His Light in the Dark

by L. A. Fiore

  I heard her sobs from my car, the sound twisted in my gut, but she’d never be truly safe until this shit was done, but walking away from her was the fucking hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.

  Dylan…I couldn’t quite believe it and yet it explained a lot. The idea of ripping that fucker’s head from his shoulders for what he’d done to Mace was powerful. And all for money; he got into trouble and sold out his best friend to save his own ass. He wouldn’t be walking away from that, at the very least he aided and abetted.

  Couldn’t imagine Mia not only discovering Dylan’s secret but dealing with it on her own and yet she’d done everything right. Calling Bruce, getting Dylan to agree to testify, holding it together until she reached the security of her aunt’s before she broke down.

  Learning about Dylan answered one question. Why hadn’t Mace gone to Dylan or Dee and instead went to Cynthia? I’m guessing he didn’t want to pull Dee into it, but did he suspect Dylan of something? Seemed a moot point now, but I suspected there was more to Cynthia’s involvement and I wasn’t leaving until she told me everything.

  The club was in the Northeast, along the river…a popular gentleman's club that my contact confirmed Cynthia frequented often. The place was packed when I entered, women walking around topless, G-strings, some serious petting going on; the rooms in the back were no doubt full as the patrons paid to ease the ache.

  It took three sweeps before I spotted Cynthia at the bar with two gentlemen hanging on her every word. Unlike the others, she was dressed in a cocktail dress, revealing but discreet. I had to admit, she worked it, knew what she was doing as she masterfully reeled her two marks in. Tough shit for her. Stepping up behind her, two pairs of eyes looked up at me.

  “Fuck off.”

  Twisting in her seat, she was about to give me what for until she saw who it was. Turning back to her company she smiled. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll meet you upstairs.” She pulled out a key and handed it to the one guy. Both couldn’t have moved fast enough to the stairs. Not sterling examples of the male gender.

  Taking the seat the one vacated, I didn’t waste time. “Why did Mace come to you and not Dee?”

  “And get her involved? Please. He’d rebuild the world around Mia and Dee if it meant keeping them safe.”

  That’s what I suspected. “So why you? He wasn’t your biggest fan, you weren’t his and yet he trusted you with something as important as that message to Mia. So what did you do to earn that trust? And don’t bullshit me because we both know he wouldn’t have trusted you unless you gave him a reason to.”

  The arrogant facade faded from her face, fear flashing over her expression. She did know more; enough to know it was smart to be scared. I leaned closer. “I’m not going to share this, just need to know who I can trust.”

  Her voice was so soft, I had to lean even closer, but to anyone watching, we looked like we were getting it on and that was fine with me.

  “Before Mace died, a story leaked about Stein and corruption within the building commission.”

  “Yeah, I remember. Tipster claimed to have photos—fuck me, that was you?”

  “Yeah. Mace asked me to and I owed him.”

  No wonder he trusted her because anonymous or not, if Stein ever found out it was her, she wouldn’t be sitting here looking pretty; she’d be wearing cement shoes at the bottom of the Delaware.

  Her fingers curled around my wrist, her hold so tight her fingers were turning white. “He ever finds out, I’m dead.”

  “He won’t. And Tammy? You really don’t know any more about her?”

  “I think she’s dead and I think if you figure out who the man was she’d been seeing right before she went missing, I suspect you’ll have her killer.”

  “And you have no idea?”

  “None. I’ve been thinking about our conversations leading up to her disappearance and it was like she was almost intentionally vague when she mentioned him, which was out of character for her. The only information even remotely helpful was her mentioning the man she was seeing had a spider tat on his upper thigh and ass, creepy because of how realistic it looked.”

  Son of a bitch. “Dylan has a tat like that.”

  Incredulous, Cynthia asked, “Dylan Bauer? Mace’s friend.”

  He was no fucking friend. “Yeah, Mace’s friend.”

