Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
MATTHEW
When I get to the station the next day for my shift, I spot Nico standing and talking to Mary.
I pull out my phone and press dial. The phone beeps a few times, so I wait, my eyes glued to the couple across the room.
Nico nods at whatever Mary says, his hand reaching into his pocket and pulling out the phone.
When he spots the name on the screen, his head snaps up, our gazes connecting across the room.
I hang up as I make my way to them, my jaw feeling tight. Mary gives me a sympathetic smile as she leaves us alone.
“So, you do know how to answer your phone,” I mutter as I come to a stop.
Nico sighs. “I’ve been a little busy over here, Rookie.”
“You could have answered one of my damn calls.”
“You know I can’t do that. There’s protocol for a reason.”
“Screw protocol. Somebody broke into Jessy’s house, trashed her place, and scared her shitless,” I hiss softly. “Now, tell me, Rivera. Would you be fine with being in the dark if the tables were turned and somebody you care about was the one in question?”
“Matthew…” Nico presses his lips into a tight line, anger simmering in his eyes. Although he’s dressed in a crisp uniform, his cheeks are scruffy and there are dark bags under his eyes.
“Would you?” I repeat, jabbing my finger into his chest. “Would you just sit by if it were Maisie we were talking about?”
Nico grinds his teeth, his nostrils flaring. He curses under his breath and looks over my shoulder to check if anybody’s paying attention to us before pulling me into an empty room.
“There isn’t much to say. We didn’t find anything that would lead us to the person who did this.
The place was completely trashed, as you saw, and it took us the whole night just to comb through everything and collect evidence.
Now it’s a waiting game to see if we can find any leads. He didn’t break in, though.”
My eyes narrow at that tidbit. “They dated for a while. Maybe he had a key or, hell, he’s one paranoid son of a bitch, maybe he made a copy when they were together without her knowing.”
“Maybe. But maybes won’t help us make an arrest. You know that, and I know that. I understand that you’re angry, and I get it, I truly do, but if we want to find our guy and put him away, we have to do this by the book, and you have to let us do our job.”
“It’s Damien, we both know that.”
“We think that,” Nico corrects, giving me a pointed look. “That being said, I have enough of a reason to pay him a visit and see what he has to say.”
My hand falls to my side. “You’re going to talk to him.”
It’s not a question.
Nico crosses his arms over his chest and gives me his meanest look. “No.”
“You’re not here, you get that?” Nico glares at me from the driver’s side before his attention shifts to the road ahead of us. “You don’t exist. You don’t speak. You are not here.”
It’s the same mantra he’s been chanting since we left the station a little while ago. He tried to convince me not to come, but there was no way in hell that was happening.
“Yes, yes, I heard you the first ten times you said that.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt it for a second,” he grumbles, his fingers gripping the steering wheel so tightly, his knuckles have turned white. “What I doubt is your ability to stick to what I’ve told you.”
“I’ll stick to it,” I mutter.
As long as Damien answers Nico’s questions, we’re not going to have any problems. Anything else, and I’m not going to be responsible for what happens.
“I mean it, Williams.” Nico’s brows pull together, a deep crease etched on his forehead. “If you don’t follow the rules, you could fuck this whole thing up. One wrong move, and whoever is behind what happened the other night will walk free. You get that, right?”
I grind my teeth. He’s right. I know he’s right, and yet I can’t help myself.
I can’t forget the look of absolute horror as Jessica walked into her bedroom and saw what that asshole did to it.
I can’t forget the way all the color drained from her face.
Can’t forget her tears. Her fear. She’s been trying to put up a strong front, but I can see her jump at every sudden move and sound.
I can see her glancing into the darkness.
I can feel her arms wrapping tightly around me as she drifted off to sleep.
He did that to her, and I won’t let him get away with it.
“Just keep your mouth shut and let me talk to him, okay?”
I take a calming breath, trying to make myself relax. “Fine.”
He’s right. I can’t mess this up. This guy is going behind bars where he won’t be able to get to Jessica or hurt her ever again.
Nico’s expression darkens just as the big farmhouse comes into view. My muscles go taut in anticipation as we drive around it and to the back.
A few ranch hands are mingling around the barn, their gazes lifting at the sound of crunching pebbles as we come to a stop. Nico kills the engine and unbuckles his seat belt.
“Keep your—”
“—mouth shut.” I finish as I do the same. “Yes, I know.”
