Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
Spencer
Five minutes until the end of the shift and I’m praying to a God I don’t believe in that there are no call-outs.
The paperwork is all finished, Salem is flirting with the firemen in the kitchen, and it’s been a typical quiet Sunday—which is a relief because Mia’s nightmares have become vocal.
To the point that I’ve spent at least half of this shift texting my pod to reassure them that Mia will be okay every time she screams herself awake.
Dolphins…
I huff a laugh to myself as I close down the computer and put my last file in the tray of my desk.
I’m not entirely on board with the dolphin thing, as in I would never have used that name—ever—for my life partner, but Grinder is difficult to resist. I would know, I spent long enough doing it.
And Parker literally put me in a headlock and noogied my head when I tried to suggest something else.
“What you talkin’ about, Spenny? Dolphins are perfect and you know it. We can even get matching tattoos!”
Just thinking about either one of them makes me smile.
I’m surprised at myself, because while Parker isn’t Grinder, she’s burrowed her way into being something pretty special.
Not a best friend, exactly, not like Mac or even Kincaid, but something else entirely.
Unexplainable is the only way to describe it right now.
“Holt, can I have a word?”
I look up to find Bryson glaring at me as he practically hangs on the door to the office.
“Sure, what’s up?” Three minutes to go.
“Did you see anyone hanging around back near the old rigs on your last shift?” He moves farther into the room and sinks into the sofa against the wall.
My stomach drops as my heart races a mile a minute and all I can picture is myself attached to a chain gang with no hopes of escape.
Pretending to think about it first, I frown a little.
“Er…no?” Sound more convincing! “If I’m honest,”—which I’m not—“I have no idea. It was a busy shift.” Not a lie.
“I can’t even remember what I had for lunch.
Besides, nobody goes out there anymore, do they?
” Shrugging, I hope I’m being ambiguous enough to sell the untruth. “Why d’you ask?” Aaand breathe.
“Rig thirty-seven is missing and I thought I saw you but I must’ve been hallucinating.” He leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees and his dark, assessing eyes trapping my gaze. The lead in my stomach gets heavier.
“Was I wearing my feather boa and clown shoes? I can’t remember the last time I needed to go out there, Bryson.” I hope my smile isn’t as tight as it feels. Two minutes. “Has anyone checked the cameras?” My fingers and toes are crossed that the club pulled through on their end.
“Yeah, but there’s a whole chunk of time missing. Like, one minute, the rig is still there, and the next, it’s gone. Vanished.” He spreads his fingers wide and mimics a firework with his hand, his glare fixed on me the whole time.
I’m going to prison.
“Oh, shit. Do we have any suspects?” I’m going to play dumb for as long as possible. Innocent until proven guilty and all that.
He ponders the question for a second, then shakes his head.
“No.” The next part is said directly into my soul as his gaze holds mine.
“I’m sure whoever it was will be found and prosecuted soon enough.
” There’s a brief, uncomfortable pause before he sighs and stands.
“Well,”—he glances at his watch—“looks like it’s time to clock out.
” He walks toward the door and stops to look at me.
“Catch ya later, Holt.” Then he leaves and all the tell-tale signs of fainting pummel into me at once.
Shallow breaths, check. Blurry vision, check. Spinning room…check, check, check.
He said catch ya. Not see ya, not check ya out, not have a good night. Catch. Like he knew something.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck.
Taking a few minutes to get my shit together, I place my hands on the desk and stand, my head bowed and my eyes closed. It’s fine.
The loud rumble of what I know for certain is a motorcycle sounds from the front of the building and pulls me from the downward spiral threatening to derail me. Now, my heart is pounding against my ribs for a whole other reason, but I need to tell him about what just happened.
After changing back into my civilian clothes, I grab my bag and head toward the exit when I see Salem sidling up to me.
“Hey, did Bryson ask you about that missing rig?” I ask Salem, who bounces alongside me with way more pep than is reasonable after a twenty-four hour shift.
“Nope.” Her answer has my stomach dropping. So, he’s isolated me in his questioning. “Seems a bit strange for someone to steal one of those things. They’re practically antiques. No idea why we even keep them around.”
I shrug as though it’s no big deal. Any other response would likely give me away.
