The guy nodded and shut the door. A moment later, two burly Pacific Islanders opened the door and shoved him out, throwing his gun after him. Luke stumbled to the ground, but his hands weren’t tied. He rose to his feet to get away, but Dimples slapped a pair of cuffs on him.
“Hey… you can’t do that!”
As Dimples read him his rights, Luke spotted me, and the color drained from his face. He cursed a blue streak in his mind while despair rushed over him. He should have killed me himself, even if I was a cop. He could have gotten away. Then he cursed some more.
It didn’t sound like he appreciated the fact that he was still alive. He should be thanking me. All in all, I thought he got off pretty well with just a bleeding lip, lots of swelling under his eyes, and bruises covering his jaw.
After securing Luke in the back seat, Dimples put on some gloves and bagged the gun as evidence. We drove away in silence. Luke was determined not to say a word, which suited me just fine, but with all the swearing going on in his thoughts, I had to put up my shields.
That’s why it came as a surprise that Dimples had decided to return to the arena. I sat tight while he transferred Luke to a regular cop car and had a couple of police officers take him in. I took in the scene, noticing that the coroner had loaded Dusty’s body into the van, and it was just about time for the concert to end.
“Okay. I think I have everything straight,” Dimples said, sitting back down in the car. “Stephanie and Luke made the pills and recruited Dusty into selling them. Somehow you got involved through a ‘client’ of yours and followed the clues to the concert. When Dusty left to find Luke, you stayed with Stephanie and Lacie, not knowing Stephanie was in on it. She kidnapped you and met up with Luke. He took you to the gang in exchange for the life of one of the gang members he had in the car and asked them to kill you.”
He was thinking it got complicated after that. “For some reason, they knew who you were, so they turned the tables on him and let you go. You returned here and found Dusty dying. He told you Stephanie shot him before he died. Then Stephanie snuck up on you with a gun, asking where Luke was since he was supposed to kill you. You told her you’d take her to Luke on the bike. That’s when you crashed, and the security guard caught Stephanie.”
“Yeah… that’s pretty much what happened,” I said, impressed with his skills.
He was thinking that everything was a little convoluted, and he wasn’t sure about including the gang part in his report. But it did make sense.
“If you want, we can leave the gang part out and just say that I got away and came back here. Would that work?”
Dimples sighed. “I think we’ve got all the evidence we need to make both murder charges stick, especially if we find the machinery they used to make the pills.”
“Yeah… I heard Stephanie thinking about it, so I have a good idea where we can find it.”
“Good. With what we’ve got, we can probably get them on the deaths of the two kids as well. So… we’ll just stick to the facts and go from there. And I think we can leave out your friend, since I really don’t know what he did anyway.”
“Thanks.”
Just then, the building’s exit doors opened, and several people came out. One of them was Jodie. A police officer held her back, and Dimples frowned. “I need to tell her about her brother. It might help if you come along.”
He got out of the car and I followed behind, not looking forward to this at all. Both Luke and Stephanie were long gone to the police station, but the coroner’s van hadn’t left yet, and there were enough police cars with lights flashing that she’d know something bad had happened.
Dimples reached Jodie’s side and took her back inside. He motioned for me to follow along, and I did, even though I knew this would be bad. Not only was Jodie’s brother dead, but he’d been shot by her daughter’s tutor. Even worse, her boyfriend was behind it all. How was she going to cope with that?
We ended up right back in the same room where Ramos and I had met Jodie earlier. Lacie was there with Kristin, and she jumped up with happy surprise to see me safe. Without thought, she ran to me and threw her arms around me.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Lacie said. “I didn’t think you were bad. Are you a police officer?”
I hunkered down to squeeze her back. “I’m glad you’re okay too, and… yes… I work with the police. Everything’s okay now. You don’t have to be scared anymore.”
“What happened to Stephanie?”
“She’s been arrested, so you’ll never have to see her again.”
