Page 36 of Tequila Tuesdays

Zeke walked up and gave me a squeeze around my shoulders. “You’re always in the middle of the drama, Harley. Why is that? I like the braids by the way.”

I couldn’t deny it. “Hi, Zeke. I don’t want to be, it just happens. You two looked pretty good out there.”

“Thanks. That’s a compliment coming from you,” Zeke said.

“You’re a little slow getting up though, and your back row needs work.”

“There’s the Harley I know and love.” Zeke chuckled and gave me another squeeze. He was a big guy, and his arm felt like an enormous tree trunk wrapped around my shoulders. It made me want to squeeze his bicep.

Damien carefully pulled me closer to him, dislodging Zeke’s arm. Zeke gave him a shit-eating grin, but he stepped back.

I started stretching while we talked about the Ray incident and eavesdropped on the other team discussing their drama. Damien and Zeke watched me stretch, and I absently pulled my leg up to my shoulder and stretched out my hamstrings. Then I stretched the other one.

I sat on the grass and continued to stretch. The men had gone quiet, and I glanced up to see both of them staring at me.

“How flexible are you?” Zeke asked.

I shrugged. “Pretty flexible.”

“Can you do a backbend and the splits?” he pressed.

“Yeah. Can’t most people?” I asked.

Zeke looked at me with a funny grin. “You never disappoint me, Har.” Then he shook his head at Damien. “Don’t fuck it up, asshole. I gotta go, I have shit to do today.”

Zeke walked off, and I turned to Damien. “Hey, I came early because I wanted to know if there are any updates about Shanda’s case.” I held up my hands. “I know the pay is lousy, and it’s probably not a priority case for you, but I’m worried about her.”

He seemed to shake himself out of whatever he was thinking. “You’re right, the payisshitty. But I spent half of Thanksgiving checking out her social media, and I’ve got a few leads. With the holiday weekend, it’s been harder to get a hold of people.”

I felt both relief that Damien was taking the case seriously, and frustration that we still hadn’t found Shanda.

“Thank you. I owe you.”

“I’ll trade you a favor,” he replied.

I eyed him. “What favor?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know yet.”

My eyebrows went up, and I folded my arms.

He grinned. “Relax. I’m talking aboutworkfavors. Sometimes I need help with surveillance or a witness to come with me on a job.”

“Hmm, that sounds interesting.”

He smiled wryly. “It’s not. Surveillance is boring as hell. The favor won’t be anything bad, I promise. Your legal background might be useful.”

“Of course. I can do that.”

“Okay, it’s a deal. Your match is starting. When do you want to meet?”

“Is today too soon?” I was getting a little panicked about Shanda.

“Sounds good. How about one o’clock at my office?”

Some of my tension eased. “That would be perfect. Thank you.” I started walking backward toward my team, with Gary next to me. “I’ll grab some lunch and bring it with me.”

He nodded, then folded his arms and watched me walk away.

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