Rialto

by Drake, Jocelynn

  “Do you think this is related to the recent problems that Snow was telling me about?”

  “Very likely.”

  Jude turned his attention to Ian, but there was something assessing in his gaze, as if he were slipping into paramedic mode the same way that Snow went into doctor mode. “How are you doing? Recovered from…”

  Ian quickly waved a hand at Jude. “I’m fine. Just fine. Recovered. It was nothing.”

  “He had a concussion,” Hollis corrected.

  “A small, baby one. Not even worth mentioning.”

  “All concussions are worth mentioning,” Jude said firmly, but his expression softened. “I’m glad you’re okay and so are your people. If you need anything, you know that Snow and I are here for you.”

  “We know. Thank you.”

  Jude stepped backward and turned toward the double doors leading into the emergency department. He flashed his badge in front of a reader and the doors automatically opened. He led them through the busy room with people rushing from one place to the next. Curtains were pulled around half of the beds.

  “Is Snow working tonight?” Ian asked, following after him.

  Jude nodded. “In surgery now. It’ll probably be a few hours.”

  “Busy night?” Hollis asked.

  Jude shrugged a shoulder. “Not really.” He paused in front of a pulled curtain and flashed a little grin. “At least it’s not a full moon.”

  Ian started to open his mouth, but Hollis didn’t know if he was going to tease him or ask if that old superstition was true. From his years as a cop, Hollis could confirm that shit really did get crazy when the moon was full. And he was sure that just by close association, so did the ER. But Ian never got the words out as Jude poked his head in the closed-off area and asked if whoever was in there was up for a visitor. They didn’t hear the reply. It didn’t matter because Jude had pulled back and was waving for them to enter.

  Lying on the bed, they found Wade in his uniform from Rialto with small splatters of blood on it. He was a little pale, and one arm was now wrapped up from fingers to elbow. At his side was Jackson Kent, a bodyguard for Ward Security and Wade’s boyfriend.

  “No! I told them not to bother you,” Wade cried as he saw Ian. “You had a foster parent class tonight.”

  Ian hurried around to the side of his bed and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “And this is exactly where I should be. Everyone at Rialto is my family too. Now, are you okay? What has the doctor said?”

  “I’m fine. I swear.”

  “He has a hairline fracture in his arm and wrist. Also a couple of bruised ribs,” Jackson said, his voice barely more than a growl.

  “I’m going to have James rotate you off the schedule for a week, give you some time to heal and recover.”

  “No!”

  “Wade, you need rest. Your body must heal. The kitchen will still be there and waiting for you when you’re healthy.”

  “But Isabella was going to teach me some of her grilling techniques this week,” Wade argued, just shy of hitting a whining tone.

  Hollis turned to the side, his lips pressed tightly together to hide his smile from Jackson and Wade. He wondered if Jackson knew what he was in for yet. Wade was just a younger version of Ian, and there was no way of getting Ian out of the kitchen unless Hollis appealed to his sexual appetite. Then again…maybe Jackson had figured that out.

  Jackson leaned down and pressed a kiss to Wade’s temple. “I’ll talk to Andrei and Noah, see if they can work me out of the schedule for a week so I can stay home with you.”

  “I don’t need a freaking nurse. I’m fine.” Wade had moved from whine to pout.

  Jackson leaned down and whispered something in Wade’s ear that made his eyes go wide and his cheeks flush. Hollis couldn’t stop his snort, and even Ian was looking anywhere but at the couple. Yeah, Jackson had definitely figured out how to handle Wade and his cooking obsession.

  “Fine. You can stay home with me,” Wade mumbled.

  Ian patted his shoulder, and Hollis swore it looked like he was trying so damn hard not to laugh. “It looks like you’re in good hands. I’m going to see if I can find Sean. I’m glad you’re okay, Wade.”

  “I am.”

  “I heard them taking Sean to get a scan of his head. He probably won’t return for a while,” Jackson added.

  “Ian, what’s going on?” Wade asked, stopping their departure. “The person who attacked us kept shouting at us to stay away from Rialto. If we came back, he was gonna kill us.”

