She blinked and turned toward her partner. “Huh?”
He rubbed his belly. “You’ve proven yourself as an excellent cop, Lex. The fact that your dad is in prison for selling drugs doesn’t matter, and you have to let it go.”
She swallowed, her body chilling. “I’m not obtuse as to my motivations in life and know I became a cop to right my father’s wrongs. But I’ve seen firsthand what drugs do to people, to kids, when one of my friends overdosed in my backyard, and my dad went to prison. I’m not trying to prove myself.” Hell, she was trying to save lives from a drug worse than any she’d ever seen.
“If you say so.” He patted the dash. “Let’s go.”
She nodded, looking for one more glimpse of leather through the door. “Why in the hell does everyone think I have a ‘sweet ass?’” she muttered.
Bernie threw back his head and laughed. “If they only knew what a complete badass you really are.”
“They’re about to find out.” She grinned at her partner and quite possibly her best friend. “Let’s get back to work.”
Chapter 5
Lex leaned back at her kitchen table with a dinner of frozen macaroni and cheese, and too many bills. She paid the most important ones first, those that dealt with her mother and her care at the facility until her Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis died down again. If it died down again.
She’d visited her mother right after work, and her mom was doing better. Thank goodness. Every once in a while, the disease really flared up, and each time, Lex was afraid her mother wouldn’t improve.
Lex wandered over to the fire escape to check on her spice collection. She’d recently taken a cooking class with a couple of buddies from work and had quickly figured out that fresh spices made all the difference.
The phone rang, and Lex grasped it, reading the front. “Tori,” she answered.
“Hey, sis.” In the background, drums and a flute tuned up. “Just wanted to check in.”
“Where are you?” Lex kicked back in the chair.
“Right outside of Los Angeles in a bar near the ocean. Wish you were here.” Tori raised her voice to be heard over what sounded like drums falling down stairs. “How’s mom?”
“Doing better,” Lex lied. Why bother Tori with the truth when she was so far from home?
Tori sighed. “Bullshit. I have some money to send you and will do so tomorrow.”
Lex shook her head. “Absolutely not. I’ve got it.” She’d protected her baby sister since day one, and there was no reason to stop now.
“Um, I had another reason for calling,” Tori whispered.
Lex straightened, her chest tightening. “What?”
“Somehow dad got a letter to me.”
Anger roared through Lex. “How the hell would he even find you?”
“I don’t know, but a guy slipped me a letter during our second set last night near Vegas, and it was from dad, asking me to testify for him at his next parole hearing.”
How in the fuck had their dad even found Tori, much less on the road? “He’s got to have pretty good contacts out here,” Lex said, standing. “Toss the letter, and forget about it. I’m testifying, and no way will that prick get out of prison.”
Somebody in the background called Tori’s name. “That’s what I figured, but I thought I should let you know. If he found me, he might’ve found mom.”
Yeah, Lex had already hit that conclusion. “I’ll find out. For now, go sing your heart out.”
“I will. Bye.” Tori clicked off.
Lex rubbed her lip and looked around her piece of shit apartment. The smell of oil and grease rose from the restaurant below, and a chill wandered around from the shoddy insulation. The fear in Tori’s voice tightened Lex’s fingers into a fist. The man had told them they were useless from day one, and it had taken years of working on self-esteem for Lex to help Tori realize the problem had been with their father and not with them.
For now, it was time to don another slutty dress and get back to work.
One drug dealer at a time.
Several hours after her run-in with Bear, and after her alarming phone call with Tori, the hard thrum of brutal music ripped through Lex’s legs, pounding against bruises from the other night. The smell of vomit combined with the stink of piss and made her want to puke. She was in another low-end underbelly of a bar, although this time, she’d opted for sexy boots with her whore-like outfit.
The makeup coating her face itched, and a demanding pain hammered in her temples.
Sometimes she fucking hated her job.
Bernie sat at the far end of the bar, pretending to size up hookers.
They’d had to switch bars because of Kellach Dunne, but at least she wouldn’t run into him. Fire members were select in the dive bars they frequented, and she was currently in Grizzlies territory. She idly wondered if Bear would show up.