Stan and Demon watched him for a moment then opened Stan’s file.
Demon called for an officer to pick up the items Thomas was working on and to bring the green book from the lab. If they were going to find the connection between Simon and the Briggs family, they had very little time before someone disappeared.
When the police officer delivered the items, he paused to whisper something in Demon’s ear.
After he left, Demon walked over to Charlie’s bed. “Things are moving faster than we are.”
“What’s going on?” Charlie asked.
“They had to move Simon to solitary confinement,” Demon informed him.
“That’s not good. How did the Briggs’ find out already?”
“I don’t know but not much happens in this town that word doesn’t spread quickly,” Demon said.
“What are you two talking about?” Shiloh asked.
Demon turned to look at her. “Someone made an attempt on Simon Pratt’s life tonight, while he was in police custody. We had to move him to keep him safe. We also doubled the guards on Richy and Leroy.”
“That means we don’t have much time,” Henry told them from the table he was sitting at. “Is there any way you can pick up the suspects now, while we try and find the connection?”
Charlie shook his head. “We need a reason for the arrest to put on the warrant. Without a solid theory, we would never get a judge to sign it. Not after the cases we lost in court against that family.”
“We are so close to breaking this ring, we can’t let if fall apart.” Henry growled. “We’ve been after these people for too long to let if fall apart now.”
“Calm down,” Charlie urged.
“You don’t understand.” Henry sighed. “We’ve already begun arresting people of interest all over the world in connection with this smuggling ring. The only part we were missing was the US connection.” He stood up and began to pace. “Then Thomas found out about Simon and we were finally bringing everything together when he was murdered. The evidence is here.” He motioned to the table in front of him. “Thomas died because of this case, he was a dammed good agent. We just have to put it all together. If the Briggs’ are involved, we have to prove it before they get away to set up another ring.”
“And we will. If the evidence is here, we’ll find it,” Charlie defended. “But we can’t move against the Briggs family until we have solid proof, the kind of proof that will stand up in court.”
“And if they escape before we find the proof? What happens then?” Henry scowled.
“Then we track them down and bring them back kicking and screaming.” Charlie said. “We’re going to do this by the book. Twenty years ago, Simon Pratt murdered two people and he’s going to pay for that. If we can connect him to the smuggling ring and the deaths involved with that, our case is that much stronger. But we aren’t going to get the case booted out of court because of a mistake.”
Shiloh laid her hand over Charlie’s and squeezed his hand. His reminder of Simon’s earlier crimes said volumes. Her parent’s deaths were just part of the whole picture and while Henry was looking at the bigger part, Charlie was still looking at the smaller piece.
“Then let’s find it before the pieces unravel altogether,” Henry said.
Demon and Stan joined him at the table and began going through the evidence in front of them. Demon picked up the green book and began paging through it while Stan opened his file to search for something he might have missed earlier. Henry sat down with the stuff the officer brought back from Shiloh’s house.
Charlie glanced over at the table and then he looked at Shiloh. “That guy may end up costing us the case. He’s rushing in where angels wouldn’t dare to tread.”
Shiloh glanced at Henry. “I know the feelings he’s experiencing. I have the same rush of expectancy as he does. I want the man that murdered my parents to pay for his crime. I want it so bad I can almost taste it, and it’s hard for me to wait for that to happen, but this smuggling ring cost my father his life and I want to see it gone.”
“We’re working on it, girl.” Charlie smiled.
“I know you are.” Shiloh smiled back. She saw Charlie lay back on his pillow and grimace. “Maybe I’d better let you rest.”
Charlie nodded and closed his eyes.
Shiloh got up and walked over to where Demon was searching documents. She picked up the green book and sat down on a chair. Opening the book, she began reading through the entries. Some of the pages were stained with blood. She flipped the book down and leafed through the pages but nothing fell out. She went to the first page but there was nothing there. She went to the back page and carefully skimmed the page with her fingers.
Shiloh frowned as her fingers felt a bump in the page. She picked up the book and glanced at the spine of the book. She glanced at Demon. “Did anyone besides me notice this?”
Demon, Stan and Henry gazed at her. “What are you talking about?”
Shiloh turned the book toward them. “The back page seems to be thicker than it should.”
Demon took the book from her and studied it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his jack knife. Opening it up, he slid the blade along the outline of the book page. The page separated from the cover and revealed a hidden document. He glanced over at Henry and Shiloh as he pulled the document out and unfolded it.
He whistled low as he read it and handed it to Henry. He glanced at Shiloh and blew her a kiss. “Thank you.”
“What did I do?” Shiloh asked.
“You found the missing piece of evidence we needed to connect the Briggs family to Simon and the smuggling ring.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s a contract of sorts,” Demon explained. “Between Cyrus Briggs and Simon Pratt, laying out the concept of using the contacts the Briggs had to smuggle in contraband from Europe and South America.”
“No wonder he wanted this book back.” Shiloh grinned.
“It held the only visible evidence that connects everything.” Henry nodded. “Now can you get the warrants you need to bring the Briggs family in?”
Demon stood up. He frowned a moment and looked toward the doorway. He turned and tackled Shiloh bringing her to the floor.
