Shit. Finn’s belly writhed unhappily.
The door to the bar banged shut and sound erupted inside. Monique charged across the bar toward him. “What the hell happened?”
“She’s been arrested for dealing meth.”
Monique’s mouth dropped open in complete shock before snapping shut. “If you believe that then you don’t know her at all. Tucker would never do anything to jeopardize the Rose. God,” her eyes screwed shut, “this is going to ruin her business.”
A few days ago, Finn would have argued the same thing. The Tucker he knew wouldn’t have ever done anything to hurt her bar. This place was her life. But if the bar was in trouble...? Wyatt’s words rang through his ears one more time. If she was truly in financial trouble would she have grasped at straws and turned to something that would earn her quick money?
Wyatt joined them. Before he could ask, Monique gave him the run-down.
“What do you mean? How do you know she’s been dealing? That doesn’t sound like her at all.”
Finn shook his head. “I found meth in her safe, guys. A lot of it. And there’s evidence beyond that. It looks bad.”
“You’re wrong,” Wyatt said, absolute certainty ringing in his voice.
God, he wanted his faith to be as rock solid, but it just wasn’t possible. Not with all of the evidence mounted against her.
But the doubt was there. The look of devastation on Tucker’s face...that was hard to fake.
A vision of that teddy bear, where he’d dropped it onto her desk as Dade and Simmons came in, filled his head.
He strode back into her office, desperation and hope tangling together as he snatched the bear up.
14
THE WALK TO that squad car was interminable. The expressions on her employees’ faces...those hurt. All the customers gaping at her, too.
This was going to be everywhere within minutes. Social media could be such a curse at times like these. And no matter what happened, the Rose would forever be tainted by this story. Everyone would assume her bar was a seedy place and she’d lose customers.
The image she’d worked so hard to build had been damaged beyond repair.
But she couldn’t worry about that right now. She had bigger things to deal with.
Finn’s reaction made one thing clear, she was alone in this. Although, hadn’t she always been?
For a few days he’d convinced her to forget the lessons she’d learned the hard way—that you could only depend on yourself.
Standing there, staring at him, as Dade had snapped those cuffs around her wrists, his cold expression had cut deep. Deeper than she could bear. Her chest literally ached, as if someone had taken their fist and punched it through her solar plexus.
That moment was her worst nightmare come to fruition. This, this was exactly what she’d spent her entire life avoiding.
Damn Finn for making her care—for making her trust him—and then walking away when she’d needed him to believe in her most.
The process of being booked was humiliating. They took mug shots and fingerprints. Her attorney showed up. Monique must have called him since Tucker hadn’t had the chance. He specialized in business, but brought a friend of his who handled criminal cases.
She explained the entire situation to them.
“I really wish you’d waited to tell them about that camera, Tucker,” Mark grumbled as he made notes on the yellow legal pad in front of him. “You’re assuming they’ll look at the footage and do the right thing if it exonerates you.”
On that she had little doubt. Finn’s sense of honor and inflexible view of right and wrong were the reason she was in this place. She had no doubt that if he watched it, and there was something on it that helped, he’d make damn sure everyone knew.
Although, Tucker wasn’t sure it would matter. Even if they let her walk out of the station right now, the damage was done—not just to her business, but her relationship with Finn.
Eventually, both men left and an officer escorted her to a cell. Her chest tightened as the bars clanged shut behind her.
The space was stark and small, painted a depressing shade of green-brown. There was a single bed, toilet and sink. At least she had the cell to herself.
It was late and, after everything that had happened, her body was exhausted. Curling up on the bed, Tucker was asleep within minutes, grateful for any respite from what she was dealing with.
What felt like only moments later, but was probably closer to several hours, the bars rumbled open again.
Simmons stood on the other side, the expression on his face even grimmer than it had been when he’d walked into her office to arrest her.
This wasn’t going to be good.
Sweeping his arm out, he indicated she could leave the cell. Instead of leading her back down the hallway to one of the interrogation rooms, he took her to the women’s bathroom, handed her the clothes and belongings she’d been wearing and said, “Get changed. I’ll drive you home.”
“Excuse me?”
“The tape is dark, so we can’t identify the person who placed the drugs in your safe.”
Then why the hell was he letting her go?
“But it’s clear that whoever it is, isn’t you...you’re too damn small. In fact, we’ve been looking for a woman because that’s what our informant told us. But it’s clearly a man who accessed your safe. Any idea who that could be?”
Tucker closed her eyes. There were a few options, but she wasn’t about to throw someone else under the bus. She’d just gotten herself out from under it.
“I’ve not shared the combination with anyone, but obviously that hasn’t stopped someone. So I can’t say for sure.” She gave him a hard glance. “And I’m not certain I would if I could, considering I spent last night in jail despite the fact that I’m innocent.”
Simmons sucked in a deep breath and let it out on a slow sigh. “I’m really sorry, Tucker.”
