Page 14 of Ruthless Bonds

“Agent Greene wants to come over today and show me some mugshots.” Dove handed me a plate ofpancakes and scrambled eggs.

“Screw Agent Greene,” I scoffed and dug into my breakfast.

Dove scrunched up her nose and tilted her head to the side. “C’mon, she’s only trying to help. Not all cops are corrupt, Alora.”

I laughed, unable to keep the bitterness out of my tone. The cops had murdered my brother. Plus, cops had let Ray beat the shit out of my mom, and sometimes me, and never did a thing about it. When my friend Mel’s boyfriend couldn’t handle her breaking up with him and began threatening her, the cops had done nothing. Now she was dead, too. The list went on and on.

The last thing I needed was an FBI agent up in my business after what Dylan and I had just done.

I didn’t trust Agent Greene, nor did I like her. She believed the people responsible for taking Dove were part of a human trafficking ring. A Good Samaritan had found Dove and another woman down by the docks and had taken them to the hospital. Agent Greene had been around ever since.

She kept tabs on Dove, checking for signs of her memory returning, even showing her mugshots to see if they would stir something in her mind. Then there were the times she would stop by unannounced and bring Dove food, or a self-help book, or take her out for coffee.

It rubbed me the wrong way, the way she acted as if she wanted to take care of Dove. We didn’t need her around. I took care of Dove, always. I was the one who made sure the twins had food, who helped with their homework, and who showed up for games and recitals so that they knew that someone gave a shit about them.

Me. Not fortysomething and divorced Agent Greene, who treated Dove like she was her daughter. I didn’t trust her. Even if not all cops were bad, like Dove insisted, there was still something about Agent Greene that rubbed me the wrong way.

“Tell her to come next week. Free steaks are calling our name.”

She nodded, and I did a happy dance in my chair. I would make sure we had the best free day.

We finished breakfast, and I blasted the radio as we got ready. Dove seemed giddy while putting on her makeup, and by the time we left, I knew it had been the right choice to go out today.

“Remember the code?” I asked as we stood in the packed subway on the way to Midtown.

She held up her hand and pointed at her ring finger. I nodded as our stop came up and we stepped off the train.

We had a secret code in case we thought someone was on to us and we needed to bail quickly. We would ask the other person, “Have you seen my ring?” and point at our ring finger. That meant stopping whatever you were doing, getting up and leaving. We’d only had to use it a handful of times.

Luckily for us, we didn’t have to use it all day. We waited at the back of the theater until a big group of people left, then slipped inside. I pulled a bucket of old popcorn and a cup filled with ice out of the trash and headed to the concession stand. After I complained that my toddler had spilled my drink all over my popcorn, the teenage employee rolled their eyes and handed me a bucket of fresh popcorn and a new cup. We watched a rom-com that Dove wanted to see, and afterwards weheaded to the hotel for the convention.

The plan had been to steal name tags, but when we got to the banquet hall, there was no one with a sign-in sheet making sure you were an employee, so we just strolled in and grabbed lunch. I guessed the staff didn’t think two young women were going to roll up and steal a free meal.

We walked around Midtown for a while, having a blast. I’d gotten a gift card last year for an adult store, the Shiver Box, so we shopped and I picked up a toy for Mira’s birthday. It was an ongoing joke between all of us that someone got her a vibrator every year, and every year, they got bigger and more intense-looking.

The only money we’d spent all day was on new ink and pig skins from the butcher shop. Both were for Dove so she could practice tattooing some new designs.

We visited the cemetery as the sun went down, paying our respects to Mom and Jameson, and I took some photos. Most of them were of Dove, but I let her take a few of me. I really needed to focus on the competition and the theme, but my head wasn’t in it today.

It was late by the time we got back to Brooklyn. The free day was exactly what I’d needed to take my mind off Dylan and that crazy night.

When we got home, I set my backpack down by the front door and kicked off my boots. Dove opened and closed cupboards in the kitchen, then turned to me with her nose scrunched up. “We’re out of booze.” She held up her phone.

I stared longingly at the couch. She clasped her hands together and pouted her lips.

“Fine.” I rolled my eyes and chuckled. “You oweme, though.”

She grinned and squeezed me. The last thing I wanted to do was go back out, but it was Friday, and I didn’t have to work all weekend, and I’d just had a pretty traumatic week. I’d say that some alcohol was in order.

I made sure my knife was tucked into my boot and headed back out. There was a black sedan parked at an odd angle in front of my building that made me pause when I saw it. A police officer stepped out of the car and walked toward me.

“Miss Wolfe?”

I narrowed my eyes and took a step back. Zeke was watching us from across the street and gave me a little wave. I nodded at him and then focused on the cop. “Um, yeah. Can I help you?”

“I’m Officer Smith. I need you to come down to the precinct to answer a few questions.” He held out his hand toward me, as if I should take it.

“About what?” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked over his shoulder. There was another man in the car, but he was wearing a suit. This would be the moment where I would freak the hell out, but I held my composure like I’d been taught all those years ago by Ray.

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