“They’re back.”
I turned to face the window when Cam spoke and watched Ferguson lead in Aries and his attorney. I felt a sick pleasure when I saw his face was still healing and he was walking slowly. I’ve felt that pain before, the one from a few broken ribs, it wasn’t easy to heal from and I couldn’t be happier I caused it.
His attorney leaned forward. “Officer Ferguson, can you please tell me why we’re here for questioning.”
Ferguson sat down in the seat across from them and knocked his knuckles against the table. “Kate Miller’s home was set on fire last night.”
My jaw ticked when Aries’ shrugged, but he didn’t speak, his attorney did. “What does that have to do with my client?”
“I understand Mr. Aries and Ms. Miller have history.”
Aries snorted. “I didn’t burn the bitch’s house down.”
I stood up straight, anger coursing through me at his words. Cam settled his hand on my shoulder. “Stay calm brother.”
His attorney’s eyes flicked towards him in irritation, but Ferguson continued. “I need to know where you were last night, Mr. Aries, between the hours of 8p.m. and 10p.m.”
He shifted uncomfortably. “I was at home.”
“Can your wife verify that?” Ferguson asked.
Aries’ face hardened and his attorney answered for him. “Mr. Aries and his wife are currently separated. He has since moved back into his family’s home.”
Cam whistled. “Guess she took us at our word.”
I nodded, happy for her that she threw away this trash, but listened closely.
“How about your parents?” Ferguson continued.
“My dad was home all night. We watched a ballgame together.”
“We’ll need to bring him in to verify your alibi.”
Aries leaned forward, his eyes flashing and rested his arms on the cold metal table. “Why don’t you question the fucking cop that did this shit to me?” His eyes narrowed. “He seems like a fucking timebomb.”
“Shit.” Cam whispered.
I saw Ferguson’s back stiffen, but it was the only sign he was upset and if I didn’t know him, I wouldn’t have caught it. “Are you suggesting an officer of the law in this department burned down Ms. Miller’s home?”
“Yeah.” Aries snarled. “That’s what I’m fucking suggesting.”
Aries leaned back and smiled cockily like he’d just won something, but Ferguson wasn’t done questioning. “Why would he do that?”
“Because his bitch girlfriend was all over me. He got pissed off even though she came on to me.”
I clenched my fists at my sides and took a deep breath, wishing I could go back and beat him all over again.
“Can you give me his name?” Ferguson lifted his pen and held it over his paper.
Aries shrugged. “I don’t know his name.”
“You’re accusing an officer of the law of a crime, but you don’t know his name?”
“I think we’re getting off track here.” Aries’ attorney cut in probably knowing if Ferguson kept Aries talking that the dumbass would somehow incriminate himself. “Obviously you have nothing to hold my client on and he’s answered all of your questions, so unless there’s more, I’m assuming he’s free to go.”
Ferguson nodded and the men stood. “We’ll bring your father in Mr. Aries to verify your alibi, but for now, you’re free to go.” They started to move towards the door when Ferguson stopped them. “Just one more question, Mr. Aries.”
He looked bored. “What?”
“Where did you meet Ms. Miller?”
He shrugged. “At that bar out near the docks. Hanks.”
Ferguson nodded and opened the door, ushering them out.
“Fuck.” I hissed, dropping my head when the door to the room slammed open, closing itself due to the force.
“Please tell me you did not beat the fuck out of that guy?”
I stood to my full height and turned bringing me face-to-face with Ferguson. “Joe—”
He clenched his fists hanging at his sides. “Luke, man, please tell me you didn’t do that.”
I put my hands on my hips. “I can’t.”
“Damnit.” He kicked one of the metal chairs, the loud sound echoing off the cement walls. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t think it would come up.” I admitted.
He looked at me incredulously. “Didn’t think it would come up?”
“We took care of it.” Cam added.
Joe’s eyes widened. “We?”
“Cam didn’t do anything. He was just there to make sure I didn’t go too far.”
“How the hell did you even get mixed up with him?”
