by Parker, Kara
She looked up into David’s blue eyes. They were intelligent and intense, and he took a step closer to her so they were only a foot apart. He smelled like the desert with the slightest hint of gasoline. His eyes were crystal blue and his clean-shaven face was only inches from hers. Olivia refused to back down; she stood her ground and felt her skin tingle as he got closer. They were facing each other, close enough to kiss, or kill.
“You seem like a good cop,” he said, quietly. They were so close, the smallest movement on either side and they would be touching, skin on skin. What would his skin feel like against hers, his rough and dry hands running up and down her body, his lips on hers? “I don’t want anything to happen to you, but if you make trouble for the Reaper’s, something will. We’ll do our best to stay out of your way, and we’re just asking you to do the same. That’s not too much to ask, is it? We would be very thankful, and we could be very generous.” His voice had fallen to a whisper, and his eyes weren’t looking at hers, but instead seemed to be focused on her lips. They were so close, and his words spoken so softly, that it took Olivia what felt like full minute to understand what he had actually said.
She didn’t move at first. She understood what she had been saying, but standing next to him felt so intoxicating that she didn’t want it to end quite yet. He was offering her a bribe… “generosity”…she wondered what he meant by that, how much he could give her. She wished she were wearing a wire, then maybe she would have enough evidence to bring David in and convince him to join her side. She gave his blue eyes one last look and then stepped back.
“I am a good cop,” Olivia said, putting her sunglasses back on and walking towards the door, “and that means I won’t take bribes, and I won’t look the other way. You’ve got time, David. Time to make some better decisions and get out of God’s Reapers. If you stay with them, you will end up in prison for a very long time. I’ll be here when you change your mind.” Olivia walked back out into the baking sun that now hung high above her. God’s Reapers were up to something, and it had to be something big if they were trying to bribe the cops about it.
CHAPTER TEN
It hadn’t gone well with Olivia Waters. Not well at all. She had rejected the offer before David could even give it to her. Not only had she rejected his offer, but also she had pledged war against God’s Reapers. She had promised that she was going to be a good cop and do her job well. So all David could do was act like a criminal and do his job well. This was what he was thinking when he was called up to talk to Rick. David was grateful he didn’t have to sit down with Mike. Rick might be the second-in-command, but he and David were friends. They drank together and worked together; they had known each other for going on ten years.
“David,” Rick said with a nod as David entered Rick’s office and slumped down on a couch. Office wasn’t quite the right word; it was one of the rooms in the gang’s clubhouse. There was a desk, a computer, a chair, an old couch, and not much else. God’s Reapers didn’t do a lot of paperwork. Anything in writing could be used as evidence against them, so it was all done by promises, and if someone tried to renege on their promise, well, they didn’t need any paperwork to sort the issue out. They just used their fists and whatever else was handy.
“How did things go with Waters?” Rick asked. “I have a feeling, based on how you're sitting, that it did not go well.”
“I just need more time, Rick. She’s fresh out the academy and still has all of her principles. I can convince her; it just might take a little time. But I have a plan to keep her out of our hair in the meantime. When we have trucks coming through, I’ll make sure she’s somewhere else.”
“That’s not what you were asked to do, David,” Rick said, a frown appearing on his face. “We want the cops looking the other way all the time, not just whenever we have shipments come through.”
“I know, I know. I’m working on it. Look, a dead cop is more dangerous than a living one; it will just give the locals an excuse to bring the hammer down on us.”
“Unless we have a patsy, someone to frame for it?” Rick said.
“Let’s consider that a last resort. You asked me to take care of it, and I’m doing that. It’s not as fast as we wanted, but we have no choice other than to play the cards we’ve been dealt. You put me in charge of the cops, now let me do that.”
“She’s pretty, isn’t she?” Rick asked quietly. David felt his blood rise; he swallowed heavily and brought his eyes up to look at Rick. What did he mean by that, why would that matter?
“Pretty’s got nothing to do with it,” David said. His voice remained even, but underneath the surface, his emotions were roiling up into a storm—and he wasn’t sure what had started it. “There’s lots of pretty girls out there; she’s no great distraction.” Don’t look at her, David thought. Don’t notice her, stay away from her, leave her be. He wanted to shout these words into Rick’s face. But he was no fool, and his face remained expressionless.
“I trust you, David,” Rick said. “Mike trusts you. The club trusts you. But we need to know that when push comes to shove, you’ll do what’s required of you.”
“I won’t fail you,” David said. “I promise you that.” With a nod, he was released from the room. David felt a little unsteady on his feet as he walked out towards the garage. Once he opened the door, the sound of country music and his brothers laughing and a wrench hitting the floor steadied him. He needed to believe what he said: Olivia Waters was a pretty face, but that’s all she was. He owed everything to this club; he couldn’t throw all that away for some girl. But killing her was wrong. He knew that. And now he needed to keep that from happening.
