Triple Time

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Triple Time Page 17

by Regina Kyle


  The tenors launched into “Volare” and someone jostled Devin from behind. She started moving again, slowly but steadily.

  “I knew I’d find you here.” Louise sidled gracefully up to her husband, slipping an arm around his waist. “We’re a little early. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all.” He bussed her cheek then turned to address the others. “I think I see the governor on the other side of the stage. Please excuse us for a few moments.”

  He guided his wife through the crowd.

  “So.” Devin stood awkwardly next to Gabe, not sure what to do with her hands. She settled for clasping them behind her back. “Nice to see you again, Kara.”

  “Darcy.” Kara strengthened her grip on Gabe’s arm and shifted closer to him. “Or is it Diana? I’m terrible with names.”

  “Not the best quality in a socialite.” Devin pressed her lips together, trying her hardest not to smirk.

  Gabe deftly removed himself from Kara’s grasp and draped his arm over Devin’s shoulders. “Senator and Mrs. Humphries, this is Devin Padilla. My girlfriend.”

  “Girlfriend?” The senator frowned. His wife looked up at him, her eyes questioning.

  “Yes, Dad. Remember?” Kara shook her head at him. “I told you I met Gabe’s new flame at that pub thing for Turn the Page.”

  Mrs. Humphries looked from her daughter to Gabe and back again. “But I thought... You two are so perfect together. We assumed you’d get past this little spat and make up.”

  Devin almost swallowed her tongue. “I’d hardly call turning down a proposal a ‘little spat.’”

  “Proposal?” Mrs. Humphries stared open-mouthed at Kara. “You never said anything about a proposal.”

  Kara at least had the grace to look embarrassed. “I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

  “I’m sorry if you got the wrong idea, Mrs. Humphries. Senator. But I’m with Devin now.” Gabe’s arm around her shoulders tightened. “And that’s not going to change.”

  The senator’s scowl deepened. “I’m sure you know this means I can’t support you in the election.”

  “Because he’s not dating your daughter?” Devin balled her hands into fists. “Or because he’s dating me?”

  “Both.” Senator Humphries’s answer was quick and certain as he studied Devin, his gaze lingering on her tattoos and piercings. “I wouldn’t do anything that might make Kara uncomfortable. And I have serious doubts about your suitability as a political partner.”

  “I disagree,” Gabe said before she could respond. “I think Devin will be a tremendous asset. She understands people and knows how to relate to them.”

  “I’m afraid the power brokers in this town won’t see it that way. And without them, you don’t stand a chance of winning.” With a dismissive wave, he turned to his wife and daughter. “Time to move on, ladies. The governor awaits.”

  He led his family away.

  “Enough business for one day.” Gabe steered Devin in the opposite direction. “I’m starving. Want to split a calzone?”

  “Sure,” Devin agreed even as her insides churned. The senator’s criticism kept running through her brain, sprinkled with snippets of Louise’s advice. Louise had been wrong about almost everything, but she’d gotten one thing right.

  Devin loved Gabe. A bone-crushing, soul-deep love that she’d never felt before and probably wouldn’t again. But she couldn’t handle the intense scrutiny of the campaign trail, or the guilt she’d feel if she cost him his dream. She’d drag him down, with her tats and piercings, her too-tight clothes and her big, fat mouth. He needed someone poised and polished and practically perfect in every way. A political Mary Poppins. He needed someone like Kara.

  There was only one thing to do. She had to break it off with him. Tonight.

  * * *

  “YOU’RE AWFULLY QUIET.” Gabe cleared their plates from the table and dumped them in the sink. He’d deal with the dirty dishes later. Hours later, hopefully, after he’d given her the key and they’d migrated to his bedroom, where they could take their time exploring each other’s bodies. They’d probably be there already if it wasn’t for his ex and her family. “We’re supposed to be celebrating.”

  “Celebrating what?” Devin swirled her glass of cabernet, staring into the purple liquid as if it had hypnotized her. “You heard what the senator said. He’s not going to support you after you broke his little girl’s heart.”

