Jules:No. Bishop did. Chad was sneaking up on the group. Bishop saw a threat, Bishop dealt with it. Alex saw it happen with his own eyes.
Me:And the drugs?
Jules:Nowhere in sight. We were given a bullshit tip. But we still got his men, so now we have bargaining chips. Bishop has the most to lose, considering he shot two guys in front of the cops. Tomorrow, we’ll go in and talk to him. I’ll bat my lashes and try to convince him I hold the world’s treasures.
For anyone else in the world, that would work. For any other criminal, I’d laugh and tell her to go for it. But he’smine, and he won’t respond to her flattery.
Me:Let me do it. Let me talk to him.
Jules:That’ll work, too. You looking to earn your wings, pilot?
Me:Yeah, something like that.
Five minutes later, several more back and forth texts, and one long goodbye as Jules declares Alex just walked in the door, I toss my phone into my handbag and spin to my silent sister. “I have to go out.”
“Out?” She sits up in bed as I jump up and pull jeans on. “It’s the middle of the night, Jess. Where are you going?
“I have to work. Don’t tell Britt I snuck out. I’ll be back by breakfast.”
“You can’t sneak out! This place is wired up more than a supermax prison. They have cameras everywhere. They’ll know as soon as the gates open.”
I pull a shirt over my head and flip my hair back into a ponytail. “I have work to do. If the alarms go off, you can tell them it’s just me.” Sitting on the end of the bed, I pull socks on and begin unknotting the laces on my shoes. “Unless you wanna come? We haven’t had an adventure in forever.”
“Where are you going?”
“To the police station. They took one of my people into custody tonight. You can sit in the office while I go down to the cage to talk.” No way in hell is she coming all the way and listening to us. “You can talk to whoever’s on shift.” I smack her foot. “Hurry. Get your clothes on, Baby. It’s time to ride.”
She tosses the covers back with a roll of her eyes and steps into jeans similar to mine. “You need to stop calling me Baby.”
“Youarethe baby! You’re the youngest.”
“By eleven minutes! It’s time you let that little claim to fame go. No one cares that you slid out of mom’s hooch eleven minutes earlier than I did.”
I snatch up my purse and turn toward my beautiful sister. I find it amazing I can describe her as beautiful, but not say the same things to myself in the mirror. I don’t think I’m ugly or anything. Just unremarkable.
But Kane calls me beautiful…
I tap her nose. “I care. Mom’s vagina cares. Everyone cares, including you, which is why you get so defensive about it. Let’s go. I wanna talk to the arresting officers.”
But not Alex.