Vice (Tortured Heroes Book 1) (16 page)

J
ase

I walked into the Northpointe Public Safety Building through the front door. Any other day of the week I’d call that progress. It meant each step I took brought me closer to earning the right to wear a badge again. Except now, my steps felt hollow. None of it would mean a damn thing if Devin wasn’t part of my life.

Her voice haunted me as I made my way up the stairs to the fourth floor conference room. She’d crumpled to the ground and wailed like a hurt animal when I had to tell her the truth about Mandy. I’d give anything if I could take that pain away from her forever. I knew I couldn’t. I knew she might never let me close to her again.

Gates met me in the hallway outside the chief’s conference room. Cutler wanted a status report after my meeting with Devin. Even that felt like a betrayal, but I knew this was bigger than my feelings for her. She could get hurt. Badly. And the only way I could really protect her from losing everything was to make sure they didn’t freeze me out of the case.

“Should I ask how it went?” Gates said. He put a hand out and rested it on my shoulder.

I shook my head. “No. You fucking shouldn’t.”

“Hang up a sec,” he said. “Before we go in there.”

He gestured toward the men’s room across the hall and I followed him in. He turned and leaned against the sinks and crossed his arms. “This is about the only place I’m pretty sure doesn’t have eyes and ears,” he said. “But even so, better to watch what you say.”

“Yeah. I get that.”

“Stan’s a decent guy. You need to know that. He’s one of the good ones, actually. I know you’re pissed at how hard he’s been riding your ass the last couple of weeks.”

“No. I mean, I get that too. I know why this whole thing is personal for him.”

Mitch nodded. “Ah. So he took you to meet Rachel?”

“Yeah.”

“Look. You and I both know there’s no way this shit doesn’t blow back on Devin Marsh. No matter what kind of bullshit the feds try to feed you.”

I pounded my fist against one of the stall doors. “I’ve been down this road before down in Lincolnshire.”

Our eyes met. Mitch didn’t have to say anymore. Just the fact that he wanted a minute to talk to me alone told me everything. We understood each other. They wanted Cy Marsh, but if they couldn’t get him they’d take what they could to save face and get their pictures in the paper. Running
The Dive Bar
out of business would be their consolation prize even if everyone knew it was a paper victory. They’d use Devin whether she cooperated or not. She had no ally but me. And maybe Gates. At least I think that’s what he was trying to say.

“Any chance Kinney’s phone dump is going to make me happy?”

Gates’s lab results were one of the items on the agenda today. He shrugged. “It’ll help with context if we’ve got Bowles and Kinney on the hook. I mean, if that’s
all
we’ve got. Kinney could flip but he’s probably isolated. Floyd Bowles … well … he could be important. I’ve got some numbers. There’s a few locations Kinney hits over and over again. An apartment on Wayside Street looks promising. That’s a richer part of town. I drove by there yesterday to do a little recon. Place was empty. Just a quiet little cul-de-sac surrounded by birch trees.”

“Worth keeping in our back pocket anyway. You ready to get this shit over with? Things are dicey with Devin. She probably won’t even want to look at me anytime soon, but I want to be around, you know?”

“You think she’s going to go to her uncle with any of this?”

I shook my head. “No. She’s numb right now. She just needs to pull it together and act like everything’s normal. She fired my ass which was probably smart.”

Gates laughed. “Well, at least it’ll get Cy off her back for a little while. And maybe you can collect unemployment if shit doesn’t work out here. Or I could put a good word in for you with janitorial.”

He pushed himself off the counter and slapped me on the back. It felt good to have someone on my side for once. I just wished I knew it would do Devin some good. Because right about now I felt pretty helpless to keep her insulated from this. Gates pushed through the door and we headed in to face the firing squad together.

Nobody liked what I had to say. I expected as much. Everyone at that table, including Stan, was basically thumping their chest to move shit along. Well, too damn bad. I wasn’t going to strong-arm Devin for the sake of their bottom lines.

