Page 45 of Knockout Queen

I can’t tell if he’s telling the truth or not. Does this guy ever take time off? Christ. It’s Christmas day for crying out loud. “Likewise,” I say. “What a crazy coincidence.”

“You don’t have to talk to him,” Brawler says. Empathy bleeds through his blue eyes when I gaze into them. He wants to do something about this, but he knows our hands are tied. “Come on.”

We start to walk around Reynolds, but he stays with us like an annoying gnat. “Mind telling me why every time I go to search for you in our files, I get blocked?”

My stomach clenches. A hundred different thoughts filter through my head. I don’t want Reynolds looking too much into my past. My background paper trail is solid, but not if he puts boots on the ground and actually goes searching through the fake trail I left. Right now, I have pretend guardians who I don’t see. I never imagined I’d be under this much scrutiny though. Reynolds seems like he could be a dog with a bone about things, and I’m worried I might just be that thing.

“Did you know your phone was found at the site of a shooting, bombing, and fire? And yet, when I went to retrieve it from evidence, it wasn’t there. Then, of course, there’s the witness to the murder that suddenly changed his tune. At least I still have your gun though.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say out loud while silently cursing. I knew they’d find my phone upstairs in the locker room as long as the rooms weren’t completely burnt. “Should I get my lawyer?”

Reynolds smirks. “Fancy lawyer, too.” He shakes his head. “I just don’t get how you have all these people on your side, little girl.”

I bristle at his comment. Fucking sexist prick. Then again, he thinks I actually committed murder. I’d be an asshole to me too. “One of these days, you’re going to see we’re on the same side.”

He scoffs, sneering at my marred face. “I put thugs like you away.”

I shrug. He can think what he wants about me. I don’t care.

“So, you have nothing to say about who it is that’s helping you?”

“No one is helping me, Detective Reynolds. I’m just a little girl walking with her boyfriend on Christmas to visit his family.”

My phone pings in my pocket. I do my best not to look at Reynolds as we walk away from him. I close my eyes and pray he won’t be able to touch me right now. The last thing I need is to have to worry about more charges being brought against me. Real or fake.

When we’re a few feet away, I pull my phone out and glance down at the screen. There’s a text from Magnum.Don’t talk to him.

I show the screen to Brawler, and we continue to walk away until we’re out of the cemetery and only a block from the bus stop. A black car pulls around the corner in front of us, and I stop short. I have no idea how Magnum knew Reynolds was talking to us. Unless he was watching us, but why would he do that? Or how could he have is the better question. I’m sure K has him out doing something.

“Something doesn’t seem right,” Brawler says as Magnum pulls up to the curb.

I glance back at the cemetery to find Detective Reynolds standing just outside the gate with his hands on his hips, watching us get into the Crew’s car.

19

Magnum speeds off as soon as we’re in the car. He takes the next right a little too fast and the tires squeal. “What did he ask you?” he demands.

I pull my seatbelt on and try to focus on Magnum instead of the way he’s driving. When he realizes he’s driving way too fast for me, he presses down on the brakes and curses under his breath. I take a few deep breaths and get my thoughts together. Reynolds sought us out on Christmas? “What the hell was that?” I finally ask. “What are the odds Reynolds would be at the cemetery at the same time we were?”

“Do you think he followed you?” Mag asks, keeping his eyes trained on the road.

Brawler leans forward, placing his right hand on the back of my seat. “He told us he always visits the victims of the murder cases he hasn’t been able to solve on Christmas.”

Mag snorts out a laugh. “I highly doubt that.”

“Something is going on,” I say, mimicking Brawler’s earlier words. “Reynolds just told us every time he goes to search for me, he gets blocked from within the police department. Also, they found my phone at The Ring, but it’s missing from evidence.”

Frown lines crease Mag’s forehead. “Must be K’s inside guy is working on it.”

“K doesn’t give a fuck about me.”

“No, I imagine he doesn’t, but Johnny does. And believe it or not, Johnny still means something to K. I know you look at their relationship and think it’s unhealthy—”

“Because it is,” I interject.

Magnum side-eyes me. “I wasn’t going to dispute that. I was just saying in some weird way of K’s, he does actually care for Johnny.”

“He acted like it was Johnny’s own fault he got kidnapped.” I’m not convinced K would help me. Or if he did that his reason for doing so would be Johnny. I doubt K does anything that doesn’t have to do with protecting his own interests.

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