Better When He's Bold
Page 72
Well, there wasn’t anything I could do about it now, not until I had some idea who it was at least.
“Will you let me know about the car?”
“I’ll keep an eye out. BMWs always sell, but you know Race will lose his mind if you get rid of that car and take up residence in some slum down here.”
“Race can’t fix every problem I have right now. The ones he’s already helping me with are enough.”
Bax grunted at me and turned back around to go into his office but not before telling me very matter-of-factly, “You bring him a problem, he’s going to try and fix it. It’s what he does for the people he cares about, and if you don’t let him help you with it, he’ll take matters into his own hands anyway. Don’t make him go around you so that you have an excuse to be mad at him later. That isn’t fair and you’re both too smart for it.”
“Why do you even care, Bax?”
He glared at me over his shoulder and I saw him dig in his pocket for his smokes. “Race and I have a shit ton of history. Most of it good, a pretty big chunk of it bad. I’m in love with his sister and she makes me appreciate having someone that you’re willing to destroy an entire city for. Race will tear apart anything and anyone he thinks is a threat to you, so you need to handle him carefully. Being with guys like us . . .” He shrugged and put the end of his cigarette in his mouth. “It’s like being in love with a loaded weapon and you’re the safety.”
I wanted to tell him I wasn’t in love with Race and that I didn’t have anything left in me to be the safety for him, but Bax’s dark eyes saw the truth so I didn’t bother to lie. I just turned around and walked away wondering how I could be Race’s safety if I didn’t even know how to handle a gun.
Chapter 14
Race
YOUR OLD MAN IS a piece of work.”
I was impatiently tapping my fingers on the tabletop and staring balefully at Titus while he shoveled a burger and fries into his face. He had his tie thrown over his shoulder and mustard on his chin, but he still managed to look tough and no-nonsense in a totally different way from Bax. He also looked extremely worn out, like he hadn’t seen a bed or a good night’s sleep in days.
“You’re telling me.” I muttered it under my breath.
We were at a run-down diner across the street from his station house and the place was crawling with cops. Some in uniform, some out, all of them giving me the side eye and clearly wondering what I was doing in their midst. It was like inviting the wolf to dine with the flock and they didn’t care for it one bit. I might have been more concerned if Titus seemed to care about it, but he was just eating away while I tried to pull information out of him about my dad. A task that would’ve been easier if he didn’t keep changing the subject to the dead bodies and to whoever it was that had assaulted Roxie.
“You really have no idea who might be behind it?” Titus asked the question around a mouthful of fries, making me roll my eyes at him.
“Do you really think if I had any clue who it was that I wouldn’t have told you, or Bax? He’s mad as hell about Roxie, and Nassir doesn’t like anyone trying to disrupt his business, so there would be a body somewhere.”
He choked a little and reached for his drink. “You can’t say stuff like that to me, Race. I’m a cop.”
I just shrugged. “It’s true.”
“It might be true, but talking like that makes shit premeditated.”
“No one knows anything, Titus.”
He considered me silently for a second and flipped his tie back down. He wiped off his face and hands and pushed the now totally empty plate to the side.
“Your dad thinks he can play both sides. He thinks he can give the feds just enough to guarantee him a place in WITSEC, but not the entire bag of tricks so that his ass is covered from the last of Novak’s guys.”
I snorted. It sounded like my dad. He was always looking for some angle to work to his advantage.
“The feds froze all of his assets.”
“That’s pretty standard in a RICO case. Criminals aren’t allowed to use dirty money to pay for their criminal defense.”
“What are the chances of him wiggling out of everything and getting put in the program?”
Titus swore and his dark brows dipped sharply over his eyes. “With Novak gone, the D.A. is less eager to go balls to the wall on Benny and the rest of his crew. He has his sights on fresh meat.” I didn’t miss the hint in his tone or the way his blue eyes sharpened on me. “Your dad very well may give his testimony to a grand jury, and then disappear.”
“Will you let me know about the car?”
“I’ll keep an eye out. BMWs always sell, but you know Race will lose his mind if you get rid of that car and take up residence in some slum down here.”
“Race can’t fix every problem I have right now. The ones he’s already helping me with are enough.”
Bax grunted at me and turned back around to go into his office but not before telling me very matter-of-factly, “You bring him a problem, he’s going to try and fix it. It’s what he does for the people he cares about, and if you don’t let him help you with it, he’ll take matters into his own hands anyway. Don’t make him go around you so that you have an excuse to be mad at him later. That isn’t fair and you’re both too smart for it.”
“Why do you even care, Bax?”
He glared at me over his shoulder and I saw him dig in his pocket for his smokes. “Race and I have a shit ton of history. Most of it good, a pretty big chunk of it bad. I’m in love with his sister and she makes me appreciate having someone that you’re willing to destroy an entire city for. Race will tear apart anything and anyone he thinks is a threat to you, so you need to handle him carefully. Being with guys like us . . .” He shrugged and put the end of his cigarette in his mouth. “It’s like being in love with a loaded weapon and you’re the safety.”
I wanted to tell him I wasn’t in love with Race and that I didn’t have anything left in me to be the safety for him, but Bax’s dark eyes saw the truth so I didn’t bother to lie. I just turned around and walked away wondering how I could be Race’s safety if I didn’t even know how to handle a gun.
Chapter 14
Race
YOUR OLD MAN IS a piece of work.”
I was impatiently tapping my fingers on the tabletop and staring balefully at Titus while he shoveled a burger and fries into his face. He had his tie thrown over his shoulder and mustard on his chin, but he still managed to look tough and no-nonsense in a totally different way from Bax. He also looked extremely worn out, like he hadn’t seen a bed or a good night’s sleep in days.
“You’re telling me.” I muttered it under my breath.
We were at a run-down diner across the street from his station house and the place was crawling with cops. Some in uniform, some out, all of them giving me the side eye and clearly wondering what I was doing in their midst. It was like inviting the wolf to dine with the flock and they didn’t care for it one bit. I might have been more concerned if Titus seemed to care about it, but he was just eating away while I tried to pull information out of him about my dad. A task that would’ve been easier if he didn’t keep changing the subject to the dead bodies and to whoever it was that had assaulted Roxie.
“You really have no idea who might be behind it?” Titus asked the question around a mouthful of fries, making me roll my eyes at him.
“Do you really think if I had any clue who it was that I wouldn’t have told you, or Bax? He’s mad as hell about Roxie, and Nassir doesn’t like anyone trying to disrupt his business, so there would be a body somewhere.”
He choked a little and reached for his drink. “You can’t say stuff like that to me, Race. I’m a cop.”
I just shrugged. “It’s true.”
“It might be true, but talking like that makes shit premeditated.”
“No one knows anything, Titus.”
He considered me silently for a second and flipped his tie back down. He wiped off his face and hands and pushed the now totally empty plate to the side.
“Your dad thinks he can play both sides. He thinks he can give the feds just enough to guarantee him a place in WITSEC, but not the entire bag of tricks so that his ass is covered from the last of Novak’s guys.”
I snorted. It sounded like my dad. He was always looking for some angle to work to his advantage.
“The feds froze all of his assets.”
“That’s pretty standard in a RICO case. Criminals aren’t allowed to use dirty money to pay for their criminal defense.”
“What are the chances of him wiggling out of everything and getting put in the program?”
Titus swore and his dark brows dipped sharply over his eyes. “With Novak gone, the D.A. is less eager to go balls to the wall on Benny and the rest of his crew. He has his sights on fresh meat.” I didn’t miss the hint in his tone or the way his blue eyes sharpened on me. “Your dad very well may give his testimony to a grand jury, and then disappear.”
