“Oh, I learn fast, buddy. And I had Nell to coach me on how to get through a town hall meeting. The key is once you have the microphone, to filibuster the shit out of Hiram. After an hour or so, he just wants a nap, and he’ll give in to anything. So now I can practice law right here in Bliss. Not that it’s very impressive. It usually just involves me talking Nate out of doing stupid shit. He’s like really cranky for a law officer.”
Well, it was good to know marriage and a couple of kids hadn’t slowed down Nate’s crabbiness.
“Are we just going to stand out here?” Gemma asked. Jamie had called her Gemma.
“You can do whatever you like. You can walk in at any time.” She was really starting to annoy him. “I just want a minute.”
“Seems to me like you’ve had more than a minute. More like a year or something. You really think another minute is going to make a difference? I don’t think this is about a minute so much as making up your mind. You’re either in or you’re out, and another minute won’t change it.”
“Nate hired you? Are you this obnoxious when Nate’s around?”
A brilliant smile curved her lips up. “I am the best office manager Nate Wright’s ever had, and he won’t tell you any different. Now, I’ve been forced to keep that empty desk of yours just like you left it since Nate and Cam seem to think it’s some sort of shrine. I was actually surprised to find out you weren’t dead, just on some form of extended vacation.”
“I was in therapy.” Why was he answering her?
She shrugged a little. “Oh, my bad. I thought people in therapy were encouraged to like call and shit. You know, to update the people who love them on how they’re doing. They don’t usually just leave them hanging unless they’re real assholes.”
“You got a problem with me?” It was a dumb question. She obviously had a problem with him.
She was perfectly calm as she started up the steps. “Look, man, I’m fairly new here, but I’ve grown to love this town, and I definitely love Nate and Cam. Consider me a protective and territorial female. You’ve hurt them. Everyone else might want to treat you with kid gloves, but I don’t do the glove thing. I’ll tell it like it is, and I’ve had to watch them stare at that fucking desk every day I’ve been here. It’s like you’re a ghost that hangs over this place, and no one will let me call an exorcist.”
And she didn’t even know the right terminology. “An exorcist is for demons. You need a medium for ghosts.”
She snorted a little. “Wow, they told me you were a total geek. I thought they were joking when you showed up all big and brawny, but there’s still a dweeb in there somewhere. Maybe there’s hope for you, Green. You like coffee?”
He loved it. Couldn’t make it to save his life. He’d gone from his mom’s coffee to Shelley’s to this morning when he’d looked at the machine and tried to figure out where the little cups went. Seth wasn’t a big help. The big tech guru who had bought the thing just stared at it like it was a monster about to attack. Logan had killed the kitchen, and he hadn’t had an ounce of caffeine and he couldn’t get the sight of Georgia wrapped up in Seth’s arms out of his head. Or the fact that all he’d wanted to do was walk up and cuddle up behind her and slowly maneuver her back to the bed so they could start the morning right. Maybe if he’d eaten some of Georgia’s pussy, he wouldn’t need breakfast.
“It’s a simple question, man.”
But for now he had another obnoxious blonde to deal with, and this one seemed to hate him as much as the first. “Yeah, I would love some coffee.”
“Good. Nate’s waiting for you in his office. He has a meeting with some law enforcement from local cities in an hour or so and he wants to talk to you about it. How do you take your coffee?”
Sweet. Like he thought Georgia’s pussy would be. “Cream and lots of sugar.”
Gemma opened the first of two doors that led into the station house. Logan felt stupid just standing there, so he followed her. “I can do that. Nate likes his coffee with a little motor oil. I swear that man has an iron gut. I’ve been making him double espressos, and he claims they’re not strong enough. The things I put up with.”
“Uh, the coffeemaker here kinda always makes coffee like that.” It was why he’d always made sure he had a thermos of his mom’s coffee before he went to work. And there had always been coffee around The Club. He was kind of spoiled.
Georgia liked coffee. No one had made coffee for her this morning. Or breakfast. Julian Lodge had done his job well. The Dom in Logan was feeling really shitty right now because it was his job to make sure his sub was taken care of.
Georgia wasn’t his sub. She obviously was going to belong to Seth. Seth. What the hell was he up to now? Seth had to have a plan. Seth always had a plan.
“Oh, I assure you, we’ve got a new coffeemaker. I threw the old one out.” Gemma pushed through the doors and a laugh filled the room. “Thank god. It’s been a week since he arrested anyone. I thought Nate was going soft.”
Two familiar faces looked out from the twin jail cells. There were only two cells, and most of the time they were completely empty. Not today.
“Logan, dude. Damn, no one told me you were coming home.” Max Harper thrust a hand through his cell bars. He wasn’t in his usual jeans and Western shirt and cowboy boots. He was wearing a blue gown. A hospital-type gown. “Damn, boy, when did you get all extra extra large? It’s hard to believe you came out of Teeny. She’s like three feet tall and weighs ten pounds.”
“I would explain to you how babies get made, you dickwad, but I’d rather just put my fist through your face again.” Caleb Burke was in the other cell. He was perfectly dressed, but there was a fine spray of blood across his scrubs and his nose looked like it had taken a beating.
“I know how babies get made, Doc,” Max shot back. “I just don’t want to make one with you.”
The doc growled a little. “It’s called an exam, asshole. And next time I will just let you get testicular cancer. See if I give a shit if your balls drop off.”
“You can’t just grab a guy’s balls, Doc. Not unless you expect to get clocked.” Max turned to the doctor and Logan was the one who was groaning because those stupid exam gowns didn’t cover enough.
“Max, you’re flapping in the wind, buddy. Cover that shit up.” At least at The Club he hadn’t routinely caught sight of male parts dangling or dude butts outside of the dungeon floor. It was kind of a way of life in Bliss.
Max turned quickly, his hand reaching for the back of his exam gown, his normally taciturn expression going positively prudish. “I can’t help it. Doc makes everyone wear one.” He leaned toward Logan. “Are we sure he’s not a pervert?”
Caleb slapped the bars of his cell. “God, you’re an idiot. I swear there is brain damage. Hell, I don’t have any actual evidence that you have a brain. You can find another fucking doctor.”
Max clutched his gown, trying to hide his naked backside. “Come on, Doc. That can’t be the first time someone’s punched you in the face because you treated their balls like the handle on a slot machine.”
Caleb glared back at him. “I was gentle, asswipe.”
Max shook his head. “We have two different versions of gentle.”
Gemma held a hand up, looking deeply amused. “Hey, hold up, you two. So, I get why hot buns is in here. By the way, don’t you hide those on my account. Just spices up my morning.”
“Thanks,” Max said with a wide smile. “I really do work on my glutes.”
“Max has a ‘frequently jailed’ card laminated in his back pocket, but what’s your story, Doc?” Gemma asked.
Logan could take a wild guess on that one. Some things never changed. “Max punched him, and Doc ran for his tranq gun.”