Jacked (43 page)

Adam kept shaking his head. “I don’t believe it. I would have called somebody a liar if I didn’t just see that shit for myself.”

I rubbed my cold hands together and then slipped my sunglasses on. “So what did just happen back there?”

He glanced over at me quickly. “Fucked-up shit, that’s what just happened. Sidel? I just… Erin, I have no words. Yeah, he’s a dick most of the time, but a rat? Thought he was a cop to the core.”

“What do you mean, he’s a rat? He was pretty arrogant and I’m not sure because I don’t know him, but he seemed a bit jealous of you, too.”

Adam shrugged. “That’s his issue, not mine. We used to be good friends.” I could clearly see how much the divergence hurt him. “Ever since we started filming this show, things steadily got worse. All the other guys in my unit are rolling with it but Sidel seems hell bent on digging me every chance he gets. Still, I can’t believe it.”

His face was twisted with mix of anger and disbelief. “The guy that came in behind Sidel? I know who he is.”

“SO YOU THINK
this Salvador Mancuso is the one running everything?” Erin asked, swirling the spoon in her coffee while she analyzed my dilemmas.

One cream, two sugars.
I committed that to memory, trading my blinding rage and visions of dirtball criminals for sweeter things that didn’t make my blood pressure skyrocket. My woman liked her coffee on the sweet side. It totally fit.

Huh. My woman.

Somehow in the last few hours something inside me had claimed a stake on her and, strangely, I was totally at ease with that.

I glanced around the restaurant, assuring myself no one was listening, and gave her a single nod. I shouldn’t have been discussing this with her but when I’m around her I have no restraint. She was one hell of a great listener, helping me think this entire operation out rationally when all I wanted at the moment was vengeance. “Now you see my concern.”

She concentrated on her cup of coffee, her eyes narrowed and contemplating. “But what’s the motivating factor for Sidel to be seen in public with Mancuso’s brother? Sidel has to be getting something major out of it to be putting everything at risk like that.”

I shrugged. “People do all sorts of stupid shit for money.”

“Yeah, but he’d be in big trouble if he got caught. Would the money be worth it?”

“No amount of money is worth risking your career and going to jail, because that’s where he’ll be going if I find out he’s taking part in this operation. I’ll put him behind bars myself. Cops serving time don’t do well in gen pop and it would be my pleasure to see him suffer if he’s involved—”

Erin held up her hand, halting my tirade. “Why would a police officer meet up with his criminal friend in a public place where he might be seen by other cops? Would Sidel risk exposure like that? No, I’m not buying it. It’s too risky and frankly, enormously stupid.” I watched her finger slowly circle the rim of her mug, wishing that coffee cup were me. I could almost feel it echoing on my skin, lulling me into a trance.

“He may come off as a jerk,” she said, pulling back my attention, “but my gut tells me he’s a lot more calculating than that. Besides, if they needed to talk, there are a million other places to meet where no one would see them together.”

She had a point. A
very
good point. One that months of my growing animosity toward Sidel was refusing to let me see. “Yeah,” I scratched my brow, “but none of our team has seen
Vincent
Mancuso’s face. Well, not exactly all of them.” I started compiling a short mental list, which included my captain and my partner, Marcus.

“Well,” Erin continued, “until you have definitive proof, everything is just speculation. You’ll figure it all out.”

Her brush of confidence dropped my blood pressure a few notches. The waitress brought our salads and hot rolls, making my stomach growl in appreciation. I unrolled my napkin and snagged a fork. “You’d make a very good detective, Doc. You’re very levelheaded.”

Erin smiled shyly and nodded at me, covering her mouth with her hand. God she was gorgeous when she was being humble—another trait that I admired tremendously—even when she was trying to downplay my compliment with a well-crafted distraction about being a medical detective.

That sense of peaceful contentment I hadn’t felt in such a long time washed over me, almost making me feel lightheaded in its wake. I wanted to concentrate on the rage skimming around the edge of my thoughts—form a plan to lock Sidel and his criminal cronies away for a very long time—but the blistering anger simply vanished every time I looked at her. One thing was for certain.
She
was the source of the light snuffing out the darkness within me.

MY SENSES WERE
tingling even before my headlights hit her car and confirmed my suspicions. Part of me expected to see fans camped out in front of my house, but the harsh winter weather and mounds of snow were quite an effective deterrent. Pain lanced right into my gut when I saw Erin’s car sitting lopsided, and as I got closer, my temper skyrocketed.

I knew it. I fucking knew it. I should have locked her car in my garage before we left, but like a dumbass, I didn’t.
Son of a…

“What?” Erin asked.

I pulled into the driveway and hit the button to open the garage door, hoping to park before she noticed the damage.

I shut off the ignition and held out my hand. “Let me have your keys.”

She dug in her purse. “Why? What’s wrong?”

