Rules of Engagement (Lexi Graves Mysteries, 11)

by Camilla Chafer

  "How's he doing?" asked Garrett.

  "He can't stay awake for very long but apart from that, he's eating more and he's getting stronger. The doctor says I can take him home in the next couple of days."

  "Do you want me to drive you?"

  "No, I'll be okay. Lily brought my car here."

  "I got your house door patched up and replaced the lock. It probably needs a whole new door though."

  "I'm waiting until Solomon is awake longer before I broach the idea of not going back there. I don't think I can cross the doorway ever again without seeing him lying motionless there, and thinking he could die."

  "Where will you go?"

  "I never figured out what to do with my house, so I'd like to go back there. It's much smaller than Solomon's house but there's only just the two of us and the security system is better than great. I'd feel safer there, I think, at least for a while."

  "I can't see Solomon arguing with that. It's not registered in his name anywhere, so it might be a good thing since no one can trace him there."

  "You think he's still a target?"

  "I don't know but I'd like to rule it out before I say one way or the other."

  "What's the word with Damien?"

  "We made a deal that involves no jail time in return for every single piece of information he knows about the gangs and their history of illegal activities. I told his captain he was working an angle for me, to explain why there appeared to be some suspicious activity involving him."

  "Then… he won't get fired?"

  "No, but part of the deal is that he quits his job. Damien's too tainted now to keep working law enforcement. There's too much of a chance he’ll wind up in trouble again and all this would be for nothing."

  "That's very generous of you."

  "I did it for you and Solomon, and also, I have to admit, for the information. Based on what he told us, we can charge Eric Dutka and both of the Copleys on tax evasion for starters. We expect more charges to appear as we work through all the information. Boston PD found seventeen bodies in the areas where Damien said they would. BPD rounded up every member of the Boston gang and we operated a sting on the Niners this morning."

  "That's a lot of arrests!"

  "Our commanders are calling it the biggest joint taskforce win for over a decade. Damien unraveled something bigger than huge."

  "If he'd asked for our help earlier, he would have been an integral part of taking it down. None of this would have happened," I said.

  "He'd also still have his job and he'd probably even get a commendation with promotion not far off in the future. He was a damn fool. How's Solomon taking it?"

  "He hasn't said too much but I can see he's upset." It was a long and painful conversation, and I wasn't sure how much Solomon had taken in. The first time he woke up, he couldn’t say much. His throat was too sore and the doctors instantly swarmed into the room moments later, insisting on running several vital checks. By the time they were finished, Solomon was tired again and all he said was that he loved me and was afraid I got hurt too.

  The next time he woke up, he wanted a drink and asked a few questions, and a steady stream of people came in to see him. I took Anastasia to one side and told her all about Damien's involvement. At first, she didn't believe me but Garrett managed to confirm everything. She insisted on going to the police station, returning only an hour later when Damien refused to see her.

  The third time Solomon awoke, he wanted to know what happened and why, so I held his hand and told him. I tried to keep it together when I explained the mess Damien had gotten into and why Solomon turned out to be collateral damage. Solomon closed his eyes a few minutes later, but he continued to hold my hand with a strength that told me he was still awake and silently processing the information.

  Two days later, Solomon was much stronger. He improved steadily all the time.

  "He's probably going through a lot of emotions," said Garrett. "How's Anastasia holding up?"

  "She continually alternates between being very upset and furious and disbelieving that one of her brothers could be responsible for causing the near death of the other."

  "All very reasonable."

  "What do I tell her?"

  "The truth, if she wants to hear it. There's enough evidence to support our theory, but I doubt very seriously that much of it will ever come out publicly."

  "Too sensitive?"

  "Yeah, plus, we all look really stupid for not making the connections much earlier. Thing is, BPD had lots of information and MPD had some. Without the bits Damien provided, it might have taken us years to close this case and by then, there would have been plenty more bodies."