  Leaving an enraged Cynthia, I headed for my car, but my thoughts were on Dylan and his connection to Tammy, her disappearance, Mace’s death…I think Dylan wasn’t being completely truthful regarding just how involved he really was in all of this shit. It was time for a little sit down.

  When I arrived at his house, I still couldn’t make the facts form a picture. I didn’t believe it was coincidental that two people Dylan knew were dead, and I was certain Tammy was dead. She must have discovered something she shouldn’t have. A little pillow talk and Dylan shared too much about what he was doing at the garage but if he killed her, what was Stein’s incentive to help him? And someone had to have helped Dylan because you needed connections to get rid of a body, to sweep the existence of someone under the rug, needed someone moving the players and controlling the scene—like the night Mace had died and Mia had been kidnapped. I had just reached his door when the answer slammed into me like a fucking train. Taken a bit off guard from the discovery, I didn’t immediately react when the door opened. Dylan’s body visible from where I stood, his blood turning the carpet red.

  “You should have left it alone.”

  Heard the footsteps behind me a second too late, turning into Donny right as the butt of his gun made contact with my temple.

  In the morning, the first thing I did was call Cole, but his phone went into voicemail. I loved him, loved that he was so alpha, but sometimes I’d take a little less alpha and more communication. He was a smart guy, knew the streets, been taking care of himself for a long time so despite my fear, he knew what he was doing. I just needed to keep calm and have faith. But when this was over, we were going away somewhere for a few weeks, maybe a month or a year.

  I was dragging my ass to get ready for work and though I felt like shit, I’d take the hangover because otherwise I wasn’t sure I’d have handled the news about Dylan as well as I did. A part of me wanted him to pay as severely as he had made my dad. Knowing that kind of vengeance existed in me was disturbing and yet denying it was there was also unhealthy.

  Had Dylan followed through with Bruce? I’d have to check in later today, but first I had to get to work and on time. This was my first day back, so showing up late wasn’t a good plan. I thought to ask Bruce to check in on Cole, but Cole would not be happy with me, having Bruce babysitting him. In fact, he’d probably smack my ass red and as interesting as that sounded, I wasn’t entirely sure I’d like it.

  When I arrived at the office, I had several folders on my desk so clearly Freddie expected me to just jump right on in. And I did, for the first few hours I lost myself completely in the numbers. Bruce had tried calling a few times—each time I had hoped it was Cole—probably wanting to share with me how it had gone with Dylan, but I couldn’t get into that on the phone, especially not during my first day back. My phone ringing had me again wishing it was Cole, but it was Janie.

  “Hey.”

  “So how is it being back with Lucifer?”

  “Fine, good.”

  “Fine and good, glowing reviews.”

  “It’s the first day and I’ve got several projects. In a way, it’s nice to just get buried.”

  “You sound funny. What’s going on?”

  I wanted to tell her, needed her to help me work out the pieces and how they fit, but I didn’t want to involve her, didn’t want to put her in danger. So I didn’t mention Dylan or my dad, didn’t mention that Cole had left on some covert operation and hadn’t contacted me since. “Nothing, just tired. How’s Timothy?”

  Her voice turned dreamy and I could practically see the hearts floating over her head. “He’s wonderful.”

  Despite t
he melancholy I felt, true happiness for her filled me. “I like him because I like hearing you sound so happy.”

  “I am.”

  “Are you taking him to Camille’s wedding?”

  “I haven’t asked him, but I’d like to.”

  “Mom and Dad meet him yet?”

  “Not yet. My family can be a bit overwhelming.”

  That was an understatement. The first time I met her family, it felt like an inquisition and I was only a girlfriend. I couldn’t imagine what they put a man through who was sleeping with their daughter. “Got it. I miss you, Janie. I’ll talk with Cole and maybe we can get together for dinner this weekend.”

  ”I’d like that. I’ve got to go, time to raid.”

  My heart squeezed hard in my chest, raiding was code for confronting abusive parents. “Be safe.”

