9:45 AM - Jane and Bishop
Jane really had no way of knowing the nature of Bunny and Coldiron’s relationship...but she had seen the way he had looked at her. Maybe they weren’t fucking. Maybe they hadn’t done anything at all. But he obviously cared for her a great deal...maybe even loved her. The realization left a hollow sort of feeling in Jane but she was surprised to find it wasn’t anything that would devastate her. She wanted Bunny to be happy. And if it was with this clown-haired man good ole boy that said ‘darlin’ way too much for Jane’s liking, well then, Jane would have to make her peace with that.
Inwardly Bishop bristled at Jane’s words and the sheer fact that she had even asked him a thing like that. Logic told him though that Rusten didn’t know the history he had with Hazel, and thus couldn’t possibly know that he would rather die himself than ever let pain or harm come to her. Bishop wondered too for a moment just what kind of relationship the woman standing before him thought he had with Hazel, were his feelings that obvious that she knew he cared for the woman in question? His mind worked on that for a moment, but soon he brushed those thoughts to the edges of his mind. With a stern and serious set to his jaw, Bishop locked eyes with the officer. “I know you ain’t got a high opinion of me, Rusten,” Bishop began, his voice low and gruff. “But I would rather die than ever make Hazel unhappy or hurt her in any kind of way.” His feelings on the matter went beyond his romantic feelings for the woman in question, they were deeper, born out of years and years of knowing her.
Jane held Coldiron’s gaze. The serious shift in his demeanor did not intimidate her in the least. Rather than bristle and lash out at him, Jane simply arched a pale eyebrow. They were finally on the same page about something. It wasn’t an entirely shitty feeling.
Even if Jane’s questioning of him had rubbed him the wrong way, he had to admit it was good to know that Hazel had friends like this, people who were just as concerned about her wellbeing as he was. It would seem that he and Rusten might have just found another piece of common ground between the two of them.
“So don’t worry, you ain’t got any more reason to be pissed off at me than you already harbor,” Bishop tacked on, a faint upturn of his mouth shifted what had once been a very serious expression on his face. “Seems you and me, we found another thing we agree upon. Hazel is damn near the finest person anyone’ll ever have the pleasure of knowing and anyone who’d dare hurt her likely doesn’t deserve to be walking on this earth.”
Jane studied Coldiron for a long moment. Even though Jane felt like he had a lot still to prove to convince her he wasn’t the same felon that had busted out of police custody less than a year ago, she somehow knew Coldiron was being completely sincere and honest in regard to Bunny. After a few seconds, she nodded.
“That’s for damn sure,” she agreed finally. She had no clever retort, no petty rejoinder, no snappy comeback. Coldiron had said all that she wanted to hear about Bunny and then some. They still had a lot of ground to cover but it was a start. Jane opened her mouth to ask him about Noa...and then closed it. She took a long sip of her coffee and swallowed. She shook her empty cup and frowned.