“Anyways, see you on Wednesday.” She shoulder checks me and heads toward the parking lot to get in her car that is more expensive than her salary affords.
Perks of having a daddy that’ll pay for anything she wants for the privilege of a smile.
And yes, I mean the sugar variety of daddy, not the biological kind.
“See ya.” The weight of the world falls heavy around me, but as I sigh and look up, catching the smiling faces of both Grinder and Parker, my problems slip away.
“Spenny!” Parker yells, waving her hands around as they wait at the entrance of the parking lot.
I have no clue what’s happening when she and Grinder turn to each other before setting their eyes on me. Then they both run, at what feels like full speed, toward me.
“Come on, slow-poke.” Parker giggles.
“Your ass is fine, Stabby, but I can’t stare at it anymore.” He quickly passes her and practically tackles me, fully expecting me to catch him, but this all happens faster than I can process.
Grinder’s legs wrap around my legs, his arms circling my neck, but I’m not prepared and I begin falling backwards, trying to grasp on to anything I can.
Which just so happens to be Grinder. Attempting to keep my head upright so I don’t smash it on the asphalt as I unceremoniously fall to my ass, I cling to Grinder and wince at the expected impact.
Only, it doesn’t come. Not as hard as I was anticipating, anyway.
Like something out of a Marvel movie, Parker’s run ends in a sliding stop and she lands where my head would have been, saving me from what I have no doubt would have been a serious injury.
“Ow.” From behind me, Parker’s grunt of pain is almost comical. “That slidey thing looks way less painful in the films.”
“Looks like I got a Doc sandwich.” Grinder, currently on top of me, is grinning like a loon, as though he didn’t just cause this mess of limbs in the parking lot.
“I love you, but let’s never do this again.” I smile and lift my head to kiss him before shoving him off me. He allows it, of course, or we’d have been there all night. His strength far surpasses mine.
“You’re on Tallulah with me, Doc.” Grinder holds out both his hands for me and Parker, helping us up in one swift move.
“I have my car.” Holding up my keys, I grimace, a little disappointed. The last time I rode with Grinder feels like a lifetime ago.
“That’s why I’m here.” Parker snatches my keys and begins pointing it toward the cars, in general. No actual direction.
She begins skipping toward my car when it lights up as she unlocks it, pausing before opening the door.
“I hope you keep snacks in your glovebox because I’m fuckin’ Hank marvin.”
“She means she’s hungry.” Grinder chuckles beside me. “I’ve spent enough time with her brother to catch some of the lingo.”
I glare at her and huff a laugh, shaking my head in amusement. “Sure. Help yourself.”
“Oh, I will. You may need a restock by the time I’m finished.
” She winks and pokes out her tongue. “Anyway, hurry the fuck up. Mia went back to college before lunchtime and we’ve been at the hospital with Boner all since then.
My stomach thinks I’ve cut my throat. Surprised you can’t hear the grumbles from there.
” She slides into the car, effectively ending the conversation, before the sound of my engine comes to life, quickly followed by music so loud I think it could break my speakers.
“She’s grabbing pizza on the way home. Fuck, I love saying that. I wanna say it and not mean the clubhouse, soon. You up for that?” Grinder grabs my hand and leads me toward his motorcycle, casually launching life changing bombs like they’re a mere drop in the ocean.
But is it really such a bomb…?
No, I don’t think it is.
“Sure.” I grin, making no big deal about his huge question because it feels as natural as breathing. “But we’re gonna need a huge pantry with the amount that woman eats.”
“That was easy.” Biting his bottom lip, he gives me those sexy drowsy eyes that promise undeniable pleasure as he lifts one of the helmets and slides it over my head. He takes his time buckling me in, his rough fingers against my skin sending jolts of lightning straight to my cock.
Kissing my nose when he’s finished, he nods as though he’s completed his mission before sliding on his own helmet.
The ride home is as memorable as the last time we were on this motorcycle together. With my thighs hugging his and my chest up against his back, the kind of freedom this thing offers is like saving a life. The feeling of exhilaration is exactly the same in both circumstances.
There’s no detour or scenic route this time, and I can’t deny that I’m a little sad when the journey is over quickly and we’re pulling up through the gates of the old psychiatric hospital.
