CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE ASHTON
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
ASHTON
We were leaving the downtown warehouse, which at one point had had three guests, but we made the decision to separate the Worthings. Avery would take them to the compound and put them into the warehouse their detective cousin had vacated earlier. Their interrogation would be a much longer process.
“Marco is still at Katya?”
I was checking my phone, then cursing when I saw all the missed calls and texts.
“What?”
I called Eze, my main guy I’d left on Molly. “What’s going on?”
“Molly and Jess left the house earlier today.”
“What?” I put him on speaker. “You’ve got me and Trace.”
“I followed. Your orders were to stay back if Montell was in the house with her. Well, they went to Easter Lanes—”
“Where are they now?”
“The police station.”
Trace jackknifed forward. “What?”
They kept talking, but I went scrolling through the rest of my phone. My sources from all departments were alerting me. I clicked on the last one.
34: Homicide had them, but OC is pulling rank. I can’t get any more information.
I swore long and low under my breath.
“What is it?” Trace asked.
I spoke into the phone. “You’re outside the station?”
“Yeah.”
“Get out of there.”
“Why?”
“They’re not there. They’ll be moved to a second location. Move back three blocks and wait for my call.”
“On it.”
I ended that call and hit dial on another number. While it was ringing, I told Trace the latest information.
“What the hell did they do?”
Jake Worthing picked up. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Detective.”
“I’m not doing shit for you. Not after the last time we talked. I’m hanging up—”
“Three of your cousin’s men followed me last night.”
He was quiet on his end. “What?”
“They followed me into a gas station.”
“Why are you—”
“Molly was there.”
He was quiet, again, which I’d been banking on and which was making my stomach grind. When he spoke, his tone was low, raspy. “I got no call about this. What are you talking about?”
“We need to meet up.”
“We’re in a war!”
“Your cousin is fully aware of what happened last night, but you aren’t, and I’m having a hard time believing that, considering their orders came from your phone.”
“Bullshit. You’re full of shit.”
“Your phone says otherwise. Meet me.”
His growl was savage. “Jesus Christ. I want nothing to do with any of this. Do you hear me? I want to find Justin’s killer, and then I’m out. With you, with my cousin, with everything. I don’t even want to be a cop anymore. Get off my back, Ashton.”
“Meet me. Trust me, Jake. You need to hear what I have to say.”
He was quiet again. I was gambling here. Those texts were from his phone, but it never felt like a Jake Worthing move to make. We had two cards that he seemed to care about: his brother and whatever he felt for Molly. If his unit had her, I needed to see him in person.
“Fine. I’ll text you the location and time.”
“Now.”
“What? No. I just got called in—”
“It has to be now.”
“Goddamn you, Walden. Goddamn you!”
I waited, still gambling. Always fucking gambling in this life.
“Fine. Now. Jesus.”
He ended the call, and a second later, his text came in with the location. I relayed the location to Pajn, and he immediately hit the turn signal, getting us in the right direction.
“What are you doing with this guy?”
“He used to work for me. I have a feeling about him.”
“Fuck your feeling. He hates Jess.”
“He doesn’t hate me, and I don’t think he hates Molly.”
Trace started shaking his head, curses spilling from his mouth. “Does he know about you two?”
“I told him we were fucking.”
“You did?”
I shrugged. “I was saying it to mess with his head at the time, but he seems to react to her. I don’t think he knows his unit swept her up, her and Jess. He didn’t want to meet me, said he was getting a call to go in. If that’s true, I want to get to him first.”
“What the fuck are you doing, Ashton? This is my woman. She’s not exactly MissPopularity with her old colleagues.”
I scowled right back at him. “Molly’s not a game to me.”
He snorted, sitting back. “Since when?”
I would’ve retorted, but he was right. She had been. She wasn’t anymore.
Detective Jake Worthing was waiting for us at the end of the tunnel walkway, and as soon as he saw Trace, he began shaking his head. “Nope! No way, Walden. You’re loco, thinking I’m going to talk with this motherfucker around.”
Trace was glaring just as hard back. He snapped, “You think I’m happy about this? You threatened my woman.”
“Because she made my brother disappear.”
“Jess didn’t do shit to your brother. If anything, he condemned Kelly. If he hadn’t been with her—”
“What?!” Jake went at him.
Trace met him, within inches. “Then she’d still be alive, and Jess wouldn’t be in half the pain she’s in. That’s what.”
Jake’s eyes went feral. The air charged, but I rolled my eyes upward. “Molly and Jess were picked up tonight.”
Trace was still in the fight, but Jake’s head jerked to me. “What?”
“That’s the call you got, having you come in tonight. I don’t know the details, but I know Homicide had them, and now Organized Crime is taking them.”
He stepped back, keeping a wary eye on Trace. “They’ll move them to a different location.”
“I know.”
His eyes grew chilled. “How the fuck do you know that?”
“You weren’t my only source. You were always aware of that.”
“If you know that information, what am I doing here?”
“OC has loopholes, and they’re going to use them on Jess and Molly. I need someone to get them out.”
“Are you kidding me?! Do you know how that’ll look?” He took a few more steps back, shaking his head more and more. “No. No way.”
“Eyes are already on you. You’re a Worthing. I need you to pull them out. Sooner than later. They can’t stay in there.”
“Why? They’ll just question them about why they’re in there, but knowing both Montell and Molly, they’ll get cut loose eventually. I can’t think either of them would do anything to be arrested.”
Okay. He didn’t know Molly.
Trace snorted softly behind me.
Worthing apparently didn’t know Jess either.
