“Shades, shut the fuck up, man,” I drawled.
He whirled on his heel and grinned. “Heeey, brother, there you at. Can you believe this?” He thumbed indignantly over his shoulder.
I snorted. “Sit down, bro. How much is your bail?”
“Ten thou,” he huffed. “Yours?”
“Ten.”
“They take your winnings?”
“Wouldn’t be sittin’ here if they didn’t, brother. Fuckin’ took it right out of my pocket before I even hit the backseat.”
“Fuckingfuckers!”Shades yelled, to no one in particular.
“I ain’t happy about it either, bro, but we both know I ain’t getting it back.” I had to cut my losses and forget it. Cash like that never had a paper trail.
He huffed, and we lapsed into silence, consumed by the injustice as we sat with our backs against the dirty cell wall.
It was well after three AM, and the adrenaline high was beginning to fade, giving way to fatigue.
“There’s gotta be a snitch, brother. How else would the cops have orchestrated that shit back there? That shit wasrehearsed, brah.”
I growled under my breath. Those precise thoughts had entered my mind too. His dark eyes locked with mine. I saw the anger. The frustration. The betrayal at someone ratting us out to the authorities.
“I’d like to think not, bro.”
Shades hummed, then folded his arms across his chest. “You made your phone call yet?”
I snorted and rolled my head his way, ignoring the lingering ache in my shoulder.
“I’ll give it ‘til six, then I’ll ring.”
A sly smirk slid over his face. “Who you ringin’?”
“None of your fucking business, that’s who.”
“Wouldn’t happen to be that corporate pussy you’re sweet on, would it?”
Indignation immediately hit. Normally I didn’t give a shit about how he spoke about the bitches I rolled with, but Boss Lady deserved a fuck-load better than that.
Before I could comprehend the movement, I had Shades by the throat, drawing the attention of the other men lining the walls. He froze and forced a hard swallow beneath my hand.
“Don’t ever talk about her like that again. That respect you give me? That’s the respect you give her.” I bared my teeth until his hasty nod of compliance came.
Shades rubbed at his neck when I slid back onto the bench beside him as if nothing had happened.
“Sorry, Raf. I didn’t know…”
“Well, now you fucking do,” I snapped, pissed that I’d just shown weakness.
Shades cleared his throat. “Stevie and Teq know?”
I shook my head. They were one part of the equation I hadn’t yet handled. “That’s on me.”
“Damn straight it is,” Shades muttered.
He pushed to his feet and paced the length of the cell once before sitting down again. He didn’t like being locked down; it made him edgy. As much as he talked a big game, he wouldn’t make it in jail—he was too damn mouthy.