Lacie let out a relieved sigh. She’d never liked Stephanie much… maybe that was because she was a phony, and was always sneaking around and leaving her alone.
“Let’s go sit down.” I took Lacie’s hand and led her over to the couch. “Your mom’s going to have a hard time in the next little while, so I think she’s going to need your help. Can you do that?”
She nodded, picking up that something bad had happened, especially when Jodie started crying. “What is it?” She glanced at me, knowing it was bad, but wanting the truth.
“I’m sorry Lacie, but… it’s your Uncle Dusty. He got shot… and he… he died.” Her eyes widened, then she shook her head, not sure it was true. “Go to your mom. She needs you now.”
Lacie didn’t hesitate and rushed to her mother’s side. Jodie pulled her into a hug, and they clung to each other. When their tears had subsided, Jodie held Lacie on her lap, growing even more upset to find that Luke and Stephanie were behind the whole thing. She berated her judgement, thinking that she was an idiot, and now her brother was dead.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Dimples hurried to the door and opened it slightly, speaking to an officer outside. Then he opened it wider, and a handsome Latino man came inside.
“Daddy!” Lacie cried. She flung herself into his arms and held him tightly. Jodie stood, hardly daring to believe that Emil was standing there. He glanced over at her and held out an arm. Jodie ran to his side, and he pulled her close.
“I’m here,” he said. “I’m here now… and… I’m here to stay.” Jodie pulled away and glanced into his dark eyes, hardly daring to believe what he said. “I mean it. I’m here to stay if you’ll have me.”
Jodie’s eyes filled with tears. As they fell down her cheeks, she nodded. “Yes.” She’d always nourished a small hope that Emil would find his way back to her. That it had happened now at such a terrible time seemed like an answer to her prayers.
Emil was thanking God that Dusty had tracked him down and had explained what was going on a week ago. Emil had always wanted to come home to Jodie but was just waiting for the right time. That it had happened at this moment came as a shock, especially now that Dusty was dead.
Then there was Lacie… he hated being away from his daughter, and now that would all change. She pulled away from his neck, and they held each other with their cheeks pressed together. In that moment, they looked so much alike that I knew she was his daughter.
Movement outside in the hall caught my attention, and I hurried to the door. I glanced into the hall and caught sight of Ramos walking away, picking up that he’d heard and seen everything. I was just about to tell him to wait for me, but the words got stuck in my throat. Then he disappeared around the corner. I still had the option to run after him, but I wasn’t sure what to do.
My heart ached for him, and tears pricked at the back of my eyes. As he’d left, I’d picked up a gut-wrenching pain that sort of hit him all at once. Witnessing Jodie and Lacie so happy to see another man struck a nerve. The realization that Ramos was alone, without family ties, or anyone to hold onto, left him empty with a deep ache in his heart.
I hated to know he felt like that. But what could I do to help him? From his thoughts, I’d picked up that he wanted… no, needed to be alone, so I let him go and hoped that, maybe tomorrow, he’d be willing to talk to me about it.
With a heavy heart, I turned back to the room to find that most ever
yone was enthralled by the happy reunion. Someone laughed and broke the spell. After that, people began to talk again. It struck me how much Emil and Jodie loved each other, and I wondered what had happened to break them up.
Then I realized that it was probably the ghost of Ramos in their relationship that did it. So maybe it was a good thing that Ramos had left without talking to Jodie. Who knew what would have happened if he’d been in the room.
Nearly two hours later, after I collected my purse from the motorhome, Dimples dropped me off at my house.
I hurried inside, eager to be with my family. As soon as I came into the kitchen, Chris stood from the table and enfolded me in his arms, then showered kisses all over my face. While I’d waited for Dimples to wrap things up and take me home, I’d called Chris and told him everything. I didn’t know how relieved he was until now.
