Weston (17 page)

“But what if something
does
happen?” She swallowed hard. “What if I can’t control a situation and someone follows me home, or a person comes after you to get to me?”

“Then we deal with it.” He smiled and softened his voice. “Together, we make a hell of a team.”

She stared into his eyes, swallowed past her doubts, and softened. “Yeah.”

“Yeah.” He chuckled. “We’ll talk later. Right now, you need to go into the courtroom and see that justice prevails.”

Before she was ready to let the subject drop, they were inside the courtroom, and the room was called to order. The jury returned to its spot off to the side of the judge’s desk. She stood as the bailiff called attention to stand, and Judge Chedwich took the bench.

Stout, unemotional, and keeping his gaze on the platform in front of him, Judge Chedwich gave those waiting in the courtroom no hint of what the verdict would be. Rocki sat down, thankful for the hard seat below her butt. She barely had enough oxygen in her body to support standing up without getting dizzy.

Her career was on the line. If Marcelli walked, she could kiss her chance of ever being top detective and fitting in with the others in the department good-bye. She’d have to find a job in a different jurisdiction, a different district, and still she worried that her reputation of going against one of her own would follow her. A shield doesn’t convict another shield.

Unable to restrain her curiosity over whether Marcelli was showing signs of worry, Rocki gazed to the left. Marcelli sat at attention in his chair beside his lawyer, his eyes straight ahead, no expression on his face, and confident as can be. Her gaze lowered. On top of the table, his folded hands rested, except for his thumb and finger constantly moving.

He might be able to fool others, but she knew him well. He was nervous and he couldn’t hide that fact from her.

Behind him sat his wife, Susan. Rocki bit the inside of her lip. She liked Marcelli’s wife. On several occasions, she’d talked with Susan during the backyard barbecues at the Marcelli house when the squad got together during the summer. A quiet woman who played a gracious hostess didn’t deserve having her life destroyed and her reputation shredded for what her husband had done.

Susan turned and caught her eye. Rocki swallowed at the intensity in the other woman’s gaze. What was Susan thinking while watching and hearing what the accusations were against her husband? What Rocki had accused Marcelli of doing?

Susan lowered her gaze, and their connection was gone. But right before Marcelli’s wife turned away, she’d seen what she was searching for to ease her mind. Acceptance.

Somewhere in the back of Susan’s thinking, she knew the other woman held no ill will toward Rocki. Maybe she’d known what her husband was doing or she believed the accusations were true. Whatever thought process it took to understand that your husband could be going away for life, Susan would survive the jury’s decision.

The judge finished his rehearsed speech and the first juror stood. Rocki grabbed Tony’s hand and kept her gaze to the front. Her heart pounded so hard, the speaker’s words blurred together. Nevertheless, she caught the first ruling.

“On one charge of kidnapping, we find Gino Marcelli…guilty,” the female juror said.

She squeezed Tony’s hand. At least Marcelli would go down for messing with her mom.

On and on for five minutes, the charges against her former supervisor and friend came in. All charges, except one for witness tampering, brought him a guilty verdict. At the outburst from the room, the judge brought order to the court while Gino’s attorney stood and tried speaking over the crowd.

Tony stood and ushered her toward the center aisle. She stepped around the last chair. Her gaze met Gino’s as two armed guards brought him to his feet and handcuffed him for transportation to Oregon State Penitentiary. She schooled her features, pivoted, and walked out of the room with her head held high. It was over.

Several of her commanding officers, other detectives, and police officers shook her hand on the way to the double doors in the back of the room. She murmured appropriate responses and stayed by Tony’s side.

There would be no celebrating in view of the others. No smile of victory. Regardless of her elation, one of their own went down today.

Inside, she knew she’d put a bad guy away, taken one dealer off the street. She called that a good day, because good always trumps bad.

T
ony pulled into the parking lot of Beaumont Body Shop trailed by a black Lexus. His gaze went to the garage. Kage’s Mustang, Lance’s Harley, Garrett’s Barracuda were already parked outside the garage, having arrived before them.

“Sweetheart, hold the steering wheel.” He slowed down and when Rocki guided the car straight head, he reached behind him, under the seat, and removed his pistol he’d hidden there while they were in the federal building earlier. “Okay. Grab the clip out of the glove box for me.”

Once he had everything, he loaded the gun, set it between his legs, and parked. “If I asked you to stay in the car, would you?”

