Chapter 18
Regan collapsed into her chair at work the next day. Hopefully no one would need to call for help. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with the public.
The two most important men in her life had lied and then deceived her. She shook her head. Brian had taken advantage of her longing for family.
A few of her co-workers stopped by her cubicle to lay a hand on her shoulder or offer words of comfort because of the judgment against Colin. She smiled at their concern, even though most of it was fake.
Even Sheila stopped by to make sure she was okay, or maybe it was to see what kind of dirt she could collect to spread all over the department. Regan didn’t care.
She sighed and her phone rang. “Nine-one-one, what is your emergency.”
“Regan Rourke, is that you?”
She frowned at the screen. “Who is this?” The hair on her arms prickled.
“I think you know who this is. I have an emergency. I’m not dead, and you and that man of yours will never catch me.”
“Rodrigo, it’s only a matter of time before Port City’s finest catch up with you. You can’t stay clean for that long. Everyone knows it. Who were those people in court grieving for you?”
“You ask too many questions. I wanted you to know that I’ll be watching you all the time. If you tell more people what you think you know, it will be the last mistake you’ll ever make.”
“I’m not afraid of you, Rodrigo Ramirez,” she said loudly enough to be heard by others in the office.
She saw one or two heads pop up over their cubicles. “That’s right, Ramirez, it’s you who won’t be safe.”
She disconnected the line. Her heart was racing and she felt the sweat beads on her forehead. She swiped at them and looked up. A few people were watching her, clearly puzzled.
Confidence swelled inside her. Just like when she was a teenager, she knew trusting herself was the only thing she could count on. No one had to protect her, and as far as the threats from Ramirez, she could handle him and anything he tossed at her, even if her knees were knocking together and her muscles felt weak.
She stood, preparing to go to the bathroom, when Sergeant Watts from Internal Affairs stepped behind her. “If you have a minute, I’d like to talk to you.”
What now? Heart pounding, Regan followed him out of dispatch, down the hall, up in the elevator, and to his office. He didn’t say anything until his office door was closed behind her.
“I just got an interesting phone call from someone in dispatch, and thanks to digital technology, I’ve listened to the call-in question.”
She hadn’t remembered at the time that her calls were recorded. Ramirez had incriminated himself. She felt the tension ease from her muscles.
“How long have you known Ramirez was still alive?”
“Since yesterday.”
“Did you tell anyone?”
She nodded. “Colin Rourke and his lawyer. That’s it.”
“You know how this will affect Colin’s judgment, right? If Ramirez is alive, then there are procedures that have to happen to reverse the judgment against him.”
“Shouldn’t you be discussing this with Colin?”
“You are our witness now. You’ll be wrapped up in his appeal. And, there will be an appeal. Sorry if that’s a problem for you, seeing that you two are divorced.”
She waved him off. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear.” He stood, patted her back, and opened the door.
Obviously, the meeting was over. She smiled to herself. Colin was going to get free from this nightmare. With purpose in her step, she trekked down the length of the hall. The thought that they might be able to be together flashed through her mind, but she pushed the thought aside for the time being. Clearing his name was paramount.
She stepped into the elevator, ready to head back to work. She’d had enough time to collect her wits. The elevator stopped on the third floor and the doors slid open to Jack standing there in full turn-out gear, his sniper rifle slung over his shoulder.
He smiled at her. “Regan.”
“Hi, Jack.”
“I heard that you’re helping Colin on his appeal.”
She looked down at her watch. “Man, that was fast. Yeah. I guess I am. Listen, Jack, I’m sorry about what happened the night of the party. I never meant to lead you on.” Whether she had led him on or not, she was willing to say she had. “I want you and Colin to be friends. Getting in the way of your friendship was never my intent.”
He smiled at her again. “I understand. Colin’s a good guy and I see how things are between you two, even if no one else does. I’ll try to talk to Colin after this operation.”
“He doesn’t know about the phone call from Ramirez. Don’t say anything. I'm going to take care of it on my own.” It was her problem to fix, after all. She was the reason Colin had to have an appeal. But she’d make it right.
She clapped Jack on his free arm. “Good luck.”
She got out on the second floor, and he stayed behind. She didn’t look back.