I winced after he kissed my bruised cheek, which caused him to pull away. “You’re hurt,” Chris said, his brows drawn together. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s just a bruise.” The concern and worry in his gaze sent a wave of guilt through me. “Hey… I’m okay. Just… kiss the other cheek, or how about my lips… or maybe my neck? That would be nice.”
Chris let out a breath and pulled me close, thinking that I would be the death of him. Hearing what had happened to me tonight had probably taken twenty years off his life. He’d already found three more gray hairs in his head just since this morning.
“You have not!”
He pulled back, sending that sexy grin my way. “It’s true. I’m just glad it’s not falling out.” Then he thought that, if it ever did, he could always blame me for it, and I couldn’t complain.
I shook my head, but smiled, grateful to have such an awesome husband. My stomach chose that moment to growl, reminding me that I had hardly eaten all day.
“Whoa! Sounds like someone’s hungry. Too bad all the pizza’s gone.” At my crestfallen expression, he quickly continued, “Good thing I saved you a piece.”
At my huff, he chuckled and pulled me toward a kitchen chair, then warmed up the pizza in the microwave, and handed it over. The kids came up from the basement, surprising me that they weren’t in bed yet. Then I realized it was Friday night, and they’d wanted to stay up until I got home.
“So mom… how was the Jodie McAllister concert?” Savannah asked. “Dad told us that’s where you were.” She couldn’t quite figure out how going to a concert was helping a client like I’d told her earlier, and her mind buzzed with curiosity.
Since I hadn’t seen it, I was ready to lie and say it was great, but something stopped me. I was suddenly tired of lying to my kids about everything I did. They weren’t little kids I needed to shelter. They were old enough to handle the truth. Well… maybe some of it.
So I told them I’d been helping the police with the drug case, and we’d solved it tonight. “It all came together at the concert, so that’s why I was there.” I didn’t go into detail or anything, but gave them enough information so they’d know what had happened and that the drug dealers had been caught.
“Wow, mom. That’s really cool,” Savannah said. “So how did you get that bruise on your cheek and that rip in your pants?”
Dang… should I lie now? “All in the line of duty,” I said instead.
“Does that mean you fell or something?” Josh asked, his eyes dancing with mischief.
I chuckled and nodded my head. “Yeah… something like that. So what did you guys do while I was gone?” I listened to their stories, content to be surrounded by my family, soaking in their smiles and laughter and grateful to be alive.
Later, after a nice, hot bath, I snuggled in Chris’ arms. It took a while, but I finally opened up about everything. How Stephanie’s gun had gone off when we’d fought for it, and how, if not for Lacie, she would have shot me. How Luke thought about killing me, but decided to let the gang do it, and how it had turned out to be the same gang I’d met just a week ago.
Then how I’d held Dusty’s hand while he’d died, and how his last thought had been of protecting his sister and niece. The tears flowed freely then, and Chris held me close, stroking my back and arms. I finished by telling him about Jodie and Emil getting back together… all because of Dusty… and cried some more.
Through it all, Chris held me close. The only time he really got upset was when I told him about the motorcycle. He had to swallow a few times to keep from blurting out a few choice four letter words, and I admired his restraint. Then he hoped that I’d never try that again… and hoped that Ramos had learned his lesson.
I wasn’t sure what lesson that was, but I let out a breath instead of asking, and finally relaxed into sleep.
The next morning, Chris took Josh to his soccer game and let me sleep in. It was sweet of him since I’d woken up with more aches and pains than I’d gone to bed with.
I got a call from Billie Jo, asking me if we could go out to lunch. “I heard all about the drug case from Drew, so I’m hoping you’ll fill me in on the details for an article at the paper. There’s also something I need to ask you. So can you come?”
“Uh… sure.” We decided where to meet and disconnected.
That’s when I realized that I’d left my car in the parking garage of Thrasher Development. I called her back, and she said she’d be happy to pick me up and drop me off there when we were done.
Not long after that, Uncle Joey called. “Shelby, I’m glad to hear you’re all right. Ramos told me what happened.”
