Dwayne snorted and I shot him a warning glance. “I’m gonna go.” He pointed to the side, taking a step back. “This seems like a family matter.”
“So, it’s true then?” Leroy squinted at Johnny. “You knocked up my daughter?”
“That’s what we’re going to talk about right now?” I grumbled, right as Nico flew up to me and perched on my shoulder. “And where have you been?” I demanded and Nico flapped his wings irritably.
“Cracker, cracker,” he cawed and Dwayne froze, staring at Nico in fascinated horror.
“Where did you get that bird?” He asked and Nico bobbed his head, repeating, “Nico, Nico.”
“He doesn’t like being called a bird,” I informed Dwayne. “He’s my friend.”
Dwayne’s gaze cut to me and his expression hardened. “You have dangerous friends,” he commented abruptly, twisting on his heel and disappearing around the building.
“You ready,” Noah questioned, coming out of the building and I nodded, not interested in the tension building between Johnny and Leroy over something that happened twenty years ago.
“Remember whose daughter she is,” Johnny spit out as Noah escorted me away.
“I assure you I will, and it won’t have any bearing on how I treat her,” Noah promised with a twisted smile.
“What was that about?”
“Retaliation,” he answered shortly.
I dragged my feet, and when he slowed, I took his hand. “Retaliation for what?”
Noah made a shrugging motion. “If I don’t treat you right, then I’ll pay the price.”
“I’m gonna need to have a word with him,” I hissed, marching back toward Johnny. Noah grabbed my waist, swinging me around. “It won’t take a second,” I promised, my hand curled into a fist.
“Not so fast, tiger,” Noah muttered. “It’s not Johnny’s fault.”
I was fuming so it took me a second to process his words. “Huh?”
“He has a right to be suspicious and I don’t blame him,” Noah continued and I stared at him, perplexed.
“Huh?”
He chuckled. “I know I’ll treat you fairly and he knows it too, but old habits are hard to break.”
“You’re not mad,” I declared and he shook his head.
“Not mad.”
“Your uncle is dead.”
He nodded and I watched his Adam’s apple bob. “He is.”
“Are you okay?”
He chewed on his lip for a minute. “Am I terrible if I say the only thing I feel is relief?”
I considered for a second and shook my head. “No. He was a terrible man.”
“Then I’m alright.” Nico took the opportunity to nuzzle Noah’s hair. “Thanks, buddy,” he told the bird. “Now, let’s get you to the station and then go home.” He flashed me a tired smile. “Been a helluva day.”
Chapter Nine
Noah
Exhaustion blurred the pile of paperwork in front of me. Cadence was curled up on the old couch in the break room, Nico’s head bobbed rhythmically next to hers, and I rubbed my eyes, desperate to finish so we could go.
A ruckus in the receiving area forced me to my feet, and a glance at Cadence reassured me she still slept as I eased through the door. I held in a sigh when I saw who was at the front desk.
“I’m here to confess to the murder of Calvin Harris.”
“Really?” Janet drawled, her expression unimpressed. “And why would you want to do something like that?” Her tone implied fool even if she hadn’t said it.
Johnny rolled his eyes. “Because the guilt is eating me alive,” he deadpanned. “For Christ’s sake, Janet, just take my statement down and get someone out here to arrest me.”
“I thought you said you didn’t do it,” I reminded him, leaning against the wall because I was too tired to stand up straight.
“That was before you arrested my daughter for the crime,” Johnny growled, stomping toward me with murder in his eyes. Janet shot me a questioning glance, but I gave a tiny shake of my head. “I warned you.” He thrust his finger in my chest, hard enough to leave a bruise, and I grunted. “Where is she?”
“Sleeping,” I answered succinctly. “Tell me how he died and I’ll cuff you myself.”
“Gunshot,” Johnny answered instantly. “Now get my daughter out of the cell.”
“With what gun?”
“A 9 millimeter,” he replied and I arched an eyebrow.
“Where is it?”
“What the fuck, Noah. This isn’t twenty fucking questions. I want to see my daughter.”
“You’re confessing to a crime. I just want to make sure I have all the facts straight,” I said mildly.
“I threw it away.”
“Huh, okay.” I jerked my thumb at the door. “She’s in there.”
He shoved past me, coming to a hard stop when he saw her sleeping on the couch. He glanced at me as I came around my desk, picking up my pen. “What’s going on?”
“Maybe you should have started with that before you confessed to a crime you didn’t commit,” I mumbled and he slapped his hands on my desk, the sound almost waking Cadence. We both eyed her, but she stayed asleep. “I’m trying to get the required paperwork done so we can go home. It would go faster if I wasn’t interrupted by false confessions.” I pointed my pen at him. “I’m tempted to throw you in a cell overnight for that.”