“Thank you, stud. I love you.”
“Love you too, baby.” I hang up the call, and Q’s eyebrows might as well blend directly into his hairline.
“You’re fucking kidding me with this bullshit, right?”
“Fuck if I know. Come on. Let’s go.”
Thirty-Eight
Scarlett
Gabriel,Q, and Hal meet us on the sidewalk in front of “the Tombs,” which are made up of the four fifteen-story towers of the New York City Criminal Courts Building, and I pull an envelope of cash out of my purse.
“I didn’t know how much to get out of the safe. Do you think ten thousand will be enough?”
“What the hell did she do?” Gabriel asks with a look of incredulity on his handsome face.
“I have absolutely no idea. She said she was on a date with a guy, and there was some kind of misunderstanding.”
“Of course there was.” This comes from Q, who is raking his fingers through his jet-black hair. “That girl is a damned menace.”
“Hey, she’s my sister. Be nice.”
“I’m confused,” Big Mike says, breaking into the conversation. “I thought you said she was your stepsister.”
“Ex-stepsister, but I’m claiming her as family anyway,” I say to clarify. “Thank you for the ride, Mike. You don’t have to stick around. I’m sure Joanie would be thrilled to have you come straight home.”
The older man waves his hands in front of his big belly. “No way. I want to meet this little hellion for myself. You never know, maybe she’ll be exactly the girl I’ve been waiting to match up with Marcus. It’s not like I haven’t bailed him out a time or two. Isn’t that right, Inmate 3775?”
Q’s head whips hard to the side. “Dad. That was ages ago. And fucking Christ. The girl’s only like eighteen.”
“Twenty,” I say. “And very smart for her age. She’s put herself through college on her own dime.”
“Street-racing cars,” Gabriel adds with a grin. “She’d make a hell of a daughter-in-law, Mike.”
Q grabs Gabe by the sleeve and shoves him in the direction of the double doors. “All of you, shut the fuck up. Let’s get this shit over with.”
I can’t wipe away my smile, despite the circumstances. Q’s face is way too red for me to stop grinning.
We head inside. Apparently, the process is much easier than usual since I brought cash, and we don’t need to wait for a bail bondsman. Flynn is released a half hour later. I stand up as soon as I see her coming through the doors to the lobby wearing a black crop top, a little red skirt, and thigh-high black boots. A little risqué for a date, but okay.
“Flynn!” I rush toward her and wrap her in a hug, squeezing hard. “Please tell me you’re okay. Nothing happened in there?”
She squeezes me right back, just as hard. “Thank you so much for coming. God, I’m so glad your douche ex-boyfriend sent you to that sex therapist, because I don’t know what I would’ve done if I had to call my mom.”
I wince, hoping not everyone heard her, but Flynn sounds as young as a twenty-year-old should, which is out of character for her. From the dark circles beneath her eyes, she didn’t get any sleep. “What happened?”
She glances over my shoulder, and her eyes go wide. “Whoa. Did you bringeveryone?And strangers to witness my walk of shame?”
I twist to see Gabriel, Q, Hal, and Big Mike all standing a few feet behind us.
“Flynn, meet Big Mike, Q’s dad. We were at a barbecue at their house this afternoon, and he brought me here. Gabe, Hal, and Q met us.”
She nods at them with color rising on her cheeks. It may be the first time I’ve ever seen her embarrassed. “Nice to meet you. Sorry about the trouble. It was a big misunderstanding.”
Big Mike waves her off. “Always is.”
“What’d they pick you up for?” Gabriel asks.