Page 26 of Bent, Not Broken

“Like CIs?” Paxton frowned at me.

“Yeah. They respect me, and I’m the middleman between them and a Detective Hanlon in the Downtown Station. Hanlon and his partner have been trying to get the clubs for years. Having informants like Moses will help them in the long run.”

“So they won’t talk unless they got you there?”

I nodded. “Pretty much. It’s a good look for me. I’m not gonna be a beat cop forever. I’m looking to take the detective test if Monahan gives me the go-ahead. Having reliable CIs will give me an advantage.”

“Makes sense.”

“What about you, Paxton? You left the Marines to be a cop, what’s after that?” I flicked him a quick glance before focusing on the road again.

“Don’t know yet. I’m still getting used to being a civilian, and it’s been a few years now.” Paxton leaned back into the seat but kept his attention out the window. I took the time to study him, his hard muscles and strong jaw. Nothing about him attracted me, and I couldn’t imagine myself fucking him, either, but he was different from Polunin. Taller. Broader. Stronger. While Polunin wasn’t feminine, he didn’t resemble a former soldier like Paxton did.

“You said you had a husband. You’re gay, then.”

Paxton glanced at me and smiled stiffly. “Pansexual, actually.”

“Uh.” My eyebrows furrowed, and I caught myself looking stupid in the rearview and tried to smooth my expression out.

He chuckled, but it sounded worn down, like he’d seen a lot of shit and was tired. “You don’t know what that is, do you?”

“Nope.” I grinned at him. “No fucking idea.”

“I’m sexually and romantically attracted to anyone. I don’t give a bloody flying F what their sex or gender identity is.”

The radio sounded but it was idle chatter that didn’t relate to us, and we both ignored it.

“How old were you when you knew?”

“Knew? I don’t know. I guess I kind of always knew. I have a younger brother, and he’s gay. He told me when we were teenagers and it got me thinking about who I was sexually attracted to.” Paxton messed around with the radio as if he wanted to listen to something, but I saw it for the nervous fidgeting it was. “Anyway, it didn’t matter. I met Alex in the Marines. We’ve been together for eleven years. He was it for me. What about you, Slater? I’m guessing you’re straight.”

“Yeah. Straight as an arrow.” My fists curled around the steering wheel and I stared ahead, my mind wandering to Polunin. I’d never been interested in men before he came along, and maybe I still wasn’t. I couldn’t get my thoughts straight—no pun intended—and whenever I thought about Polunin, it ended in a trail of confusion that left me with a headache. He was male, that much was very obvious, and he had a hole that I liked fucking. I hated him, barely knew him, so it wasn’t anything more than sex. Women were harder to get into my bed, that’s the only reason I’d fucked him more than once. Right?

I shook off the thoughts and concentrated on the road, or more specifically the sleek red bike ahead of us doing fifteen, at least, over the speed limit. The rider zigzagged between cars on the highway, one driver sticking their head out to curse at them.

Paxton pointed. “Speeding.”

I nodded and hit the siren and lights. Cars parted for us until we were directly behind the biker, who looked too slim and small to be anything other than a Harlot. My suspicions were proven right when we both pulled over and the Harlot Queens MC logo flashed us from the back of her leather jacket.

“You’re about to meet one of our locals,” I said to Paxton, sliding out of the car with my hand on my gun. We moved toward her with slow, even paces, keeping ourselves alert. After the Warrior shootout a few months ago, we’d received extra training on approaching bikers, which included the Harlots. They might be women, but they were as violent as any of the other clubs.

She kept her hands on the handlebars, though, and didn’t make any move as we approached.

Her head tilted toward us, but I couldn’t see her face through the glass of the helmet.

“Take off your helmet,” I ordered, keeping my hand on my gun.

She raised her palms up slowly and did as I told her, sliding the helmet up and off her head. Long, blonde curls fluttered around her shoulders, and she glanced at me with a smile. “Hello, Officer.”

I gave her a once-over. She was pretty, slim cheekbones and chin, light blue eyes, and long dark lashes. I couldn’t tell what kind of body she had underneath the heavy jacket, but her jeans were tight enough for me to see small hips… I had absolutely no interest in. I blamed her being a Harlot, but I’d checked out more than one of her friends before, which made the whole thing even more frustrating.

Paxton cleared his throat and frowned at me.

I forced my inner turmoil away. “Did you realize you were doing about forty in a twenty-five miles per hour zone?”

“Was I?” She grinned, cocked her hip a little, and leaned closer to me. Her bright mouth turned up at the corners. “How naughty of me. You’ll have to forgive me, Officer. I didn’t realize.”

“Well, you were. I’d like to see your driver’s license.”