As David walked down the steps towards the floor of the garage, a text came in. It was a coded message from some of his boys out on Snow Lane. They were in trouble. Olivia Waters would have to wait.
David mounted his bike and felt it rev to life beneath him. He didn’t hesitate and sped towards the lane, hoping to get in there in time. Snow Lane was an ironically named side street in the northern end of town. It was quiet and blocked off by mostly empty warehouses, so it was the frequent location for many of God’ Reapers transactions. David quieted his bike as he went down the street, eventually finding his men in a parking lot, blood and grease staining the concrete around them. Joey and Tommy were two junior members of the gang. They hadn’t won full privileges yet; they were still making their way up the ladder.
“What happened?” David asked, as he dismounted from his bike.
“We were supposed to sell to this guy, Paul, but he beat Joey to shit and made off with our stash!” Tommy said. Joey was sitting with his back against a wall. There were still smears on his face from where they had tried to wipe away the blood. From the look of it, his nose was broken and there was a large, purple bruise forming under his left eye.
“He had never been a problem before. He always paid on time. I don’t know what happened. He just bugged out,” Joey said.
“Nothing too serious,” David said, kneeling down to check on Joey’s injuries. “But I’m sure it hurts like hell. We’ll take you home, get you cleaned off, and get you something to take the edge off.” David paused and stood, looking at the empty expanse all around them. “Desperate men do desperate things. We know where he hangs out, who he knows?”
“Yeah man. I’ve hung with him before. But what if he runs?” Joey asked.
“He won’t get far, don’t worry.” But they did have some reason to worry as the sounds of sirens came blaring down Snow Lane. “Shit,” David said, standing and facing the road.
“Yo man, we didn’t call the cops,” Tommy said.
“Somebody nearby must have heard the fight and called the cops.” David’s mind began to race. Was it Olivia? Maybe if it was he could give her something to do. She could track down Paul for them. It would keep her busy and out of his hair. “You were randomly beat up in this alley. It was some guy you’ve seen around, but don’t know. Give them Paul’s description, but nothing
else. You don’t know why he did it. You don’t know anything. If you don’t know what to say, just say I don’t know.”
It didn’t surprise him to see Olivia behind the wheel of the car as it came speeding down Snow Lane. Of course it would be she who answered this call. A fight in an alley in the middle of nowhere, no one else would have bothered. The car stopped, and Olivia cut the siren but left the lights going. She took a few steps out of the car before stopping and surveying David for a minute before turning to look at Tommy and the busted-up Joey.
“Do you need a doctor?” she asked, kneeling down in front of Joey and taking her sunglasses off.
“Nah, I’m fine,” Joey mumbled. “No health insurance anyway. I’ll be fine, just need some ice.”
“What happened here?” Olivia asked.
“Well, we were just cutting through the alley, going to the store to get some soda. And this guy comes out of nowhere and starts yelling at us about how we’re being rude and disrespectful to him. But we weren’t, officer. We swear it. Then, he went nuts, and he threw me against the wall and then just started hitting Joey. I was screaming for him to stop, and I was trying to pry him off. Finally, he had enough, and he took off that way,” Tommy said, pointing north.
Good job, Tommy, David thought, as he watched Olivia’s eyes travel from David’s bike to David and then to the two boys. They weren’t wearing anything that would call them out as God’s Reapers, but he hadn’t told them to lie if asked.
“And why are you here?” Olivia asked, standing up and turning to face David.
“They called me. I’m a friend of theirs,” David answered evenly.
“They called you before they called police?” Olivia asked, only no one seemed to know whom she was asking. “That seems suspicious to me,” Olivia said, turning to face Tommy and Joey who cowered a little under her gaze. “There have been a lot of reports of drug activity on this street, a lot. So why don’t you two tell me what you were really doing down here?”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Olivia looked at the mess in front of her. Two boys who couldn’t be older than nineteen, one of them beat up pretty badly and David was here. Olivia had done her best not to think about him, but her best hadn’t been good enough. They had been so close earlier; she could still see his eyes every time she closed hers. But nothing had happened and nothing ever could. He was a handsome criminal, but she was a good cop, and she was not about to let him distract her.
She looked over at David, and he looked right back at her. She wished that he could act at least a little ashamed about being caught here today. But instead he was standing there in the bright sunshine, staring at her with a hint of sadness to his face. Her question hung in the air, but so far no one wanted to answer it.
“It happened just like Tommy said,” the boy with the beat up face said. His voice sounded nasally from his blocked nose, but he seemed otherwise fine.
“You know that it’s illegal to lie to an officer of the law, right?” Olivia said, glaring at the two boys. However, neither of them was impressed with her display, and so no one spoke.
“You get a good look at the guy?” Olivia asked, and when the two boys nodded she said, “Give his information to Officer Townsend, and we’ll put out an APB.” As Lance walked over to the two boys, Olivia advanced on David.
