9. Luke
Luke
Scarlett spotted me on her way through the crowd, Aurora at her side. Her eyes shined in the low light, and the most beautiful smile graced her face. Aurora waved at someone on the other side of the room, making her way over there. Scarlett kept walking, right to me.
“Fancy seeing you here,” she said, adding a hello to the other two as well. “Hey, Wes. Hey Seb. You guys out for a guys’ night?”
“We were, but we’re always happy to have more company,” Seb offered.
He was right. I was more than happy to have Scarlett and Aurora join us for drinks. She was standing next to me, the scent of her sweet perfume doing strange things to my head.
“I appreciate the offer, but Aurora’s going to California in a couple of days, so she’s invited some friends out for drinks before she leaves.”
“Ah, a girls’ night on the town. Sounds fun.” He smiled at her.
“Yeah.” Her eyes landed on mine as her teeth bit into her perfect bottom lip. “Well, I should get over there. Just wanted to pop over and say hi.”
“Have fun,” I told her. She walked over to her sister and some other girls, my eyes tracking her the whole way.
The DJ for karaoke announced the first singer, cueing up an old Bon Jovi hit from the ’80s as one of Reid’s employees, Richie, hit the stage. He belted out the words without missing a beat. The crowd cheered through the entire thing like it was his own private concert.
“Your brother’s going to be pissed he’s missing this,” Seb laughed, coming back from the bar with fresh drinks for me and him, Wes predictably opting out of another.
We listened to a few more folks sing to their favorite track, including the two girls who were sitting at the bar earlier. They bounced around to a Cyndi Lauper fan favorite, ending with a kiss that had the crowd whooping.
“I need another drink. Anyone else?” I asked.
Seb was still working on his last beer, apparently not tipping them back like shots like I was.
The bar was on the other side of Scarlett’s group.
They looked like they were having a good time—a collection of multicolored cocktails sat around the table.
Scarlett caught my eye as I passed and smiled at me.
Ronnie was straight out, the karaoke event bringing in a larger crowd than usual on a Tuesday night.
I waited for her to serve a few more people before she got to me.
A quick head nod to confirm my order was all I needed to do, and a few seconds later, another whiskey was sitting in front of me.
I tipped it back without thinking twice. A few drinks in, and I was starting to feel the effects. Ronnie shot me a concerned look, but I gestured for one more. She paused in front of me when she placed the drink down.
“You got a ride home later?” she asked. “You’re putting them down awfully fast tonight.”
“Walking. I’m staying at Wyatt’s place for right now.”
“Ah.” She nodded, catching on. “In that case, drink up.”
The song ended, and the crowd cheered politely like they did with all of the singers as the guy walked off the makeshift stage.
When the DJ called the next name, I froze, my Jamison held partway to my lips.
Scarlett got up and made her way to the microphone.
The opening bars of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” started, and I couldn’t pull my eyes away from her.
Nervous energy radiated from her. Standing still and leaning into the microphone, she started singing.
As the chorus struck, Scarlett’s inhibitions seemed to flee, and she poured herself into the song.
Completely tone-deaf, she missed every note imaginable, decimating Houston’s high pitches and melodic style.
Joy in its purest form shined through her, and I loved every second of it.
I could listen to her butcher any song just to watch her let go like she was now.
I hollered to her in encouragement, catching her eye just as the bridge hit, calling out to me.
The song finished, and I cheered louder than any other person in the bar.
I watched her skip off the stage with a huge smile on her face before turning to head back to my table with my drink.
Instead, I came face-to-face with the one person I really shouldn’t be running into in my inebriated state.
Fucking Monroe.
My vision tunneled onto him. I put my drink on the bar top and approached him slowly. His eyes rounded, his hands coming up in front of him, thinking he could stop my approach.
“Luke,” he started. I stood chest to chest with him, my fists flexing at my sides. “I know you’re pissed. You have every right to be.”
“You’re fucking my wife, Monroe. I’m a little more than pissed.”
“She was unhappy, Luke. You couldn’t give her what she needed.”
My fist connected with his face in an instant.
Ronnie yelled at us to take it outside. I heard my name being called from behind me, but it wasn’t enough to clear the haze of fury running through me.
Matt and I tussled, the crowd behind us pushing us into the parking lot, where I decked him again.
The sting in my hand felt good as I connected with his cheek.