The rest of her shift was uneventful, but the same sympathetic people who stopped by at the beginning of the shift, returned to ask about her phone call from Ramirez.
She had an officer accompany her to her car. She’d learned something over the course of the trial.
The evening proved uneventful, and she was about to go to bed when there was a knock on the door. A wave of fear washed over her. She felt the prickles behind her knees and on her spine.
Pretending she wasn’t home was a good option. She slunk over to the window to spy on whoever it was. The clock on her nightstand read ten-thirty-two. Too late for a social call. Colin would have checked with her before coming over. She heard the squeal of tires as the car drove away. The taillights were barely visible through the trees and there was no way to read the plate.
She ran down the stairs. Checking the peephole before throwing open the door, she stood there staring down the dark road, until she kicked something sitting on the porch.
“What the heck?” she grumbled, bending down to check out the package. Who’d ever heard of UPS delivering that late at night?
Her first thought was of Ramirez. His threats had scared her, if she was being honest. He would be crazy enough to drop off a bomb or a severed hand. She wanted to call Colin right away, but she couldn’t involve him in this. Proving Rodrigo Ramirez was alive was her gig. She vowed to be the one to win this battle.
Being afraid was not something she was willing to be anymore. She went back into the house and called nine-one-one, reported the suspicious box, then throwing open the front door, she briefly looked around, then down at the box. She picked it up and listened. It wasn’t ticking, but it was hard to tell because her heart was pounding loud enough to wake the neighbors.
She shook it again. It didn’t make any noise. Pulling on the packing tape, she ripped the package open against what the dispatcher had told her and what she knew was the smart choice. She also needed to prove that she didn’t have to be afraid anymore. In the bottom of the box, an envelope sat nestled in packing popcorn. Not again.
The envelope was white with a picture of a bridge sketched on the front of the envelope. She sliced through the fold and pulled the notecard out.
Anytime, anywhere. I can get to you. Don’t betray me. RR.
Ripping the note in half, she yelled into the dark. “You will pay for everything you’ve done, Rodrigo Ramirez.” She stopped short of shaking her hand in the air, then gathered the remnants of the package and brought them into the house.
She called the PD back and told them to cancel the call. She was fine. It was just an envelope. They wanted to still check things out, but agreed to back off.
Was this just a game to him? She’d had enough of it. Picking up the phone, she dialed Brian. Talking to him wasn’t top on her list, but she wanted him to know the type of people he was representing.
Before Brian had a chance to say hi, she launched into him. “I had a visit from your clients’ dead family member. He dropped a package for me, a package with a threat in it. If you love me like you say you do, maybe you’d better talk to his family. Warn them to leave me alone. I’m not playing nicey-nice anymore.”
It was at that moment, saying those words to Brian, that she realized she’d always let others run her life for her. First her parents, then after their death, her brother, in her foster homes, at work, and in her marriage. It was a never-ending cycle of people shoving her not-so-gently in the direction they wanted her to go. Family had its drawbacks, she thought wryly.
She straightened to her full height. Yes, no more nicey-nice, Regan Rourke.
~ ~ ~
Waiting outside the chief’s office the following morning, Regan pursed her lips together, then slid her hands down the front of the black skirt she’d pulled out of the back of her closet.
“Regan,” the chief’s secretary called, “you can go in.”
Regan gave her a smile and entered the office, her strides long and purposeful. Stopping in front of the chief’s desk, she felt the inner-nice Regan blanch. “Thank you for seeing me, Chief,” the ‘no more nicey-nice’ Regan said. “I have some news that affects the department, city, and especially Colin Rourke.”
The chief folded his hands on his desk. “I understand that what happened was not easy to hear. Finding out that he was responsible for this crime, at least in the civil trial, must not have been easy for you.” He leaned back in the high-backed chair. His office overlooked the city and the harbor. His barrel chest was covered with his uniform shirt. Some chiefs chose to wear suits and ties, but not Chief Gordon. He wanted to be the same as his officers, but his uniform had epaulets filled with gold denoting his rank at the top of the pecking order.
