by Jill Sanders
Lasting Pride
Roberta Stanton had grown up a thief on the streets of Portland. Breaking into the old building had been easy, and she’d gotten away with it. Or so she thought. It had only cost her the lives of seven close friends. Years later now, Rob finds herself on the other side of the law.
Ric Derby owns the Blue Spot art galleries. Murder and a million dollar theft bring them together. A personal vendetta from a dark figure threatens them both. Retreating to the safety of the small town of Pride, Ric must fight to protect the only person he’s ever truly loved.
Other titles by Jill Sanders
Finding Pride – Pride Series #1
Discovering Pride – Pride Series #2
Returning Pride – Pride Series #3
Lasting Pride – Pride Series #4
Serving Pride – Prequel to Pride Series #5
Red Hot Christmas – A Pride Christmas #6
Secret Seduction – Secret Series #1
Secret Pleasure – Secret Series #2
Secret Guardian – Secret Series #3
Secret Passions – Secret Series #4
Secret Identity – Secret Series #5
Secret Obsession – Secret Series #6
Secret Demands – Secret Series #7
Secret Sauce – Secret Series #8
Cowgirls Ride Harder – Book one Cowgirls Series
Cowgirls Ride Faster – Book two Cowgirls Series
Cowgirls Ride Longer – Book three Cowgirls Series
Lasting Pride
Jill Sanders
LASTING PRIDE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1490909264
Copyright © 2013 Jill Sanders
Edited by Erica Ellis – http://ericaellisfreelance.com
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Dedication
To my incredible twin,
who has been and will
always be with me.
Chapter One
She could feel her muscles screaming. Her arms shook as she pulled herself up to the window and peaked inside. The shaking had nothing to do with the ninety degree weather or the fact that she’d strained her tiny arms to pull her ninety-five pound body up five feet. If someone had asked her she would have denied that they shook because she was scared. She was a Shadow and Shadows didn’t get scared. No matter what! She peeked into the dark window as she moved her tiny body and got a better hold on the narrow ledge. The old place had sat empty for years, however now she could see boxes piled up across the dark room and right in the middle of those boxes sat a small safe. Bingo.
Billy would be so proud. He might be a little pissed that she hadn’t invited the gang along for the job, but, he would over look it for the loot she was sure to bring back. She knew this old place like the back of her hand, after all, she’d lived in the building for over a year. It was the year right after her old man had ended up dead on the sidewalk outside their hotel room.
She cupped her hands and checked the place out, just to make sure it was empty. She could smell the new paint and noticed that the walls were no longer a dingy brown. Someone had painted them a nice glossy white making them look new, which actually worked in her favor, now she would be able to see in the dark better. The light from the streets angled in the tall windows, reflected off the high gloss walls, illuminating the whole room. She wouldn’t even need the pen flashlight which was tucked in her pocket.
Reaching into her other pocket she pulled out the small knife, her old man had lifted it for her tenth birthday. She expertly flipped it open and jammed it under the window sill and searched for the small lock she knew so well. There! The window creaked, then slid open silently. Pulling her agile body over the sill, she slowly slid down to the hardwood floor. Listening the whole time and keeping her eyes pealed, just like her old man had taught her.
Hearing and seeing nothing out of sorts, she moved with grace across the floor, her dirty Keds didn’t make a sound on the floorboards. She knew which boards would creek and easily avoided them. Halfway across the room she heard a siren in the distance, and just for a minute, her heart stopped. She stood motionless, waiting, holding her breath, ready to sprint out the window and run for her life. When the sirens started fading, she released her breath in a soft whoosh.
Moving a little faster, she reached the safe. Perfect! It was an older model and she thought she could easily crack this one in her sleep. Leaning over and placing her ear to the cool metal door, she got to work.
It had taken her almost five minutes to crack the damn thing. She could blame it on the lack of light, but the truth was, it was her sweaty hands that kept slipping on the cool knob. Finally, when the safe door slid silently open, a huge smile appeared on her face. She was seventeen years old and the best thief in Portland, Oregon. Well, she’d been the best ever since her old man had died of a stroke.
Inside the small safe was a treasure. Over a thousand in cash, which she quickly rolled up and placed in her pocket. There was a large stack of checks which she left alone. A small black box sat in the back of the safe, reaching in she grabbed the silk case and quickly stashed it in her jacket pocket. This was the best haul since her and her old man had broken into the liquor store. She’d been nine at the time and thought they’d hit the jack-pot with three thousand dollars. Not to mention her father had grabbed enough liquor to last him a month.
