by Alexa Davis
Then, I went out into the living room and collapsed on the couch. My body felt heavy, almost liquefied, and I felt a drowsy satisfaction overwhelm me as I curled up under a quilt. I was pulled out of my dream state when an acrid scent invaded my nostrils and made my brain scream, "Fire!"
I awoke and jumped up off the couch and ran toward the terrible smell. In the kitchen, I yanked open the oven door and found the remnants of dinner baked to a blackened crisp that was giving off a noxious dark cloud of smoke. I quickly thrust my hands into pot holders and pulled the ruined food out of the oven and dumped it in the sink where I ran cold water over it until there was nothing left but a cold soggy mass of cardboard, aluminum, and blackened chicken parmesan.
I looked at the clock on the microwave and gasped when I saw that it was six in the morning. I'd spent the night on the couch because Dax had never shown up. I checked my phone to see if he'd called, but there was no message or text. To say I was disappointed was an understatement, but as I thought about the night before, I wondered if perhaps I'd been played.
Dax had been angry with me after I'd abandoned him at Beso, so it would make sense that he'd want his pound of flesh, and I'd been all too willing to supply it. As I replayed the conversation, I realized that he'd never answered any of my questions about Lydia; he'd just evaded answering them and then turned the tables and pushed all the right buttons. I was ripe for the picking and he knew it.
The sex we'd had in the back room of Dooley's had been the hottest, most passionate sex I'd ever had, but it had been a cover for what Dax had really wanted – revenge. I was the fool who'd bought his innocent act because I'd wanted to see him that way. The strong silent guy who was heartbroken but getting by. I wanted to believe he had nothing to do with Lydia's death, but the reality was that he probably did kill her or at least had a hand in her killing. So, he'd preyed on my weakness and my guilt over having bolted, seduced me, and then made a promise he never intended to keep.
And why would he? After all, I was the lawyer who was pushing for answers that he didn't want to give. Seeing me again would only mean he would have to make up more lies to cover his tracks and Dax didn't seem like a man who liked complications.
Of course he wasn't going to show up. I felt like a fool for abandoning logic for hope. He must have thought I was a total idiot for buying into his lies.
I stood in my kitchen staring down into the mess in my sink as I bit my lip and tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. I swore to myself that I was not going to allow a con artist to ruin my life or break my heart. Then, I laughed out loud at the idea that I could have considered myself open enough to suffer heartbreak. I didn't know Dax Malone well enough to like him let alone fall in love with him.
I opened up the cupboard, pulled out the trashcan, and threw the sodden mess into it before I yanked out the bag and tied it in a knot. I wasn't going to ruin my life by ruminating on all the reasons why Dax Malone didn't show up. Instead, I was going to get dressed and head into the office so that I could give Jordie and Roger the run down on how they were going to gather clients from central booking, then I'd make an appointment to talk with William Grant and see if I couldn't lure one big fish into our practice.
I wasn't going to let this slight detour create a roadblock that would keep me from saving my law firm. Instead, I was going to do what I always did, put my nose to the grindstone and find a way to make everything work out so that I came out on top.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Dax
When I entered the club, I was met with Kesha yelling, "Why the hell didn't you pick up my calls?"
"I was busy," I yelled over the pounding electronic music. "Why, what's going on?"
"We're being raided," she yelled as she guided me toward the back door. "You need to get the hell out of here until the cops finish their stupid little exercise in power exertion!"
"Wait, did they say why we're being raided?" I lowered my voice as we entered the back hallway and wound our way through the maze of pipes and heating ducts that turned the back storage area into a confusing labyrinth of twists and turns. It also made for a great hideout, and that was why I'd constructed a hidden apartment down here.
Kesha had prepped the rarely used apartment with all the things I'd need to stay underground for a few days and told me that the police had come in politely asking to check out the storage space since they'd gotten word that there were some drug deals going down in the club.