“Sir, that’s what I am here to discuss. I received a phone call and a visit with a threatening note from Rodrigo Ramirez, the man Officer Rourke was thought to have tossed over the side of the bridge. That man is still alive.”
He leaned forward an inch. “Alive?”
“Yes. Very much. There’s a recording on a dispatch tape from his call to me. Sergeant Watts heard the call and questioned me about it. I’m surprised he didn’t come to you with this information.” She was on a roll now. “A task force needs to be created or assigned to find this scumbag and put him in prison where he belongs. Officer Rourke needs to be cleared of all wrong doing. I will help any way I can. If it means being bait, sign me up.”
“I’ve watched you for the last three years.” Chief Gordon leaned back in his chair. “I’ve never seen you be this assertive, and in your evaluations, that was always in the ‘needs work’ category. I’m impressed, but I’m sorry to disappoint you. I’m not going to create a task force, and I’m not going to ask my officers to stop going on current calls for help in the city to chase after this ghost.”
She took the compliment, then frowned. “I am a citizen of Port City, and I am in danger. What are you going to do about it?”
“How about if I have the lieutenants tell everyone during their daily meeting to be on the lookout for Mr. Ramirez?”
“That’s acceptable,” she told him, even though she knew it was minimal effort on the chief’s part and more could be done. “Thank you for your time.”
Sweat dampened her brow as she exited the office suite. She sucked in a deep breath of lofty air. It wasn’t the people on the fifth floor who were going to catch Ramirez. It was the officers on the street. And one ex-wife with a grudge.
Since she didn’t have a way to contact Ramirez, she’d have to wait. Word was bound to get out that the Port City Police Department was searching for him. The whole time she was working on the case and speaking with people, Colin remained foremost in her mind.
Hearing from Ramirez didn’t take as long as she thought it would. “Hello, Regan,” Ramirez purred at her.
“Took you long enough,” she said, no pretense of giving a shit.
“You’ve been busy.”
She waited, not saying anything into her headset. Knowing this was being recorded gave her more confidence.
“I warned you that I would be watching you.”
“Cut the crap,” she said. A head popped up over the cubicle. “Let’s meet and get this over with. I’m sick of your games. You want me? Let’s meet.”
“Oh, sweet Regan, I’m sure you’d love me to tell you where to meet and you’d show up with fifty police officers.”
“Maybe.”
“One of my associates will pick you up, when you least expect it, and then we’ll end this.”
She shifted in her seat. “When will you jump me?”
“Soon.”
Her head started to throb and she disconnected the line. He’d already hung up.
“You’re a hard ass,” the guy working next to her said.
Yeah, she was.
Ramirez was right when he said soon. She’d just left work, after saying goodbye to Kim at the front desk, when a stereotypical black van drove past her going in the opposite direction. Then, with squealing tires and a change of direction, it pulled up next to her. A door opened on the side and a man grabbed her arm and yanked her inside.
She couldn’t stop the scream that escaped her throat, even though she’d asked for this. The van took off, throwing her back against her captor. She tried to see who it was, but it was dark in the back of the van. All of the windows had been painted black and there were no seats. A curtain hung between the back and the driver.
“Thanks for the ride,” Regan said, brushing off her clothes. Her arm hurt where the man had grabbed her and she rubbed it absentmindedly.
“Quiet,” he said harshly.
Regan felt the first thread of fear weave its way through her body. She was the bait all right, but no one except her knew she was playing that role.
It only took five minutes for them to arrive at their destination on the waterfront. The men dragged her out of the van and pushed her into a shack that had been used by the Irish immigrants working on the docks a hundred years ago. Regan thought they’d been abandoned for a few decades. It smelled fishy in the two-room building.
“Sit and wait. He’s in a meeting,” her kidnapper said and then left the building.
Regan tapped her foot on the dirty, wooden floor. She whistled quietly, then, not being able to tolerate sitting still any longer, she snuck to the door and looked out. The van was there as was the black-haired man who’d snatched her.
“I won’t do it. I won’t sit here and wait to be murdered,” Regan mumbled.
She turned her attention to the back room. Who was Ramirez talking to? Nice Regan would have waited until Ramirez finished his meeting to discover her fate, but that Regan was cowering at home, locked in her closet.