I used a different card. “Because they’re sitting ducks in there. Once your cousin becomes aware of a few details, I don’t know how he’s going to react.”
This Worthing went eerily still at my words. His head tilted upward, slowly. “What are you talking about?”
Trace must’ve figured out what I was planning because he moved forward, turning his back to Jake. He said, low and a warning, “Ashton. Think about this.”
I had. Unfortunately. I stepped around Trace, and he cursed, moving off.
“Your cousin’s not filling you in on what’s going on.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I told you three men were sent to follow me last night. Did your cousin tell you about them?”
“No. Why would he? I’m sorry if Molly was there, but what’s the problem? They just followed you, right?”
“I told you Molly was there.”
“Yeah, but ...” He was starting to frown, glancing to where Trace was watching us, his head tipped all the way back. “What happened?”
“One of them put a gun to Molly’s head—”
Jake swore.
“—your men were killed.”
“What?”
“All three of them.”
“Jesus Christ, Ashton! I’m a cop. You’re telling a cop that you killed men who work for my cousin?
! My own family. And I’m a cop! What the fuck?
!” He was hissing and whispering all at the same time.
“Jesus—there was no call about a shooting at a gas station, and there would’ve been.
There should’ve been. Homicide would’ve kicked it to our unit because—”
“Because the men would come up as working for your cousin?”
“Yeah. I worked years as a cop in this city. That family affiliation has never come down here. They’ve always been up in Maine.
They wouldn’t—” He stopped, his head hanging.
His hand went to his side. “Shit. Shit! This is all getting so entirely fucked up. They’re either cutting me out, but no.
They called me for tonight. Unless ... ”
A thought happened, and he let out another low curse, everything in him going slack. He finished his own statement: “... my cousin has someone higher up handling this for him.”
Both options were possible.
He swung his head my way again. “Nicolai knew about the men?”
“We just had a meeting with him.”
“What happened at the meeting?”
“Nothing,” Trace bit out. “We’re still in a ceasefire.”
Jake narrowed his eyes, frowning. “But that doesn’t make sense either.”
I shot Trace a look because he was forcing me to show my cards sooner than I wanted.
Jake was looking between us. “What else is going on? You want Molly and Montell out sooner than later. That’s implying you think they’re in danger.
Why would they be in danger if there’s a ceasefire?
As much as Montell is hated right now, no cop will move against her if that’s what you’re thinking .
..” His eyes narrowed even more. “That’s not what you’re thinking.
You’re calling me. Asking me specifically. Why?”
“Molly’s been through some traumatic experiences lately. I’m worried about her mental health.”
“Bullshit. I know Molly Easter. She can go nuts at times, but that woman is like leather. She’s too tough to break.
I’ve been on the other end, having to notify her about her father’s various mishaps.
I’ve gotten a good sense of Molly Easter.
Stop fucking with me. Tell me the reason, or I’m walking, and I won’t answer your calls anymore. ”
I was gritting my teeth. “Because pretty soon your cousin will realize that he’s got two other cousins missing.”
I let that hang, and Detective Worthing picked it up real fast.
His mouth was open. “Are you kidding me?! Oh my god, Walden! You took out two of my cousins?!”
“They’re alive.”
His eyes were bulging. The lines around his mouth were turning white. “Alive? But missing? You kidnapped them. You’re telling me that you kidnapped my cousins, and you want me to help get your women out?”
He let loose a myriad of curses just as he lunged for me.
His hands went to my shirt, but Trace was there, getting in between us.
“Stop!” He shoved Jake back. “One more move, Worthing.”
“What?” Jake snapped at him, hitting his arm down that was extended toward him. “Fuck off. Both of you. I cannot believe—”
“Your cousin is doing something.”
“Fucking hell, Ashton!” Trace whirled on me. “Just tell him everything . Let him run right to Nicolai with it.”
My gut had never been wrong with this Worthing. I stepped around Trace, saying to Jake, “We killed three of his men. He never told you about that. We also took you.”
“Because I told him.”
“He didn’t seem that upset about it.”
Jake’s glare turned to a whole new level of hostility. “Fuck off, Walden. Just seriously fuck off already.”
“I took you. I killed three of his men, and in the middle of our meeting, one of my men took out your cousin’s sniper.
The only thing he cared about was the ceasefire.
He’s keeping you in the dark. You were my man before he shoved in, and then Justin was killed.
You switched when that happened, but your cousin didn’t blink an eye about Justin in our meeting.
You said it yourself just now. That side of your family was in Maine.
It wasn’t anything for you to worry about being a cop down here.
Your cousin’s keeping things from you. He cares about the ceasefire, not about Justin’s killer.
Don’t believe me? Push him. Read him. Make up your own mind. ”
Now was the time to pray. If I still knew the man he was when he worked for me, or if I was wrong the whole time.
A whole minute passed before Worthing started to leave. “I’ll do what I can to get Montell and Molly out.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t—” He turned, one last dark look from him. “Just don’t anymore. I’ll get them out, and I’m gone, from both you and my cousin. I’ll do my own investigation into Justin’s murder. Seems I’m the only one who gives a shit anyways.”
Trace waited thirty seconds for him to get out of hearing distance. “What the fuck are you thinking?!”
“He was my man.”
“What?”
“The night we got raided. He was my man. He was the one who told Jess about the raids. He was the one giving her the test, for me. I knew the raids were going down, and we got our shit together in time because of him. Him.” I pointed in his direction.
“I’m gambling, I know, but I think I’m right.
I think he’s the one who’ll help us pull the rug out from under his cousin. ”
“If you’re wrong ...”
If I was wrong, we were screwed.