Once You'Ve Touched the Heart (32 page)

Cynthia stood up. “I do not put Tracy down.”

“Yes, you do.”

Ashley and Rosaline both laughed.

Cynthia stopped mid-sentence then rolled her eyes at both of them. “I simply tell her what I think. I like to keep things real.”

“Your keeping it real has been cruel. But Tracy considers you a friend. I’ll be damned if I know why, but she does. If she wants you,” he looked at Tracy, “I will not get in the way.”

The doorbell rang. “Break!” Ashley smiled then buzzed the door open. “Ding; Round Two.”

“Good evening,” James said as he reached the top of the stairs.

“Hello,” everyone responded.

“Am I interrupting something?” James asked, seeing the tense expression on Cynthia’s face.

“No, just wedding plans,” JD replied. “Have a seat.”

James pouted. “I don’t want to.” Tracy laughed.

♥

Brian thought he was dreaming when he heard the telephone ring. He reached to pick up the house phone, but the ringing continued. It was his cell; he jumped up, wondering who would call him this early on a Saturday morning. “Thompson, this is Tucker. I need to see you. Meet me at Maxi’s in half an hour.”

“Hey, Brian, can I get you something?” Frank greeted.

“Hey, Frank, do you ever go home?” Brian joked.

“Don’t feel like it sometimes.” He pointed to the table. “Your guest is here,” he said looking over to the table.

Brian looked in the direction Frank pointed and saw Tucker eating. The feeling in the pit of his stomach made it obvious something was amiss. “Let me have a Hennessey on the rocks,” Brian requested.

“It’s a little early for that, ain’t it?”

“Yeah, well I got a feeling I’m going to need it.” Brian walked over and sat at the table. “Got to be important for you to be here of all places.”

“Yeah, I feel like a damn virgin in the center of Sing Sing surrounded by death row inmates, with all these damn cops around,” Tucker joked.

Brian chuckled. “Just wondering which one is going to screw you first.”

“Yeah.” Tucker laughed. “Juan is targeting Harrison again.” Tucker stated.

“Tell me what I don’t know,” Brian said. Frank approached the table with the drink, the conversation stopped. “Thanks, man,” Brian said, and then continued with his conversation. “He isn’t crazy enough to make another attempt on a DA; especially this one. Hell, that would bring the whole force down on him, Fed, state and local.”

“He’s pissed. Harrison didn’t take the out and is still gunning for him. People do stupid things when they don’t think clearly and you can’t think clearly when you’re pissed. Besides, the plan was to slow Harrison’s roll, not kill him,” Tuck said.

“The kind of force they brought was to kill, not slow down,” Brian said angrily. “But let’s say you’re right. How could they slow him down at this point?”

“Think about it: who’s the one person in Harrison’s life that would make him think twice if something was to happen to her?”

Brian thought for a moment. “Shit,” Brian said, “love is a bitch.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Tucker said as he finished the last of the food on his plate.

“I can’t officially put anybody on her.”

“Well, you better do something. I was given direct orders. If anything happens to her, people will die.” Tucker finished his coffee. “I’m out, man.”

“Thanks for the heads up, man. You take care.”

“Same for you, my man.” Tucker left.

Frank came over to the table. “You good, Brian?”

“No, man, bring me another one. Make it a double.”

Brian knew if it was in his power, nothing would happen to Tracy. He pulled out his cell, dialed a number. “I need you to cover JD’s girl until further notice; anything goes down, shoot to kill, we’ll get answers later.” He disconnected and made another call. “Calvin. I’m at Maxi’s. Can you get away?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“I’ll fill you in when you get here.”

“All right, you talked to JD?”

“No, I’m pretty sure he’s with Tracy.” Brian smirked. “You know he’s done right?”

“Yeah, he’s gone, but I ain’t mad at him,” Calvin replied. “He’s got a good one.”

“I don’t know, man. I am not into that one-woman-for-the-rest-of-your-life shit. It doesn’t even sound that effective, you know what I mean,” Brian said laughing. “Think about it; women outnumber us. Now, if everybody goes to the one on one, like you and JD, what’s going to happen to all the other women? Somebody’s got to be available to help the lonely sisters.”

“Oh and you are willing to make the sacrifice?”

“Hell, yeah!”