  “I did not break his little girl’s heart. And for the record, she didn’t break mine, either.” He wiped his hands on a dishtowel and leaned against the kitchen counter. “Besides, Senator Humphries isn’t the only shark in the political ocean.”

  “I hope so, for your sake.”

  “You’re not still worried about what he said, are you? He’s dead wrong. You’re fresh, honest. The voters are going to love you.”

  “So you’ve told me. But Gabe...”

  “No buts.” Gabe came over to the table and straddled a chair, folding his arms across the high back. “My boss is endorsing me, thanks to you. That’s cause for celebration. And others will, too. So stop worrying.”

  She put her glass down and slowly raised her head to meet his gaze. “We need to talk.”

  The four worst words in the English language.

  “Me first,” he said, his heart pounding so hard he wouldn’t be surprised if it could be heard all the way across the Hudson River in New Jersey. He fingered the key still in his pocket, reaching for her with his free hand. “There’s something I’ve wanted to say to you all day.”

  “Stop. Please.” She jumped up, almost tipping over her chair in the process. “I can’t do this.”

  “Do what?” His brows knotted.

  “Whatever it is you’re going to ask me to do.”

  “How do you know I’m going to ask you to do anything?”

  “You get this look in your eyes. They go all dark and broody, like you’ve got some sort of diabolical plan.” She shook her head. “But that’s not the point. The point is, I can’t do this anymore, Gabe. I can’t be with you.”

  The trofie al pesto he’d made for dinner rolled in his stomach. “What do you mean you can’t be with me? Why?”

  “I just...can’t.”

  “That’s not an answer. If this is about one idiot senator’s misguided opinion...”

  “It’s not.” She wiped a hand across her face. “Look, we had fun, right? But we both knew it couldn’t last.”

  “I’ll tell you what I know.” He shot to his feet and took her hands in his before she could protest. He raised them to his chest and held them there so she could feel the rapid beating of his heart. “I know we’re good together. I know you bring out a side of me I never knew existed, one that’s more relaxed, happier. I know I want your face to be the last thing I see every night and the first thing I see every morning.”

  She broke away from him with a bitter laugh. “Like The Rolling Stones say, you can’t always get what you want.”

  “So that’s it?” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. The key scraped against his knuckles, taunting him. “That’s all the explanation I’m going to get?”

  “I’m sorry.” She wrapped her arms around herself, rocking back and forth on her heels. “So sorry. I...care for you. Really, I do. And I’ll never forget how you found Victor for me...”

  Cade’s words echoed in his head. Face it, bro. She got what she wanted. And now you’re afraid she’s going to cut and run.

  “Right. Our bargain. You’ve got your brother. I’ve got my endorsement. Time to go our separate ways.”

  “Right,” she echoed, dropping her arms. He could have sworn he saw tears before she ducked her head, hiding her face in a curtain of dark hair. “Our bargain.”

  He followed her to the living room. She grabbed her purse from the couch where, not even an hour ago, they’d been making out like a couple of sex-crazed teens. If he had known that was the last time he’d touch her, kiss her...Hell, he would have kept going
and never let her up for air until she was willing to admit they belonged together.

  “You’re a great guy, Gabe.” She hitched her purse up on her shoulder and headed for the door. “And you’re going to make a great district attorney.”

  “If I’m so great then why are you leaving?”

  She stopped, her hand on the doorknob, but didn’t turn. “Like you said, we had a deal. Now it’s done. Nothing to keep me here.”

  “Nothing?” He came up behind her and brushed back the swath of hair over one ear to plant a kiss on her spider-web tattoo.

  “Stop it.” She shook him off but not before he felt her tremble. “You’re not playing fair.”

  “All’s fair in love and war.”

  “So you’ve said before.” She yanked the door open. “But this isn’t war. And it’s not...it’s not love, either.”

  The door slammed behind her, reverberating throughout the apartment.

