Page 83 of Hard Limits

“Then I’ll find a workaround.”

But Brax had sounded more confident than he felt. An arrest warrant? His business was mostly legal, but he definitely didn’t need scrutiny from the authorities, no matter how many high-ranking officials might visit The Dark.

He padded back to the bedroom.

“Indi?”

Nothing.

“Indi, wake up.”

He nudged her shoulder, and she knifed into a sitting position.

“What…where…?”

“Tell me about the arrest warrant.”

Brax figured that if he caught her off guard and half-asleep, she wouldn’t have time to think up a story. That way, he’d get the truth.

“Arrest warrant? Huh? Who got arrested?”

“Nobody yet. There’s a warrant out for your arrest.”

Her face was a picture of absolute horror. “I… Why?” Then she gasped. “That man is such a jerk!”

“What man?”

“My ex-landlord. I signed a lease for a year, but there were roaches. There were roaches everywhere. The bathroom, the closet, under the bed. I poured cereal one morning, and a roach fell into the bowl, and that was the final straw. He threatened to report me—well, Meera—for breaking the lease, but I didn’t think he’d actually do it. Will it go on her record? How can I fix it?”

She spoke the truth. Nobody could fake that level of disgust.

“What were you doing last June? Where were you?”

“Uh, here in LA, mostly. I left Massachusetts on the…uh, on the third.”

“Were you working in June?”

“From the…the ninth, yes. No, the tenth. The interview was on the ninth, and they said I could start right away.”

“Where?”

“Silver’s Gym. It’s in the Warehouse District. Why? Why does that matter?”

“What days did you work?”

“Wednesday through Sunday.”

“Can you prove that?”

“Maybe? I can’t remember exactly what my contract said. There was a shift schedule on the wall in the break room. Possibly my boss would recall? Probably not, though.”

“Why did you leave?”

Indi grimaced. “I was a little too forthright with my views on steroid abuse. I was only trying to help—I mean, what man wants shrunken testicles, erectile dysfunction, and an increased risk of prostate cancer? But anabolic steroids can also cause mood swings and aggressive behaviour, and it turned out they didn’t want my advice.”

“Did they hurt you?”

“Oh, no. My boss just yelled a bit and told me I wasn’t a good fit for the role. But why all these questions?”

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