LOGAN
Chapter Twenty-Three
Nick walked me through the four-bedroom house. “I made sure you had a fourth bedroom. A teenager can’t be expected to share with a baby and a toddler.” He lifted a brow. “At some point, Dom’s going to want a little privacy.”
Yeah, he was not being subtle. Not that Nick ever was.
I decided to put him out of his misery. I smirked. “Stop fishing. You are well aware that Bex and I are sharing a bed.”
“Yeah, I didn’t really need to know that.” He winced and shook his head. “I just need to know all of you are happy and safe
“Nick.” He knew he crossed a line. Still, I had to reiterate that what was happening between Bex and myself was our business and we would do things at our own pace.
Not at a speed her older brother thought was appropriate.
“I am going to marry your sister. If everything works in our favor, we’ll adopt all three kids.
This may be a safe house for now. But it will be our home one day. ”
My friend nodded. For as long as I could remember, he was like a big brother to me.
He was the one I went to for advice. Not girl advice, but other stuff.
I knew when I left without much of a goodbye at the end of senior year, it had hurt him and the rest of his family.
Especially Mason. But I had to do what Bex needed from me.
I needed to make Dom’s adoption mean something and follow my dream to be the best ER doctor I could be.
“So, you’re really staying this time?”
“Nick. My scholarship was for Columbia.” He already knew what I was going to say but it needed to be said.
“There was no way I could get the education I needed without help. Or student loans. I chose the scholarship. If USC had offered me a full ride, I would’ve stayed and commuted if I needed to.
But only the East Coast was offering what I needed. ”
In reality, I had applied to all the universities in California along with the Ivy Leagues.
As it turned out, I only received scholarships to Columbia and Princeton.
And, well, as Bex had already dumped me, it seemed I didn’t have much reason to stay in California.
And then by the time I finished med school and my residency, she was engaged to that douchebag and it made more sense to stay where I was.
Once she broke up with Curtis, I knew it was my chance to make my move.
As soon as I could, I applied for a job at a hospital in San Diego and handed in my resignation.
As it turned out, there was a vacancy and I moved within a month.
When they needed more hands at the Satellite medical center in MDF, I was more than happy to volunteer.
It meant less of a commute and that I could settle in my hometown.
I still took the occasional shift in San Diego.
But once I was appointed as head of the ER in Marina De Ferrier, that would come to an end.
Except under extreme ‘all hands-on deck’ circumstances.
Nick’s phone rang and Bex’s photo flashed across the screen. I wondered why she would be calling her brother instead of me.
I was anxious to know how Dom’s interview was going and expected to be her first call once it was finished. It was just about the time I expected her to be done and had been waiting for her call. She knew I was waiting. Which meant if she was calling her brother, something was wrong.
I went on high alert as Nick answered the phone.
“Hello” His body stiffened almost immediately. “What’s the matter?”
That made me tense up even more. “What’s going on?”
Nick held up his hand. “Breathe Bex. Where are you?” There was a long silence as Nick nodded. “You did the right thing. That’s exactly how I would’ve played it.”
Not being in the know was beginning to agitate me further. “What the fuck is going on?”
Nick gave me a glare, indicating I needed to be quiet.
He blocked the ear that didn’t have his phone attached to it, as if trying to tune me out.
“He’s not going to be happy. Yes, I will be with him.
” More fucking nodding and no speaking. “I don’t think he’s that good of an actor, but hopefully he’ll be sufficiently pissed to pull it off.
Yes. See you later. Love you, too. Bye.”
“What is going on?”
Nick pointed to the couch behind me. “Sit down.”
Fortunately, the safe house came fully furnished, even if I intended to buy it, so I had options on where to sit.
Reluctantly, I did as I was told. “What the fuck is going on?”
“First.” Nick took the armchair next to the couch. Far enough so I could not lash out at him, which was very fucking tempting in all the silence. But close enough he could stop me from bolting. Which I had a suspicion was what I needed to do.
“Okay. I’m sitting. You’re sitting. Now talk.”
“Dom’s fine. The bullet grazed his arm. And the second bullet didn’t get anywhere near him, thanks to Bex pushing him to the ground.”
“Bullet?” I breathed in deeply and then took several seconds to exhale. “You have to mean he stepped in front of a bullet in some sort of freak way. Because he was at the fucking police station. Surrounded by people whose job it is to serve and protect. How the fuck did that happen?”
Nick shook his head. “I know this is pointless, but try to calm down.” He leaned his elbows on his thighs. “I will tell you more as soon as I’m certain you are able to hear the rest of the story.”
“There’s more?” Oh fuck. “You said the bullet grazed his arm. That means he’s going to be alright.” I stood. “Is he at the ER? We should go.”
“Sit down.” There was no room for argument in Nick’s tone. Which was too fucking bad.
“I can’t just sit here Nick. Someone shot at my kid. They could come back. He could still be in danger—”
“If he is in danger, then he has the best people protecting him. Bex is one of the best in the business. We both know that?”