"I asked them who their source was for this information, but they wouldn't tell me jack shit," she said. "They've been downstairs looking around for the past hour."
"Did you secure the product?" I asked.
"Seriously, man, how fucking stupid do you think I am?" she said in an irritated tone. "Of course I secured the product, I always secure the product. It's our lifeblood."
"Good. Sorry, I didn't mean to question your abilities. I'm just looking out for the entire operation," I said. "Wait, you said the police are checking out the storage area?"
"Yeah, two cops with badges and guns," she said. "They showed me the warrant and it looked legit."
"But there were only two of them?" I asked. "And they didn't post any guards at the front or back door?"
"No, why?" she asked and then suddenly it dawned on her. "Oh shit!"
Kesha took off running for the storage area with me in close pursuit. We reached the cage and saw that the false panel we used to separate the liquor from the product had been cut into huge pieces, and numerous crates had been removed. I estimated that the thieves had made off with about five million dollars’ worth of product. In the larger scheme of things, it was nothing more than a drop in the bucket of our profits, but it also meant that our competitors had found a way to breach our security and make us incredibly vulnerable. They wouldn't hesitate to brag about it and that would make us even more vulnerable.
"Shut down the club now," I said to Kesha.
"But boss, it's not even midnight!" she protested.
"Shut it down, NOW!" I yelled as she went tearing up the stairs. I heard the DJ stop the music and make the announcement that the club would be closing early tonight because the fire department would be conducting its yearly emergency drill. That was followed by a collective groan as the club patrons all protested having to go out and find another place to party the night away. They were probably more pissed that the source for their nightly dope fix had dried up, but right now that was not my main problem.
I needed to find the source of the leak and plug it before anyone else got the bright idea to break in and rob us. I quickly got on the phone and called my corner boys and told them to send over the smallest, most invisible member of their corner teams. I had the brawn covered with my security guys, but I needed guys who could blend in to the scenery and watch every move on every corner.
"Club's closed, boss," Kesha said as she descended the stairs. "Dozer and the boys are sweeping the club to make sure everyone's out before they lock it up."
"Good, the corner boys are sending over crews to watch the streets," I said as I looked back at my phone. "I want you to organize those guys and set up a check-in so they can report back what they see."
"Got it, boss," she said. "Anything else?"
"Yeah, where the hell is Riza?" I asked as I realized I hadn't heard from her in hours.
"Not a clue," Kesha replied. "I haven't seen her since this afternoon when she left your office."
"She hasn't checked in?"
"Nope, not with me, she hasn't," Kesha said. "Maybe she did with one of the guys, I'll ask around."
I knew what the answer would be. If Riza hadn't checked in with me, she sure as hell hadn't checked in with one of them, but I didn't want there to be the slightest hint of dissension in the ranks.
"She was out on a fact finding mission, so maybe she followed a lead," I said as I looked at the hole in the wall. "I want you to get our building crew in here to fix this wall ASAP. But this time they need to inst
all a steel frame and door. I don't care what the building codes are or what it costs."
"Got it," she said as she tapped in a note on her phone. "I'm on it as soon as I organize the watch."
"And Kesha," I called after her.
"Yeah, boss?"
"Tell everyone to be really fucking careful. Whoever did this opened a can of worms and now all the shit is going to start to leak out," I said.
"Gotcha, boss," she called as I heard her footsteps pound up the stairs.
I looked back down at my phone and wondered why I hadn't yet heard from Riza.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Brooke
After I'd cleaned up the remnants of the ruined dinner, dumped the floral arrangement Dax had sent into the trash with it and licked my wounded pride, I showered, got dressed, and headed into the office. Determined to be the consummate professional, I'd put on my least sexy, most official looking pantsuit and pulled my hair back into a severe bun.
"Good morning, Alma," I said as I walked into the office. I stopped at the desk and picked up the stack of papers that were piled on the edge of it.
