"Why didn't you ask for help?" I inquired. I kept my aim steady, not for a kill shot, but definitely to do bodily harm if he dared to hurt Maddox.
Damien didn't turn around. "I tried. I asked my brother for a loan but I guess he got sick of bailing me out."
"Did you explain what the situation was?"
"I couldn't. How was I supposed to tell him that I'd gotten into a major mess?"
"You should have just said it. Having Solomon mad at you had to have been better than leaving him so exposed and vulnerable he got shot."
Damien's hand wavered. "I didn't know that would happen! I swear I didn’t!"
"I believe you, but when it did happen..."
"When it happened, it was already done! I thought I'd be able to get the money together. I begged for more time, but I only have a few more hours before they promised to kill John or Anastasia."
"That's not going to happen." Not least because there was no way anyone was getting near either of them.
"No, it's not, because I'm going to get them the money I owe them. I know John has more than enough to pay them off. Where is it?"
"You already cleaned out the petty cash in his desk," I pointed out.
"Yes, I did, but that's not enough."
"He doesn't keep the kind of money you need lying around the house," I told him, "but we can go to a bank, and I’ll get it transferred to you; then you can move it wherever you need to."
"You think it's that simple?"
I connected eyes with Maddox, hoping that he understood from my look that I needed to know if he was okay. He stood there, his hands still on his head, and not a trace of panic on his face. Me, on the other hand? My sense of panic shone brighter than lip gloss on my face.
"You think I can ever get away from this?" asked Damien. "They will chase me forever. They know where my family is now. Anytime they want to threaten me again, or make me do something for them, they will use that as leverage. Do you think I want that? For all of you to be unsafe and in perpetual danger?"
"We can take them down, if you help us," I said. "You can tell Garrett everything you know and get your job back. They'll all be doing time behind bars and we'll all be safe."
"My job's already gone. I'm suspended, thanks to the gang. It's only a matter of time before they redirect their investigation on me and realize how deep I’m in. As soon as they found out I was a cop, they made me do all kinds of illegal stuff to work off my debt but I could never manage to get out of it. I only fell deeper into it," he said, his voice breaking.
A shot of sympathy surged through me at witnessing his stupidity and the grim inevitability of being used by criminals, but it soon evaporated. Damien was in a vicious circle of his own making and Solomon's life hung in a cruel state of limbo all because of it. Now Anastasia was being threatened too. "We can end the cycle," I said, hoping that I could persuade him. "Garrett is a reasonable man. If you have intel that can bring down Eric Dutka and the Copleys, he'll work tirelessly to ensure that happens. We know all about them and their money-laundering business."
"I'll go to jail. Do you know what happens to cops who go to jail?"
"You might not. We can help you. We can call Garrett now and give him Lucas's research and you can tell him everything else he needs to know in order to bring them down. We can all work together and make sure Solomon and Anastasia stay safe."
Damien was silent for a long minute. "No," he said, shaking his head. "We need to get the money first. You, on your knees." He waved the gun at Maddox.
"Don't forget, I have a gun aimed directly at you," I said. "Maddox isn't going to do anything."
"He's going to get on his knees and you and I are going to walk out of here, get into your car and go to the bank. You're going to get me the money like you said, and I'm going to make the payoff. Then, and only then, I'll help you; but only after we have more time."
"You already said that no matter what you did, your debt continued to increase. Do you think this meager payoff will really stop everything?" I asked. "You're still suspended from the PD. You're still going to be investigated. You need to think about your future. The only way out for you is to take down the whole gang, the Niners here and Dutku's business in Boston."
"And go to prison," Damien added.
"Or into the witness protection program," I suggested. "You could have a whole new life, and be freed from all of this."
"What? And never see my family again? Never know if my brother and sister are truly safe?"
"It’s better than burying them," I said bluntly. "Plus, if that happens, and you haven't done everything you can to stop it, I will personally kill you myself."
