Chapter 14 #2
The lone female of the group, what appeared to be a bottled blonde but was anything but, stood up and said, “Last I checked, I had a vagina.”
Black didn’t comment.
He wouldn’t.
Because the two of them got along like oil and water. It was easier for him to just pretend that she wasn’t there.
I wasn’t quite sure what their deal was, but when she was around, Black turned into a real asshole.
He needed to get laid.
And not by his regular lay, either. Because she was just as toxic.
One of our club brothers, Weaver, had moved here from Florida. By doing that, he’d also brought his sister along. His sister, Pippa, had so much baggage she couldn’t fit it into two eighteen-wheelers.
Black had helped as best as he could, and Pippa had latched on like a tick.
Black kept trying to squeeze her off, but he never stood firm.
It was a toxic thing they had going on, and as more time passed, the harder it was for Black to work himself free.
The FBI agent, Special Agent Dempsey Guerrero, was the exact opposite of Pippa.
She had her shit together.
She had a career. She had a family that she took care of. She had a path that she wanted her life to take, and she didn’t deviate from it. She didn’t throw tantrums. She didn’t need help. She was fully independent.
And Black wasn’t sure what to do with his life if a woman didn’t depend on him.
Honestly, the way that Dempsey and Black got along, I could see them going the long haul.
If only Dempsey could find a way to cut Pippa from his life.
I hadn’t found out how to do that myself, and it wasn’t like Black listened to me or anyone when it came to what he did with his life.
Even Pippa’s own brother told him he was dumb.
But that was their problem.
Not mine.
Black scowled at Dempsey as he left the room, and I nearly laughed at the way she stuck her tongue out at him as she went.
Black came up to me and dumped on me the moment we were alone.
“FBI’s taking the case over,” he said. “Profiler thinks it’s a woman.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Yeah,” he confirmed, his eyes wide. “Can’t believe it, either. I fully expected this to be a man.”
“It’s barely ever a woman.” I shook my head in disbelief.
We never really went toward the female persuasion with our minds because societal norms tended to portray women as caring and nurturing. A caring and nurturing woman wouldn’t ever harm another human being.
But since I was in the Rangers, I’d never seen women solely as passive and abhorring of violence since.
I’d seen one too many women willing to blow up themselves or their kids while I was in the service to ever think that way.
Then when I’d started this job, I’d been subjected to some pretty shitty women. My blinders were off.
At least I’d thought.
I’d never expected the suspected kidnapper as being a woman, though.
Just goes to show I wasn’t as jaded as I thought…
“Profilers are putting her somewhere between twenty-five and thirty-five. Caucasian. Probably a mother, or possibly a mother that lost her child around that same age.” He sighed and leaned one large shoulder against the wall next to me.
“Middle to lower income. They’re thinking not from here, though.
They don’t feel like she’ll live in the same place that she’s doing the abductions. ”
“Awesome,” I grumbled. “Gonna make it easy to find her.”
Black nodded, his eyes tracking Dempsey as she walked out of the room and down the hall toward us.
She stopped next to us and said, “We’re breaking for lunch. Where’s the best place to eat around here?”
I waited a long time for Black to answer, but he never did.
Shaking my head, I said, “I’d hit up The Mercantile.
They get really busy, and there’s usually a pretty long wait if there’s a line.
But it’s worth it. There’s also Hopps, but they’re more of a dinner crowd.
They serve light sandwiches and chips. Beer if that’s what you’re after. ”
Dempsey smiled at me, and Black inhaled deeply.
“Thanks, Deputy Ryan.”
My lips twitched. “You’re welcome.”
We both watched her go, but Black took it to the next level, tracking her every move with hungry eyes.
“So, did you break it off with Pippa for real yet?”
They’d only been together for a couple of months, but it felt like years with how toxic it was.
“We’re not on to break off,” he grumbled, bringing his gaze back to me.
The door to the outer office opened and none other than the object of our discussion walked in looking angry.
She locked eyes with Black, and I took that as my cue to leave.
It was like she knew when she was being talked about.
I headed toward my desk and stopped when I found a box on it with a Post-it Note attached to the top.
I picked up the note and read it.
Gentry,
I tried calling you, but it went to voicemail three fucking times.
You’re a douchebag. I told you I was running late for work and didn’t have time to do this.
Also, here’s the food I brought you from the house.
Hope you don’t get food poisoning from it because it wasn’t refrigerated but I didn’t have time to find a fridge.
Your loving wife that didn’t want to do this for you,
Sage
I chuckled.
I’d forgotten my lunch this morning and had been pissed as hell. Mostly because the food had been made by Sage, and I wanted to eat it. I’d texted Sage to ask her to bring it to me if she had time, and when she’d said she didn’t have time, I’d begged like the loser that I was.
I’d promised I would be here to grab it from her.
But Suzie Smoker and her Sonic haul had distracted me.
I pulled out my phone and winced at the number of calls and texts, all from Sage.
I started to go through them, smiling wider as each one went past.
Sage:
Here
Sage:
where are you
Sage:
you son of a bitch.
Sage:
I should throw this food out the window.
Sage:
I see you over there eating Sonic, you son of a bitch!
Sage:
I left the food on your desk. I hope you get the shits.
Sage:
Got to work late and guess what, I have to work in the ER again with the catty bitches. I get to work with your BFF Tanny. She’s such a twat. What does she even see in you?
Sage:
Tanny thinks she’s going to get in your pants. I don’t care what or who you do, but I swear to God, if you do her, I’ll never forgive you. I’ll literally burn your house down with you inside of it.
Sage:
Tanny made a bet with one of the other nurses. The next time you come in, she’s going to ask you out. If you don’t publicly and loudly turn her down, I’ll shove my fist straight into your face.
I was nearly laughing by the time I got to the ninth of fifteen.
Before I could read anything more, though, dispatch reached out to anyone close to get a transport from the hospital to county.
Unable to resist, I grabbed my food off my desk and headed out.