by Tiffani Lynn
“Yes, he probably needs to get out of the house.” Grant told me that even though everyone calls him Chief Malone he’s not the chief of police anymore. His retired status is a huge help to me right now. I’m so thankful that he’s willing to help out.
“Okay, see you later.”
We disconnect and I sit back, trying to think of how to handle this with Sam and Collins.
By the time Chief Malone shows up to the gym wearing a pair of basketball shorts and a Sunnyville Police Department T-shirt, I haven’t made any decisions or had an epiphany about how to go about this the right way.
“Thanks, Chief, for covering for me.”
“No problem. I was going a little stir-crazy at home anyway. Besides, Grant told me what you two are trying to do and I think it’s a great idea.”
“I’m trying to remind myself of that. I’m not sure the Suttons will feel that way.”
“Fred and I have been good friends for a long time. I know him better than most people. I think you’ll be surprised by his reaction. If you’re concerned though, go talk to him before you do anything. I know he will want to hear this from you, not the local rumor mill.”
“You’re right. I respect him and owe it to him to explain face-to-face. Would you mind if I stopped by his place on the way back here? If you have something you need to do, I can do it tonight after work.”
“Nah. The only thing I have on the agenda is a honey-do list that I don’t feel like working on today. Take your time. Everything will be fine here.”
“Thank you again,” I say. He tips his chin up at me and I turn and leave.
When I arrive at the police station, I’m escorted to a room where Grant has two young men sitting across a table from him. The officer and I don’t enter but stand and watch through the two-way mirror. The speaker is off, so we can’t hear what’s said.
Both kids have their arms crossed over their chests. The tall, skinny white kid is staring at the floor with a sulky pout on his mouth. The little Hispanic kid is looking at Grant while he talks, but his leg is bouncing nonstop. Whatever Grant is saying has him nervous.
The lady who walked me back here sticks her head in the door to tell him I have arrived. He nods and says something to her. She flips the switch and suddenly I can hear Grant’s voice through the speaker.
“I’m stepping out, Mr. Ranger. Detective Malone will be with you shortly.”
“Thank you.”
I focus on the conversation behind the two-way mirror.
“Now is the time to make your decision, guys. Mr. Ranger is outside waiting. What I’m telling you though, is that this is your last chance. If you care about your future, you will team up with Mr. Ranger and help yourselves out of the black hole you are heading for. You have five minutes to make your decision.”
With that final declaration, Grant gets up and leaves the room to join me behind the mirror. “Hey, thanks for coming in,” he says as he shakes my hand.
“Do you think they want to do it?”
“I’d like both of them to do it, but I’m pretty certain only Ricardo is going to take the offer. Steven seems to like living on the edge. We’ll know in a few minutes. I told them they would still have to do their community service and fulfill their obligation to the court, but if they accept, you are willing to work with them under the condition they stay out of trouble, which means away from the other kids they have been hanging with. Steven shut down almost immediately. Ricardo asked a lot of questions and kept eye contact. It was obvious who had interest.”
We watch and listen as they sit there.
“I ain’t doin’ it, bro,” Steven says.
“Why not? You heard him. We just gonna end up in prison eventually. Don’t you want a way out?”
“Nah, man. Those are my boys. I’m all about loyalty. They been good to me. Why are you so quick to turn against them?”
“Because I don’t wanna spend my life fucking with handicap dudes and scaring little old ladies. I don’t wanna steal to eat. What’s wrong with wantin’ something better?”
“Nothin’, but how you think you gonna get it? You think that boxer dude is gonna wave a magic wand and make you rich and smart? You failed the last grade you went to. Ain’t nothin’ gonna fix that.”
“I don’t know if he can actually do anything or not, but I wanna try. I don’t wanna be stuck in prison after we did God knows what, and I don’t wanna be livin’ on the streets anymore. It sucks movin’ from place to place every night and not knowin’ where we gonna be sleepin’.”
Steven stands and walks over to the glass and knocks. “I’m ready.” Then he turns to Ricardo. “You do what you gotta do, but don’t come crawlin’ back when their little do-good project don’t work wit you.”
I turn to Grant. “I’ve heard enough. How do you want to handle this?”
“I’ll take Steven out of there and you can stay and talk to Ricardo. He’s free to go. His community service will start Monday. He has the paperwork and knows what to do. Good luck, and for what it’s worth, you’re doing the right thing.”
I roll my shoulders and flex my hands as I wait for Grant to escort Steven out. When I enter the room, Ricardo’s eyes grow round and I watch as he scans the room for exits. I pull out the chair Grant was sitting in, turn it around and straddle it, facing him.
“I’m Keegan Ranger. Detective Malone has asked me to help get you straightened out.”
The kid nods his head, but stays silent.
“How old are you?” I ask.
“Fourteen.”
“You live at home with your parents?”
He shakes his head. “No, my mama’s in jail and I don’t know my daddy. I was supposed to be staying with my auntie, but she couldn’t deal with me anymore so I stay on the streets.”
“How long you been living like that?”
“’Bout five months.”
“Did you know that the guy you hurt, Sam Sutton, is a good friend of mine?”