“Officer,” he said, waiting for her to speak.
“Do you want to tell me what you’re doing here?” Olivia asked.
“Two friends called me, and I came to help. Is that a crime?”
“No, but interfering with an investigation is, as is bribing an officer.”
“Well, I haven't done either of those things, so I guess I don’t have anything to worry about. Unless you plan on bringing me in on trumped up charges. But you’re a good cop, so we know you won’t do that.”
“Are these two members of God’s Reapers?” Olivia asked.
“No,” David said. “They are not members.”
“Are they associates of the club?” she asked.
“They are friends of mine. They got attacked; they called me to help them.”
“And what were you going to do?” Olivia asked. “You didn’t tell them to call the police. Were you planning some vigilante justice?”
“I got here thirty seconds before you did,” David said. “I just got finished making sure Joey wasn’t dying, and then you showed up. There wasn't time.”
“Can I have your last name? It’s for the report.”
“Creely. David Creely.”
Olivia opened her notebook, ordering her fingers to stop trembling. She wrote his name down and confirmed the spelling was correct. She was used to people being nervous or unsure of themselves when she was around. She was used to people sweating and fidgeting and getting tangled up in their lies. But then there was David, who looked at her in the eye, and spoke without hesitation. He had a quick answer to her every question, and he had no tells that he was lying.
“We should get those boys out of the hot sun and home, don’t you think?” David asked, cocking his head to the left.
“You going to put them on the back of your bike?” Olivia asked.
“No, and I doubt they’re interested in a ride in a police cruiser. I know Joey’s mom’s house isn’t far from here. We should probably call her, and she can come and get them.”
Olivia gave one last look at David. She wished she weren’t in uniform. If she could just get David alone, maybe she could convince him to leave the God’s Reapers behind. But as long as she was in uniform, he would always see her as a danger and a threat. She turned away from him and walked over to the two boys. A quick look at Lance’s paperwork showed that he had done everything right; he had gone above and beyond actually. So there was one thing he was a good at, which was good to know.
“So, if we find this guy, are you interested in pressing charges?” Olivia asked.
“Um....yeah,” Joey said. “I should talk to my mom first, probably,” he mumbled.
“Do you want to call her to pick you up?” Olivia asked, and the boy nodded, and she let him reach for his cell phone to make the call. “Set out the APB,” Olivia said to Lance, and he nodded and headed for the car. Olivia was sure that something else had happened here. She figured it was a drug deal gone badly, and David had been sent from the club to clean up the mess. She wondered what he would do, how he would handle the person who had stolen from them and beaten up his people. She remembered his words in the trailer; he had threatened violence and danger, and Olivia was relieved to see that it hadn’t come for her yet.
Joey’s mother came and took the boys home, and David left at the same time. As they drove the car back to the station, Olivia tried to force her heart to stop pounding. The threats in the trailer had seemed so mild earlier. Empty gestures, nothing more. But now, in the harsh light of the day, she saw them for what they were, the truth. Joey had his face smashed in by someone, and if she wasn’t careful that could be her, or Lance. But she hadn’t become a cop to avoid danger; she became a cop to confront it.
Back at the precinct, Lance put more effort and attention into his paperwork than he had ever shown anything else. While he did that, Olivia began to search for David Creely. She saw that he was thirty years old and born in Marina’s Crest. His juvenile records were sealed, but she saw that he had done six months in a state prison for interfering with an investigation. His mug shot showed a slightly younger David smirking into the camera. In the photo, his left eye was swollen, but he didn’t look bothered by it. There were a few more notes on his file, a few speeding tickets, and his known involvement with God’s Reapers, but not much else.
Olivia knew that she should go and find Detectives Evans and Farraday right away. She should have gone that morning, right after dealing with David in the trailer. She really should have gone after finding him in that alley, but she hadn’t. She hated to admit it, but she didn’t want to get him pulled into the station. He hadn’t technically done anything wrong. He ha
dn’t actually bribed her. There was no reason not to believe his story in the alley, other than the fact that he was a biker who had tried to bribe her earlier that day.
Olivia knew what long-term prison sentences could do to people. It could destroy them. She kept replaying their conversation in the trailer over and over again in her mind. Remembering how they had been close enough to kiss, and wondering what would have happened if he had closed that gap between them. Olivia leaned back in her chair; she didn’t want to have to send David to jail. She wanted to keep him out of it, but how? And was that really her job?
Olivia turned off her computer monitor and massaged her eyes. When she had been in the academy, they had emphasized right over wrong. They had made it seem so simple. Just follow the law; the law is right, and anyone who breaks the law is wrong. But now that she was out on the street she saw that it wasn’t that simple. There were people who had been left behind; people who had done time and seen it ruin their lives. David didn’t seem like a bad guy; he seemed like a guy who was doing his job, and probably doing it well.
