Page 15 of Bad Boy in Her Bed

Grey poured another dollop of syrup on his pancakes.“Yeah?Just out wherever by yourself, eh?”

Giving him a flat stare, he sat back in his chair and crossed his arms.“Out at the movies on a date.Happy?”

“Hell yes I am,” Grey stated, digging back into his meal.“She hot?”Receiving a simple lift of a brow, he pushed on.“You gonna bring her by soon?I knew there was something up with you.How did you two hook up?”

Clearing the plates, he scraped them into the trash.“It was just a date, Grey.”

“Yeah.Just a date for a guy who doesn’t date.”

Grey was smart enough at an early age to know why Birch operated the way he did.At first, it manifested in mumbled apologies at midnight after yet another unsuccessful sleepover at a friend’s place.As he got older, Grey openly confronted him about his one-night stand policy, insisting Birch no longer needed to be around as much as he was.But the kid didn’t understand baggage, didn’t comprehend the idea that women weren’t interested in long term relationships with a twenty-one-year-old tethered to school sleep schedules and parent-teacher meetings.All he saw was an older brother he figured was a decent guy and therefore a good catch.

It was sweet.Naive and sweet.

He rinsed the dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher, taking time to rearrange the top rack.“Don’t you have homework?”

Grumbling as he sprayed down the table and wiped it clean, Grey retreated to his bedroom to study, calling over his shoulder as the door closed.“The world won’t end if you’re happy, Birch.It might even make you less of a grouch to get off on a regular basis.”

*

Jocelyn glanced downto read Birch’s text, smiling as she fired off a quick yes to meeting him at Serpent’s Tongue when she was done.“Sorry, Angelo.What was that?”

“Your contact at the Epson PD,” her boss repeated.“A guy named Bill Fogerty.He’s been tasked with tracking down the books to the company we’re looking into.I know you were hoping to go over the numbers without someone looking over your shoulder, but I think this might be for the best, safety-wise.”

Her nose wrinkled in annoyance at the thought of answering to someone else.“Are they looking for the same thing we are?”

“Worse,” Angelo replied.“All Fogerty told me is that he has intel indicating this isn’t the small interstate laundering operation we thought it was.Keep that in the back of your mind while you review the documents, okay?I’m sending you his contact info now.Stay safe and keep your wits about you.”

“Will do.”She disconnected the call with a huff.Seconds later, the Epson Sheriff information came up on her screen and she tapped the phone number.“Jocelyn Carter for Bill Fogerty, please.”

It didn’t take long to figure out Fogerty was as interested in working with her as she was with him.He reluctantly agreed to allow her to join his deputies for the afternoon as they went to check one of the two remaining addresses attached to the number company.Agreeing to be on time and obey his officers’ orders, she hung up and called Birch.

“Hey, girl,” he greeted her, the thumping of music coming through the speaker.“We still on for dinner?”

Driving toward the Epson PD station, she slowed at a light.“Damn right we are.Just warning you I’ll be on cop time, so I may be running late.But I’ll be there.”

“What the hell are you doing with the cops?”he demanded, and she could hear the music being turned down.“You need me to come down there?Call anyone?”

His shift from relaxed to wound was instant, his voice changing from a leisurely purr to a hardened growl, and she kicked herself, remembering too late that Birch and police weren’t a good pair.“No, no, it’s okay.It’s for work,” she reassured him.“They’re taking the lead on tracking an account down I’m supposed to be reviewing, so it’s probably safer this way.”

“Safer, yeah,” he grunted, his displeasure broadcasting clearly.“I’ll wait for you here, but if you run into any problems, call, okay?Any problems at all.”

“I will.Promise.”

*

Birch paced thelength of Serpent’s Tongue while he waited for Jocelyn to arrive.Ryder watched him with increasing agitation.

“Where did you say your girlfriend was again?”his partner asked, erasing the lettering on a stencil he was creating.

“Ride-along with Epson’s finest,” he mumbled, stopping at the exit to look into the parking lot.“It’s a work thing.And she’s not my girlfriend.”

Ryder went quiet for a moment.“She a cop?”

“Hell no.Just riding along.”Seeing her little car pull off the road into the lot, the tension in his shoulders evaporated.“Why don’t you lock up early?No one’s coming in the next thirty minutes.”

Shrugging, Ryder hunched back over his work.“Never know.Don’t do anything I would do tonight.”

With a wave, he walked toward Jocelyn’s car.Her door swung open, and she jumped out, her expression shifting from anxious to relieved in a heartbeat.

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