"Good morning, Miss Raines," Alma said as she sized me up. "Today's weather looks like it might be a little on the stormy side, so I think your usual lovely morning will prove to be turbulent, but it should clear up by afternoon and be sunny."
"Thank you for the weather report," I said with a smile that didn't reach my eyes. "Are Jordie and Roger in yet?"
"No, I don't believe they are," she said and then added, "But they did clean up the conference room, so there's that."
As I walked back to my office, I chided myself for not being kinder to Alma who was only searching for a way to be helpful and maintain an efficient office. I'd have to do something nice for her later. On my desk there was a stack of papers with a post-it on top that read: Sorry we screwed up. Conference room is clean. Will be back in the morning for meeting. - J&R
I sighed as I pulled out the chart on top of the stack and looked at what they'd done. I spent the next two hours reading through the pile of paperwork they'd left me, and when I was done, I looked up to find both men standing in the doorway to my office.
"You ready to talk?" Jordie asked.
"Yep, let me grab my notes," I said as I opened my briefcase and pulled out the stack of papers I'd been working on the day before. I joined them in the conference room and spent the next several hours giving them the run down on how we were going to attract new clients from the central booking cells. My plan made sense, but it also required both Jordie and Roger to actually be present down in Central. After clarifying the finer points, I asked if there were any questions and when they both shook their heads and said there weren't, I turned them loose.
I hoped this plan would work, but I couldn't be certain that we wouldn't draw fire for undercutting the Public Defender. What I hoped would happen was that the PD would be so grateful that we'd taken on the smaller cases that generally wasted his time, that he'd turn more of them over to us. What we couldn't generate in several big cases, we would make up for in volume. I just hoped this would work the way I'd planned and that neither Jordie nor Roger would screw it up.
Before I called and ordered lunch, I walked down to Alma's desk and asked if I could order something for her. She looked up at me and replied, "Oh no, Miss Raines, I always bring my own lunch. You can't be too careful about what they put in the food supply these days."
I scanned her face for any traces of irony, and when I found none, I went back to my office and ordered the biggest, messiest cheeseburger and greasiest fries on the menu at the LID and asked them to have it delivered. Then, I dug back into the stack of paperwork on my desk and waited for my lunch to arrive.
#
I was halfway through my greasy burger when Teddy stuck his head in my office and asked what I was doing.
"Eating lunch at my desk," I said with my mouth full of juicy burger. "Want a bite?"
"Yeah, actually, I do," he said walking in and grabbing the burger out of my hand and sitting down in the chair across from my desk. "Brooke, what's going on?"
"What do you mean?" I asked as I dipped a fry in catsup and popped it in my mouth. I knew that Teddy was going to finish off my burger, and sure enough, in three big bites, he did. "You're such a pig!"
"You offered!" he protested as he chewed. "But seriously, what are you doing?"
"And again, I will ask what it is you mean by that," I repeated.
"Billy said you were in the back room at Dooley's with Malone last night for a long time," Teddy said as he watched my face carefully. As kids he always knew when I was lying. I never knew how he knew and now, even as adults, he wouldn't let me in on the secret. Even though I'd tried to bribe him with money, goods and finally appeals to his sense of justice by telling him that if he showed me how he did it, then I could use it to catch the bad guys. He'd never given it up, and in the process I'd learned to be very careful about what I said and didn't say to my brother.
"Maybe I was and maybe I wasn't," I shrugged as I pushed another fry in my mouth and then held out the box to my brother. He took a fistful of fries and then sat back and watched me as he popped them one after another into his mouth and chewed.
"You were," he said. "Can't deny that one, too many witnesses."
"Okay, so I was," I admitted. "What's it to you?"
"Brooke, you don't want to get mixed up with a guy like Malone," Teddy said.
"And why is that? Are you afraid that I'll emasculate another of your fellow men and you'll find yourself all alone out there in testosterone land?" I teased. My words had sharp edges, though.
