Page 66 of Blue-Eyed Jacks
There were a million things Shock could have told him.“Did you happen to hear what he got in trouble for up in Maine?”It was a long shot.All I had was a hint of a rumor through Walt.
Silence.
“It’s related.But I think you know that.”I was bluffing.
“Hang on.”There was a low rumble of voices and the music in the background faded.“I’ve got guys from an Eastern New York feeder chapter bitching at me because two of their own are facing attempted murder of a goddamned cop.I’ve got you calling and being all cryptic, and I got a fucking shit show brewing in Pittsburgh.Tell me you are not to blame for all of this.”
“I’m not.Shock is.”
“Goddammit.You’re like a couple of fucking kindergarten punks fighting over a damn toy.”
Ah-ha!I was right.Shock already knew about Kate and he’d filed a complaint against me.
“Well, I’ve got the toy now, and she ain’t going back.”
“You motherfucker.She’s Shock’s wife.”
“She’s a human being, and trafficking will get you twenty.She’s got all the evidence to bury our guy.So tell me, why shouldn’t I keep her safe, happy, and quiet?”
The door at the end of the hall shut abruptly.I’d been eavesdropped on.Either Kate or Zoe heard me and probably caught the worst of it.I tacked another to do tick box on my list.Fuck it, I was going to handle two problems at once.I strode to the end of the hall and entered my office.Kate was there flushed all blotchy and breathing hard.She scurried to pack everything they’d brought with them, and an irate Zoe was in my office chair deliberately not helping.
Nonno was done ruminating over my proposal and spoke, “This shit is your fault.”
“Well, I’ll admit some fault and say sorry for some of it.See, I took a woman who was scared to death, almost dead, and ready to turn state’s evidence on your golden child; and I placed her somewhere she’d be safe and happy.That’s on me and I’m not one damn bit sorry for that part.What Shock has been doing to women is wrong.You and I both know that.”
“She’s his wife, asshole!”
“Wife or not, she’s got a mind of her own.And she’ll do whatever it takes to stay clear of that asshole.And the only thing I’m sorry about is the fact that I got fucking caught.That’s it.I’m sorry I got caught helping.Such a damn shame.”Nonno wasn’t going to be happy with me no matter which way this went.I might as well own it.
Kate froze mid-stuff and stared at me open-mouthed.
“Nonno, get mad at me.I don’t give a shit.But she ain’t going back to Shock.If I have to help her find a hole in Timbuktu where she’ll never have to see that asshole again, so be it.”
The connection ended.Nonno was going to set stuff in motion that would seal my fate.I’d fucked up royally.
Yet somehow, it wasn’t the end of my world.I was staring at the end.This beautiful, courageous woman, with her hair mussed and her face a mess of emotional turmoil.She was my future.Destroyers club or not, I knew my dying breath would be for her.“Hey, Kate.”
“Who was that on the phone?”
“The national president for the Destroyers.”
Her eyes went wide.“You stuck up for me against the—I’m still not staying.I’m sick and tired of being caged up even if it is for my own protection.”
Zoe talked over her.“Dad, Mom is going to leave again.I’m not going.I’m staying here.”She hit my side and wrapped her arms around me.
There was a split second I almost reached for my gun.Kate’s eyes flicked to my hand.
I wiggled my fingers to loosen them and wrapped my arms around Zoe.“You are more than welcome to stay.But to set the record straight, your mom’s upset because she heard part of a conversation, not the whole thing.But that part was bad, got it?Any sane woman would do exactly what she’s doing right now.”I pried Zoe off me and looked her square in the eye.“You’re too old to play games like you’re doing with me, though.I see you.”
Her eyes were almost a match to mine.Instead of the clear green of her mother’s, my mud-splattered blue ones glared at me.“I’m not playing games.”
She was a damn good liar, too.“You barely know me, and you’re hitting me up with hugs to try to get your way.I grew up knowing every game a woman could play, and trust me, Iseeyou.”
That glare turned ice cold.
I laughed.My girl had a killer instinct.I loved discovering that.I asked Kate, “How did you deal with her for sixteen years?”
She set the bag down.Her eyes wandered to Zoe.Her words were barely a whisper.“I loved her every day.”Then she pinned me with a glare of her own.“And that’s why she hugs.I’m a little pissed at you for thinking she has an ulterior motive.”
