Black bird a nevermore d.., p.33
Black Bird: A Nevermore Duet, page 33
“Sarah!” Rhaena yelled over the blaring music. She grabbed her shoulder, jerking her off the drunk bastard and earning way too much attention from onlookers when Sarah tried pulling away. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Chill out, traitor. It’s legal. It’s my leftover prescription from the hospital. Got my name on it and everything. They never specified what way to take them … just as needed. And they’re very needed tonight,” She slurred, grinning.
“That’s enough. Let’s go,” Rhaena spat, grabbing her arm again. Sarah jerked back. One of the dancers decided it was a good time to grow a pair of balls and the saucy little blonde interjected herself between them.
“Yes. Please. Pack it up coke-whore. Some of us actually have to work.”
“Back it up,” Rhaena warned, taking the dancers bare shoulders. She cringed at the thought of what was probably now on her hands. Sarah inched forward, swaying.
“What’s the matter, bitch? Are we upset that little ol’ me handled more dick in one night than you see in a week? Take the money. I’m only here to have fun.” She giggled. “It’s like they’re paying you to take a little breather. You should be thanking me.”
Athan would have a circle of bodies piling up around him had he been here to see this. It was that thought that cost Rhaena the split second that it took for the little blonde to try to shove Sarah back and be met with a fist to her mouth. Money was being thrown at the two half-naked women as chaos ensued and Rhaena found herself part of the fight. Other dancers were scrambling for the discarded bills as fists flew and hair was pulled. The men went crazy for it and the club owner stood by frowning. Blakely and the rookie cop appeared, the rookie taking a swift hit to the jaw. Sarah kicked the dancer in the gut, her slim, malnourished body flipping over a small table and landing with a sound thud on the other side. Rhaena braced Sarah’s shoulders and she fought hard but was tiring out quickly.
“Sarah don’t make me do it!” she warned as Sarah’s knuckles connected with Rhaena’s collar bone. It was weak, but she wasn’t giving up. “I’m sorry …” she said through clenched teeth as she slammed her fist into Sarah’s middle. It knocked the wind out of her, and she slumped into her arms. Rhaena lowered her to the floor, flipping her over and cuffing her. “Come on, get up.” She knew Kane would lose his shit over this, and she hoped to God there weren’t any photographers hiding out in here, although many probably had video now of the whole thing whether it was allowed, or not. “Blakely!” Rhaena called as she helped Sarah to her feet. She coughed and gasped for breath. The lieutenant came to her side. “I’ve got this one. I need you to go around and make sure there’s no coverage of this shit. I don’t care if you have to snatch phones.”
“You got it.”
“You can go home afterwards. I’ll deal with her.”
“Fuck you, Rhaena.” Sarah spat blood on the floor, her busted lip a bright red.
“You brought it on yourself. Move.” Rhaena urged her forward and they pushed through a crowd of bodies toward the door.
Athan was gonna kill her. He would absolutely slay her for laying a hand on his mate. Even if they hadn’t actually determined that was a real thing. She shuddered to think of how this would have gone if he’d been here. And now, she had to figure out what to do with Sarah when they left the precinct. She would no doubt have to book her for assault, but she hoped she would be able to spare her from other charges. This was getting out of hand, and they were wasting too much time figuring out all the working parts to this case from hell. At this point, she supposed she’d rather suffer the wrath of their captain rather than whatever was awaiting her when Athan caught wind of what happened.
“Can I trust you not to puke in my truck?” Rhaena asked, helping her into the back seat. Sarah didn’t say a word, instead staring off in the other direction through half-lidded eyes. Rhaena shut the door and slid into the driver’s seat, and they started toward the precinct. She checked on her every so often in the mirror. Sarah was so quiet; she was surprised to find her still awake whenever she glanced back there. “I never meant to hurt you,” Rhaena started. “It wasn’t my place to tell you. I’ve been telling him for weeks. I understand your anger, and I’ll accept it, Sarah …but you can’t do this to yourself. Contrary to what you think of me right now, I do care for you.”
