I vaguely remembered the liquor store being robbed. Steven and my brother were older than me. When they were graduating high school, I was still in middle school. I was stuck on the Steven covering up a murder part. Is that why he looked out for me? Out of guilt, not because he was my friend? I couldn’t even begin to process that my brother possibly murdered two people. That would explain his sudden drug use and why he pulled away from my mom and me. Our dad left when I was too young to even remember him. My mom blamed Brian’s drug use on growing up without a father. She needed something to blame at the time.
“Where are you on the confidential informant notation?” Clark continued.
I was grateful that he was moving the conversation away from my brother.
“Detective Cummings of the Petersburg PD is the point man for Gains. Officially, Gains, out of the kindness of his heart, informed Cummings of a drug shipment being transported by a local motorcycle club. We know that’s bullshit; I have feelers out trying to get the scoop on what really happened,” Connor said.
“Peter Cummings?” I asked.
“Yeah, you know him?”
“Yes, Peter went to school with Brian and Liam. Peter was in and out of Liam’s house frequently. They discussed patrol routes.”
“So, Cummings is a hack. What a fucking disgrace to the badge,” Connor snarled. He hated dirty cops. Connor was proud to have served on the force before becoming a Marshal.
“Gains and Cummings work together to try and keep Gains' runs as clean as possible, but he has him in the system as a CI in case he gets jacked up on a delivery. The cops won’t touch Gains. To make it look legit, Gains snitched on an MC. Also, this clears the path for more drug sales if the competition is out of the game. Gains branches out and starts running drugs down here.” Jasper pieced together as Lenox wrote on the whiteboard. “The dumb fuck Miller becomes a distributor for Gains here on base.”
The door opened, and a large man walked in. “You ladies better have something good for me,” his voice boomed in the large space. He came to a stop in front of Jasper. “What, is today show and tell or bring your girlfriend to work day?” The man looked at me, and I had the sudden urge to run and hide. His stare was lethal. “I thought you said that Emily Jenkins wouldn’t be an issue?”
Connor started to speak but wisely stopped when Jasper put his hand up. “There’s been a new development. We needed intel from her,” Jasper explained.
“And you’re personally taking responsibility for her?” the man asked.
“Roger, Commander.”
Holy shit, this man was the Commander? No one saluted him when he walked in the door.
“You may be one of my best operatives, but so help me God, if this goes sideways I will have your ass in a sling. You’ll be in a hole so fast your hair will catch fire.”
“Copy that.”
After the Commander was done chewing Jasper’s ass, he turned to me. “Ma’am, first let me say I’m sorry for your loss. Jenkins was a fine man, one I am proud to have served with. I assume you understand the circumstances you find yourself in are precarious at best. You are not to talk about these men to anyone – not your mother, your friends, hell, not even your priest. This unit does not exist. While I appreciate your personal sacrifice to this nation, your behind will be right next to Jasper’s if you breathe a word about these men.” Jasper’s growl could be heard in the now silent room. “You have a problem, son?”
“Quite frankly I do, sir. The fact that you find it necessary to threaten Emily tells me that you don’t trust not only my judgment but my competency. Emily has been briefed; as has Deputy O’Brien. Neither of them would be in this room now if they had not been fully vetted and it was not pertinent to the operation.”
“Trust but verify,” the Commander said.
“Yes, sir, I fully understand,” I managed to squeak out.
“If you’d like, you can go sit on the couch. We’ll come and get you if we have any more questions,” Jasper whispered to me. “I’m sorry you’re stuck here.”
“Thanks. I’ll do that.”
I made my way to the couch on shaky legs, giving myself a wide clearance from the electrified cage of death. I plopped down on the worn-out sofa and wondered why in the world Jasper would put his career and freedom on the line for me. Not that it would be an issue, I’d never say anything to anyone. However, the fact remained him bringing me here meant he trusted me with his life and the lives of his team.
I wasn’t sure what to make of that.
Chapter Ten
Jasper
I was relieved when Connor kept his mouth shut, him jumping to Emily’s defense would’ve only made the situation worse. The Commander was a straight shooter; if he had a problem with what you were doing, he told you. I had been expecting to get my ass chewed for having Emily here. I hadn’t cleared it with the Commander. I made the decision to bring her with me without anyone’s prior knowledge, but I wasn’t taking any chances with her safety. Also, because I was afraid she’d follow through and pack up and leave. I couldn’t let that happen. There was the added benefit that she had useful intel that saved us time. The connection between Gains and Cummings would’ve been made; however, it would’ve taken us a few hours to find. A few hours we didn’t have.
“What did you get on Philips?” the Commander asked, completely ignoring Connor’s presence, which irked me even more. He had read Emily the riot act yet had said nothing to Connor.
“I was about to brief the team now,” Levi said, “I’ve spent what was left of last night putting wiretaps into place. Our boy has been busy this morning. You want the good news or the bad news first?”
“Good news,” I answered.
“Good news is Phillips is a chatty motherfucker. He made a call to his girlfriend.”
