Page 14 of Party Girl: How a Naughty Omega Finds Love
ChapterFour
HAYDEN
I don’t want to leave her. Knowing that her grandmother died and that’s probably why she’s here, I feel obligated to stay and make sure no one treats her badly. It’s a strange desire, given I don’t even know her, but the urge is there. The paramedic clears her throat, so I nod and start stepping over bodies until I reach the bar. One by one, the other officers are logging people’s details and either sending them home or handcuffing them. Tonight’s raid wouldn’t have been possible without the anonymous tip we received.
Illicit drugs have been taking over Dolin, and my department has been aggressive in trying to take them down. Somewhere in this crowd of people is a dealer.
“Hayden.” Asher calls me toward the end of the bar where he’s standing. He’s interrogating a curvy woman who doesn’t look too pleased about it.
“This the bartender?” I ask.
“Yeah. Poppy.” Asher gives her a cold look. “She’s not talking.”
These busts go one of two ways. Either someone is willing to work with us, or they shut down completely.
“What’s in a vodka bomb?” I ask, hooking my thumbs in my duty belt.
Poppy quirks her eyebrows. “Vodka.”
“Nice try. What else? I know you got a couple of women high tonight. You either tell me what it is, or I arrest you for narcotics trafficking.”
Asher whistles. “Sounds like a no-brainer to me.”
“Asshole,” Poppy mutters. Her face pinches in frustration, and her eyes slip to the side, glancing at the dance floor full of people.
Asher and I turn to see who she’s looking at. Some skeezy looking douche with greasy brown hair and a tracksuit. My money is on him being the dealer.
“Fine,” she concedes. “But I don’t want heat for this.”
I look at Asher since he’s technically the one that’s been working her.
“If you give us good intel, I can see that you’re not detained for any longer than you have to be.”
Drumming her fingers on her legs, she nods. “Vodka bombs have a hit of LSD in it too. Nothing crazy, just a little nudge.”
I scowl. “Do you tell your customers what they’re ordering?”
“Most times they already know. It’s not my job to babysit people.”
“Actually, it is. You can get in a lot of trouble, you know that, right?” Asher shakes his head. “No, you probably don’t, because I bet you’re not even certified.”
“I have a kid,” she blurts. “I need the money. It’s this or stripping.”
Asher blinks, not at all swayed by her sob story. “How many vodka bombs did you serve tonight?”
“Shit, I don’t count.” She cringes when he scowls. “I don’t know, less than a hundred.”
“What about that woman?” I turn and point at Whitney. “You serve her a drink?”
“Yeah, they asked for it, though. I didn’t slip them anything if that’s what you’re implying. I’m in the service business, man. I’m only doing my job.”
“So you’re telling me that she knew exactly what you were giving her? She told you, please give me vodka with LSD?”
“Well, no, but her friend ordered it. I didn’t realize they didn’t know until they’d already taken it. By then, it was too late.” She huffs. “Am I going to jail?”
“Yeah, you’re going to jail, but you’ll be out by the morning,” Asher says, giving her a sad smile. “What’s the dealer’s name?” He jerks his thumb toward the sketchy guy.
“I’m not a snitch.”
