“I’m so happy I finally met you, Bryce,” she said.
“Me too,” I smiled weakly, relieved to see the person in charge of my daughter’s safety.
She got out of the car and I took off down the street, having no idea what would come next, but ready to fight.
Red Tape
Jane
“What did you think about Andrea?” I asked as we made our way back to the station.
“She’s cool,” he said. “I like her.”
“I knew you would,” I responded. The whole experience made me feel oddly reminiscent of bringing new boyfriends over to my mom’s house as a teen. I wanted her to approve of him, and him to approve of her, which was weird because he certainly wasn’t my boyfriend.
As Bryce drove, I looked out the window and mentally pushed the cars out of the way. I wanted to get to the office as quickly as possible—Pat didn’t give me many details, but he made it seem like the leads he had were about to crack this case wide open.
“You should have been a detective,” Bryce said, practically reading my mind. “I bet you would be great at it.”
“You can only be as good as your superiors allow you to be. In this case, I’d probably be tailing you, looking for a legal reason to keep you from getting in Tilucci’s way.”
“And how’s the media any different? They can be influenced just as easily,” he retorted.
“Oh, absolutely. I suppose the only difference is that my editor is awesome and cares about doing the right thing. Our network lets him do what he wants because his work brings in viewers by the millions.”
“So, in one way or another, everyone’s just following the money?”
I playfully nudged his shoulder. “You’re so cynical. I’m sure you must be feeling a little discouraged after being threatened by Tilucci to your face, but you can’t let that distract you from our goal, here. We’re going to expose the bastard and watch everything he built crumble to the ground.”
He shrugged. Despite our run in with Tilucci, I was feeling fairly optimistic about things. We had gotten to him and he had something big to hide. Tilucci had everything to lose and I was going to make sure it happened.
After what seemed like an eternity, Bryce pulled up to my building. I was so excited to talk to Pat, that I almost forgot to say goodbye.
“Wait,” he said, as I started to close the door. “What should I do?”
“What do you mean?” I questioned.
“I—I don’t know where to go,” he stuttered. “I can’t go back to Lilian’s house, or I’ll look like a stalker. I don’t know if I can go home because Tilucci’s onto us. Do I just park my car somewhere and wait for you to need my help again?”
I leaned back into the car. “I don’t know how long this is going to take, but I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to come in. I don’t want anyone else linking you to my story. What if I call you when I’m done, and we go somewhere safe? I think I’d feel a little more comfortable if I had an extra person to watch my back, too.”
“Sure,” he said. “I guess I’ll just drive around for a bit. I’ll come back when you call me.”
“Cool,” I said, not knowing how to take his melancholic response. “I’ll try to make this quick.”
I slammed the door and raced into the building. Something weird was going on with Bryce, but I didn’t have the time to worry about his feelings now. There were bigger things happening.
“What do you have for me, Pat?” I asked, rubbing my hands together. “Do you have names for me?”
He looked toward the ceiling and then back at me. “No,” he answered shortly.
“You’re not holding out on me, are you?” I asked. “I’m gearing up to report on a groundbreaking story about Tilucci and you’re withholding information?”
“Don’t forget that I outrank you,” he smiled. “Despite what you believe, I know what’s best for you. If I gave you my sources, your recklessness would get you murdered, and you know it.”
I grinned. He wasn’t wrong. “So why did you bring me here if you don’t have any leads to give me?”
“Oh, I have some information,” he said. “I checked into Office Supply LLC. They’re owned by a company called Global Industries Inc.”
“That doesn’t sound suspicious at all,” I joked.
“Exactly what I thought. I did a little more digging and found that Global Industries controls a lot of other fishy-sounding companies. Nothing sounds remotely legitimate. One of their companies is a non-profit organization that does business worldwide. I had a friend check into it and he said that they’re being watched for all sorts of nefarious behaviors.”
All the news was making me feel like a child on Christmas morning. “Ooh, what kind of stuff?”
“You name it. Wanna hear the worst of it?”
I nodded vigorously. I couldn’t handle the suspense.
“They’re being watched by a few different intelligence agencies around the world for illegal weapons trade and human trafficking. This is about as low down as it gets.”
“Oh my, God,” I breathed. “There’s no way Tilucci’s doing this all on his own.”
“No. I’d say that he’s more of an American connection to a global crime conglomerate. He’s playing a large role in it, but this goes way beyond Tommy Tilucci.”
My head was spinning with all the new information. This made my story on Tilucci seem trivial at best. There were crimes being committed and covered up on a global scale and I was holding all the pieces to the puzzle.
“I can’t believe it,” I said.
“I know,” he responded. “It just doesn’t seem real. We thought we were after something big, but it was just the tip of the iceberg. There are people all over the world who are in danger because of these people. We have the chance to really do something big here.”
