The group entered, one by one. Ronald sat behind his file-laden desk, Faith took the seat directly across and Nick pulled a chair from a side desk for Kelsey. He stood beside her while waiting for the others to arrive.
“So, we’re here. Are you going to explain?” Faith asked anxiously. Nick had refused to elaborate at the hospital, only telling them that he’d fill them in once they were all together.
“Not everyone is here yet,” Nick answered. A moment later he saw the officers approaching.
Everyone looked towards the door when two uniformed policemen escorted a handcuffed Bart awkwardly into the office. Faith smiled and ran to his side, throwing her arms around his neck and holding him tightly. It’d obviously been a long time since they’d been allowed physical contact.
Ronald nodded to one of the officers, who proceeded to remove the handcuffs. They then left, closing the door behind them.
Bart had apparently been distracted by the loving embrace of his wife. “You son of a bitch!” Bart snarled as he lunged towards Nick.
Both Faith and Kelsey rushed to stand between the two men, trying to prevent the inevitable fight. After a small tussle and a bit of yelling, the women managed to convince Bart to back off and listen to what Nick had to say.
“I’m fine! I’m fine!” Bart grunted as he brushed the ladies off him. He turned his back and folded his hands on top of his head. His ensuing deep breaths were apparently his way of calming down.
“Look, Bart, I know you want to kill me right now,” Nick began before being interrupted by Bart’s angry laugh.
“Understatement of the year, man!” Bart turned quickly.
“Just hear me out, okay?” Nick asked with his hands held up in surrender.
The tension in the room rose when the door swung open and Ms Langer entered. “Hello, everyone,” she said haughtily when walking past them. She sat in the seat Faith had vacated and began digging through her briefcase.
Ronald furrowed his brow and stared at the young DA. “Do you mind telling me what you’re doing here, Ms Langer?”
“For your information, Captain, I was called here for a meeting.”
“I called her, Ronald,” Nick said. “I figured we could clear everything up today.”
“What the hell is this? What do you mean?” Bart snapped.
“I’m an undercover… I was an undercover agent, Bart. I’ve been trying to nail Gianelli for years,” Nick said calmly.
“You’re full of shit.”
“It’s true, Bart,” Faith said as she grabbed Bart’s hand. “Nick was undercover with the FBI.”
“You knew about this?” Bart asked his wife, obviously stunned by her statement.
“I only found out a short time ago.” Faith directed her words to the DA who remained busy reviewing papers. “If I’d been allowed to see you, I would have told you.”
Langer looked up long enough to return Faith’s disgusted glare before turning her attention to Nick. She raised her eyebrows and waved her hand with her palm up. “Well?”
Nick laughed when she gave him her familiar look and realised all the eyes in the room were suddenly on him. “Okay, okay,” he said with a heavy sigh. He reached into the waistband of his pants, and retrieved a slim plastic case. He held it up to Bart before tossing it the few feet to Ronald’s desk. “The evidence against Romano. It’s all there.”
“Is that why we had to make that stop on the way here?” Kelsey asked.
Nick replied with a silent nod as Ronald grabbed the disc and looked at the evidentiary stamp the Brookfield PD had pasted on the side.
“I made a copy,” Nick said to the group. “The one I gave to Gianelli was a fake. That’s the original.”
“What?” Faith exclaimed. “You had that the whole time and let your supposed friend sit in jail?”
It was the first time Nick had ever seen her angry, and a small part of him was actually intimidated by her. He could see what Bart saw in her—the woman had spunk. He could also see why she and Kelsey were such good friends. It was the same fiery quality that he loved in his Bright Eyes. Unconsciously, he allowed a small laugh to escape his lips and he knew immediately it was the wrong thing to do when her face went blank and her eyes began to blaze.
“Now, wait a minute, Faith,” Kelsey said as she stepped in front of Nick. “Let him explain.”
