Page 85 of Fallout

She nodded. “I feel like I’m spinning fifteen plates, trying to keep up with everything. The Famous Ones are in some secret meeting outside.”

“I saw that when I came in. I guess they don’t like that one of their people was hurt and Brent gained access to the medical center.”

“Half of them had gone after a lead. They were spread thin. They aren’t invincible, and when I told them that everyone makes mistakes, they didnotlike it.” Destiny winced. “I didn’t win the argument.”

She was cute.

“I’m sure they’ll figure it out. Everyone is running on empty, and Brent was taken care of.” He felt the burn of tears in his eyes. Not a normal occurrence for him, he didn’t like it and had to shift to distract himself with movement.

“I’m sorry. He was family to you.”

Jasper cleared his throat. “At least he’s stable. The Famous One who shot him didn’t hit anything vital, and we should be able to talk to him soon.”

She nodded.

He reached over and took Destiny’s hand. “And yet he was going to kill my father? That doesn’t make him family anymore.” His uncle was dead to him. Even though he hadn’t been biologically related, that didn’t take anything away from the sentiment. “Family takes care of each other. Unless they can’t, in which case, the rest pull together to cover that one person.”

He wouldn’t have said he needed someone to take care of him. His relationship with Tessa had been like that, with him trying to “fix” her problems and heal her trauma for her. With Destiny, it was a whole lot different and far healthier.

She was the kind of woman he’d been looking for, and he’d get the chance to be a father to her baby. He wanted to protect and love them for as long as he could. But there would be times when she would take care of him. When he got sick, or he was injured. Times when their relationship would be an equal partnership.

Lord willing, they would have years of good times.

Gage stepped out from the back and into the waiting area. Jasper and Destiny stood. Gage gave Jasper a back-slapping hug, then kissed Destiny’s cheek. “Brent is stable, and the doctor gave us the green light to question him.”

A uniformed officer stood at the door. As they entered, Romeo Alvarez held out his hand. “You good, bro?”

“Thankfully, everyone is.”

Romeo gave him an odd look but said nothing. Jasper tucked Destiny by the corner in Brent’s room, dragging over a chair for her to sit. He didn’t want her within arm’s reach of the guy. She seemed grateful for the chair.

Jasper and Gage faced Brent, standing at the end of the bed. Brent wore a hospital gown, and his face was pale. The bandage must be under the clothing, under where he’d been tucked in with blankets. His arms were free of the covers because they were both cuffed to the bed rails.

This man, whom he had considered family, wouldn’t even look at him. “Explain it to me because I’m trying to understand, but I need your help.”

Brent said, “It’s between me and your father.”

“And Marcus Harper.” Jasper hadn’t met the older African American man more than a couple of times. It was shocking to believe that he was the kingpin, a man who had bombed a container ship in Tacoma so many years ago. A man who’d destroyed so many lives, let Jamal Reed take the fall for it, and then hired Malik Henderson to make yet more bombs so he could control Benson. So he could sweep up more territory every month.

Jasper asked, “Where is Simon Olson?”

Brent said nothing, but the look on his face didn’t spell anything good. “When he takes someone, they don’t come back.”

“Then tell me where to find him.” Jasper shrugged. “I don’t need your opinion. I just need the relevant information to get my friend back.” He slapped his chest, which hurt a lot, thanks to the bruise. “So talk.”

Brent looked at Destiny, then around the room. Looking for something to focus on while his mind tried to come up with an answer.

Which meant it would probably be a lie.

Gage took a step closer. “You’re in serious trouble, but you can cooperate. That’s all the leverage someone like you has. After all, what do you think will happen when you’re accused of the attempted murder of a state senator? Not gonna go good for you.”

Gage used his blue-collar background as a tactic in the same way Jasper used the way he’d grown up to connect with guys in cuffs like Brent. Business leaders and people with money had to face the same justice as everyone else.

Gage continued, “You know how to contact him. The way you know a whole lot about what he’s been doing.”

“You go after him, you’ll all die. That’s what you found out at the church, right?”

No, that meant the kingpin considered them a threat. Marcus Harper felt the need to take out as many cops as possible to prove his power.

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