Page 62

“Not tonight. Anyway, Justice and I were going out.”

“Where?”

“To Smokey’s,” said Denver.

Daughtry never went to Smokey’s. But that was where Bix was going to be tonight. That little asshole was picking her up at seven o’clock.

“I’ll go with you,” said Daughtry.

Denver looked at him with deep skepticism. “Why?”

“Because I want to,” he said.

“No offense, Daughtry, but I don’t know that we need the police around tonight.”

“Maybe I want to have a good time,” said Daughtry.

“Why don’t I believe that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you’re bound and determined to misinterpret everything that I do.”

He was being dishonest. He knew it.

With everybody.

He gritted his teeth.

“Great. Come then.”

“I will.”

“Put on something nicer than that.”

Well there. Maybe Daughtry would meet somebody tonight. Maybe he’d bring somebody home. It would be perfect. Especially if Bix went off with Michael.

Mine.

“Great. Come around the house in about ten minutes,” said Daughtry.

“I will.”

She wasn’t his. Maybe tonight he’d find someone else, and remind himself of that good and well.

Bix would have felt entirely giddy if not for the interaction she had with Daughtry earlier. She was just so mad at him. She didn’t understand why he had to be that way. She had been... blindsided by Michael asking her out. Mostly because while men definitely did hit on her, it was rare that they were cute, age appropriate and didn’t seem like what they really wanted to do was plant drugs in her car.

Michael checked a lot of boxes. Handsome. Not trying to make her an unwitting mule.

Maybe they were low standards, but she was okay with that.

She would’ve thought that Daughtry would be... maybe not happy for her, but proud. Wasn’t she doing something functional? Normal?

You have condoms in your bedside drawer, Sheriff.

That was what she wanted to shout at him. She would have too, if she had thought of it. It had occurred to her later, when she had been getting dressed, and hadpunctuated her soul with a gloriousSo there. Except, too bad she hadn’t actually said it to him.

She groused to herself as she went out to the front porch to wait for Michael.

Daughtry hadn’t come home.