“You’re a damn fool, B.” Calvin laughed. “I’ll be down in 10.”

Frank came to the table with breakfast on a plate. “Maxine said you have to put something on your stomach if you gonna do all that drinking this early in the day. She said she gonna take care of you today, but you need a woman in your life.”

Brian laughed and thought,
has everybody lost their damn mind?

T
he first day back in open court for JD began with an uneasy feeling, but he was determined not to let it get the best of him. Today the security was tight; no one was allowed in the courtroom unless they were directly involved with the case. No media were allowed.

When JD left the house that morning, Tracy wasn’t feeling well. She had been staying at JD’s place for the past week. She did her work from home and would have it sent to the office by Ashley. It was easier to handle security that way. Brian and two other federal agents handled the detail rotation on both JD and Tracy. That was completely unofficial.

When Brian approached his superiors regarding the tip on Tracy, they informed him his responsibility was to protect Jeffrey Harrison only. The agency was not responsible for the family members’ protection. That pissed Brian off, but he followed orders. Most evenings, Magna and Brian were at the house with them, therefore extra coverage was available.

Sometimes James and Ashley would stop by. James and JD were becoming close friends. The two would have what some might call arguments, but they referred to them as discussions about politics. Ashley would fill Tracy in on the happenings in the office and spend some time on the wedding. They had formed a very tight-knit little group.

JD was glad the trial day had finally arrived. Once this trial was over, he and Tracy could move on with their plans. Since his meeting with Lena, all he wanted to do was make her feel secure with their family.

The group from the DA’s office arrived together. Brian drove JD and Magna. Calvin, Dan and two Federal agents rode in the other vehicle. If anything happened to the first group, the lead attorney in the second would take over the case. The media were on the front steps of the courthouse in full force. Before going into the courthouse, JD called Tracy. “Hey, babe, you feeling any better?” he asked.

“A little,” she replied. “Is everything okay with you?”

“Yeah,” he said, looking out of the window. “I have the full force of the city here with me today, don’t worry.”

“I’m going to worry until you come back through the door,” she said with a sigh.

“Brian said there’s nothing really wrong with you that will not be cleared up once this day is over.”

“He may be right, but my head is killing me right now.”

A little worried, he said, “Why don’t you take a couple Tylenols and go back to bed? When you wake up this may be over.”

“I may do that.” She hesitated. “Jeffrey, please come home to me.”

He closed his eyes and sighed. “That’s my plan, babe. I love you.”

“Me, too.” JD hung up the phone then got out of the car.

Brian walked up beside him. “Don’t worry if anything happens to you; I’ll marry Tracy.” JD froze in his tracks and gawked at Brian.

Calvin walked up behind JD and hit him on the shoulder. “I guess you better stay alive, partner,” he laughed.

The trial took two days before it was turned over to the jury. On the second day, JD and his team knew they had a victory and so did the defense. Juan became irate in the courtroom when the mother of his child was called to testify against him. He looked at JD and yelled, “You will pay for this. You fucked with my family, I fuck with yours!” The judge had him removed from the court.

JD called Tracy on his way home just to check on things. She still was not feeling well, which was unusual. To his knowledge, Tracy had never been sick, not even a cold. “Everything is fine honey; I’m just taking it easy today,” she told him.

“Things got ugly today. The case was given to the jury. Now, it’s a wait and see.”

“How do you feel about it?” she asked.

“We are on our way to Maxi’s to celebrate.”

She smiled. “Thank goodness, this is almost over. We can go back to our normal life.”

“I kind of like the life we have,” JD said. “I like having you at my place
day and night.”

“Yes, I like that, too, but I can do without so many people around all the time.”

“I’m with you on that.” He smiled. “Babe, we are at Maxi’s; do you need me to come home?”

“No, enjoy yourself.”

“Love you,” he whispered.

“Me too,” she replied.

Tracy went to the medicine cabinet to get the Tylenols, but they were out. Her headache was getting worse. She started to call Jeffrey to bring some home, but changed her mind. He had been so stressed about this trial; he needed this outing with the guys. She didn’t want to disturb that. Tracy got in her car and drove to the drugstore.

When she pulled into the parking lot, there was a commotion behind her. A car had apparently cut off a white SUV. Tracy stepped out of the car and looked around. Before she closed the door, a young Hispanic man approached her from behind. “Ms. Tracy?”