“Yeah… it was a little touch and go, but it all worked out.”
“I just wanted you to know that I appreciate that you used your influence to keep Ramos out of the police report. That means a lot.”
“Oh… yeah… well, I’m glad I could help.”
“I have to admit that I never did like that you helped the police much, but after last night, I’m starting to see some advantages.”
My breath caught. “Uh… yeah… right.”
“So I hope you’ll keep that in mind the next time it looks like there’s a conflict of interest. It’s nice to know you have an in with the police… so to speak.”
“Oh… yeah, I guess I do.” Oh great! So now I’d just agreed to ask the police to look the other way when it came to Uncle Joey? I wasn’t sure I could do that. Of course, I could warn Uncle Joey if I needed to, but any more than that might be crossing a line that I wasn’t comfortable with.
“Don’t worry, Shelby,” Uncle Joey said, picking up my reluctance. “I’d never ask you to do anything that could get you arrested. Family comes first. Sometimes we make sacrifices for each other, but it goes both ways. I hope you know by now that you can trust me after all we’ve been through together.”
“Of course… I do,” I said, and the realization hit me that somewhere along the line, I had come to trust him. How crazy was that?
“Good. Oh… I just got off the phone with Frank. Things are pretty good between us now, and I have you to thank for that. They’d love to meet your family, so I think we should all go to New York together sometime, maybe for Miguel’s opening night. How does that sound?”
“That sounds great. We’d love to come. How’s Miguel doing?”
“He’s starting to settle down from all the excitement. I think the reality that he’s leaving for New York is hitting him, but I’m not too worried since we have family there. Oh… one more thing. I know it’s short notice, but we’re having a little impromptu celebration tonight at the house for Miguel. We’d all love it if your family could come.”
“Oh… sure… we’d love that,” I agreed.
“Good. Come around six, and bring your swimming suits.”
Billie took me to Thrasher so I could get my car before we headed to lunch. We had a great time, and I finally found out what was giving her the wedding jitters.
“I know it’s silly,” she began. “But I feel like I’m just planning the typical wedding. There’s nothing new or different, and I’m a little d
isappointed.”
“Yeah… but this is your wedding. It doesn’t have to be different, as long as it’s what you want. I think brides put too much pressure on themselves to have the perfect wedding. Why not just call it a party and have fun?”
Billie nodded, then I heard her thinking that Dimples wanted to wear his police uniform, and she wanted him in a tux. She didn’t want to disappoint him if that was what he wanted, but as much as he rocked the uniform, she didn’t want him wearing a hat.
“Oh… um… so… have you picked out a tux for Dimples?”
Her lips turned down. “He wants to wear his uniform.” Her gaze met mine. “I love the uniform, but is there something that says he has to wear it?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, but I can find out. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have to, but it would make your wedding a little different if he did, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have to wear the hat during the ceremony, or for all the pictures.”
“Really? Hmm… okay. Check it out and let me know.”
After that we talked about what went down the night before at the concert. I didn’t offer too much that she didn’t already know, and I wasn’t going to tell her all the juicy details, but she knew I was hiding something. “So you did all of that by yourself?” she asked.
“Oh… well… mostly.”
“And it was all tied in with the murdered drug dealer you and Drew found yesterday?”
I nodded, but mentioning that brought an image of me into her mind. It was the fifteen-second video she’d seen on social media, and she pressed her lips together to stop from laughing.
Before she could razz me about it, my phone rang, and I welcomed the interruption. I checked the caller ID, and surprise rushed over me. “I’d better take this,” I told Billie. “Hello?”
“Hey Shelby, it’s Blake Beauchaine.”
“Wow, what a surprise. Uh… how are you doing? Are you back in the states?”
“Yeah. I’ve been given a clean bill of health which, at my age, is a real blessing. You’re probably wondering why I’m calling, especially since the last time we spoke, I told you we were even.”