I could deny it, but I didn’t, locking my gaze with his instead.
Blake sighed, realizing that I wasn’t going to make this easy. “Look, this is off the record, so I’m going to be straight with you. From everything I’ve found, I think Manetto was set up, but that doesn’t mean some lunatic in the state’s attorney’s office won’t file charges. Even if an indictment comes down against him, I don’t think there’s enough evidence for it to go to trial, but I don’t know for sure.”
He was thinking that if Manetto had sold PLM Investments like he’d said, then Matt had used the company name to launder his drug money and, at the same time, point the finger at Manetto as the real drug leader. It made Manetto look guilty as sin and left Matt in the clear. Blake worried that someone might see the connection before he could do something about it.
“That’s nice to know, but how does this affect me?”
“I can use my influence to help. I’ll make certain recommendations that nothing be filed against Manetto. If they are, I will use my considerable influence to have all charges dropped and the case dismissed.”
“Sounds good,” I said. “What’s the catch?”
He smiled. “I could use someone like you in the field with me. To put it bluntly, you’re the best interrogator I’ve ever seen. I know you have a life and a family, so it would mean only helping occasionally with some of the hardest cases that come along. If it makes a difference, you would also be helping your country.”
“Um...I don’t know.” His offer overwhelmed me, and I wasn’t sure it was a direction I wanted to go. Ever. Plus, now that I knew about the PLM Investments thing, I could tell Uncle Joey and Chris. “What if Uncle Joey isn’t charged?”
“That could happen,” he agreed. “And I understand your hesitation. Still...is that a chance you’re willing to take?”
“Maybe it is,” I said. “Especially if Uncle Joey was set up. If it’s the truth, it shouldn’t be too hard to prove.”
Blake shook his head. “I wouldn’t count on it. The state’s attorneys have been trying to get Manetto for years, and they wouldn’t hesitate to push it through whether it had merit or not. Think about it...even a jury wouldn’t be sympathetic to a mob-boss.” He let that soak in before continuing.
“So here’s my deal. Agree to help me occasionally, and I’ll make sure none of this can be traced to Manetto.”
How could I refuse that? I certainly didn’t want to go through a trial and worry about everyone, myself included, going to jail. Still, I didn’t like the open-endedness of his deal with me. “How about this? For every time you help me...or Uncle Joey...that’s one time I’ll help you.”
His brows rose in surprise. He hadn’t expected that. “You drive a hard bargain.” He didn’t like it, but it was better than nothing. Of course, he could always help Manetto with other things in the future. That might work. “All right, I agree.”
I took a deep breath, then let it out with a whoosh and threw caution to the wind. “Okay. It’s a deal.”
“Good.” Blake nodded with relief. “I promise you won’t regret it.”
“I’d better not,” I said.
“I’ll be in touch.”
I left the precinct, hoping I’d done the right thing. It seemed like the right thing at the moment, but what did I know? I probably should have talked it over with Chris, and maybe Uncle Joey, but it was too late now.
Besides, it wasn’t something I needed to tell anyone yet. It didn’t sound like Blake was going to need me any time soon, so maybe I could just wait until then. With that happy thought, I left for home, allowing myself to think about the one thing I’d caught from Blake that caused my heart to flutter with excitement. The mission he needed me for involved going to the one place I’d dreamed of visiting since I was in the third grade.
Paris.
***
A few days later, I stood beside the grave of my old high school flame. Although the sun was shining brightly, a slight breeze carried a promise of winter. Sorrow laced through my heart that Tom had met such a bitter end, but I tried to focus on the life he’d lived and the memories I held dear.
Before coming, I’d rummaged through an old box of high school memorabilia I’d kept, and I found the rose he’d given me on my seventeenth birthday. I’d kept it wrapped in a box all these years, so it was dried and perfectly preserved. Now I held it in my hand.
“Tom...you may be gone,” I said. “But you’ll never be forgotten.” I gently placed the rose against the headstone. The breeze caught my hair, blowing it across my face. I raised my hand to push it back, but froze as the scent of Irish Spring and cut grass filled my senses. My hair playfully danced around my face and tickled my nose. My smile turned into a laugh of delight. Then it was gone, and my hair fell back into place. A sense of peace filled me, giving me the comfort I needed to move on.
