Vice (Tortured Heroes Book 1) (8 page)

Gates reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small black plastic square. A flash drive with a small silver data port sticking out of one corner. He slid it across the table to me. My heart twisted knowing full damn well what they wanted from me. I knew it was the job, but it was starting to feel like a betrayal. As much as I hated to admit it, it meant Stan was right about bringing in a new set of ears.

“You want a phone dump?” I said, picking up the small device.

Gates and Stan nodded in unison. “If you can,” Stan said. “Don’t do anything risky, Jase. No unnecessary chances. I mean it.”

“For Devin.” I swallowed hard past the lump in my throat.

Gates took the drive back from me and pointed to the data port. “You just stick this in her phone. Hit the execute button when it pops up on the screen. Shouldn’t take more than a minute for the data transfer. That’s it. Should be a piece of cake.”

“Sure,” I said, feeling like a first-class asshole. “Piece of cake.”

“Look,” Stan said. “We’re all grownups here. I get it, Jase. You like this girl. Hell, I like this girl. That bar is one of the reasons the Old North End isn’t the shithole it used to be. The neighborhood is changing back. Businesses are looking to invest down there for the first time in a generation. It sickens me to think what we’re doing might bring all that crashing back down. But that’s only in the short term. Long term, cleaning up down there, putting Cy Fucking Marsh out of business and behind bars for good is the only way Northpointe is going to survive. And I hope you’re right. I hope Devin’s clean. Hell, I’m praying for it.”

Gates put his hand on Stan’s forearm to quiet him. The old guy was starting to raise his voice and pretty soon we’d draw stares. “It’s not conclusive,” Gates said. “Her phone might come back clean even if she
is
the one moving product. But this information might help put your mind at ease about her. If she’s really in the dark about all of this, this will be one way to help prove that and clear her.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

Stan frowned and ran his beefy fingers across his brow. “If it doesn’t, then we’ll bring her in. She knows what’s good for her, she rolls on the uncle. If she doesn’t, then she can have the fucking jail cell right next to his.”

My heart thundered in my chest. He was right. I hated that he was right. But I had to know the truth about Devin, once and for all.

D
evin

Once a month, Uncle Cy had me over for dinner. He cooked exactly one thing but he did it better than anyone. Spaghetti with meatballs. I brought the garlic bread. Growing up, it had been a much larger affair. My father. Mandy. Even my mother. Though my grandparents were long gone, every once in a while a great aunt or uncle would show up as well.

These monthly Sunday dinners at Cy’s house were among the few consistent memories I had of my mother growing up. In my preschooler mind, I remember her wearing fancy, colorful dresses and I sat on the floor looking up at her in awe as she carefully applied lipstick and false eyelashes for the occasion. She was beautiful, my mother, with dark hair like mine and high cheekbones. She looked like a movie star or a model in my eyes. Cy owned the only photograph I knew of her and he kept it in a frame on the baby grand piano in his living room that no one ever played. It was my parents’ wedding portrait. She was tall and lithe in a silk sheath dress, resting her head on my father’s shoulder. He was looking down at her with an expression of love and wonder, as if he couldn’t believe his luck.

But now it was just the two of us, though Cy still cooked enough to feed a small army. He usually made me take home the leftovers. Most of the time, I’d bring them into
The Dive
the next day and let the staff feast on it during their breaks. Cy sent a car for me even though I told him Uber would have been fine. I found him in the kitchen pouring the pasta into a shining silver colander. Just in time. I gave him a quick hug.

“Have a seat,” he said over his shoulder. “I hope you’re hungry.”

“Always.” I busied myself setting out the forks and knives as he carried the rest of the food out.

He took a seat at the head of his long dining room table and I sat at his left. He heaped pasta on my plate as I reached for the sauce. Like every month, I couldn’t help looking at the empty chairs around us. I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a breath. I didn’t want to start the evening asking about Mandy again. He’d told me more than once he’d let me know if there was any news, good or bad.

I must have done a shitty job hiding my expression, because Cy sat with his chin resting on his steepled fingers and his eyes hard when I looked up.

“Sorry,” I said and raised a palm. “I promised I wouldn’t bring it up.”

