Vice (Tortured Heroes Book 1)

by Jayne Blue

  He leaned forward and pulled his feet off the desk. “Both, Devin. It’s always both. Have a seat.”

  I reached behind me and closed the door. Smoothing a stray hair from my eyes I took a seat in front of him and crossed my legs. I had the feeling this conversation might take a while.

  I was wrong.

  “Your new dishwasher punch in yet?”

  A pit formed in my stomach. This was about Jase. Uncle Cy’s interest in him couldn’t be good. This was my fault. I’d asked Cy to go ahead and look into Jase’s background. With everything that happened over the last couple of days, I’d pushed it out of my mind.

  “I don’t think so. I can go back and check if you’d like.”

  Cy shook his head. “No. It’s better this way. It’ll give us a chance to talk before he gets here.”

  “Okay.”

  “Let me be blunt, Devin. When he gets here, I need you to fire Jase Randall.”

  My heart dropped into my shoes. “Why?”

  Uncle Cy steepled his fingers under his chin and leaned back in a chair. “I’m going to need you to trust my judgment on this. Guy’s bad news. I don’t want him around my bar.”

  “Your bar?” I felt like I was underwater. I tried to breathe but couldn’t seem to move air.

  “Devin, don’t start with that again. Yes. My bar. Our deal is still in place. Until you pay off my capital investment.”

  “I’ll have the money next month.” My words came out in a rush. I hadn’t planned them. But the moment I said them, I couldn’t turn back. I could have the money next month. It would be a risk. A huge one. I had enough banked. I’d wanted to wait until I had a surplus saved for quarterlies and a buffer in case we had a slow month, but right then, none of that mattered. And it wasn’t even about Jase. Not completely. But something low in me burned hot. I wanted my freedom. I wanted to stop having these kinds of conversations with Uncle Cy. It was now or never.

  His face hardened. I don’t know what I expected him to say. Anything but what he did. He slammed his fist against the desk and rose. Just like the other night at dinner, he came around to me and caged me in my seat with fists gripping the arms of my chair.

  “I said I’ll have the money next month,” I said. “Then you won’t have to concern yourself with any of my personnel issues.”

  “I said I want Jase Randall’s ass out of here. Today. Next month is next month.”

  I met his eyes. His blazed fire. “Why?”

  “What do you mean, why?”

  “I mean, if you’re so desperate to have me fire a good employee, I at least need to know why.”

  I’ll admit, I was afraid of the answer. A vein popped out on Uncle Cy’s neck. His legendary temper was about to flare. But if I backed down now, I might never gain back this ground.

  “You want me to do it for you?”

  “No. Dammit. No.” I pushed my chair back, daring Uncle Cy to advance on me. He stayed hunched over for a beat, then straightened and stood up. I slowly rose. “I said I’ll have the money to pay off your loan next month. I can show you my bank balance now if you don’t believe me. I can’t have you charging out on the floor firing Jase. It would undermine my authority.”

  “I’ll leave this bar to you when it suits me to do so, Devin. That’s not a term you get to dictate.”

  My blood ran cold. For months, I’d suspected this. Cy never had any intention of turning the bar over to me outright. I would never get out from under him unless he wanted me to. So many years ago, I remember hearing this same argument between him and my father. In my dad’s case, he gave up trying. I wouldn’t.

  “What did you find out about Jase? You need to tell me. What’s he done that makes you think he’s not fit to work here?”

  His silence felt like poison, working its way through my veins. God, what was it? Was Jase a serial killer? A criminal? My head spun its way through a kaleidoscope of horrible answers. But none seemed worse than the answer standing right in front of me. Uncle Cy would never let me go. This month, it was Jase. Next, it would be something else. A thought crystalized in my mind. The instant it did, I knew it was true.

  “Mandy left because of you, didn’t she? You had a falling out. She knew you never intended to turn the bar over to us. She left and went somewhere you couldn’t find her. Did you ever really look? Was that just a lie you told me to keep me quiet?”

