by Virna DePaul
“What do you mean, off?”
“He grabbed me, he scratched me, but it wasn’t with a full grip. It was more tenuous. You know, as if he was holding something in his hand he didn’t want to let go. Maybe it was drugs?”
“Could be.” But not likely. Dom thought about it some more. “It could have been anything. A piece of paper. A manufactured weapon. But if he was holding something when he came into that courtroom, he wasn’t when he left. I searched him and cuffed him myself.”
“What if he accidentally dropped it?”
Dom froze and turned to stare at her. “What if he dropped it on purpose?”
Chapter 14
Even though the last twenty had gone unanswered, Mattie knocked once more on Tony’s apartment door. “Tony,” she finally called out. “Tony, if you’re home, please answer the door.”
But he didn’t.
Just like he hadn’t answered his home or cell phone, and hadn’t responded to any of the messages she’d left. Where was he?
She walked back to her car, which she’d picked up at the courthouse. Dom had been distracted when he’d dropped her off, obviously still thinking about the inmate who’d attacked her and why he’d wanted inside the courtroom. She’d been distracted, too. All she’d been able to think about was Tony and the hurt she’d put on his face. Slipping her hand in her pocket, she fingered the key that Tony had given her in case of an emergency.
Did Dominic’s questions about Tony amount to an emergency? Normally, she would think so, but she also remembered the way Tony had looked at her before he’d left her house. Using her key under such circumstances didn’t seem right. Not when he thought she believed Dom over him.
She hadn’t heard from Dominic. Jordan was safe at school now, but where was Tony?
A thought occurred to her and she straightened. Maybe he’d gone to the hospital to see Linda.
She was just about to get in her car when a shiny red Camaro pulled up to the curb behind her. A young man who barely looked old enough to have his driver’s license stepped out. As he swaggered toward her, however, the hardness and chill in his eyes made her realize he’d probably seen and experienced enough for four lifetimes.
He glanced at Tony’s apartment building. “You here to see Tony?”
The way he spoke, half singsongy and half lewd insinuation, made her knees weak and her stomach heave. Obviously sensing her unease, he stepped closer, grinned, and raised a hand to stroke her hair.
She knocked it away. “Keep your hands to yourself,” she hissed.
“Oooo. Feisty.”
She moved around him to open her car door, but he slammed it shut, his features quickly shifting from lewd to threatening. Refusing to cower, she asked, “How do you know Tony?”
He circled her, sniffing exaggeratedly at her neck. “Tony and I are friends as well as business associates.”
I’m in public, she thought. He won’t try anything here. Lifting her chin defiantly, she said, “Tony’s not using anymore, so why don’t you just leave him alone.”
“Why don’t we go inside and see old Tony instead.”
“He’s not home.”
With a sudden move, he jerked her against him, his hands seeming to be everywhere at once. She struggled, trying to scream but unable to force any sound louder than a whimper out of her throat.
“Let go of me,” she finally gasped.
Distantly, Mattie heard the sound of brakes squealing. Then a shout. “Sabon!”
The man jerked around, cursed, dropped Mattie, and ran. Mattie staggered and fell to the ground, catching herself on her still healing palms.
Dom lunged out of his truck. “You okay?” he shouted.
She nodded. Instinctively, she reached out for him, but just as she did so, he turned away and gave chase.
Sabon was fast. Really fast. And it was obvious he was familiar with the neighborhood. He took every corner without hesitation. Jumped every fence as if he’d been vaulting them for years.
Dom pushed himself to go faster, his arms and legs pumping hard. Satisfaction filled him as he gained on the man and prepared to grab him by the back of his black sweatshirt. The blare of a horn and the screech of brakes registered just as he caught sight of something huge in his periphery.
