“Did Haze say it was okay?”
He frowns. “No, I thought I’d just break in and hide out in his spare room and hope he didn’t notice I was there. I could add breaking and entering to my rap sheet, that’s one I haven’t been charged for yet.”
I punch him on the arm. “Very funny.”
“Was I interrupting a romantic evening?” He wiggles his eyebrows.
“No, I was, um?—”
“Sis, just cut the shit, will you? I know you guys are gettin’ it on. Don’t need no Marvin Gaye tune playin’ to see what’s goingon between you two. Can I just ask you to keep it down though? These headphones are noise canceling but I don’t wanna test the theory.”
I wince. “No, you didn’t just say that.”
“What?” He feigns innocence, moving before I can swipe him again. “Why am I in trouble for that? You’re not gonna sayit’s not like that,are you?”
“Itisn’tlike th?—”
He holds up a hand. “Don’t sis. You don’t lie very well.”
I sigh. “Shut up and let’s get inside. I haven’t got all night.”
“Are you sure about that?” He piques a brow and I slap him upside the head. “Ow!”
I follow him to the front door. Haze has a house, which is something I didn’t expect. I pictured him more of an apartment style guy, but I guess there are still some surprises with the old ball and chain I didn’t know. The garden leaves a little to the imagination, but nothing a gardener couldn’t fix. He clearly doesn’t have a green thumb.
“So, how’s everything going? You bustin’ some chops in that hot seat of yours?” Max asks as I make a mental note to tell Haze some of his potted plants look like they’re in dire need of a good watering.
“I’m doing my job, if that’s what you mean.”
“Haze annoyin’ the shit out of you yet?”
“You could say that.”
“You know Dad’s gonna freak when he hears you’re gettin’ back together.”
Since there’s no point in continuing to deny it, I don’t correct him. “Dad is gonna have to deal with it like an adult, just like he did all those years ago. I don’t have time in my life for Dad to be spewing his usual bullshit.”
“Hard ass. I like it.”
“Max?” I ask as he turns to look down at me as his hand forms a fist, about to knock on the door.
“Yeah?”
“Are you happy now? At least some of the time?”
Sadness crosses over his face. He’s always been troubled. My brother is always in the wrong place at the wrong time. Multiple places, multiple times. Trouble seems to find him easily. I’m not saying he didn’t cause half of the trouble he got into, but he was also pretty unlucky with the law, and some of the situations he found himself in. Kind of ironic really that I became a cop.
His face softens. “Yeah, I am.”
I place a hand on his shoulder. “You can trust me, Max. I know we’ve had our ups and downs, but I’m here for you, no matter what. Okay? You can talk to me.”
“Jeez, sis, you’re gonna make me cry,” he laughs. “Since when did you get all sentimental?”
“I just want you to succeed and be happy,” I state that last part again —happy. It never worried me what Max does for a living, not back then, or now. Would I prefer him to not be a Hellion? The answer is yes, but that’s not my choice to make. I don’t know as much about that MC as I do the Rebels, but I plan on making it my mission to find out. I’ve heard things about Bane — some good, some not so good. My brother is a big boy, but that doesn’t mean I won’t look out for him. It also doesn’t mean that he can’t be easily led. He can. Which is why I want him to know he can come to me. I’m his big sister, not just the police captain. I can listen… At least, I cantryto listen and not judge. It’s hard when I want to drag his ass over hot coals half the time in order to keep him out of jail. But he seems happier, lighter.
“Iamhappy, sis. I know you think I ran away for a couple of years, and maybe I did, but you wouldn’t have liked me back then. I needed to go to jail to have some sense knocked intome,” he says earnestly. “I made some bad choices, and I take full ownership of that. When I got out, I literally didn’t have a dime. I met one of the Hellions in jail, actually, Radium, he’s Hornet’s little brother.”
I roll my eyes. “Please explain how they get their names… Actually, hold that thought, I don’t want to know.”
