Page 26 of Scotch: Unraveled

One second I’m laughing with my best friend, having a good night, and the next the Sheriff’s Deputy Rodrick—the same douche canoe who hassled Rory and has been hassling me, walks up to our table, thumbs hooked over his belt, one intimidatingly close to his gun holster and the other to his baton . He stares down Brighton and me, looming.

“Little late to have them babies out, don’t you think?” he asks and I look around at the other families with children of all ages in the restaurant.

“It’s dinner time, so no. Not too late,” I reply, not sarcastic but still a little shocked, I suppose.

“Got a smart mouth there, missy.”

“Excuse me?” Brighton asks, and I kick her underneath the table because I don’t want her getting on this guy’s radar.

“Deputy Rodrick, is there a reason you’re here at our table? Is something wrong?” I ask.

“Your man not with you tonight?” he asks back instead of answering, looking toward the hallway with the restrooms.

“Myman?” I blink at him in confusion. “No. He’s out of town on business. I’m just out with a girlfriend. Have I done something? Because I’m still not sure what’s going on here.”

“Not keeping real good company. Could get you into trouble.”

“You mean Brighton?” I point to her, this time very shocked.

“I mean the Lords. You still heading up to that clubhouse every night.”

“How the hell do you know that?” Brighton asks, not taking my under-table kicking for what it is. “You following her? That’s harassment, deputy.”

“Brighton,” I hiss, but her distraction gives me enough time to slide my phone from my pocket and call Tommy Doyle. As one of Boss’s best friends, an unofficial brother of the Lords and a Sergeant on the Thornbriar Police Department, Rory made sure I had Tommy’s number programmed into my phone before he left because, ‘ya can’t have enough friends looking out forya.’ Thank god he did. Brighton glances over to me for just a second and keeps the deputy occupied while I talk to Tommy. “Where are you?” I ask with a tremor to my voice.

“Maryanne and I are on our way to that new sushi place. Grand opening.”

Oh, thank god. “Are you close?”

“Just turned in the lot, why?”

“Because I’m sitting in here trying to enjoy my sushi and Deputy Rodrick is harassing me and my friend. I don’t know why. We’ve done nothing.”

“Comin’ in now.” He disconnects and in the next moment I hear the bell over the door jingle and I look up to see Tommy Doyle walking with swift steps over to our table.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Tommy says to us, and Rodrick startles. “Deputy, there a reason you’re here with these ladies? Know you’re not exactly friends.”

“You should head over to your own table, Officer Doyle. This has nothing to do with you,” Rodrick says back.

“It’s Sergeant, and last I checked, this is my town and these are my friends. So I think you’re wrong.”

“We went ahead and ordered,” Brighton says to Tommy. “You and Maryanne just need to order your drinks.” Brighton knows Maryanne Doyle quite well. They went to the same church as kids—benefit of being small town, I guess. Brighton isn’t known for pleading faces. She says what she wants and if you aren’t on board with that, she figures something else out, which means Rodrick’s intrusion must really shake her because as she looks at Tommy, all I see is pleading.

Tommy, of course, smiles his good ol’ boy smile and says, “And you made sure to get the octopus. You know that’s Maryanne’s favorite.”

The bell over the door jingles again and Maryanne walks in. Tommy no doubt gave her an order to hang back for a couple minutes. Brighton and I wave her over as if we’ve been expecting her and we move the platters to accommodate the two fresh plates for Tommy and Maryanne.

After hugs and cheek kisses, the Doyles smile and pile their plates with food. The waitress comes over to take their drink orders. All the while Deputy Rodrick stands close to our table with his hands on his hips, his pinched face and looking ten kinds of pissed. We pretend to ignore his presence, but I’m aware of every move he makes and doesn’t make—as in how he doesn’tleave.

He probably stands there for two more minutes before the deputy finally turns to leave and I let out the breath I’ve been holding. “Sorry if we ruined your evening,” I say to Tommy. “I just didn’t know what else to do.”

“Girl, ruin our evening? Please. Good food with good people—ain’t much better than that. You did exactly the right thing by callin’ me.”

Maryanne stuffs a California roll in her mouth, chews and swallows, then points her chop sticks at me. “Just yesterday Elise and I were hanging down at Lady’s shooting the shit and there was nothing wrong with her car. Then when we leave, he’s pulling her over for a busted-out taillight. I swear he did it. It was too convenient. She don’t have a busted taillight when we go in, she does when we come out, and he’s right there pulling us over?”

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound suspicious at all,” Brighton says, rolling her eyes.

“Huge ass ticket, too,” Maryanne goes on. “We went back inside, where Boss was covering for one of his bartenders to tell him what happened. The man lost his mind.”

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