Brotherhood of District 23 Complete Series

by Amy Briggs

  “Hey, hope you don’t mind I tagged along, Jojo,” Jax quipped.

  “Nah, I don’t mind, as long as I get to shoot the AR,” I laughed. “And why does everyone keep calling me Jojo all of a sudden?”

  Matt and Jax both laughed. “I have no idea actually, but I’m pretty sure it’s gonna stick, so better get used to it,” Jax proclaimed.

  “So what were you up to this morning?” Matt asked casually while we were all loading our magazines and getting our targets organized.

  “Nothing, why?” I asked defensively.

  “Uh, it’s a pretty standard question actually,” he gave me a confused look.

  “Oh, yeah. I went for a run this morning, stopped at the station real quick to get a drink like usual. Well you know, when I run,” I chuckled a little. I was a totally inconsistent runner. I usually only did it when I was feeling fat, or I was stressed out. But when I did do it, I generally always took the same route through town, stopped at the station for a drink and to pee, and then ran back home. I did this off and on through the years, which of course Matt already knew.

  “Ah, stressing out? Or feeling fat?” he teased me.

  “Go fuck yourself, Matty,” I actually did laugh, he was a jerk, but he was my jerk and obvioulsy knew me well.

  “Run into the Chief while you were there?” Jax asked.

  “Yeah…I uh, saw him for a few minutes. He was working on something in his office and I stopped by to say hello.” I tried not to sound like I was hiding something. I felt like I sounded suspicious, and that’s probably because my sex was tingling at the flashback to my morning.

  “He’s trying to get caught up on paperwork and stuff I guess. He’s got some side project going on too apparently,” Matt said.

  Jax laughed. “Yeah, side project.” Matt gave him a nasty look.

  “What’s funny, Jax?” I looked at Jax, then at Matt and they both looked guilty as hell.

  “Oh nothing, sorry, nothing.” He was trying to cover something up.

  “Oh something is funny, what’s going on? What’s this side project?” I was getting angry, surely it had something to do with me if they’re both acting this way.

  “I honestly don’t know what it is, Jo. We ran into him the other night having a meeting with a detective at the bar. I don’t know anything else, and we weren’t supposed to say anything about it, were we, Jax?” He gave Jax a hard stare.

  “You weren’t supposed to say anything? To me? Or in general?”

  “In general, I don’t think it has anything to do with you if that’s what you’re wondering,” Matt replied.

  “Why would I think it has to do with me? You guys are the ones that brought up the big secret meeting with some detective, not me,” I was actually curious. Why would he be meeting with a detective, at a bar in secret?

  “Yea, she was some detective alright,” Jax cooed. I felt my face get hot and I met Matt’s stare with my own.

  “Oh, she was hot?” I asked coyly.

  “Oh, she was smoking hot,” Jax daydreamed about it while we watched.

  “Enough, Jax,” Matt snipped. “Jo, it was a meeting, that’s all we know. We went on about our business after we saw them,” he explained.

  “Why would I care?” I lied. Matt knew I was lying. He knew how I felt. My heart sank all over again.

  “I don’t know, why would you?” He asked me sarcastically.

  “I don’t, so anyway…let’s shoot, I’m ready,” and I walked off to install my targets.

  I pretended that I didn’t care, but I cared. I cared a lot. I was fucked six ways to Sunday raw by him this morning, and he was out at the bar with some hot cop the other night? This is exactly why I ended things with him. Motherfucker. What happened this morning will never happen again. Ever.

  Jonah texted me to let me know he’d take the half shift I was supposed to have tonight, so I spent the rest of the afternoon shooting paper with the boys, pretending my heart wasn’t completely broken again, and that I didn’t feel completely used up by him. Fucker.

  That, was the hottest thing I've ever experienced in my life. Fuck me. After she left, speechless, and I regained composure myself, I picked up the mess we made in my office. Four pictures, two trophies, and a flag all fell or got ripped off the wall while we went at it this morning. Nice work if I do say so myself.

  I was so frustrated by the whole situation with her, it was tearing me apart inside. She obviously felt the pull we have. When she was near me, I could actually sense it. My brain didn’t even know what to do with this except be grateful for her touch today. I know I probably seemed cold to her, but I couldn’t tell her how I feel, it would just complicate things even more. She wanted me physically, and I knew she had feelings for me, I just needed to keep myself close to her and if amazing sex is how to do it, that’s how it had to be.

  I didn’t expect for that to happen, but fuck if I’m not happy it did. I knew her. She’d be reeling right now, wondering what the fuck was going on because I wouldn’t talk. She may have tried ending this, but after that mind-blowing sex, I’m going to be on her mind. And I really didn’t want to talk right now, I knew that stunned her. I was frustrated and it’s not the right time to talk. But I couldn’t keep my hands off of her. If she thought about me half as much as I think about her, it would be a fucking lot. That was the plan all along, whether that particular delightful moment was planned or not. I’d see her tomorrow at work and we could keep this little game going until I win her back. I’d give her some space for to think about what we did.

