We don’t like what we’re reading.
I know it’s highly inappropriate, but I’m excited about tonight’s job. The reason being is that tonight, we’re all heading out as a team. I try to view this as a family outing. Trust me. I know how f**ked up that sounds. But it’s so rare an occasion that I feel I have to view it as a glass half-full situation.
All dressed in black from head to toe, we head out. Along the way, I scoop up my hair and tie it in a high ponytail. At my ear, I hear, “You okay with this?”
I turn to Clark, brow bunched. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
He shrugs and tries to mask his shame. I see right through him. “I didn’t know if we were okay or if we just said we were okay, you know? I know it’s hard to work with people you don’t trust.”
I stop in the middle of the hall, blocking his way. “Do you trust me?”
He nods a while before he answers, “Yes.”
I jerk a quick nod. “Good. Because I never stopped trusting you, Clark. We’re good.” I start to walk away, leaving him in the hall. “But if you ever put your hands on me again,” I growl, “I will f**king kill you.”
We all meet in the barn by the cars. Clark and Bob remove the covers, and just as we’re about to enter the two Mercedes Kompressors, Bob stops us with, “We need to have a quick word before we go.”
Everyone stills. Everything stills.
Even the air.
Bob clears his throat. “I had contact with Marco today.” The hairs on the back of my neck stand. What the hell? “I have some bad news. Marco can no longer work here. I can’t go into the reasons for this, but know that he didn’t want to leave. Something forced his hand.”
Yeah. Cops can’t also be criminals.
Who’d have thunk it?
Bob continues, “It’ll take me a while to recruit someone else, so for the time being, Frankie is being transferred to a Mirage desk and won’t be taking on any jobs. Tonight will be her last night for a long while, I think.”
Stunned, I turn to my best friend. She smiles sadly and takes hold of my hand. She’s not happy about this. My heart sinks. I feel for her.
What we do, fighting for justice? It’s freeing. To think of someone taking that away from me… I would probably go rogue.
Clark appears by my side, placing a hand on my shoulder in consolation. “I’m sorry, Cat.”
I shrug his hand off. “Don’t be. We weren’t a thing anyway.”
I ignore Frankie’s curious stare and get in the car with her. The other three get into the other Mercedes and we’re set to go.
After driving a short while, Frankie asks cautiously, “You wanna tell me what that was about?”
I reply a clipped, “Not particularly.”
Holding her earpiece to her ear, she mutters, “Moon Shadow offline. Night Fury offline. Give us a minute, guys.”
She turns off her radio device and sighing, I do, too. “You don’t need to make a big deal about it, Francis.”
Her brows shoot up. “Francis? Oh, ouch, Cat. Just…ouch.”
I try my hardest to not smile, but it’s hard with Frankie. It’s damn near impossible.
She spots my grin and chuckles, “There she is! Seriously, I’ve been worried about you. I haven’t seen you laugh in about a week. What’s going on? Give me the short version. I can’t be bothered listening to you whine.”
I groan whilst snickering. “God, you’re such a bitch.”
She laughs. “I’m joking! I’m always joking. You know that.”
I do know that. That’s why I love her.
Taking a deep breath, I stall a minute before I start telling her what I’ve been putting off. “So you know Clark’s birthday night?”
She grunts, “Oh, hell yes. Talk about awkward. In my defence, if I had known he was bringing a date, I never would have told you he was in love with you.”
“I know. But regardless, it still hurt, for whatever reason. I don’t even love him, but I did love him. When we were kids, I loved him.”
She utters quietly, “I’m sorry.”
I shake my head. “Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault.” I pause. “I did something. I screwed up. I really screwed up.”
She remains silent, giving me time to get it out.
“That night, Clark and I shared words. It was weird. I asked him to kiss me. He did. It was…okay.”
Frankie groans. She gets it.
“So I decide to clear my mind. I head over to Mirage, have some wine and listen to some music, when out of nowhere comes Marco.”
Frankie’s body goes rigid.
She knows. She always knows.
I clear my throat. “One thing led to another. A small kiss here, a grope there. Next thing I know, I’m in his bed.”
She whispers, “Oh, my God.”
I grumble in agreement. “Yeah, exactly. So if that’s not bad enough, Clark is in bed with Michelle. And he hears everything.”
Frankie gasps and her hand darts out, slapping my arm, “Shut. Up!” She gasps again, slower this time. “That’s what the argument was about, wasn’t it? That’s why he lost it.”
“Yep. That’s why he ripped up my garden.”
Frankie bursts into laughter. I glare at her. “What the hell’s so funny?”
She snorts. “Who knew a nun would lead such a soap opera life. And it’s not even a good soap opera. It’s a Z-grade soap opera.” She turns to me and chortles, “And you’re the star!”
“It’s not funny, Frankie!”
Her face turns serious as she answers quietly, “You’re right.” She nods. “You’re right, Cat.” Her booming laughter fills the car. “It’s f**king hilarious!”
I sigh and turn away, looking out the window, listening to Frankie laugh softly.
“I can’t even. Like, I just- I can’t even.” Her laughter gets louder. “I can’t even can right now. That’s how funny this is. I literally can’t even.”
A smile twitches at my lips. I whisper, “You’re an ass**le.”
Her laughter is borderline hysterical as she yells, “And you’re a f**king whore!”
A chuckle escapes me. “You’re a rug muncher. A big one. With gorilla ni**les.”
She wheezes, unable to breath from hilarity. “Oh, my God, stop. Your ability to spot the obvious is going to make me pee.”