“Yes,” she answered.

“I have a message for Mr. Harrison.”

Before Tracy realized what was happening, his fist hit her face with so much force that her head hit the top of her car. She was stunned. Blood started coming out of her nose. Another fist hit her face from the opposite direction. Tracy lost her balance and fell between the cars. A foot hit her side, like a sledgehammer, which continued to kick and pound her from what seemed like all directions. She tried to slide under the car, but someone grabbed her legs and pulled her back out. Tracy heard voices speaking in Spanish. She knew there was more than the one, but could not make out what they were saying. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. She tried to fight back, but could not. Someone stomped her hand and she cried out in pain. One of them picked her head up off the cement and said in Spanish, “You fuck with my family, I fuck with yours.” The boy slammed her head on the cement. Everything seemed to go black then. Tracy put her arms over her head, and curled up into a fetal position. She prayed to lose consciousness, but it did not come fast enough. The impact of every kick kept her conscious. The kicking continued until her body became numb, but her mind was still aware. Then she heard what sounded like a gunshot, but she could not move. Her mind was closing and she hurt all over; she couldn’t tell if the shot had hit her.

The kicking stopped; someone else was there. She heard a scrambling and then a car pulling away. “Tracy?” She heard a voice, but didn’t recognize it. She tried to open her eyes, but couldn’t. Tracy tried to speak to the person talking to her, but she couldn’t. She called out for Jeffrey; then she lost consciousness.

At Maxi’s the celebration was in full force. This was a huge victory for the DA’s office; it represented the end to the Latin Eagles reign over the Blackwell area. The tension turned into relaxed nerves for the moment, but the celebration was short lived. Brian’s cell phone rang. “Thompson,” he said with a drink in his hand. He dropped his drink and stood. “Where?” he asked, and looked around the room for JD. He hung up the phone, then dialed a number. “Protectee down,” he said and gave the address. He looked directly at JD. All of a sudden other cell phones and pagers started to go off.

JD looked around, and then looked at Brian. “Is the jury back already?”

Brian had a blank stare on his face. “B, what is it?” Calvin asked.

Brian looked at JD. “It’s Tracy.”

“What about Tracy?” JD asked.

“She was attacked.”

JD and Brian ran out of the bar and jumped into the Suburban. As Brian pulled away from the curve, JD frantically dialed Tracy’s cell phone: no answer. Brian drove nonstop while he relayed the information he had to JD. As Brian talked,
I should have gone home
raced through JD’s mind.

When they arrived at the scene, emergency vehicles were everywhere. JD spotted Tracy’s car and jumped out before Brian came to a complete stop. JD ran towards the car, where an officer tried to stop him. JD pushed him away and went to her. Tracy was lying face down on the cement with an officer bending over her. At first sight JD felt as if a knife was being driven straight through his heart. She was covered in blood. Her face was badly beaten, and from what he could tell her body was badly bruised. JD could not believe this was happening. The woman he loved was lying on the ground, so still. For a moment, he was actually afraid she was dead. He removed his suit jacket and covered her. He knelt down beside her and began talking to her.

“Tracy,” he called out. JD pushed Tracy’s hair from her face. “Tracy, baby; I’m right here with you, baby. I’m right here with you.” There was no reply.

“She’s not conscious,” the officer stated.

JD lifted Tracy’s head from the cement and placed it on his lap. “Tracy,” he whispered in her ear, and kissed her. “Baby, please,” he said quietly, “stay with me.”

The EMT bent down to check her vitals. He began talking into his walkie-talkie: “We have a female, age 20 to 25; she has bruises to the face; broken hand and ribs; possible internal bleeding.”

JD assisted as the EMT put the brace beside her and gently turned her over. JD moaned; the other side of her face was so bloody you could not see where the injuries were. They picked her up off the ground, and placed her on the gurney, then continued working. Tracy remained motionless. JD stood over Tracy, talking to her the whole time. The action happening around him was a blur; his only thoughts were with her.

They put Tracy in the ambulance and JD jumped in. He prayed. He never asked why this was happening; only that God would give him the guidance to get through it. A calmness filled JD’s heart. God would not take her from him, not now. There was so much they had to do together.

