I marched out of his office, ready to give him my resignation because fuck him. Five years in this bum-ass division, and what did I get in return? Nah, I was done.
“Fuck them,” Jordan said, following me to my desk. “We can do it.”
“There’s no us, weirdo,” I bit out.
I sat behind my desk, feeling helpless for the first time since my teens. I needed this job. Hell, I liked this job. I didn’t have a problem going undercover or cozying up to Santiago, but sharing a cell with Jordan Slade? I would rather hang myself.
“What’s going on?” Maddox said, cocking his eyebrow.
“We’re going undercover,” Jordan told him in a low voice. “Our mission is to infiltrate the prison in Grangetown and sniff out where Bull is hiding.”
Buck blinked. “Who’s we?”
“Adam and I,” Jordan replied, as I threw a stapler at the wall. It was either that or hurling something or someone out of the window.
“It sounds dangerous,” Maddox mused. “Someone might recognize you.”
“You think?” I snapped.
“Chief Bibb said we will share a cell,” Jordan added. “It should help us protect each—”
“He didn’t do it to protect us, stupid,” I hissed. “He did it to torture me. You. Us.”
“Shit, I get it now,” Maddox said, grinning. “Oh, to be a fly on the wall of that prison cell.”
I jumped to my feet. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Maddox shrugged. “Nothing. What do you think it means?”
“I think it means you should shut the fuck up,” I said through my teeth. “I’m fed up with your sick insinuations.”
“I’m not insinuating anything,” Maddox drawled. “I’m saying it as it is. Do you have a problem with that?”
His mad eyes flashed dangerously, but he chose the wrong day to mess with me.
“Just stop it, both of you,” Jordan said with a sigh. “This is stressful enough.”
“Stressful?” I exclaimed. “This is not stressful. It’s a fucking nightmare.”
“I’m not looking forward to it either,” Jordan countered. “Why are you behaving as if you’re the only one who has to suffer through it?”
“Oh, spare me the victim act,” I snapped. “I’m sick of you playing the martyr while behaving as if you’re better than everyone else… whatthe fuckis that?”
I pointed at something on my desk that didn’t belong there. It seemed like some kind of blue… fabric?
“It’s a shirt,” Jordan replied, as his cheeks turned pink. “You know… for yesterday?”
I frowned in confusion. “I don’t follow.”
“You took off your shirt to stop my nosebleed, but I couldn’t wash it because it was ruined.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “So, erm... I bought you a new one.”
I blinked in disbelief. “You bought me a shirt?”
Maddox burst into laughter, earning himself another glare from me.
“Yeah, I j-just,” Jordan stammered. “I wasn’t sure about the size, but I think…” His gaze dared to find my fucking chest. “I think I got it right.”
I was speechless. Enraged. Ready to kill him, Maddox, Chief Bibb, and the rest of the world. Instead, I went to Pete’s and got drunk. I spent a few hours there, drinking myself to oblivion and wondering when exactly my life turned to shit. Was it when I ended up in the LD? Or when I chose this profession? Or when I was born? The possibilities were endless. While feeling sorry for myself, I fended off the advances of two lonely ladies and one misguided gentleman. A chatty barman fucked off after I told him to do so. I ignored Jordan’s texts and Chief Bibb’s emails.
