Page 17 of Sapphire's Gem
I studied his face. There was fear in his eyes and a lust for revenge, but I could also see the confusion. Jed, like the other gang members, had no idea who’d done this to him.
“Get better soon,” I said and left.
Who the hell was behind these attacks? Six people had been harmed now, and not one could remember their attackers. Yeah, they might not be victims, and if I had my choice, I wouldn’t bother investigating because they got their just desserts. But the law sucked sometimes, protecting criminals against the victims.
I’d no doubt Earl knew something; it was in his eyes, but whatever it was, Earl would never talk to the cops. It was merely another thing to keep my eyes open for, because the Gerrits wouldn’t let anyone get away with maiming one of their kin. Oh, they might do it, but nobody else could.
A groan escaped me as I exited the elevator and came face to face with Becky. I’d made the mistake of asking her out on a couple of dates. A man gets lonely, but she’d somehow turned that into a full-blown relationship. I wasn’t opposed to one, but Becky had become clingy way too fast.
“Hay!” she tittered, a beaming smile crossing her lips.
“Hayden,” I corrected, instantly irritated.
“How are you? I guess you’ve been busy, since you haven’t replied to my texts. It’s okay. I know how that can go. It’s been crazy in the ER lately. I’m free Friday night, how about dinner then?”
“I’m busy Friday, sorry, Becky,” I said and winced inwardly. Apologising only made it seem like I actually wanted to date her. And Becky took it that way.
“That’s okay; we can schedule it for a different time. I go on nights in two weeks for four weeks, so maybe a lunch date if we don’t meet before then.”
“We’ll see; I’ve got a lot on at the moment,” I replied in another attempt to head her off.
“Of course you do; you’re a detective! Hey, actually, I’ve a family barbecue on Sunday, why don’t you come to that?”
Woah. No way. “Becky, look, we’ve had a couple of dates, but I’m nowhere near ready to meet anyone’s family. You’re pushing too hard.”
Becky looked crestfallen. “Sorry, I only thought it would be a way of spending time together.”
“Not at a family barbecue. That sends messages I’m not sending. You’re a lovely woman, but moving way too fast.”
Becky’s face screwed up, and I didn’t want to handle the fallout. Damn it, why couldn’t she have just taken it slow?
“Have a nice day, Becky.”
“You too,Hayden.”
Well, that was passive-aggressive. I moved away quickly, not wanting a scene, which would be highly inappropriate. Going toward the entrance, I stopped at the sight of a familiar cut. I turned in a flash and saw a member of the RHMC sitting in a chair, holding something over her face. A glance around told me she was alone.
“You okay?” I inquired, approaching her. She looked up, and I recognised her as Rose, who ran the Royal Harlot boat tours.
“Yeah. Some drunks pissing about on a sailboat. They didn’t listen to instructions, and I got clobbered,” she replied.
“Can I see?” I asked, and Rose snorted. She lowered the ice pack, and I winced. “Shit, were they arrested?”
“Yeah, two of your officers are in with them,” she said and pointed.
“They were hurt, too?”
“They were after I finished beating their asses,” Rose replied blithely and snickered as she replaced the ice pack. The woman had just admitted to beating the hell out of some guys badly enough that they needed hospitalisation… and she didn’t look even bothered.
“What? You aren’t gonna arrest me, Wylde. They could have killed us all, and they also got grabby,” Rose said, leaning back. She winced in pain, and I felt sorry for her. Her left side of her face was a mess. Not only was her eye swollen shut, but her cheek was also inflamed. There was a deep three-inch cut running down the side of her forehead, and her lip was puffy.
“What the hell did they hit you with?” I finally asked.
“They swung the boom at me—and whack. I told them there was no more drinking as they were well over the limit anyway. They took offence and swung the boom at me. That almost capsized us. I pounded their asses, knocked them out, and called the coast guard to let them know what happened, and they met me at the docks. Two of your guys arrested them.”
“Want me to call anyone, Rose?”
“Nah, Saph will be coming soon. I sent her a message.”
