Conrad looked at us. “I think she said she had no idea about the trafficking.”
“You think?” Slater snorted and shook his head. “Here’s a tip, Conrad, you can’t have a relationship with someone you can’t communicate properly with. Tell her to go home.”
Conrad’s muscles tensed, and he glared at him before he spoke again. She nodded, and Conrad clearly didn’t like it because he sniffed angrily and flung himself toward Slater until they were face-to-face. “You’re an asshole, Evan.”
“Maybe, but I want my town clean.”
Conrad laughed. “Can’t do that when you’re fucking the lawyer who keeps getting the Kings out of jail, can you?”
“Enough,” I said sharply because this wasn’t just about Slater and Madden anymore. It included me and River too. I didn’t like the Kings, orKing, but River certainly did, and I had to respect that, even if I hated it. I hoped there never came a time when I ever arrested a King and sent them to prison. River would never forgive me.
“Oh, right. You’re fucking the other lawyer now.” Conrad grunted, his face contorting in fury. “You’re two peas in a dirty pod. I wonder if Polunin and Demchenko planned it. That’s one way to get those bastards free and clear, isn’t it? Have a cop at the station.”
“Get lost, mate,” I said quietly, the anger and need to defend River making my blood boil. “You’re obviously angry and now’s not the time to start a fight. Go home and sleep it off. Take Nadia with you, spend one more night with her, all right? It’s done. She’s going home and never coming back to New Gothenburg.Ever.”
Conrad pointed his finger at me like he wanted to say something, but obviously thought better of it because he dropped it again and turned to slide his hand into Nadia’s. They left out the front, and we watched them until they were gone.
Slater sighed. “Conrad’s always fucking things up.” He fell into the seat Conrad had vacated and kicked his feet up on the table.
“We all have a moment like that,” I said, hoping to soothe the boss’s tension.
“Yeah, but Conrad’s happen more often. He breaks rules. It’s what he’s always done. I knew what I was getting myself into when I brought him on.” He shrugged as if that was that and he couldn’t do anything about it. “Wish we’d have known that Conrad spoke some Russian, though. We wouldn’t have had to drag River’s father in on this.”
“No harm done there, mate.” I glanced at the coffeemaker, considered making myself something strong, but then thought better of it. I wanted to take River out tonight and couldn’t be high on caffeine if I wanted to keep my nerves steady, because wherever I decided to take him I’d need all the control I had. This needed to work because I refused to lose him now that the case was solved. “It’s a good trait sometimes for PIs.”
“Maybe. Never expected him to start something with a woman we’re using to get information, though.”
“Yeah, that’s new.” I jammed my hands into the pockets of my jeans, rocking on my feet.
Slater cocked a grin in my direction, his eyes glinting. “What’s got you rattled? I have a feeling it’s not Conrad.”
I chuckled and grabbed the back of the chair in front of me, leaning forward on it. “Nothing. I’m just thinking about River.”
“What’s happening there?” he asked with a knowing smile. It was funny how the tables turned so quickly. Our conversations about Madden and Slater’s relationship only felt like yesterday, and now they were comfortably living together and were as happy as could be.
“Don’t really know. I like him.” I shrugged. “And he’s made me feel something since Alex died. Sometimes I feel like a bad person for moving on.”
Slater snorted. “Bullshit. You’re allowed to move on. Doesn’t mean you loved Alex any less.”
“I know.”
“You can’t blame yourself, Paxton.” He sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose.
“You all right?” I asked, frowning at him. The pained look on his face had me concerned, but Slater smiled.
“Yeah, I’m good, man. Sorry, I just get these flashes sometimes. Sort of like a headache, but not really. Listen, I’ll fix the paperwork for this here. God knows O’Neill will want it as soon as possible just to be a pain in the ass. Madden said he’s working late on a case for court anyway. You go get your man and take him out. You can make it up to me by doing the next ream of paperwork here.”
“You sure?” I straightened, excitement lighting up in my gut as I thought about where I wanted to take River and being able to do it all the sooner.
He laughed. “Go, before I change my mind.”
“Got it. See you later, Slater.” I raised my hand in a half wave before I nearly bounded away. I unlocked the front door before locking it up again behind me, almost crashing into the same couple we saw when we were coming in. The young dark-haired man smiled, and I glimpsed his top under his open jacket, a light pink T-shirt that saidDaddy’s Little Kitten. I didn’t get the meaning of it, but I pushed away the thought as I apologized to them.
“Don’t worry, it happens. Right, Harley Cat?” the man next to the younger one said, and I took a quick second to give him a once-over. There was nothing special about him—he was plain, not like River, who was the epitome of regal in all the best ways.
I apologized again anyway and strode past them as the sky began to fall into darkness. The streetlights had blazed to life since we’d been inside, and the afternoon traffic had dwindled slightly, giving me a chance to get to my truck and out of the parking in record time for after five thirty on a weekday in the city. I tapped on River’s number on the Bluetooth screen of my truck, pleased to have it programmed in there.
It only took a few rings before he picked up, his voice snippier than usual. “Yes?”
