was in hand and I was about to shoot Cross a text. Glancing back, Hawk was heading out of the Coug r Lanes behind me, her sunglasses in hand and her purse’s strap across her body. She was still in our black uniform, but her vest was off. So were the rest of her weapons.
“Are you heading to do what you asked for help with before?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
She stopped in front of me, staring. There was a lot of staring with this group. Then, her lips pursed together, she seemed to come to a decision. “I’ll help.”
“Yeah?” I raised my eyebrows.
One nod from her. “But I drive, and you will tell me what Brock said to you today because I know he did. It’s why he wanted you in the vehicle with him.”
I needed someone with me. Tabatha would be on another level, one I wasn’t looking forward to dealing with, because unlike last night when I had been eager to ‘handle’ her, I wasn’t anymore. I was tired. Not being involved at all in the action from today, but watching each step of the process had taken a toll.
I shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”
She pointed to a black Jeep behind me, and we both got inside.
“You mind if the top is down?”
“That’s fine.”
It was one of the Jeeps where the sides and top could either be up or lowered down. I had to admit that it was nice to be driving with the breeze after sitting inside a vehicle all day, and after a couple stoplights, after I pulled up the address for Tabatha’s house and got the GPS ready to go, she asked, “So. Fill me in. What’d he say to you?”
I didn’t want to ask why she wanted to know. That was politics I didn’t want to deal with, so I filled her in.
I waited a full thirty seconds for her to respond.
When she didn’t say anything, neither did I.
It wasn’t until we pulled up outside of Tabatha’s sorority house before she spoke again. She turned the engine off. “If he asks you again about the Red Demons, let me know.” He already did, but I frowned. “There something I need to know?”
She shook her head. “No, but I have to ask you this question, and it’s for your safety. Okay? I want you to know that.”
My gut tightened. “What is it?”
“Do you know anything about the Red Demons?”
My gut tightened even more. “No.” I was getting pissed that I was getting questioned about them in the same day, much less at all. “I know nothing about them.”
“Okay.” She blew out a breath, nodding. “Good. Just keep it like that and you’ll be fine.”
That wasn’t totally true, but it wasn’t anyone else’s business.
Her gaze trailed past me, and she cursed under her breath. “Jesus. You weren’t kidding about the sorority house.”
I grinned. “Why did you think I needed backup? Not for my safety, for my mental health. These girls make me want to go apeshit.”
“I’m thinking I should’ve kept my Taser on me.”
I paused. “Is it here?”
She motioned to the back. “In my bag.”
That didn’t even need consideration. “Grab it.” And then I added for good measure, “Wear your badge, too.”
Hawk was grinning as she clipped it in place, following me up to the house. A burst of warmth hit me in the chest, and I didn’t know how to handle that feeling, so I tried to roll my eyes. I couldn’t. Instead, I grinned back as I knocked on the door.
There was a sound of footsteps running to the door before it opened. A girl stood there, barefoot, hair up in one hand, shorts low on her hips, and a tank top that was barely covering her breasts. It’d been pushed up, and sitting there, right on her bare stomach was a handprint. A white handprint, tan all around it.
The girl frowned. “What? Who are you?” She saw Hawk’s badge, then her Taser, and her eyes got even bigger. “I thought you were my tan girl.”
I didn’t ask. I pushed in, ignoring her and saying as Hawk followed me, “Where’s Tabatha?”
“Wha—hey!” She tried to get in front of us, blocking us from the house. Too late. We were already inside, and as her shoulders fell, she asked, “Who are you?”
“Just tell me where she is.”
“No.” Her hand let go of her hair and it came tumbling down, falling past her shoulders. “We have an event tonight and you need to leave, whoever you are. I’ll let