by Brook Wilder
Because if he did, I didn’t know what I was going to do.
“Hey, Syd.”
I turned to see Luke watching me, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Hey. I was just grabbing some waters for our vic.”
His eyes grew soft.
“How are you holding up? You okay?”
I swallowed the emotions in my throat, throwing him a small smile.
“Of course. What makes you think I’m not?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he mused. “Maybe it has something to do with the fact you had to arrest Zack Hale? Come on Syd, it’s plain to see you are in love with him again.”
The emotions welled up in my chest, but I tamped them down, not wanting to cry in front of anyone at the moment. The ride over in the patrol car with the chief had been bad enough. I was on overdrive in the emotion department right now, and, I knew that at any moment it was going to be ugly.
I just hoped I could hold it together until I left the station.
“Thanks,” I said softly. “For coming to my aid.”
“Any time,” he said, pushing away from the doorframe. “Hey, he’s in room two if you want to see him.”
I doubted Zack wanted to see me after what I had done. Giving Luke a nod, I walked out of the breakroom toward the interrogation room where Harley Travis was sitting. She barely looked at me as I entered the room, and I slid one of the waters across the table, taking a seat in front of her.
“Thought you might be thirsty.”
She let out a shuddering breath and took the water, unscrewing the cap.
“Thanks.”
I did the same, the cool liquid soothing my parched throat.
“So,” Harley said as she replaced the cap. “You want to know what happened.”
“Whatever you wish to tell me,” I said evenly, placing my bottle on the table. “Anything that will help catch the person who did this to you.”
The petite woman looked at me, and I could see the horror in her eyes, the exhaustion that lined her face. The medical personnel had already informed me that, besides some dehydration and the cuts on her wrists and ankles from the zip ties, she was virtually unharmed. She had also told them that she hadn’t been touched sexually, only taunted about it a time or two.
All in all, Harley Travis had gotten off pretty decent, considering the circumstances.
“I don’t know his name,” she started out, drawing in a breath. “But he’s a Horseman, there’s no doubt about it.”
I sat up straighter. So, what the informant had told us was true. There was someone on the inside that had turned traitor.
“Did he say why?”
She gave a little shrug.
“Something about wanting to take over my dad’s spot. As if that could happen. My dad will kill the asshole as soon as he can find him.”
I pulled out my notebook, locating my pen in my shirt pocket.
“Can you give me a description?”
“He was older,” she said with a huff, drumming her fingernails on the table. “With gray hair. And he wore one of those half masks, covering up the top half of his face. I don’t know, they all look the same when they have gray hair.”
I thought back to my visits to the clubhouse. The only ones I had come in contact with that had gray hair were Grant himself and Grayson, the right-hand man. Surely, he wasn’t looking to screw over the hand that fed him.
“Would you recognize him again if you had to?” I asked Harley, scribbling down what she had said.
“Yeah,” Harley responded, her eyes hardening. “I would.”
I looked at her. “Did you ever see any members of the cartel around the place? Anyone helping him?”
“I heard voices,” she said, a shudder rolling through her body. “I thought they would come in and rape me, you know? But no one ever came in, except him, and never without the mask.”
I blew out a breath. It wasn’t much of a lead, but it did prove that someone in the DHMC was attempting to thwart the current leadership. What was I going to do with that information? Without a name, it would only cause chaos in their ranks, which could lead to a bloodbath.
Thank God Zack didn’t have gray hair.
Just the thought of him tore at my heart. What was he doing in that room? What was he thinking? Did he hate me?
“Hey, cop,” Harley said, catching my attention. “You think I could call my dad?”
“In a minute,” I said, handing over my phone to her. “I would rather you call your sister first.”
Harley frowned as she took the cell phone.
“Why?”
“Because,” I said, drawing in a breath. “She specifically asked me to work on your case. She should be the first to know that you are okay.”
Harley looked at me with some distrust as she dialed her sister’s number. I listened to the conversation, how tearful Amy sounded on the other end as Harley told her she was okay, wiping away tears herself. That part had a happy ending, though I imagined it had taken some of Harley’s youthfulness away from her. The girl would never forget the time she had spent at the hands of someone that wanted to do her harm and how close she had come to that happening.
