Page 58 of Lawless in Leather

“I will,” Raina said. “I don’t want anyone, me or my staff, getting hurt.” She hesitated. Then decided that the police needed the whole picture. “I had an email today from an ex who, well, let’s just say we didn’t part on good terms.” She saw the younger cop stiffen.

“He hit you?” he asked.

“It didn’t get quite that far. But he was aggressive. I left and I haven’t heard from him in several years.”

“Nothing after any of the other incidents?” Office Banks asked.

Raina shook her head.

“Well, without any evidence he was anywhere near here, I can’t do much, I’m afraid. Do you have an address or phone number?”

“Only where he was when we were together. I have no idea if he’s still there. I have the email, of course.”

“Forward that to me. And let me know if you hear from him again.

“I will.”

“Good.” The woman turned to Luis. “I suggest you close the doors, don’t let anyone else in tonight. This place looks pretty full anyway.”

“We’re under code,” Luis said.

“I’m sure you are. But if there’s someone out there with a grudge, why risk letting him or her in?”

“We’re only open until one a.m. anyway,” Raina said. “We’ll close the doors, it’s fine. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Officers, I have to get back to the show. If there’s anything else Luis can get for you—including coffee or something—just ask.”

Mal knocked on Alex’s door a little harder than he intended. Fury burned his gut, not dying down since the first hot hard flare of anger had hit him when Luis had called him to tell him what had happened at Madame R. When Alex didn’t answer the door, Mal pounded again.

“Calm down, I’m coming,” Alex shouted from inside. A few seconds later the door swung open, revealing Alex in jeans and a T-shirt that was inside out.

“What’s—” he started. Then his eyes narrowed as he spotted the roller case at Mal’s feet. “Going somewhere?”

“Back to New York,” Mal said.

“We have a game tomorrow.”

“I know, I’ll be back.”

“What happened?” Alex asked. “Is there a problem at the stadium?”

Mal shook his head. “No. At Raina’s club.”

“Something serious? Was someone hurt?”

“Not badly.”

Alex yawned then, scrubbing his hand over his chin, and Mal realized he’d woken him up. Shit. Still, he’d wanted to come tell him he was going in person.

“So if I ask you why you’re charging off back to New York in the middle of the night when it’s not serious, are you going to tell me?” Alex asked.

Mal shrugged. “You’re a smart guy. You can join the dots.”

“You and Raina?” Alex asked.

“Maybe,” Mal said. “I like her.”

“Okay then,” Alex said. And then he grinned. “Shit. I’m starting to think there’s something in the water at Deacon. We’ve barely been there four months and all three of us suddenly have girlfriends.”

“I’m not sure we’re quite at the girlfriend stage,” Mal said.

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