We beat Parker, which isn’t surprising, and I climb off the back of the motorcycle once the engine stops rumbling.
Grinder follows, grasping my wrists when I move to unclip my helmet.
I can hear his soft breathing through the helmet mic, and while I can’t see his face, it doesn’t take a genius to picture his smirk.
Bringing my hands down to my sides, he then reaches back up and slowly removes my helmet before he whips off his own.
“We need to do this more often.” He gestures to his motorcycle and hums happily.
Standing there for a moment, we just take each other in, basking in the absolute peace that surrounds us, but my thoughts begin to take over and I take a deep breath.
“Don’t worry, Pepper is being looked after by the Khunts. He’s been lovin’ all the attention and isn’t going hungry. Hey…” Gripping my chin, Grinder brings my face back up to look at him instead of our feet. “That’s not what’s bothering you, is it?”
I wish it was.
I shake my head.
“Let’s go inside, I’ll give you a massage and we can talk?”
This man.
I rest my head against his and close my eyes as I nod, and he pulls me into him, his arm around me as he leads me inside and up the stairs.
“Go take a shower, Doc. Parker will be back with food by the time you’re done.
” Kissing me with more love than I ever thought existed, he reminds me of exactly who he is when he squeezes my ass before slapping it.
“Get.” He leads me toward the bathroom, leaving no room for argument, and I’m happy to go because he knows me and yeah, I need a shower.
The door closes behind me and I take a few minutes, resting my hands on the basin and staring at my reflection in the mirror.
Stealing the rig isn’t even the most illegal thing I’ve ever done, so why am I having such a strong reaction? Because nobody’s ever called me out like Bryson did in the office today. And of course it’s happening now.
That’s how life works, isn’t it?
When everything’s going well…
I have Grinder. Finally. I have the bonus addition of Parker. My best friend is a badass. My nephew is the cutest. I’m so close to my exams before I can begin my internship at the hospital to become a real doctor, credits to my name and all.
Now, some self-important know-it-all with a penchant for trouble is sniffing around something I am very much responsible for and screwing with my happiness.
I knew there were risks, but for this to be the thing that unravels everything feels like fate is fucking with me.
Eventually, I pull myself together, shower, and it feels like no time at all before the scent of fresh pizza wafts through, dragging me from the steamy bathroom.
“Thought you fell down the loo, you were in there that long.” Parker already has one of the pizza boxes open on her lap as she leans back against the headboard of the bed.
The slice in her hand is almost as big as her face, but she doesn’t let the size deter her because she easily devours it in a few huge bites.
“Come, sit.” Grinder pats the bed where there’s an open space for me beside him. He hands me a slice of pizza and watches as I take a bite. “Now spill.”
“What’re we spilling? Hopefully not actual, real-life, liquid tea, because you know I can’t—won’t—go to sleep without it.” Parker scooches forward and twists on the bed so she’s facing both of us, her brows raised as she waits expectantly for an answer.
“I think someone at the station knows I took the rig.”
“You think…?” Grinder questions me in a way that doesn’t feel judgey, more like fact-finding.
“Yeah, I don’t know for sure, but Bryson was asking some things about it and it didn’t feel like he was simply asking. More like probing. Testing the waters.” I take another bite of pizza because it’s clearly from Mario’s and letting it get cold would be a sin. There is no other pizza like it.
“Do I need to kill him to silence him?” Parker speaks like she’s talking about the weather as she finishes off another slice.
“He might not know anything.” I shake my head and huff a laugh.
“I’ll rephrase…can I kill him to silence him?” Her grin is devilish, and if I weren’t part of this polycule dolphin trio, I’d definitely be scared.
Rising to his knees, Grinder leans forward and kisses pizza sauce from the side of her mouth.
“Can’t believe I’m about to say this, but let me take it to Church tomorrow before making a move.”
Pouting, she sighs and glares at him through her lashes. “Fine.”
With Grinder’s attention back on me, I catch the mischievous grin stretching across Parker’s face that is clearly intended for Grinder to miss.
She has a plan…but I can’t—and won’t—rat her out to our man.
I just hope it doesn’t end with me winding up in prison.