Thick as Thieves

by Jillianne Hamilton

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “Eddie, this is Molly. Molly, this is Eddie.” Grace gestured with her long, elegant fingers as she spoke. “Eddie and I drive around Brooklyn all day looking for bad guys.”

  I smiled weakly. “Hello.”

  He was a tall Italian-American with short dark hair, intense dark eyes, athletic shoulders, and beautiful bronze-ish skin.

  Several women at nearby tables gaped at his hotness. I, on the other hand, just wanted to run out of the restaurant screaming.

  “So nice to meet you.” Eddie winced. “Sorry. Grace told me your name was Meagan.”

  “No, I didn’t. I said her name is Molly. Idiot.” Grace rolled her eyes and chuckled at her ‘idiot’ partner.

  Wow. They seem like the best of friends.

  I sipped my water, stalling while I thought of something to say to my date. My date! Ugh.

  I faked a smile. “How long have you been one of New York’s finest?”

  “’Bout eight years. I’m a little older than little Gracie here. She’s a lot tougher than me, though.”

  “Eddie is basically a teddy bear,” Grace added.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Is that a trait they look for at the academy?”

  He seemed surprised by this and laughed, smiling wide at me. “You’re funny!”

  Ah crap. He thinks I’m being charming. Jeez, that joke wasn’t even that witty.

  We made small talk until the waitress took our orders. I ordered a glass of wine and a strong coffee with my meal—the time difference between New York and Paris was hitting me hard. Either that or Officer Eddie Argento was just boring as shit.

  Things got even more awkward when he asked what I do for a living.

  “Well,” I said, remembering what Ruby had told Grace about my financial situation, “I’m lucky enough to have very generous parents who own a profitable business—”

  The light drained from Eddie’s face. “So you’re a rich kid.”

  Oh good. So Eddie was boring and judgmental. Great! And I’m a grown-ass woman, dammit.

  “I get by.” I sunk down in my chair a little.

  He shifted in his seat. “I … had a very different upbringing. I grew up with a single mom and four siblings in a three-bedroom apartment.”

  The waitress came back with our drinks, and I chugged my coffee, even though it was painfully hot on my tongue. Anything to keep me occupied.

  Eddie and I hardly made eye contact for the rest of the evening. Grace and Ruby chatted away while I picked at my dinner.

  He tried again. “Do you like the Yankees?”

  “I don’t follow sports.”

  Ruby, because she’s not blind, could see things were uncomfortable, so she chimed in. “How was work today? Catch anyone doing anything really naughty?”

  Eddie shrugged. “I chased a guy down after he broke into a jewelry store. We happened to be nearby at the time.” He shook his head and got rough with his salad, spearing it violently with his fork. “Low-life scumbag, out for all he can steal.”

  “Useless piece of human garbage,” Grace added. “He’s gonna see some time behind bars. Not enough, probably.”

  I looked across the table and straight at Ruby, hoping she could read my thoughts via my expression.

  “Was anyone hurt?” I said.

  “No. But he smashed a bunch of display cases and almost got away with thousands of dollars worth of stuff,” Grace said.

  “Well,” I said quietly as I reached for my wine glass, “maybe his socioeconomic situation drove him to that kind of lifestyle. He was likely raised in a harsh neighborhood, was taught that stealing was the only option and he couldn’t find a job because of the weak economy or because of a criminal record. Now he’ll go to prison and possibly develop a drug habit while he’s in there, which may lead to more serious crimes while he’s still behind bars. And even when he gets out of prison, his criminal record will make finding employment almost impossible. It’s a vicious circle that the American judicial system really needs to work on.”

  Ruby’s eyes went wide. Grace practically had steam coming out of her ears.

  Eddie glared at me. “Do you have a point?”

  “Of course not,” I said, finishing my wine off in two big gulps. “I’m just a spoiled brat princess.”

  After a moment of awkward silence, Ruby burst out in a fake laugh. “Well, this is terribly uncomfortable. Molly, let’s go fix your hair in the bathroom.”

  “My hair is fine, Ruby.”