Sarah snorted. “You wanted him so bad. Well … now he’s yours. I don’t want any part of your little bullshit love triangle.”
“You know better than that.”
“Save it, detective. I’ve seen the nice little package you’ve been missing. I get it.”
Rhaena huffed a laugh. “No … no, you don’t.”
“Take it all. Take my best friend, my ex … the one guy I actually connected with … why stop now?” Sarah drawled, her head swaying drunkenly.
“Sarah … I’m seeing someone,” Rhaena offered. Sarah stilled, her eyes actually focusing on hers in the mirror. “I have been for a while now.”
“Well … isn’t that special.”
Rhaena didn’t answer her. The rest of the ride to the precinct was quiet.
CHAPTER 14
ROCK BOTTOM
Sarah’s head was pounding, and she was freezing when she woke up in a holding cell by herself in a gray sweatshirt that wasn’t quite big enough to keep her warm. She lifted her cheek off of her forearm and raised herself to sit up on the bench. A few minutes of gathering where she was and why she had ended up there, and all the blurry images of what she’d done came flooding back to her. How long had she been here? Where was everyone? She rubbed her palms over her face and raised her knees to her chest, scooping her arms around them. She supposed this was it—rock bottom. Would this little stunt cost her that new job? How many people probably knew about what happened at the strip club? She didn’t wanna think on it. The door buzzed loudly, and Sarah’s head throbbed. She squinted against it, resting her hand on the side of her head as Rhaena opened the door and stood there watching her.
“I’ll give you something for that if you promise to behave,” she said softly.
Sarah slowly turned her face to look at her. “I’m sorry …” she breathed. Tears threatened to cloud her eyes and she blinked furiously. “I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s fine, Sarah.”
“It’s not fine!” Sarah yelped, her voice cracking with emotion. She flung an arm out. “I’m not fine, Rhaena!” Warm tears started sliding down her cheeks and she sniffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve. “I’ve never felt so fucking lost …” Sarah buried her face in her knees.
She didn’t need to look over to know that Rhaena had approached her and knelt down. A gentle hand grazed her back. “Well … you’ve certainly made an ass out of yourself this time.” That wasn’t Rhaena … Sarah jerked her face up. She didn’t even have the words as she flung her arms around Wren’s neck and cried. Wren clutched her tight, sniffling at her ear.
“I’m sorry,” Sarah whispered, gripping her tighter.
“It’s okay, bitch. You won’t get rid of me that easily.” Wren snickered.
“I was awful. I shouldn’t have gone off like that.”
They pulled back and Wren offered her a tissue. “You had every right. I shouldn’t have butted in. I was just shook up from everything and I acted on impulse. You know if I spend too much time around him my mouth writes checks my ass can’t cash.” She shrugged, smiling.
Rhaena chuckled through her nose as she leaned against the open door. Sarah looked up at her. “How much trouble are you in?”
“With Cap, none. Kane might be a different story.”
Just the mention of his name had her muscles weakening. It brought up the short conversation she’d forgotten about in Rhaena’s truck. “Oh, God. Rhaena … I’m—I didn’t mean …”
Rhaena held up a palm. “Don’t. It’s okay. No hard feelings. At least I hope you can say that after I socked you last night.”
“No, I earned that and then some. You pack a mean punch, Northwood. I’m sorry I put you in that position.” There was a little laughter between the three of them, and then silence. “So … what am I looking at? Jail time? Hot oil? The guillotine?”
“Actually, no. None of those things. I got you off with drunk and disorderly.” Rhaena shrugged.
“How?” Sarah asked.
“Well, after I explained to your little opponent that she could catch the same charge for instigating the fight and making the first move, she decided not to press charges. The bar owner was satisfied with the amount of money that was thrown at the two of you, so … everybody wins.”
“You’re a Jedi.” Wren laughed, shaking her head.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, though. You’re ah … banned from your little hangout, moving forward.” Rhaena winked.
“I won’t be going anywhere like that again.”