"No, I'm more worried about you," he said.
"Teddy, the guy is a local club owner, how dangerous could he be?" I asked. I knew Teddy was trying to tell me something without telling me, but I was sick and tired of the secrets that weren't really secrets and the innuendos that led nowhere. "Seriously, dude."
"No, not ‘seriously dude.’ I'm not kidding, Brooke," Teddy sat up and leaned forward, resting his hands on my desk. "The guy is dangerous. You need to steer very clear of him and not try to tame a wild dog like you normally do."
"Teddy, you're making no sense," I said in a bored tone as I tossed the fry container in the trash and cleaned up the remnants of my burger by wiping down my desk with a wet wipe. LID always thought of everything, and that's why I loved it.
"Brooke," Teddy took a deep breath and then let the words fly. "Dax Malone is one of the biggest drug dealers in Los Angeles. He may have had his own lawyer executed for having turned state's evidence and offering to expose his dealings in exchange for putting her in witness protection."
"You have got to be shitting me!" I burst out laughing. "Theodore Austin Raines, you've come up with some wild stories in your time, but that one takes the cake! I almost believed you, too!"
"Brooke," Teddy looked at me without smiling. There was a veil of sadness covering his expression as he continued, "Malone is dangerous. The cops are on their way to the club right now to bust him for conspiracy, intent to distribute illegal substances and pre-mediated murder. I wish I were kidding, but I'm not. Not this time, sis."
As the weight of Teddy's words sank in, I sagged in my chair. Dax Malone? A drug lord? How did this happen? I was around criminals all the time. I knew who they were. No, this couldn't be true.
"What evidence do you have?" I blurted as I went into lawyer mode. "I see zero evidence, only conjecture and hearsay."
"Brookie, don't get all lawyerly on me," Teddy said gently. "I'm not trying to ruin your life. I'm just trying to protect you. I overheard the police on the scanner at work and I wanted to come tell you before you got pulled into something that was way over your head."
"Teddy..." I trailed off.
"I know, kiddo, I know," he said nodding. "But not this time."
"Fuck," I said as I tossed the used wet wipe in the trash and rested my elbows on my desk. "Why do I always pick the ones that are completely unsa
lvageable?"
"You like a challenge, kid," Teddy said with a grin. "Always have."
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Dax
Around noon, I came up from the apartment and stood at the bar discussing our next move with Kesha, when all of a sudden, there was a loud bang on the door and a wave of police officers dressed in combat gear with guns drawn, flooded through the door yelling, "LAPD SWAT TEAM! HANDS IN THE AIR! PUT YOUR FUCKING HANDS IN THE AIR! DO NOT FUCKING MOVE!"
Kesha's eyes were wide with terror as she quickly raised her hands above her head and stood stock-still. I turned and raised my hands a little more slowly; I wasn't intimidated by this show of force. After surviving Papi's warrior raids, nothing this small could ruffle my feathers.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen," I said smiling.
"Shut the fuck up, Malone," the commander said as she pulled out her cuffs, yanked my hands out of the air, and cuffed them behind my back.
"And lady," I added as an afterthought.
"Kesha, call Riza and have her get in touch with my lawyer," I said calmly.
"I heard you don't have a lawyer anymore, Malone," the commander said with a sarcastic smile. "Heard you had her executed and dumped in the drink. Kind of screwed yourself, now didn't you?"
"No, I have a lawyer," I said. "Kesha, call Riza and tell her to contact Brooke Raines. She'll know what to do."
"If I were a lawyer, I'd be hesitant to take on your case," the commander said as she yanked me by the cuffs and shoved me toward the front door. "Price of doing business with you seems kind of high."
She shoved me in the back of the arrest wagon and then told the driver and his partner to take me down to Central Booking where I'd be booked and scheduled for an arraignment hearing. The officer rolled his eyes and barked, "Yes, sir! I mean, ma'am!" before driving off toward the station.