This Regan, on the other hand, was a badass and was not going to wait for trouble to come to her. She listened at the door, but only heard hushed whispers. Taking a deep, stabilizing breath, she pushed the door open to reveal Rodrigo Ramirez and Brian Bainbridge, her brother.
She swept a gaze over the room. Two twin beds, a card table covered with money.
The words she wanted to say were trapped in her throat. She stared at the two men seated in the folding chair.
“What the hell?” Brian said, glaring at Ramirez. “Why would you bring her here?”
“She needed to be taught a lesson. This whole deal could disintegrate if she keeps poking into everything.”
Regan stepped toward Brian. “What are you doing here?”
Brian swiped a handful of money into a duffle bag. “Nothing.”
She leveled a deadly look on him.
“You were the one who said I should warn him,” Brian said, zipping up the bag. “So consider this my warning to him.”
She crossed her arms. “You’ve known all along that he was alive.”
Brian shrugged.
“You knew Colin was going to—”
Ramirez stood up and stepped toward her. “He not only knew, he helped engineer the whole thing. That jury . . . what numbskulls to fall for that video.”
“Don’t say anything else,” Regan cautioned.
“It don’t matter. You won’t be around to tell anyone the truth.”
“Brian did the camera work and video splicing to get the images we wanted. I had to stay out of public view for a bunch of months, but it’s amazing how people in a city don’t care who they’re standing next to.” Ramirez let out a wicked cackle. “This guy,” he said, using his thumb to point at Brian. “He thinks he’s in love with you and that you’ll love him back. Would you, Regan? Would you give up your big, strong police officer with the big gun to hook up with him?”
Regan cut her gaze to her brother, who looked beaten. His head was bent, and he clutched the duffle of money like it was a life preserver.
“Too bad you two will never find out if it could have been happily ever after.”
Ramirez moved too quickly for Regan to avoid his grasp, and he captured her arm and pulled it behind her back. She felt the muscles and tendons stretching to the point of pain, but she clenched her teeth and said nothing.
“Five-O,” someone called into the shack.
Propelled by the announcement, Ramirez pushed her out the front door and toward the van.
Shaking sense into her addled brain, she tried to run. If she got into that van, she probably wouldn’t ever see Colin again. She hadn’t even told him that she was the one who blabbed to Brian. Her heart was thudding and her palms were sweaty. “I’m not going in that van with any of you,” she stated, standing bolt upright.
“Yeah. You are,” Ramirez said, pushing her forward, his death grip on her arm unbreakable.
She screamed, hoping that someone would hear her, anyone.
A police cruiser drove by slowly, the officer talking on his radio, not even looking in her direction.
She yelled louder.
“Shut up, or I’ll shut you up,” Ramirez hissed.
Regan fell silent.
Though she tried to resist, the three men forced her into the van and it sped off. It was getting dark now and Regan refused to give in to the helplessness she was feeling.
“Brian,” she started. “Why are you letting him do this to me? Even if I don’t love you romantically, we are brother and sister. You watched over me for so long.”
Brian looked away, not answering.
“He’s heartbroken,” Ramirez said sympathetically, then he burst out laughing.
She heard sirens around the city, going to calls the chief deemed important, while she was fighting for her life. The irony of the situation didn’t escape her.
The van violently lurched to the left as they changed direction before stopping suddenly. “We’re here.” Ramirez threw open the van door.
Regan felt the blood drain from her face as she looked out over the bay between Port City and Southport. She wasn’t leaving the van without a fight. Flexing her fingers, she prepared herself to kick some felon ass.
The sirens seemed to surround her, mocking her desperation, but all she could register was the edge of the bridge and the cold, hard water below.
“Come on. We’ve got to hurry,” Ramirez said to the black-haired man and Brian.
Trapped between the three of them, Regan thrashed, lashing out at Ramirez with her nails, catching him on the cheek, drawing blood. She balled her fist and went for Brian’s nose. She missed, hitting him in the eye. He let go of her to hold his eye. She grabbed a clump of black hair from the other man and held on. The more he pulled away, the harder she tugged, her nails digging into his scalp.
“I’m not leaving this van,” she told them, her tone serious.
“Get this bitch out of my van,” Ramirez said.