“I’m glad to hear it. So … are we ready to get out of this shithole?” Rhaena asked, turning sideways and gesturing out the door. Sarah let Wren help her up and they followed Rhaena out. She had no idea what time it was … or even what day it was. She took her walk of shame past all the officers that glanced at her as they reached Rhaena’s desk. Athan’s was empty and looked to have been that way for a while. Sarah paused. “He’s not coming. You can sit there. Once we sign the paperwork you can go home if you want. I can take you … unless you wanna stay at my place?” Rhaena offered as Sarah pulled the chair out from under his desk.
She lowered herself into the seat and Wren busied herself at the whiteboard. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’ll just go home,” Sarah said sadly. Rhaena slid a small stack of paperwork across the desks and tossed her a pen. It rolled off the edge and clattered to the floor. Sarah bent over to pick it up and noticed a drawer half-open on her way back up. Her heart nearly stopped. She slid the small drawer open and in it was a small print-out of the picture she’d sent Athan from the lab. Small enough to fit in a wallet and taped to the inside.
“He’s pretty wrecked, you know …” Wren said from behind her. Sarah hadn’t realized they both were watching. “Sneaking coffee from Rhaena’s has really tucked his tail.”
“If the fool hadn’t one-upped me on the fancy shit he bought, I might have replaced it for him just so I wouldn’t have to see him more often than I already do.” Rhaena snorted. Wren chuckled as she turned to face the board again. Sarah remained quiet.
“Knowing what I know now … I can see why he was so upset about this.” She knocked the back of a knuckle on the photo of the body on the web. Sarah stood up and stepped behind her to look at the tragic woman that had been a muse in some sick ploy to get their attention. It was without a doubt a threat. A sinister one. Had her face been unmarred, Sarah would have guessed she was staring at her own body in that picture. A chill crept down her spine. She turned away, sitting back in his chair. It squealed loudly when she turned it and she noticed Rhaena’s irritation.
“That fu—you know what?” She started to raise up and a nice-looking guy, wearing a badge but no uniform, approached from the hallway behind Rhaena’s desk with a can of oil. “Hey …” Rhaena smirked, a little stunned and easing back down into her seat. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“When I saw your text earlier and realized what time it was, I figured here was the last place you’d wanna be. I brought Chinese.” He smiled, handing her the small can. Sarah noticed the tension between them and realized this must be the one she’d said she was seeing when they were in the truck. She recognized the guy. Had seen him a couple times before, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember his name.
“Guys this is—” Rhaena started. He cut her off and stretched a hand toward Sarah.
“Brandon Jenkins.” He gripped her hand and Sarah smiled, then he offered it to Wren who shook it gently.
“Umm … speaking of time. What time is it, pray tell?” Sarah asked, flipping through the papers and signing on the highlighted marks.
“Almost 4:30.” Wren yawned.
“In the morning?” Sarah asked. They all grew quiet, and Sarah raised her eyes from the paper to find them staring at her. She cleared her throat, feeling heat stain her cheeks. “S-sorry … I’ll um … finish this.”
Rhaena slid a plastic bag with Sarah’s stuff in it over the desk. “Here. I think your phone’s dead, but this was all you had on you. I umm … couldn’t find your shirt. The sweatshirt is from the training center. It’s clean. I didn’t think you wanted to wake up giving everybody another peep show.”
“I brought extra if you’re hungry,” Jenkins offered. Rhaena thwacked him in the shoulder, and he winced, drawing his brows at her.
“Rule number one, Jenkins. Don’t give away my food unless I offer it.”
“Damn, woman.” He rubbed his shoulder.
Sarah emptied the bag and pocketed all the contents. All but one. “I’ll just take some coffee if you’ve got it. Whenever you’re ready, Rhaena … I’m gonna go sleep it off and hopefully not lose my job tomorrow when I call in another sick day.”
“Say less,” Rhaena said, hopping out of her chair and rushing toward the break room. Wren and Jenkins followed behind her. Sarah slid Athan’s drawer closed and stacked the paperwork on Rhaena’s desk before glancing back to the board and heading in their direction.