Erin followed me out into the driveway. “Adam?”

The cold wind blew a gust of snow crystals over us but the frigid weather only seemed to ramp up my fury.

“Shit,” she whispered. I avoided looking at her pained face as the damage registered.

Shit was putting it mildly. Red was blistering my vision seeing that both tires on the driver side had been flattened. A quick check on the other side had me releasing the breath I was holding; the two on the passenger side were still inflated.

I halted Erin as she tried to follow me. “Stay back. This is a fucking crime scene.”

She stopped dead in her tracks and gasped. The wind rustled the bare branches in the large elm that bordered my driveway, stirring more of my senses. It was still light and sunny outside; the suspect could still be in the vicinity.

I took her by the waist and backed her into the safety of my garage, tucking her in front of my truck onto the padded stool at my workbench. “It’s cold and you’re shivering. Stay here.”

“I’m okay.”

I leveled my gaze on hers. “I’m not.” I sat her down and got the flashlight out of my truck.

Erin nodded woodenly; the shock was doing its number on her. “I have to work tonight.”

I shut my passenger door and eyed her over the hood. “I know.”

She started to stand, not fully understanding the severity of the situation.

“I’ll drive you myself if it comes down to it, but right now I need you to stay put.” She got my meaning, sliding her rump back onto the stool without argument.

Aggravation was burning deep in my gut as I did a careful walk-around, scanning the paint on her car, looking for damage or signs of forced entry. The drive was clear of visible footprints; only a bit of wet slush remained, leaving no clue as to who may have done this.

My neighborhood was quiet, insulated within layers and piles of powdery white snow. The street was typical for an after-storm dig out; small rivulets of water were interspersed within random ridges of ice and snow created by dozens of tire tracks. As I looked around for any shred of evidence, I tried to calm myself enough to form a game plan without putting my fists through something. I crouched back down next to Erin’s car; each of her tires had one very distinct straight slice in the sidewall.

I couldn’t suppress my growl. A guy wouldn’t do this kind of damage unless he was tied to Erin somehow. Still, a jealous ex wouldn’t strand her under the care of another man if he were trying to make a point. The tires on her ride were expensive.

I glanced around the neighborhood again. Rick’s green pick-up was dirty, but sitting on four full tires in front of his house across the street. Jeanne’s dark blue Passat was untouched in their driveway. On the other side of the small bushes separating our yards, Vic’s brand new red Camaro, his gift to himself when he retired last September, had a stack of snow on its roof. There were no footprints in the snow in my yard, either. House, windows, everything appeared untouched.

My eyes scanned back to Erin’s car. No, this was personal.

Someone trying to send me a message would have been more creative. Even roaming punks would have jacked her car up and stole them before wasting the effort of stabbing them for the fun of it. Most of the kids in the neighborhood knew I was a cop, which seemed to deter them from getting into trouble around here.

Slashes were vertical and close to the top. This had anger and female scorn written all over it.

“I have to call this in.”

Erin nodded. “Will I be able to get them fixed?”

I wanted to squeeze the fuck out of my cell as I dialed dispatch. “No. We have to buy new ones.”

“It’s Sunday,” her voice broke. “I can’t let my father know about this. If I have it towed back to his dealership he’ll never let me hear the end of it. He needs to stay focused on getting my mom through the funerals. Maybe I can call Rudy to come with the flatbed.”

My molars were starting to hurt. I didn’t know who the fuck Rudy was, but Hell would have to completely freeze over before I let some other guy take care of this. “Yeah, this is Detective Adam Trent, I need a unit dispatched to my residence.”

I could see the stress taking its toll on Erin as I moved my motorcycle into the corner. “Once we file a report, I’m going to pull your car in here and then I’ll take the tires off. I want it garaged while we’re gone.”

Nikki had definitely crossed the fucking line with this one.

Erin watched me work, and I was thankful she wasn’t asking questions or bitching out loud like most women would do, even though she had every right to pitch a fit. I risked a glance at her. “Why don’t you go inside? Go get warm.”

With a simple shake of her head, she declined and instead, wrapped her arms around herself, braving the cold.

I set my tools down and stepped between her knees, needing her to know I was here, sharing the burden. Knowing she was upset was driving me crazy. Knowing someone did this damage because of me was pushing me toward a blinding rage. “You’re shivering.”

“I’m okay. I just… I don’t understand. I work so hard.”

I knew she was close to crying. “Look at me. I’m going to fix this.” The pain I saw in her eyes slayed me.

“Who would do something like that? Why?”

My list of possible suspects was short. “Because some people just have too much ugly in them, Erin.” The burn of guilt rolled up into my throat. My inattention to detail had put her in harm’s way. It was a mistake I’d never let happen again.

Red and blue lights bounced off the back window of my garage. I tucked her cold hand in mine as I walked her out into the driveway to meet the arriving squad car.