“Bring her in,” Cutler said. “Today.”

“Jesus. Can you at least give her a night’s sleep? I just told her her sister’s been murdered by her uncle and that she’s about to lose her bar. She’s not going to respond well to threats in her current state of mind. I know this woman. She’s going to shut down and put up a wall. She’s never had a reason to trust anyone pretty much her whole life. Give her a minute to wrap her head around it.”

“Does she trust you?” Stan said.

“Not really. Not anymore. But she didn’t throw anything at me. I’m going to take that as a positive sign.”

“We can’t wait,” Cutler said. “Stan, I let your man here make the first approach out of courtesy to you. But I want her in for an interview. Preferably now. Before she has a chance to meet with her uncle again.”

I rapped my fist on the table. I was about to call Cutler a few choice names but my phone buzzed in my back pocket. My heart lurched when the caller ID came up. Devin.

“I gotta take this,” I said. Gates sat next to me and saw my phone’s screen the same time I did. To his credit, he didn’t say a word. He just shot me a look and gave me a quick nod.

“Thanks,” I whispered as I stepped out of the room.

I went back into the restroom. It wasn’t ideal. Despite Gates’s assurances, the place could be wired too.

“Hey,” I said, squeezing my eyes shut as I braced for whatever her tone would tell me.

“Listen, don’t talk.” Floyd’s voice.

My heart turned to stone as I leaned against the counter, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I looked hard. Murderous. I gripped the edge of the sink and dropped my head.

“You had one job, Jase. Do nothing. Say nothing. You couldn’t handle that. I really don’t know what to think. Is it your dick clouding your judgment or are you really dumb enough to think you’ll have a career with the Northpointe PD after this?”

“Where. Is. She?”

“Fuck off, Jase. You’ve blown it every way there is. I’ll tell ya. She’s sure pissed at
you
.”

He was bluffing. There was no good reason for Floyd Bowles to have Devin’s phone unless she currently wasn’t in a position to stop him from using it. My mind raced and my gut flipped thinking of all the horrible possibilities. Mandy’s death photo flashed across my vision. Mandy’s face. Devin’s face. They seemed one and the same. I took a slow, steadying breath. Devin needed me now more than ever. I had to stay focused. Listen for every dropped detail. Sounds in the background. Anything.

“We’re going to meet,” Floyd said. “It’s against my better judgment, but you might still have some use to us if you’re properly motivated.”

“I’m gonna fucking kill you. You got that?”

“Calm the fuck down. This is all on you. You think she bought all that shit you told her about your brother? That you’re not really a dirty cop?”

Floyd knew way too much about my conversation with Devin. My blood curdled as I worked it through. Someone had to have been listening in at her apartment this morning. Was it just Cyrus Marsh’s people? The feds? Were they working together? My head spun knowing there was no one I could trust.

“One hour,” Floyd said. “You have one chance to redeem yourself. You say anything to anyone, the Marsh family is going to be dealt another tragedy.”

“I want to talk to her,” I hissed into the phone. “Now.”

My phone buzzed as an email came through while we talked. Acid burned my throat as I pulled the phone away from my ear and clicked my mailbox. He was smart to send the picture of Devin that way instead of texting it. It would be harder to fix a location. She was lying on a bed unconscious, her wrists tied to the headboard. An open window with laced shades billowing in from the breeze. She looked peaceful, wearing the same clothes from this morning. But next to her on a cloth-covered nightstand I saw a syringe, a lighter, a spoon, and a baggie filled with white powder. Hot Shot. Mother fucker. He’d shoot her up. It would likely kill her or leave her like Rachel.

“We clear?” Floyd shouted into the phone.

“Yes.”

“Good. There’s an address if you scroll down to the bottom of that email. One hour. And don’t do anything stupid. It won’t help you anyway. You already know we have eyes and ears everywhere. Say hello to Agent Cutler for us.”

Then Floyd clicked off. I doubled over and rested my head on the sink.