The doorway darkened and a man stood there with a gun in his hand. He began firing. Bullets flew everywhere. Demon and Stan pulled their weapons and began firing back.
The shadow in the doorway jerked several times and then fell to the floor as the bullets hits him. They all heard footsteps running down the hall and several medical personnel burst through the door.
Doctor Paulson bent down to check the gunman first. Then he moved further into the room. “Is everyone in here okay?”
Demon and Stan stood up and nodded. Demon turned and helped Shiloh to her feet. Henry’s head popped up from behind the table he was hiding behind.
Doctor Paulson looked over at the bed Charlie was in.
Shiloh sucked in a breath.
Demon stared looking worried.
Charlie sat up. “What happened?”
“Everything on the floor was quiet, then this guy came out of the elevator with a gun in his hand,” Doctor Paulson explained. “He shot the police officers guarding Mr. Hall and Mr. Younger, then shot them. He just walked away and began looking for you.”
“Damn.” Charlie swore. He glanced at Demon and Stan. “The Briggs aren’t taking any chances.”
“Do you think they were behind the attempt on Simon’s life?” Shiloh asked. She looked around the room. Bits of paper were everywhere. The evidence they were combing through earlier was all over the floor. Two tables were overturned and chairs had been thrown all over the place.
“They need to stop us from connecting them to the smuggling ring and Simon Pratt.” Charlie nodded. “This won’t stop until we stop them. They will keep coming at us until we give up searching for a connection.”
“Then we’d better put an end to it now,” Demon told them.
He replaced his weapon and bent over to pick up the contract. He turned to Charlie. “We found this in the green book.”
Charlie took the document and scanned it. He looked at his nephew and grinned. “That should be enough for a warrant.”
“And this is enough to nail the coffin shut.” Henry picked up the pile of papers he’d been looking at. Handing them to Charlie, he waited while Charlie read them.
“I recognize some of these items.” Charlie nodded. “We found them in the basement of the Import shop. Simon had a locked room and we raided it last night.”
Henry smiled. “That’s even better. We have the physical evidence we need for court.”
“Let’s round up the Briggs family.” Stan grinned. “I’ve been waiting my whole career for this moment.”
“Why? What did they ever do to you?” Shiloh asked.
Stan Flynn looked at her. “When I was a young rookie, Ralph Briggs was making his way up the food chain in the underground. There was a kid, named Luther. Luther was trying hard to support his mother and three sisters after their father died in an accident at the place he worked. Ralph offered Luther an easy way out and I offered him the right way out. When Luther took Ralph’s offer, I busted him. I tried to make a deal with him to turn state’s evidence against the Briggs but before I could do that, Ralph hurt Luther’s mom and threatened his family. Luther wouldn’t testify. He threw his life away for nothing. Three weeks later Luther was killed in jail and his sisters died in a suspicious fire at their home. Ralph killed an entire family and I’ve never been able to prove it. But this will put Ralph, Steven and Cyrus away for the rest of their lives. They won’t be able to hurt anyone else.” Tears glistened in his eyes. “Justice for them will finally happen.”
Chapter Twenty One
An hour later, a swarm of police officers descended on the home of Ralph and Steven Briggs.
When Demon walked up to the door with several officers Ralph Briggs laughed in his face when Demon told him he was there to arrest him. He didn’t laugh long when Demon put handcuffs on him. Steven fought them but was eventually, handcuffed as well.
Fifteen minutes later, they led the two men out of the house in handcuffs. All them men were read their rights by the officers there. They also had several other men in custody. As they passed the police cars, Ralph glanced at Stan Flynn and grinned. “Relish this sight for a moment. I’ll be out of jail in an hour.”
“Not this time. This time you’re going down.” He turned to allow Ralph to look into the back seat of his vehicle.
Ralph saw his nephew Cyrus sitting there in cuffs. Cyrus’s clothes were rumpled and there was a bruise on his cheek. The look they exchanged was not a pleasant one.
Stan had picked him up fifteen minutes before the raid on the main house.
Ralph glanced back at Stan and knew things were different this time. He turned his head and swore under his breath.
Stan watched him being loaded into the police van and smiled. Under his breath he said, “This one is for you Luther, you and your family.”
Three months later, Simon Pratt, Ralph, Steven, and Cyrus Briggs stood before a judge. During the weeks’ long trial, the prosecutor had offered damming evidence against the four men not only for the smuggling ring but for the murder of Mike and Dana Corbin and Donna Weston. The Seattle police department sent Detectives Tony Galen and Rick Craig to testify that Donna’s car had been tampered with. That and the evidence from the flash drive showing the fact someone had been following Donna and Shiloh most of their lives was enough to convict the four men of Donna’s murder.
Simon Pratt was convicted of the murders of Michael and Dana Corbin but the others were deemed just as guilty. Henry Wall linked the four men to the smuggling ring from its conception and the letter they found in the green book sealed their fate.
The defense attorneys had argued that the four men couldn’t possibly be responsible for Donna’s death but the prosecutor had linked Leroy to Simon and therefore, to them all. Then they showed evidence that the deaths of 4 police offers happened under their orders as well.
