Chapter Twelve. #2
Cassidy nodded as I told everyone watching to wait until the shipment had been emptied.
Large crates were unloaded as Sparrow watched.
My gut twisted. I liked Sparrow, and it was hard to think she was involved in drug running.
Maybe Sapphire didn’t know what her sister was doing.
As much as I’d like to believe that was a no, nothing happened in the Royal Harlots that Sapphire didn’t approve of.
For the next hour, we watched, taking clear pictures. “Raid the warehouse,” Hatton’s voice came over the radio, and I glanced up and saw him standing by an unmarked.
Sirens pierced the silence as black and whites appeared, and I drove into the warehouse yard.
SWAT kicked the door in, and cops piled inside the warehouse. I spotted Sparrow, looking shocked, and she immediately got to her knees, holding her hands behind her head. Those with her—Nun, Stitch, and Poker—looked shocked but followed Sparrow’s example.
Uniformed officers forced the driver and three other men who were standing by the boxes to the ground.
All of them were patted down, and a variety of weapons were discovered on the women. Sparrow had begun to look amused, but it was mixed with anger.
“What’s the meaning of this?” she demanded of Hatton as cuffs were slapped on them all.
“We’ve got a warrant to search the premises for drugs,” he said.
“You think we’re dealing drugs?” Sparrow insisted.
Hatton’s eyes went to the crates and nodded.
“Be my fuckin’ guest. But I warn you now, damage my merchandise and I’ll sue the fuck out of you.”
Sparrow was too relaxed for my liking, and her gaze focused on me.
“You blew it, asshole. Don’t say a word,” she ordered her sisters and shifted. She crossed her legs in front of her and lowered her arms.
“Put your hands…”
“Leave her,” I said to the uniformed cop. I had a sinking feeling this night was about to go horribly wrong.
Hatton motioned for an officer to pry open the crate's lid. The lid clattered to the floor as the Royal Harlots stared at us with varying degrees of amusement and distaste.
“What the fuck?” Hatton called out as he looked inside the box.
“What?” I asked, moving over with Cassidy. My eyes widened at the contents of the crate.
“Are those…?” Cassidy exclaimed.
“Butt plugs,” I stated.
“Empty the crate,” Hatton said and moved to the next.
“Remember, any merchandise damaged, the PPD are paying for,” Sparrow spat out.
The next crate contained whips in clear plastic bags. My gut sank. We’d intercepted a shipment of sex toys. Sparrow was smug after six more crates were opened and the drug dogs didn’t alert.
“You can pack all the stuff back into those crates and make fuckin’ sure they’re not damaged,” she snarled at us.
“Uncuff them,” Hatton ordered.
“Fuckin’ assholes,” Nun said loudly as she was uncuffed.
“You blew it. The tip-offs about shipments, the help we offer, everything stops after this. We gave you those gangbangers, and you spit on us,” Sparrow hissed at Hatton.
“Sparrow, we had a tip-off…” Cassidy said.
“Let me guess, a female with a husky voice. Who the fuck did you guys just arrest?” Nun demanded.
Hatton closed his eyes. “The Bloody Femmes.”
“Yeah, and you walked right into their trap. Ain’t no going back from this,” Stitch said.
The warehouse door blew open, and Sapphire stormed in with four sisters at her back.
“You raid us? Arrest my sisters? Damage my merchandise? Since when have butt plugs and sex toys been illegal in the USA?” Sapphire spat.
“This was a mistake,” Hatton said. “We got the tip-off and acted.”
“And ruined whatever relationship the Harlots and PPD were beginning to build. I told you to your fuckin’ face, the Harlots aren’t running drugs, women, or arms. The fact you’re here means you think I lied to you!” Sapphire shouted at me.
She was hurt, and I could see that. Under her anger was a load of pain, and I’d caused it.
“Babe.”
“Don’t fuckin’ babe me, you motherfucking asshole cop.
Instead of trusting me, the woman you want to get to know, you believed some lying slut from the Bloody Femmes.
Well, good for you. You can bone her while you’re thinking about what you threw away.
Remove your asshole cops from my warehouse and fuck off,” Sapphire hissed at Hatton.
He eyed her before nodding. “Move out,” he ordered.
I stepped towards Sapphire, and she turned her back on me.
“Under no circumstances cross my path again, Wylde, you don’t exist to me.”
Shit. Panic welled in my gut, and I took two steps.
“Let her calm down,” Cassidy murmured as the Royal Harlots began packing their merchandise back into the crates. None of them even looked at us, and their disdain was plain to see.
“Shit, this was a fuck-up,” Hatton said as we left the warehouse.
“And one they’ll have lawyers all over for harassment,” Cassidy replied.
“We screwed the pooch on this,” I said, and they nodded.
“Those fuckin’ Bloody Femmes. They set us up and have potentially ruined the relationship between us and the Harlots.” Hatton appeared angry.
“We couldn’t have done any differently from what we had, Capt. We had information and had to act on it. If we hadn’t, then we’d have been in dereliction of our duty. The Royal Harlots will realise that.”
Hatton looked at me as if I’d lost my mind.
“You really believe Sapphire will forgive us? Must be nice living in fairyland. Take those rose-coloured glasses off, Wylde. Those women are now out for blood. I’m betting that any fucker selling drugs, trafficking women, or shipping arms will disappear.
They won’t hand them over for arrest but will make them vanish. ”
“Why don’t you look bothered by that?” Cassidy asked.
“Because bad guys are bad guys. Our arrest record is about to drop.”
“That’s your main worry?” I sniped and shook my head.
Hatton glowered at me before stomping off to his car. I cringed when I thought of the report he’d have to file—especially explaining the cost of overtime on a failed op. Chief would chew him out. Rather him than me.
I drove Cassidy back to the station as we both typed up the night's events and filed them with Hatton. What a shitshow.
Sapphire
“Are you okay?” Sparrow asked.
“Yeah?” I questioned back with a frown.
“That wasn’t a pleasant scene back there, Saph. That was damn awkward,” Sparrow pushed. Belladonna sent me a look, and I slammed a wall up.
The truth was I was fuming, but at the same time, I was hurt and relieved.
Wylde, yup, we were back to Wylde, who had shown his true colours tonight.
He was still clearly investigating us while trying to get in my pants.
Despite what I’d explained to him, it had clearly gone in one ear and out the other.
What would he do? Search my apartment after we’d fucked each other’s brains out? Wait until I fall into a deep sleep before searching my office for evidence? I scoffed.
Now I knew he wasn’t trustworthy, and that rankled. A small hope had taken seed in me that he could be the man I needed him to be. I’d been wrong. So damn wrong.
“Don’t worry about it,” I replied as we left the warehouse.
I choked back a bitter laugh. Wylde and his team of assholes had caught us in an illegal activity; they just hadn’t realised it.
Those items would be shipped to countries where they were banned.
But because of what they were, the cops hadn’t noticed they were contraband.
Sure, we weren’t running drugs, but we were smuggling the sex toys into a different country.
Wylde’s gut had been correct, and so had the tip-off in a way. Nobody expected sex toys to be smuggled, which was why we made a fortune on them.
Damn Wylde. I hated the fact that he had shown his true colours. Everything he’d done had been to pull the wool over my eyes. Well, now I was warned. And forewarned is forearmed. I was through with my club and with myself being prey. We weren’t weak, and certain people were about to discover that.