“Fuck!”

He would kill her. I knew it. He knew I knew it. If Devin got in his way, or if it suited his purpose, Cy Marsh would order her death. And unless I got there first, she’d die thinking I’d failed her too.

D
evin

“He’s here, Floyd, I know he is.”

Floyd just sat at the edge of the bed. He leaned down to brush the hair out of my face. I would have kicked him, but he’d tied my feet to the footboards after I woke up the last time. My head pounded from the hangover I’d earned from that noxious rag.

“Just relax, Devin. Nobody’s going to hurt you if we don’t have to.”

“Is that what you told Mandy? I’m curious. Were you the one he had do it? That would make sense. She would have trusted you.”

Floyd frowned, but didn’t answer. He reached for a water bottle on the nightstand, opened the cap, and stuck a straw in it. Raising his hand, he offered it to me. I wish I’d had the strength to turn it down, but my raving thirst won out. The water was cool going down and I gasped as I swallowed.

“Easy. It’s gonna take a few minutes for your head to clear. This will help.”

When he set the water back on the nightstand, I saw the kit and my heart flipped. Is that what he did to Mandy? Shot her up with that shit and watched her foam at the mouth the way Bella did? I choked back tears. I hadn’t asked Jase for the details because I wasn’t ready to hear it. Now my imagination became my enemy, threatening to drown me in panic.

“I want to talk to him,” I said. “He wouldn’t have had you bring me here if he didn’t want to see me.”

This was Wayside Street. Uncle Cy owned a duplex on the west side of town. I’d lived here for a while when I went to Wayne State on Uncle Cy’s dime. I was so stupid to take anything from him. Now here I was in that quiet neighborhood on a wooded cul-de-sac. A place where no one would ever suspect I might die.

“Just try to get some rest,” Floyd said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Floyd gave me a smile and left me alone. I tugged at the bindings but it was no use. Floyd served in the navy during the Gulf War. He knew how to tie a knot. So it was just me. I could scream, but no one would hear. Alone. Funny, I always thought that’s how I would end up. Until I met Jase.

I dropped my head to the side and squeezed back tears. There was no time for that now. I had to keep my mind clear. Jase. Did he know something happened? Was he looking for me? Did he care? He told me he loved me and swore it was true. My heart soared thinking about it then broke in half again. I wanted to believe him. Was desperate to. Thinking about him even now settled me. He loved me. It had to matter. Except that even with that love, he left me like everyone else did. I couldn’t count on it. Love lies. Love leaves. In the end I was the only thing I had. Mandy left. Maybe it wasn’t her fault, but some of it was. My mother left. Even my father. His exit was by way of a bottle of Jack, but still he left. The irony wasn’t lost on me that the one person who I couldn’t seem to get rid of was the one who wanted to hurt me the most. At least he was open about it, Uncle Cy. The thought of him left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“You’re too smart by half, Devin,” Uncle Cy said as he found a way inside my head. His broad shoulders filled the doorframe. Floyd stood at attention like the good soldier he was. He gave Uncle Cy a nod and left the room without a word.

Cy smiled and walked over to me. I craned my neck and pulled at the bindings on my wrists and ankles. But they rendered me helpless when Cy leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. I could have spit at him. Bit him. But what would be the point? Angering him wouldn’t do me much good if I couldn’t fight back.

“What did I do wrong?” I asked. The only shot I had was to let him think I was still on his side. A thin shred of a chance, but I’d have to take it.

“I’ve given you every chance to fall in line. I had everything set up so you wouldn’t have to be involved. Then the one time I asked you to do something for me, you didn’t. You brought a cop into my business, Devin.”

“He’s not a cop. He’s a liar. He told me he got fired from his job in Lincolnshire. If anything, he sounds like your kind of guy.”

Uncle Cy laughed. “I thought so too. But it seems like he’s in love with you. Messy. But I can use it. Maybe.”