When they arrived at the hospital Tracy was taken directly into the trauma room. A nurse approached JD asking questions about Tracy. He answered and watched as they worked on her. She seemed so still, he thought. Two federal agents appeared by his side. JD looked at them. “Get away from me.” He sneered though his teeth. They both stepped back, but did not leave his side. A doctor approached JD. “Mr. Washington?”

“Harrison,” JD corrected, putting his hands in his pocket.

“Mr. Harrison, we have a couple of issues happening.”

Magna and Calvin came into the area. JD did not turn; he remained focused on what the doctor was saying.

The doctor continued, “She has a broken hand, numerous facial bruises, broken ribs, and that’s just on the surface. We are going to do X-rays to determine the extent of internal damage.”

JD calmly replied, “Thank you, doctor.” He watched as they took Tracy down the hallway.

Calvin knew not to press JD; he had seen JD this way when his father died. But JD needed to know some things. “JD,” Calvin said, “they found a body at the scene, and he was shot. An Eagle tattoo was on his left shoulder; he was one of Juan’s men.”

“Get Brian, Calvin,” JD said while walking into the waiting area. He pulled off his tie and sat on a bench against the wall. Calvin sat beside him, not saying anything, just sitting next to him to let him know he was with him. The two agents flanked them.

Magna came in. “They have a second man down; shot in the car that fled the scene about a mile away.”

“Dead?” JD asked.

“No, they’re bringing him in.”

“Here?” JD asked too calmly. Calvin shook his head to Magna indicating not to answer.

“I’m not sure,” she lied.

JD nodded as he laid his head back against the wall. He smiled. “Tracy wants Cynthia to handle the wedding,” he said to Calvin. “Can you believe that?”

“Yeah, I can,” Calvin responded. “Tracy’s like that.”

JD smiled then slowly a disheartening look emerged.

Brian walked in. JD stood as he approached. They both stepped to the side away from everyone. “How’s Tracy?” Brian asked. JD took his hands and ran them over his face, then shook his head, but never responded. “It was definitely Juan’s men,” Brian continued. “At the moment questions are being asked about the shooter.”

JD was standing with his back to the wall facing the door; Brian was facing JD with his back to the door. The door opened. EMTs walked in with a Hispanic man on a gurney. “Where’s your weapon?” JD asked, as he began walking towards the young man. Brian stepped in front of him, but JD pushed him out the way. The two agents grabbed JD and pinned him against the wall. It took both of them to hold him down. Calvin and Brian stepped in.

“Let him go,” Brian ordered. “Let him go!”

The agents released JD, then stood in front of the doors leading to the trauma center. “I can’t let you in there,” Brian told JD. “We know you’re hurting; we want to kill him, too.

JD looked at them, as if they did not understand. “Did you see what they did to her?” he asked calmly. Ashley walked in and saw Brian and Calvin standing with JD. She ran between them, put her arms around her brother’s waist and laid her head on his chest, just the way she did when their dad died. JD put his arms around her and began to console her.

“She will be all right,” JD told her as he kissed the top of her head. JD was resting his chin on the top of Ashley’s head as she cried. “It will be all right.”

JD saw the doctor who had been working on Tracy coming down the hallway. JD went back into the trauma area as the doctor approached. Ashley, Calvin and Brian joined him. “Mr. Harrison, the good news first: in addition to the broken ribs, Ms. Washington has a punctured lung. We can go in and stabilize that situation. However, there is a complication.”

“What complication?” JD asked.

“Ms. Washington was in her first trimester.” Ashley was holding on to JD’s arm and felt his body tense.

“She’s pregnant?” JD asked.

“Unfortunately, the child did not survive the attack. However, I believe Ms. Washington will recover.”

JD did not speak or move, his mind was racing.
Tracy was pregnant, with our first child, but the baby is gone
.

“Mr. Harrison, I know this may sound terrible, but she is a very lucky young woman. One more kick to her ribs and she would not be with us now. I need to go back in. I’ll be back as soon as I have more to tell you.”

“Is she awake?” JD asked.

“No.” The doctor recognized the worry on JD’s face; he had seen it time and time again. “Mr. Harrison, she is a strong young woman. She is going to make it through this and she will be able to have other children.” The doctor turned and walked away.