“Phillips is married,” I interjected.
“He is. Has been for almost twenty years. His girlfriend, Beverly, however, lives in town with their three-year-old daughter. His next call was to his bookie to bet on a baseball game and to see when and where the next poker game would be. The next called proved to be the most help. Phillips called a guy named Max Stevenson and said he needed to score and asked him if he had a hookup. Stevenson told him that he knew someone who could help him out. Said he’d let him know when and where as soon as he got a hold of Gains.”
“The bad news?” Clark asked.
“We have a dirty, womanizing, gambling, coke head in our ranks. Who, by the way, sold information to Roman.” Levi smiled.
“Asshole, you could’ve lead with that,” Lenox grumbled, still writing on the whiteboard.
Lenox had everything mapped out like a fucked-up family tree of criminals and how everyone intersected with each other. Written at the top of the board was the one question that was burning my gut: Did Gains know that Emily worked at the bank?
After everything Connor had told us about Steven having the murder weapon, it was doubtful Gains would take the chance and seek out Emily. Unless he thought since Steven was dead, there was no longer a threat.
“Something’s bothering me,” I blurted out. “The branch manager. He had a self-inflicted gunshot. Why would the manager kill himself? Who picked that bank to rob and why?”
“If you hadn’t killed two of them, we might’ve been able to ask,” Clark shot back.
“Does anyone care I found the connection between Phillips and Roman?” Levi asked.
“Did we run a background check on the manager?” I asked.
“Christ. Yes, I did. He was meaningless,” Levi said, disappointed we were not jumping on the information about Roman. I hated loose ends, and the manager was unaccounted for.
“The manager was Miller’s stepfather. Not too far of a stretch to figure it was an inside job. The report says he never even came out of his office,” Connor said, reading from the file in his hand. “He and his wife were in financial ruin with the attorney’s fees they were paying for Miller. They also took a second mortgage out on th
e house, which Emily did process.”
“Not surprised, she was the only loan officer at that branch.” I didn’t like that Connor threw that last part in. There was no way she had any involvement.
“Easy, Rambo. I of all people know that Emily’s clean. Simply stating the facts. His wife had also filed for divorce, citing infidelity.” He finished and put the file back on the table.
“Levi, whatcha got?” I asked.
“Those weekly deposits came from an account in the Caymans. It was another one of Roman’s fronts. A business account that had deposits made into it from Roman’s account we tracked to Nova Scotia. The same account he used to donate money to Lily’s Charity.”
The vein in the side of Lenox’s neck looked like it was ready to explode. I couldn’t blame him. Roman had found Lily and stalked her. After Lenox had tried to hide her away, he even went as far as to fake his own death to keep her safe. Lenox gave up twelve years with the woman he loved, and Roman had almost killed her.
“How do we handle this, Commander?” Clark asked.
This was going to get tricky. We were on American soil. There were rules here, rules we did not play by when we were in theatre.
“Motherfucker, clusterfuck of shit,” the Commander muttered. “Goddamn, what’s happening to this base? Are there any soldiers left who still believe in loyalty, morality, and service? All I see are a bunch of weak-minded doppers who steal and sell-out their country. Has Phillips been in contact with anyone else about the information he has access to?”
“Negative,” Levi answered.
“Sit on his ass and listen. Before we take him out, I want to know for sure.”
“Copy that.” Levi turned and started typing on his laptop.
“And Gains?” I asked.
“Find him, and bring him to the shed. Let’s find out what he knows before we turn him over.” The Commander pinned me with his stare. “I don’t suppose if I told you not to do anything stupid you’d listen?”
“No, sir. I will do whatever I have to, to protect Emily and Jason. I will make sure there’s no blowback on the team.”
“Christ Almighty! And if you get caught? You’re willing to throw your career away? Your team?” he pressed.
I loved my job, and my teammates were brothers to me. I didn’t love Emily, and I was still trying to reconcile if there was even a chance for us, but my answer came quick. It was a no-brainer, I’d give it up if it meant Emily and Jason were safe.
“Yes,” I answered him.
The Commander took a minute to mull over my answer. When he spoke again, he was looking directly at Connor. “You can leave now if you feel so compelled, Mr. U.S. Marshal. I mean no disrespect by that. You vowed to uphold the law. This next conversation might not be so lawful.”
“I’m straight,” Connor said.
“If she means that much to you, I’ll have your back if the need were to arise. But Sweet Jesus, try not to kill him. I can pull a lot of strings, but if there are witnesses, it’s gonna be a cluster. I just got you off the hook for the last two bodies. A murder charge will be difficult.”
“Copy that.”
“Alright, ladies. There’s work to do, get to it.”
The Commander didn’t wait for us to say our goodbyes before he was out the door.
“We’ll wait and see if Phillips makes contact with Gains. Hopefully, they give us a time and place for the drop. We’ll grab Gains from there,” Clark said.
I was torn between going with my team to pick up Gains and staying with Emily and Jason. I’m sure Connor would stay with them if I asked, but I didn’t trust anyone with her safety. Not even Connor.