He shrugged. “Don’t apologize. I know how tough the last year has been for you. And I more than anyone know what it’s like to love someone only to have them let you down time after time.”

A knot twisted in my gut. He was talking about every member of my immediate family. Each and every one of them had let me down in the same way. And each and every one of them was gone.

“The trail’s cold, Devin,” he said, his tone grim and final. The air left my lungs. I hadn’t asked. Maybe some part of me never wanted to know.

“What are you saying?”

He twirled the pasta on his fork and dipped it in the sauce. “I mean, there’s nothing more I can do. My man has run down every lead he can. Mandy’s gone, Devin. Time we both started to accept that.”

“What do you mean gone?”

He smiled. “That’s all I mean. Gone. Doesn’t want to be found. Your father did the same thing more times than I can count when we were younger. I thought it would be better when he married Aurora. It was for a while. Then she started to disappear. At least your dad stuck around after that. Who knows though. If he hadn’t gotten the cancer, maybe he would have started taking off again. Either way, I think you and I would probably be sitting right where we are now. So my advice to you, honey, is to say the hell with it. Mandy is Mandy. Don’t waste your life waiting on her.”

I moved the food around on my plate and forced a smile. I knew what this meant. If I kept asking about her, or pressed the issue of him using any more resources to try and track her, things would sour between us. You took Uncle Cy on his terms or not at all.

I nodded, wanting desperately to change the subject. I told him about the great night we had with
The Malcontents
. Cy smiled though it didn’t reach his eyes. Again, he dealt in absolutes and bottom lines. If the end-of-the-month receipts were up, then he’d be impressed. Not before.

A comfortable silence rose between us as I ate until I felt like I’d burst. Uncle Cy punctuated his meal the same way as always with a heavy sigh and a firm pat on his rounded belly. Then he pushed his chair away from the table.

“Everything was delicious as always,” I said. “Thanks. I hope you don’t mind if I cut it short tonight. I wanted to stop by the bar and do some last-minute prep for tomorrow.” This was part of our ritual too. Uncle Cy kept his life regimented and compartmentalized, even when it came to me, the only family he had left. He wasn’t inclined to hang out and socialize much beyond our meal. That suited me fine too.

“Aren’t you going to ask me about the other favor you had me do?”

I froze half bent over the table as I rose to leave. Slowly, I sank back into my chair. My mouth went dry. Jase. He’d done what I asked and kept his distance after that night in my apartment. I both respected and hated it. And I’d kind of hoped Uncle Cy had forgotten all about him. He’d certainly forgotten the character of our conversation. I didn’t ask him to check into Jase’s background. He’d insisted. I felt equally shitty and curious. But anything Cy did at this point felt like an invasion of Jase’s privacy. Never mind the rest of it, he was a solid and dependable employee.

“Oh. That. You know, you can just kind of forget that. He’s really doing a good job for us. That’s really all that matters to me right now.”

I figured if I told myself that enough times, maybe I’d start to believe it. Jase handled things for me the other night. Dale and his idiot friends brought drugs into my bar. I knew only too well what could have happened if Dale had collapsed like Bella did. The headlines in the local news the next day would have been all about it. Northpointe is a small town. One picture of my place under that kind of news and I’d never be able to turn that particular PR train around.

Cy slammed a fist against the table. “You’re smarter than that, Devin. And you’ve been around me long enough to know I’m never going to take a guy’s word for something. Not when I don’t know him.”

“Well, I know him. Or at least, I’m getting to. You can trust that I’m a decent judge of character.”

He looked at me with wide eyes and his chin pointed down. Paternal and condescending. He also knew it was the exact kind of look that would get my temper up.

“Okay. So did your guy find something out about Jase you think I should know? You’ve got that look on your face. You’re pissed about something.”

Cy immediately softened his face and gave me a smile that wasn’t quite genuine. “Actually everything he put on that application you made him fill out checks out.”

“Good!” I started to rise again. “Then we can be done talking about it.”

“Not quite, honey. The
only
thing my guy was able to find on him was exactly what he put on that application. That’s my point. Nothing further back than five years ago.”

I felt like I’d swallowed a ball of acid. “So what does that mean?”

