thirty-three
We were halfway through brunch when Luna arrived. She hugged me and gave River a fist bump.
“I saw the dude from this morning. You’re vicious, River.”
River laughed. “His mistake, breaking into Jade’s house like that.” She shrugged.
Now I really didn’t want to know what happened in my living room in the wee hours of the morning.
“Ghost is still grumbling about sanding the floor.”
“Not like he’ll be the one doing it.”
They both dissolved in laughter, and a pang hit my chest. I hadn’t had many close girlfriends. Kendal had been lovely, but I didn’t know if she liked me or if I was just the only other human on the compound. I wasn’t good at making friends. I talked too much, had little to no filter, and a dozen cats. None of which lent to easy friendships.
“Did you know about the movie sleepover last night?”
Luna’s eyes cut to mine. “There was a movie sleepover last night? And you didn’t invite us?”
I blushed and stammered. “Um… no…?”
Luna playfully swatted my arm. “I’m messing with you. But for real, if there’s another one, invite us. River has a Seductflix account and whoo!” She fanned her face.
“I already told her,” River said from across the table.
Luna nodded. “Good. Plus, she makes the best popcorn. She eats it basically all the time, so she should.”
“Told her that, too.”
I gave them both a genuine smile. “I will. I’d like that.”
River cut her eyes at Luna. “I’m here because I wanted to introduce myself. Why are you here?”
“Oh! Right.” Luna turned back to me. “The D.A. wants to talk to you again.”
My brows scrunched. “Why didn’t he call me?”
“He tried, but I guess you left your phone at Thurl’s?”
I patted my back pocket and found it empty. “Damn, I did.”
“It’s okay. He called me when he couldn’t get hold of you since I gave him my number the other day.” She tilted her head toward the door. “Are you ready? I parked the SUV at the hall.”
None of the ‘fangs houses had roads that led to them. The only driveway in or out of the compound stopped at the common hall. There was a small parking area, big enough to hold maybe four of the SUVs Supe Sec favored, plus the ‘fang’s van that Kendal drove.
“Sure. Let me run by Thurl’s for my phone and my purse.”
I felt him stiffen under my hand. I stood up and he followed suit. I gave him a hug that ended with a pat on his bicep. “Stay here. Visit with your brothers.” Naturally, they had all shown up for Nanna’s feast. “Luna will be with me.”
He looked around at the others. “If you’re sure?”
“I’m sure. I’ll be fine. Nanna will pass out the after-meal cookies soon. I’ll be back before you know it.”
He acquiesced, and I let out a breath. He’d been at my side every second I was here. He needed to spend some time with his brothers without me underfoot.
Luna chatted about nothing while we gathered my things, but when I slid into the passenger seat with her, she turned serious. “I’m not happy about this meeting. He wants me to bring you to what he called a satellite office. He said it’s more secure, but it’s sketchy. In the warehouse district. If I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to duck, get your ass down. Got it?”
“I got it.” And there were my nerves, poking holes in the calm I’d managed to accumulate. “If you have a bad feeling, why are we going?”
She shrugged. “He insisted, and Bull said he checked out. I trust that Bull would have found something if he was dirty.”
“Okay.” I wrung my hands in my lap until she reached over and put her palm over them to stop me.
“You’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it.”
I relaxed and tried to smile. “I know.” I trusted her. That was the problem—something felt off about this to her, and so the whole thing seemed like a bad idea to me. Her instincts amplified mine a thousand fold.
The warehouse we parked in front of almost triggered a panic attack.
The outside looked like a can that was tied behind a ‘just married’ car. After the newlyweds came back from the honeymoon. Which was a road trip through the mountains of Appalachia.
Weeds had taken over what was left of the asphalt in the parking lot and the security fence wouldn’t keep out a raccoon. A crumbling dock was being slowly eaten by the Blackgum river. A single security light hung next to the door, doing its best impression of Eeyore.
I was about to put my butt right back in the car when the door opened, revealing Bradley Laurent in all his balding glory. He looked left and then right, like he was a bouncer at a speakeasy.
“Ms. Massey, please, come in.”
I looked at Luna, who nodded, so I started forward, uncertainty lacing every step. He closed the door behind us as I gawked. Inside, it was a whole different world. Spotless, with workspaces scattered throughout the massive space. A large, open area dominated the center and whiteboards on wheels sprang from the floor like spines on a cactus.
My attention snagged on one that held a series of pictures, mostly men’s mug shots, with lines drawn between them like a conspiracy board straight from a movie.
The top picture was Adrian Vale.
“Welcome to the headquarters of the joint Damruck and F.B.I. task force.”
“Wow.” It was all I knew how to say at that point.
He chuckled. “We’ve been working on taking down the crime organizations in Damruck for years. The leaders of which have remained out of our grasp…” He looked over his shoulder at me while he led us further into the building. “Until now.”
“It’s my understanding that Adrian Vale is powerful and connected enough to discredit me and any testimony I might give.”
He shined his bald pate with the sweat of his palm. “That’s possible, but your testimony is the closest we’ve come to having a solid case on any of them. I plan to prosecute him for murder based on your eyewitness account, Ms. Massey.”
My eyebrows joined my hairline. “So you’re going ahead with an arrest?”
“Detectives Chambers and Drake took him into custody yesterday evening.”
Luna and I shared a look. That explained the early morning visitor that was causing my floors to be refinished.
“So why am I here now?”
“First, because we want you to go over your statement with an F.B.I. agent to ensure it’s as ironclad as it can be. And second, because I wanted you to see how serious we are about bringing Vale to justice. We are prepared to put the entire might of our combined agencies behind you, Ms. Massey.”
“I’ve already said I’ll testify.”
Laurent sighed. “Yes, and I appreciate that, but with a criminal as high profile as Vale, more often than not, witnesses recant or disappear. I’d like your assurances you won’t back out. I’d also like to put you in police custody to guard against the second outcome.”
“I’m not going to recant or withdraw my statement, Mr. Laurent, and as for disappearing… I guarantee you, I’m well protected. There is zero chance someone will get to me.”
He put his hands on his ample hips and stared at the floor before pinning me with his eyes. “You’re refusing police protection?”
“Yes, and I will continue to do so.”
He nodded, but he wasn’t happy. “In that case, I want to know where you are at all times.”
“I’m afraid you can’t.”
He whipped around, and I backed up a step—bumping into Luna.
“That’s non-negotiable, Ms. Massey. I want to know you’re safe, and I can’t do that if I don’t know where you are.”
I straightened my spine. “Mr. Laurent, unless you plan to kidnap or arrest me, I will not be sharing my location. You can know where I am when I am standing in front of you—and that’s it.”
He looked at someone over my shoulder before relenting, then pointed me toward the agent who would go over my statement with me, and stormed off like a toddler. A large, balding toddler with hairy arms. The visual made me chuckle, which got me a weird look from Luna. “Ask me in the car,” I whispered.
It took an hour and a half for the agent to be satisfied with my recounting of events and the answers to his questions. I was tired, cranky, and my cooter was sore. All I wanted was to get home and pour half a bag of Epsom salts into the tub and soak until the water was cold.
But the day wasn’t done with me yet.