“He’s real big and muscular. It kind of intimidates me.”
“He’s not rough with you, is he?” he asked with concern then slowly took her wrist into his hand, slightly separating the black bracelets she wore, revealing her bruised wrist.
She pulled it out of his grasp.
“No. He most definitely isn’t.” She attempted to stand up, but Jamie stopped her, placing his hands on the arms of the chair she sat in.
“How is Charlie’s place working out for you? I hear he has some regular clientele with big bucks supporting the club.”
And so it began. He was looking for information.
“If you wanted information, then why did Paul go through all this work to create a job for me? I can’t help you,” she stated then shoved his hands away and rose from the seat. By now the rest of the conversations had halted, and everyone was listening to them.
“What is she talking about, Jamie? I didn’t make up this job for her.”
Melissa looked at Paul then back at Justin.
“I think my job here is over, Paul. Can you pay up so I can leave?”
“Melissa works at Charlie’s. Bret, Chico, and Carlos were in there last night. She was tending bar for their private party.”
They all looked at her, but she raised her chin and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“Is this true, Melissa? You know the men we were just discussing?” Paul asked.
“I know who they are, and yes, I was tending bar last night for their little party. I don’t have any information for you. Nothing was discussed.”
“I heard it got pretty intense around three o’clock or so.”
Melissa knew she looked guilty of something, but they had no evidence, no proof at all. This was hearsay and no specifics. Jamie and the rest of these cops would have to do better than this to get her to rat out gangsters and drug dealers. If she said a word, her family was as good as dead.
“What happened, Melissa?” the lieutenant asked.
She was quiet for a few seconds and contemplated the story she would give them.
“It got a little crazy at the end. Bret had too much to drink. He thought he could buy me, too,” she said then held her wrist, rubbing it with her good hand.
Justin reached over and took it into his hand, looking it over.
“He did this to you?”
She nodded.
“If Charlie and Spike, the bouncer, didn’t break through the door, it would have been a lot worse.”
“Shit, Melissa. When Bret wants something, he gets it. No one says no or they end up dead.”
He touched her cheek then trailed a finger across her chin near her neck.
“What about this?” He questioned the makeup she used to cover up the slight bruising on her chin and cheek. That was a shock, waking up to that this morning and then hiding it from her aunt and the kids.
“I said it got a little crazy.”
“What conversation went on in that room?” the lieutenant asked.
“I told you, nothing. They were there to party, get drunk, and bullshit.”
“Melissa, if you have information that can help us put Bret and the others behind bars, you need to tell me. We’ll protect you.”
She pulled away from him and took a step away.
“You can’t protect my family. I don’t know anything, and if I did, I wouldn’t say a word. I need money to support the kids and my aunt. If I lose that job, I’m finished.”
She walked away and back toward the bar.
* * * *
Jamie walked out of the room and exhaled. He couldn’t believe what he heard. He knew Melissa, and she was aware of information in regards to the drug dealing and perhaps the locations of labs they were looking for. She was just scared.
He glanced down at her cell phone.
He pulled it from her hip when she abruptly rose from the chair. He felt shitty for doing it, but he wanted to know who was calling her. If she was privy to information and had chosen to work as a bartender for private parties, then she knew stuff. Friend or not, the department was desperate to catch Bret and these other men. He looked at the numbers and the texts she received. This couldn’t be right. He checked the numbers again and then confirmed it. How the hell did she know Logan and his brothers? Justin felt conflicted. He knew the other Valdamars, Logan’s cousins, Dustin, Kyle, Adam, Trey, and Donny. Frankie’s text mentioned needing to kiss her again. Was she fucking him? Was it possible that she was with all of them? He was jealous and envious at the same time. The Valdamar brothers were some serious men. They were huge, and they were not men to fuck around with. What the hell was going on? They were involved with this case as well. It would be their team infiltrating the drug laboratory and operations building once the information was confirmed. Did the Valdamar brothers know that Melissa was at that meeting last night at the club? Do they know Bret attacked her?
He had a moral dilemma here. Dustin had saved his ass last year during a drug raid gone bad. Logan and his brothers were good men and had always pulled through for the department. Why was Melissa avoiding their calls?
Taking a deep breath, he closed her phone and walked back into the room. She was cleaning up the bar preparing to leave. Paul was paying her.
Nonchalantly Jamie walked over to the table and sat down, staring at Melissa as he inconspicuously dropped her cell phone under the chair she had been sitting in.
“Good luck, Melissa. Be safe,” Paul stated as he shook her hand and thanked her for her service tonight. The other men were walking out the door, and it was just Paul and Jamie now.
“Hey, let’s keep in touch. Don’t be such a stranger,” Jamie stated.
“You want to keep in touch as a friend or as a detective investigating a case and looking for a snitch?” she asked with attitude.
“A friend of, course. Give me your cell number so we can talk sometime.”
He watched as the panic hit her face as she realized her cell was missing. He played dumb and watched as she searched on the floor behind the bar then around the bar.
“Hey, I think I see something under the table,” Paul stated, reaching down to the floor. He pulled out the cell phone.