I strolled back to my car at the top of the hill, then turned to look out at the city below. The view was amazing and, for now, I just wanted to sit back and enjoy it. Just then, my phone rang. I shook my head at the interruption but answered it anyway. “Hello?”
“Babe,” Ramos said. My heart picked up speed like it had a mind of its own.
“Hi,” I answered, a little breathless. “What’s up?”
“The boss wants to see you. Do you think you could come in to the office?”
“Sure,” I agreed. “In fact, I’m here at the cemetery, so I’m not too far away. I can be there in a few minutes. Will that work?”
“Hmm...how about this, why don’t I come get you? I know it’s a little chilly for the bike, but I could use an excuse to get out of the office. What do you think?”
“Really?” It was on the tip of my tongue to say “holy hell, yes,” but I held it back, not wanting to scare him off. “That would be wonderful.” I told him where I was, and we disconnected.
A few minutes later, I heard the roar of his motorcycle and watched as he pulled up beside me. He parked the bike and pulled off his helmet along with the backpack slung over his shoulders.
“I brought you something,” he said, a playful glint in his eyes. Unzipping the backpack, he pulled out a neatly wrapped bundle, which he proceeded to unfold. My breath caught to find the most amazing black leather motorcycle jacket I’d ever seen in my life.
“Holy hell!” I squeaked. “Is that for me?”
He chuckled. “Put it on. If it fits, it’s yours.”
“Woo-hoo!” I shrugged out of my coat and slipped my arms through the luxurious leather, inhaling the musky scent and closing my eyes. The jacket fit perfectly, and I zipped it up with a huge smile. “What do you think? Does it fit?”
He nodded, thinking I looked great. “I guess you’ll have to keep it now.”
“Saweet!”
“Let’s go.”
I threw my coat and his backpack into the trunk of my car and locked it up, then grabbed the smaller helmet Ramos had clipped to the back of his motorcycle. After snapping it on, I threw my leg over the bike and we were off.
Before my hands had a chance to get cold we pulled into the parking garage of Thrasher Development. I was a little disappointed that the ride went by so quick, but I couldn’t complain. Ramos was thinking that Uncle Joey was anxious to see me, or he wouldn’t have hurried so much.
“We’ll take the scenic route back,” Ramos promised.
“Awesome!” I said. “This is the best. Really...thanks so much.”
He smiled, but shook his head, thinking that seeing how much I enjoyed it was thanks enough.
We walked into Thrasher Development and trepidation filled me. I didn’t think Uncle Joey would find out about the deal I’d made with Blake, but what if he had? He probably wouldn’t like it. But...maybe this was something else entirely. A girl could always hope, right?
After a quick hello to Jackie, we headed straight to Uncle Joey’s office. He stood with a smile. Then his brows rose to see us both in leather motorcycle jackets. He glanced at Ramos with
a quirk on his lips, then nodded, thinking I deserved to be indulged once in a while, and turned his attention to me.
“Shelby. Thanks for coming. Sit down, we need to talk.” After we sat, he continued. “It looks like my worries about your investigation with the police have disappeared.”
“Really? That’s good.”
“Which brings me to my next question. What did you promise Blake in return for making this go away?”
“Um...” My mouth went dry. He didn’t know. Uncle Joey’s brows drew together, and his eyes narrowed. He was hoping I hadn’t told Blake my secret, but if I had...
“No, I didn’t tell him that! He just asked me if I’d help him on a case in the future. It seemed too good to pass up, so I agreed.” I wanted to keep talking about how much I didn’t want any of us to go to jail, but the thunderous look on Uncle Joey’s face stopped me.
“Shelby,” he said, shaking his head. “You didn’t need to do that. I have enough on Blake that I could have taken care of it.”
“Oh...I didn’t know that. But...just so you know, I only have to help him one time. Well...it was more like for every time he helped you, then I’d help him. Like a trade-off?”
