21. Ray
TWENTY-ONE
RAY
The next hour lasted forever, or at least it felt that way.
Once the dust settled, Tammy had been confused as hell, wanting to know why I’d come back and why so many others just happened to be there.
I’d actually never left town, and Delia had never gone home after her shift, but that was all part of the plan.
Once the police came and arrested Diego, interviewed everyone, and gathered all their evidence, we all went back into the pub to clean up.
There had been quite a scuffle in the kitchen, causing a huge mess.
“While we clean, one of you needs to start talking,” Tammy said, pointing at no one in particular. “Because I get the distinct feeling I was the only one left out of this entire secret plan.”
That wasn’t entirely true, but we had left her out of the loop on some stuff.
Corey, Delia, Vince, and Archer were all there, having assisted in making sure the plan went off without a hitch tonight.
“After I interviewed everyone, there were certain things that didn’t quite add up,” I told her. “Donald was naturally at the top of my list, but he didn’t seem intelligent enough to pull this off. I also had my suspicions about Corey, but his alibis checked out.”
I chose not to share any more about his undercover work since he was still knee deep in that mission.
“So when did you suspect Diego?” Tammy asked.
“Whenever he got dinner at the bar during his shift, he always talked about sports and betting with some of the other customers,” I answered.
“At first, I thought it was just to make conversation with some of them who had engaged him, but Delia here noticed that on the nights you and I weren’t there, Diego was initiating the conversations on his own. ”
Tammy’s gaze moved back and forth between Delia and me, and I knew she was trying to piece everything together.
“So, I started to ask him about that one night, and he knew way more than someone who was just making casual conversation about it,” I explained.
“Gambling debt,” Tammy surmised, and I nodded. “How much?”
“A lot,” I answered.
I’d asked myself that same question, which had prompted me to call in my favor from Corey.
Through some confidential informants, he’d found out that Diego had racked up nearly forty thousand in debt six months ago. Word on the street was that in the last two weeks, that debt had been mostly paid off, minus the last ten grand, which he’d likely hoped to steal tonight.
“You two thwarted his plans to get his second stash when you were napping on the office couch a few weeks ago,” Archer said, his tone dry but with a bit of sarcasm. “The man he owed the money to was not thrilled that he had to wait, which prompted him to think outside the box.”
“I’m not sure if he knew I was onto him or not, but me closing with you every night or Axel closing made it more difficult for him,” I added.
Tammy closed her eyes and slowly nodded. “Which is why you pretended to leave town.”
“And told everyone about it,” Delia added. “I also made sure to mention it a few times in front of him as well.”
“So why was I the only one left in the dark?” Tammy asked, clearly not happy to be the only one here who didn’t know.
“You’re very good at hiding your reactions when you’re scared, anxious, or when someone feels off or suspicious, but you’re not as good at hiding your disdain for someone who pisses you off,” Vince said with a smile, letting her know that was meant as a compliment.
“We worried a little that you’d react differently around him and possibly accidentally tip him off once you knew,” Archer said.
Tammy said nothing, likely trying to decide whether she should be okay with this or upset.
“We thought he’d walk you out and then stick around and break in later,” I cut in. “If we’d known or even thought he would have pulled the gun on you, we never would have left you alone.”
“And I would have given you a heads-up,” Delia added.
“Hearing that gunshot took years off my life.” I pulled her into me for a hug—the third one tonight—needing to touch her and know she was physically here.
She came willingly and squeezed me back, clearly knowing I needed it.
“The four of us had planned to stake the place out because we had a feeling he would move tonight,” Archer said.
“We were positioned behind the dumpsters at the back of the restaurant. After he escorted Chelle to her car, he got into his own and sat there for a few moments. Then he walked to the back entrance and slipped inside. Our plan was to catch him when he came out, so we sent Delia to the front just in case he decided to use that door instead.”
“But as I moved into position, I noticed your car had returned to the parking lot,” Delia explained. “I walked around to tell you to stay put, but your car was empty. I raced to the back to let the guys know you were inside and, moments later, the gunshot rang out.”
In reality, it likely took less than sixty seconds to get to her once that back door was open, but it felt like years.
It was over now, and she was safe, and I had to thank my lucky stars for that.
A week later, I truly was headed home to Texas to pack up for good.
Chase and Ghost were happy for me and had offered to help me find a real estate agent to get my place on the market while I stayed in Georgia and helped wrap up some details for Diego’s arrest.
While none of us had initially pegged Diego for this, the person most surprised seemed to be Andre.
“We served together,” he’d said, shaking his head as he sat with the rest of us in the large meeting room at Ranger Shield’s office. “That man had my back several times, and vice versa. I guess you never know what debt will make someone do.”
“You can’t take shit like this personally,” Archer had told him. “Some people are just better at hiding things, and desperation will force people to do things they wouldn’t normally do.”
He was damn right about that.
Archer and Vince had pulled me aside after the meeting was over and offered me an opportunity I wasn’t sure what to do with.
“It’s not full time, but we’d like to have you on our file for freelance work from time to time if we need someone like you for certain cases,” Archer offered.
Vince looked at me with a knowing smile. “I know you’re retired, but if you’re anything like Dad, you’ll get bored after a month of fishing. This way you can still keep your feet wet, challenge your brain, and get out of the house every now and then.”
The opportunity was actually a good one. I just needed to decide if I really wanted to stay retired, like I had originally planned, or keep my options open.
After leaving the meeting, I went next door to see Tammy and grab a quick bite to eat at the pub before I made my way to the airport. It was shortly after lunchtime, and she was behind the bar talking animatedly to Stella.
I’d come to learn that Stella would meet and have lunch with Axel most Mondays since she had them off and he worked. Today it looked like she had stayed to chat with my woman.
Damn, I liked the sound of that.
“Everything okay? Your face looks weird,” Tammy joked as I walked up to the bar.
I chuckled. “You look great, too, sweetheart. All’s good.”
She looked at me like she didn’t believe me, but she also clearly wasn’t going to call me out on it. She knew we’d likely chat about whatever was up later—and we would. I’d tell her all about the offer Archer and Vince had made me once I’d had some time to think it over myself.
“If you say so.” She shrugged.
“Hey, man,” Corey said next to her. “Heard you’re moving here permanently.”
“You heard correct,” I replied, taking a seat at the bar.
He nodded and gave me a half grin. “Good, I was gonna see if you wanted to come visit me at the gym, check out my situation there.”
“Oooh yes, you should,” Tammy chimed in. “He’ll kick your ass, but you’ll thank him for it later.”
Corey and I both chuckled at that.
“Sounds like a plan,” I told him.
He gave a knowing nod, and it appeared I might have a second job opportunity available. Likely not in any official capacity, but an opportunity at least to help repay the favor he’d done for me these past few weeks.
“Now, Stella…back to you,” Tammy said, pointing her finger at her in a motherly way. “You’ve got this, believe me. I know you can do it.”
“Ugh. Tammy, I’m not sure I can do it, though,” Stella’s frustrated voice carried as I took a seat at the end. “I don’t have your confidence.”
“Stella, the first time you try something, it likely won’t be your best, but it's a step in the right direction to whatever goal you have. That’s all you need to know and all you need to focus on.”
This woman never failed to amaze me. One minute she was teasing, and the next she was handing out insightful, solid advice like it was second nature—and somehow making it look easy.
It hit me then, watching her like that. Moving here, staying, continuing to build something with her—it was the right call. And for the first time, I wasn’t thinking about the logistics of things or the risks…just how damn lucky I’d be if I got more years of this.