She pulled out the packet of baby wipes from her pocket and wiped the outside of the safe down like she’d been taught. Making sure to go over the handle three times. Then she closed the safe with a small click, spun the dial, and stuffed the wipes in her jeans and let herself out of the old building on Main Street.
An hour later, she made her way over to the base of the Shadows, they weren’t the best known gang in Portland, but they were her family.
As she crawled through the broken fence, Johnny, tonight’s lookout sat on the ground crossed legged, smoking a cigarette.
“Billy’s pissed,” he said and flicked the butt across the yard.
It was the simple statement that stopped her. She thought of turning around and playing it cool for a couple of days, but instead she held her chin up and marched in the back door. This week’s base, was nothing more than an old bowling ally that had half burned down three months ago. No one drove by, and no one bothered them since the neighborhood had gone down the toilet years ago.
She walked into the small room, which hadn’t been burned, at the back of the building. She noticed that Bonnie, her best friend, was sprawled across Billy’s lap on an old green couch.
The pair had been going steady since they were six after running away from their foster parents. It had taken several years for the relationship to turn from brotherly and sisterly into what it was today. Rob looked up to them and hoped someday to find something close to what they had.
“Where you been, little girl?” Billy asked without taking his eyes off Bonnie. At the sharpness of his voice, Rob cringed and Bonnie sat up and stretched.
“Just strolling,” Rob said dropping the cash on the table in front of the pair. “Thought you might like to eat out tonight.” Rob plopped down and sat cross legged on the floor, leaning against an old leather chair.
&nbs
p; “Where did you get this?” Bonnie asked, as she reached over and started to count the money. Billy looked at Rob and as much as she knew he didn’t want to let it show, Rob could tell he was proud.
“Is this how it’s going to be? You going off on your own all the damn time, not including your family? Damn it Rob!” He pushed Bonnie off his lap, and walked over to pull Rob up by her elbows. “We’re a family here, and damn it, if you can’t respect that, you can use the door. Got it?”
They were nose to nose now and she could smell the beer. Just for a second, she flashed back to a memory. It wasn’t Billy digging his fingers into her skin, but her old man and this time he wouldn’t stop at a simple slap or push. This time it would be bad.
She was shaken out of it when Bonnie said, “Billy, leave her alone!” Bonnie sat down with the cash in her hands. “There’s over a thousand here.”
Billy turned back to Rob. “Where the hell did you get it?”
“No place, just fell from the sky I guess.” Rob took a step forward and challenged Billy. “You want to say other wise?”
For what seemed like a life time, the two battled silently with their eyes. Then Billy blinked and smiled. “Fine little girl, you have your secrets. Let’s go get some grub, I’m starved.”
The Shadows consisted of fourteen members and it was growing bigger every day. The youngest member was eleven and the oldest was Billy at eighteen.
Rob was second in command, not only because of her age, but because of her talent. She was the only member who had received a full education. She’d gone to school and at fifteen she had gotten her damn GED. It wasn’t as if she was a super genius or anything. She just had a really good memory and picked up on every detail. It wasn’t her fault things just stuck. Anyway, her old man had been proud, so proud in fact, that after receiving her diploma, he’d taken them out and had gotten wasted. Then, he’d robbed a local mart and beat the crap out of her a few hours later. Rob didn’t want to owe anybody anything and even though the Shadows called her family, she knew exactly what they were…
The three of them made their way over to the local Chuck E. Cheese for some cheese pizza’s and root beer. As they walked the few blocks, they ran into other members of the gang, soon there were eight of them walking along the dark road, Rob had to admit that she felt more comfortable in the larger group.
They were half-a-block away, when she heard the low rumble of the car engine. Looking up, she saw the lights before anyone else did. It seemed like a lifetime, but in reality it had taken less than a minute for her entire world to change.
Chapter Two
When the cops arrived ten minutes later, there was no one left standing. The ambulance had pulled up a few seconds before the first officer on the scene. The paramedic had just stood and looked in horror.
Bonnie and Billy lay sprawled on each other. Tom and Craig, the two brothers, had tried to run, but were now laying face down three feet away. Jenny had been the first to get shot, she had a hole in her head that had turned her pretty blond hair to a deep red. The other kids had looked no better.
“Damn gang wars going on in my fucking backyard,” Detective Johns had been on the force for over fifteen years and had never seen anything like what he was looking at. Eight young kids, no older than his own boy Stephan had been gunned down half a block from the Chuck E. Cheese. Where unknowing families were celebrating birthdays, eating pizza, and playing games.
What was this city coming to? He looked over the faces of the kids and felt his heart break a little.
“Any witnesses?” he already knew the answer, but had to ask anyway. Hell, he knew that even if someone had seen what had gone down, no one would step forward.