Dom swerved and threw himself to the side, landing on the asphalt with a jarring thud. He felt the air next to him vibrate as the silver Lexus’s tires screeched to a halt just a few inches from his splayed legs. On his back and breathing hard, he saw the car’s bumper roll into Sabon so that he momentarily flipped onto its hood. In a fluid motion, he rolled off and started running again, almost without breaking stride. Dom scrambled to his feet and skirted around the hood of the car, only to watch Sabon disappear.
He clenched his fists and slowly became aware of the pain radiating from his palms. Raising his hands, he saw they were scraped raw from where he’d caught himself on the ground. He glanced once more in the direction that Sabon had run, then pounded his fist on the Lexus’s hood.
By the time he made it back to Mattie, she was leaning against her car and he was furious, only he wasn’t sure at whom. Sabon for sure, for daring to put his hands on her. Him for letting it happen. And her for putting herself in danger in the first place. He strode up to her, not stopping until he’d hemmed her in with his arms.
They were both breathing hard.
“Did you meet him here?”
She shook her head. Closed and opened her mouth like a fish out of water.
He gripped her arms and shook her gently. “Did you, Mattie? Did you agree to meet him here?”
“I—I came to see Tony.”
Dropping his hands, he stepped back. “Then that makes two of us.”
“Who—who was that man?” she gasped out.
He studied her. The fear. The innocence.
Uncertainty overwhelmed him. When he’d left Mattie, he’d checked Judge Butler’s courtroom and found a listening device right under the table where he’d pushed Dusty. That listening device was also a GPS tracker, the kind currently being tested by SWAT as a hostage negotiation tool. That meant the department could have a mole, most likely Frank Manelli. The only question was whether Manelli had given the bug to Dusty or Guapo voluntarily. And what role Tony played in it all.
When Mattie continued to stare at him, he struggled with how much to tell her. Normally, he’d opt for hiding as much as possible from her, but Tony was the key to solving this case, he was sure of it. And Mattie was his best chance of finding him.
Mattie stared at Dom, willing him to answer. Had that horrible man persuaded Tony to start up with drugs again? An involuntary whimper escaped her, one that Dom heard. He closed his eyes, released her, then stepped back.
“That was Michael Sabon—Mark Guapo’s brother,” he clarified. “The current leader of Guapo’s crime organization, which specializes in drugs, stolen property and now firearm sales. I think Sabon is orchestrating Guapo’s revenge against his defense attorney, Linda, and Judge Butler. Only he’s not doing it alone. He’s been getting help. And do you think it’s just coincidence that he showed up at Tony’s apartment?”
That man was Guapo’s brother? “You’re not really a courtroom bailiff, are you?” She should have realized it sooner, she thought, but his sudden appearance and Linda’s attack had shaken her. Plus, he was a cop, so it had seemed perfectly natural for him to ask questions. What she hadn’t realized until now was that he’d been the only cop asking them. All the questions he’d been asking about Tony, all the speculation he’d made about Judge Butler and this man named Guapo—they all pointed to him being a detective working a case. Which meant he’d been lying to her this whole time.
She saw the truth in his clenched jaw. In the hand he ran through his hair. And in the brief flash of guilt in his eyes.
“I’m a vice detective. Working as a bailiff was just a cover so I could get closer to Judge Butler and his staff.”
Well, he’d certainly gotten clo
ser to her, she thought bitterly, remembering their tussle on her couch. The feeling of betrayal came swift and hard.
Thank God she hadn’t told him about Tony.
“Tell me why you originally thought Tony might have been the one to hurt Linda,” he commanded softly.
Her head snapped up and she told herself to get it together. It was always his job that mattered most to him. In the end, it was all he cared about. “You used me. And you would have kept on using me to get information.”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t like that, Mattie, but I can’t ignore the fact Sabon is trying to find your brother. If he’s as innocent as you think he is, he’s going to need all the help he can get. For once, trust me. Let me help you.”
Her mouth and jaw tightened into mutinous lines that she knew echoed the mistrust in her eyes. “You want to ask me questions? You’ll have to arrest me and bring me down to the station first. And I’m going to have an attorney with me when you do.”