She tried for him again with her free hand, but missed. He grabbed it and twisted her arm. Sirens blared in her head. She must have been creating the noise in hopes they would be coming for her.
Ramirez yanked her twisted arm, and she felt her elbow dislocate. She let go of the hair she’d been gripping and her eyes teared up as he dragged her out of the van. She kicked at him, but he easily stepped out of the way.
The side of the bridge was so close she could see the pilings surrounded by water. Little whitecaps splashed on the rocks. Fear seized her, and she had one thought.
Colin.
She loved and trusted him. He was her family. He was hers for better and worse. Screw everyone. She had only wanted to catch Ramirez to clear him.
“Don’t move!” Colin’s voice cut through the night air.
The four of them turned to see Colin and Jack approaching them, weapons drawn. A line of police cars with flashing blue lights were parked on the bridge and more officers were headed in their direction.
Reagan had never been so happy to see anyone in all her life. She slipped down to the ground as relief washed over her.
Ramirez held her tighter. “Oh, no you don’t,” he said. “I’m not letting you go that easy.”
“Let go of her,” Jack said. “You only have two choices. Let go of her now, or I’ll shoot you and then you can let go of her.”
“He’s a good shot,” Regan told Ramirez, her breathing shallow as pain enveloped her and she fought the urge to throw up.
~ ~ ~
Colin only saw red. Rodrigo Ramirez was alive, and he was threatening to throw Regan off the same bridge he was supposed to have been thrown from. How ironic. Jack stood by Colin’s side, keeping him from doing something outrageously stupid. Filling Ramirez with bullet holes would be so satisfying, but as Jack explained as they followed the van, Ramirez had to be alive to testify, to show that indeed he was alive.
Regan’s right arm hung in an awkward position, and from the pain masking her face, he didn’t want to do anything that would cause Ramirez to hurt her further. “Regan, honey, hang in there.”
“She’ll be doing more than hanging,” Ramirez said, pushing her closer to the edge. “I wanna see if she can fly.”
“You don’t want to do that, man. We have ten officers here and a bunch of witnesses who’ll back up our story should something tragic happen to you.” Jack took a step forward and Colin followed.
Brian was standing there, but for the life of him, Colin couldn’t figure out why.
“Brian,” Colin said, “walk toward Officer Waters with your hands on your head. Move slowly.”
Brian nodded and put his hands over his head, the duffle bag still clutched in his right hand.
“Drop the bag,” Officer Waters told him.
“Do it,” Regan told him in a weak voice.
Brian did as they demanded. Once he was cuffed and no longer a threat, Colin turned his attention back to the other two men and Regan. His heart was thumping hard, pumping adrenaline through his body. He knew he had to keep an eye on the bad guys, but he only wanted to drink in the sight of Regan. It had been too long since he’d seen her or talked to her. Giving her time to cool off, he’d tried to give her space to think about their future. Had she been thinking about him? She had bags under her eyes, telling him she hadn’t been sleeping well, and her perfect skin was too white.
“She’s not looking good,” Colin said to Jack.
Jack nodded once.
Ramirez had her against the railing now, pushing her forward so most of her body was out over the water.
“Colin,” she gasped. “I love you. I never stopped loving you. I’m sorry I told Brian everything during the trial. I didn’t know what he was thinking. I don’t know what I was thinking. I love you.”
“Don’t talk like this is the end,” he responded, his gut tight.
“You have until the count of three to step away from the woman,” Jack said. “One, two, three . . .”
Ramirez tried to get Regan off balance by grasping her leg and lifting. Two shots rang out and Ramirez fell back onto the pavement.
Colin ran to Regan and pulled her away from the edge of the bridge. He placed kisses on her eyes, nose, ears, cheeks, and everywhere in-between. His heart was in his throat, suffocating him. He held on to Regan, not planning to ever let her go.
“This ends here and now,” Colin told her, as she shivered in his arms.
“What?”
“Us, this divorce.”
“Oh, Colin, I don’t care if we have to be in debt for the rest of our lives, and I don’t care if we have to live in a cardboard box under a bridge. Not this bridge, but a different bridge,” she said with a chuckle.
