by Barbara Gee
The fact that he had not been able to put Jimmy behind bars, even though he’d done everything right, still tormented him. True, he’d been double-crossed by dirty cops, but in hindsight he realized he had missed some warning signs of that betrayal, and he blamed himself for that, as well as for the continued success of Jimmy’s criminal enterprise.
It kept him up at night. It kept him hungry for justice. And it kept him on his knees, praying for wisdom and patience and peace, in spite of it all.
As he left the city behind, traffic became lighter. Tuck pulled into the left lane and increased his speed. He hoped Libby wasn’t giving Detective Anderson too hard of a time, but that was probably wishful thinking. His little sister had no idea that her life was in danger from the man Tuck had dedicated almost two years of his life to putting away, and she would not have been happy about being hustled into an unmarked police car in the parking lot of her own apartment building. In retrospect, it might have been better to warn her that she might be in danger, but Tuck had been reluctant to alarm her in case nothing materialized.
The thought of what faced him in Chandler gave Tuck the start of a headache, which he knew would become much worse by the end of his day. Libby would most likely fight him tooth and nail, but she would leave Chandler for as long as it took to get Jimmy Callahan off the street. She could be a feisty pain in the ass at times, but Tucker loved his sister dearly, and putting her life at risk due to his career choice was not an option. He would keep her safe at all costs, and if she didn’t like it, that was just tough.
His phone rang and Tuck answered, relieved to hear that Anderson had Libby with him and they had just reached the police station. Tuck winced as he heard her raised voice in the background, demanding to speak to him.
“Sorry about all this, Detective, but please tell Libby again that I’ll explain it all when I get there. I think it’ll go over a little better if we’re face to face. In the meantime, I apologize for the inconvenience. I definitely owe you one.”
Detective Anderson chuckled. “I kinda like the idea of having a Fed owe me a favor.”
“Yeah,” Tucker said, massaging his pounding temples, “I’m sure you do. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”
Traffic remained light and Tucker made good time. He pulled up in front of the Chandler police station and shoved his black Lexus SUV into park. Locating some packets of Advil in the glove compartment, he swallowed four pills with a few gulps of lukewarm water from an almost empty bottle.
What he really wanted was an ice cold Coke and a huge cheeseburger, but he hadn’t taken the time to stop. He figured he would wait and buy dinner for Libby on their way back to Charlotte. It seemed the least he could do.
As he walked through the front door of the station, he was immediately hit by glares from a half dozen or so police officers seated at desks scattered throughout the big open area. He sighed inwardly. No doubt Libby had been making her displeasure known to every soul in the place.
Tucker kept his expression neutral. He wasn’t the groveling, apologetic type, regardless of what Libby might have said or done. The good news was he didn’t hear her at the moment, which meant she was either being held in a relatively sound proof room, or she had lost her voice from all the yelling.
“Special Agent Tucker Simon,” he said as he reached the reception desk, holding out his badge. “I’m looking for Detective Anderson.”
“I figured,” said the sixty something woman behind the desk, the only one in the room who seemed unfazed by his arrival. She looked well seasoned and impervious to all visitors, even FBI agents with obnoxious, high-strung sisters.
“Olivia!” the woman barked over her shoulder. “Take Agent Simon back to Ryan’s office.”
A cute young officer quickly stepped away from her desk and walked toward him.
“This way, Agent Simon,” she said brusquely, but with a hint of a smile as she gave him a quick once over.
Tuck followed her to a hallway, noticing that the other officers openly watched their progress.
“Pardon the stares,” Olivia said. “We’re a curious bunch here.”
“Don’t get many visitors?” he asked dryly.
She chuckled. “Not Feds. And you could be a poster boy for them, you know. Black suit, white shirt, square jaw, tall, dark, and all mysterious looking.”
Tuck ignored her observation and the suggestive smile that went with it.
“I hope my sister wasn’t too much trouble.”