Cy shrugged. “Maybe nothing, maybe everything. He doesn’t have a record. No lawsuits. No restraining orders.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Uncle Cy ran the tip of his thumb along his bottom lip as he worked out what to say to me. I felt overly protective of Jase and wasn’t sure I liked it. Was my need to be independent of my uncle clouding my judgment? Was lust?

“I wanna know more about this guy. That’s all.”

“Why? Uncle Cy. He’s a dishwasher. I’m not asking him to do my taxes. Boomer has a record, for God’s sake. Did you forget about that? Petty theft and one of his ex-girlfriends took out a restraining order on him. He’d never get a job anywhere else.”

“I’ve known Boomer since he was five years old!” Cy shouted at me and my blood ran cold. My uncle had a hair-trigger temper and I’d somehow just set it off.

He let out a hard sigh and sat back in his chair, tossing his napkin into the middle of his plate. Then he fixed his laser stare on me. The same one I knew he used to intimidate contractors and other business associates when he was closing a deal. I refused to let it work on me and held my ground. Finally, a twinkle came into his eye and he smiled. He held his hands up in mock surrender. I wasn’t naïve enough to think he meant it.

“What do you want, Uncle Cy? Seriously.”

“I don’t trust the guy. That’s what I’m saying. It’s just not a good time to be bringing in new people. That’s all.”

“What do you mean? Profits are up. I’m finally able to afford a full staff. Help me understand.”

“Why do you have to question every single thing!” The fire came back into his eyes, but I still wouldn’t back down. I sensed we’d reached a critical juncture in our business relationship. It wasn’t about Jase anymore. God, I mean … of course it was. But if I gave Uncle Cy an inch now, it would be that much harder to get out from under him once and for all. So I refused to raise my voice to match his. He got loud, I got quiet.

“
The Dive
is
my
bar. That’s our agreement. I have a plan in place to pay back your capital investment within six months. That’s a year ahead of schedule. I let you look into Jase’s background. You have. Unless you’ve got something solid to share to convince me why he’s a bad hire, I’m inclined to let his work speak for itself. I appreciate your concern. Truly. But I think we’re done talking about this.”

A tiny tremor in his temple raised every alarm bell in my head. But he didn’t blow. Instead, he slowly rose and walked around the table. He leaned over and got right in my face.

“If I want you to get rid of the guy, you’re going to get rid of him. Are we clear?”

My heart leaped into my throat but I kept my breathing even. This was a different, dangerous side of my uncle. Acid fear burned through me but I wouldn’t give into it. “Or?”

His eyes widened. He slammed his fist against the table again, making me jump. But I wouldn’t break his stare.

“Don’t test me, Devin. Not like this. Not ever.”

“Are you asking me to get rid of Jase Randall?”

He exhaled and straightened. A beat passed. Then another. Something shifted in the air. I wouldn’t call it a victory. At best a stalemate.

“Not yet,” he finally said. “But I’ll let you know if I change my mind.”

“Thank you.” It seemed the diplomatic thing to say, but fire raged behind Uncle Cy’s blue eyes and I think the next instant might have been the most perilous of all. He leaned down and put his hands on my shoulders, weighing me down so hard it felt like my spine would crack. Fear made my pulse hammer inside my chest.

“Be very, very careful, niece. Our arrangement is what I say it is. Never forget that.” His voice was a barbed hiss against my ear.

Would he hurt me? I’d heard every rumor about the way he did business, but until that moment, I’d never believed he’d turn that kind of wrath toward me. The realization that I’d been very, very wrong thundered through me and drove the air from my lungs. I didn’t love Uncle Cy the way I had my father. I knew that bothered him. I’d felt affection, respect, and gratitude. Today though, I felt nothing but stone-cold fear.

J
ase

Something was different about Devin Monday night at
The Dive
. It wasn’t that she didn’t smile, she rarely did. Tonight though, she seemed to vibrate with nervous energy. Never standing in one place for more than a few seconds. I heard her ask Georgia and the rest of the wait staff the same questions over and over again. And she was avoiding me. When she poked her head through the kitchen door to check with Floyd about the specials she wanted to run, she didn’t come all the way in. It was as if she was using the steel door as some type of shield between us.

