Page 70 of Static

"Positive. I wouldn't wait too long to check it out, though. They don't sit on that shit for long."

"Alright, just a few more quest-"

I hung up the phone and dropped it on the ground. The sound of plastic breaking was satisfying as I ground it under my boot.

Riptide sighed, and picked the phone up, glaring at me. "That doesn't do shit, you know." He pocketed the phone. "I'll take care of it. Next time just give it to me."

"Now we wait," Cypher said.

"How long?" Smoke asked. "What?" he said when everyone looked at him. "I have to take a piss."

"Go inside then," Cynic suggested and pointed at the store.

"Or go behind the dumpster," Warrant said, pointing toward one.

Everyone settled in to wait and see if our plan worked. If Torres did his job, this was the beginning of the end.

CHAPTER 25

Gwen

Stretching, I sighed and looked over at Static. He was sitting on the couch with the kids, watching a show. He had an arm wrapped around Grace and the other was holding up his phone while he watched a news broadcast on it.

"What's that?" I asked, walking over and sitting on the chair across from him and my kids. Both were leaning up against either side of him, eyes glued to the screen. I normally didn't let them watch this much TV, but they were bored to pieces.

It'd been a week since the Berserkers had gotten here and while the men had provided a lot of entertainment, it wasn't enough. The kids were all starting to get cabin fever.

Static's eyes met mine, then swept down to the kids.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and texted Jordan. I'd barely set my phone aside when there was a knock at the door. Best thing about having your friend right down the hall was when you needed alone time to talk she got there in less than a minute.

"Aunt Jordan," the kids called out when she came into the apartment.

Her eyes met mine and she wiggled her brows. I hadn't officially told my friends about my new relationship, but it was impossible to keep a secret around here. I was sure they all knew. But I needed to tell them soon. The last thing I wanted was for them to think I was avoiding telling them for some reason. It really wasn't that. Things had just been busy. The day before yesterday was my second appointment with Dr. Donaldson.

Thankfully, she was in favor of me moving forward with a new relationship, though she had warned me not to expect it to fix all my issues. No, only deep reflection and self-improvement was going to do that and I was only too aware of it.

"Let's go find something to do," Jordan told the kids. She gave me a quick wave as they all walked out the door.

Static set his phone down and looked over at me. "Sorry. I wasn't trying to run them out of here."

"I know," I told him, leaning forward and studying his face. "What were you watching?"

A mischievous grin spread over his face. "Neil Trask being arrested."

I frowned. "Who's that?"

"The first real step in our fight against Fremont." He rolled his head, trying to stretch out his tight neck muscles. He looked so...wound up. Like he was all tense and antsy.

I listened as he explained how they'd set up Trask since he refused to stop helping Fremont.

"Took your little cop friend long enough to do his job. I thought for sure Trask was going to run out of toilet paper and find that damn cocaine long before Torres got that warrant."

"It sounds like he did everything by the book," I replied. "Which means the charges will stick, right?" I'd listened to Static talk enough—well that and watched so many True Crime Documentaries—I was damn near an expert on police procedure. Or I thought so anyway.

"Right." He moved over to the end of the couch and I gasped when he leaned forward, plucked me off the recliner I was sitting on and set me in his lap.

I wasn't used to a man just picking me up all the time. Like I weighed no more than a feather. I knew for damn sure I was heavier than that. But he never let that deter him. I reached out and ran my hands over his shoulders. They were like ropes of metal, braided together and unyielding. Digging my fingers into them, I tried to work out some of the tension there.

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