“Looks like you got another text.”
She grabbed it from him. “Thanks.”
He said good-bye as she grabbed her bag and left the room.
* * * *
Melissa couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there. It was nearly midnight when she received the call from Celine.
The text said urgent, so she called her the second she got into her car.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m in trouble, Mel. I’m in serious fucking trouble.”
“What trouble? What’s going on? Are the kids okay?” she asked in a panic.
“Yes, the kids are fine. They’re in the other room sleeping, and so is your aunt. I heard from the bank, and because I wouldn’t fuck that little weasel that came to the apartment the other day, he messed with my records. They say I owe ninety thousand dollars, Mel. Where the hell am I going to get that kind of money? The bank called and said if I don’t have it by tomorrow or make a payment of at least half of it, they’ll arrest me. They’ll take my kids, Mel, they’ll take my kids.” Celine cried hysterically.
“Damn it, Celine. Maybe we can get a lawyer?”
“And pay for it how? Can’t you see that it wouldn’t matter? There’s no time, Mel. I’m going to jail, and I am going to lose my kids.”
Melissa was scrambling for a solution. There had to be a way around this. Maybe she could go talk to the bank guy and make him change the numbers back? Maybe she could get help from the police or maybe Jamie? No, if she did he would probably ask for her help to bring down Bret. She couldn’t do that. She had to handle this alone. Just like all the other times.
“Watch the kids for me. Don’t panic if you don’t hear from me right away. I’ll fix this, Celine. I promise.”
* * * *
Melissa felt her heart beating so fast she thought she would pass out. Desperate times called for desperate measures. That’s exactly what she kept telling herself.
She kept her back to the concrete wall inside the building. If she had gotten the call from Celine an hour earlier, she could have better prepared herself for this hit. Melissa remembered Bret saying something about Lester Crowe meeting a guy and trading the drugs for money. She almost missed his black sports car as it sped down Fifth and Madison Avenue. She continued to follow him, all the way through Harlem and on to the road leading to an old warehouse. Parking her car three blocks away, near a bodega, she sprinted on foot through the dark alleyways to get here on time. Now, the little shit was nowhere in sight. If she could see who he was meeting then get the money, Celine would be in the clear.
Her insides fluttered with trepidation. This was not a well-planned attack. This was desperation. When people got desperate, they screwed up. She fought with her conscious over leaving now before something went wrong or coming through for her best friend. She couldn’t live with herself if something happened to Celine or the kids. She had experienced foster care for a short period of time as a kid. It wasn’t an experience she told anyone about. She wouldn’t allow the babies to be sent there. She just couldn’t. Plus she had experienced twenty-four hours in jail. Celine was weak and easy prey. The people in jail would eat her alive.
Melissa convinced herself to get through this. Get the money and run. Fix Celine’s problems and be finished forever. This was going to be her last hit for good.
She wasn’t concerned about Bret or his men losing such money. It would all be on Lester and the other guy anyway. Both were pigs and scumbags. Especially when it came to women.
She slowly made her way around each corner then to the meeting location.
No one was around until she saw two men dressed in white smoking cigarettes by a door near a building next door to where she was.
She wondered what they were up to because she knew that building was abandoned.
A sound caught her attention, and she saw Lester and the other guy.
Lester had a huge bag, and so did the other dude she didn’t recognize.
Taking soft, quick steps, she made her way around their position and took her position between a small entryway that divided the building where the two men dressed in white had been moments ago. They went back inside the doorway.
Lester chitchatted with the some Spanish guy, and she wondered why he was taking so long. Lester was an idiot. In a delivery you hurry up. Get in and out as quickly as possible. No small talk. The Spanish guy appeared concerned, but Lester kept talking.
Then it ended as the Spanish guy took over.
“Let’s do this. I got plans,” he stated. They switched bags, and the Spanish guy disappeared down the alleyway.
Lester placed the bag on the ground and stood there waiting.
What the hell is he waiting for? Come this way, moron. Just a few feet.
Melissa was losing her patience when she saw what he had waited for. Pulling up his sleeve, she watched as he wrapped the piece of rubber around his upper arm then knelt on the ground.
The bag was now behind him.
Is he serious? He’s going to give himself a hit right here?
She watched in disbelief as he got the needle ready and injected himself. His head rolled back, and he fell to his ass on the ground.
Dumb fucking idiot. Drugs rule your life then eventually kill you. This was just the scenario she needed.
In a flash, she ran toward him to grab the bag. He turned haphazardly and grabbed at her arm, but she fought him off. He wouldn’t know it was her. She wore a mask, and he was nearly out of it. They wrestled a bit, but she was able to get free from his grasp as the drugs hit his system. She took the bag and ran like hell away from the scene. Lester was still in a daze because she never heard him following.
She had a funny feeling and decided to check the bag. She didn’t want to grab the drugs. She wanted the cash. She knelt down and unzipped the bag. Bingo. A shitload of dough.
As she stood up and headed toward the alleyway, she saw the multiple sets of vehicles, slowly making their way past where she was and toward the building next door.