“I’ll take Emily to go run her errands and pick up Jason from school. Somewhere in there, I have to stop by my place to shower and change clothes,” I told the guys.
“You staying with her?” Lenox asked.
“Abso-fuckin-lutely.”
“Lily would love to see her. She doesn’t know about this newest threat, but she’s worried because Emily hasn’t been around much since the robbery.”
I already knew that. When I wasn’t at work, I had been following Emily. She had only stopped by Lenox’s house twice in the last month.
“As soon as we have a lock on Gains, I’ll bring her over. I don’t want to bring Gains to your doorstep.”
“Roger,” he agreed.
Levi, Clark, and Lenox went about getting to work, and I was ignoring Connor’s death stare by scanning the whiteboard. However, after a solid two minutes of feeling his eyes trying to bore holes in my head, I couldn’t tune it out anymore. When I fully turned toward him, his brows were pinched together, and he looked pissed. I wanted to question him again about his relationship with Emily. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was jealous.
“Would you like to step outside to do this so Emily doesn’t hear?” I asked.
“You gonna get loud?” he asked.
“It depends on what you have to say. Because I gotta tell you, with everything going on, my patience is worn thin. I’m still pissed you looked into me. Even though I get it, it doesn’t make me happy. And at the moment I’m more concerned with Emily and Jason than what you think of me, or if I’ll man up.”
“I think you proved today that you are more than capable of manning up. I was gonna say thank you for taking Emily’s back with your Commander. And see if there was anything I can help you with.”
“Yeah, there is. How well do you know Emily’s mom?” I asked.
“Well.”
“Is she a rational woman?”
I needed to know if I was walking into a landmine with the mom.
“Hell no. That woman will lose her shit if she thinks Emily’s in trouble, and not in a normal Mama Bear way. She will come apart and have a nervous breakdown, meaning that Emily will have to take care of her.”
That was the last thing we needed. I didn’t want Emily stressed out over her mom. I needed her mind on her surroundings and staying vigilant about safety.
“I need you to have my back on a few things,” I told him.
“Whatever you need.”
“First, I’m sending Emily’s mom on a trip to California. I need her someplace safe and away from Emily. We need a good excuse, and the trip should come from you. Tell me what you come up with, and I’ll book her a ticket, but it needs to be today. The other thing I need is if Emily tells you she’s moving away, you discourage her. I’ve told her twice now she’s not moving, but she says she wants to run. I need them here. I cannot protect them if I have to chase her ass down.”
“Did you just hear what you said?” he asked.
What the hell was he talking about? “Send Emily’s mom to California. Don’t let her move or I can’t watch out for her?” I repeated.
“You said them. Tell her, Jasper. And don’t worry about Betsy. I’ll go over there now and tell her she’s going on vacation. I’ll explain I bought a ticket to go but have to work and I don’t want it going to waste. She’ll jump on it. As far as them leaving, over my dead body is she going anywhere.”
“Pushy prick,” I grumbled, and Connor laughed. “I appreciate your concern, but it’s not your fucking business.”
“She’s my business. Always will be. I’m telling you this man to man, pull your head out of your ass and claim that woman before you lose her completely. If I know Emily at all, she’s over there thinking of all the reasons she needs to push you away. The newest addition to the list is you fucking up your job because of her.”
I looked at Emily, and sure enough, she was curled into herself on the couch worrying her bottom lip, deep in thought.
Hell no! That wasn’t going to do.
“Soon,” I told him.
I needed to talk to Clark. He was always the voice of reason on the team. I knew what Lenox and Levi would say. But Clark, he was a man with his own secrets; he’d know what was going on in my head.
“I’m going to see Betsy. I’ll text you when it’s done.”
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“Thanks.”
Connor said his goodbyes to the guys and made his way over to Emily. I caught Clark’s attention and gestured for him to follow me outside. The door was barely closing when Clark came through it, followed by Lenox and Levi.
“Don’t roll your eyes.” Clark laughed. “I thought you could tell us all at once. Save you the hassle of three individual conversations.”
Now that I had them all in front of me, I wasn’t sure what it was I wanted to ask Clark about.
“What’s stopping you?” Lenox asked.
“She has a kid.”
“And?” Levi asked.
“And? And?” Fuck me, I was stuttering. I couldn’t put into words how I felt.
“And you don’t think you can be a dad, or more to the point, you should ever be a dad again because of Alesha.” Clark helpfully finished what I was trying to say.
“Something like that, yes.”
“You still feel responsible for Alesha being stillborn.”
“I am responsible,” I told him.
“I get it. Fuck do I ever get it, the weight of guilt is crippling.” Clark’s eyes clouded over like he remembered something painful. “It’s time to stop being a dumbass. You deserve to be happy. You need to talk to her.”
“I can’t. What if she doesn’t trust me to take care of her and Jason when I tell her I couldn’t even keep my daughter safe?”
“I don’t mean to sound like an insensitive dick here, but you couldn’t protect Alesha. What happened was a tragic accident.”
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