Chapter 15 #3
Well, yeah, but she was surrounded by some of her favorite people, her sisters, along with the man who made her feel safe and his friend who made her smile.
Oh, and then there was Butch.
“Let’s get out of here,” Cash said. “And then we can explain everything.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Dotty said as she strode ahead of them toward the front door.
Suddenly, Butch and Ralen pulled in front of them all. Ralen opened the door and Butch stepped outside first.
“Why did you just do that?” Dotty asked suspiciously as she stared at Ralen.
He half-bowed and put his arm out. “After you, milady.”
“Right. You’re acting weird. Is he normally this weird?” Dotty demanded of Addie.
Addie just shrugged. She had no idea. She’d only just met him after all.
“How is she meant to know?” Monroe asked Dotty.
“She can’t know him that well, unless he’s like a pen pal or a Tinder date.
He’s not a Tinder date, is he, Addie? Because if you’re going to do online dating, you need to tell Dotty and me.
We have to approve people, and Dotty will want to do a background check. So he’s not a Tinder date, right?”
Addie just gaped at Monroe. What the heck was she saying?
“What the hell did you just say?” Dotty asked her incredulously. “Of course he’s not a Tinder date. Addie doesn’t date. Addie can’t talk to people other than you and me, and sometimes the FedEx delivery man.”
Fred was a really nice man.
Plus, he owned this Pekingese dog called Coco, and she was adorable. Fred often showed her videos of Coco. She had ridiculously short legs in all this fur.
Too cute.
“She doesn’t usually talk to anyone but the two of you?” Cash said, sounding amazed.
“No. So why is she talking to you people?” Dotty asked.
Addie had to roll her eyes. She sounded so suspicious. Did she think that they were threatening her to get her to talk?
“I don’t know, maybe because she trusts us,” Cash said.
Dotty snorted as though that was ludicrous.
But it wasn’t, because Addie did think she trusted them. Well, Cash and Ralen. Butch could take a flying leap off a cliff.
It wasn’t full trust, not like with her sisters, but she trusted them to keep her safe.
Hurt her feelings? Yeah, that was a different story altogether. And she knew that she had to work on keeping her barriers up around Cash, or he could run right over her emotions.
They stepped outside onto the stairs of the police station, where Butch was waiting with his arms crossed over his chest, an impatient, suspicious look on his face.
“And what’s your problem?” Dotty asked him.
“Waiting for you to stop talking,” Butch said.
“Yikes,” Monroe said. “You’re a big grouchy one, aren’t you? Maybe we should see if we can put a smile on your dial. I’ve got some amazing jokes I’ve been saving for just this occasion.”
Addie grasped hold of her arm and drew her back, shaking her head at her sister.
She didn’t trust Butch not to hurt Monroe. Maybe he wouldn’t do it physically. But he could certainly hurt her feelings.
“They’re really good,” she said to Addie.
They wouldn’t be. They’d be terrible. Monroe had the worst jokes, it was about her only fault. Everything else about her middle sister was pretty much perfect.
“Right, does someone want to tell me what the hell is going on?” Dotty demanded. “Who are you people? Why is my sister hanging around with a bunch of tattooed, rough-looking bikers?”
“Well, that’s better than gangsters,” Ralen said, shooting Dotty a strange look. Normally, he had a smile on his face but not right now.
Mind you, Dotty did have that effect on people. What most people didn’t realize was that under the sharp exterior was someone vulnerable and soft. Dotty was smart. She’d always been smart. Dotty’s mom used to push Dotty so hard that Dotty never had time to just play or be a kid.
She was blunt, and she was strong-headed, but she could also be incredibly kind and was the most loyal person that Addie knew.
It was possible to hurt Dotty’s feelings. Not many people knew that. They thought that she had an iron barrier keeping her safe.
But there had been a number of times when Addie had caught her crying because of something someone had said to her. At the time, she was always able to keep her composure and let it run off her, but later on, everything would hit her like an avalanche, and she’d crumple under it.
So Addie didn’t like the way that Butch was staring at her sister, and she moved forward, standing between them, glaring up at him.
There was a shocked silence from her two sisters.
“Addie, what are you doing?” Dotty asked.
“Yeah, babes, are you okay?” Monroe asked. “Are you feeling all right? Maybe she’s not feeling all right, Dotty. Perhaps we should take her to the hospital.”
Addie shook her head. “He’s the one with the p-problem.” She pointed at Butch before coughing.
Was her throat feeling worse?
“Oh, yeah?” Dotty drawled. “What kind of problem does he have?”
“Yeah, what kind of problem do you have with my sister, big boy?” Monroe asked.
Butch sighed and rolled his eyes heavenward. “Do you want to help out here?” he asked Ralen and Cash.
Ralen just shrugged with a grin. “Why would I want to do that?”
Cash nodded. “You brought this on yourself. You have been a grump, and you did basically accuse Addie of lying.”
“You accused Addie of lying?” Dotty asked.
“Addie wouldn’t lie,” Monroe said. “Addie never lies. Why would she have to lie? What do you think she lied about?”
“Need to get back,” Butch said. “Come.” Turning, he walked away towards his black behemoth of a truck.
“Wait, does he really just think he can say ‘come’ and that we’re all going to rush after him?” Dotty asked. “Pfft. That’s not happening.”
“Well, we do need his truck to transport everyone back to Callahan Security,” Ralen said.
“I could ride in the back,” Addie said.
“You’re not riding in the back,” Cash told her with a firm look. “You’ll never be riding in the back again.”
“Wait, again?” Dotty asked, glancing around. “Is that your pickup there, the one that’s a single cab?” She pointed to Cash’s pickup, which was sitting in front of Butch’s big truck.
“Yep,” Cash replied.
“Does someone want to explain to me why Addie was riding in the back of it in the first place?” Dotty demanded.
“And what is Callahan Security?” Monroe asked.
“Look, we’ll explain everything,” Cash said. “But first, we need to get back somewhere warm and safe. Addie’s exhausted. She’s shaking, and I think the two of you are probably pretty tired as well. You might even like something to eat and a shower.”
“Oh, man, I’d kill for a shower,” Monroe said. “I feel like I’m wearing a week’s worth of dirt.”
Monroe looked like she had just stepped off the page of a magazine. Addie had no idea how she did it, considering she just spent half the night in a police station. But that was the magic of her sister.
“All right, the two of you go back with Butch, and I’ll take Addie and Ralen,” Cash said.
Both Monroe and Dotty frowned.
“You’re not going anywhere with our sister without us,” Dotty told him.
Monroe shook her head and slid her hand into Addie’s. Addie got it. They’d only just been reunited and they were probably worried about where these guys were taking them.
Cash frowned. He didn’t look too happy at that. But Ralen nodded to him. “I’ll go with them.”
“Great, so I’m driving just myself back, am I?” Cash muttered.
Walking over to him, she lightly patted his chest and smiled up at him. He sighed, “Fine. I’ll drive Crystal back on my own. You go with your sisters. And Ralen, make sure Butch drives like a grandpa.”
Ralen gave him a salute. “You bet.”