Back in Black (McGinnis Investigations #1) - Rhys Ford Page 0,100

that’s what she’s doing. She’s mimicking her mom.”

“Okay, first I’m sorry I said the thing about the silly walks, because that’s probably offensive,” Bobby muttered under his breath, reaching for his beer, sitting on the ground next to the chaise longue he’d claimed as his own. “I need some help here, Princess. Is that okay for her to do? I’m not up on the whole political correctness thing. I mean, Maddy’s missing her lower legs and her daughter’s trying to run like her? Is that cool? And shit, even talking about it makes me nervous as hell. Your sister-in-law’s got some bite to her.”

“I don’t think Maddy would be offended if she heard you. You guys go back a long way, and she tries to take things as learning experiences.” Thinking about it for a second, I shrugged and sat up, straddling my own lounger. “Lisa’s probably trying to figure out how it feels or what the world looks like when Maddy does it. She’s learning how to experience what other people see or feel. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. She’s not making fun of her mom, and Maddy’s good about explaining stuff like that. I think Lisa’s trying to understand her, understand how she moves. You’ve raised a kid. Shit, you’ve got a grandkid now. You know kids are curious and they’re going to ask about stuff. Maddy’s right there. She’s got this. If it was a problem, she’ll say something. They probably talk stuff out all the time.”

The backyard was pretty packed, but there was a late straggler who slipped in through the gates and got a round of jeering for showing up with store-bought potato salad. O’Byrne blushed as she handed the container to Scarlet, then turned even redder when Claudia embraced her in a bone-crunching hug. I knew those hugs. In anticipation of an assault, my ribs creaked every time Claudia came near me.

Jae met my eyes from where he was poking at the chicken on the grill, giving me a broad smile and holding up a bottle of beer, lightly rocking it back and forth to ask me if I needed a new one. I never thought I would see the day when I would have a secret, silent language with a husband, but there it was—an unspoken question I clearly understood like he fully comprehended what I wanted from him later when I bit my lower lip and grinned. If anything, he turned even more crimson than O’Byrne did. Ichi said something to him, and he jerked his attention back to the conversation he’d been having with my two brothers, but I could still see the blush on his cheeks even as he turned away.

O’Byrne grabbed a diet soda from one of the ice chests on the broad, circular outdoor kitchen we’d built away from the house. I’d strung the screens up to block out a lot of the sun, taking care with the wisteria climbing up the posts and across the perimeter. It left the area cool, with the mature trees along the fence providing enough shade to keep the heat from getting too much. She dragged over one of the chairs and plopped down, cracking open the soda once she got settled.

“No beer?” Bobby questioned. “Driving or still on the job?”

“I don’t trust myself not to fall asleep,” she said, saluting him with her drink. The circles under her eyes were still there, but she’d gotten some sleep since I’d seen her last. “Just came back from the station. Stanley Voelker just cut a deal for a reduced sentence. He might not be the smartest guy on the block, but he apparently remembers everything he hears. He could tell the DA about everything Marie Watson was up to. They’re still trying to pin Ivan Brinkerhoff’s murder on her, but I don’t know if they need to. She’s already confessed to killing Adele and her other accomplice. I should be used to this kind of shit, but I’m always surprised what people do for money.”

“What about Arthur?” I pushed back in my seat, stretching out my legs. The loungers were fairly high off the ground, something I was thankful for because both Jae and I were pretty tall and there was nothing graceful about trying to get back up from a piece of furniture that was nearly lying on the ground. “What’s going to happen to him? Last time Marlena picked up one of my calls, she told me he’s pretty shaken. Like the wind’s been kicked out of him.”

“The district attorney’s office is on the fence about charging him. He was clearly forging art, and then there’s the embarrassment of his granddaughter being assistant DA up in SF while he goes through an indictment and everything else that follows. It looks like they’re going to offer him probation, because there’s no way in hell he’ll survive a trial. He’s an old man that’s lost pretty much everything,” O’Byrne murmured, shaking her head. “I don’t know. Guess we’ll find out in the next couple of weeks. One thing’s for sure—Marie Watson is off the streets, and I don’t have to worry about someone trying to kill you when you go to get a cup of coffee.”

“Like he even gets his own beer,” Bobby snorted, giving Jae a broad smile as he approached with two newly opened bottles. “One of those for me?”

“You would complain like a baby if I didn’t have one for you,” Jae replied, passing one of the beers over to Bobby, then resting one of his knees by my hips, balancing himself against me. He put the other bottle between my legs, smiling as he said, “That’s just going to have to keep you company for a while. Maybe it will help you cool off.”

The icy chill went a long way in pulling back any arousal my body had stoked up, and my belly shivered in response. He smelled good—like vanilla and a bit of salt. His fingers were on my shoulder, their tips tracing over my collarbone, and I hooked my arm behind his thighs, pulling him in.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something, Mac,” O’Byrne said, giving Jae an apologetic grimace. “And now that I think about it, it’s probably something you should hear too, Jae. Captain Book dug out a couple of uniforms who were feeding info to individuals outside of the force. Internal Affairs is dealing with it, but we don’t know how long they’ve been leaking things out or to whom. He wants to use police consultants more until he and the rest of the brass know how bad it is. So, I guess I’m asking you if you’re willing to get dragged around on a couple more cases.”

“I don’t know. I guess it depends on if Dawson here is finally coming to work for me,” I replied, slanting Bobby a sly look. “Asshole won’t be my partner, so I guess I’m just going to have to pay him a salary or something. Think we can talk the LAPD into another one of those shiny cards with his name on it this time?”

“I think something like that needs to be talked over with Ichi,” Bobby growled at me. “What makes you think I want to work for you, Princess?”

“If you’re going to get stabbed or shot at, don’t you think you should at least get paid for it?” I shot back, giving Jae a quick hug. “What do you think, agi? Would you mind if I helped out O’Byrne more often?”

“Of course not. Because I love you and I want you to be happy, which means you digging into other people’s lives.” Jae’s response was light but sauced with sarcasm. “Just tell me one thing, Dell. Are you going to be giving him his guns back, or is he just going to have to throw his phone at everyone who shoots at him? Because if he is, I’ll just put a duffel bag full of rocks on his back seat. Just in case.”

“I love you too, babe. And none of that was O’Byrne’s fault.” I chuckled at Bobby’s disgusted huff. “Besides, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. Sure, this one was kind of crazy, but really, after all of this, what’s the worst that can happen?”