Nico gives me a side-eye, the skepticism clear on his face, and I can’t even blame him.
Pushing open the doors, we exit the car. The ranch hands have stopped what they were doing, their full attention on us, but none of them are Damien. Not that I’m surprised. He doesn’t seem like the most hardworking guy out there. Shocker, I think not.
Just then, a tall guy comes from the stables, a dark brown Stetson sitting on his head. He stops to talk quickly to one of the guys before making his way to us.
“How can I help you, gentlemen?” he asks, tilting his head to the side, those sharp brown eyes zeroing in on us as he comes to a stop.
“Aaron.” Nico nods in greeting. “Can we talk for a bit?”
Although it’s been a while since I’ve seen Aaron Fernandez, I’d recognize him anywhere.
He’s as tall and broad-shouldered as my brother-in-law, but there is a rough edge surrounding him from a life spent on a ranch.
Dark stubble covers his jaw, and fine lines surround his eyes as they narrow slightly.
He shifts his gaze from Nico to me and back. “About?” he drawls slowly.
I watch him carefully as Nico brings up the reason for our visit.
“Damien Morris.”
Aaron’s jaw flexes slightly, something dark flashing in his eyes before his gaze is shielded by the rim of his hat.
“What did he do now?”
So he’s not surprised.
My shoulders tense at the revelation. I scan the area, like if I look hard enough, I’ll see the prick mingling around. But he’s nowhere to be found, and the few men who’re working close by are giving us curious looks, trying to figure out what’s going on.
“We just want to chat with him for a bit.”
Aaron quirks his brow in a silent question.
“There was a break-in at Jessica Richards’s house,” Nico explains quietly. “And since they used to date, we want to ask him a few questions.”
Aaron’s lips press together. For a moment, I think he might tell us no, but then he gives a nod.
“Follow me.” He waves us along as he heads toward the barn. “He actually got back a little while ago. One of the fences broke in the south pasture and it needed fixing, so I think he should still be around here somewhere.”
“You didn’t seem surprised when we asked you about Damien,” I comment off-handedly, fishing for some answers.
Nico shoots me an annoyed glare that clearly tells me this isn’t what we agreed on, but I ignore him as I wait for Aaron’s answer.
“No, I can’t say I am.”
“How so?” Nico asks as we enter the barn.
The smell of hay and manure hit me all at once as we step into the dim building.
“We’ve had… issues with Damien for the last few months,” Aaron says cryptically, his gaze scanning the space before turning to the older guy standing in one of the stalls and tending to the horse. “Hey, have you seen Damien?”
The man looks up, his gaze sharp. “He was out back.”
“Thanks.”
The older man eyes us warily as Aaron starts moving down the center aisle.
“What kind of issues?” Nico asks, getting us back on topic.
“He started to come in late or leave early, depending on the day. He would leave his work unfinished, and often got into fights with other employees. He’s been drinking as well. Shows up hungover or drunk. I told him last week that if he didn’t get it together, we’d have to let him go.”
“And how did he take that?”
Aaron’s dark eyes glance from me to Nico. “He was not happy about it.”
No, I don’t think he would be.
“Damien, the—” Aaron pushes the door open, just in time to see a figure slipping out through the back door.
“Fuck.”
Gritting my teeth, I run after him. Pulling open the door, I sprint for all I’m worth.
The asshole hears me coming. He glances over his shoulder, trying to push harder, but he’s no match for me.
The moment I get close enough, I lunge at him, the two of us tumbling to the ground.
The impact knocks all the air out of my lungs as I pin his body down.
Damien curses under his breath, trying to get away. “Let go of me, asshole.”
His body wiggles underneath mine like a fish out of water. His elbow jabs me in my gut. “Not a chance,” I mutter, grinding my teeth. In the distance, I hear pounding feet moving closer, but my attention is fixed on the man in front of me.
Shifting slightly so I have a better hold on him, I grab his arm and twist it behind his back, pulling out my handcuffs.
“I’m going to sue you for this,” Damien barks, trying to break out of my hold.
“After running from law enforcement?” I let out a humorless chuckle as the sound of metal clicking into place reverberates in the air. “Good luck with that, dude.”
He tries to swing his other arm at me, but my fingers clasp around his wrist, and I tug him back, not even trying to be gentle about it.
“You’re gonna regret this.”
I lean into his ear and grind out, “Not as much as you’re gonna regret what you did to her.”