  “I will.”

  “I’ll call you about dinner.”

  “Have fun at work, tell Freddie boy I said hi.”

  “Love you, Janie”

  “Mia, you okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You’d tell me if you weren’t, right?”

  “Yep. I’m fine, just have learned to say how you feel because sometimes you lose the chance.”

  Silence followed that for a moment, her voice softer when she replied, “Love you too. Dinner this weekend.”

  “Definitely.”

  “Talk soon.”

  “Talk soon.” I hung up, holding my phone a minute longer before I got back to work.

  While I packed up at the end of the day, Freddie appeared in the doorway of my office. “How was the first day?”

  Before I could stop myself, I looked behind me to see if there was perhaps another Mia—a prettier, sexier and more interesting Mia his question was directed at, because this was out of character for him. At least out of character in regards to me.

  “Good, it was a good first day. I got a lot done.”

  He leaned against the doorjamb, crossing his arms over his chest. “All good with your dad’s records?”

  “Yeah. And thanks for your help. It filled a few holes.”

  “I mentioned it to my dad, not details, but he said the same. Be careful. It could be nothing, but it could be a situation you don’t want to be anywhere near.”

  Too late for that, but I couldn’t lie that I liked this softer side of Freddie boy, more like the man who had hired me. “Why are you being nice to me? It’s unnatural.”

  “Honestly, the idea of having my face re-arranged is not at all appealing, but I can man up enough to say I was a little hard on you.”

  “Why?”

  He studied me, an uncharacteristic grin curving his lips. “Like I mentioned, you raised the bar, coasting no longer cut it with my dad.”

  “So you were cruel for job security? I’m not really interested in your job you know, too much responsibility. Why now for the attitude adjustment?”

  “I’ve spent this year seeing you as a threat and not a person, but when I was forced to see you as more than my employee, I realized you’ve been through a lot. And as much as I’m a self-centered ass, I’m not that much of an ass.”

  I was without words. A heart did beat in his chest. And then he added, “Besides your boyfriend threatened I’d be eating out of a tube…that holds absolutely no appeal.”

  “Really?” Sarcasm dripped from that response and wasn’t lost on Fred.

  “See you tomorrow, Mia.”

  “Night, Fred.”

  On the street outside my office building, the hair at my nape stood on end at the sight of the black car and the driver, Donny’s counterpart. He wasn’t even attempting to hide the fact that he watched me. Turning, I bee lined it for the bus and a glance behind me showed that he followed. Fumbling in my purse for my phone, I managed to pull it out and dialed Bruce. He answered immediately.

  “Mia.”

  “I’m being followed.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Down the street from my office.”

  “Tuck into the café and stay out in the open. No restrooms. I’m on my way.”

  “Thank you.”

  I slipped into Au Bon Pain and waited, saw as the black car pulled up across the street but after about five minutes, he pulled away getting lost in the rush hour traffic. Several minutes after that, Bruce’s police sedan doubled parked at the curb. I hurried out and climbed into the passenger seat.

  “Thank you for coming to get me.” I said as I snapped on my seatbelt. Bruce was oddly quiet; I looked over at him, but his expression wasn’t one I could place.

  “Bruce?”

  “This isn’t personal.”

  Confused by his words, I didn’t immediately register the sound of the back door opening until it was too late. Donny was there, that creepy grin was the last thing I saw before he covered my face with a rag drenched in a sweet-smelling substance and everything went black.

  A searing pain woke me, my cheek stung and since my arms and legs were bound, my head snapped violently to the side as a shower of stars exploding in my vision. Bruce stood just in front of me, his face so close we were practically touching.

  “You’ve slept long enough.”