“He went after Kate.” I didn’t need to say more. I saw Joe’s eyes flash and knew if it was his wife, he’d have done the same thing.
Joe ran his hand through his hair. “Tell me what happened.”
I sighed. “The first encounter was his bachelor party at Hanks. He was handsy with Kate to the point both Pike and I had to intervene. We had it handled, but then he mouthed off to Kate who punched him in the nose and kneed him in the balls, while I was holding on to him.”
Cam snorted and I saw Joe’s lips tip in an almost grin. “Why didn’t you bring him in that night?”
“Pike threw him out and we both agreed we didn’t want him to press charges against Kate and put her through all of that. I honestly thought it was over then.”
“What changed?”
“Someone followed her from the bar Friday night a few weeks ago, but took off before we could even get a plate number. At the time we wrote it off as someone from that night at the bar who had a hard-on for her because nothing came from it.”
“I’m assuming we’re getting to the point where you beat the hell out of him.” He said sarcastically.
“You assumed right.” I said. “The next Friday night, she was working, went out in the alley to take her break, he slammed her up against a concrete wall and attacked her. Gave her a black eye and was choking her when Pike saw it on the security feed and ran outside to help her. Pike’s team chased the car, got the license number which gave us a name. And I followed up.”
Joe nodded, his hands on his hips, eyes to the floor and I waited. Joe Ferguson was not my boss, but he has seniority and a lot of respect in our department. I respect him. But I’m not letting anything happen to my family.
Joe ran his hand along his forehead, his eyes lifting to look between me and Cam. “I’m not even going to ask why you didn’t just arrest him that night at his home.”
I took a step towards him. “Tell me if it was Carol you wouldn’t have done the same.”
He frowned, but we all knew he couldn’t say that. “Let’s wait it out. See what the little bastard does. I have a feeling after I talk to his father, explain why we brought him in, that we have eye witnesses to the attack in the alley, this may all disappear.”
“Why do you say that?” Cam asked what I was about to.
“Rumor has it his dad, who is Mike Aries, plans to run for mayor. He’s dabbled in politics for a while, but never held an office. He will not want this stain on his family’s reputation, especially if he has those plans for the future.” His eyes met mine and he pointed at me. “Stay away from Aries, Luke. You’re too good a cop to go down because of an asshole like him.”
He waited for my nod and left right after, his phone already out to call Mike Aries. I turned and faced Cam who had a smirk on his face. “Well, that went better than it could have.”
He looked to the floor shaking his head and grinning. “You’re a lucky bastard.”
I thought of something and decided to run it by Cam, after all he may have seen or heard things I haven’t. “Hey man, has Dad said anything to you about Kate?”
Cam’s head lifted, his eyes serious. “No, why?”
“Just something Kate said today that’s been bugging me.”
The worry lines in his forehead becam
e prominent. “Did he say something to upset her?”
I rubbed my hand across the back of my neck and exhaled heavily. “That’s just it, I don’t know. After you left today I told her about our conversation concerning her ex’s interest in her and she said he wouldn’t have an interest, but then she talked a little bit about him and how they ended.”
He shrugged. “What does that have to do with Pop?”
“He was there, so was Mom. After they left, I told her she didn’t have to say anything in front of them, but she said she owed it to them. That they deserved to know why she is how she is.”
Cam frowned. “That’s strange.”
I put my hands on my hips. “I thought so too.”
He clapped his hand on my shoulder. “Even if Pop did say something, he likes Kate, it’s obvious.”
I nodded, but I wasn’t so sure. “Yeah.” I took a deep breath before exhaling. “Alright, I gotta get to work and figure out who the hell’s messing with Kate and why.”
Cam walked by me he put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Good luck brother.” He looked up, a shitty grin on his face. “You’ve got your hands full with her.”
I nodded and smirked, knowing he was teasing me. “I’ve always loved a challenge.”
