Page 22 of Frenemies
“Don’t worry,” Naomi shot me a look over her shoulder. “Sooner or later, withdrawals will kick in.”
That’s when it occurred to me that they had taken my stash.
Son of a bitch.
Beast tilted his brow down at Derek. “Keep an eye on him.”
“Don’t worry,” Derek threw his thumb over his shoulder to the hall where Chase’s yells were echoing. “He’s not going anywhere.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Both Derek and I stared at him. Derek’s brow knit in confusion, but I knew what Beast was talking about—I saw the murderous glint in Chase’s eye.
If he could’ve reached through those bars and strangled the life out of Ashen Springs’ Sheriff, he would’ve. Interesting, considering he was Riley’s father. Apparently, he didn’t have the same love for Derek as he did for his daughter.
“Just,” Beast slapped his hand on Derek’s back and walked up the stairs. “Watch yourself around him.”
Was it such was a good idea to have Derek involved in this? Louis sent him down here so we’d have someone in the department. Given the fact that Chase’s identity had been kept out of all reports, I couldn’t argue with his logic.
Plus, we wouldn’t have this abandoned precinct to keep him locked up in without police connections, but none of that would matter if Chase killed someone in the Miami PD.
Derek must’ve sensed my hesitation because he waved his hand at the stairs and said, “Go, I’ll be fine.”
I wasn’t so sure about that, but I went anyway. If he wanted to dig his own grave, who was I to argue?
Beast shook his head when I caught up to him and pushed the door open. “Here’s to hoping we don’t come back to a body.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” I said and clicked past him outside.
I’d give Derek Adams one thing—he wasn’t stupid. Louis and the rest of the order controlled my hometown. No one got into a position of power without their consent, except for Derek.
They didn’t want him to be sheriff, yet he was. That told me everything I needed to know about the man.
It wasn’t the person at the head of the table you needed to worry about—it was the janitor that clawed his way into one of those seats without anyone noticing. Precisely why I kept my eye on Marnie Dupire. She wasn’t much back home.
Attended public school, didn’t run in any significant social circles, but she knew way more than anyone suspected, and I’d seen her and Derek chatting on more than one occasion. Good thing she wasn’t here, and that good girl attitude couldn’t get in the way of our cover-ups.
“Took you guys long enough.”
I cocked my hip at Jaz, who was standing in the parking lot leaning on her Harley. Or hog as Beast called it, which was a horrible name. No girl wanted anything she owed compared to a barnyard animal. Well, except for Bailey—I was pretty sure her best friend was a cow named Mabel.
Jaz fluttered her eyelashes up at her husband. “How is he?”
I wasn’t a fan of the girl’s fashion sense which consisted of worn jeans and old rock band shirts, but she had that bike decked out beautifully. There was just the right amount of pastel pink highlighting the black exterior and a gorgeous lavender skull wrapped in roses on the gas tank.
If only I could get her in a dress and heels. I’d love to get my hands on her hair, though—the things I could do with those thick red locks. Beast wouldn’t know what hit him.
“An asshole,” Beast muttered back.
I mean, he wasn’t wrong. Chase was always a dick, but this was different. There was something missing. His eyes didn’t have that hint of tortured pain they used to, and it wasn’t gone because he’d healed. It was just gone, replaced with a mask of rage and contempt.
“How was he with you?”
I crossed my arms and huffed, “How do you think?”
Although I could sense the hope in Jaz’s words, I wasn’t one for sugar coating shit. She should consider herself lucky that I stopped calling her Claire. Apparently, it was disrespectful to call someone by their given name at the clubhouse—stupid biker rules.
Her shoulders slumped as Beast wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Even though it was kind of sweet how gentle and protective he was of her, I rolled my eyes.