  I couldn’t breathe. I could barely see. Breathe. Just breathe. My knees felt like they would buckle. I gripped the side of the desk for support.

  “Grow up, Devin.”

  “Tell me the truth. What really happened with Mandy? What do you know about Jase?”

  “You’re too close to this. It’s clouding your judgment. On both Mandy and Jase. You refuse to see either of them for who they really are. Mandy was a junkie. She latched on to some loser-of-the-month boyfriend and you know it. You’ll hear from her again when she runs out of money. She’s just like your father. And I don’t owe you any explanations about the other one. That’s the end of the discussion on both fronts. You either get rid of his ass tonight or I will. If it matters to you to save face in front of my employees, you’ll handle it like an adult. And that’s the reason why I’m not handing this business over to you right now. You’ve proven to me today you’re not ready for it.”

  He shook his head and grabbed his suit jacket from the back of my desk chair. Twirling it around his shoulders, he stabbed his arms through it. My fingers dug into the smooth wood of the desktop as he came around me. He wasn’t done. Uncle Cy got right in my face, his breath blowing hot against my cheek.

  “And this is the last time you challenge me like this. Understand? You’re nothing without me. If I didn’t support you, you’d be trash just like your mother. Don’t push me, Devin. Or you’ll end up on the street turning tricks just like she did.”

  He turned and left me there, gasping with rage in his wake.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jase

  The meeting with Kinney’s supplier was set. It would take place an hour after closing. I connected with Gates. He had the time and the location and he’d be my ears if anything went wrong. It wouldn’t. It couldn’t. This was my last chance to try and lock something down on this case before the feds came in and trampled over everything Stan and I tried to build.

  Then there was Devin. The bar stayed crazy busy for a Tuesday night and she kept her distance. I couldn’t blame her. I knew it bothered her that the rest of the employees knew something was up with us. God, if I could only tell her. Once this was over, I would. I just prayed she’d understand and that it wouldn’t make a difference.

  For now though, I couldn’t lose focus. Whether Devin forgave me or not, blowing this investigation could hurt her more than anyone. If she hated me, let it be from a position of safety with the shit cleaned out of her place of business for good. With any luck, her uncle would also be behind bars.

  “I’ll call you later, all right?” I whispered against her neck as she passed me on the way to her office. “I’ve got something I need to take care of tonight. But tomorrow morning, what do you say we go on that first date? I’ll take you out to breakfast.”

  She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. Devin looked behind her to make sure we were alone. Then she lifted her hand and touched my cheek. “Sure, Jase. I’d like that.”

  “You okay? You’ve been acting strange all night.”

  She darted her eyes to the left and down. I’d spent enough time in interview rooms to know when someone was about to lie to me. “Everything’s fine,” she said. “I just have a lot on my mind business-wise. And I haven’t been sleeping well the last couple of nights.”

  She faked another smile, playing off my concern with her joke. I had a strong urge to pull her against me and kiss away her worries. I just hoped I wasn’t the cause of them. I knew I would be soon. Tonight though, I had to keep my eyes on the prize.

  “I’ll call you in the morning,” I whispered. Leslie and Georg
ia came out of the break room. I gave Devin a quick squeeze on the upper arm before she turned to go.

  Kinney left before me. I’d have just enough time to drive and meet him across town. He’d picked a parking lot behind a local dollar store. Public, but private enough too. I waved goodbye to Roy and the girls and headed out.

  My phone buzzed as soon as I got in the car. Gates was right on time. He was waiting for me at a gas station off the nearest exit from the drop location.

  “Good morning,” I said, though it was just past midnight.

  “Everything still set?” he asked.

  “We’re good.”

  “Excellent. Let’s work out a signal. You run into trouble I’ll be right on your ass.”

  “Uh … something simple. You hear me say ‘what the fuck’s this about’, that means things are going south.”

  “That’ll work. You sure you’re good? I mean it. I know what Stan told you. I know how important this thing is to him. But it’s not worth your safety. There are other ways for you to earn a badge again, Jase. I swear to God I’ll do everything in my power to help you.”

