing on it.
Tell the bitches I’ll be back.