Page 52 of Castling the Rook (Checkmate 3)

17

Riley

Mystery Solved

Iwalk into the station at twelve noon and toss my lunch into the communal fridge. I shouldn’t be on shift today, but Dee’s in the air, my mom has appointments, and I have nowhere else to be. I called Jay for a ride home after dropping Dee’s car back at the rental place, and because he was so fucking jittery it made my jaw ache, I figured I’d come to work and take another look at the Hayes case files.

Jay’s on the verge of losing it all. His people should pull him off the case, they should see that he’s on the edge, and dismiss his demands to stay on. Who the fuck is in charge and continues to think it’s okay to keep him in the field? What bureaucratic bullshit decision can justify keeping a man who’s yet to celebrate his thirtieth birthday on, when he can barely stand on his own two feet?

His superiors should’ve yanked him months ago, and his brother should demand Jay’s release straight into a fucking rehab center. But Jay hides it. He pulls his shit together well enough that most people can’t tell, and as far as I know, Hayes rarely has the brothers working in the same warehouse at the same time.

He keeps them apart to keep them in the dark from each other, and it’s working, because somehow, I’m the only idiot that notices he needs help. And though I’ve yet to see him take drugs, it’s not hard to see it in his arms. In his skin. His actions.

Jay demands his place on that team, and every night he goes to work, he plays with fire.

Why? Why does he insist on staying?

“Cruz?” Alex wanders through the office with folded arms and a deep frown marring his brow. Stopping by his desk, my heart kicks into overdrive as a scowling Oz steps in next and mirrors his best friend.

I guess everyone in this room knows who was in my home last night, who was in my home a couple nights this week, but we’ve been operating in this oddcone of silence. No one dares bring it up.

Until now.

“What are your intentions, Riley?” Oz stops in front of my desk and leans forward. “You’re spending a little too much time with my best friend, Andi, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.”

“Your best friend?” Breaking formation, Alex’s eyes snap around. “Oscar,I’myour best friend. Stop trying to bump me, asshole.”

“Andi helped me propose to my wife. She cared for my kids this past week. I heard you had words with my son,cabron. Something you wanna share with the class?”

Sitting back in my chair, I toss the pen I was rolling between my fingers and meet his eyes. “I didn’t have words with him,culo. Dee did.”

“Dee?” He stands tall the way the kids did back in middle school, back when they’d knock the hat off my head, show off for their buddies, and make the ‘ooooh’ noises. It’s hard to be popular when you hung out with your mom all the time. “You call herDee?” He turns to Alex. “He calls her Dee!” His eyes come back to me. “You staking a claim, Cruz? Because I dunno if you know, but I look after myfamilia, and you’re stepping on my toes.”

“Nope.” I lift my hands behind my head like I’m unbothered by his showmanship. “She’s my friend, she’s beautiful, and she’s also a grown adult and doesn’t need you to step up for her.”

“Ooooh!”Yep. There it is.“So you’re stepping up? Fuck me, Rook. I didn’t even bring my wraps to work today. You wanna spar? Winner gets the girl, loser cleans the tanks for three months.”

“Nope.” Sitting forward again, I stack the Hayes files and keep my eyes down. “I don’t want to do anything except my job. Thanks, though.”

“Want me to call Benny in? He’d for sure want a go with you before this is settled. He’s only a teen, but he has balls of steel and likes to take swings at cops.”

“No.” Standing, I meet Oscar Franks on his own level. I don’t give a fuck who has the junior title around here; we’re both grown men, and we both have the ability to stand up for ourselves when the other thinks his balls are too big for his britches. “I don’t wanna do anything except work. She’s my friend. She’s your family. She’s also in the air flying far,faraway, so you can back the fuck up and move on. I’m here to work, not to fight over a girl.”

“Alright.” Alex steps in front of Oz and pushes him back. “You just got back from honeymoon, Franks. You should be more mellow. You boys need some distance for a minute, so I want you to patrol Main Street for an hour.”

“Patrol?” Oz chest bumps his best friend. “Patrol? What the fuck? I’m not your rook!”

“That’s code for take a fuckin’ walk,culo. Cool off. Cruz, you can sit back down and keep doing your thing. You’re not in trouble.”

“Motherfucker! You pull a gun on a guy because he messes with your sister, but someone touches mine and I’m the one being sent on patrol?”

“They’re thirty, Oz. That’s a hell of a lot different to Britt and Luc messing around in college.”

“Get the fuck outta here!” Oz turns on his heels and pushes away with a lot more heat than I expected of this conversation. “The chief has spoken,” he snaps. “And once again, it’s in double standard. Bravo, X. Your special power is your ability to twist every fuckin’ conversation around to make it work for you.”

“Yup, that’s me, now move it.” He thrusts an arm in the direction of the street. “Go, or you’ll be working nights for the rest of the year. You’re a newlywed; trust me, you don’t want that. Cruz; we got a new delivery on the dock. I want you to bring it to the storerooms, stack it up, count it out. We need inventory, and it’s important you don’t miscount. That oughtta take you twenty minutes, and by then, Franks will be out of my face and you can come in and continue what you were doing.”

“Yeah.” I grab my ballcap and drop it on top of my head while Oz walks laps into the carpet. “I’ll be back later.”

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