“Thanks, baby,” Nick whispered and put his hand on her shoulder. In return, he received a nasty glare from Bart. “Come on, dude. You knew what we were up against. The bastard had Kelsey. I had to give him what he wanted. I took off that night so I could make a copy to protect you. I knew once this was all over, it could still be used against Romano and it would clear you.”
“So why didn’t you say anything, huh?” Faith barked. “Bart could have been home weeks ago. If you’d just told this bitch that you had it, he would have been home with me instead of solitary confinement!”
Langer stood with her arms folded. “The bitch knew about it,” she said indignantly.
The room briefly fell silent before the simultaneous gasp of “What?” was whispered by Ronald, Faith and Kelsey. Bart was silent, not having said anything since Nick’s revelation. He and Nick stood eyeing each other as the commotion in the room began with everyone talking at once.
An ear-piercing whistle caused everyone to stop in their tracks and lift their hands to their ears. “Would you all shut up?” Leslie shouted in irritation as she pulled her fingers from her mouth. “Are they always like this?” she asked Nick.
Nick’s attention was finally pulled from Bart as he nodded. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“What do you mean, you knew?” Faith asked with her hands on her hips.
“Bart wasn’t being held in solitary confinement as a punishment for stealing evidence. That was just a ruse. He was being held in protective custody. Vincent Gianelli had a hit out on him,” Leslie explained firmly, but calmly.
Faith’s face dropped in shock just as Bart’s head fell to his chest. “Protective custody?” Faith squeaked out. She turned her head to Nick. “You were protecting him?”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t come up with another way to do it, but when I called Leslie and told her…”
“Wait a minute,” Ronald interrupted. “How do you know the DA?”
“I’d like to know that, too,” Kelsey asked with a jealous leer.
Nick winked and was about to answer when Leslie spoke, “Langer is my married name. My maiden name is Leslie Fota. Timothy is my brother and John was my father. I wanted to see Gianelli taken down more than any of you.”
“Now you can do that, baby,” Nick said proudly.
“And now I can do that,” she repeated, finally breaking out into a smile.
“So that’s it?” Faith said in disbelief. “Bart can come home?”
“That’s it,” Leslie said as she continued signing her name on the needed papers. “There you go, Captain. All charges against Detective Kapman have officially been dropped.”
Ronald happily accepted the file from the DA. “You heard her, little brother. You’re free to go.”
Faith turned and embraced her husband. “Easy, there, beautiful,” Bart chuckled, obviously loving her attention.
“Well, that just about does it for me here,” Leslie said while packing her briefcase. “I have a lot of work to do. I trust you’ll pick up Romano?”
“Consider it done,” Ronald said with a nod.
“Good.” She turned to Nick. “Tim told me you quit. Are you sure about that?”
“Never been more sure about anything in my life.” Kelsey wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. He looked down to her and added, “Well, almost never.”
“Don’t be a stranger, okay?” Leslie had a distinct sadness in her voice.
“Not a chance.” He temporarily released Kelsey and wrapped his arms around Leslie. He hugged her and became emotional when he whispered in her ear, “You finish the job now, you hear? Make sure
that bastard pays for what he did to your father.”
“Absolutely,” she answered softly.
He kissed her cheek and released her after each took a moment to compose themselves. It’d been a long, hard road, but the murderer was finally behind bars where he belonged.
“Okay.” Leslie pulled away from him. Apparently, it was back to business. “I’m going to get back to my office.” She picked up her briefcase and turned towards the door.
“Uh, Ms Langer,” Faith said before Leslie made it out of the door.
“Yes?”
“I guess I owe you an apology.”
“No you don’t. If my husband was in the position yours was, I would have fought just as hard for him. I admire you, Officer Kapman. You’re a tough cookie.”
Faith gave her an appreciative smile. “It’s Faith. I can say the same about you, Ms Langer.”
“Leslie,” she said while shaking Faith’s hand before addressing Bart. “I look forward to working with you again, Detective.”