“Um, not in this lifetime.” She disconnected her seat belt. “Whatever Darrell’s up to, I want to be there. I owe Kage for all he’s done for me, and if there’s an opportunity to nail Darrell, I’ll take it.”

“Kage can handle his uncle. He’s been on his own his whole life and has kept himself away from having anything to do with Darrell.” Tony squeezed her hand.

“What?” Her brows wrinkled. “I was under the impression, going from the paperwork the department has collected over the years, the Archer’s were a close, albeit dysfunctional family.”

He sighed. “His dad’s in prison, sweetheart. His mom, as you know, is dead. Kage has managed to stay out of his uncle’s business this long, and he won’t go back. I’d say he’s strong enough to handle anything Darrell throws at him.”

“But he doesn’t know—”

“No. He doesn’t.” Tony opened his door, but before he stepped out he said, “And when he does find out, it’s going to knock him on his ass.”

Darrell, Kage, Garrett, Lance, Tony, and Rocki congregated in the parking lot as if they’d planned this moment for weeks instead of a few hours ago. Tony stood beside Kage and sent Rocki off to join the girls at the back door to the body shop to help keep an angry Janie from getting any closer to Darrell.

Tony focused on Kage. He wanted to ask if Kage was okay, but he already knew the answer. Whether being this close to Kage’s uncle bothered him or not, Kage would never speak of his feelings.

“Your only job is to keep Janie safe,” Kage said without taking his gaze off his uncle.

Tony slipped his pistol in the back of his jeans and nonchalantly hooked the thumb of his nonshooting hand in his front pocket. “That’s a given, bro. Always.”

Garrett flanked Kage’s other side. “What’s your uncle want this time?”

“Same shit, same drug lord,” Kage murmured.

Tony knew why Darrell called the visit. Tightness crawled up his neck. He just didn’t know whether Kage’s uncle would share the truth after all these years or create another lie to fuck with Kage’s head. He studied Darrell as he approached the group, staying ten feet away.

Polished in a black suit, cream-colored shirt, and navy tie, Darrell appeared in total control. Tony scanned the area. Darrell never went anywhere without his thugs, yet not one of them was in sight.

“Kage.” Darrell unbuttoned his suit coat.

Kage refused to acknowledge him. Tony stared straight ahead, all his attention toward the front in case any of Darrell’s men decided to show their faces. Kage’s lack of emotion over the family meeting was normal and what Tony expected from his friend. He had more self-control than a man had a right to own.

Darrell studied the area beyond them. Tony’s gaze followed in the same direction, and his stomach tightened. Rocki stood in front of Janie, glaring at Darrell.

“I hear congratulations are in order, Detective Bangli.” Darrell dipped his chin. “Our deal has been finalized to a mutual satisfaction, I believe.”

Rocki’s brows lifted. Tony shifted. He’d seen that look on her face before. Now was not the time to rile Darrell. She was free, and he’d like to keep her that way.

“You do know I won’t give up on taking you down,” Rocki said. “It’s my job.”

Oh, fuck.
Tony reached behind him, gripped his gun, and waited.

Darrell chuckled. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, Detective. You’ll keep me on my toes and I’ll keep you entertained, I’m sure. I look forward to seeing you again.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Tony said. “She’s mine.”

Darrell’s jaw twitched and he swung his gaze back to the group of men. “I’ll take that into consideration, Weston.”

“Nobody calls him Weston,” Rocki said.

He turned in time to watch Janie hold Rocki from going after Darrell. He nailed her with a look, and inhaled deeply when Rocki stepped back beside the other women heeding his silent plea to back off. A fierce pride came from her standing up to Darrell. No matter how foolish or useless the stance was, he knew where she stood.

“You’ve got thirty seconds to say what you came here to say, and then I’m going inside and you’re getting in your fucking car and leaving,” Kage said.

During the whole exchange Kage stood patiently waiting, but he’d put an end to the game Darrell wanted. Kage’s hands relaxed at his sides, his face a mix of boredom and disinterest in what was happening around him. Tony clenched his teeth. He should’ve told Kage when he and Rocki made the deal and broken his promise to Kage’s uncle.

He owed Kage.

“They’ll be some news that comes out in the press regarding Gino Marcelli that directly involves you.” Darrell took one step forward. “I wanted you to hear it from me first.”

“Nothing that involves you would surprise me, or the fact that I would get dragged into the mess,” Kage said. “Save your breath.”

Darrell tilted his head and studied Kage. “You’ve always had a strength I admired. You do know that, don’t you, Kage?”