“I’m so glad to hear you say that. I don’t think it will have to happen.”
She nodded under his chin as he led her over to the ambulance.
A few hours after they arrived back at the station, her un-dislocated arm in a sling, and reports having been taken, Colin entered the interview room with a fresh cup of coffee. Regan looked exhausted, black circles were smudged under her eyes, and she looked like she might have been crying.
“You okay?” he asked, placing the coffee in front of her, then rubbing her shoulders with his hands to warm her up.
“It’s been a long day.”
“It has. I meant what I said on the bridge, you know.”
“About us being together?”
He maneuvered to the table so he could look into her eyes, read her expressions as they passed across her face. “For better or worse.”
“That’s nice to hear, but—”
“There’s no ‘but’, Regan.”
“Yes there is Colin. It’s your turn to listen to me. I just spent the last two hours telling your superiors what happened tonight on the bridge. How Ramirez and Brian framed you for the death of Ramirez to get money and ultimately for Brian to get me. He said he loved me.”
“Eww. You and your brother?”
“I know, right? Petrowinski was here and has already talked to the judge about reversing your judgment. Brian and Ramirez have been questioned as well. I guess Brian edited the video and leaked it to the press. Ramirez has been running around town, trying to make it difficult for me and for you. The note found in my house the first time was from Ramirez.”
“What do you mean the first time?” Colin scowled down at her.
“I got a letter from him, then the letter from our neighbors, you knew about that. Yesterday, I got a package from him.”
“And, you didn’t see fit to call me?”
“Nope. I was going to set up Ramirez on my own. If that meant getting blown up in the process, so be it.”
He couldn’t stand to just look at her anymore. He leaned into her and melded his mouth with her, his tongue mating with her. “I’m glad you didn’t get blown up,” he mumbled between kisses.
“Me too,” she said as she pulled away from him a few centimeters. “If I’d been blown to smithereens then I wouldn’t have been able celebrate with you. And we will celebrate. Petrowinski said he’d call you as soon as he had word from the judge. He didn’t think you’d have to go back to court.” She leaned into his mouth, her tongue seeking his, mapping the inside of him. He crushed her to him, tighter and tighter.
“Get a room, you two,” Jack said, busting in on them.
“Jack.” Colin pulled away and crossed the room to his friend with his hand extended as a peace offering. “Thanks for everything you did on the bridge. I owe you.”
“All is forgiven. You okay, Regan?”
She nodded.
“Good. I heard what Colin said on the bridge. You two are getting back together?”
Colin was at Regan’s side in a second. He carefully put his arm around her shoulder. “We are. The split was never supposed to be permanent,” Colin told him. “Now that the case is going to be overturned, I can tell you everything.”
Regan touched Jack’s arm with the arm she could still move. “I’m sorry I didn’t reciprocate your feelings, but I’m still in love with Colin.”
“I know.”
Colin and Jack shook hands, and Jack left.
“I can’t wait to get you home.”
“You’re not angry with me because I caused you to lose your trial?”
“It’s not your fault. Brian shouldn’t have used what you told him against me.”
“I don’t want to talk about him anymore. I want to get you home and in my bed.”
His phone rang, interrupting his thoughts about what he was going to do with Regan to make her comfortable and very happy.
He answered the phone and listened for a minute while Petrowinski spoke to him.
“I see,” he said, schooling his features so as not to give anything away to Regan. She’d given so much to help him and he couldn’t let her down. As she listened to him, her face slipped moment to moment, until she was frowning.
“Thank you for calling,” Colin said, shutting off his phone and turning toward her. “Well, that’s done.”
“Was that the lawyer? What did he say?”
“Yes. The judgment has been overturned and I’m cleared of all wrong doing. Your brother and Ramirez have been arrested. Ramirez spent two hours in the hospital having a bullet fished out of him. Then off to prison to recover.”
Regan launched herself at his chest and into his arms. “It’s over?”
“Yep.”
“Oh, Colin. Let’s go home. To our home.” She waggled her eyebrows at him suggestively.
Colin smiled and knew they were on the same page. He spun her around so she was facing the door, and wrapping his arm over her shoulders, he said, “Lead on, my soon-to-be bride. Lead on.”