  “No.” She stared at me, my eyebrows furrowed. “Your hair looks like shit. Let’s go.”

  I slid out my chair, and Ruby grabbed my hand and dragged me through the restaurant to the ladies room.

  “What the fuck are you doing?”

  I looked in the wall-wide mirror above the sinks. “See, I knew my hair looked fine.”

  “Just because there’s no chemistry between you and Eddie doesn’t mean you have to ruin the night for everyone,” Ruby snapped, forming her hands into fists at her sides.

  “No chemistry?” I repeated. “Why would you possibly think it would be a good idea to set me up with a cop?”

  “It was Grace’s idea. What was I supposed to say? ‘No, she won’t date a police officer because she’s a—’” Ruby quickly checked under the stalls and lowered her voice to a whisper. “‘—you know what.’”

  “A simple ‘she’s not looking to date anyone right now’ would have sufficed.”

  “It’s not like I was hoping you and Eddie were going to get married or anything. He’s hot, you’re adorable. He needs to get over his ex, you need to get over Rhys—”

  “There’s nothing for me to get over. Thanks but no thanks. I’m not interested in being a cop’s fuck buddy, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

  Ruby’s lips tightened. “Fine. I’m sorry I set you up with him. I just thought you’d want to climb him like a tree.”

  I cringed. “How many different ways of saying ‘have sex’ are in your vocabulary?”

  Ruby thought for a second. “At least fifty.”

  “Impressive.”

  “Okay. So, what do we do now?” She made a pained expression. “I don’t want to go deal with that level of awkwardness again.”

  “Can I just go home? I’m so tired—”

  “No. You’re not allowed to go home.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  “Becaaaause,” Ruby said, stalling, “Grace will be mad at me and she’s, like, really good at sex stuff.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “I didn’t need to know—”

  “Like, the best, Molly. The best.”

  “Well … in that case,” I said, “can we go somewhere and get drunk?”

  Minutes later, the four of us paid our bills and were walking a couple blocks to a bar Grace recommended—an Irish pub with cheap beer, loud music and half-price shots for ladies before midnight.

  As soon as we walked into the crowded bar, fifteen people cheered and waved to Grace and Eddie. Eddie immediately joined them, probably happy to get away from me, his rich-bitch date.

  “Friends of yours?” Ruby shouted to Grace over the music.

  Grace nodded and headed in their direction, Ruby and I following her. “Friends from work.”

  Ruby and I exchanged horrified glances. In a loud, hurried blur, I was introduced to ten different people. I was grateful they all seemed much more interested in Ruby—Grace’s new girlfriend they all wanted to meet—than me, her shy friend who kept looking at the bar in need.

  One of the officers kept glancing at me while I tried to get the bartender’s attention. I smiled at him, wishing he’d knock it off.

  “Here, take my stool,” he said, sliding off.

  “No, no,” I said. “Thanks. I’m probably just gonna grab one drink and go.”

  “Would you stay longer if I bought you a drink?”

  The question caught me off guard. So did his cute, crooked smile and green eyes.

  “I’m tec
hnically on a blind date with Eddie right now.” I glanced around for him, only to see Grace and Ruby making out while several of Grace’s colleagues gaped in delighted awe. Eddie was nearby, his hand resting on the hip of a girl who looked barely old enough to be in the bar. Creep.

  “How’s it going so far?” the guy yelled over the music.

  The glass of wine I had at dinner was catching up to me. It definitely helped me make conversation, though.

  “Not great,” I said. “He’s not really my type.”

  “What, because he’s a Captain America?”

  I giggled and bit my lip. This guy was so cute.

  “I’m Molly.”

  “I’m Dan. And I’m more of a Peter Parker, for the record.”

  “How long have you been in the NYPD, Dan?”

  He chuckled. “I work in I.T.”

  Oh thank god.

  I slid onto the stool. “I’ll take that drink now.”

  My spidey sense is tingling.