  Both Ian and Hollis were at his bedside again in an instant, shocked expressions on both their faces.

  “He spoke to you?” Hollis asked, his voice low.

  “Yes. Kept threatening both Sean and me.” He nodded at Hollis and then turned his attention back to Ian. “I’m not leaving. That asshole isn’t scaring me off.”

  “Thank you, Wade.” Ian started to reach for his hand, but he was on the side of Wade’s injured hand, so he opted for his shoulder again. “I really appreciate it.”

  “What’s going on? Is this linked to what’s been happening recently? With the raid and the bad reviews?”

  Ian sighed. His gaze darted over to Hollis, and his heart broke a little bit for his lover. Ian didn’t fucking deserve this shit.

  “I think it is.” He paused and licked his lips. “Someone recently attacked me at my house.” Wade gasped and Ian quickly held up a hand, stopping the barrage of questions that was undoubtedly coming. “I’m fine, I promise. I was knocked out, but Snow and Lucas found me a short time later.”

  “Do you have any idea who’s doing this?” Jackson demanded. Hollis bristled at his tone, but he tamped down the urge to snap at the bodyguard. It wasn’t just Ian’s life that was in danger anymore. The attacks had now reached Ian’s employees.

  “No. We’re following up some leads, and we’re getting help from Rowe’s triplets,” Ian said. Jackson nodded and seemed to relax a little more now that he knew Ward Security was involved.

  “We need to tell Rowe about this,” Hollis said.

  Ian shoved a hand through his hair, leaving it standing up in various directions, but he nodded. “Agreed. We need more security for the restaurant, both for the customers and the staff. I don’t want anyone to not feel safe at work.”

  “I don’t think he’s going to have any problems getting volunteers,” Jackson said with a little smirk.

  Ian’s brow furrowed. “Why do you say that?”

  “Sven might have bragged about how well you kept him fed during the two times he worked as your bodyguard.”

  Hollis chuckled and Ian’s shoulders shook a little with laughter. “Yes, whoever gets ‘stuck’ with Rialto guard duty will be fed,” Ian replied.

  They stayed and chatted with Wade for a little while longer until a nurse finally came with Wade’s paperwork for his release. They’d given him a prescription for a mild painkiller and instructions to schedule a follow-up appointment with his regular doctor as well as an orthopedic doctor.

  Ian and Hollis then found Sean, who’d been moved to a regular room for the night. He wasn’t at all happy about the situation, but he seemed clearheaded with some internal bruising like Wade.

  Neither Wade nor Sean could give a good description of the attacker. Only that he was male, thin, and about the same height as Ian. They were just lucky that it didn’t appear to be one of Jagger’s old muscle who specialized in breaking bones. They also hadn’t talked to the cops yet, but Hollis was sure someone would be around to question both Sean and Wade. And to see Ian.

  With a great deal of reluctance, Ian told Wade and Sean to be honest with the cops and tell them everything they remembered. Even the threats. Ian didn’t want the cops involved, and Hollis had to agree with him, but it was an extra set of eyes watching over Ian’s people at Rialto.

  They stayed with Sean for a while, making sure that he was comfortable and didn’t have any new information that Wade hadn’t already told them. Sean w
ould definitely be taking some time off. He was about as grumpy as Wade had been about it…well, before Jackson gave him some incentive to lounge at home for a few days.

  It was late when they silently walked out of the hospital and to Hollis’s car, both of them deep in thought. They didn’t see Snow or Jude as they left, but Hollis was sure they were both busy doing their jobs. Tomorrow there would be more phone calls and questions. And for once, Hollis welcomed them. They needed all the help they could get. The problem was growing more dangerous by the day, and they had too few leads.

  They didn’t speak again until they were home. Hollis turned off the security system and locked the door behind them. While Ian hung up their jackets, Hollis quickly swept through the house, double-checking to make sure that nothing had been disturbed while they were gone. It shouldn’t have been possible, but since the attack on Ian, Hollis couldn’t relax until he made an entire pass through the house.