  "Sounds like we owe Damien our thanks, although I don't think he should expect any."

  "He's lucky to get what he’s getting. There's something else."

  "What?"

  "Damien needs to disappear for a while. We'll get him back for the trial but until then, I want him somewhere out of the way. As much as I don't think Solomon, Anastasia or you are being targeted anymore, there's no denying that he is and will continue to be."

  "When is he going?"

  "In a couple days. There's more information we need first, and then I'll arrange to get him out of Montgomery. You should tell Solomon. He might want to see him. It'll be a long time before he gets the chance to talk to him again."

  "I'll tell him."

  "There's one more thing," said Garrett.

  "What else did Damien do?" I asked.

  "Not him. It's Sam."

  "Sam?" I frowned, failing to see the connection between my nephew and a pair of criminal gangs.

  "He left a toy dinosaur in Solomon's room the night the second hit man turned up."

  "Oh, yes. I remember. It was very sweet of him. The nurses brought it into this room when Solomon was moved here. Is Sam missing it?"

  "I don't think so but I need it. Apparently, Sam didn't just save up for any toy. He got a toy with a secret camera! He saw that we had our old, secret nannycam hidden in a teddy and he thought that was a good idea. He got some batteries and worked out how to operate it without ever telling us. He wasn't just being sweet when he put it next to Solomon's bed. He did it so the camera was literally watching over him and I think there's a chance it might have recorded the hit man's second attempt on Solomon."

  My jaw dropped. A memory of Sam positioning the plush dinosaur very carefully flashed into my mind. I should have known Sam had an ulterior motive. "You're kidding."

  "When it comes to Sam, I never kid anyone. He's either destined to grow up to become another cop or an evil genius and our future nemesis."

  "Could go either way," I decided.

  "That's what Traci and I keep saying. She's worried as hell right now. She wonders what he might have recorded on it."

  I held back a laugh as I retrieved the dinosaur, but before I handed it over, I examined it. Hidden in the mouth was a very small camera. "This is pure genius," I said. "What did you use your nannycam for?"

  "Usual stuff. Checking to make sure they're breathing, keeping an eye on them when they're suspiciously quiet, working out how they climbed out of their cribs so I could build a gigantic pen to cage them in so I got to snuggle with my wife on a Saturday morning."

  "Is that how Traci works the nannycam?"

  "Mostly. What's the puzzled face for?"

  "I just realized I need to examine everything Sam ever gave me, just in case!"

  "Good plan. Listen, I have to get back to the police station. I'll keep you updated when I can."

  "Garrett?"

  "Yeah?"

  I hugged him, saying, "Thank you, for everything." I returned to Solomon's room and picked up my magazine, flicking through it but I couldn't concentrate. All I could think about was how close I'd come to losing Solomon. Being in the room with him was strangely comforting, even if it now smelled strongly of cleaning products.

  "Hey," said Solomon sleepily. "Did Garrett have any news?"

&n
bsp; "Some, but we can talk about it later. I thought you were trying to sleep."

  "I can't decide if I'm tired or wired. You didn't tell me how Maddox fitted into all this."

  "He knocked out Damien." I decided to skip the part about Damien holding a gun on me or how Maddox claimed the bag that Damien carried was his, so no one ever checked what it contained. I returned all the weapons Damien planned to sell from Solomon's hidden closet but that conversation would also have to be postponed.

  "Good," was all Solomon said.

  "Maddox was with me when we were being shot at and he came with me to Fort Charles and put me in touch with Special Agent Miller. He helped track down the motorcycle driven by the guy who shot you. He did everything he could to help you and me."

  "I thought he would. He's a good man."

  "I need to tell you something."

  "About Maddox?"

  I nodded but he must have seen the confusion in my eyes because he said, "You can’t quite meet my eyes whenever his name comes up. I've been thinking about how to ask you but I'm not sure I want to know. It's strange, you know. I fully understand now how he felt when you and I first got together. It's painful. "

  "We didn't sleep together," I blurted out defensively.