  * * *

  We had several cocktails, chatted some more and then had several more cocktails. I got up and danced with Ruby and Grace some. Well, they danced and made out. I just danced nearby. Eddie, also drunk, was dancing with that other girl and kept bumping into me. Dickhead.

  After I was out of breath and thirsty for more alcohol, I went back to Dan at the bar. We both did a shot and watched the band play.

  Dan’s hand slid over to my bare knee. I looked at him, surprised, and he quickly took his hand away.

  “Sorry. That was probably intrusive.” The tops of his cheeks went red.

  I took his hand and put it back on my knee, giving him my best flirty smile. I just hoped I didn’t look like a creepy serial murderer. Dan’s face turned even redder.

  We watched the band play for a few more minutes before I got an idea. Well, not me. I didn’t get the idea.

  It was all Drunk Molly’s idea, I swear.

  I took Dan’s hand and led him down a nearby hallway, sneaking into the guys’ washroom. I would have preferred the ladies room, but the line was too long. I pushed him, a little roughly, into a stall and locked it behind us. Dan looked very unsure about this.

  “So, this doesn’t usually happen to me—”

  Dan’s sentence cut off as I grabbed him and kissed him hard. I’d wanted to kiss him for an hour. His mouth tasted like the lime from his last cocktail, and I liked how his arms wrapped around my waist and lifted me up closer to him.

  His hands roamed to my bum as I pawed at the buttons on his shirt. He kissed my neck and I closed my eyes, losing myself in the moment. My whole body felt hot, and everything felt like someone else was controlling my mind, and I was totally into it. Pulling someone into a gross bar bathroom is so not my thing. But for about a minute, it was so my scene.

  And then I burst into tears.

  “Oh shit,” Dan said. “What did I do? Did I hurt you? What’s wrong?”

  I wasn’t just sniffling. I was struck with a hardcore sobbing fit, right there in the bathroom stall of a crowded bar. And I couldn’t stop.

  Someone banged on the stall door. “You okay in there?”

  I choked on my words and snuffed loudly. “Yes.” Sniff, sniff. “I’m fine.”

  Dan looked at me like I had two heads. “What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?” He lowered his voice and pleaded, “Please stop crying.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I whispered. “I’m really drunk and…” Wet snot bubbled at my nostrils. “It’s just … everything is wrong ’n Rhys is…” My sobs were so heavy, even I’m not sure what I said after that.

  Dan put his back to the stall door, getting as far away from me as he could within the confined space. “Sorry, I can’t understand you—”

  “Um … I … I’m really drunk and…” Think, woman! “I … I … I just broke up with someone, and I think it’s too soon. I’m so sorry.”

  I wiped the wet snot from my nostrils with toilet paper and rushed out of the bathroom, Dan’s calls disappearing into the crowd as I rushed out of the bar, my head down.

  I hailed a cab. I kept sniveling in the back seat, still unable to stop.

  “Are you alright, miss?” the driver asked.

  Might as well reuse the lie from earlier.

  “Yes.” Quiet sob. “Boyfriend trouble.”

  “If there’s a guy that makes you feel like this, he ain’t worth it.”

  I pawed around in my purse in the dark and found my phone, locating my last text message from Rhys and staring at it.

  Rhys: I have a girlfriend.

  My grip on my phone tightened as I typed out a response.

  Molly: I don’t care.

  My thumb hovered over the ‘send’ button. I deleted it instead and threw my phone back into my bag.

  By the time I got home, my tears had stopped, but my stomach had started turning. I didn’t quite make it to the bathroom, instead puking into the shrubs in front of the building.

  Out of spite, I made sure to puke into the shrub closest to Wren and Arlo’s door too. Jerks.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  I hated myself the next morning. Like, a lot.

  Why did you drink so much?

  I sipped water while watching TV on my laptop on the sofa in my living room. My stomach wasn’t ready for food yet. Even regular-size gulps of water made my guts turn.

  I slowly moved away from the couch and rinsed my glass in the kitchen. Through the window above the sink, I saw Haylee slowly make her way down the sidewalk and up the front steps. I opened the door for her. She wore the same outfit from the day before. She nodded at me, her eyes bloodshot, and threw her bag on the floor. Collapsing onto the sofa, she let out a small groan.