He moved past me towards the door but called out over his shoulder. “I think you may have met your biggest one yet.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
LUKE
My eyes flicked across the faces standing in front of me, my gut telling me what I was about to hear was not going to make me happy. My brothers Jax and Brody own a security company and sometimes they get involved in, let’s say, unique jobs that aren’t entirely about setting up security. When my brother Cam was working undercover with his partner Nick to take down the drug lord responsible for the majority of the drugs in our city, my brothers somehow became involved. I usually look the other way, as long as I know they won’t get hurt. Honestly, they’re all highly trained ex-military, so the risk of them being in danger is almost nil, but they’re still my brothers and therefore my responsibility.
Brody called me this morning and asked me to meet him at Hanks, promising information I’d want regarding Kate and the fire. Glancing around the otherwise empty bar, I surveyed the group of men in front of me and frowned. I wasn’t surprised by my brothers Brody, Jax, Cam and Chris’s presence. I also wasn’t surprised when my eyes landed on Pike as he’s a major part of the company and an even bigger part of the family now. I narrowed my eyes when they landed on Bear and Gunner standing behind the bar. I hadn’t seen either of them since the night at their clubhouse because we’re not exactly friends; we’re at best acquaintances. I like them, but as a cop I tend to keep my distance as does Cam. It’s not smart for anyone on the police force to be involved with an MC, no matter how clean they are.
I leaned back against the bar and stretched my legs out in front of me, crossed my ankles and faced Brody. “What’s going on?”
His hard stare met mine. “Information’s been brought to our attention.”
“What information?”
Brody looked behind me towards Bear, who nodded. I turned to face him. “The Black Widows.”
My body tensed, thinking about that particular MC. Our area has two active Motorcycle Clubs, the Sinners who are basically a clean club, keeping their shit private and staying under the radar, and The Black Widows who are not.
“What about them?”
Bear’s eyes flicked back to Brody before settling on me again. “We have an informant from inside.”
My eyes widened. “Nick?”
I immediately thought of Nick, who had been Cam’s partner when he was working undercover, and had recently gone undercover again, this time to shut down The Black Widows, but Bear shook his head. “No.”
My eyebrows drew down in confusion. “Then who?”
Bear took a deep breath and leaned forward, placing his elbows on the shiny dark wood of the bar. “Brother, you are not going to like what I’m about to tell you.”
I gritted my teeth to the point of pain in my jaw. “Tell me.”
Bear’s gaze was hard and intense. “Maggie.”
“Fuck.” I banged my fist on the bar. “What the fuck is wrong with you guys? You’re going to get her killed.”
Bear held his hands up. “She came to us, man.”
I narrowed my eyes. “She came to you?” He nodded and I continued. “How the hell is that even possible? Seth watches her like a fucking hawk.”
“His name is Snake.” Bear bit out.
I rolled my eyes, never fully understanding MC’s use of road names, what we’d consider nicknames. “His name is Seth Conners.”
Bear shook his head. “This is exactly why they’re targeting you, man. You show them no respect.”
“Respect.” I said menacingly. “You want me to show them respect?” I leaned further on to the bar, my blood running hot in my veins. “You want me to respect an organization that allows a member to beat his girlfriend to the point that she was unrecognizable? The same woman that you’re using for information. Or respect an organization that sells women to the highest bidder? You telling me you condone that shit?”
Bear’s eyes narrowed. “No, I don’t fucking condone it, but I know enough to keep myself out of it, especially if it puts the people I care about in danger.”
I pointed my finger at him before dropping it. “You and I are very different, man. My job is not to look the other way or stay out of it when women are being used and abused. My job is to shut that shit down at all costs.”
“At the cost of your woman?”
“What?” I growled.
“Brother, I’ve warned you to get out of their shit, but you wouldn’t listen and now we have a man we all respect in their club so deep we can’t even get to him and they’ve made you their target.”
“What does that have to do with Kate?” I heard the venom in my voice.
“What better way to get to you than to hurt the ones you love?” Bear shook his head. “Man, you know how this shit goes down, better than anyone. You know the more you target them, the more they retaliate.”
