Page 2 of Bent, Not Broken

“Slater. Conrad. In my office. Now.” She slammed the door shut behind her and the blinds pulled low over the inside of the frosted glass rattled.

Wincing, I sent Conrad a glare as we moved through the lines of desks. Some of our coworkers gave us sympathetic looks, and I didn’t have to guess to know that the news about the court case had already made its way back to the station.

I went into the office first, and Conrad followed me, shutting the door behind us. We stood in front of the captain’s desk, hands clasped behind our backs and heads held high.

Monahan’s nostrils flared as she sat in the chair behind her desk. If stares could kill, we’d both be slaughtered and hung out to dry. We’d had her as captain for six months, and she was the strictest boss I’d had since I started as a rookie. She reminded me of my mom in the way she wrangled us: no-nonsense, hard-ass, blunt.

“Would one of you care to explain to me how this happened?” Her short blonde hair was everywhere, like she’d been tugging at the strands furiously, and I had a feeling that might be our fault. Her tan pantsuit looked impeccable, as always. “Well?”

I didn’t believe in ratting anyone out, even if I did want to deck Conrad, so I kept my mouth closed. In the end, he was my partner, whether he fucked up or not.

She slammed her hand down on the desk and the cat bobblehead sitting next to her paperwork tray shook, the head dancing on the still body. “One of you better answer me. Right now, Commissioner Johnston is up my ass wanting to know why, even if you were playing fucking games with that biker, you didn’t let him lawyer up before it became an issue? Explain how yet another Kings’ member was found not guilty.”

Well, fuck. I’d never met Johnston, he’d worked as captain at the Downtown Station before he advanced to commissioner, but I’d heard the stories about what an asshole he was.

Conrad sighed. “It was me, Cap. He asked for a lawyer and I held off on calling Demchenko.”

Her rage-filled gaze spun on him and she shoved herself to her feet, rounding the desk to stand in front of us. “Why? You knew he’d use it against us in court, Conrad. That lawyer’s like a scorpion in these situations. Handle with care!”

“I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to nail that bastard.” Conrad glanced at me, and while I saw it out of the corner of my eye, I refused to look at him. I kept my attention on the photo of Monahan and her husband, a detective who worked out on the west side, at their recent wedding, hanging on the wall behind the captain. I never expected her to pull off a wedding dress, but she’d done it with style.

“How did that turn out for you?” She raised her blonde eyebrows at him, and I pressed my lips together to stop myself from snorting. “You failed to do your duty, Conrad, and as such, you’ll be suspended for a month without pay. Don’t even try to run to the union with this because it won’t work. You clearly chose not to do your job.”

Conrad’s head nearly swiveled off his neck when he shot her a look. “What? Why?”

“Are you deaf?” She crossed her arms. “You will remove yourself from this building immediately and leave your gun with Hopkins on the way out. I suggest you organize your finances as soon as you get home, am I clear?”

His face flushed an angry red, but he nodded sharply before turning on his heel and flinging the door open, causing it to slam against the wall it hung from. He prowled out, and we watched as he handed off his gun to Hopkins, a fellow officer, like Monahan had ordered him. He sent us both a glare through the open door and then left the bullpen completely.

Monahan shook her head and closed the door softly. She returned to stand in front of me. “Are you willing to let his poor judgement ruin your reputation, Evan?” Her words were a gentle caress, differing from the hard-edged tone she usually spoke with.

My gut clenched. “He’s my partner, Captain. I’m not gonna rat on him.”

“I’m not asking you to. He failed to follow the rules, which put another criminal back on the streets. Juries and newspapers hate cops who don’t follow the rules, you know that.” She leaned her ass on the desk and folded her arms over her chest. “Do you think I didn’t hear about you approaching Riggs and his lawyers after the sentence was passed?”

With a sigh, I dropped my head. “I’m sick to death of those assholes getting the Kings off on criminal charges.”

“You think I don’t hate it too? Demchenko has been a pain in my ass since the moment he walked into New Gothenburg, but if we let those bastards get one over on us, it’ll make them look like gods to men like the Kings. Officers like Conrad put us in a bad light with the public, too, and I won’t have it. If he comes back in a month, and if he’s your partner again, I want you to watch him for me. I want to know everything; when he takes a step out of line, when he breaks the rules, hell, even tell me when he takes a shit. I won’t have an unruly cop working in my station, am I clear?”

My lips quirked. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good.” She smiled sweetly. “I know you have a history with lawyers, but I will not accept you approaching them like that again. You might be one of my favorites, Evan, but I won’t give you a second chance on this.”

Guilt churned low in my gut. She knew about my history because I’d been honest with her a few months ago, when another case had shaken me up. She’d been respectful and that’s why even though she was a hard-ass, I liked her. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I’ll find you another partner for the next month, until we can decide what to do with Conrad. We follow the law here in New Gothenburg, and I won’t have any more of this. Get out of my office.” She waved her hand at me, and I didn’t stick around.

I exited the door and closed it after myself, walking back to my workstation in the corner of the room. Vasquez’s desk was near mine, and she held up her hand in a half wave, grimacing. I nodded. She was fucking hot, with a tight body that curved in all the right ways, the kind of woman I usually picked up when I’d had a bad day like this, but I only screwed women once, and I did her the first day she started work here at Lakeside. She’d tried to hook up with me again, going as far as to mention dinner, but I’d brushed her off with one excuse after another until she got the idea. She wasn’t a dumb cop, so it didn’t take her many tries to get the hint.

I sat down in my chair and turned on my computer. As soon as I had Chrome up and running, I typed in Madden Polunin’s name, familiar from the paperwork that kept coming across my desk, and scrolled through results on Google. Okay, so maybe I’d also internet stalked the man a time or two before today. I happened to know he lives on Vert Island… in a fancy mansion with a name— Lavender House. How fucking snotty, to name the house. That’s rich people for you, though.

Most of the newer articles were the same as the ones I’d read the last time I got the urge to do this, news articles about Polunin and Demchenko defending a King, or a criminal like them. A few times they helped a Harlot too, another clue about a potential partnership between the two clubs— nothing I could prove, and well above my pay grade. I wasn’t a detective, no matter how much I wanted to rise to that level.

One article talked about Polunin’s background, a spoiled brat from a loaded family who got everything he wanted. What I found about his work history was actually a snippet in an article about his parents donating money to the city library, and of course they talked about him in a positive light, mentioning how quickly out of law school Polunin had acquired a job with Demchenko. It made me sick.

I clicked on the X in the corner of Chrome and fell back into my chair. My blood felt hot in my veins, and I hated when I got like this. I either wanted to punch or fuck someone, and while I knew the local gym was open after my shift, I preferred something tighter and wetter.

There were always apps to find a willing body, but that was a tricky transaction being a cop. For me, seeing someone face-to-face was always better. I grinned at the thought of going to a club tonight. It wouldn’t take much to find a pretty lady. I was good-looking, tall—exactly what the girls liked. Cupping myself for a second under my desk, I thought about what I was craving tonight. A brunette, short so I could carry her around while I fucked her—fiery. That sounded perfect. I dragged my hand out from under the desk and drummed my fingers next to my keyboard.