I sat back and let those words swirl around my head. If I managed to get this story out into the world, my work could lead to the rescue of people who were kidnapped and enslaved. I could keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of criminals and keep innocent people like Bryce out of the reach of a madman. I could do so much good. I could save so many innocent lives.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” I muttered. “But I think I might actually be a little scared.”
He laughed. “You should be! I’m pretty freaked out myself. This goes beyond our pay grade.”
I smiled. I loved being able to let my guard down around Pat. He understood me better than anyone I knew.
“I would put someone else on this story with you, but I don’t trust anyone to get the job done right. No one here could protect themselves if things went wrong. I’m afraid it’s just going to be you and me on this one.”
“That’s fine with me,” I said. “I think we’re more than capable of doing this on our own.”
“You’re going to actually have to be careful for once, Jane. If we lose you, we lose the story. I can’t do this without you.”
I nodded solemnly. I would try my best.
“I suppose it doesn’t really do us any good to get the police involved, does it?”
“Unfortunately, probably not a lot. If you’re feeling truly threatened call the cops. Don’t try to take the law into your own hands if things get messy.”
“I don’t think I’d have that choice. I don’t know if I trust the police in this town any more than I trust Tilucci. Plus, I know for a fact that the two of us are better at investigating than anyone on the police force. Can you imagine how long it would take to get an arrest, let alone a conviction for him?”
He rubbed his head. “I know. It’s sad, isn’t it? He shouldn’t be out on the streets now. I can’t conceive a situation where the court system is going to admit that they made a mistake. They’re all too corrupt.”
“Even the last time he was put away, it still took months for public opinion of the police force to convince them to make the arrest. If you let the police in this city work on their own
without anyone to hold them accountable, they’ll take the easy way out, every time.”
“I can’t argue with that,” he said.
I also had another reason that the police couldn’t get involved, but it was too selfish to share. Ever since Tilucci went up for his appeal, I had this fantasy of putting him back into prison. In my daydream, I’d go to the prison and taunt him as he screamed and pounded his fists against the safety glass separating us. I’d tell him how much delight I took in investigating him and finding out all his dirty secrets. More than anything, this investigation was personal. I needed to finish what I started.
“I’m going to start backing my work up to that cloud that you always talk about,” Pat declared. “If you need my notes, I’ll put them on that website.”
“You’re finally going to enter the twenty-first century?” I mocked. “I can’t believe it.”
“If something happens to me, you need to be able to access my work,” he said.
“Pat,” I groaned. “Don’t say that kind of stuff. You’re going to be fine.”
“It’s always good to be prepared. You should too. If anything happens to either of us, this information needs to get out there.”
“Agreed. I’ll do it if you promise to never talk that way again.”
“Are you going to tell Bryce about this?” he asked, taking off his reading glasses and setting them in their case.
“Hell no. This is way beyond his concern. There’s no point in getting him any more involved than he needs to be. He’s not going to have the sort of information we need for this anyway. No, we’ll let him worry about Tilucci and his inner circle. This information is going to stay between the two of us.”
Pat smiled and straightened the papers on his desk. “All right,” he said. “Go home. It’s getting late and my wife is going to be furious if I miss supper again.”
“Send the family my best,” I said, getting up from the chair.
“Stay safe,” he warned.
“You too.”
Once I left his office, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and texted Bryce.
Are you busy? I’m on my way out of the office now. Meet me at my house in twenty minutes. I’m going to stop at the store to get some wine.
I tucked my phone back into my pocket and walked to the garage where my car had been parked for days. I giggled to myself, realizing that I had spent several full days with Bryce and I had only slept with him once. It was rather conservative by my standards, as far as relationships with hot men went. Maybe I was a true professional after all.
Open Her Up
Bryce
After parking my car at the end of the block, I walked to Jane’s house, looking over my shoulder every fifth step. I rapped softly on the door.
I saw her face peek through the side window before she opened the door. She smiled at me from behind the glass door.
“Glad you’re here,” she said, inviting me inside and carefully locking the door behind us. “There was a good sale at the store, so I got a few bottles of wine and I can’t finish them myself. Besides, after everything we went through today, I figured we could both use a drink.”
“That would be nice,” I said as she poured me a large glass. I looked around her house. It was small but nice. It looked a lot newer than my old shack, that was for sure. The open spaces and scarcely decorated walls gave me the impression that she had just moved in, or that she hardly spent any time at home.
“What did your boss have to tell you?” I asked as she rummaged around her kitchen.
“Not too much,” she said, pulling out an aluminum pan from the freezer and tossing it in the oven. “Are you hungry? Do you like pasta casserole? I’m starving and there isn’t much else here,” she said hurriedly.
“Yeah, sounds good,” I said. “It just seemed like he had something important to tell you, the way we rushed over there.”
“He has some leads that he’s going to work on. He doesn’t want to give them to me just yet because he thinks that I’m going to be reckless and get myself killed.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Are you?”