  I wasn’t expecting him to say that. I hadn’t known Mitch Gates for long but so far he’d been stand up. It meant a lot to know I had at least one other person in my corner, so I said so.

  “I feel good, Mitch. Swear to God. I’ve got my priorities straight. There are some things worth dying for but this isn’t one of them. If anything so much as smells funny, I’m out of there.”

  “Good. Check your watch.”

  I tapped the face of the watch Stan gave me and counted into it. “Got me?”

  “Loud and clear,” Gates said. “Let’s get this fucker over with. I’ve got your six.”

  “Appreciate it. I hope to be able to return the favor.”

  I waved out the window as I passed the gas station where Mitch parked. He flashed his brights. Rounding one more corner, the Dolly’s Dollar Store looked kind of bleak from the highway. I saw two cars parked out front and a single cashier inside. I turned in and let out a hard breath. I recognized Kinney’s beat-up Dodge Charger parked next to the dumpster but he wasn’t in it.

  “Fucking fabulous,” I muttered. I was hoping to do this whole deal from the relative safety of my car. I saw Kinney leaning against the brick wall, smoking a cigarette. He hailed me with a wave and motioned me over.

  “Hang tight,” I coughed into my wrist. Gates could hear me talking, but I couldn’t hear him. From my end, all I got was a single vibration against my skin to let me know he was there. I walked up to Kinney.

  “You’re late,” he said, grinding his cigarette out on the ground.

  “I’m here,” I answered. “I don’t like this. Too open. Let’s do this inside.”

  Kinney gave me a wide smile. “Come on. You already passed the test, Jase. This is all downhill from here on out.”

  “Enough conversation, Kinney. I don’t like this shit.”

  He put his arm around my shoulder and slapped me on the back. It took everything in me not to drop him right then and there. A sleek gray Audi pulled up alongside the dumpster. Every muscle in my body clenched as the tinted window rolled down. I grabbed Kinney, readying myself to throw his ass in front of me if I saw metal flash through that window.

  “Come on, Jase. We’re going to take a little trip.”

  “Like hell we are. We do this right here or not at all.”

  The car door opened. Two muscle heads got out. Bald. ’Roided up. Wearing tee shirts too tight, black jeans, and cowboy boots. Both of them packing, but they were casual so far, arms crossed. A third muscle head stayed behind the wheel and the driver’s side back door opened.

  “Everyone getting along out here?” My mouth dropped as Floyd got out of the car. He’d changed from his usual dirty white tee shirt and apron to an expensive Italian suit.

  Two things went through my mind. One, our case would be solid if we made it. I had every reason to think Floyd had to be Cy’s right-hand man at The Dive. A clear chain of command. The second thing … I was about to become well and truly fucked.

  The blow came from the right. Hard metal smashed against my ear. Hot blood flowed down and stars swam in front of my eyes. I staggered to the left then dropped to my knees. Floyd’s gray crocodile-skin boots entered my field of vision as my ears rang.

  “Now that I’ve got your attention, I think it’s time we went for a ride.”

  “Fuck that,” I said, spitting blood. “What the fuck’s this about?” My watch vibrated once.

  “This is about me knowing who the fuck you are, Officer Reddick,” he said.

  Shit.

  “Relax. If we wanted you dead, you already would be.”

  “Yeah? You got something to say then? You say it right here. I’m not getting in that fucking car as long as I’ve still got a pulse.”

  Floyd straightened and leaned against the passenger side door. His muscle heads moved off to the side. Neither of them reached for their weapons and I took that as a good sign. I had time.

  “I’ll make this quick,” Floyd said. “The reason you’re not dead is that my boss thinks we might be in a position to work together. He thinks he knows just how to properly motivate you.”

  “Motivate me to do what?”

  “Tomorrow you’re going to take a meeting. Something about a federal task force? Ring any bells?”

  My pulse thundered in my ears. It was hard to make out every word Floyd said. I said nothing.

  “We have something you want.”

  “Yeah?” I staggered to my feet half expecting another blow to the head.