I didn’t like it. Not one damn bit.

Detective Gates’s flash drive burned a hole in my pocket. I’d been hanging on to the thing for three days waiting for the chance to do something with it. The knowledge of that something burned through me too.

I knew what I needed to do. This was the job. If I ever wanted to get my badge back, I had to deliver. Devin was a suspect. Of course she was. And yet, God, the thought of using the thing against her made my gut clench. The minute I did it, no matter what happened, I couldn’t take it back. I cared about her. I shouldn’t. But I did.

If I could just buy more time, maybe I could get something concrete on the real mover at
The Dive
. The best chance I had of doing that was to step things up with Kinney. He knew I was looking to carve out a bigger stake for myself. It was time to put even more pressure on him.

“Floyd, you good for a few minutes?” I yelled over the fryer.

He grumbled something back to me that I took as a yes. I threw my apron on the counter and went out to the bar. Kinney wasn’t back there and that was the first stroke of luck for the evening. I knew just where to find him.

Devin’s head popped up from behind the bar as she straightened and closed the ice bin. Heat shot straight through me as our eyes met. She hadn’t expected to see me and a blush colored her cheeks that made me feel like my heart had just started beating again.

I wanted her. Plain and simple. And it couldn’t go on like this. Just that fraction-of-second pause as I drank in the sight of her might have been too long. I could miss my chance to talk to Kinney. So I did the only thing I could. I stormed past her without saying a word, feeling her eyes boring into my back like fire.

I went out the front door and turned the corner to the alley. Kinney leaned against the wall lighting a cigarette. He waved the flame out of his match as he saw me approach.

“Hey,” I said, taking a place beside him. He offered me a smoke and I declined. This needed to be quick and to the point.

“Nice weather,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“I’m done fucking around, Kinney. I need to meet your guy. Tonight.”

“Sounds like your fucking problem.”

Rage made my blood simmer. I took a breath and bit back the urge to grab him by the neck and drive him into the wall.

“It’s about to be your fucking problem. You think I can’t find a dozen different connected assholes like you? Word gets out how much I move, I’ll make sure it gets out you blew me off. Now how’s that going to make you look?”

Kinney laughed but it wasn’t genuine. “Calm the fuck down, man. Nobody’s blowing you off. But you make people nervous.”

“What people?”

“You’ve been in this town a hot minute. What the fuck makes you think you’re so special?”

I envisioned driving a fist through the back of his skull. Instead, I pushed myself off the wall and started to walk away. I heard him take a breath to say something but turned back and cut him off before he could.

“Set it up, Kinney. Tonight. You feel me? I’m not asking again. You’re convenient. That’s all. But I’m thinking I might try my luck down at the college or the river. Last chance.”

His eyes went hard but he didn’t tell me to fuck off. Good boy, Kinney. He smiled and took his phone out of his pocket.
That’s your first mistake, asshole.
No matter what else happened tonight, I had a new target for Gates’s flashdrive and a ticking clock for getting my hands on it. I’d seen him stash it in a drawer behind the bar when he was working. Piece of cake. He held up a finger then cupped his hand over his mouth. A few hushed words to someone on the other end then Kinney nodded. He clicked off his phone and slid it back into his pocket.

“It’s your lucky night, Jase,” he said. “You know the rest stop off the Langdon Road exit?”

“I can figure it out.”

“Good; two a.m. An hour after the bar closes. And you’d better not be full of shit.”

“I was about to say the same fucking thing to you.”

He smiled again, nodded, then reached into his pocket for another smoke. My pulse throbbed between my ears. There was half a chance Kinney was bullshitting me or setting me up. But it was progress either way.

* * *

T
he phone was
easy and I had Kate, the other bartender, to thank for that. She called in sick at the last minute leaving the bar short staffed.

“Jase.” Devin came into the kitchen breathless. Her skin flushed pink with exertion. She’d been running her ass into the ground all night. “I hate to do this to you but the girls need some help out front. Floyd, can you spare him for twenty minutes or so?”

She put a hand on my forearm, her long fingers sliding over my skin. She was keyed up, flustered, not thinking. But the instant she touched me I saw something flare behind her eyes. I think she saw something similar in mine because she moved her hand away as if it burned.