“Thanks, Ms Langer… Leslie,” Bart said.
She nodded to everyone and left Ronald’s office.
“Well, I have an arrest to make. I’ll see you kids later.” Ronald grabbed the file he’d taken from Leslie and hurried out of the door.
“And life goes on,” Bart said as those remaining laughed.
“You ready to go home, Kapman?” Faith asked.
“Do I even have to answer that?” He looked up to Nick with an unspoken truce. “What are you supposed to be, some sort of doctor?”
Nick looked down at the scrubs he was still wearing and laughed. “Long story, dude.”
“Well—” Bart paused. “Maybe you can tell me about it tomorrow night. I still owe you that barbecue, don’t I?”
Nick stood stunned. Sure, they still had a lot to talk about, but the gesture of friendship touched him.
“Kels? You guys free?” Bart asked her.
Nick knew it was more than a question about their schedule. Bart was acknowledging their relationship for the first time, and giving his blessing.
Kelsey wrapped her arms around Nick. “We’ll be there.”
Faith hugged both Kelsey and Nick before stepping aside to allow her husband to say his goodbyes. Kelsey threw herself into her brother’s arms.
When she backed away, the two men faced each other. Nick tentatively held his hand out, and was pleased when Bart readily accepted it. Both men smiled and simultaneously pulled towards each other in a one-armed hug.
“You take care of my sister,” Bart whispered.
“Always. We’ll talk tomorrow,” Nick replied while nodding.
Without another word, the men separated and Bart and Faith left for home. “Well? You ready to go home?” Kelsey asked.
“Home, huh?” Nick smiled.
“Yeah. Home.”
“Uh, baby, Bart made a good point. I don’t have any clothes. I don’t have anything,” he said. He now wished he hadn’t moved the handful of belongings he’d kept in the apartment above Shindigs back to his house. At least he’d have had a change of clothes. The stuff he’d lost wasn’t much of a concern to him. He didn’t have an emotional attachment to anything except his bike, but now he was left with nothing—not even clothes on his back.
“Well, I guess you can convince me to go shopping. If I have to,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “But first we are going home so you can go to bed. You don’t need any clothes for that.”
Nick grinned and pulled her against him. He knew she didn’t mean her statement the way it had come out, but he couldn’t help but tease her. He enjoyed it too much. “No, no clothes needed for that, baby.” He began to nuzzle her neck. “In fact, I find they get in the way.”
“Uh, Nick… I didn’t mean it like…” She weakly pushed him back. “But you’re still recovering.”
He’d been joking, but at the first taste of her skin, he wanted more. “You sure you want to go out again after we get home?”
“Well, maybe we could make a quick stop and get you a couple essentials to tide you over.” She gasped when he nibbled on her ear. “Oh, Nick, you have to stop that.”
He pulled back but kept her firmly in his embrace. “Okay, how about this? We’ll stop at a store and pick up some things to get me by, swing by Shindigs to get some food, and then lock ourselves away for the next twenty-four hours. Does that work for you?”
She was still trying to catch her breath when she tried to answer. “My family is going to want to know how I am.”
“Half of them already know,” he said then kissed the tip of her nose, “and you can give the rest of them a call before we shut our phones off for the night.”
“That sounds so nice.”
“Then what are we waiting for, Bright Eyes? Let’s go home.”
Epilogue
Six months later
“Nick, honey, relax. They said they weren’t sure when you’ll be called,” Kelsey said as she held Nick’s hand between hers.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment most of my life, baby. I just want my opportunity to testify.”
Since they were not allowed inside the courtroom until after they’d taken the stand, both Nick and Kelsey were forced to wait in one of the nearby holding rooms. “Well, you’re making me nervous. I’m going to get some coffee. Do you want some?”
“No, thanks.”
Kelsey hooked her purse strap over her shoulder as she rose from her chair. Before passing him, she leant down and kissed Nick’s cheek. “Everything will be fine.”