It was damn near 9:00 in the morning when Rhaena finally knocked on his door. Athan sprung from the couch and opened it. She stood there, looking every bit as exhausted and weary as he felt while impatiently waiting for her to respond to every call and text he’d made while she was gone. There were a couple of scratches on her temple and on her neck. One of the scratches was on her chin.
“Tell me that’s not from her.” Athan gaped, moving aside to let her through.
“If I’m being completely honest, I’m not sure. Could be from a couple different half naked women.” Rhaena’s shoulders slumped, and she made haste to his living room and plopped face down onto the couch.
“And she was one of them? I must have called you a dozen times. You could have at least given me a text back.”
“Look, when I tell you what I’m about to tell you … could you at least do me the honor of beating my ass while I lay here? Cause I’m too wiped out to do this right now.” She dropped her hand over the edge of the cushion, and it laid wearily on the carpet.
“What happened?”
Rhaena sighed deeply, her face scrunched against the leather and her chestnut hair blowing in front of her face when she huffed. “She—she was out of control.”
“Tell me everything,” Athan said, dropping into the matching chair on the other side of the living room. Poe clicked his beak in his cage.
“Are you sure you wanna know? Cause it wasn’t good.”
“Just tell me.”
She sighed again. “She was giving lap dances to a bunch of nasty dudes when I got there. Had her top off.” Athan’s jaw twitched. “The dancers were throwing fits because they weren’t getting any attention, and the club owner wanted her arrested. By the time I made it to where she was, she twirled around and snorted a pill off some guy’s chest.”
“What?” He narrowed his eyes. Rhaena tried to nod and rolled her eyes.
“I grabbed her, asked her what the hell she was thinking. I, of course, thought it was cocaine, but she said she had crushed up some of her pills she had left over from the hospital. I got that confirmed when we confiscated it after.”
“After what?”
“She tested me. She was pissed off about the day she left your place. Called me a traitor. I expected that, but she was tanked. I told her it was time to go and one of the strippers got in her face. They mouthed off, and next thing I knew … Sarah had thrown that bitch across a table and there were people swinging everywhere.”
“Where were the uniforms that were supposed to be watching her?!” Athan yelped, flinging a hand forward.
“Handling the rest of the idiots that were trying to go after your girl!” Rhaena bit back, raising her face off the couch. “I finally got ahold of her, and she fought me. I warned her. I begged her not to make me do it.”
Athan could feel his rage starting to boil. He gripped the arms of the leather chair. “What the hell did you do?”
“It was either let the rookie tase her or give her a solid enough blow to put her down myself. I didn’t want you murdering one of our own.” She looked at him, bracing herself. “I gave her a good one in the gut, cuffed her, and took her to the truck.” She kept her head raised and stayed silent for a long moment before resting her cheek back down on the cushion. “If you wanna lay me out, go ahead and get it over with. I’d rather just rip the bandage off quick.”
He thought he’d be more pissed, but the thought of taking a hit from Rhaena and then still managing to walk right after … it filled him with pride. Athan couldn’t hide his smirk … or the soft chuckle that escaped his nose. “Where is she?” he asked, unable to see most of Rhaena’s face through her thick hair. She didn’t answer. “Rhaena …” Still nothing. Athan stood up and walked over to the couch, peeling her hair back and realizing she’d passed out, mouth wide open. He snorted and shook his head. “Thanks, partner,” he whispered, and truly meant it. He knew it could have been so much worse. Knew if he’d been there, he’d likely be in prison. As much as it set his blood on fire to think of someone hurting Sarah, he knew Rhaena would only make that call if it was absolutely necessary. The fact that she took it upon herself to spare the rookie was admirable and telling him about it while also expecting the worst was even more so.
Athan couldn’t help but feel a deep regret low in his gut for taking Rhaena for granted. He was glad she had somebody to spend that time with now, but all things considered … he’d never find a better partner … or a better friend. He didn’t deserve any of these women that he found himself having in his life. As he pulled off Rhaena’s boots and covered her with a blanket, his phone dinged from the kitchen.