  Solomon's chest deflated like all the air had been knocked out of him. He closed his eyes, and for a moment, I thought he drifted back to sleep. "I'm glad to hear that," he said, softly. "Tell me what happened."

  "We kissed but it didn't go any further. We were half asleep and the moment we realized, we stopped."

  "I want to ask if you felt any attraction or passion, but I really don't want to know. I know you loved him. I know he loved you. I've suspected all this time that he still does. That's why I wanted you to go to him. I knew he would look after you if the worst happened to me. I knew he would make you happy, and always love you, if I didn't make it."

  I gulped, stunned at Solomon's selflessness. "Was I being offered a choice in any of that?"

  "Neither of us chose for me to get shot," he pointed out. "I thought I..."

  "You didn't die," I said.

  Solomon cracked a smile. "I'm almost impossible to kill. Almost, but not completely." He reached for my hand, rubbing his thumb over the engagement ring he once placed there. "I need to know one thing."

  "Yes?"

  "Is it ever going to happen again? You and Maddox, I mean? I don't want to have to worry about that."

  "No."

  "That's good enough for me. I'm getting tired and I might fall asleep soon. I know we have other things to talk about, but can they possibly wait?"

  "Yes."

  "I don't know what you found out about me. Or if that's changed how you feel about me, but we can talk about that next," he said, and his last words slurred as his eyes closed.

  "I know enough to realize that I don't want to put off our getting married any longer," I said. "It's the right time."

  "Good." He smiled sleepily. "Let's pick a date as soon as I'm out of here."

  "Tomorrow," I told him. "I'm taking you home tomorrow. Oh, Solomon."

  "Mmm?"

  "We need a new door and there's one other thing."

  "Important?" He slid back into the pillows.

  "Can we live at my house for a while? Solomon?"

  But Solomon was already asleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  "Are you sure you want to do this?" We sat in my car about a half mile off the freeway, hidden from the road by all the trees and overgrown shrubbery. It wasn't the nicest area, but it was discreet.

  "No, but I'm going to anyway," said Solomon.

  "You don't have to."

  "I know."

  "They're here," I said when a beaten-up SUV I’d never seen before turned onto the dirt road, rocking past us and pulling up a little way in front of us. Garrett got out and opened the rear door. Damien emerged, squinting at the bright sunlight. He looked a lot more tired and weary than he did a few days ago and naturally, a part of me cared. The rest of me was still too furious to give a damn if he lost any sleep over his voluntary participation with gang activity that nearly got my fiancé killed.

  "He was never a bad kid," said Solomon. "I keep wondering where I went wrong with him. Maybe it was losing our parents when he was so young. Maybe I didn't provide enough guidance. I just don't know."

  "Did you treat him the same way you treated Anastasia?"

  "I always tried to be fair and equal, making adjustments as necessary for their individual needs."

  "Anastasia turned out great so I think your conscience should be clear."

  "Thank you," said Solomon.

  "John, you were dealt a horrible hand when your parents died and you did the best you could under the circumstances. You also raised your sister who turned out to be a lovely person. She's smart, hard-working and a respectable citizen. You put Damien through school and he became a cop. At some point, you have to release your responsibility toward both of them and let them lead their own lives. As adults, they get to make their own choices, and with that comes taking responsibility for their own actions. What Damien did is totally on him, not you."

  "I could have helped him if only he explained the situation and made sure I understood. He asked me for a loan and I instantly refused."

  "That's your right."

  "I could have stopped all this if I’d given him the money. I thought he had incurred some credit card debt, which happened before, and I figured it was better for him to learn from his mistakes. I never knew it could have been anything as serious as this."

  "Would it really have stopped then? Or would Damien’s debt have simply increased at the gang's whim? Having done it previously, what would stop Damien from playing another hand he couldn't afford at the poker table? Or being pushed into tampering with evidence again?"