“He’s your friend?” Ricardo doesn’t look convinced.
“Yeah. He’s a good guy. Why did you let those guys hurt him? Why didn’t you try to stop it?”
“Man, I’m only fourteen and I weigh about a hundred and twenty pounds, soaking wet. I’m one of the smallest in the group. What you think I can do? Nothin’ without gettin’ my ass kicked. I stayed around to call for help. That was the best I could do.”
I stare at him, hoping to make him uncomfortable for as long as possible. “Here’s the thing, if I’m going to work with you, you have to start by apologizing to Sam and his family. Then you have to work with me at the gym. I need to know that you can tough it out through the hard stuff to get to the good stuff. I will work on getting you a place to live, but as of today, you can’t hang with that crew anymore. No more stealing, no more preying on weak people, no more of anything illegal. Community service is a priority and so is school.”
“That’s a lot of shit for me to do, and I flunked out of school already, so that ain’t gonna happen.”
“You have to be willing to work, or you will live like you are now, forever. Learning to work hard when you’re young is the best thing you can do. Don’t waste my time. If you don’t really want it, you can follow your boy Steven out the door.”
“Fine. I hate my life and I’m gonna be honest; it can’t get much worse, so I’m in with whatever torture you got planned for me.”
That’s not quite the enthusiasm I was hoping for, but I doubt I was any better when Lou found me. “Okay, I’ve got to make a stop or two before I head to my place. You’re going with me, but you’re waiting in the car.”
“Fine.”
Twenty minutes later, I’m knocking on Mr. Sutton’s front door.
“Hi, Keegan, what brings you here this afternoon?”
“I’d like to talk to you about something. Do you have time?”
“Sure. This is the day I usually stay home and take care of the cleaning and stuff. With Sam here, it’s been a little d
ifficult to get anything accomplished though.”
“How’s he doing?”
“Better. Still has that nasty mark around his eye but the swelling is down. His headache is gone and he’s started talking about going back to work at the gym.”
I pause inside the foyer. I didn’t think about him going back to work. Collins said it wasn’t happening. This complicates things.
“I didn’t think he was going to be allowed to come back to work.”
“Have a seat.” He motions to the dining room table. “If you are willing to have him back, I would like him to go back to work. Working for you was great for his confidence level. It seemed to bring back what was missing for him after my wife died.”
“I want him to come back. He’s a great assistant and the perfect addition to my staff and, frankly, my life. However, what I’m about to say may change how you feel about that. I need to explain some things first though.”
I spend the next half an hour telling him about my relationship with Lou and how that came about and the directives from his will. Then I explain my conversation with Grant and how I’m taking Ricardo under my wing and hopefully helping him. When I finish, I sit back and take a deep breath, holding it as I await his response. He strokes his white beard a couple times as he looks somewhere over my head, likely contemplating how to throw me out of his house.
“Did you say this kid is willing to apologize?”
“Yes, that’s one of the conditions to me helping him.”
“I will talk to Sam and see if he is willing to listen to what the kid has to say. If Sam accepts his apology and isn’t afraid of him, I don’t see a problem with both of them being in the same vicinity. But you have to give me the best guarantee you can that you will protect Sam at all costs.”
“I will, Fred. I still feel responsible for what happened that day.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. I won’t place blame where it’s not needed. Now, I think the best thing you can do is say hello to Sam and then leave me to talk to him. If he can process this and is willing to talk to the kid, then I will bring him to the gym tomorrow morning. Does that work for you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I appreciate you coming by to talk to me and explain everything. It makes sense. I’ll call you if we won’t be there.”
“Thank you for understanding.” We shake hands and I stand and head for the living room to say hi to Sam. After a some small talk I say my goodbyes and leave to get Ricardo set up with a couple changes of clothes and a shower. Judging by the smell of him, it’s been a few days. Then we will relieve Chief Malone at the gym.
Sixteen
Collins
Dragging myself out of bed has been hell since all this started with Sam. For whatever reason, I feel like the life has been sucked out of me. I miss my mom more than ever and that seems to make it all feel worse. Who would’ve guessed that I would miss Keegan as much as I do? I’ve watched Titanic more often recently than I have in a long time, so much so that I’ve started humming the instrumentals during the movie. It’s pathetic. If Wade knew, he would probably order me a psych evaluation.
I was enjoying the time with Keegan, probably more than I should have been. I can’t remember when I’ve laughed that much or been that relaxed with a man. It was nice having someone to snuggle up to, have dinner with, and plan my free time with. More than anything, it was nice having Keegan in every sense of the word. I’ll never admit it to Wade or my dad or even Ahmod, but I was close to feeling the “L” word for someone for the first time ever. I knew better than to fall though. Something always screws it up and then one or both people are left feeling like shit, so it’s good I held back. I have to find a better way to deal with the stress of Sam’s attack and the loss of Keegan, because what I’m doing isn’t working. I’m a walking zombie, and that’s not conducive to good police work.
When I arrive at the station, I head straight for the coffee in the breakroom. They make it a little stronger than I like, but I need something to kick my ass into gear. I took too long getting out of bed and wasn’t able to brew the coffee I actually like at home. Once I add a creamer and two sugars to my coffee, I turn to head for my desk and run into Grant Malone.