“And he has a father who knows how to patch up a bullet wound with minimal scarring. I should be there.”
“For now, Lo, you’re going with me to the morgue.” He leaned back in the chair, knowing he had my full attention. “We want everyone to think you’re there to identify Dom’s body. We need the world to believe Dom died in that shooting.”
“Why?” What kind of cloak and dagger shit were they involving Dom in? “What’s the plan here?”
“News has gone out that Dom was killed in a drive-by shooting at the police station.” Nick didn’t look the least bit concerned.
“I’m guessing you will have eyes on you when you arrive at the hospital.
Dom has been taken to SD Memorial and will be treated there.
I could explain the logistics of it all, but does it really matter?
Bex will bring him back here. And once we’re sure you don’t have a tail, you’ll meet them at the house. ”
My heart dropped. Dom had been through so much already. What else would he need to endure to have a free life? The kind of life Bex and I wanted for him. The one Dorian and Eliza Bayers offered him. “We need to get the other kids from your mother. He’s going to want his brother and sister tonight.”
Nick nodded. “That is part of the plan. We will go to the morgue and then pick up Landon and Victoria. I will get my dad to drive around the perimeter of the farm before we leave to make sure no one is watching us.”
“What is the plan then? To live in hiding forever?”
“And you call me dramatic.” Nick frowned as if disappointed in me.
But I didn’t care. “The trial will go forward as usual. The suspects had no idea Dom had already identified them. Now that they know, they’ll want to confirm he’s dead.
Hopefully the state will make an arrest before any of that can happen.
Dom’s death is just a smokescreen to keep him protected until the arrest is made.
He still hasn’t done the cognitive interview, but now is not the right time.
It will have to wait a while for him to be ready to be put through something like that. ”
I thought I understood the plan, but I needed clarification on a few things. “And once those assholes are arrested? Dom never saw the driver, so he could still be in danger. What then?”
“I've considered that.” Nick looked to be thinking something though. “The driver can’t be identified. And if he plays his cards right, he’ll never be convicted of anything, really.”
“What do you mean?” Surely if he was part of that gang, he would need to be arrested, too. Surely.
“Listen to me.” Nick sat forward once more.
“Lilly’s not here so I will have to talk it out with you.
Because when I phone my sister back, I need to have a finalized plan, and not just the half-baked one she just gave me.
We need to prioritize here. Dom never saw the driver.
Which means the only way he could be arrested was if his friends implicated him, or if he came after Dom, or there was another way someone could identify him.
If he’s smart, he’ll… leave town and let his friends rot and never have anything to do with Dom ever again. ”
“You make that sound like it's the best-case scenario even though an accomplice to the murder of two people gets away free and clear. What the fuck is worse-case scenario?”
Nick took a deep breath and steepled his fingers. “Well, he comes after Dom and basically implicates himself, if his friends haven’t already.”
I thought about what could happen. “Are you saying you’re going to use my kid as bait? Because you have to realize there is no way I’m going to sanction that.”
“Don’t be so dramatic. Dom will stay home from school while everything is heated.
When he returns to school, the school will be given an extra resource officer.
And one of us will be parked outside the school all the time.
” He stood and paced. “Either that asshole would’ve abandoned his friends or he will make his move to help them. ”
“Wait, you said they already had sketches of the men.” That made no sense. “Why didn’t they release them sooner? Dom was in danger because there was the potential he could identify them. If they knew who these men were, they could’ve arrested them long ago.”
Nick let out a long breath. “Apparently there was a jurisdictional dispute and the FBI wanted more evidence for their case. SFPD wanted to make the arrest as soon as the sketch had a positive hit. Up until this point, no one had shown Dom any mugshots.”
My brow creased as I tried to process that information. “Nick, that’s not right.” I stood and stopped his pacing. “This reeks of either gross incompetence or—”
“Or corruption. There is a leak within the system. Actually, I no longer think it's in the San Francisco police department. The killer knew enough to be in Marina De Ferrier.”
“That’s easy, it was an open adoption. We wanted to make it easier for him to contact us when he was ready.”
“But someone knew what was happening inside the police station.” Nick was talking but his mind was far away. “They had to know when Bex requested the break. They had to know when Dom was being interviewed, and his movements.”
I sat still as Nick continued to mumble to himself. Then he pulled his phone back out of his pocket. After a few taps it rang once and Jared answered. “Nick, what’s up?”
“I want to know everything there is to know about the Marshals, Agents, and the State’s Attorney involved in Dom’s case. Someone is dirty. I want to know who and why.”
“Am I doing legal or illegal searches? Wait, let me patch Tex in.”
One ring later and Tex answered. “I’m assuming the news of your nephew's death is fake.”
“I want everything on everyone involved in this case. Do what you need to.”
“This could take some time.” Tex spoke slowly, making sure we understood.
I took that as my cue. “They fucking shot my son. We don’t have time”
Jared sighed heavily. “Logan, we got this. As soon as we have something we’ll let Nick know.”