She smiled coyly. “I’m starting to feel like my life is just me convincing people that I’m not going to go out of my way to get myself killed. Believe it or not, I don’t mind my life. I get to dig into people’s business and tell the world about it. I think I’ve really done a lot of good in the world by exposing bad people. I’d like to continue doing that for so long as possible.”
“So, he basically brought you into the office to tell you that you’re not allowed to do your job?”
“Not quite,” she clarified, taking a long sip from her glass. I mimed her and drank too. “Pat likes to check up on me every now and again. I enjoy talking to him. I like to tell him what I’m working on and he gives me helpful suggestions. He’s a smart guy and often sees things that I don’t.”
“Like a mentor?” I asked, finding a chair. She set out two places at the table. I couldn’t remember the last time someone cooked for me.
“Yeah. Like a father, too. I didn’t really have one.”
“I didn’t really either. Or a mother, for that matter.”
She turned away to wash her hands that were already clean.
“I mean,” she added after the fact, “I don’t have daddy issues or whatever. It’s just nice to have someone looking out for you.”
I nodded. I didn’t know why she seemed so stressed out. She took another long drink and I followed suit.
“Wow,” she mused, draining her glass. “I really shouldn’t be drinking on an empty stomach. I think we forgot to eat today,” she giggled.
“Being harassed by a known murderer will do that,” I grinned, pouring us another large glass.
“Cheers,” she said, raising her glass to mine. “To Tommy Tilucci, may he rot in prison.”
“Cheers,” I said, clinking my glass against hers. We drank through the silence. I set my glass down on the table and looked at the floor. I wasn’t great at talking to people in one-on-one situations like this.
“Oh, I think the food’s ready,” Jane announced, pulling the pan from the oven. She spooned a big helping of the pasta onto my plate, then hers.
“Sorry if it’s shit,” she said, digging her fork in. “I’m not much of a cook.”
“That’s okay,” I replied. “I’m not either. Most days I’m eating something frozen and reheated in the microwave.”
“Same,” she said. “I feel like most women my age have the domestic life figured out. I don’t know if I’ll ever learn.”
“Have you been working at the station for long?” I asked between bites.
“Yeah, for a while. I actually was asked to take an anchor job but I turned it down.”
“Why? Isn’t that a good gig?”
“It’s not for me. I get bored sitting at a desk, waiting for someone to touch up my makeup. When people recognize you from television, you can’t really go out on the streets and ask questions.”
“I can see that. Andrea told me that you were in the army.”
She choked on her drink. “She did? What did she say?”
“Not much,” I answered, feeling bolder from my drink, but still a little wary. “I didn’t realize you had already been discharged. You seemed too young for that.”
“The army is different from most jobs. I joined at eighteen and was deployed shortly after. There aren’t many who go for more than a few deployments. The work really wears on you.”
“What did you do?”
“My job involved talking to civilians to gather information from them. As you can imagine, not a lot of people were interested in talking to foreign troops. Occasionally, you’d have people help you out if they knew where the enemy troops were hanging out. Sometimes, the civilians would lead the enemy to us.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “But most of the time, we just talked to people and sometimes gave them food or other supplies.”
“Did you
like being in the army?”
She shrugged. “It’s hard to categorize it that way.”
“Then how would you describe it?” I pressed. She had done so much at such a young age and I was absolutely fascinated by her.
“Look, I don’t really talk about this stuff with a lot of people. Andrea knows, but we were working together when we both received our honorable discharges. Pat knows everything, too, but we’re close. I know about his time in the military too, and he had it way worse than I did.”
“What happened?” I said quietly, noticing her face change. She looked exhausted.
She sighed. “It was the lowest point of my life.”
I quickly backtracked. “If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to.”
“No,” she continued, “I will. I don’t know why, but I trust you, Bryce. I feel like you won’t judge me.”
“Of course not.”
“We were sent out to a small village not far from our base,” Jane said shakily. “We were supposed to ask the civilians if they had seen the rebel army in the area. They had gotten a hold of stolen weapons, and we were supposed to track them down. Once we got there, we were led to the town’s marketplace. What we didn’t know was that the rebel army had set up camp there. We were ambushed and a lot of soldiers were injured. Someone was firing at me through a window, so I returned gunfire. When I moved in on the target, I realized that my gunfire didn’t just kill the shooter, but also a mother and her two young kids.”
I covered my mouth with my hand. I didn’t know what to say. I had seen some terrible things in my life, but at least they didn’t happen by my hand.
“After that, we all got to go home. No one blamed me for what happened, except for me. If I would have waited for a clear shot instead of spraying bullets in that one area, those innocent people would have survived.”
“You can’t blame yourself, though,” I said. “You did what you had to do to protect yourself and your unit.”
“Oh, I know. And I’ve been told the same thing by a lot of people. It doesn’t haunt me any less, though.”
Her Protection: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (Omerta Series Book 2) Page 10