“Fifteen,” Floyd yelled out from the side of his mouth. He kept an unlit cigar on the other side of it tonight, a sure sign he was feeling the stress of his workload. “A second longer and I’m gonna get too backed up here. I’ll have to start sending things out on paper plates, Devin.”

“You do you, Floyd,” she shot back. He grumbled something under his breath that made her lips curl up in a half-smile.

I dried my hands on a towel and threw my apron on a hook as we walked out to the main floor.

“You ever bartended?” she yelled over the crowd.

“Yep,” I said.

“Great. Kinney’s out on the floor helping the girls. Just cover him for a few minutes until the band comes back for another set. Everyone’ll move off when they do.”

My throat went dry. “Same band from the other night?” I could hide in the kitchen pretty well. If that damn lead singer from
The Malcontents
was here, and saw me, it could be a problem.

Devin shook her head. “Afraid not. Unfortunately, I’ve got
The HolyRocks
booked this weekend and next yet. I’m negotiating with the other band for a more permanent arrangement.” Good. With any luck, I’d have this shit wrapped up and it wouldn’t matter what happened with the other band.

I gave Devin a nod and put a hand on the small of her back. The crowd grew thick closer to the bar. I moved in front of Devin, putting my body between hers and the densest part of the crowd, not wanting them to crush her. Her skin burned hot beneath the thin white tee shirt she wore. A tiny vein pulsed near her throat. If her skin jumped from just that slight touch from me, I couldn’t help wondering what another kiss might do.

No time for that now. Devin wasn’t kidding. The bar was swamped to the point of danger if these customers didn’t get their drink orders filled. I looked toward the doors. Boomer had his back to me. She had two other bouncers and I spotted them quickly. They each stood with their arms crossed in front of them and with wide, ready stances on either side of the room. Good. They were paying attention. The last thing we needed was a damn brawl.

I got behind the bar and turned to say something to Devin, but she’d already scooted around me and started working the other end. She gave her customers a tight smile and became all business, mixing drinks and taking orders. I did the same.

My moment came quickly. Devin had her back turned to me and one of the customers ordered a strawberry margarita. The mix we used sat just above the drawer where I hoped to find Kinney’s phone. A quick slight of hand and I’d have what I needed. I got lucky. Extremely fucking lucky. I blocked the drawer with my body. The top of the bar shielded the rest from any prying eyes in front of me. The drive worked just as easy and fast as Gates promised. Kinney’s phone was the only one in the drawer along with his wallet. Dipshit. The progress bar took less than thirty seconds while I mixed one drink and started on another. When the bar flashed green, I reached in, grabbed the flash drive and slipped it back in my pocket. I said a silent prayer that nothing on that phone dump would come back to hurt Devin. Every instinct I had told me it wouldn’t.

I shut the drawer and felt a hand on my back. My body went rigid then Devin stepped around me. “We’re good, Jase. Thanks. You’d better head back before Floyd comes out looking for you.”

I laughed. “Does Floyd even know how to find his way out of the kitchen? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him out from behind that grille.”

She laughed. The first genuine one I’d heard from her in days. “Oh, he finds his way out fast enough when it’s payday.”

“Good to know.” I gave her a salute and turned to leave. This earned Devin a round of boos from a group of women waiting to place their orders. They were part of a bachelorette party and apparently weren’t done looking at me. I shot Devin a wink. “You sure you got this handled?”

“Oh, pipe down,” Devin said to the women. “You’re not his type.”

I gave the girls a little bow and flexed my pecs. Devin threw a chip of ice at me. I gave her a look and I think she knew exactly what crossed my mind. Everything in me wanted to reach out and give her a playful swat on the ass. But I know how to mind my manners when I have to. A look of pure sin passed over her and heat shot straight to my dick. Yeah. Maybe letting her keep her distance was the wisest course of action. The air felt hotter out here than it did in the kitchen so I knew I better get back to it.

My step lightened as I turned and walked away. Tonight was a breakthrough. I had Kinney’s cell phone data and the promise of a meeting later. Finally, I thought maybe there was a light at the end of this particular tunnel.

Of course, I
should
have known that just meant I was about to get hit by a train.