  He moved and a cry ripped from my throat because Cole was across the room, stripped from the waist up, his arms bound over his head—my focus turning to his fingers and thank God they were all there—cuts, some deep enough that blood flowed down his body, covered his torso. A blooming bruise spread from his temple on the left side. And yet my eyes lingered a minute longer on the necklace he still wore, my pendant. Shifting my gaze to his, our eyes locked. My God, he was conscious and he looked primal. Tears welled up and over my lower lids even as fury burned through me. Fighting against my restraints, my focus shifted to Bruce. “You’re going to die for this.”

  He laughed.

  “You work for Stein?”

  “I’ll be asking the questions. I want the photos and the accounting books to Mace’s garage.”

  “Why?”

  The slap was harder this time; the entire side of my face on fire from the pain. “Tell me where I can find the items.”

  “You’re going to kill us anyway, so why the hell would I tell you?”

  “Why indeed.”

  His attention turned to Donny who picked up a knife from the table setup next to Cole.

  “No!” Struggling against my restraints I watched in horror as Donny pushed the knife into Cole’s side. My eyes jerking up to his, I saw the pain but he made not a sound.

  “Stop it, you sick motherfucker.” My wrists were bleeding as I violently wrestled against the ropes.

  Donny twisted the knife and Cole’s body jerked. Broken at what he was doing to Cole, I whispered, “I’ll tell you, stop, please stop.”

  “Don’t.” That one word came from Cole.

  Blood pooled from the wound, Donny took a step back admiring his handiwork, and I watched as the man I loved slowly bled to death in front of me. I sought his face; his eyes and the light in them I feared would go out. Cole’s focus never wavered from me and even in pain, he willed his strength on me, comforting even with the distance between us.

  “I love you.” The words were barely audible, but he heard them.

  “This is all very touching, but I want the photos and the books.”

  “Why? You know how this is going to end so at least tell me why? Why are you doing all of this?”

  Pacing around the room, he seemed to ponder that for a minute. “I suppose there’s no harm in sharing. Money.”

  A cold fury settled in my gut with how callously he offered that explanation.

  “Stein was making a name for himself, sure he bribed a few officials to get contracts he shouldn’t have, but that’s big business. I wanted a piece of it. A situation arose that required my skillset, a sort of audition if you will. Stein was pleased and a relationship was formed.”

  “A situation?”

  “Yeah, a whore who knew too much. I handled it.�
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  Tammy. “And let me guess, Stein was so pleased he used his influence to get you a detective shield on the condition that you kept shit from sticking on him.”

  “Smart and beautiful.”

  “And Terence?”

  “Squeaky that one, but I still managed to get the job done despite him.”

  “And Dylan?”

  “Gambling is a terrible habit, but he had the situation well in hand until you decided to fuck it all up. Had you decided on a different line of work, none of this would have happened.”

  That cold fury erupted like a geyser, my voice was deadly calm in contrast. “You’re suggesting I’m responsible for my dad’s death?” His reaction was very slight but I caught it, surprise. “What did happen to my dad?”

  Silence.

  “Dylan came to you, told you that the jig was up, taking out Dad solved your problems. So what happened that night?”

  “I honestly don’t know.”

  If I was free from my restraints, I’d fucking claw his eyes out. Even now when death was imminent, he still wasn’t going to give me closure on Dad’s death.

  “Now where are the items?”

  My attention turned to Cole, my mind already preparing for his death and my own. I was coward because I hoped they took me first; I couldn’t bare the idea of watching him die.

  “Mia?”

  “My dad’s dead, the man I thought of as an uncle betrayed his best friend, your goon there butchered a man I knew and even being a dick, he didn’t deserve that, another of your goons violated me, forcing me to kill him and now you’ve got the man I love strapped up and are carving him up like a fucking turkey dinner. You’re going to kill us anyway, so fuck you. May you all rot in jail and then hell.”

  In the next beat, I was yanked from the chair. Bruce cut the rope tying my legs together before he bent me over a table, slamming me down so hard my head exploded in pain.

  “New tactic. Cole can watch while I rape his woman and then I’ll give Donny a go. He’s been wanting to taste you since you were a kid.”