That’s not good. Cash wouldn’t be happy to hear we’re so easily brushed off from a twenty-something rookie. She should be scared. But she’s also not as dumb as she looks. A little wet behind the ears maybe, but not stupid.
“I’m sure she doesn’t hold a grudge against you,” I say finally. “But if you want, you can talk to Max yourself, he’s movin’ in with me temporarily.”
Her eyes gape. “He’s here?”
“Not here,here, but in the city, yeah.”
“Oh, shit.”
“It’s gonna be okay. You were doin’ your job and Max is a changed man, in fact, he told me gettin’ arrested was probably the best thing that happened to him.” He also failed to mention it was by a cute blonde. I smile at the irony of him leaving that part out and make a mental note to rib him about it later.
She looks panic-stricken, her cheeks pinkening slightly as she glances around like he might jump out of nowhere at any second. Definitely a rookie. “He said that?”
“We’re not outlaws,” I tell her, if that’s what she’s getting at. “You know, my club did help bring down the bad police officers. People often assume the worst in us, but we’re just everyday people, just like you, wanting to keep this city safe.”
“I’m sure that’s exactly why your MC helped.”Was that an eye roll?“Nothing to do with getting the mayor and the captain to both look the other way in other dealings.”
“Watch your mouth, sweetheart. There are noother dealings,not ones that your sticky little nose needs to get into,” I say. Okay, aside from the occasional dead body in the bayou,mostof the time it isn’t illegal. “We’re a legit club, and the cops certainly didn’t seem to mind when we brought down the mob and they took all the credit for that one, but that’s story time over for another day.”
“Like I said — if you’re here, the captain trusts you.”
“I’ll put in a good word for you if you quit while you’re ahead and go away.”
She fumbles, almost tripping on the way out. “You’d do that?”
I’m about two seconds away from telling her to fuck off. Where is Sawyer and his baby blues when you need him? “Maybe.”
“You’re a real piece of work, Haze,” she tells me happily.
“I thought you said I was cute?” I call after her.
“That was before I got to know you,” she calls back.
Touche.
I’m not sure I should be letting Max know about her presence in New Orleans. I’m fairly certain he wouldn’t do anything to retaliate, but I can’t be sure. I haven’t spent enough time around him to know how much prison may have really changed him. Sometimes PTSD can settle in like an old friend, not even bothering to knock. The thing is, this Hally chick just divulged all this fucking information to me all in the name of getting her boss to like her. This is the hold my girl has over this station. It’s not a bad thing to have people a little afraid of you, it’s one way to earn respect. Not that I’m aware Willow does really know who arrested Max, but it wouldn’t matter.
She’d be the one throwing the book at Max even if the roles were reversed. He needed to be taught a lesson, and it was for the greater good. I think Max has turned a corner, I just really hope it stays that way.
When my phone rings, I’m jolted back to the present as I see Rock’s name on the screen. I pick up immediately. “Yo, brother?”
“Haze? I think we’ve got somethin’.”
I sit up in my chair. “Start talkin’.”
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
Willow
“Max?” I say when I meet him at Haze’s door. “What are you doing here?”
I glance at his duffel bag over one arm, his sleeping bag in the other, his headphones around his neck, and a lopsided grin on his face. “It’s the Heartbreak Hotel, big sister, you wanna join the club?”
“Wait, you’re staying here?”
“Uh, for a little bit, yeah.”