I backed away from the bar and crossed my arms over my chest, unease weighing heavily on me, afraid I already knew what he planned to tell me. I locked my eyes on Bear and lowered my voice. “What does that have to do with Kate?”
Bear leaned all the way forward, his eyes flashing. “Who the fuck do you think burnt her house down?”
I closed my eyes and dropped my head. “Fuck.” I opened my eyes and turned, forcing my hand through my hair in frustration. “Fuck!” I roared before turning back to Bear. “How do you know?”
I noticed both Bear and Brody were now standing side-by-side, not far from where I was, most likely unsure of what I’d do. Bear relaxed his shoulders. “Maggie told us. She overheard them talking. She said that was the last straw for her, the reason she’s feeding us information. She can’t sit back and let them hurt someone innocent like Kate and her kid.”
I put my hands on the back of the empty stool in front of me. “I need to move her.”
“You can’t move everyone, brother.”
My eyes flashed to Jax who spoke for the first time and I dropped my head in defeat. “They’re targeting the family.”
I lifted my head to focus on Brody when he started speaking. “I have a system that Ethan, Pike and I will be installing at everyone’s home. It’ll be a pain in the ass to everyone because it sends a signal to their phones when there is anyone near their house. It’s sensitive enough to pick up animal movement too, so I suspect there will be a lot of false alarms, but there’s no way to disable it without me getting an emergency warning that it’s been disabled.”
Bear stepped a little closer to me. “In the meantime, brother, you need to back off. Let the police force and the agencies involved handle it.”
I nodded at Bear’s words because he was right. This was no longer about me and my need for justice, n
eed for revenge, now it was about keeping our family safe.
“We’ll also have cruisers patrolling around the neighborhoods we all live in.” Cam spoke up for the first time. “I already had a meeting with the captain, explained the situation and he’s prepared to pay overtime to offer protection.” He leaned forward. “Luke, he wants to nail them as badly as you do, but he wants you off the case. It’s not yours anymore. Maggie chose to go back to Snake. Your investigation of the Black Widows is officially closed.”
I rubbed my hands over my face, only dropping them when Brody spoke. “I know this is hard for you brother. I know what it’s like to not have control of a situation.” He motioned around the room. “We all do. But it’s time for you to trust us to do our jobs and to end this for you so you can concentrate on keeping Kate and Andy safe.” He put his hands on his hips. “You need to step back.”
I thought about it for a moment. The idea of stepping back goes against everything I believe in, every reason I’ve wanted to be a cop since I was a kid, but then Kate sitting on that curb flashed through my mind. I needed to keep her safe, Andy too because for the first time in my life, something trumps my need for justice.
I nodded. “I’ll step back.” I looked around the room. “For now.” When my eyes landed on Bear they stopped. “But if Maggie O’Brien gets hurt, I’m holding you personally responsible.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why are you so protective of her?”
I thought about Maggie the last time I’d visited her in the hospital and the first time she actually shared her story with me after years of asking. I’d offered her every escape I could think of over the years, every damn time she’d tell me she was ready to leave him, to find safety, she’d always end up backing out and I never understood why until she finally told me a story I’ve never been able to forget. A story that was nothing more than some pretty shitty luck and desperation.
I scanned the faces in front of me, all men who’ve spent their entire adult lives protecting those who couldn’t protect themselves. They’d understand, I knew that, like I knew I’d lay down my life for Kate and Andy. “Because she’s lost. She’s a runaway from years ago who thought she found a family, found protection, but ended up in a worse situation than she ran from. She’s been abused her whole life and doesn’t think she’s worth shit so she takes the abuse.” I looked at my brothers. “She’s Grace’s age.” I saw light dawn in their eyes. “And she’s so fucking quiet and shy. She’s so fucking lost. I’ve been trying for years to get her out, to show her there’s people who will take care of her without expecting anything in return, but she’s scared. It’s my job to save her.”
Kate (The Dimarco Series Book 5) Page 20