Olivia laughed again, taking his lack of response to her subtle come-on in stride. “She wasn’t exactly keeping her frustration at being brought in here a secret. Everyone got quite an earful before Ryan managed to talk her into going to his office to wait for you. She threatened to report us all for lack of professionalism, which is why your own welcome was a bit on the frosty side. Sorry if we didn’t show the deference you’re used to, Special Agent.”
“I don’t expect deference, just competence, and Detective Anderson has demonstrated that in spades. He’s been a big help to me.”
“Please don’t try to recruit him. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to this place. He’ll be the next chief if we have anything to say about it, since Chief Ashton is retiring at the end of this year.”
“Good to know the department will be in capable hands.”
Stopping at a closed door, Olivia rapped on it several times.
“Ryan?” she called. “Special Agent Simon is here.”
The door was pulled open almost before she finished speaking, and Tuck found himself face to face with Libby. She didn’t speak, just crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him for all she was worth.
Olivia looked between the two siblings, not even trying to hide her smile. “Let me know if you two need anything. Water, coffee—boxing gloves.”
Ryan Anderson walked up behind Libby, turning sideways to slip between her unyielding body and the door frame. He shook hands with Tuck.
“Nice to finally meet you, Agent Simon.”
“Detective,” Tuck greeted. “Thanks for picking Libby up so quickly. I’m assuming you still have officers watching her building in case Jimmy or his men show up?”
“Yes, sir, we’ve got men on the main entrance and the service door.”
Tuck nodded. “I appreciate that. And I won’t forget I owe you one. Thanks again for bringing her in for me.”
“My pleasure,” the officer said, his eyes glinting with the hint of a smile as he looked at the mutinous woman. “Nice spending time with you, Ms. Simon.”
Libby rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Ryan.”
“He was only doing as I asked, Lib,” Tuck said, his frown showing his displeasure at her behavior.
Libby returned his frown for a moment, then shrugged and looked a tiny bit apologetic as she addressed the detective. “Okay, look, I know I’ve been a bitch. I’m sorry I wasn’t more cooperative, but being kidnapped tends to bring out the worst in me.”
“Kidnapped?” Ryan looked at Tuck. “As you predicted, your sister didn’t want to go along with the plan just on my say so, but it was hardly kidnapping. I did stop short of hand-cuffs, but not by much.”
“I can imagine, and I apologize on her behalf,” Tuck said grimly, putting an arm around Libby’s shoulders and urging her down the hall. “Come on, little sister. I’m parked right outside, and yes, I’m well aware that I have some explaining to do.”
Chapter 2
Madison Harper kicked her workout clothes into a corner of her bathroom and stepped into the shower, sighing happily as the hot water beat down on her weary body. It was Friday night, finally, the end of a hellish week of work and the beginning of a sorely needed weekend of recuperation. She had been seriously tempted to start her weekend an hour early by skipping the gym, but now that the last workout session of the week was behind her, she was glad she’d resisted that temptation.
Three workouts for the week. Check!
Considering how much Maddy hated
going to the gym, it felt like a major victory every time she met that modest weekly goal. When she had first started her gym membership, she figured she would eventually grow to enjoy working out, pushing her body to get strong and toned. But after two solid years she hated it as much as ever. Exercise released endorphins apparently weren’t her thing.
Not even the social aspect of the gym held any appeal for Maddy. Her earbuds were always in place as she rotated through a lineup of machines, counting down her forty-five minute workout and never staying a second longer. The best part about the gym, for Maddy, was walking out the door and going home to shower off the sweat. That, and knowing she was fit and looked good in skinny jeans.
Humming, she finished her shower, wrapped her hair in a turban, and dried her body with a fluffy towel. She felt energized now. It was the weekend—no work or workouts for two days, and she planned to enjoy every minute.
She definitely needed the down time after the week she’d had. Maddy had gone in early and worked late every day this week due to her colleague in the Human Resources department being on vacation, and even after all those extra hours she still felt behind. Monday morning would come much too soon, but in the meantime Maddy planned to make the most of her weekend.