  Gabe sank onto the sofa and reached into his pocket for the key. His instinct was to chuck it across the damned room, but he held himself in check and laid it carefully on the coffee table. He stared at it for a good ten minutes, wondering how the hell everything had gone to shit so fast.

  Fuck. Could that have been any worse? Sure, she could have told him he was boring, too. Although at least then he’d understand what went wrong. Instead, she’d given him some bullshit excuse.

  He pulled out his cell phone and called Cade.

  “Hardesty.” Cade’s sleep-muffled voice came over the line.

  “You on duty?”

  “Mmm-hmm.” Gabe heard what sounded like sheets rustling in the background. “Night shift. Sleeping at the station.”

  “Remember that promise you made to buy me twenty rounds when Devin dumped my ass?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, it’s go time. My place. As soon as you’re off.” Gabe eyed his almost empty liquor cabinet across the room. “And bring the hard stuff.”

  18

  QUARTER AFTER TEN, and The Mark was practically deserted. Devin hated pulling midweek shifts. Half the time the money wasn’t worth the effort. But when her bartender buddy had called and asked her to fill in for him again, she’d jumped on it. Hell, anything was better than sitting at home, pining over Gabe. Even spending the evening in the same room as Fast Fingers Freddie.

  “Last one, cowboy.” She plunked his mug of cheap-ass, pisswater domestic beer down in front of him. “After this, you’re cut off. And I’m calling you a cab.”

  “Aww, c’mon.” He picked it up, sloshing foam on the mahogany bar top. “Couldn’t you let me sleep it off here? Or maybe at your place?”

  “Have you forgotten how my knee felt in your balls?” She grabbed a clean cloth from under the counter and wiped up the spill. “Because I’m happy to remind you.”

  He shrugged and gulped his beer. “You can’t blame a guy for trying.”

  “Actually, yes, I can.”

  She threw the now sopping towel into the sink and reached for the remote for the TV over the bar. The Yanks were way ahead. With no one but Freddie and a couple of off-duty cops who weren’t paying attention to the TV, she could find something more entertaining on. Maybe Chopped. Or a rerun of Full House. She flicked through the channels, stopping when she heard a low-pitched, earnest, clearly recognizable voice.

  “Jack Kentfield wants you to believe the city’s in a state of crisis. He wants you to believe there are predators lurking around every corner that only he can save you from. Well, the numbers don’t lie. And the numbers say violent crime has dropped every year since 1990. Murders are down more than twenty-five percent in the past two years, sexual assaults down almost seven percent and robberies eighteen percent.”

  She put down the remote and stared at the screen. Gabe looked good in his Armani suit. Better than good, on the steps of an impressive marble building with the wind barely ruffling his almost military style hair. Even more importantly, he looked confident, comfortable, jockeying questions from reporters with a host of supporters surrounding him. She caught glimpses of Gabe’s boss, as well as Senator Humphries and a man she recognized as a former point guard for the New York Knicks.

  You’ve done well, grasshopper. Her heart ached with a strange mixture of pride and regret. She’d been right. He was ready to fly solo.

  “We’ve had eight successful years under Thaddeus Holcomb.” Gabe motioned to his boss, who came to stand beside him. “I plan to build on that by working together with law enforcement and the community to make our streets the safest in the nation. That’s why today I’m officially announcing my candidacy for New York County District Attorney. Thank you.”

  A few reporters tried to sneak in one last question, but they were drowned out by the applause of the crowd. Gabe strode down the stairs and off camera, shaking hands as he went, and the station cut back to the news anchors in studio.

  “Turn that shit off.” Freddie lurched on his stool, barely catching himself before falling on his inebriated ass. “What happened to the game?”

  “Game time’s over for you, Freddie.” She grabbed the remote and clicked until it landed on an old episode of The Golden Girls. That’d serve him right for complaining. Then she called the cab company.

  “Drink up,” she told him when she ended the call. “Taxi’ll be here in ten.”

  After bringing the cops two more bottles of Yuengling, she headed around the bar to deal with a couple of newcomers at the table in the far corner. Dark suits, starched white shirts, power ties. Businessmen. Or lawyers. The Mark was popular with the legal set.