  “Yeah. You want to keep breathing, we come to an understanding. We know there’s no love lost between you and the police. You’re dirty, Jase. Your connection to the Great Wolves MC wasn’t hard to figure out.”

  Jesus. These assholes thought I was a dirty cop. At the moment, that was one of the only things keeping me alive, I figured. I said nothing.

  “And we know you’re trying to worm your way into the Northpointe PD. We can help you with that. But you work for us. How’s that sound?”

  “What the hell do you want?”

  “It should be easy. You just keep doing what you’re doing.”

  Floyd turned to the muscle head on his right. He tapped the car window behind him. It rolled down and a hand came out holding a brick of white powder wrapped in plastic and electrical tape.

  “Five Gs,” Floyd said. “Isn’t that what you and Kinney worked out?”

  I nodded. “There’s an envelope in my jacket. I’m going to reach for it. Real slow like. You okay with that?”

  Floyd smiled and fingered his handlebar mustache. I reached inside my jacket, pulling out the wad of cash. I tossed it to Floyd. He paused to open it and thumb through the bills.

  “Marked?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  Floyd nodded. “Fine. What’s next?”

  “Just like you said. Meeting with the feds tomorrow.” And just like that, I was a fucking double agent. Someone Stan trusted was on Cy Marsh’s payroll. Unless it was Stan himself. Every instinct in my body told me it couldn’t be. The only other person I knew on the force was Mitch Gates. Dammit. I didn’t want to think it. He had access to every shred of evidence we’d gathered. He had Kinney’s phone dump. And he was currently the only thing standing between me and Floyd or one of the muscle heads putting a bullet in me where I stood.

  My wrist vibrated again. Mitch was on his way.

  “We need to cut this short,” Floyd said. “We meet again tomorrow night. And you’re done at The Dive Bar. You got me?”

  “What are you talking about? That’s the site of the investigation.”

  “Not anymore. I take orders just like you are now. You hand in your notice tomorrow. Boss has got bigger plans for you and we don’t need you mucking shit up there. Your job is to lead them away from it. You feel me?”

  “Sure.”

  Floyd stepped forward and extended his hand. “T
oo bad. You make an excellent dishwasher. Lucky for you, the boss has you pegged for something bigger and better. That is, if you don’t screw this shit up.”

  My head still ringing, I reached out a hand to shake Floyd’s. I never made contact. The second blow came and everything went black.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jase

  “Jesus, do I look as bad as you do?” Mitch Gates’s swollen face swam above mine. Blood filled his right eye and his lip had a nasty split right down the middle.

  “Hit my fucking face on the steering wheel,” he said as he bent over me. “They fucking rammed me from behind. Jesus, Jase. I thought you were dead, for sure. Thank God you’re not.”

  “Thanks.” He reached down and helped me to my feet. I probed my fingers over my cheekbones and under my eye. Nothing felt broken, but my head rang like a fucking church bell.

  “What the hell happened?” Either Mitch Gates was an Oscar-worthy actor, or he truly didn’t fucking know. I hoped like hell it was the latter. My life depended on it.

  “Just a little test of my loyalty,” I said. We were still in the parking lot of Dolly’s. I staggered to my car and looked in the side mirror. My right eye was bruised and swollen. I’d be lucky if I’d be able to see out of the damn thing come morning. But there wasn’t much an ibuprofen and a bag of ice wouldn’t fix. Mitch would need stitches.

  “How fucked up is your car?”

  “Just the back bumper. Wasn’t much more than a love tap. I just wasn’t wearing my damn seatbelt.”

  “Click it or ticket, mother fucker.”

  Mitch laughed then clutched his side in agony. “I was parked, asshole. They knew where I was.”

  “Yeah. No kidding. Dunno about you but my ass is feeling real prickly about hanging around here a second longer.”

  “Yeah. Mine too. You okay to drive?”

  I nodded. “You?”

  He nodded back. “Okay. Check in with Stan before you turn in. Then he wants a full report at seven. Feds are supposed to pay him a visit at two o’clock tomorrow. Hopefully, we’ll have a game plan by then.”