Страница 20 из 59
“Not wearing a wire, and don’t want stars, why you here?”
“What, I can’t come around just to check up on you? See how your night is going?” I sneered and looked away. “I need to talk to Su
Just then the door to the back of the house opened and Su
Too bad I kinda thought I was a badass too. So instead of cowering when he walked into the room, I straightened and raised an eyebrow at him. We both eyed each other before cracking smiles and reaching out to shake hands and pull each other in.
“Hoping this is a good visit, Detective. K-money, huh? That was a good one, Shawn, quick. I’m impressed.” Su
I smirked and matched his stance. “As I told Shawn, I won’t say a word about you, your men, your operation, or being here as long as you all cooperate. I just need to speak with you, I need a few favors.”
“And why would I do anything for you? I know your history, as far as I know, you’re back in the game of bringing crews down.”
“You and I both know I didn’t bring crews down. I stopped dealers. If that’s what you’re afraid of, like I said, I’m not here for that. I’ll leave here acting like I don’t know what’s happening in this house and with your crew.”
He laughed and brought his arms out before crossing them again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Stars, Su
Nodding his head to one of his men, they all began laughing as the guy walked over with a plate full of cookies in the shape of stars.
I glanced up at the man holding the plate before turning to level my glare at Su
“Then talk.”
“Alone.”
He studied me for a few minutes, the tension in the room continuing to grow as everyone waited for him to make a decision. Finally, with a nod, he turned toward the door he’d originally walked out of and called over his shoulder, “Let’s go.”
I followed him through the door, down a hall, and through two more rooms before he finally shut a door behind me and shot me a dark look. “The fuck is wrong with you, Kash? You trying to come in here and screw all this up for me? You don’t just walk into my house . . . into my operation . . . into my assignment. Jesus Christ, you could ruin everything by being here.” He gritted his teeth and ran his hands over his head.
“Are you done?” I asked and went to sit in one of the chairs. “I don’t have time for your dramatic fits, Su
Su
He huffed loudly and took the chair next to me. “It better be. Talk to me.”
“Before we get into what I need, please tell me Shawn isn’t on stars.”
“Kash . . .” he said in warning.
“Look, Su
Su
I frowned because I did. Su
“Enough about how I’m ru
I got comfortable in my chair and folded my arms over my stomach. “Did you catch wind about Mase and me getting sent to Texas, and why?” When he nodded, I continued. “I met a girl there, and it’s a fucking long story, but short of it is . . . I’m in love with her. I’ll be in love with her until the day I die. She moved back here with me, knows all about my past undercover work, and knows about the job that went wrong that ended up sending us to Texas.”
“She got a drug problem?”
“No, Su
I rolled my eyes and kept my outward emotions turned off as I told him the rest. In the last few days, everything had changed. I’d done all I could to find her without the department’s knowledge. It’d been difficult, between going to work and doing my own investigations without letting anyone else catch wind. But it was about to get a hell of a lot easier. Starting today, Rachel and I would have been on vacation in Texas for Candice’s graduation, and then California to visit with her family for two weeks. When Chief asked if I wanted to still take the time off, or if I’d needed the work as a distraction, I’d chosen the time off. No one would be expecting anything from me, and I would be free to look for her more than I had been. He’d nodded and told me he understood it was a difficult time, that if I needed anything, to let him know.
I didn’t need a goddamn thing other than my fiancée back.
I’d gone to see living relatives that Juarez and the other boys had, and I’d spent days on the streets, talking to people. But I knew I was missing things, and that’s why I was coming to see Su
“She doesn’t have a drug problem, but she was abducted two weeks ago right out of our bedroom. Mason and I were working a double homicide when it happened. Department has leads, but nowhere to go with them, and they haven’t gotten any closer to finding her than they were on that first day.”
“Shit, Kash. You serious?”
I stared at him, unblinking, not responding.
“Man, I had no idea. I can’t remember the last time I watched the news, and I haven’t checked in with the department in months. Are you—I mean, damn. Are you okay? I would be losing my shit.”