  I needed to get my head back in the game here with this investigation. I told Detective Cruise I would rummage through Jack’s electronic files to see what I could find and that’s actually what I was doing when Jo showed up. I had been going through folders on Jack’s desktop, and had come up empty-handed so far. Where would he keep evidence? I’m not even sure what I’m looking for, and part of me thinks the cops should be sitting around doing this which is also frustrating.

  Leave it to the cops to have me do their legwork. Fuckers. I clicked for hours, coming up with nothing. I tried accessing his Cloud, but frankly I don’t understand the fucking Cloud, and it had a password on it that was probably synced to his home computer or something. I tried Jo’s name, her birthday, her mom’s name, I even tried my mom’s name, and couldn’t get in. Hell, it could be anything.

  I got up to go get a cup of coffee, then it occurred to me, that if Jack had his text messages synced from his phone to his computer, maybe what I was looking for was actually on his phone. He had to be using that damn thing way more than we thought he was. I needed to get my hands on Jack’s phone. Jo had to have it at the house, fuck. I’m going to have to tell her what’s going on or find another way to get that phone to Detective Cruise.

  I decided to give Cruise an update, and sent her a text.

  Hey, it’s Cavanaugh. I’m coming up empty handed, but I have a thought.

  Okay what’s that?

  She replied right away.

  I think what you’re looking for might be on Jack’s phone.

  Why do you say that?

  He’s got synced files I can’t get into, but he was texting you through his computer, so I think maybe he was using his phone more than we knew

  The more I thought about it; the more sure I was.

  He not a phone guy?

  Wasn’t a technology guy, but the more I dig, the more I think he was and just didn’t tell anyone

  Ok, so where’s his phone

  At his daughter’s house I think

  Can you get it from her?

  I hesitated. I wasn’t sure how to answer that one after the events of today.

  I’ll figure it out.

  I finally replied.

  I don’t have enough evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, and no witnesses are coming forward, so without it, we have no case. Make it happen so we can bring this guy down.

  Will do. I’ll be in touch tomorrow.

&
nbsp; This was going to be a little more complicated than I thought. I’d have to think about the best way to get my hands on that phone without involving Jo in what’s going on. I didn’t want that motherfucker anywhere near her, and I’d like her to stay away from the investigation for that reason alone.

  It was getting late so I decided to go home, and come up with a plan when I see her tomorrow. We have a twenty-four hour shift together starting at seven a.m. and I was sure I could find some way to make it seem like I needed to poke through the phone for work or something. It could wait though, I was exhausted physically, and emotionally, and needed to get some sleep. Maybe I would have one night where I didn’t wake up wishing she was there. Probably not, but hopefully soon she will be.

  I was so aggravated the remainder of the afternoon, and so relieved I didn’t have to go in to work. After we were done shooting, we went out for a few beers and I was tired. The topic of the hot detective did not come up again while we were out, but it was definitely lingering in the air. Matt kept watching me, he knew I was mad because he knows how I feel. I wished I hadn’t said anything to him in the first place.

  I went home tired and cranky. Brian didn’t actually owe me anything, but I had started to think that our romp in the office was his way of reconnecting with me. He didn’t want me to end it after all. I guess that was all bullshit and out of convenience anyway. None of it really added up to me but at this point, I needed to get some sleep before working a twenty-four hour shift with him the next day. It was my first day back at 23 full-time, and I did smile to myself about that. My dad would have been really happy.

  I walked into my house, and immediately dropped my keys in shock. I looked across the room, and Danny was in my living room at my dad’s desk going through his notebooks. As I scanned the room, I realized there was a gun on the desk next to him. What the fuck is going on here? Shit, my guns are still in my car and I just went shooting!

  “What are you doing in my house?!” I screamed at him. He rushed over to me, grabbed me by the neck, and shoved me against the wall by the front door, I had trouble breathing immediately. Oh shit, what's happening right now? I was terrified, and my heart started to thump against my chest.

  “Shut the fuck up, bitch,” his eyes were empty as he stared into mine. “You were supposed to be on crew tonight at 19,” he looked around the room while still holding me against the wall.

  “Someone is covering my shift,” I whispered, grabbing at his hand around my neck. He had the gun in his other hand up against the wall, and I really didn’t want to struggle with him until I could get my bearings. He was a lot bigger than me.

  “Well, this wasn’t part of my plan, but I can improvise. Sit down on the couch and do not move.” He moved me slowly over to the couch where I sat, and he shoved the gun in the back of his jeans. He skulked over to an end table and grabbed a lamp, then pulled his multi tool out of his front pocket and cut the cord off of it. Putting the knife back in his pocket he walked back over to me with the cord, demanding I stand up and turn around. Seriously, he was tying me up? What the fuck is happening?

  I did what he said, but pleaded with him. “Danny, what are you doing here? What are you looking for? I’m sure I could have helped you find what you need. What is this about?” He tied my hands up behind my back roughly and swung me back around and shoved me back down on the couch. Then he raised his right arm and backhanded me across the face, knocking me down hard. It hurt so badly that I cried out.

