Chapter 21: Mick

Chapter Twenty-One

MICK

“ Y ou have quite the rap sheet. Robbery, assault, truancy. This says you were taken in for questioning two nights ago for fighting. Care to comment?” The policeman waves a paper in my face. Apparently, hospitals are thick with cops, and we didn’t make it out of there without someone stopping us. It didn’t help that we are now TikTok famous. They hauled us both in for “questioning,” so here I sit with another cop in as many days. Even when I was an adolescent punk, my luck wasn’t this bad.

There’s no explaining to this guy that I was poor and desperate. Because of my familiarity with the police, I know nothing you can say will change their minds. They get it in their heads that you’re trouble, and that story can’t be changed.

“Your girl is saying that she has a stalker and that he was at her door. You were just protecting her.”

“She had nothing to do with this. Can’t you let her go? She was just at the clinic.”

“Because she fought with someone.”

“She defended herself against a man. Besides, it was my fault.”

“How so?”

I don’t have a ready answer for that. “It was all me. I started it. Josie didn’t do anything. Hit me with the charges.”

The cop snorts. “You’re a young fool. If I book you, your professional career is over before it even starts.” My eyes fly to meet his in surprise. “I know your trainer Pedro,” he admits. He gets to his feet and tosses the paper aside. “Which is why I’m letting you go and writing this up as a case of self-defense. You’re lucky because there’s CCTV of the fight in the parking lot which shows that you did not throw the first punch, and here, well, your girl has a lot of evidence of being stalked. A bite on the inside of the hand is a defensive wound. Only one of you had a weapon. It all adds up. The thing is, kid, you do have a record, and next time you might not get someone like me who is willing to help you out.”

“You’re letting me go?” I’m so shocked I can barely see.

“You need to keep your nose clean.”

“Yes, sir.” I bolt out of there like the devil himself is riding my ass.

In the waiting room, Josie is pacing.

“Babe.”

She squeals at the sight of me and launches herself into my arms. I hug her tightly, pressing her head against my shoulder. My heart feels like it’s about to burst. I set her down and look her over. “You okay? How’s your hand?”

“I’m fine.” Her smile almost breaks her face. “I was worried about you, though. I kept telling them that this was all my fault, but they wouldn’t listen. They kept talking about your record.”

“I was a dumbass kid. I should have cleaned up my act earlier, but they aren’t charging me with anything. I guess the cop knows Pedro and is doing him a favor.”

“I love Pedro. I’m going to name my firstborn Pedro.”

“Our firstborn, but let’s not go overboard.” I don’t tell Josie that Pedro has already written me off. I don’t want to add this to her burden right now. I tuck my arm around her waist. “Let’s go home.”

On our way back to the apartment, she asks, “Do you wanna stop off at the gym and thank Pedro?”

“I’ll give him a call.”

“This isn’t something you should handle over the phone. You need to give him a gift or bake a cake.”

“If I baked him a cake, he’d think I was trying to poison him.”

“That was just an example, silly. But you do need to thank him in person. This isn’t the kind of thing you just gloss over.”

“I will.” If he lets me in the door.

“Right away.”

“I’ll call him tonight and bring a cake over tomorrow.” I park the car.

“I thought you were against cake because he’d think you wanted to kill him,” she teases as we walk up the stairs to our apartment.

“That’s if I made it myself.”

At our door, we both pause, double-checking our surroundings. I make her stand behind me as I open the front door, but it’s safe enough. “Why don’t you order some food? Make it anything and I’ll be fine with it. I’m going to call Pedro.”

She starts checking the app while I step into the bedroom. Pedro answers on the first ring.

“You’re welcome,” he growls.

“Thank you. I appreciate it. What can I do to make it up to you?”

“Get your ass back into the gym.”

I’m not prepared for shock number two of the day, so I’m glad that I’m close enough to the bed to have something to break my fall. “I’ll be in tomorrow. First thing.”

“Run five miles before you get here.”

“Absolutely.”

“And stop stuffing your face with carbs.”

“Are you my Uber driver or what?”

“I’ve coached a lot of kids like you. First thing they do when they think their training is over is stuff their faces with bread. You might as well tie rocks to your feet.”

The phone is dead after that, but the abrupt termination of our call can’t dim my jubilation. I toss the phone aside and throw open the door. “Cancel the order. I gotta thaw out a chicken breast.”

Josie looks up from her phone. “What happened?”

I pick her up and twirl her around. “Going to the gym tomorrow morning. Have to be light on my feet.” I put her down and dance to the left and right, ducking and jabbing.

She laughs but is clearly confused. “Aren’t you always going to the gym?”

“Actually no. Pedro fired me this morning. Kicked me out and locked the door. Wouldn’t let me back in.”

“What the hell?” Her jaw drops.

“I knew he’d thaw out eventually.” I wink at her.

She hits me, and I pretend it hurts, falling to the floor. “Oh no. I’m out for the count.”

“You jerk. Why didn’t you say something?”

I prop myself up on my elbow and gaze at her. This is a nice view. I can see the notch of her legs, the underside of her juicy tits, the bottom of her pert chin jutting out in indignation.

“Because I knew it would pass. I just had to wait him out. I’m just that good, babe. Come down here and I’ll prove it to you.”