Twelve of their peers had judged them for their crimes and found them guilty on all counts.
When the verdict was read aloud, Shiloh grabbed Charlie’s hand and squeezed it hard.
He glanced at her and found tears sliding down her cheeks. Patting her hand, he slowly nodded.
Maybe this nightmare would be over now for her.
Finally.
The last four months had been a learning experience for Shiloh. With Charlie’s help, she had learned the meaning of true freedom. The nightmares and fear she grew up with were gone from her life and now she was running the import shop, with Charlie’s help and having a ball. Being able to carry on her Father’s business was more than gratifying, it felt like she was continuing what he wasn’t able to finish. She and Charlie were learning the business together and after Charlie retired from the police force, he would be her partner in shop.
When Shiloh moved back to Whiskey Bend, Demon began hanging around close by. He often watched her from a distance but would never come close enough to make contact. Every time she saw him, she would try to talk to him but before she could get close enough, he would take off on her. This frustrated her more than anything. Why did he do this? He hadn’t approached her since the trials, yet he was always there.
Then there was the night things came to a head. She’d met someone while at the import shop and was going out on a date with him. His name was Henry Benson. A really nice guy too. Henry came to collect her at the house and when she opened the door Henry smiled at her handing her some flowers.
Before she could move, Henry was pushed off the step and Demon was there, glaring at him. Then he turned the glare on her.
Shiloh stepped back and gasped. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Demon demanded angrily.
Shiloh stood tall. “He’s my date.”
“The hell he is.” Demon growled.
“You got no say who I go out with,” Shiloh insisted wondering why he was even doing this. He hadn’t wanted her anyway. “I’m free and over the legal age to date.”
“You aren’t free.” He gritted his teeth. He looked like he’d wanted to say more but he didn’t.
“You got no reason to say that.” She shook her head. “You don’t want me. You’re the one who left me out in the cold. You’re the one who wouldn’t talk to me. I can take a hint asshole. Go away.” Shiloh turned to Henry who was backing away slowly.
He looked at Shiloh and back to Demon. Holding up his hands, he turned and walked away.
Shiloh turned back to Demon and screamed at him, “Great! Now you scared him away! Go away and leave me be.” She stepped back and tried to close the door.
Pushing through, Demon stepped inside. He backed her up and slammed the door behind him. “Sweet Jesus woman.” He growled as he began to pace back and forth. “You belong to me, don’t you know that?”
Shiloh shook her head and wrapped her arms around her waist. “Why would I believe that? You haven’t been around me for months. You watch me but every time I come close to you to try and talk to you, you run off. What about that tells me you want me at all?”
Demon paused and ran his fingers through his hair. “Babe, you don’t know the half of it. What those rebels did to us, what nightmares I live with every single fucking day.”
“You think your’ the only one with demons? You think you alone have nightmares you can’t live with?” she screamed at him. Tears were running down her face. “I see the murder of my parents in my dreams every night. If it isn’t them then I see my aunt dying alone and unable to get help.” She stepped toward him, holding out her hand to brush away a strand of hair from his face. “I don’t know what you went through but I can imagine. I’ve seen the scars on your chest and I’ve felt the ones on your back. I can’t imagine what caused them.”
“No you can’t.” He g
rowled as he stared at her. “There are some really bad people out there but what I found in your arms, I can’t give that up. I just needed time to accept it.” He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him. “I need what I found in your arms again. I can’t breathe without it. You brought the calm back to my life. I tried but I can’t stay away from you anymore.”
Shiloh closed her eyes and rested her forehead on his chest. Tears welled in her eyes and soaked his t shirt. “I need you so much. I missed you so much. I have dreamed of you so many nights.”
Demon swung her up into his arms and made his way to the bedroom. He nudged the door open and carried her over to the bed. He tossed her down on the mattress and followed her down.
Without a word, he grabbed her shirt and tore it open. Buttons flew everywhere but Shiloh didn’t care. He yanked her pants down and off her body then took a moment to stare at her body.
Shiloh was panting from his rushing them to the bed and her skin tingled at the heat in his eyes.
Closing his eyes, he bent down and ran his tongue over her curves. His tongue was rough and delving, as he tasted her all over for several minutes. His nips and kisses made their way to her breasts and nipples and as his lips closed over her nipple, through her bra, Shiloh hissed. Arching her back, he tugged her bra off and sucked her nipple in deep.
Then his hands slipped under her panty line and his fingers sunk into her wet core.
Shiloh gasped again and opened herself to his invasion.
Pumping into her a few more times, he pulled away from her. “I can’t wait baby. I need inside you now.” He unbuttoned his jeans and pulled them down far enough to free his hard cock. It was as if he rushed with desperation like a wild man. Then he slammed himself into her deep and hard. Groaning out loud, he began to pump stroke after stroke.
Shiloh moaned with him. The man was so determined and focused on ravaging her and she gleefully met his thrusts. He hit deep and she never felt so whole in all of her life. She clung to him desperately, so grateful that he finally realized what they had between them. Then like a storm that was her Demon man… he pushed deeper and hit her G-spot. Helplessly, she climaxed hard as she screamed his name out.
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