  “I told you to shut the fuck up. And that, was for slapping me at the station. Someone should have beat the fucking sass out of you a long time ago,” he menacingly stood over me. “I’ll deal with you when I find what I’m looking for. Your father had information in his notebooks that I need, and I’m going to find it. Until then you will sit there and be quiet, or I’ll fucking gag you next.” I was reeling from being hit, he didn’t hold back at all, he intended to hurt me. I was so confused, and scared. No one would stop by, no one would stop this. I needed a plan; the anxiety of the situation was making me nauseous. I kept scanning the room, looking for something that would help me formulate a plan to get out of this.

  I continued to check the clock on the wall. For the next several hours, I silently watched him read my dad’s notebooks with frustration, tossing each of them across the room when he didn’t find whatever he was looking for. My face was throbbing from where he hit me; it had to have left a mark.

  I couldn't figure out what would be in those notebooks that Danny would even care about. They were mostly notes from calls and things like that. They didn’t have any personal information in them, because he wanted to be able to use them as testimony if he ever needed to be reminded of an incident. It was just his quirky thing. I was starting to get the feeling that what Danny was looking for was in my dad’s personal journals, that were in his room, in the closet.

  Whatever he was looking for, he wasn’t finding and he looked angrier by the second. The sun was going to be up soon. He’d been at this all night long, and my body was stiff and fighting the fatigue of being awake for so long and left in such an uncomfortable position. I was dying to pee but didn't want to risk asking him; he wasn't in a stable frame of mind from the way he had reacted to me.

  As the sun came up, I looked over at the clock and realized that I was supposed to be at my first day at work in about thirty minutes. My phone, which was in my back pocket, dinged with an incoming text message, snapping Danny out of his reading.

  “What the fuck was that?” he demanded.

  “It was my phone. It’s in my pocket,” I replied.

  He stormed over to me, grabbing me roughly by the arm and pulling me up. “What pocket?” he growled in my face.

  “My back pocket,” I was trying to sound strong and angry, but I was fucking scared. This is not the guy I thought I knew, hell if I really knew him at all I wouldn’t have stayed with him. He reached into my back pocket taking the phone. He looked at it and said, “Oh of course, its Matt. You fucking him yet?”

  I didn’t reply and the phone dinged two more times. “Jesus Christ, what a little bitch. He has to check in with you nonstop?” he retorted. “Are there any more notebooks, Jo? I need to know right now.” He grabbed me by my hair and got in my face, making me wince. He was getting anxious. Beads of sweat were forming at his temples, and the veins in his neck were visibly bulging.

  “Only what’s there! What are you looking for?” I cried out. The fucking guy was off the rails and I wasn't sure what he was going to do to me, but I wasn't going to give up my dad’s journals. He could go fuck himself.

  He tossed me back to the couch and sat down on the coffee table in front of it looking at me intently, just a foot away from me. “Jo, your dad had evidence of some things I need to destroy.”

  “What are you talking about, Danny? What evidence?” Now I was getting really scared. Hopefully Matt would realize that me not answering would not make any sense since I was supposed to be at work soon. I prayed intently that Matt would pick up the vibe and come over, or better yet, send someone else over.

  “Well I guess I may as well tell you since you’re not going to be able to tell anyone,” he gave a sinister chuckle that didn’t bode well for me clearly. Please Matt, swing by to find out why I’m not at work yet. I didn’t say anything at all, I wanted this story to take as long as possible to buy me some time to figure out how to get out of this or to have someone show up and save the day. In this state, I just couldn’t see how I could get myself out of this alone.

  “I’ve been making some extra money on inspections and some other side services for years, and your dad somehow figured out what I was doing before he died,” suddenly I was hot all over envisioning him doing something to my dad.

  “What do you mean, extra money?” I asked. Any of us that were inspectors made a certain amount per inspection, but that can’t be what he’s talking about. It was a regulated set amount, so the only way to get extra would be to extort it.
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  “There are some businesses that are willing to pay a little extra if you look the other way on a few of the fire codes is all. It’s not a big deal. Well it wasn’t until your dad found out about it and confronted me about it,” he looked off angrily like a crazy man in a soap opera staring off camera. This is bad, he’s crazy as fuck. Did he kill my dad?

  “Danny, did you kill my dad?” I was trembling, afraid of the answer.

  “No, I didn’t. Thankfully the asshole died before I needed to do anything drastic. But it looks like I’ll have to do something about you now,” he looked down at me. I was relieved knowing my dad hadn't been murdered. Then the rest of his words sunk in and he looked at me with those dark empty eyes, sending real terror into me while he then paced around the room. He meant to kill me. My phone rang again, making us both jump.

  “Jesus Christ!” he yelled, looking at my phone. He pointed the screen of the ringing phone in my direction. “Is Matt calling you from the department phone?” I honestly have no idea why the department phone is calling me other than the fact I’m not at work yet. I’m guessing it’s the Chief making an official call wondering where I am. He shall be known as the Chief from now on after what Matt and Jax told me. I briefly thought back to our last moment together in Brian’s office. If we were together, this wouldn’t have happened to me. He’d have been here to protect me. Fuck.