Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 71015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
He was wearing a shirt that said he handed out throat punches, too. So wouldn’t it be ironic if he actually did it?
Tru shot me a smirk, just before I replied with, “We prefer it when neither one of us is wearing pants.”
Rue, who’d been carrying on with Tru, her replacement best friend whose name rhymed with hers (Yes, I’d heard that all night, too) burst out laughing. “Oh God, that’s pretty funny right there.”
“What’s funny?” Baylee asked loudly, most likely well on her way to being drunk, too.
Sebastian reached out and encircled his arm around Baylee’s neck, pulling her into his chest. “Tru was just telling us about how she and Torren don’t wear pants when they’re together.”
Baylee turned to Tru. “You know, I wouldn’t have been surprised if you’d said Torren didn’t wear shirts when you were together, because that’s the only way I ever see him. The no pants thing is new, though.”
“We’re one of a kind. I don’t like wearing pants, and he doesn’t like wearing a shirt. We’re like two peas in a casserole,” Tru announced just as loudly.
“Jesus, you sure know how to pick them, don’t you, Tore?” Molly said snidely.
I quite liked that Tru knew how to let loose. It was nice to have someone not care about what other people thought of her.
“I really do. She’s dynamite in bed,” I replied distractedly.
Molly growled. Fucking growled.
I looked at her in surprise.
Cleo was surprised as well. “What’s your problem? Are you sick?”
“Cops are here!” Dixie boomed from the front door.
Everyone looked around at each other.
To be honest, half the room was off duty cops, while the other half was off duty firefighters. Others were active military. What the fuck would the cops be called on us for? We weren’t doing anything wrong.
It didn’t surprise me when Silas crossed the room and opened the locked door to Halligans and Handcuffs.
And it really didn’t surprise me when none other than Officer Colby was at the damn door.
“Mother fucker,” I growled underneath my breath, pulling in Tru until she had her back against my front.
“I need to pee,” she announced quickly.
Oh, and loudly.
“I’ll show you where it’s at,” Baylee tried, but Sebastian stopped her with a hand on her belly.
“Don’t move. Something’s not right. Torren will take her,” Sebastian said softly to his wife.
I took that as my cue, guiding Tru across the room and into the back hallway where the private offices were.
Opening the door, I quickly turned on the light and shut the door behind us, locking it for added measure.
“Bathroom’s through there,” I said, pointing to the closed door.
She went, and I took the time to pick up the phone on the office desk to call some backup.
“Hello?” Loki answered tightly.
“Hey man,” I said looking towards the bathroom when I heard a loud thump, followed by a dainty curse. “We’ve got some fun going on here with the cops. I’m sad that you couldn’t make it.”
“Goddamn Prescott. I told the chief he was up to something when he went hightailing it out of here with a noise complaint like his balls were being tugged,” Loki grumbled.
His statement was followed by him talking to someone, the Chief I assumed. All I could make out was the occasional ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ and ‘dumbass.’ I didn’t need to know who they were talking about, though.
My fingers started rolling the cord of the phone while I listened to the two men discuss something, as well as listen to Tru who was busy singing ‘I’m Too Sexy For My Shirt.’
I was very near busting a gut when Loki came back on the line. “Hey, the chief’s on his way over. He says to cooperate ‘till he gets there, and he’ll take care of Prescott when he does. Were y’all being loud? Where’s the noise complaint coming from?”
I shook my head, perplexed. That’d been why we’d chosen to build the bar where we had. It was about two miles down from my shop, just inside the city limits. There were no homes, nor businesses, in the area. Who would’ve called a noise complaint on us was beyond me. Not that we were being noisy, either.
In fact, we hadn’t had any music on all night, so the only ‘noise’ that was happening was by conversations, and none of those had been loud. Which only left one option. Colby Prescott.
“Negative,” I said.
“Trance’s in the area with Kosher. He’ll be there before us,” Loki said and hung up, leaving me to listen to the final chorus of Tru’s song.
“Hey,” I called out. “You’re all right, right?”
She giggled. “Yeah. But…I think I may need a life alert.”
I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion. “Why?”
“Because I’ve fallen and I can’t get up,” she giggled again.
I ran my hand down my face in weariness. With the late night we had, followed by the very early…very satisfying morning, and then the long afternoon and night, I was beyond exhausted. All this, on top of working the night before.
Sighing in exhaustion, I walked to the door only to realize she’d locked it.
“Tru,” I called through the door. “Can you reach the lock?”
I was answered with the sound of her heaving, and I could only hope that she’d made it to the toilet. Dixie probably wouldn’t like the fact that his bathroom had vomit all over it.
Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled out my wallet and grabbed my library card I hadn’t used in years, then stuck it between the lock and the doorjamb, popping it open with ease.
I made a mental note to let Dixie know how easy it was to get open, then dropped down to one knee behind Tru who had, indeed, made it to the toilet before throwing up an insane amount of alcohol.
“Oh, my God,” she moaned. “I swear to God, I don’t usually drink so much. It was only because Dixie bet I wouldn’t do it. In fact, this is the first time I’ve ever been drunk.”
I believed her.
Dixie came off as an innocent old man, but he sure as hell didn’t act like one. “I know, sweet girl. You doing okay?” I asked, smoothing her hair back from her face.