“Hadn’t even heard that rumor. But I’ll tell you this, if someone on this force is dirty, I won’t stop until the whole fucking place is cleaned up.”
I spared a glance at Monroe from the side of my eye. He was nodding along, like my answer was exactly what he was hoping to hear.
I didn’t trust his head nod, and I didn’t trust him. Whatever was going through his mind right now, I hoped he understood that I was dead serious when I said that I wouldn’t stop until that dirty cop was out. I would never have let something like this go, but now that they’d brought Scarlett into it, failure wasn’t an option. If Monroe was involved in any way, he should be damn scared of the consequences.
20
Luke
A new pitcher of beer was put on the table in front of us by God-knows-who. I wasn’t sure how it had happened, but I was pretty sure I was drunk. It may have been the shots that had been passed around. Or the amount of beer we’d gone through. Or the lack of food in my stomach.
“I need wings,” I yelled to no one in particular.
“Get this man some chicken wings,” Claire echoed. She wrapped her arms around Reid from behind and swayed to the music with him.
“I’m on it.” Seb left the table to get Ronnie’s attention. I hoped he was getting me some chicken wings, but for all I knew, he was just chatting up the ladies over there.
I looked over to the door again, willing it to open.
No luck.
Everyone was here already. Wyatt and Maeve had left the girls with Josie for a few hours. Wes was sitting with his back to the wall so he had the best vantage point of the entire space and had switched to ginger ale after he nursed his first beer. Seb, who was definitely flirting instead of ordering me food,had brought enough party hats for everyone—in the entire bar—because he was an asshat like that and my best friend. Reid and Claire were talking to my father over the screeching sound of the karaoke microphone.
I hadn’t invited the guys from the station to join us, not because I didn’t want them here, but because they were in an awkward enough situation, and I didn’t want anyone to feel like they were picking sides.
The one person who wasn’t here was Scarlett. I wanted to call her, thinking maybe she’d forgotten, but I knew that wasn’t the case. We had talked about it again this morning when I told her that she was very specifically invited.
“She’ll be here,” Maeve said. I turned to her, my brow furrowed.
“Who?”
Claire must have extricated herself from Reid and my father and was now standing next to Maeve.
They looked at each other and then back to me in a weird unison. Thank fuck they looked nothing alike, otherwise it would have felt like aShiningmoment. Claire had a solid six inches on Maeve. Her blonde hair was tucked behind her ears and cut to just below shoulder-length. Maeve had a shorter stature and curvier frame, and her dark brown hair was tied into a messy bun on the top of her head, adding an additional inch or two of height.
“Have you told her that you’re into her yet?” Claire asked.
I let out a sigh just as Wyatt joined us. He slung his arm around Maeve’s shoulder and dropped a quick kiss to her head.
“Are you bringing him down on a night he’s supposed to be celebrating?” he laughed. “Leave the man alone, and come sit on my lap.” The smirk that he shot to Maeve was borderlineindecent.
The two of them found a seat on the other side of the table where they could cuddle up together.
“You didn’t answer the question,” Claire said, taking a pull of her beer.
“Yes and no. We talked a bit,” I said, not even pretending not to know who she was talking about. I tilted my head back and let the cold beer run down my throat. “There was a moment, but it passed. I don’t think she wants us to go there. She doesn’t want to ruin our friendship.”
“And what do you want?”
There was no question about what I wanted. It was Scarlett. It had probably always been Scarlett, even when I didn’t realize it.
“Scarlett,” I told her honestly. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe I just needed to talk to someone, and Claire was here and willing to listen, but I found myself ready to open up about what I was feeling. “She’s all I think about, Claire. All fucking day long, it’s Scarlett going through my head. Is she safe? Is she happy? Is she drinking enough water? Is she thinking about me? It’s a fucking obsession.”
Claire was smiling at my self-imposed torment like it had just made her day.
“Go for it, Luke. That’s my advice, not that you asked. But I’m telling you, take your shot. She’s a beautiful, intelligent, interesting woman who is going to get scooped up by someone. I have no idea why she hasn’t been already,” she said, pausing. “Well, that’s not true. I do know why. But it won’t last forever.”
I sucked in a breath as I thought about what she said. “What if she doesn’t want me like that though? What if I ruineverything we have trying to take more than she wants to give?” I asked quietly.
