Page 55 of The Beautiful Mess

Sven made puppy dog eyes and covered his heart. “Could you guys be any cuter?”

“Sven!” Dom growled.

“Right! The plot. I recorded a lot, but the gist is that Chuck told his buddy that you ruined his career twice, and he was going to get even. The fool is planning to sabotage the vehicles in your lot so that the crew can’t respond to emergencies. He plans to ride in and save the day.”

“How do you want us to handle it?” Dom asked.

Kerry ran a hand through his hair. Luckily, the paint had dried. “Is he headed to my station now?”

“Seems so,” Dom said. “But we’re thirty minutes away. Plenty of time to get someone in place and catch him red-handed.”

“That’s what I want to do,” Kerry said. “I’m willing to sacrifice minimum damage if it results in an arrest that will forever get this asshole out of my life. Do you mind calling the local police?” Kerry asked. He would prefer to call Seth, but Kerry’s station was situated in an incorporated zone patrolled by the township cops. The county boys would provide backup if needed, but the township officers needed to make that call. Kerry would make some enemies if he went over people’s heads to involve his cousin.

“No problem,” Dom said.

“Then I’ll call the guys at the station and give them a heads-up. I don’t want any of you confronting Chuck. He’s clearly not in a good headspace, and there’s no telling what he’s capable of doing.”

“Fair enough,” Dom said.

“Now, if he tries to light the building on fire or something, then maybe you take him down as best you can,” Kerry said. “What do you know about the guy he was talking to at the bar?”

“I haven’t seen the pictures or heard the recordings yet,” Dom said.

“The conversation sounded like it was about a business deal that had gone wrong,” Sven said. “The guy just kept yelling at Chuck and reminding them they had a deal. There was a lot of money on the line, and he’d put himself out there for Chuck. It was pretty loud in the bar, so I didn’t hear everything. I’m not so sure how great the recording will be either. Do you have software to clean up the background noises, Dom?”

“Somewhat,” Dom told him. “We suspected that Chuck had a silent partner, but I couldn’t legally get my hands on bank records and transactions,” Dom said. “Only Chuck’s name is registered to the business.”

“I think we all know who the mystery man is,” Kerry said. “It’s Keith Bozeman.”

“I called it,” Sven said. “The timing of Chuck’s new business was too suspect.”

“The timing of this confrontation is more so,” Kerry agreed.

“Bozeman doesn’t have money to invest in Chuck’s business,” Dom said. “That dude is dead broke.”

“Maybe he knows somebody,” Keegan said.

“We could guess all night long, or you can send me the picture,” Kerry said.

“Will do,” Sven said. “Sorry if we ruined your weekend, Ker.”

“You probably saved me a lot of headaches,” Kerry replied. “In fact, I might not even need to come back if things don’t get out of control.”

“We’ll get everyone in place,” Dom assured him.

“Catch you in a bit,” Kerry said before he disconnected the call and called his station. “This won’t take long.”

Keegan kissed his bare shoulder and stood up. “Take as long as you need. I’m going to clean up. The paint is getting itchy.”

“I’ll join you as soon as I can.”

Keegan turned on the shower and surveyed the damage in the mirror. Kerry’s voice came through the door, but he couldn’t make out what he said. He spoke for a few minutes before he ended the call. Keegan tested the water, but it was still barely lukewarm. He was just about to throw caution to the wind and step into the shower when he heard Kerry’s phone chime with an incoming text.

“I fucking knew it!” Kerry shouted.

Keegan turned off the shower and ran into the bedroom. “Is it him?”

He looked up from his phone with a smug expression on his face. “Sven was right.” He turned the phone around to show two men in a dimly lit bar. “That’s Bozeman and Chuck.”

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