“No sir,” the young cop, whose face was whiter than a sheet of paper, stepped forward.
“Any IDs?” He knew that answer too. He looked down at a pretty blond girl and remembered seeing her face on a runaway poster not too long ago.
Just then, he heard a small sound and looked over to a dark haired girl. Her eyelids fluttered. “Get that goddamn paramedic over here ASAP! Damn it man, didn’t you check for pulses?” He raced over to the girl and bent to check for one himself. Her pulse was strong and her skin felt warm. There was blood all over her face, arms, and legs. He ran his hands over her small body checking for holes. He found none.
“Get your fucking pig hands off me!” It came out as a whisper.
“You just sit still girl, you hear me? Are you shot or hurt anywhere?”
“Get your hands off me,” she said again, this time with a little more strength.
“Just hang on here,” he shifted so the light fell on the girl’s face.
She looked down at her own hands and started frantically trying to rub off the blood onto her jeans.
“Get this off me! Damn it! Get it off me,” she continued to scrub at the blood, using her shirt now. A paramedic handed her a wipe and she went to work trying to clean herself up.
Detective Johns tried to angle her so her back was to the terrible scene. She continued to clean her hands and moved aside as she stood. The paramedics brought a gurney over.
“What’s your name?” the paramedic asked while helping her onto the gurney.
“None of your goddamn business,” she shot back, still cleaning her hands.
“It would do you a world of good to answer that question,” the detective said firmly. The girl looked up at him with large hazel eyes. He could see a small battle in her eyes, and he could see the intelligence radiating from her. This was a smart one, one to be watched, he thought.
She blinked. “Rob… Roberta Stanton.”
He smiled, “Well Roberta Stanton, did you see who did this to your friends?”
The old man wasn’t half bad looking, Rob thought. Nice clear blue eyes, wide face, thinning blond hair. Looked like someone else’s old man, not hers.
“It was a late model Ford LTD, Burgundy, License plate ACF… seven… something,” she shook her head, “There were three white guys; driver was a Hispanic girl about my age. Two had black hoods on, one had a ball cap, and the girl had red streaks in her hair.”
“How could you tell all that?” The younger EMT asked while he pulled the blood pressure cup off her arm. They started to wheel her towards the ambulance.
“Good eyesight and memory, I guess,” she shrugged.
“How could you tell they were white if they had hoods on?” Detective Johns asked.
“White hands,” she looked over his shoulder to the pile of kids behind him. “They’re all dead?” she looked back to him.
“Yes, I’m afraid so. Roberta Stanton, Rob, will you help me get the people who took your family away?”
“They weren’t my family,” she said, but her eyes told him she was lying.
“Your friends then,” he stopped the gurney before the EMTs could put her in the back of the ambulance.
“Yeah, sure. What else have I got to do now?”
Ten years later:
She pulled herself up one last time, her arms screamed with pain, her muscles burned from carrying her one hundred-twenty frame. Her eyes were focused straight ahead, not really seeing anything.
“Damn Rob, how many pull-ups do you do everyday?” Rookie Steve Ratter asked from the weight bench next to the chin-up bars.
“One hundred,” Sergeant Johns said from behind her.
Breathing outwards slowly, she lowered herself down and wrapped a white towel around her neck. Her arms screamed, her hands ached, and she felt alive. “Nowhere near that many Sergeant, and you know it.”
“Rob, I’ve watched you everyday for the past ten years now, and know damn well you do one hundred pull-ups every day of your miserable life. Don’t be so modest. Rookie,” the Sergeant pointed over to the young man bending over to tie his shoe. “You’d do well to learn discipline from the detective here. She’s not only the smartest cop working on the force,” he got a bunch of laughs from the room at that remark, “she’s the toughest.” The
room went silent.
Rob could see the pride showing on the old man’s face. It had been ten years since that terrible night her life had changed. The old man had taken her in, like she was his own. She finished Police Academy in record time, then went on to get her detective badge faster than anyone in Portland’s history. Sure, she’d taken a year off to do some traveling, thanks to a big bonus she’d gotten one year. But now, she had a small apartment on the south side in a nice quiet neighborhood, a used car that was paid off, and a cat named Jack. She hadn’t changed all that much, but one thing was for sure. She was on the right side of the law now. The gold ring on her right finger was a constant reminder of where she had come from.
When she’d gotten to the hospital ten years ago they had searched her pockets, and came up with the black silk box. She hadn’t even looked inside it that night, not until Detective Johns had come knocking the next morning. The place she had robbed had reported money missing, but not a ring. Well, since they had found the money on Billy’s possession, they had blamed him. The ring was hers to keep, and her burden of the truth.