Page 41 of Castling the Rook (Checkmate 3)

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Riley

Raya Cruz

At the end of shift Friday afternoon, I walk past Alex’s desk in a shitty mood, because Andi’s leaving tomorrow, I haven’t heard from her since last night – because she’s so fucking chill all the damn time – and someone stole my lunch from the communal fridge.

Again.

For a while, I suspected Oz was our lunch thief, because he’s just the type to steal someone’s lunch only to get off on watching them search for it, but seeing as he’s away and isn’t due back until tonight, I have to start my search all over again.

Libby Tate, our only female cop and the next on my list of suspects, seems the type that might steal my high protein brownies. She’s in the gym almost as often as I am, and she’s always bitching about the lack of clean food around here. But, woman or not, if it’s her, she gets no mercy from me. When I find my thief, I’m going to pin them up by their fingernails and feed them processed cereal bars until they explode from the sugar intake.

Make your own fucking lunch!

“Rook.” Alex grabs my shoulder as I pass and spins me back. Sitting on the corner of his desk, my boss folds his arms over his chest and watches me the way he watches everyone;suspiciously. A million thoughts race through my mind. A million laws broken. Does he know I’m into his best friend’s sort-of sister-in-law? Does he know about my indecent exposure at the lake? Does he know about Jay and Kane Bishop and my involvement with them?

My crimes vary wildly, and the punishments will vary accordingly. But to Alex Turner, a law broken is a law broken, and whether it was fucking in public, or being a traitor and working with the Feds, I’m gonna lose my head.

The only person in this station that I knowdidn’tsteal my lunch is this guy, because his moral compass doesn’t even bend enough for stolen snacks.

“Chief.” Stepping back, I school my face and admit to nothing. “I was just heading home. What’s up?”

“Oz is back tonight.”

So it’s about Andi. I’m a dead man.

“Uh-huh. Did you hear from him while he was away?”

He reaches across his desk and picks up his stapler for something to do with his hands. Or to staple my balls to the floor. “Yeah, he called in most days. He and Lindsi are having a good time, but he wanted to check in on everything. You know Marc and Meg just had their baby a few weeks back, so he was asking after them, plus we got the Hayes shit still going. He wanted to know if we’d solved it without him.” He grins. “You know Oz, he hates being left out.”

“Yeah.” With staple-free balls for now, I mimic Alex’s relaxed stance and lean against the next desk. Coincidentally, Oz’s. “Chief… can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” He tosses the stapler from hand to hand and watches me squirm. “Ask me anything.”

“Did Oz get back earlier today and just not check in? Do you think he’s already back in town?”

“Nah. They’re flying in at seven. I’ve got his flight itinerary on my phone, and rumor has it, the kids have been working onwelcome homesigns all day with their aunt. Why do you ask?”

“Um…” If I mention my lunch, I cement my place in this station as the idiot rookie with no balls. But if I don’t, I might never know, and the not knowing is killing me. “Someone took my lunch again today.” Just as predicted, his lips twitch. Alex might not be the thief, but he’s amused by it nonetheless. “I always thought it was Oz, because he’s an asshole like that, but if he’s not back, then it can’t be him.”

“Do we need to go to the war room and set up a board for the lunch thief? It’s been going on awhile, Cruz. I thought it was kinda funny the first time or two, but now it’s just getting ridiculous.”

“Right? It’s annoying, and I can’t just put it in my desk drawer, because I have stuff that needs to stay cold.”

“We can stay on for a bit and work the case if you want.” He stands tall and angles toward the boardroom. “Jules won’t string me up until six, so we have an hour. I wanna catch this fucker as much as you do. You know how I feel about this bullshit in the workplace; if we can’t trust our squad, then we can’t work together.”

“Really? You wanna work the case with me?”

“Sure. Come on.” He drops his hand to his hips and leads me toward the boardroom filled with Infernos case files. Kane Bishop’s dark eyes stare at me from at least a dozen images. But worse, so much fucking worse is his ‘boss’, Abel Hayes, the slimy, murderous motherfucker. He has no scruples, no morals, and no problem murdering a girl because she said she didn’t want to be raped.

Pulling a spare board out, Alex blocks sight of the first with a blank canvas and picks up a marker. “Alright. We’re searching for a rat, and nobody likes to think we have a rat in our midst. But it happens sometimes. It happens to even the most tightly run station. So we smoke him…” His brow lifts. “Orherout. We smoke the rat out, then we string them up by their thumbs until they admit to their crimes.”

“Um…” Clearing my throat, I can’t help but wonder if we’re talking about a lunch thief anymore, or if he knows about me. I’m not here to hurt my squad, but am I still a rat in their midst? Will Alex hang me by my thumbs when Hayes’ world explodes and they find out I was the snitch? “What’s gonna happen to the rat, X? I mean, it’s just food. It’s annoying, but I can deal with it.”

“Nope. We start this, and we push hard. When we find him – orher– we make an example of him,” he nods, “orher– and we make sure everyone’s got the memo; don’t fuck with Riley Cruz, because he means business. He’s our rookie, but he’s no one’s bitch.”

I think I’ve changed my mind.“Ya know what? I think I hear your cell ringing. We can pick this up another day.”

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