Finally, she hung up the call, and I gave her nod to call her father, hoping that he would be just as ecstatic about hearing the news.
“Just don’t tell him about who did it,” I warned her as she dialed the number.
Harley looked up.
“Why?”
“Because,” I said with a firm tone. “I want to be the one to find the bastard.”
Harley looked at me for a moment and then nodded.
“Okay. I will keep it from him for now, but not for you. For him.”
I nodded, and she held the phone up to her ear, breaking out into tears the moment he answered the phone.
While Harley talked to her dad, my mind drifted back to Zack. If there was a mole inside of the DHMC, I would need his help. As much as I hated to admit it, he was our best chance at figuring out who had taken Harley and could do it a hell of a lot faster than any of the rest of us.
But that would mean I would have to face him. The last thing I wanted to do was face him in that interrogation room again, placing us on either side of the table and reminding us that there was a chasm between us. Another more devious thought crossed my mind, and I pushed it away. No, I couldn’t break him out of here. That would be the end of my career and would likely land both of us in jail.
No, I would have to come up with something else.
Or someone else.
Harley hung up the phone before pushing it back across the table, wiping her nose on her sleeve.
“Thanks. He’s sending someone to get me.”
“Good,” I nodded, reaching for the phone. “You don’t happen to know the number of your father’s legal, do you?”
She stared at me.
“Why?”
I bit my lip.
“Because, I think he’s needed.”
***
Thirty minutes later I was sitting across from Don Monroe.
“So, what you are saying is that I need to plead his case?”
I nodded, crossing my arms over my chest.
“I need his help and I can’t have it as long as he is behind bars. You have gotten him off all those other times, get him off the hook now.”
Don eyed me.
“You know, this is a very interesting circumstance, a cop asking for my help to spring a Horseman member.”
I sighed.
“I know but you can do it, right?”
Don straightened, looking affronted that I had even asked the question.
“Of course, I can. You cops, you never cover all your loopholes. I already looked into it. The informant is going to recant his statement. He fell down the stairs, nothing more.”
I let out a laugh.
“Are you serious?”
Don shrugged, a slimy smile on his face.
/> “Who cares what he says, as long as he says the right things. You want me to go do the paperwork now?”
I shooed him away, and he laughed as he walked through the door, leaving me alone in the room. I had made this call out of desperation, knowing that Don could get Zack freed faster than anyone could. I just hoped Zack didn’t want to kill me once he was out, wipe his hands of this case, and move on without a second glance. I didn’t care about our relationship presently, but the information I was holding onto… well, I just hoped he would believe me.
Pushing away from the table, I walked out of the room and stood before the other room that Zack was currently in, pressing my eye against the peep-hole to take a glance at him. He was sitting there, looking like he was bored, but I could see the shimmer of anger vibrating off his body.
I had to talk to him.
So why was I hesitating? The last time I brought him in, I had been nearly gloating over the fact.
But this time around, things were different between us.
Oh, why did things have to be so complicated?
“Alright, it’s done.”
I whirled around to see Don standing in the hall, a grin on his face.
“What? That quickly?”
He nodded.
“What can I say, I’m that damn good.”
Ignoring the slimy bastard, I swallowed the lump in my throat as I reached for the knob on the door. I wanted to be the one to tell him that he was free. I wanted to apologize and beg for his help.
Most of all I wanted to hear him say that he forgave me. If he didn’t… well, I was going to cry my eyes out in the privacy of my own home.
Maybe it was best. Maybe we weren’t going to get back together again.
How could it work anyway, between a cop and a criminal?
Chapter Twenty
Zack
The door opened, and I sat up, expecting the booking officer to walk in and take me to the jail. Instead, it was Sydney walking through the door.
Shit! Surely, they weren’t going to do this to me and her both.
“Zack,” she said, pulling out a chair.
“Syd,” I said slowly, watching her every movement.
She looked nervous, and I swallowed any emotions that were threatening to overflow.
“What are you doing here?”
She sighed, the lines of exhaustion evident on her face. “I got you free.”
I was stunned.
“What?”