Yeah, she’d just bet. “Little good that’s going to do my business. My reputation—and the reputation of my bar—is ruined.”
“I’ll do whatever I can to help with that.”
“Sure, because everyone pays attention when the police issue a mea culpa. No doubt that social media post won’t go viral, unlike the pictures of me being led out in handcuffs.”
He swore under his breath.
“My thought exactly.”
“I suppose we’ve lost your cooperation in catching the real dealer?”
There was a part of her that wanted to tell him he could never darken her door again, but that would be stupid. This asshole, whoever it was, was just as responsible for ruining her business as Finn, Dade and Simmons were. More, since they’d just been doing their jobs.
“Of course not. I want this prick caught just as much as you do.”
He nodded, waited outside the restroom as she changed then escorted her out to his car.
What hurt almost more than anything was that Finn wasn’t the one doing this. Obviously, he’d seen the video and knew he was wrong. But he hadn’t shown up to apologize and make it right.
Instead, he’d let Simmons handle the whole thing.
Just as well, because she had no idea what she wanted to say to him when she saw him again. Whatever it was, wouldn’t be nice.
Maybe it was better this way. Better if they never saw each other again.
* * *
IT’D BEEN LATE morning when Simmons had released her. Monique and Wyatt had both tried to convince her to take the night off, but she’d needed work—needed the Rose—so she’d come in. Now she was desperately trying to just get through the rest of the night. Obviously she was failing miserably at pretending everything was okay. Several of her waitresses had approached her, asking if there was anything they could do to help
.
She’d explained to everyone that it had been a huge misunderstanding and she’d been released after all charges against her had been dropped.
But that didn’t stop everyone from staring at her with concern and pity. Hopefully that would stop soon, because it was driving her crazy. She was used to being the one offering help, not the other way around. The whole situation made her uncomfortable.
The first several times, she’d told whoever asked that she was fine. But the more she said it, the more she realized it wasn’t true. Not even close.
And she needed an outlet. The pain, anger and grief were just building inside her chest, expanding to the point of choking her. So when Monique came up to her after closing and asked her again if she was okay the truth just spilled out.
“No, I’m not. Everything is messed up.”
Pulling her over to the bar, Monique poured her a shot of tequila and pushed it into her hand. “Do you mean the bar or Finn?”
The answer should be simple. The Rose should have been the only thing she really cared about, but the damage that’d been done didn’t even rank compared to the seeping wound across her heart.
“Both.” It was the honest answer. “But I’m not sure the Rose will recover. You saw the crowd tonight, not nearly as big as usual. The damage has already been done.”
Grabbing another glass, Monique poured herself a shot, downed it, then took another.
“Whoa.” Wasn’t Tucker supposed to be the one drowning her misery?
Monique turned to her and for the first time, Tucker realized her eyes were glittering with tears. “I’m so sorry.”
“About what?” Monique had nothing to apologize for. Please, let Monique’s tears be sympathy and not what Tucker was seriously afraid of.
“I got into trouble a couple years ago. It started out as recreation—pot, pills, just on the weekends and at parties. For a good time, you know? But it quickly got out of hand. The guy I usually bought from was out one night and I needed a fix. So I contacted a friend who put me in touch with someone else. Long story short, I got busted.”
“Oh, Monique.” Tears welled in Tucker’s eyes. How had she not known her friend was using? Had she been that blind and wrapped up in her own life? Or had Monique kept that to herself because she knew Tucker wouldn’t approve?
Monique shook her head. “No. I don’t need or deserve your pity. I did this to myself. A day or two after I was arrested, I received a phone call. This guy, voice disguised with one of those machines, told me if I agreed to work for him—for free—he could have the charges dropped. I mean, it was either face jail time, lose my entire life, including my husband, or agree to sell. I got help and got clean, but I couldn’t shake this guy.”
She dropped her head into her hands, rubbing across her face and spreading the silent tears. “I’ve tried, believe me. It’s not all the time, but a couple times a week he sends people my way. Mostly airmen looking for a good time. Best I can figure, he chose me because of my job. It started when we were at that place downtown and followed me here. I’m so damn sorry, Tucker. You have no idea how much.”
“I found some drugs last Friday night. Were those yours?”
“Yes. I don’t like to keep them on me during shift.”
“What about the meth in my safe? Was that you too?” Tucker wasn’t sure she really wanted to know the answer. How would she feel if one of her best friends had set her up? But she needed to know.
“No!” Monique leaned forward, her gaze earnest and imploring. “I have no idea who put them there, Tucker. I swear. If I did I’d tell you.”
Okay, this was bad. But it could be worse. She believed Monique when her friend told her she was clean. She had a family who depended on her.
But maybe this was the break they’d all been waiting for. Maybe they could catch the person responsible for this entire mess and extricate Monique at the same time.
“You need to tell Finn what you know.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because he’s working on a joint task force with the police.”
“I knew there was more to him than met the eye! I mean, aside from the way he watched you like he was afraid you might disappear.”