  As she got closer, she could hear snippets of conversation.

  “I don’t know...nervous.”

  “...nothing to worry about.”

  “What if he...?”

  “...told you...”

  “...sure Nelson can’t tie it to me?”

  Devin froze. There must be hundreds of Nelsons in the Manhattan phone book. What were the odds they were talking about Gabe?

  She ducked behind a pillar and listened, straining to catch every word.

  “I’ve taken care of that. By the time I’m done with that security guard, no one will believe him, not even his own mother. Then they won’t be able to tie the video tape to me. And if they can’t tie it to me, they can’t tie it to you.”

  The first voice was crisp, matter-of-fact and familiar. Devin shrank back farther behind the post.

  “Sounds simple enough.”

  The second man spoke more deliberately, with a faint accent that sounded Eastern European.

  “It is. My guys have dug up enough dirt on this guy to bury him six times over. And if they need more, they know how to manufacture it.”

  “As long as you’re sure...”

  “Sure, I’m sure. No one will ever know we hid the surveillance tapes. And no one will figure out it’s your son on the video. They’ll never connect him to the murders.”

  “How can you be positive of that?”

  “That’s what the twenty grand was for. My contact at the lab will make it so no technology in existence could enhance that tape enough for anyone to identify Phillip.”

  “Thanks, Jack. I owe you one.”

  Jack. At least now she had a name.

  “Let’s see, you’re endorsing me for DA and funding my political action committee...buy me a drink, and I think we can call it square.”

  DA?

  “I would, if I could find the bartender. Doesn’t anyone work around this place?”

  Devin backed away slowly. When she was out of earshot, she hauled ass to the storeroom, where the manager was taking inventory.

  “Al, I need you to wait on the guys at table three.”

  “I’m a little busy here.” He held up a bottle of margarita mix, studied it for a second, then tossed it into the trash can next to him. “Expired. In 2010.”

  “I’ll take over for you for a few minutes. Please. Just this one table.” She raced over to the desk in the corner and starte
d searching through the drawers for a pen and paper. No way was she disturbing Gabe at night, at home, and it’d be hours before she could see him at his office. She had to jot down what she’d heard while it was still fresh in her mind.

  Shit, shit, shit. Why hadn’t she thought to start the video rolling on her iPhone? Then she’d have hard evidence this Jack was fixing a case in order to win the election. Instead, Gabe would have to take her word for it. And she wasn’t sure he’d trust her after she dumped him with virtually no explanation.

  “Let me guess.” Al smirked. “Ex boyfriend?”

  “More like future ex cons.”

  Al threw another bottle into the garbage. “What’s gotten into you? You’ve been acting weird all night.”

  “I’m fine.” With one swoop of her arm, she cleared off the top of the desk and sat. Balancing the pad on one knee, she scrawled a few key words to help her remember what she’d heard.

  Jack. DA. Surveillance tapes. Phillip. Murder.

  When she was done, she looked up at Al, still sorting through the bottles on the storeroom shelves. “Are you going to help me or not?”

  “Okay, I’ll take care of your damn table.” He took off his apron and straightened his shirt collar. “But after I’m done, you’re going to tell me what’s going on.”

  “Don’t worry.” She went back to her notes. “If things go as planned, you’ll hear all about it on every news outlet in the tristate area.”

  * * *

  “THERE’S SOMEONE HERE to see you.”

  Gabe looked up from the sentence he was reading for what must have been the tenth time to find his secretary standing in the doorway. “I thought I told you I didn’t want to be disturbed,” he snapped, his tone harsher than he’d intended.

  Stephanie jerked her head back and her eyes widened.

  Crap. He’d scared her. Again. He’d been a bear to work with since Devin dropped him like yesterday’s The Wall Street Journal. Between his bad mood and the nonstop phone calls Stephanie had been forced to deal with in the wake of his announcement, it was a miracle she hadn’t turned in her resignation.

 

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