The more he talked, the more frightened I got. It meant he had no reason to keep anything from me. Which maybe meant he wasn’t planning on letting me be in a position to tell anyone else.

“I’m not Mandy. I’m not a junkie. I’ve never even so much as had a beer, Uncle Cy. You don’t have to do this. Now that I understand what’s at stake, I’m not stupid. You win, okay? So let me be a part of it.”

“Too late for that,” he said. “You’ve got that rebellious streak that makes you careless. Mandy I could control. For a while, at least.”

“So what? You shoot me up with that shit. Then you leave me here or dump me somewhere? What does that get you?”

Uncle Cy looked shocked. He reared his head back and dropped his jaw open. “Devin, exactly what do you think I’m planning to do to you? Do you think I’m going to kill you?”

I wagged my fingers at him in answer, straining my wrist against the bindings.

“Honey, I’m not going to kill you. I’m just going to properly motivate you.” He leaned over and grabbed the baggie of white powder, tapping its contents to the bottom.

Things slammed into place with new horror in my brain. “Mandy tried to quit. A few times. She drank. She smoked pot.
You
put her on the hard stuff, didn’t you? So you could control her.”

Cy tapped the baggie again and spilled the powder into the spoon. He took the lighter and waved it under the spoon. “Shouldn’t take more than a day or two. And by all accounts, you should prepare to enjoy it. I’ve heard it’s the best high there is. Quick. Right to the heart. It would probably be safer if you snorted it this first time, but you’ve proven I can’t trust you, Devin. But I had Floyd cut it so we’ll ease you in.”

“Then what?”

“Then, if you want me to keep you feeling good … and you will … you’ll do exactly as I say. At the bar and everywhere else. It’ll be a good arrangement. You’ll see.”

I leaned my head against the pillow, defeated. “Why?”

“Because we’re family, Devin. We’re all we’ve got left. I was hoping that would be enough to earn your loyalty. I really was. You’ve proven it’s not. You disappointed me. You were the one I thought was most like me. Smart. Ambitious. I expected exactly what I got from your sister, your mother, even my brother. I didn’t get to have children of my own. I transferred feelings, Devin. You might not understand it now, but someday you will. As you get older. In the meantime, I’ll take your loyalty this way. Just be glad I’m still willing to give you the chance.”

Uncle Cy picked up the syringe and drew the liquid from the spoon into it. Then he tapped it once and pressed the plunger until a fat drop of amber liquid pearled at the top.

“Floyd! She might be a thrasher!”

Floyd came back into the room. I screamed. I pulled at the bindings and begged. It was no use. Floyd was bigger, stronger, and he’d tied those ropes so tight.

Uncle Cy gave me one last kiss on the forehead as he stretched my right arm out and tapped the veins inside my elbow. Then Uncle Cy plunged the needle straight in. I cried out as he pierced my skin and the stinging liquid went in.

“This won’t matter,” I said, still thrashing. “Jesus. Why?The cops know about everything. They probably know about Floyd and Kinney too! You’re going to get caught and one of them is going to turn on you.”

Cy smiled. “I’m not worried about anyone else’s loyalty, Devin. Just yours. And before the end of the day, Kinney won’t be a problem. What’s the saying? Dead men tell no tales.”

My vision started to fade. Panic set in at the same time as a floating feeling. Maybe I dreamed the next part. I think I said something. Kinney wasn’t the only one to tell a tale. I saw a flash of metal. My eyes fixed on Floyd’s. Was his hair always that red? No. Not red. Not hair. A spray of liquid shot out above his right ear. Blood. Pain. Not mine. Floyd’s. Uncle Cy shot him right in front of me. He crumpled at the knees and disappeared on the other side of the bed.

I fell down and down, my blood boiling as the rush of liquid made its way through my veins. Not pleasure. Not pain. Numbness. Jase’s face swam above my head. But when I tried to call his name, his face wavered and broke apart. Just a reflection in the murky water that dragged me down and turned everything to stone.