Kage remained silent.

“Very well.” Darrell clasped his hands behind his back. “Your friend Wes—Tony has already been informed of the details, and I can see that he too has kept his word. You’ve accomplished a lot with such loyal friends. Some say to have friends, you don’t need money. I’ve found that untrue but like always, you’ve taken a different approach than I, or your father.”

“Bastard,” Tony whispered.

Whether Darrell drew out the truth to nail them all or to cause Kage more pain, Tony wanted the meeting over and done. He stepped forward, but Darrell put up his hand stopping him.

“The shipment of heroin your mother was testing all those years ago came from Marcelli, and wasn’t part of my stock.” Darrell lowered his voice. “Marcelli was the one who killed your mother, Kage. The batch wasn’t mine. What you witnessed was me trying to help your mother after she’d injected the heroin to test it during a buyout.”

Tony expected Kage to lurch forward, to go after his uncle, to reel back in shock, or to stare dumbfounded at the news. Instead, Kage took the information as if Darrell had announced the chrome bumper on Kage’s Mustang had a dirty spot.

Garrett cussed. “Is that true?”

“Yeah.” Tony swallowed. “He handed proof to Rocki and in return she presented evidence in court supporting the fact. They pinned the death of not only Kage’s mom, but also five others on Marcelli. I gave my word to Darrell during his meeting with Rocki and me that I wouldn’t tell Kage in exchange for keeping Rocki safe until she could bring in Marcelli.”

And still, Kage stood there unaffected by the news.

Darrell pulled his lips tight against his teeth. A crack in his armor. He gave a damn, but for what reason, Tony would never know. If Darrell thought to weaken Kage’s resolve to stay out of the family business, he was sadly mistaken. He knew in his heart, Kage would never walk on the other side of the road and work for the underground.

“We’re done,” Kage said, pivoting and walking off.

Janie ran to him, but the only sign Kage knew she was there was that his hand went to her hip and he held her against his side.

“Kage,” Darrell called.

Kage stopped, but kept his back toward his uncle. Tony walked forward joining Garrett behind Kage. Lance joined them and together the three of them surrounded Kage, shoulder to shoulder, blocking Kage from Darrell’s view. It wasn’t the first time they’d protected Kage’s back, and it wouldn’t be the last time. Even though he trusted Kage to stay away from Darrell, he knew Darrell would never give up trying to bring his nephew into the family business. He’d personally stop his friend before he ruined his life.

“While you believed I was the one responsible for you losing your mother, it kept you safe,” Darrell said. “It strengthened your resolve to stay out of the underground, away from me, and made you the better man.” He paused. “I did it for
you
, Kage. You’re blood. You’re my family.”

Tony sucked in air.
Shit.
He was not expecting that.

Kage raised his hand in acknowledgment, and walked forward toward the back door of the body shop without saying another word in reply to his uncle’s confession. Tony followed everyone into the building. He couldn’t imagine what Kage was going through.

“We still have a while before it’s happy hour at Corner Pocket.” Kage headed down the hallway with Janie, leading all of them toward the garage. “Let’s cut that sunroof into Garrett’s Duster before we go have a beer.”

“Sounds good to me. I could use a drink,” Garrett said.

Sabrina hurried to catch up with Garrett. “I get to turn on the air compressor.”

“I’ll sit back and ogle the man candy. I’ll even slip you boys a dollar if you leave off the coveralls.” Charlene cackled.

Janie leaned her head against Kage’s arm, and the sight pleased Tony. Kage had somebody, and he hoped in private, his friend would lean on the woman who loved him. The business with Darrell rocked Kage’s foundation of what he’d built his life around, and he’d need his woman. He’d need them all before this was over.

Tony reached out and slipped Rocki’s hand inside his. She looked at him and bit her lip, asking him with her eyes whether everything was okay. He shrugged and followed the group. He couldn’t explain how they all coped with their connection to Darrell, they just did.

“Beers are on me tonight,” he said.

Despite keeping busy and the girls distracting everyone, Tony kept his eyes on Kage throughout the installation of the sunroof. His friend would be all right, he had no doubt. But he worried about how Kage would accept the truth, and he’d wait in case Kage wanted to talk. The news changed the reasoning behind Kage’s hatred for his uncle, and who knew what the future would bring him.

For that matter, he had no fucking clue what was going to happen between him and Rocki. Her trying to put distance between them was the last thing he’d expected today. Before he did anything, he wanted to make sure she realized he wasn’t letting her go.