Page 93 of Black Bird

“Almost 4:30.” Wren yawned.

“In the morning?” Sarah asked. They all grew quiet, and Sarah raised her eyes from the paper to find them staring at her. She cleared her throat, feeling heat stain her cheeks. “S-sorry … I’ll um … finish this.”

Rhaena slid a plastic bag with Sarah’s stuff in it over the desk. “Here. I think your phone’s dead, but this was all you had on you. I umm … couldn’t find your shirt. The sweatshirt is from the training center. It’s clean. I didn’t think you wanted to wake up giving everybody another peep show.”

“I brought extra if you’re hungry,” Jenkins offered. Rhaena thwacked him in the shoulder, and he winced, drawing his brows at her.

“Rule number one, Jenkins. Don’t give away my food unless I offer it.”

“Damn, woman.” He rubbed his shoulder.

Sarah emptied the bag and pocketed all the contents. All but one. “I’ll just take some coffee if you’ve got it. Whenever you’re ready, Rhaena … I’m gonna go sleep it off and hopefully not lose my job tomorrow when I call in another sick day.”

“Say less,” Rhaena said, hopping out of her chair and rushing toward the break room. Wren and Jenkins followed behind her. Sarah slid Athan’s drawer closed and stacked the paperwork on Rhaena’s desk before glancing back to the board and heading in their direction.

It was damn near 9:00 in the morning when Rhaena finally knocked on his door. Athan sprung from the couch and opened it. She stood there, looking every bit as exhausted and weary as he felt while impatiently waiting for her to respond to every call and text he’d made while she was gone. There were a couple of scratches on her temple and on her neck. One of the scratches was on her chin.

“Tell me that’s not from her.” Athan gaped, moving aside to let her through.

“If I’m being completely honest, I’m not sure. Could be from a couple different half naked women.” Rhaena’s shoulders slumped, and she made haste to his living room and plopped face down onto the couch.

“And she was one of them? I must have called you a dozen times. You could have at least given me a text back.”

“Look, when I tell you what I’m about to tell you … could you at least do me the honor of beating my ass while I lay here? Cause I’m too wiped out to do this right now.” She dropped her hand over the edge of the cushion, and it laid wearily on the carpet.

“What happened?”

Rhaena sighed deeply, her face scrunched against the leather and her chestnut hair blowing in front of her face when she huffed. “She—she was out of control.”

“Tell me everything,” Athan said, dropping into the matching chair on the other side of the living room. Poe clicked his beak in his cage.

“Are you sure you wanna know? Cause it wasn’t good.”

“Just tell me.”

She sighed again. “She was giving lap dances to a bunch of nasty dudes when I got there. Had her top off.” Athan’s jaw twitched. “The dancers were throwing fits because they weren’t getting any attention, and the club owner wanted her arrested. By the time I made it to where she was, she twirled around and snorted a pill off some guy’s chest.”

“What?” He narrowed his eyes. Rhaena tried to nod and rolled her eyes.

“I grabbed her, asked her what the hell she was thinking. I, of course, thought it was cocaine, but she said she had crushed up some of her pills she had left over from the hospital. I got that confirmed when we confiscated it after.”

“After what?”

“She tested me. She was pissed off about the day she left your place. Called me a traitor. I expected that, but she was tanked. I told her it was time to go and one of the strippers got in her face. They mouthed off, and next thing I knew … Sarah had thrown that bitch across a table and there were people swinging everywhere.”

“Where were the uniforms that were supposed to be watching her?!” Athan yelped, flinging a hand forward.

“Handling the rest of the idiots that were trying to go after your girl!” Rhaena bit back, raising her face off the couch. “I finally got ahold of her, and she fought me. I warned her. I begged her not to make me do it.”

Athan could feel his rage starting to boil. He gripped the arms of the leather chair. “What the hell did you do?”

“It was either let the rookie tase her or give her a solid enough blow to put her down myself. I didn’t want you murdering one of our own.” She looked at him, bracing herself. “I gave her a good one in the gut, cuffed her, and took her to the truck.” She kept her head raised and stayed silent for a long moment before resting her cheek back down on the cushion. “If you wanna lay me out, go ahead and get it over with. I’d rather just rip the bandage off quick.”

He thought he’d be more pissed, but the thought of taking a hit from Rhaena and then still managing to walk right after … it filled him with pride. Athan couldn’t hide his smirk … or the soft chuckle that escaped his nose. “Where is she?” he asked, unable to see most of Rhaena’s face through her thick hair. She didn’t answer. “Rhaena …” Still nothing. Athan stood up and walked over to the couch, peeling her hair back and realizing she’d passed out, mouth wide open. He snorted and shook his head. “Thanks, partner,” he whispered, and truly meant it. He knew it could have been so much worse. Knew if he’d been there, he’d likely be in prison. As much as it set his blood on fire to think of someone hurting Sarah, he knew Rhaena would only make that call if it was absolutely necessary. The fact that she took it upon herself to spare the rookie was admirable and telling him about it while also expecting the worst was even more so.

Athan couldn’t help but feel a deep regret low in his gut for taking Rhaena for granted. He was glad she had somebody to spend that time with now, but all things considered … he’d never find a better partner … or a better friend. He didn’t deserve any of these women that he found himself having in his life. As he pulled off Rhaena’s boots and covered her with a blanket, his phone dinged from the kitchen.

Wren Vintorri: Hey … just wanted to let you know that I’m with Sarah at her place … she’s asleep and everything is fine. Cops are downstairs. Don’t be too hard on Northwood. Here if you need me. Be back tomorrow after work.

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