Her plans were simple. All she wanted to do was be alone, relax, eat food that wasn’t good for her, and watch movies.
The timing couldn’t have been better for her chosen agenda. Her best friend from across the hall was gone for the entire weekend, and whenever Libby was gone, Maddy fed her cat and scooped out the litter box. In exchange, she was given access to Libby’s huge flat screen TV, with an incredible theater style sound system and every movie channel the cable company offered.
Since Maddy was a movie junkie but too cheap to pay for cable TV herself, the arrangement was perfect. She was especially glad that Libby had chosen to be gone on this particular weekend, as there were a bunch of new movies being released.
After slipping into a pair of navy blue flannel lounge pants, a white long sleeved tee shirt, and fuzzy socks, she combed out her long blonde hair. She didn’t take the time to dry it. Her hair was thick and naturally a bit wavy, and she often let it dry on its own when she had the time. And tonight, she had all the time in the world.
She went to the kitchen and gathered up two cans of Dr. Pepper, a package of microwave popcorn, a handful of Twizzlers, and a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Now she was officially ready for movie night. She took Libby’s extra apartment key from the top drawer of her desk and shut off the lights before scurrying across the hall with her bounty, hoping none of their chatty neighbors would come out and delay her.
The door of the vacant apartment down the hall was open, and Maddy recognized the voice of the building superintendent as the woman extolled the virtues of the place to a prospective tenant. A “luxury apartment” at an “unbelievably low price”, blah blah blah. Maddy rolled her eyes. Not that she didn’t appreciate being able to live in an above average building, but “luxury” was stretching it a bit.
Well, maybe not in Libby’s case, Maddy acknowledged as she let herself into her friend’s apartment. Libby had completely redecorated the place when she moved in two years ago, using top of the line paint, floor coverings, fixtures, and furnishings, and the space truly was luxurious. It was also a warm, welcoming space, and Maddy loved spending time there, with or without her friend.
She had thought many times about letting Libby help redecorate her own apartment, but had so far been unable to part with the cash such a project would require. Maddy was nothing if not thrifty, and while she was willing to spend a little more in rent to live in a nice, secure building, she wasn’t quite ready to spend her hard earned money on fancy things she really didn’t need.
“Hey there, Luther,” she said, spotting the big, solid black cat curled up in the corner of Libby’s eight thousand dollar dove grey leather sofa. “You hungry, big guy?”
Maddy wasn’t exactly a cat lover, but Luther wasn’t bad as far as felines went. He mostly ate and slept and minded his own business. She opened a can of food and he unwound himself and stretched lazily before sauntering over to his dish, waiting for her to finish dumping the food in before he started eating. Giving him a few scratches behind the ears, Maddy left him to his supper while she put her ice cream in the freezer and a bag of popcorn in the microwave. While it popped she found the TV remote and started scrolling through her movie choices.
The smell of buttery popcorn filled the apartment as she found several features she’d been waiting to watch. She smiled widely. It was going to be a good night.
Chapter 3
“Start talking, big brother,” Libby demanded as Tuck fastened his seatbelt and started the SUV. “I’m going to assume you have a good reason for having that man kidnap me.”
“Stop with the kidnapping talk, Lib.”
She folded her arms over her chest and glared. “He grabbed me off the street and put me in his unmarked car against my will. What would you call it?”
“I’d call it protective custody to prevent abduction,” Tuck said sternly, meeting her gaze for a long moment before backing out of the parking space. “And it was necessary, sis.”
Libby’s jaw dropped. “What the hell, Tuck?” she screeched. “Why do I need to be in protective custody?”
“My fault, I’m afraid.” Tuck pulled out of the parking lot and headed back the way he had come. “Remember the case I worked last year? Jimmy Callahan?”
“Of course. You were obsessed with that case, but you wouldn’t tell me anything about it. At one point I didn’t see you for two months. I was so glad when it was over.”
