Page 62 of Bent, Not Broken

I got a call from Captain Monahan on the way to Madden’s office, the kind I’d been expecting since the doctor gave me the news about my recovery being slower than it should have been.

“Slater, can you come into the station today?” she asked, a tightness in her voice that I’d only heard once before, when she’d delivered bad news that there’d be budget cuts, which meant cops were losing their jobs. I hadn’t been one of the ones let go that day because they’d focused more on the older guys who couldn’t take up a chase as well as they used to—and who got paid more.

I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes, leaning my head on the glass of the passenger window. “Sure, Cap.”

“Is around two okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll be there.” I ended the call before she could say anything else and leaned back against the seat, eyes still closed and my chest rising in short bursts. Even in the darkness, the world tilted and spun as I imagined exactly what she’d say—“You’re too injured and we can’t afford to have a permanently disabled police officer.” Everything I expected any captain would say in a situation like this. Please save us the money and hassle and quit.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Madden’s gentle voice reminded me I wasn’t in the car alone and that he was currently driving us toward his office, a place I suddenly didn’t want to be.

“I have to see the captain this afternoon at two.” My eyelids slid open and I glanced at him, disappointment making acid rise in my throat. I was too tired for anger because my exhaustion outweighed it this time. I’d put every minute I could into doing the exercises the PT gave me, especially when Madden’s back was turned and he couldn’t see me pushing myself. He hated when I did that. But nothing seemed to work, and the doctor freely admitted that it didn’t look like I’d get all my mobility back.

Madden nodded, and even though I couldn’t see his eyes behind his dark sunglasses, I imagined him squinting in sympathy. “I can come with you if you want.”

“Yeah, that’d be good.”

He shot me a look, mouth parted in surprise. He clearly didn’t think I’d agree with him coming along, but right now I didn’t care. I didn’t care what my coworkers, or more like ex-coworkers, thought about me and Madden. I wanted that support, and not once since I’d been injured had anyone but Paxton reached out to me. They didn’t deserve my care about what they thought on whatever this thing between me and Madden was. “You want me to go with you?”

“You did just offer, right?” I sent him a small smile. “You can’t take it back now. I know how much you love goading the cops, why not do it as my… person?”

“Your person?” Madden laughed. “I like that. Your person. I would have gone with your partner, or your stud. Your handsome lover? But person works too.”

I snorted and stared out the window again, watching the people outside pass by. Madden stopped at a set of red lights and a few motorcycles flew past in the opposite direction. I didn’t have to stare any harder to know who they were because Madden threw his hand out the window to wave and they returned it. I tried not to let the sour taste in my mouth make me say something I’d regret. This was the kind of thing I had to get used to, because as hard as it had been over the last couple of months, he’d stayed at my side the entire time, helping how he could. The situation was new to me. I wasn’t used to having someone care, but as hard as it was to admit, I enjoyed having him at my side. I couldn’t imagine doing it by myself.

We arrived at his office half an hour later and he parked his Lexus at the back of the brick building. Together, we went through the front lobby and to the elevators. He smiled at me, and I realized maybe he was nervous as he poked at the elevator buttons. We rode upstairs in silence. As soon as we got off the elevator, he led me down a short hall to the door of the law firm and on through. He was greeted by the bubbly receptionist I’d met the one time I’d come in here. She cast a glance around, grabbed him by the wrist, and tugged him down a short hallway behind the desk and then into a room. I didn’t even know the woman’s name, but she hugged me like we were best friends and kissed me on the cheek, before doing the same to Madden. We were in some type of staff area, with a kitchenette and a small table that could fit three or four people, and she was now in the process of making coffee.

“How are you feeling, Evan?” she asked, giving me an interested and sympathetic stare that made my skin crawl. I forced myself to smile anyway.

“Better, thanks.”

“You poor thing. Madden’s been keeping me updated about it all. River told me you were coming in for the day too.” That should have surprised me, that Madden had already cleared me being here, but somehow it didn’t. She grabbed her mug and leaned back against the counter, her gaze flipping to Madden. “You better go see him right away. He’s mad as a wet hen right now. Something about a neighbor pushing back against the zoning case King has you chasing.”

“Fuck,” Madden muttered, rushing out of the room. I had no choice but to follow because I didn’t want to be stuck in a room with the compassionate big eyes the receptionist was giving me. I hadn’t been in the back offices, and it was about what I’d expected. Over to one side of the small room was one desk, with a man I recognized as Madden’s coworker—West, or something—and to the other side was another desk, this one empty. With Madden dumping his briefcase on it, though, I had to assume it belonged to him.

West glanced up from his paperwork and grinned at Madden while shoving his glasses up his nose. “River’s pissed.”

“I know. Becky told me. Is he in his office?” Madden waved me over and I frowned, but shifted closer, allowing him to grab my good shoulder and direct me into the chair behind his desk.

West cocked his head and stared at me for a long minute before turning his attention to Madden again. “Yeah. Not sure if you should go in there, though. He’s ready to chop off someone’s balls.”

“Becky said something about a neighbor?”

West leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, nodding. “Apparently there’s a bakery across the street. The owner hates that the area is rapidly changing to a party district, and especially hates Bar Row. He’s protesting your request for zoning rights and building requests. Says it’ll ruin his business.”

“How?” Madden spat, face pinched in irritation. “Black Out is already there. All we’re doing is adding to it.”

“A bigger drunken crowd, he says, and apparently he’s an upstanding citizen who’s been known for giving the nightclub and bar owners a run for their money. Judges love him, so if he takes this to court it might not go our way.”

“Fuck.” Madden shook his head and turned, opening his briefcase on the desk and pulling out papers. “Evan, I have to go talk to River. Will you be okay for a little while?”

I patted his hip. “I’m a big boy, I can handle myself.”

“Don’t let West get you into a conversation about his boy, Shane. He gushes like a teenager in love.” Madden shot West a grin and stalked over to another solid wooden door. One knock and someone yelled, “enter,” and he did, leaving me alone with West. He stared at me in a way that had me shifting in Madden’s big black office chair uncomfortably, and I couldn’t help but notice his eyes weren’t brown or blue, but some other strange in-between color.

“Officer Slater, it’s good to see you’re healing. Madden’s been worried.” West’s voice was smooth and charming, but I’d heard he’d won cases because of exactly that. I’d never had any of my arrests overturned because of him, but some of the other cops hated him as much as I used to hate Madden.

“Yeah.” I shrugged, but it was difficult to do with my injured shoulder. The muscles felt tight, a feeling I had to get used to. “Let’s just say, he and your boss might not have to worry about me arresting your clients anymore. I have limited movement, so I doubt the captain will want a cop like me out in the field. Probably try to put me at a desk.”