  "I know you're right."

  "I've had a lot of time to think about this stuff. You've been taking a lot of naps recently," I teased.

  "I'm trying to conserve my energy," said Solomon.

  "What for?"

  Solomon smiled and I couldn't help smiling back. "Nice to have you back," I said. "Now let's get this over with. We have a lot of stuff to do."

  "You don't have to come. Garrett told me that Damien stuck a gun in your face. I can get out of the car and ream my jerk brother out by myself."

  "It wasn't in my face," I pointed out.

  "It shouldn't have been near you at all. I don't know if I'll ever trust him again. That kind of betrayal is off the scales. What are you doing?" Solomon batted my hands away.

  "Patting you down," I said, checking that he didn't have a gun and wasn't planning on shooting Damien. It was probably a good thing Garrett was spiriting Damien away. I was sure Solomon had some fleeting moments of temptation when considering what he should do about his brother.

  "There's no way I'm carrying a weapon. I only just left the hospital," said Solomon. "Are you sure this isn't really sexual harassment?"

  "Complain to the boss." I finished my pat-down and popped open the door.

  "You really don't have to see him," said Solomon.

  "I know."

  We both got out of the car and, and stood side-by-side before we walked over to meet Garrett and Damien.

  "We can only stay for a few minutes," said Garrett. "This isn't an authorized stop and it's risky enough moving him like this."

  "Understood," said Solomon. He turned his head to Damien. Damien stood still but after a moment, he sighed heavily.

  "I am so sorry," he said, first to Solomon then to me. "I never meant for any of this to happen. I messed up really bad and I couldn't get out of it. I'm so sorry you got hurt, John, and Lexi, I panicked. I would never have deliberately hurt you. The gun went off by accident when Maddox knocked me out."

  "We could all have been killed because of your poor choices," said Solomon. "Do you realize that? Me, Lexi, and Anastasia."

  "I didn't know they would go after you. I thought they might kn
eecap me or make me do more stuff for them. I never guessed they'd come after you. I didn't think they even knew about you."

  "When did you realize I was your first warning?" asked Solomon.

  "Very soon after I got to Montgomery."

  "And you didn't say a thing?"

  "I was scared. I thought I could make the payoff and finally end it."

  "I always thought if anything happened to me, you'd look out for our sister and Lexi. I thought I could count on you and look how you've let me down! Our parents would have been destroyed if they learned that this is what you've become. I am thankful they did not live to see it."

  Damien hung his head. "I am too."

  "If you had explained it to me at any time, I could have gotten you out of the situation."

  "I thought I could handle it."

  "I cannot fathom how you could even think that was possible."

  "I was so ashamed," said Damien. "I was proud once, and I knew how stupid I was. I didn't know how to ask for help."

  "You just spit it out," said Solomon. "It doesn't have to be eloquent. All you had to do was say 'I need help' and I would have gladly helped you."

  "I know that now but I couldn't think clearly. I'm trying to change that in the future. I've told Garrett everything he asked me."

  "It's a good start," said Solomon.

  "Can you forgive me?"

  Solomon looked toward me and I kept my face impassive. It wasn't up to me. "I don't know," he said. "You very nearly destroyed my life. If the gang had taken Lexi from me, that would have killed me. How can I forgive that?"

  "What can I do?"

  "Keep doing what you're doing now," said Solomon. "Tell Garrett every detail you can think of and when the court date comes up, take the stand and speak clearly and loud. You make sure the jury hears every word you have to say."

  "Thank you."

  "Don't thank me, thank Lexi and Garrett. You only got this deal because of our connection to them, otherwise you'd just be another dirty cop facing jail time. You owe them your life and more. Don't ever dishonor it."

  "I won't."

  Solomon turned and took a step, then he stopped, half turning back. "Good luck, Damien," he said.

  Damien looked up. "Will I ever see you again?"