Tucker scoffed. “Yeah, right.”
“No, really. That man is head over heels for you, Tucker. And you’re blind if you don’t see it.”
“He had me arrested, Monique.”
“Because obviously someone wanted him to.”
“And he wasn’t there when they released me and hasn’t shown up since then. You’re wrong. You didn’t see the look on his face when he found that meth in my safe. The cops might have let me go, but he clearly still thinks I’m guilty. And I’m not sure I can trust someone who obviously doesn’t trust me.”
Tucker shook her head. Saying the words out loud hurt even more than thinking them. Reaching for the bottle, she poured herself another shot and downed it. No, that wouldn’t fix the problem, but right now she’d take any help at dulling the sharp edge of pain.
“It doesn’t matter. The only thing that does is fixing this whole mess. You know who’s behind all of this. You can stop it, Monique.”
“I don’t,” she said. “That’s the problem. If I could’ve turned him in I would have done it a long time ago. I’ve actually never met the guy. He calls me, disguising his voice every time, and the number he uses is always disconnected when I try to call back. The few times I’ve refused to do what he’s asked he’s sent photos not only from my first bust, but of me selling since then. He’s got me tied up in a neat little bow and I know next to nothing. I have to assume I’m not the only person he’s blackmailing. If you think about it, it’s the perfect set-up. I don’t have anything to use against him, while he has my entire life teetering on the edge of disaster. And I don’t even get a cut of the sales—not that I’d take dirty money anyway.”
“Crap!” Frustration rode Tucker hard. “I don’t think that matters anymore, Monique. You need to go to the police and tell them what you do know. Maybe they can add it to the other pieces they already have and come up with the answer. This whole thing is going to collapse eventually and you want to be on the right side when it does.”
“I know.”
“I’m here for you.” Tucker reached over and pulled Monique into a hug. “You’ve made some mistakes, but no one deserves to pay for them indefinitely. Whatever you need, I’ll help.”
Monique’s arms went around her waist, squeezing tight. Pulling back, she tried to hide a sniffle, but couldn’t wish away the tears. “I don’t deserve you. Not after bringing this to your front door.”
Tucker shook her head. Maybe a month ago, or even yesterday, her reaction would have been different. But after spending the night in jail, she realized that sometimes bad things happened and the difference between those who lost everything and those who came out of the dark determined to survive was the people standing beside them.
She didn’t have many she could count on, but Monique was on the short list. And, unlike Finn, she had no intention of abandoning her friend when she needed her most.
“Come on,” Monique said. “I’ll help you close up.” While they’d been talking, the rest of the staff had headed out. “It’s too late to do anything tonight. I’ll talk with Michael when I get home and contact the authorities in the morning.”
“Let me know when. I know a couple good cops and a great lawyer. I’ll call them. Go with you.”
In companionable silence, the two of them puttered around the bar, taking care of the last-minute details necessary to close up and prepare for tomorrow.
It felt weird walking out to the parking lot without Finn and Duchess beside her. Waving at Monique across the lot, Tucker got into her car and headed home. A few blocks away, sitting at a stoplight, she reached for her phone
. Not that she expected to see a missed call or text from Finn...but she couldn’t quite stop herself from looking. It had been a compulsion all night, one she’d finally solved by shoving her phone into a drawer behind the bar.
Which was exactly where it still was.
Groaning, Tucker made a U-turn when the light turned green and headed back to the Rose. Parking in the back lot, she snatched her keys from the ignition, raced for the door and dashed inside. She didn’t even bother flipping on lights, just headed straight for the bar. Less than two minutes and she planned to be on her way out again.
Until she barreled straight into Dade.
“Oomph,” she said, her hands flattening against his chest to insulate her from the impact. “What are you doing here?”
Wait.
“How’d you get in?”
His hands wrapped around her arms, holding her in place when she tried to pull away.
Until that moment, she hadn’t been scared. Maybe she should have been, but her brain had processed who was standing in her bar before she’d smacked into him. And her instinct said he was fine.
But now...the way he was holding her had uneasiness flipping through her belly.
“Are there other cameras, Tucker?”
She shook her head, trying to switch mental gears and focus on what he was asking.
“What?”
“That hidden camera was clever. It never occurred to me you’d seek outside help. I just assumed, thanks to your budding relationship with the good soldier, that you’d turn to him. And he’d tell me everything. Well, everything except fucking you. That little detail he kept to himself.”
And, yet, he still obviously knew their relationship had taken that turn. The unease skating across Tucker’s skin ramped up to full-fledged panic.
Nope, she couldn’t give in. This was not the time to lose her head.
“You’re damn lucky the lighting sucked and no one could tell it was me.”
“I’m the lucky one?” The snide comment was out of her mouth before she’d even thought it through. Fury flashed through Dade’s eyes and his fingers dug painfully into her arms. She was going to have bruises in the morning...if she made it out of this alive.
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