“I know,” Nick sighed. Her touch was instantly calming.
After Kelsey had left him alone, Nick’s mind began to wander. The months since Gianelli’s arrest had been a whirlwind, but this trial meant they could finally put it all behind them.
Never keen on waiting, he’d proposed to Kelsey only days after moving in with her. With their families and closest friends in attendance, the two had been married weeks later, in a small clearing on the outskirts of town. No one knew the significance of the remote area, but neither he nor Kelsey could think of a better place to exchange the vows that would bind them together for a lifetime. There had been no elaboration, no pomp and circumstance, just the two of them sharing the most sacred of devotions before their closest loved ones in the same spot where the two had become one for the first time, only this time it was forever.
Luckily, he had been fully compensated for his destroyed house, and they had decided to use the insurance money to purchase a beautiful three-bedroom home only a few miles away from their loft as a wedding present. In return, Kelsey had shocked Nick by presenting him with his beloved motorcycle, which had thankfully been far enough away from the blaze to avoid total destruction. It had been fully restored—after all, it meant almost as much to her as it did to him.
Nick had begun working for the Brookfield Police Department shortly after their move, and he loved it just as much as he’d always dreamt he would. He found that he was a natural and worked in conjunction with Tim in the FBI—they were hoping to take down several more big guns from Gianelli’s organisation after Vincent was finally put away.
The emergency clinic was a bigger success than anyone had ever expected, thanks to Kelsey’s hard work and determination, Nick thought proudly. She had not only attracted bigger donations from local philanthropists with her charm and dedication, but her outreach programmes had made amazing progress in healing the long-time rift the area had suffered from the gang violence and crime.
Because of the success of the clinic, medical school had been temporarily put on hold. She’d told Nick that she still hoped to attend one day, but she found so much pleasure in the work she was doing, she could see no reason to change—at least for now.
Despite Nick’s concerns, Kelsey had not got pregnant as a result of their reconciliation on the night of Anthony’s shooting. They’d been disappointed, but had eventually admitted their relief to each other. To add a baby to their new relationship, esp
ecially after the intense circumstances of their meeting, would probably be a bad idea. Yes, they’d wait on a baby for now, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t practise—and practise they did. Often.
He heard the clicking of her heels before his wife re-entered the room. When she finally did, he looked up with a smile.
Kelsey stopped and looked at him questioningly. “What’s that look for?”
“I was just thinking about you.”
She giggled and took the seat beside him, warming her hands around her paper coffee cup. “Well, I won’t ask what you were thinking. Knowing you, it’s something X-rated.”
He gave her a wink and a sly smile. “You know me well, Bright Eyes.”
“Keep looking at me like that and I’ll do something inappropriate.”
“That would certainly pass the time while waiting for them to call one of us,” he laughed.
The words were no sooner out of his mouth, than the Deputy Sheriff entered the room, immediately dampening the mood. “Nicholas Jensen?”
“That’s me,” he said and stood. “Wish me luck, baby.”
“Good luck.” She stood beside him and gave him a kiss. “You’ll do great.”
Nick nodded and followed the Sheriff towards the hall.
“Nick?” Kelsey called out.
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too, Bright Eyes.”
Also available from Total-E-Bound Publishing:
Running Scared
Billi Jean
Excerpt
Chapter One
There has to be some kind of mistake.
The MapQuest directions sat on the truck seat next to Lacey, outlining that this was the right exit. She hadn’t accidentally decided to take a wrong turn. Besides, there weren’t any decisions in her life right now, only directions. She smiled at the thought. Yeah, her attempts at making colossal, life-changing decisions had landed her here, in the middle of nowhere, with no one and nothing around her.
Well, not exactly nothing. There were mountains everywhere. Huge, monstrous mountains, like the kind you could see on the travel channel seconds before some giant paw-waving, open-mouthed, roaring grizzly ate the cameraman.
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