  I knew that walk. I knew that look. Hangoverville, population: two.

  “Do you want a glass of water?” I asked, my voice a little raw from puking the night before.

  She slowly nodded, her face smushed into the arm of the couch.

  I put a glass of water and an Advil on the floor next to her and lay on the cool laminate. It actually felt nice. Sitting up was way too hard at that moment.

  “What did you get up to last night?”

  Haylee lifted her glass to her lips, still lying on her stomach. “Helping orphans.”

  “Yeah. Me too.”

  “You sound like shit.” Haylee closed her eyes and put her head back down.

  “I puked in Wren and Arlo’s shrub.”

  “Who is Wrenninarlo?”

  “Wren and Arlo,” I repeated slower. “The neighbors who had a threesome in my bed.”

  Haylee turned her confused face to me. “Their names are Wren and Arlo?”

  I laughed. “I know.”

  She slowly turned over on the sofa. “I have a proposition for you.”

  “You’re not gonna try to sell me drugs, are you?”

  “No. I don’t sell drugs. Jesus, Molly.”

  “You want to sell me Molly?” I repeated. “Molly, that’s what the kids are into these days, right? I think it’s ecstasy, but I’m not even sure—”

  “Can you just listen to me for a sec?” Haylee threw me a look.

  “Fine.”

  She hesitated. “I won’t tell Mom about your … job … if you don’t tell Mom about my … lifestyle choices.”

  I glared at her. “Oh, come on—”

  “What? I think that’s fair—”

  “You could die from an overdose. Do you get that?”

  “It’s cocaine, not heroin,” she rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic—”

  “Haylee. Shut up. You can overdose and die from a cocaine overdose. I looked it up online. You make it sound like you’re so innocent—”

  She sat up, glaring at me. “You’re a burglar. You steal from people. You’re a criminal!”

  “And you still don’t know what you’re talking about, no matter how many times you say—”

  “Stop denying it!” Haylee rubbed the side of her head.

  “So I have a n
ice apartment. That doesn’t prove anything—wait, what are you doing?”

  Haylee pulled her phone from her pocket and put it to her ear.

  I tried to grab her phone but she swerved and got off the couch, quickly moving behind it so the sofa was between us. I jumped on the couch and leapt at her. She stepped backward, but I managed to grab the top edge of her jeans, and we both went down, hitting the floor hard.

  This is not helping my stomach right now.

  “GIMME THE PHONE!”

  “LET GO OF ME, YOU PSYCHO BI— Hi, Mom.”

  We both froze in place. I was on top of her, one hand on her wrist and the other holding a fistful of her hair. Her free hand was planted on my face as she tried to push me away.

  “Oh, I’m fine,” she said, using her sweetest tone. “I just wanted to give you a call and see how you’re doing.”

  Haylee pushed my face again, and I fell back on my butt, letting go of her hair as a sharp jab of pain hit my tailbone.

  “New York has been so much fun. I made some new friends,” she continued. “And Molly is doing good too, especially at work.”

  I punched her calf. She glared at me and mouthed, “Ow.”

  “Nope, she’s still single.”

  Gee. Thanks for caring, Mom.

  “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something really important.” Haylee looked directly at me as she spoke. “It’s something Molly hasn’t had a chance to tell you yet.”

  She’s actually going to do this.

  “Please,” I whispered as quietly as I could, my eyes stinging. “Don’t.”

  Haylee’s face relaxed, and her mouth curled into a crooked, evil smile. “Molly got a promotion at the office… Same position, same title but with a higher pay. Much higher… We’re going out for dinner tonight to celebrate… No, she’s out right now, but I’ll tell her to call you later… Love you too. Bye.”

  I leaned my head against the back of the sofa and stared at the floor between my feet. Haylee put her phone on the floor beside her. We sat in silence.

  My face felt hot. My hands were shaking slightly. I couldn’t tell if the nausea was from the hangover or the fact that Haylee had won.