“I don’t intend to hurt you, and I’m pretty sure you lied earlier about being sore, so giving you a little extra time is a good idea.”
“Fine. Make sure you get the sweet barbeque sauce and not the mustard or vinegar based stuff.”
He shot me a dry look. “Lex, it’s me you’re talking to. You think I don’t remember that about you, think again.”
While Rafferty ordered our food, I pulled out all six dresser drawers in Ines’s room and put them on her bed. I squatted down and looked at the inside of her dresser frame in case she (or Brantley) had taped the drugs to the sides of the dresser. No such luck.
Rafferty came into the room and looked impressed. “That’s smart - taking out the drawers. Can your bathroom drawers be removed?”
“I don’t think so.”
He nodded. “I can go through these if you want to go through her bathroom cabinet - or vice versa. From how bitchy Jasmine gets when I move her make-up and shit, I figure it’d be better for you to do that.”
My lips pursed as I tried not to chuckle. “Your sister is far from bitchy, Raff.”
He pulled out a stack of folded t-shirts from one of the drawers. “Have you messed with her foundation and eyeliners and shit?”
I shook my head. “Of course not. I know better.”
“Hardy-har, don’t forget to check the toilet. Or I can handle that if you want.”
By the time I’d finished in the bathroom, our food had been delivered. We ate, and then got back to checking Ines’s room. I helped Raff move her mattress to the hallway so we could check the underside of the box frames.
“Why do you think it’d be in the box frames?”
He looked at me. “Now that I’m a prospect, let’s just say I’ve learned a whole lot more from the brothers, and Roman mentioned some things to me. Like hiding something under a mattress is good, but hiding it dead center is better, and more difficult.”
I narrowed my eyes. “But Roman’s in Biloxi.”
Rafferty nodded. “Yeah, and not long after I started as a prospect, the brothers rode out to Biloxi. Har convinced Volt to leave me there for two weeks. ‘Put me through my paces’, as he put it.”
I grimaced. “Sorry to hear that.”
He shook his head. “Don’t be. It was worth it. Gave me some clarity about the kind of work I want to do, and it helped me rule out moving there.”
“What kind of work do you want to do?”
“I’ve worked a lot of different construction jobs, Lex. Brute has his own general contracting business…I had thoughts of doing something similar. Just not in Mississippi.”
We pulled the box springs off the metal frame and checked the bottoms. No drugs.
I sighed. “What’s next? Are you going to check the back of the headboard?”
He blinked and shook his head. “I hadn’t thought of that.” He eyed the furniture like it might bite him. “That looks like solid wood, it’s gonna be heavy as a mother. I’ll pull the headboard back an inch or two and you take a look.”
I stood to the side while he squatted to get a grip on the bottom of the headboard. His biceps bulged as he dragged the piece of furniture away from the wall. Arms weren’t typically my thing… or I hadn’t thought they were until now because seeing Rafferty in full flex?
Yes, please.
I checked the narrow gap and spotted a small bundle taped to the back of the headboard. “Shit.”
Rafferty straightened. “It’s there?”
“Yeah,” I breathed out.
He went to the other side of the bed frame, took a look, and ran a hand through his hair.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t we going to take it down?”