They stared at each other, neither one giving an inch.
“Fine,” Dom finally said, his expression telling her this wasn’t over. “But tell me, did you ever make it to the door to see if your brother is home?”
“I knocked. No one answered.”
He glanced at the door. “I think I should go check for myself, don’t you? After all, it is my job, as distasteful as that it is to you. Did you check whether the door was open? Do you have a key?”
She stiffened, giving herself away.
Dom sighed and held out his palm. “Why don’t you give me the key and I’ll check?”
“No.”
“Will you stop being so stubborn for once? What if he’s hurt, Mattie? How do you know Sabon wasn’t returning after paying Tony a visit earlier?”
Her eyes widened. Automatically, she reached into her pocket and tried to dodge around him. He grabbed her arm and turned her around, his muscular arm wrapped around her waist.
“Stop it,” he ordered in her ear. “I’m not letting you walk in there in a panic. Give me the key and I’ll check on him. I promise.”
“Both of us,” she gasped. “I’ll stay behind you, but we both have to go in. I’m not letting you walk into Tony’s apartment without me.”
Slowly, he released her and held out his hand again. After a brief hesitation, she placed the key in his palm.
“You stay behind me. If I tell you to run, you damn well run, do you understand?”
Curtly, she nodded. “Just don’t tell me to run because you see Tony. I don’t believe Tony will hurt me. I never will.”
“Fine.”
He walked to Tony’s door with her right behind him, her hand automatically rising to rest on his back. He knocked loudly. “Tony, this is Dominic Jeffries. I’m with the Sacramento Police Department and I’m a friend of Mattie’s. I need to ask you some questions.”
Silence.
He knocked again. Announced himself even louder.
Nothing.
He looked at Mattie, who nodded her head. Placing the key in the lock, Dominic turned it and then opened the door. He motioned for her to wait, stepped inside the apartment, and called, “Tony?”
Even though she no longer touched him, she saw the muscles in his back and shoulders bunch. But instead of stepping farther inside, he stepped back, shut the door, and turned back toward her, his face grim.
“Let’s go,” he commanded. He took her arm and urged her down the path toward her car.
She pulled back. “You’re not going in?”
“Come with me. Now, Mattie.” His voice was clipped. His eyes intense.
She tilted her head and backed away from him. “You saw something, didn’t you?”
His expression hardened and he came after her. “Mattie— Mattie, no!”
She lunged toward the door and threw it open. Instantly, Dominic’s fingers wrapped around her arm and he pulled her outside, but not before she saw the body.
“Damn you, Mattie.”
Despite his grip on her arm, Mattie’s knees gave out and she immediately slumped to the ground. Bright dots flashed in front of her eyes and she heard Dom’s voice from a great distance, asking her if she was okay.
Why was he asking her if she was okay? she thought hysterically. She was fine.
The same couldn’t be said for Judge Butler.
Chapter 15
Mattie tried to disappear into her seat as Dominic drove her car. After dealing with the police officers who’d arrived in response to his 911 call, he’d refused to let her drive home herself and she’d refused to leave her only method of transportation at Tony’s. Every few minutes, she felt his gaze on her, but she refused to acknowledge him until he took an exit towards downtown. She sat up. “Where are you—we need to pick up Jordan!”
“I called Jordan’s school. She’s fine. I’ve arranged for a plainclothes officer to pick her up and take her to her grandparents’ house.”
“What? How dare you!” Enraged, she grabbed the wheel, gasping when he pushed her away and pulled to the side of the road. As soon as he put the car in Park, she was on him, pounding him with her fists, slapping at his face. “I want my daughter. I need to go to her now!” she screamed.
“Stop, Mattie.” With sickening ease, he gripped her wrists and held her away from him. “Stop and think. We need to keep her safe and that’s the best way to do it.”