  Luckily, Ian said nothing about it, understanding that it was something to make them both feel more secure.

  Hollis returned to the first floor to find Ian in the kitchen, which wasn’t surprising, but he was staring off into space.

  “Babe?”

  Ian shook his head as if pulling himself out of a spiraling thought. “This has to be someone from Jagger’s old crew.”

  Hollis nodded. He’d been thinking the same thing on the drive home but hadn’t figured out how exactly to broach the topic with Ian yet.

  “It’s the only thing that makes sense. Another restauranteur? Competition? I can’t imagine that person would turn to violence. Bad reviews and even the health department stunt, sure. But attacking me? And attacking my staff? That’s too extreme for most normal people.”

  “But Jagger’s crew are made for violence,” Hollis agreed.

  “Dammit,” Ian swore softly. “I can’t believe my past is coming back to hurt my people. This shouldn’t be happening. Shouldn’t be possible.”

  Hollis walked around the island that separated them and pulled Ian tightly into his arms. “This isn’t your fault. You haven’t done anything to cause this. This fucker is insane. You can’t be blamed for that.”

  “But—”

  “There are no buts for this.”

  Ian wrapped his arms around Hollis, dropping his hands down to cup his ass, which brought a smile to Hollis’s lips. “Except that you’ve got a really sexy one.”

  Hollis pressed a kiss to the top of Ian’s head. “And only you get to touch it.”

  “What are we going to do? Besides add more security, of course.”

  Hollis swallowed back a sigh. He would have liked one quiet, happy evening at home with Ian, but it was clear that wasn’t going to happen until they caught this fucker. They needed to take care of this problem.

  “How about you grab that Bordeaux you’ve been wanting to try and two glasses? Bring them into the living room. I’ve got something a friend sent me today.”

  Ian pulled away and gave him a questioning look before he nodded. Hollis released him and walked into the home office he’d set up in a corner of Ian’s office. He woke up his laptop and quickly opened the email that his friend from the CPD sent him. There were several pages, but he only needed the top sheet. He printed it off and went to the living room, where Ian was pouring them a glass of the dark red wine.

  “What secrets have you been keeping?” Ian asked when Hollis appeared.

  “No secrets. A cop friend emailed me this today, and I was going to show you tomorrow morning. I wanted us to have one quiet night together.”

  Ian opened his mouth, looking as if he planned to apologize, but Hollis glared at him as he stood over Ian. Ian snapped his mouth shut and smiled at him. There would be no more apologies from Ian. This wasn’t his fault.

  Sitting down on the couch beside Ian, Hollis handed over the paper.

  “What’s this?” Ian asked, his eyes already skimming over the list.

  “Those are all the people who were known to work for Jagger who are still living and free in the Cincinnati area.”

  Ian’s eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped open. “So many? There have to be at least thirty people here.”

  “I found out that after all the chaos, the DA was forced to focus on the most dangerous of Jagger’s people. His lieutenants. Those who were most likely to restart his business interests.”

  Ian gave a little nod, his eyes skimming down the list. “I understand.”

  He was taking it far better than Hollis had expected. Hell, he was taking that news better than Hollis had. The former cop had been ready to march down to the DA’s office and knock them around for what they missed.

  “I thought you could look over the names. See if there’s anyone on there who might be angry with you. Anyone you might have had some contact with in the past.”

  “Well, I guess the good news is that I don’t recognize at least half of these,” Ian murmured. “I’m guessing they joined Jagger after I left. Do you have a pen?”

  Hollis jumped up and quickly searched out a pen. He dropped back into his seat and handed it over, watching closely as Ian placed little stars next to three names—all of the former enforcers for Jagger. He drew a big circle around one name that made Hollis’s stomach drop.

  “The ones with the stars are the ones that I had the most contact with. They’d at least know me, but I don’t know that they’d necessarily be angry with me. Ernie Bowling…he was close with Jagger. Ran a lot of jobs personally for Jagger. If he’s upset about Jagger’s death, then yeah, he’d be pissed at me.”