He fought back, swinging at my head. I dodged the first one but wasn’t fast enough to avoid the second blow as it connected above my eye.
“Luke,” Scarlett shouted to me. “Stop. Someone help break them up.” She sounded frantic. A part of me recognized that I shouldn’t be fighting like this, but it was too late to stop. Anger and betrayal propelled me on.
“Don’t,” Seb said. Someone was going to try to jump in, maybe to break it up, maybe to assist Monroe. Either way, Seb’s warning to stay back stopped him.
Matt tackled me to the ground, but I quickly flipped the script. I pummeled him, taking a few shots along the way too.
Wes and Seb pulled me off him at that point, stopping me before things went any further.
Wes held me back, my breathing labored, adrenaline pumping through my veins, as Matt got to his feet.
Without warning, he got off a cheap shot to my ribs while my arms were held back.
Wes growled, releasing me. I went after him again just as a cruiser pulled up.
Danny Souza, a colleague and fellow officer, hopped out of the car. I let him pull me off Matt, Wes and Seb by my side. Right behind him, Ricardo Neves pulled up in another cruiser.
“Wilder. Monroe. What the hell is going on here?” Souza yelled.
“He deserved it. Trust me,” I growled. Blood was dripping down my face from a cut above my eye, but I didn’t care.
He looked to Matt for more information, but Monroe was silent. He seethed, but he didn’t try to defend himself.
“Let’s go. Both of you,” Souza said. Neves grabbed Monroe and hauled him toward the cruiser.
“I’ve got him. I’ll take him home,” Wes said when Souza came toward me.
“He’s not going home. I have to take him in. Both of them.” He shook his head in disbelief. I could understand that. If I’d rolled up on Souza and Neves in a fistfight, I’d be a little shocked too.
I gave Souza a single nod, letting him know I was coming in without an issue.
He didn’t put cuffs on for our ride to the station, a small concession for a fellow cop.
I looked back as the car door slammed closed.
Scarlett’s tears welled up in her eyes as she leaned on Seb.
His arm was slung around her shoulder, pulling her in.
“You didn’t Mirandize me, you know,” I said to Souza, letting my head rest back against the seat.
“You’re not under arrest, Wilder.” His eyes found mine in the rearview mirror, concerned and confused. “What the hell happened back there? ”
I took a deep breath in. It wasn’t like this was going to stay a secret, not after tonight. And especially not when a baby was brought into this world in a few short months.
“He’s been sleeping with Jules.”
“Shit.” He cringed. “I was afraid you were going to say something like that.”
He pulled up to the station and turned to me before getting out. “Clean yourself up. You look like a beast with blood dripping down your face,” he said, handing me a napkin through the partition grates.
Neves and Monroe had beat us here and were sitting in one of the interrogation rooms. Souza led me into the same room, the four of us standing silently around the table.
Matt seemed to be favoring his left side, where I got a few good hits to his ribs. Good. I smiled to myself. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, the bruises and cuts I’d sustained were starting to smart too, but I refused to show even the slightest bit of pain.
Only a few minutes passed before Chief Williams strolled in. It was after 9:00 p.m., which meant Chief was going to be bullshit for having to get called out of bed to come in for this.
“What’s the meaning of this?” he started.
No one spoke for a moment, Souza being the one to break the silence after the awkward pause.
“I was called to Harpoon’s for a bar fight. Rolled up to see Wilder kicking Monroe’s ass.”
Right now was probably not the time to be proud of that, but I couldn’t help it. Fuck yeah, I was.
“Wipe that smirk off your face, Wilder,” Chief warned.
I schooled my features to look properly chastised, ready for whatever repercussions were coming my way. Monroe shot me a glare from across the room.
“Neves, Souza. You’re dismissed. Get back to patrol.”
They left without a word, leaving Monroe and me to face the wrath of a tired and cranky Chief.
“Who started it?” Chief asked.
Monroe didn’t say anything, but I didn’t need him to protect me from this.
“I did, sir,” I said. Chief Williams stared me down. I wasn’t one to back down from a stare-off, but I had too much respect for the chief to try it with him. “I found out that Juliet had been having an affair a few months back, but she wouldn’t tell me with who. She confessed to me yesterday.”
“Fucking hell, Monroe,” he reprimanded, leveling a hard glare at him.
“I know,” Matt said, meeting the chief’s eyes before darting down to the table.