Her breath caught at his words. “Let me go.”
Slowly, he did. Sitting as far from him as she could, she rubbed her wrists, noting the way his gaze guiltily followed her movements. “You think someone would go after her at school?”
“We have no reason to think that, but I’m not taking any chances. Not with our daughter.”
The last two words flowed easily off his tongue. So easily, in fact, Mattie stiffened. “But you still think she’ll be safe at John’s parents’?”
“I’ve arranged for a patrol officer to stay with them. It was tough getting the man hours approved, but when I told the lieutenant about Judge Butler—” He faced the windshield and slammed a fist against the steering wheel before glancing at her again. “Taking her to her grandparents’ house is the best bet.”
“But you’re afraid whoever hurt Linda, whoever killed Judge Butler, is going to come after me next. That’s why I can’t stay with Jordan.”
He pressed his lips together. “I want to protect you both, Mattie.”
“And what do I do in the meantime?”
“You keep yourself safe until you can go to her. I’m not going to let what happened to Linda or Judge Butler happen to you.”
Judge Butler. At the sound of his name, she blinked rapidly, trying to stop the sudden flow of tears that gathered in her eyes. Cursing, Dom reached for her once more. She shook her head. Tried to hold herself stiff against him. But the instant Dom pulled her into his chest, she couldn’t contain her grief any longer. Like a decrepit building, already unsteady and brought down by a blast of dynamite, she crumbled. Sobs tore through her and her body heaved with her efforts to regain control.
“It’s going to be okay.” Dom stroked her hair and she grasped at his shirt, not understanding how her life had turned upside down so quickly.
“He’s dead,” she gasped out. “And why? Because he sentenced a horrible man to prison? And what about Tony? What if he’s hurt, too?”
“I have men looking for him now. They’ll bring him in.”
It was the way he said it that made her lean back. “He didn’t do it, Dom.”
He didn’t flinch from her gaze, but his eyes didn’t soften either. “Right now, we just need to make sure you and Jordan are safe. Okay?”
She nodded. After squeezing her hand once, he pulled back on the road.
They continued to drive in silence until Dom said, “It’s not just a job for me, you know.”
“What?”
“This assignment,” he clarified, still facing forward, his fingers gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles whitened. “
I didn’t like lying to you. I don’t like lying in general. But undercover work exists for a reason. And this isn’t just another assignment for me. I have a vested interest in the parties involved.” He looked at her now, his gaze steady. “You. Jordan. Your brother. Joel. But in the end, you’re what’s at stake. And I’m sorry, but if it takes lying to keep you safe and keep a dangerous man in jail, I’ll do it every time.”
He faced forward again, leaving Mattie to stare at his profile, speechless. Despite his stark expression, she’d heard the emotion behind his words, as well as the resolve. Only what could she say in return? Even if he hadn’t lied to her, nothing had changed. Her sneering thoughts about his “super cop” mentality aside, she’d never doubted his ultimate goal as a cop was an honorable one. But it was still the goal that seemed to keep them apart. “Who’s Joel?”
“My ex-partner.”
“You said he was another reason this assignment is so important to you. Is Guapo after him, too?”
“Guapo killed him,” he said starkly. “Although some think he was dirty. That he killed himself.”
The car stopped and she realized they were in front of her house. He didn’t move, just continued to stare out the window. Moving slowly, she inched closer, reached out, and turned his face toward her. Her breath hitched.
His eyes were clouded over with pain.
“But you don’t believe that?”
Instead of answering, he pulled the door open, stepping out of the car so her hand fell away. Just like that, it was as if he’d flipped a switch, taking the man away from her and leaving only the cop. “I’m going to check inside. Wait here.”
He was back within minutes. “It’s all clear. Come inside.”
She followed him and stepped inside her house, feeling like she was dragging the world’s ugliness in with her. She turned toward Dom, who was watching her closely. “How can you stand it? How can you deal with this day in and day out?”