Page 23 of Waiting on Life
“Send them back to the office, please.”
Kyle groaned. “You can go talk with them. It’s not like I’m dying or anything.”
“Shut up,” I groused, the thought of something happening to Kyle while I wasn’t there to watch over him was to terrible to contemplate. “I’m not leaving you alone until Pete gets here.”
He sighed. “Fine.”
Only it wasn’t. I tried to tell myself that if it had been Scott who was hurt, I would be doing the same thing, but for some reason, that rang hollow. Sure, I would make certain Scott was taken care of, but I don’t know if I would have reacted the same to him getting punched.
The knock startled me, even though I knew it was coming. I felt awkward, like I was caught doing something I shouldn’t be, which was crazy. I went and opened the door to find two boys in blue standing there. Both were broad in the shoulders. One was narrow in the hips, while the other looked like he’d never met a donut he hadn’t fallen in love with.
They came into the office, and one of them gave Kyle the once-over. “Really, Kyle?” he groaned.
“Oh, hey, Jack.” The words were said with a smile, but without sincerity. “How are you?”
“Apparently better than you.”
As insane as I thought it was before now, this pushed me into cuckoo-type crazy. A surge of jealousy zipped through me that Kyle and this cop were so… chummy.
“This is my boss, Toby Tomlinson. Toby, this is Jack, Pete’s brother.”
Other than a quick glance in my direction, Jack barely acknowledged me. “I swear, the two of you need around-the-clock protection. What happened this time?”
“Some asshole punched me in the face.”
Jack sighed. “And why are you here in the first place?”
“Uh, I work here.”
“You work…here?”
His voice dripped with distaste. I was about to say something when Kyle lurched up, pinned Jack with a sharp stare, and shouted, “There’s nothing wrong with No Angels! Toby is a great person and a good manager.”
The words warmed me.
Jack held up his hands. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Oh, bullshit. You’ve always been a judgmental prick ever since we met.”
Jack’s partner snickered but otherwise said nothing as Jack glowered at Kyle. Then his shoulders slumped. “Look, let’s talk about what happened, okay?”
Kyle sat back, his glare icy. He was still far too pale for my liking. “Unless Toby says otherwise, I’m not pressing charges.”
The second cop turned to me. “Sir?”
I admit, I wanted to hunt the asshole down myself and hurt him badly, but it wasn’t my call. I wasn’t the one who’d been assaulted. And besides, Kyle didn’t seem overly eager to work with Jack.
“If Kyle wants to let it go, then that’s what we’ll do. I’ve told the guy he’s not welcome in the bar anymore, so I doubt we’ll be seeing him again.”
“So, this was a waste of time,” the partner said.
“I didn’t want to call you in the first place,” Kyle protested. “And if I had known Jack would come, I would have insisted no one call.”
There was another knock on the door. I strode over and opened it to find Pete there.
“Where is he? Is he all right?”
Kyle groaned. “Don’t come in, Pete. Your brother is here.”