Uncle Joey cursed under his breath and his eyes widened. What the hell had I done? Then he took a deep breath and calmed down. I was out of my league dealing with Blake. He’d just have to make sure it never happened again.
“All right. We’ll have to work with that. In the meantime, I want to know when he contacts you, and I want to be there to negotiate what you’ll do for him. Is that understood?”
“Yes, of course.”
Uncle Joey didn’t trust Blake worth a damn and, alarming as that was, having Uncle Joey on my side both scared me and helped me feel protected. I probably shouldn’t have agreed to help Blake, especially since Uncle Joey had such strong feelings about it.
“Good. Now that we have that out of the way, I’m going to need you for a meeting tomorrow. I’m on the board of directors for Plum Fidelity, and we’re picking a new CEO.” He smiled, knowing from my shocked expression that he’d surprised me.
“Okay,” I agreed. “That should be interesting.”
“Good.” He gave me the details, and I realized Uncle Joey had more going on behind the scenes than I’d ever know. I also realized that I was nuts to underestimate him and his influence, and I regretted my decision to help Blake without talking to Uncle Joey first. What was I thinking?
I left his office in a daze, grateful I wasn’t on Uncle Joey’s bad side, especially since I’d agreed to help one of his enemies. Beside me, Ramos wasn’t too happy with my decision either and worried that Blake could just whisk me off somewhere without a moment’s notice.
“You think he’d really do that?” I asked.
“I don’t know. If he’s a spy, he could probably do just about anything he wanted.”
I moaned. What had I gotten myself into now?
“Hey...don’t worry about it too much. You’ve got Manetto to watch out for you. And don’t forget, I’m part of the package, so you’ll be fine. Okay?”
“Okay,” I said, half-heartedly.
“Good. Hey, I heard that you took some guy down with your new Aikido skills. Is that right?”
“Yes. Hard to believe, huh?”
“No. I always knew you had it in you. You’ll have to show me how you did it.” He raised his brow in a challenge.
“Yeah...right,” I said, with a laugh. “I learned my lesson the first time. So unless you actually try to kill me, I think I’ll pass.”
He chuckled, thinking he was sure glad I’d been able to get out of that mess. He hated knowing that I could have died...again. “So, how’s the leather jacket working?” he asked, changing the subject and hoping to coax a smile out of me.
“It’s great,” I said, a small smile on my face.
“I don’t think you’ve had enough time on the bike to know that for sure. How about we try it again?”
I nodded eagerly, and this time my smile was huge. We exited the elevator and, with a flutter of excitement, I took my seat behind Ramos on the bike. True to his word, we took the scenic route back. I knew it was probably the last ride I’d get before winter set in. But it didn’t bother me too much, since I also knew there were plenty more to come.
What I didn’t know was what I’d gotten myself into with Blake, and that worried me. But what could I do? Worrying about it wouldn’t help and, like Ramos said, with him and Uncle Joey on my side, it couldn’t be too bad. I decided that, until Blake contacted me, I was going to put him out of my mind. Life was too short to spend it worrying.
I tightened my hold around Ramos, feeling his solid warmth beneath my arms. The breeze rushed by, and leaves skittered along the street and fluttered over the sidewalks. It was a beautiful day, and here I was, riding on a hot motorcycle, behind an even hotter guy, and wearing my new leather jacket.
Right now, things were pretty great, and I was determined to hang on and enjoy the ride.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As the author of the Shelby Nichols Adventure Series, Colleen is often asked if Shelby Nichols is her alter-ego. “Definitely,” she says. “Shelby is the epitome of everything I wish I dared to be.” Known for her laugh since she was a kid, Colleen has always tried to find the humor in every situation and continues to enjoy writing about Shelby’s adventures. “I love getting Shelby into trouble…I just don’t always know how to get her out of it!” Colleen lives in the Rocky Mountains with her family. Besides writing, she loves a good book, biking, hiking, and playing board and card games with family and friends.
Connect with Colleen
http://www.colleenhelme.com
http://www.shelbynicholsconsulting.com
http://www.facebook.com/ColleenHelmeAuthor
Crossing Danger: A Shelby Nichols Adventure Page 27
