Yep. She was his kind of girl. If Crush had ever had a sister, he’d guess she’d have the same kind of argument.
“You’re right.”
“So what do you want to ask me?”
“Do you want a shot at playing hockey or do you want a shot at playing derby?”Frowning, she answered, “I don’t think I’d be very good at either.”
“Only you would know that but, I’m afraid, if you want either of these two off your back anytime soon, you’re going to have to fall on your face to prove it.”
She briefly closed her eyes. “Yeah. I was afraid it was getting to that point. Blayne’s been circling me for months like a stray circling an injured rat in an alley. And then Cella ... I just wasn’t exactly sure why.”
“Do you even like hockey or derby?”
“Hockey’s okay. I don’t know much about derby, but I’ve seen the shorts. I’m not comfortable with those shorts, Mr. Crushek.”
“You can call me Crush. Besides ... I’m guessing I wouldn’t look good in those shorts, either. Although I’ve been told I have nice calves.”
That made her smile and Crush asked, “Can I make a suggestion?”
Hannah studied him a moment, then nodded her head. “Okay.”
“If you tolerate hockey, then go to the Carnivore tryout. Get it done and over with and chances are neither will bother you again.”
“You clearly don’t know Blayne.”
That made him laugh a little. “I don’t know her well, no, but I’m sure sobbing will be involved. But that could work for you, too. Seem all broken up about your humiliation at hockey and maybe cry a little, I’m guessing she’ll totally back off. I won’t promise, however, that she won’t try to find something else to obsess over. I haven’t known her two weeks and I already sense that she obsesses over a lot.”
“You’d be amazed.”
“But you’ll definitely get Malone off your back.”
“I just don’t ...”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t want to embarrass myself in front of Cella. I mean ... she’s Bare Knuckles Malone. The Bare Knuckles Malone.”
Realizing he was talking to a fan, Crush grinned. “Kid, until you’ve spent two hours with your childhood hero—Malone’s father—and listened to him go on and on about his participation in every illegal activity short of first-degree murder and sexual assault ... you really don’t know what embarrassment is.”
She laughed and Crush was immediately charmed. He could tell she was a very sweet kid, no matter what she’d been through. It wasn’t easy to keep that part of yourself when you’ve been through hell, though. No. Not easy at all.
“That really happened?” she asked.
“It really happened. And as you mentioned, I’m a cop. I was torn between whether I should annoyingly discuss every goal he’d ever made or arrest him for anything that hadn’t passed the statute of limitations.”
“What did you do?”
A little ashamed, Crush shrugged. “I annoyed.”
Cella waited in the hallway with Blayne, the pair glaring at each other until Blayne said, “I thought we were friends.”
“We are very good friends,” Cella snarled back. “In fact, I like you a lot, you little bitch. But you get between me and a potential player and I’ll twist your little head around until you can look at your spine.”
Instead of firing a threat right back, Blayne said, “Gwenie can do that.”
“Gwenie can do what?”
“Turn her head so she can look at her spine.”
Horrified, “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“What is she? A house cat?”
“Nope. She’s just Gwenie.” Blayne grinned. “And I adore your mother!”
“She’s good, isn’t she?”
“So good!” Blayne scowled again. “But you’re not taking Hannah from me.”
“Like hell I’m not.”
The game room door opened and Crushek walked out.
“Well?” both females asked as soon as he closed the door.
With a smirk, he pointed at Cella.
“Ha!” Cella crowed, then danced around a stomping, snarling Blayne.
“I hate both of you!”
“Why do you hate me?” Crushek demanded. “I was just trying to help.”
“Oh, shut up!”
Cella clapped her hands together. “Eat that, canine!”
“I’ll never forgive either of you!” Blayne howled before turning and running down the hall. Then she spun back around and returned.
As she passed, Cella sweetly asked, “Wrong way, honey?”
“Shut up, Betrayer!”
The wolfdog disappeared around a corner and Crush shook his head. “Is there anywhere you go that you don’t bring pain and destruction?”
“As a matter of fact ...” Cella gasped, remembering that people were waiting for them. “That’s right! We’ve gotta get to work.”
She ran back to the locker room to change, but she could hear the bear behind her bark, “That statement does not give me confidence, feline.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“MacDermot!”
MacDermot sat up. “I’m awake. I’m awake.”
She was now, but she hadn’t been for the last hour. Not that Crush blamed her. This was boring. And it wasn’t that he hadn’t done surveillance before. He had. A lot. But he’d always known what he was looking for. Instead, their entire team was sitting around doing nothing, while the Group and KZS teams were doing ... something. Any time Crush asked, no one could give him an answer. Something that really bugged the shit out of him. What exactly was his role here? The role of NYPD? Was this his life now? Sitting around, waiting for someone else to get done doing ... whatever?
Maybe I should start updating my résumé.
“Any more coffee?” MacDermot asked him.
“Here.” Crush handed her his large thermos. “There’s a little left.”
“Thanks.” Yawning, MacDermot poured herself a cup. After a sip—and a shudder—she asked, “What are you doing?”
“Getting these files together to pass off to Conway.”
“You’re going to miss undercover, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“There still might be an opportunity to do it for our division.”
“Yeah. Right. Hard to go undercover with shifters, MacDermot. They can smell what you are.” He heard her snort and Crush looked up to find MacDermot laughing. “What’s so funny?”“If you told me ten years ago someone would say to me in all seriousness ‘shifters can smell what you are’ ...”
Crush had to smile. “I guess it is weird for you. Going from your life to this one.”
“Weird but entertaining. How many girls from my old neighborhood can say that they walked into their house two days ago to find a four-hundred-pound lion asleep in the middle of their living room with their son sleeping on top of him?”
“And the dogs?”
“Out cold, curled up next to him. He said later they’d ambushed him.”
“You know, lion males annoy the living shit out of me, but Llewellyn ... a hell of a lot better than your first husband. I don’t know what you were thinking that first go-round.”
“Yeah. Me, neither. But sometimes ...” She smiled, shrugged. “Sometimes a girl gets a second chance.”
“Believe it or not, I think you’re one of the few people who actually deserves one.”
“Thanks, Crushek.”
“Well ... we’re partners now so, you know, you can, um ...”
“I can call you Crush?”
“Yeah. If ya want.”
She pursed her lips. “Does Malone get to call you Crush?”
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t start.”
“Do you call her Cella or Maaarcella?” she crooned.
“Seriously? Are we going to start this now?”
“It’s not like we’ve got anything better to do stuck in the back of this van.”
“So we’re girlfriends now? Is that’s what’s going on here?”
“I’m almost sad you cut your hair, otherwise I could have given you ponytails.”
“This will not be the course of our relationship.”
“You and your fancy Queens talk.”
Crush decided not to let the woman get to him and asked, “So ... how long are we just going to sit here? Doing nothin’.”
“We’re not just doin’ nothin’. We’re getting paid overtime to do nothin’.”
“We didn’t work all day. How are we now paid overtime?”
“You ask too many questions.”
“MacDermot—”
“Zip it.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Zip it.”
“Fine, but my whole career is not going to be ...” Crush stopped talking and moved his gaze to the roof of the van.
“What?” MacDermot asked him.
Crush didn’t have a chance to answer her, though, reaching over and yanking her to the floor, dropping down next to her as something big and heavy slammed into the van, crumpling the roof on top of them.
When he was sure he hadn’t been crushed to death, he asked, “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. Yeah.”
The back doors were yanked open by one of their team.
“Are you two okay?” the wolf asked.
“Yeah.” MacDermot quickly low crawled out of the van, Crush following her.