“What’s up, Sutton? You go out drinking last night or something?”
I roll my eyes. I don’t look that bad, just sleepy. “No, just a rough night of sleep.”
“Tell Keegan to quit keeping you up all night.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’d pass that on if he was the problem.”
His brow furrows. “You guys break up?”
“We weren’t really together; it was just a quick thing.”
“He’s a good guy, Collins. I’m surprised you let him slip through your fingers.”
“We just weren’t really compatible, I guess.” I shrug, hoping to end his line of questioning.
“This doesn’t have to do with him taking Ricardo Valenz under his wing, does it? Because I pushed that. I thought it would be a good thing—”
“What do you mean?” I ask, my eyes narrowing as I set the coffee cup on the table next to us.
“You didn’t know? I asked him to mentor Ricardo and try to keep him out of trouble.”
“He said yes?” I feel my cheeks getting warmer by the second as my blood pressure rises.
Malone nods. “I think you should talk to him. It wasn’t like—”
“Save it, Grant. I realize everyone in this town is mesmerized by his championship status, but that doesn’t make him a good guy. I can’t believe he would betray Sam like that, and me. What the hell?”
I turn and storm out of the office, my temper in full gear, ready to annihilate anyone in my path. I stop by Wade’s desk. “I’ll be back shortly. I have something to take care of.” I don’t wait for his reply; I just stomp out of the office and down the street to the gym. When I arrive, the first person I see is that Ricardo kid who stood by as my little brother was beaten up. He takes one look at me and hustles down the hall into the men’s locker room. I head straight for Keegan’s office because that’s usually where he is this time of day.
When I reach the office, I blurt, “Are you fucking kidding me, Keegan?”
He leans back in his chair and looks at me, his face carefully blank. “Well, hello to you too.”
“Don’t try to be cute with me. Why would you take that little brat in? Do you have no loyalty? Didn’t you even care about my brother?” I hiss.
“You have no idea how loyal I am. You haven’t given me a chance to show my loyalty. I would share what I’m doing with Ricardo if I thought you’d actually listen. But you’re so mad that you wouldn’t hear the words coming out of my mouth. You didn’t come here to ask questions and get answers. You came here to yell at me. So go ahead and take your anger out on me, I’m tough.”
My eyes narrow further and I swear my head is about to explode. “Why would I want to take my anger out on anyone other than the person who deserves it? I came here to find out why you would take that kid in, knowing what he did to my brother.”
“You aren’t here to find out anything. You’re here to yell and to put more distance between us. You’re afraid to relax and be happy, and above all else, you’re afraid to love someone, namely me.” He stands and takes a step toward me. “You’ll do anything to sabotage a good thing, and you know we were a good thing. You can deny it all you want, but you know it felt good and right to curl up next to me at night. You hide behind the obligation of taking care of your father and your brother like it’s your only directive in life. Well, news flash, little ginger, they are doing just fine without your help!”
“You are such an asshole! What did I ever see in you?”
“You don’t want me to answer that.”
“You know what? You need to stay away from me and my family! You don’t deserve to be in our lives if you can’t even stay on the right side when it counts!”
If it were physically possible for steam to come out of my ears
, it would. That’s how mad I am. What a jerk! How can he not see that taking that kid under his wing is a betrayal to my family? Well, it doesn’t matter because I’m done with him. I don’t need a guy like him who has no idea what true friendship is. I spin on my heel and storm out of the gym.
By the time I make it back to the station, Wade is standing by our cruiser, waiting for my return. He doesn’t ask any questions. I’m sure I’m giving off the don’t-freaking-talk-to-me vibe, and I just don’t care. We drive around for a bit and park on the main drag going out of town. This is a prominent location for speeders and a good spot to kill time until I calm down.
“You going to tell me what’s going on?” he asks before he takes a sip of his coffee.
“Keegan took on that little punk at the gym.”
“Which one?” He glances at me and then returns his attention to the road.
“The one who called 911. The one he saw with Sam.”
“What do you mean he took him on?”
“Sounds like he’s mentoring him or something. When I saw the kid, he was carrying a stack of towels to the locker room.”
“Did you ask Keegan about it?”
“What do you think? If he gave a rat’s ass about my brother, he wouldn’t want anything to do with that kid.”
“So, you just found out and went over there to freak out on him?”
“Hell yeah. Someone needs to tell him what a jerk he is.”
“Okay.”
“Is okay all you have to say?” I ask, getting mad all over again.
“Don’t start with me too. I’m not voicing an opinion to you, because if you don’t like it, I’ll be stuck in this car with you the rest of the day and that will be really uncomfortable. Let’s drop it.”
“I can’t believe you’re going to back him up too. You sound like Malone. Are you all so blinded by his fame that you can’t see the real man underneath?”
“You can try to provoke me all you want, but I’m not going to bite. I refuse to get involved in this. I will say though, there are two sides to every story, and you are only hearing yours. Sometimes things make more sense if you listen to the other side. Now quit trying to drag me into this.”
