Page 83 of Sapphire's Gem
“Come on, Maverick, let’s go home,” I said with a nod at Ramona. She offered me a grim smile, and I guessed the station would face a mound of paperwork in the morning.
Hayden
It had been a week since I had last seen Sapphire, and I knew why. A freaking idiot uniform had attempted to help Dix and Knowles, who the RHMC had complaints against, and had broken the rules. He’d used his sister to claim one of the club’s men had propositioned her for sex. Now she was facing charges, and he was also suspended, like Dix and Knowles.
Hatton had been hauled up in front of the chief and ordered to stand down where the RHMC was concerned. Personally, I thought Hatton had already done so, seeing a different side of them as I had. But even so, the ass-chewing he’d received had filtered down through the department.
Cassidy had been discharged before me, and I’d got out two days ago and was at home. I’d texted Sapphire, and while she’d returned my messages, there was a distance again. I wanted to kick Jones’s butt for his stupid gamble. Once more, I was on the outs with my girl.
Ten days had passed since I’d been badly wounded, and several issues were bothering me. One was what Stitch had done. It defied logical explanation. The second was who’d caught the gangbangers who’d shot Cassidy and me? I had a feeling it was the RHMC because of the note left for Hatton. I also wanted to know who was running this gang because they kept coming back, even after losing members. Things seemed to be centred around the RHMC, but not obviously so.
The only person to get answers from was sitting in her clubhouse avoiding me. Well, not for much longer.
I strolled to the door and waited on my porch for the Uber I’d booked to arrive. I was going to tackle the shit between Sapphire and me face-to-face. Come hell or high water.
Sapphire
“Saph, Wylde is here,” Cyber said, sticking her head into my office.
“What?” I asked, surprised.
“Detective Wylde, he’s outside in the rec room?”
“What the hell? Is he supposed to be gallivanting about town?” I exclaimed.
“How the fuck would I know? Get out here and ask him,” Cyber retorted and disappeared again.
Shit. Wylde shouldn’t be here; I was almost positive he’d only been released a couple of days ago. I climbed to my feet and walked to the rec room. As expected, Wylde was there, being watched over by Blue and Chopper. He had a glass of water next to where he sat, and his gaze focused on me as soon as I entered.
“Aren’t you meant to be resting?” I asked.
“Well, if my woman hadn’t gone cold on me, maybe I would be,” Wylde retorted.
His eyes were drinking me in, and I felt guilty. Wylde wasn’t wrong. After Maverick’s arrest, I had created a distance between us. It was further proof that we weren’t compatible. No matter what we did, the Harlots would always have eyes on us.
“Come with me; we’ll discuss this in private,” I said and reached out a hand to help him up. Wylde winced a little as he got up, but refused to release my hand once he was standing. Instead, we walked through the rec room holding hands, and I have to admit, I liked it. His hand was warm and comforting. It wasn’t sweaty or clammy.
Wylde followed me to my apartment and looked around as I opened the door.
“I didn’t expect the apartments to be so big up here,” he said.
“No. We didn’t want bunks as rooms. This is our home, and we wanted space. Can you imagine a minimum of ten women all suffering PMS at the same time?”
Wylde blanched, and I knew my point had been made.
“That would be highly unpleasant,” he murmured, and I laughed. He entered and looked around.
I’d gone for comfort. The short hallway had a wooden floor and white walls with pictures of my sisters on. To the left was the first bedroom, followed by the kitchen and then a half bath. The hallway opened into a large living room. On the right were my bedroom, a guest bedroom and a full bathroom.
“I like it. It’s warm and homely,” Wylde approved as we entered the living area.
“Yeah, I prefer comfort over appearances. Can I get you a drink?”
“I’m good, Saph. That’s not why I came today,” Wylde said as he slowly lowered himself into one of my oversized armchairs.
“Why did you? I’m sure you’re meant to be resting at home.”
“Told you, you shut down on me again. Stop trying to run from me, Saph, because I enjoy a chase.”