  Hollis sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Ernie Bowling is a monster, Ian. We couldn’t get any dirt on him that would tie him to specific deaths, but we were pretty damn sure he whacked several people for Jagger.”

  Ian looked up at Hollis and smiled. “I think we should talk to him.”

  Hollis didn’t even try to hide his skepticism. “Ernie is taller than me. There’s no way he was the attacker tonight.”

  “I know, but I have a feeling Ernie still has a lot of contacts. He could have heard something. I think he’s the best starting place.”

  Hollis had to agree, but they weren’t doing it without a hell of a lot of backup.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ian shoved his hands into the pockets of his brown leather jacket and tried like hell not to look as out of place as he felt. He’d been to dive bars with Rowe on more than one occasion over the years, but Goodtimers was even more dive-y than Rowe would have liked.

  The smell of old, stale beer and cigarette smoke was thick in the air, and Ian was sure that it was already clinging to his skin. Thick darkness blanketed the interior so that it was nearly impossible to make out the faces of patrons. Not that anyone probably wanted to be recognized.

  Hollis walked just a step in front of him, looking far more at ease in the place. But then he’d admitted before they arrived that he’d been to the bar a few times when he’d worked undercover in Jagger’s organization. The place had been a favorite of some of Jagger’s lower-level goons.

  Apparently it still was.

  Ernie Bowling was sitting at the bar, nursing a beer. It looked like he had one eye on the small TV mounted up in the corner, running the evening news. The man was massive. Even bigger than Ian remembered. Ian was sure he stood an easy six five, maybe even six seven, and was wider than a double-door refrigerator. He could palm Ian’s face with his monster hands.

  “I think he got bigger,” Ian whispered.

  “We’ve got your back,” Rowe replied calmly in his ear.

  Hollis had been insistent that they not go in alone, and Ian was so damn glad he’d listened. There couldn’t have been more than half a dozen people in the place, including the bartender that stood behind the bar, looking half-asleep on his feet. No, all of Ian’s attention was on Ernie. Even if he wasn’t armed, the man could plow through Hollis and him like they were made of tissue paper.

  Rowe and Noah were stationed out fron
t, across the street. Sven was out back to cover the rear door, while Royce was hidden somewhere in the darkness of the interior of the bar. It had been decided that with his scruffy looks, he could pass for someone who could belong in such a place.

  Unfortunately, Royce’s boyfriend, Marc Foster, had been visiting Ward Security when that comment was made, and he’d not been amused. He asserted that his adorable boyfriend did not look like a low-life thief or drug dealer, which led to them briefly disappearing off somewhere for a quiet moment.

  Just the memory of the stiff and proper Marc defending his lover while the usually growly Royce melted as he watched nearly made Ian chuckle. He couldn’t think of two people who were bigger opposites, but they appeared to simply fit together. Of course, there were whispers that Marc’s past wasn’t entirely prim and proper. Something about an art heist and trolling sex clubs with Snow in the old days. Not that Ian wanted to know any of the details.

  As they walked through the bar, the plan was for Ian to grab a table while Hollis went and ordered a couple of beers. They wanted to see if he remembered Hollis from when he worked at Jagger’s. They weren’t sure if Hollis’s cover had been blown with everyone, and if Ernie thought Hollis was an old compatriot, he might start talking. That was assuming he didn’t notice Ian in the first place.

  But as they crossed the bar, Ian changed his mind. He wanted Ernie to notice him, to remember him. The monster of a man hadn’t directly terrorized him. Never laid a hand on him, but the dark threatening looks had been there. The threat obvious. If Ian had stepped out of line, Ernie was right there to knock him back into place.

  Ian had never been tempted to test him. A big part of surviving Jagger’s place was making sure he didn’t attract more attention than necessary. He didn’t want anyone looking at him, thinking about him. If they forgot, then they didn’t try to touch.

  But those days were over. He wasn’t going to be scared anymore. He had Hollis right beside him. Royce was somewhere behind him. Rowe, Noah, and Sven were just a short distance away. He was safe.