Page 11 of Juno

There was a knock at his front door, and he let out his breath. “Are you expecting company?” Juno asked. He shrugged and got up to answer the door.

“It’s probably just someone who heard that I broke my arm and is stopping by to check on me.” She nodded at him and sat back on his couch, seeming to buy his stupid excuse.

Saint unlocked his door and pulled it open to find Banshee standing on the front porch. “Nice house, Saint,” she said. “Where is she?” Banshee wasn’t one to make small talk. It was probably because she had no extra time for that nonsense, being the Prez of the Royal Harlots in Huntsville.

“She’s in the family room. I’ll take you there,” he offered. Banshee stepped into his entryway and shut the door behind herself.

“I’m glad that you called me, even though I don’t fully understand what happened to the two of you last night. Judging from the cast on your arm, it was a wild evening.”

“Not just evening, but it was a wild morning too. We didn’t get back here until almost dawn. We’re exhausted, but I’m really glad that you agreed to come by and help Juno out. She needs her club right now.” They walked back to the family room and Juno shot Saint a nasty look. He could tell that she had caught onto his plan, but there was no going back now.

“Why are you here?” Juno asked Banshee.

“I’m guessing that Saint didn’t tell you that he called me and asked if I could stop by to check on you,” Banshee said. He was glad that Banshee didn’t spill the beans about the cops coming over. He was sure that Juno would take off if she had.

“You called her?” Juno stared him down as if daring her to answer her question.

“I did,” he admitted. “I thought that you’d want her help when the cops got here—you know like moral support.”

“I shouldn’t need moral support because I told you that I wasn’t going to file a report,” Juno insisted. God, she was the most stubborn woman on the planet, and even when she was mad at him, she was still hot as hell.

“Can one of you tell me what the fuck is going on here?” Banshee asked. Juno pressed her lips together, and Saint knew that she wasn’t sure what to tell her Prez. She’d never want to lie to her, but he could. He’d stick to the truth as much as possible though. Saint just wished that he could remember what he had told his brother, but his pain meds seemed to wipe out most of his night.

“Juno and I are dating,” he started. Juno held up her hand, stopping him from going forward with their cover story.

“No, we are not dating. Thanks to you, she’s going to find out the truth when the cops question me,” Juno said. He hadn’t really thought about that part when he called the police, but it was too late to call them off. His doorbell rang and he sighed.

“Hold tight,” Saint ordered, “I’ll answer the door and let the cops in. Just answer their questions, honey. You’ll do great.”

He walked out of the family room and was on his way to the front door when he heard Juno say, “Asshole,” and all he could do was laugh. Her sass was going to be the end of him, and for some crazy reason, Saint didn’t care.

Juno

Juno wasn’t very happy with Saint for going against her wishes to call in the cops. Now, she was going to have to tell them the story about why her car was sitting at a strip club, a pile of ashes on the asphalt. Calling Banshee was pure stupidity since she’d be there to hear her story and would probably report back to all the women down at the Harlots.

“I hope you don’t mind me telling the story once,” she said to Banshee. “I’m tired and don’t want to have to repeat myself. I need to ask you for a favor. Can you not tell anyone about this? I want to tell the girls when the time is right.” Juno wasn’t sure if the time would ever be right, but she knew that if her friends heard the truth from Banshee, they might never forgive her.

Banshee nodded, “No problem,” she agreed. “All of your secrets will be safe with me. But are you sure that you’re not dating Saint?” This was just what Juno didn’t need—people believing that she and Saint were dating. It was bad enough that she had to lie to Dare last night. She wouldn’t lie to all her friends in the Harlots.

“We’re not dating,” Juno insisted.

“That’s a shame because he seems to really be into you, Juno,” Banshee said. “He has the same look in his eye as my husband gets when he looks at me.”

“I hate to disagree with you, Banshee, but I’m sure you’re seeing something that just isn’t there. He doesn’t look at me in any way,” Juno insisted.

“You keep on telling yourself that, hun,” Banshee said. Her denial wasn’t getting her anywhere, and Juno worried that sooner or later, Banshee would walk away from her and revoke her promise to keep her secret.

Saint walked back into the room, followed by two officers in full uniform. “Juno, this is officer Daniels and officer Riggs. They would like to ask you a few questions about your car and what happened last night between you and Bruno.” She sat down, not bothering to scowl at Saint like she wanted to because it wouldn’t matter now.

Both officers stood in front of her and Officer Riggs pulled a small notebook and pen from his vest. Banshee sat down on the sofa next to her, and pulled her hand into her own, offering Juno comfort. It did that too—gave her comfort, and for a second, she was thankful that Saint had called her.

“Okay guys, shoot,” she said. “I’d like to get this over with.” She could tell by the looks on their faces that they wanted the same.

“Why did you call us, Miss?” the tall officer asked. She was trying to figure out which officer was Riggs, and which one was Daniels. It probably didn’t matter, but Juno was fixated on figuring that out.

“Someone destroyed her car,” Saint said. She shot him a look and he shrugged.

“How about if you start at the beginning and take your time?” the other guy asked.

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