Her stomach felt as if it dropped. Cops! Oh, crap.
She ran as fast as she could and toward the block where her car was. A quick glance over her shoulder and she saw the SWAT team vehicle and the sound of gunfire. She nearly cried out in terror, almost losing her breath from the fear that grasped her heart.
She was too close for comfort, too, and prayed she wouldn’t get caught. What if it were the brothers? What would they do if they caught her?
The sounds of gunfire continued to echo nearby. She heard numerous sirens as more police cruisers came onto the scene just yards from where she stood. Her mouth suddenly became too dry to swallow. Her heart pounded against her chest with fear. If she got caught, everyone she cared for would suffer. Celine would wind up in jail, the babies in foster care, and her own kids would suffer immensely. They couldn’t handle losing another loved one. Melissa saw her car and jumped inside just as a police car came up the same avenue. She ducked down low.
They paid no attention to her and thankfully she got out of there.
* * * *
Melissa separated the money and hid it in Celine’s apartment. She called her and told her where it was and what to do tomorrow morning. She signed a deposit slip for the checking account. That way Celine would have the money available and show the bank that she was able to pay off the debt. When Melissa had the opportunity, she would pay that little bank weasel a visit and set his ass straight. If things went well, then Celine would have a large bank account in no time. The kids would be safe, and Celine could calm down so she could straighten out her life.
She took a quick shower, changed her clothes, and placed the stuff she wore to Paul’s back on then headed out to her car.
* * * *
Logan was stationed inside the command center. They had planned this raid for two weeks. Once the informant explained to the lieutenant where this small meth lab was located, they knew it would be a big hit to Bret and his operation. Logan, Sunny, Frankie, Vince, and Jake were looking forward to taking Bret and the others down, especially after what Bret had tried with Melissa. When Simon Burrow called him a couple of hours ago and mentioned Melissa’s possible involvement with information on Bret, he and his brothers were pissed off. They were willing to give up this raid to team three and head after Melissa. But Burrow talked them out of it. He informed them that she was heading home for the night and where she had been. They were relieved that she was okay but unhappy that she hadn’t contacted them.
In an instant, his brothers had the door slammed down and the place filled with smoke bombs and fake explosions. The shock-and-awe approach always worked in these types of situations.
Twenty minutes later and they had forty-two men and women under arrest and a successful raid accomplished.
As they did a sweep of the surrounding buildings, Jake notified Logan through his headset that he found someone.
“I got one drugged out asshole in cuffs. He’s flying high and carrying on about money missing and being a dead man.”
“Do you recognize him?” Logan asked.
“No, but that’s the least of my worries. He’s a skull head.”
“Then what’s the problem? Just bring him in.”
“The main problem is that I smell our mate,” Jake stated through what sounded like clenched teeth.
Logan’s own temper began to rise.
“On him?” Frankie asked, joining the conversation and sounding about ready to roar.
“No. But she was here. I found a bracelet, too. It smells like her. It’s hers.”
“What the fuck was she doing there?”
“I think we need to bring her in, Logan. Burrow could be onto something. She’s a potential suspect. She could be involved with all of this,” Jake said
.
Logan felt his brothers’ emotions. They were all angry, concerned, and wondered if their mate was involved with drug dealing and with Bret.
“Give the skull to one of the patrol officers and get back here. Our job is done, and we need to find Melissa,” Logan stated, and they all hurried back to the truck.
* * * *
Melissa was exhausted as she jumped into the car to head back home. She was slowly starting to relax. It was done. She made it, and now Celine would be fine. The babies would have their mother, and Melissa would be finished with doing hits on the bad guys. She had written out four separate deposit slips and precise plans for Celine to follow to break down the money so there would be no way of tracing it. She hoped Celine could handle it.
She pulled her car into the parking spot and turned off the ignition. As she exited her car, she heard a sound, and in an instant her body was pressed against the car and her legs spread.
“Put your hands on the vehicle and spread your legs!” Jake ordered, pressing his thick, hard body against her back, forcing her legs open and her hands up against the metal of the car.
“What’s going on? What did I do?” she asked, her cracking voice giving away her instant fear. She was terrified. They caught her. They knew what she did.
He frisked her, being thorough as he pressed under her breasts to the metal wire, then between her legs and against her pussy and inner thighs.
Holy shit, she was panting, and did she just moan?
“Is she clean?” a voice asked, and she tried to turn to see who it was, but Frankie held her hair and pressed his face against her cheek. He inhaled then whispered.
“I think further investigation is needed, sir,” he responded, like some trained soldier taking a command from his leader. She wasn’t frightened, in fact she was utterly turned on by their power and control. She was guilty, but they had yet to explain why they were arresting her. As intimidating and turned on as she was, she needed to remain in control here.
She saw Jake as he quickly searched her vehicle. She was smarter than that. She wouldn’t leave any evidence or money in her car, especially since she knew that Chico marked his money and that maybe Bret did the same.
Dwyer, Dixie Lynn - SWAT Team Two and Miss Robin Hood [The Men of Five-0 #2] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever) Page 9