to head down to my apartment. ‘Night everyone."
Rory stood without hesitation. "I'll come with you." He put his hand on Blay's shoulder when the guy opened his mouth. "Shut up. I'm coming. Deal with it."
"Damn, I didn't mean to break up the party." Sean scrubbed his face with his hands.
"Man, didn't you hear what the 'rents just said?" Brody folded the best hand he'd had in years. "You didn't cause this. That bastard who started the building on fire did."
"Do you ever think we'll get ahead of them?" Kyle asked. "The ones selling the drugs, setting the fires, killing the innocents?"
Quiet enveloped the room for several minutes before Chauncey replied. "I have to believe it. It's the reason I clip on my badge every morning. When I'm done, I want to look back and say I gave everything I could so people in this city were able to live without fear."
Colm nodded. "It's all we can hope for."
Brody raised his glass. "To what we hope for, to those who serve to achieve it, and the people who support us while we do it."
The men all lifted their glasses. Hope filled his chest. With men like the ones in this room, the city had a fighting chance.
Amber sat across the counter from Hannah King and Sharon McBride. The women were amazing to watch.
"Do you think they've done this a time or two before?" Kallie King, her newly minted sister-in-law, leaned in and filled her wine glass after pouring a bourbon for herself.
"You'd think it was their kitchen." The women danced around each other as they worked to finish an array of treats.
"Right?" Kallie reached across the counter and snagged the tray containing the meat, cheese and crackers, moving it closer toward them. "I haven't eaten since breakfast." She grabbed two crackers and made a quick sandwich. "Hannah, are you sure you don't want any help?"
"You relax. Sharon and I have this. Amber, honey, where did you put the dessert box you brought in?"
"Here it is!" Sharon removed it from the bottom of the refrigerator. "Oh, Amber! Thank you!" Sharon spun as she opened the box. "I know you had to go all the way across town to get these!"
"You and Hannah adore the cannoli from De Palma’s." The mini cannoli were fabulous, and she liked to be able to treat the two older women. "I had to go over there to drop off Gage. He's so excited about camping this weekend."
Hannah laughed. "We had a blast pulling the old tent from the garage and puzzling together a way to set it up. That boy is so smart. I'd still be on the lawn trying to make all the pieces fit."
"Thank you again for letting him use it."
"He can have it! I have reached the age where my idea of camping is falling asleep on the couch."
Sharon pointed to the living room. "Have you tried Tara's couch?"
"What about my couch?" Tara asked when she and Brianna walked in the kitchen. "Hey, can all of you come every weeknight and do the cooking?"
"Kallie is a better cook than I am." Amber volunteered her sister-in-law immediately.
"Hey!" Kallie grabbed the wine bottle she’d used to fill Amber's glass and slid it away from her.
Brianna grabbed the bottle and poured herself a glass. "Where are the princesses?"
Sharon McBride answered. "Let's see, Bekki said she was going to be a little late, and she was going to pick up Erin from the clinic on the way here. Caitlyn is out back with Colleen. What have you two been up to?"
Tara leaned over the counter and grabbed a wine glass, holding it for Brianna to fill. "We were talking about how slow the city council was in addressing any new initiatives. Brie has worked hard to address all the issues and concerns they've thrown in the way of her idea to help feed the homeless in the shelters."
Amber stopped with a cracker halfway to her mouth. "Wait, I'm lost. What initiative is that?"
Brianna sat down on a stool next to her. "At the restaurant we have excess at the end of each night. Every restaurant does. Some things can't be shoved into a refrigerator and used again the next day. So I thought a few restaurants in the area would be willing to band together and put the leftovers into disposable containers, labeling the top with the contents to avoid any food allergies. The local businesses like mine could use the donation write off, but the main reason