Tuck sighed heavily. “Unfortunately, it’s far from over. Yes, we arrested Jimmy, but he managed to get out on bail by putting a couple of local cops on his payroll. The two months you’re referring to were when I was fighting to prove my investigation had been done by the book, and the cops saying otherwise were paid to lie about my methods. I needed to prove they were dirty, so we could bring Jimmy in again.”
“Did you succeed?” Libby asked.
“I got the proof I needed to convict the cops, but Jimmy had already posted bail and disappeared.”
“But that was almost a year ago. I can’t imagine he’s been able to elude the great Tucker Simon all this time,” Libby said. “You always get your man.”
“Except for this one,” Tuck said. “It’s been rough. The man is a low life piece of crap, but he has a lot of connections and is smart and cunning enough to use them. He makes a lot of people a lot of money, and they’re willing to protect him to keep the cash flowing.”
“And there’s nothing you can do?”
“I’ve got more than enough evidence to convict—the problem is I can’t find him. He left the state and disappeared.”
Libby frowned. “Tuck, can you please tell me what Jimmy Callahan has to do with putting me into protective custody? And where are we going? Because it looks like you’re leaving Chandler, and in case you haven’t noticed, I didn’t pack an overnight bag.”
Tuck gripped the steering wheel tightly. “We are leaving town, Lib. And honestly, I’m not sure when you’ll be able to come back.”
“Tucker,” Libby’s voice rose ominously, “you’d better be kidding because I have plans this weekend. For the whole weekend. With Devon. You haven’t met him yet, but I think you’ll like him. And I really, really like him and this was going to be our first weekend together.”
“I’m sorry, Lib, but here’s the deal. Jimmy started calling me a few weeks ago. He wants to come home. Back to the ‘hood’ so to speak. First he tried to buy me off, or at least that’s what he wanted me to think he was doing.”
“And when you told him to go to hell?” Libby prompted.
“He made a lot of threats during the last call. He said if money wouldn’t get rid of me, he’d find another way. So when we found out he’d sent men to Chandler, I knew he was going to use you.”
Libby reached over and gripped Tucker’s arm. “Jimmy threatened to hurt me to get you to look the other way?”
“He never mentioned you, but when I found out that some bad dudes were heading to Chandler, I was pretty certain it was Jimmy’s doing. So I contacted Ryan Anderson and had him put some guys on you just in case.”
“The cops have been watching me?” Libby squeaked. “For how long? Did they bug my apartment?”
“Of course not. Just surveillance for the last three days—following you to and from work and wherever else you went, monitoring your hallway, and staying outside your apartment building overnight. They weren’t concerned with what you were doing, they were watching for Jimmy’s men. Waiting to see if they showed up.”
Libby’s chin trembled slightly. “And they did?”
“I’m sorry, Lib. I hate that your life is getting messed up because of what I do.”
“So Jimmy’s scumbags were following me, too?”
Tuck shook his head. “I don’t think they got that far. As soon as we found out that some men were asking about you, I had Anderson bring you in. I wasn’t going to take any chances.”
Libby chewed on her bottom lip. “Maybe you should take me back to Chandler, Tuck,” she said slowly. “Let them make their move on me and then arrest them. Maybe they could lead you to Jimmy.”
“That’s not a chance I’m willing to take. I won’t risk you getting hurt.” The tone of his voice told Libby he wouldn’t change his mind on that score, no matter how much she might argue. “I’m sorry, sis, but it’ll probably be a while before you can go home.”
They drove in silence for a while, both deep in thought. Finally Libby spoke.
“I’m not mad. I know you want to protect me, but I do have a life. My job, my friends, my apartment, my boyfriend. What do I do about all that?”
“You can call your boss and this Devon guy tomorrow. Let them know you’ll be out of town for a while due to an unexpected family issue. Don’t give them any details, and don’t tell them where you’ll be. I’ll fight to get priority on Jimmy’s case and get as many agents, in as many areas as possible, on the lookout for him. He’s desperate to come home, and I hope we can use that to our advantage. The sooner we track him down, the sooner you can get back to your life.”