“I got you free,” she repeated, looking at me. “I called Don. He did his magic. They are dropping all charges.”
The relief flowed through my veins as I stared at her. Thank God! I was looking at jail-time this time around, my luck having run out.
“I… thank you.”
She waved her hand at me.
“There’s more. The reason I did it is because I need your help.”
“What kind of help?” I asked, scared to find out.
Hell, every time I’d helped her recently I’d ended up here, in cuffs.
She looked at the cuffs and reached for her key, unlocking them from my wrist. The metal clanged against the table, echoing in the small room.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” she said softly, her eyes mirroring the hurt I was feeling. “I’m sorry Zack. I-I had no choice.”
I reached across the table and lightly gripped her hand, rubbing my thumb over the top of her hand.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m used to being in cuffs.”
She let out a tortured laugh, squeezing my hand. “Please don’t say things like that.”
“You know it’s true,” I said softly, in case the room was linked with audio. I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was. “I’m an asshole Syd. I’ve screwed up more times than you probably could count.”
She looked at me, the softness in her eyes surprising me.
“I read your file.”
Well, of course she did.
“Was it impressive?” I teased.
She flushed.
“It was pretty thick.”
I grinned despite my situation, lacing our fingers together.
“And?”
She drew in a breath, looking at our joined hands.
“I don’t care. I told you that before. Nothing’s changed.”
The tightness in my chest loosened just a bit. Sydney wasn’t giving up on me. She was the only one in my life that mattered, the only one that I cared what she thought, what she saw when she looked at me.
She cleared her throat, pulling our fingers apart.
“That not my only news.”
“How’s Harley?” I interrupted her.
I had only gotten a glimpse of Grant’s daughter before she had been whisked away and couldn’t tell from my vantage point if the kid had been okay or not.
“She’s lucky,” Sydney replied. “A few scratches, but nothing that she would need to worry about. That’s what I am here for, Zack. She… well, she said that someone on the inside took her.”
It took me a minute to understand what she was saying.
“You mean someone in the club?”
She nodded.
“She couldn’t see who it was, but he had gray hair and he wants to overthrow Grant and take control of the club. I told her not to tell her dad, but I don’t know how long that will last. I, we, need to get to Grant before whoever this is finds out that Harley is gone.”
I swore. Someone in the club was responsible for Harley’s disappearance. I doubted the girl had made that up. Shit. That was not what I needed to hear.
“They probably have already heard.”
“You’re probably right,” Sydney sighed, rubbing her face with her hand. “What a mess.”
I couldn’t help but agree with her.
“Did she call her father?”
“And Amy,” she responded. “I have her still in the room, waiting for someone to come get her. I didn’t want to send her out of here without an escort this time.”
“Good,” I answered, standing. “We need to get over to Grant before this asshole does.”
Sydney stood as well, wrapping her arms around her waist.
“I’m sorry Zack. About this. You know I don’t want you to be here.”
Not caring who saw us, I rounded the table and took her into my arms, forcing her to look at me.
“I know,” I said harshly, looking into her eyes. “I know, and I don’t like it, but that’s who you are, and this is who I am. We will find a way, Syd. Don’t give up on us.”
“I’m trying not to,” she said, her voice crumbling. “What are we going to do?”
I pressed my forehead to hers, breathing in her scent to calm me.
“I don’t fucking know, but we will figure it out.”
She gripped my forearms tightly before pushing away, walking a good way’s away.
“I don’t have my jeep, and you don’t have the truck, but I can get my hands on a patrol car.”
“Good,” I said, following her out of the room. “Can I see Harley.”
Sydney looked as if she wanted to deny me that request, but her shoulders sagged, and she pointed to a closed door not far from us.
“She’s in there. I will go get the car.”
I nodded and turned the knob, pushing it open.
Harley sat at the table with Don, both of them looking at me as I entered the room.
“So, she did spring you,” Don said with a laugh. “One day, they are going to learn.”
“She had just cause,” I said, looking at Harley. “Are you okay?”
She nodded.
“I’m fine. Dad told me you were the one on my case. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” I replied with a hint of a grin. “I still have to find the bastard.”
“And you will,” Don cut in.