Damien stepped back, swinging around so that he could still see Maddox but aiming the gun now at me. I steadied myself, getting prepared for the inevitable moment he shot me. Over his shoulder, I could see into the living room, and the silent police cars arriving on the street, streaking past one after the other. Damien's chances of escape were already lost but I didn't want him to feel cornered or that he had to shoot his way out. Somehow, I didn't think his debt would end with his death. I worried the Copleys or Dutku's men would still come after Solomon and Anastasia to collect all of the payments. Undoubtedly, I would become leverage.
"Look at me, Damien," I said. "I'm telling you the truth. You have an attractive option. You can make a deal for immunity and tell Garrett everything. You can go into witness protection and take this whole gang down like a good police officer. Don't you want that?"
"More than anything, but they're like a hydra. Cut off one head, and two more heads grow back."
"Fine! Then we take down everyone. You know what they do, don't you? You must have plenty of inside information."
"I know a lot. I know how Dutku launders his money and the Copleys' money too. I’m also familiar with their gambling rings, and I know how they ship their drugs from Boston to Montgomery and beyond. Hell, I even know where they bury their bodies! I know how the Niners got involved and that Dutku pulls all the strings, and I know that I'm implicated in a bunch of it."
"Is that what was in Lucas's file?"
"There was a photo I saw and it wouldn't take long for someone else to figure out it was me."
"You'd already tried to influence Garrett's investigation," I said.
Damien nodded. "They had so many ideas at first and none of them were right, then things started coming together. Dutku called me. He told me to make sure it didn't come back on the Niners because if any connections were made to him, we would all be worse than dead," he said, sounding utterly defeated.
"What could possibly be worse than dead?"
"We'd all be implicated. They threatened to plant drugs on Anastasia and leave an anonymous tip, or hide some stuff at the agency if the hit man came back on them. However, Mikey Gibb got picked up and I couldn't make it go away. I thought I could throw you off a little longer, just to get enough time to collect all the money together. But when I left PD earlier, they called me and said there was a man at the hospital, waiting to make his move. I got all the cash I could find. Now you and I are going to go out and get the rest of it."
"You're forgetting something," I said.
"What?" Damien glared at me, his eyes staying on mine for a fraction too long.
Behind him, Maddox grabbed the lamp from the console table and swung it hard, cracking Damien squarely on the back of his head. His gun fired and I reflexively dropped to the floor. A piece of plaster ricocheted from the wall behind me.
Within seconds, the door smashed inwards. Police officers in bulletproof vests surged forward to surround us, shouting at us to drop our weapons. On the floor, I released my grip on my gun and stuck my hands up high. Maddox dropped the remains of the shattered lamp.
"You two okay?" asked Garrett, running in. He wore a flak jacket over his clothes and had his gun drawn and ready.
"I am. Maddox?"
"Never better," said Maddox. He dusted his hands against his jeans and grinned.
"Damien?" I asked.
Garrett bent down next to him, placing two fingers at his neck. "He's out cold. Someone, get an EMT in here. What happened?"
"Damien was just agreeing to help take down the Niners and their Boston connections when he started to panic. He took his eyes off Maddox and that was when Maddox made his move. Damien wasn't aiming for me but his gun went off." It wasn't quite the truth but it might have helped Damien avoid a lengthier prison sentence, or a very short and brutal one. Perhaps now that he was about to be taken into custody, he would realize that my way of fixing things was a lot better than his.
"Get that gun off my sister!" said Garrett to the only officer with a gun trained on me. "Are you the only cop in Montgomery who doesn't know who she is?"
The cop sheathed his gun and gave me an apologetic smile.
"Where did Damien get his weapon?" asked Garrett, kicking the gun that was still resting in Damien's fingers away from him. It skidded to a stop a couple meters from me.
"Not sure but possibly from Solomon's gun safe," I said. I wasn't sure how many weapons in Solomon's concealed safe were legal, but I really didn't want to get into that right now. "Or maybe from somewhere else. I don't know."
"That ambo on its way?" asked Garrett over his shoulder to one of the officers. "Where did you learn to swing a lamp like that, Maddox?"
"Two years of tennis camp," said Maddox.
"I have a doubles game this weekend. Want to pitch in as my partner?" asked Garrett. "We might win with that kind of an aggressive swing."
Maddox grinned again. "I'm in!"
"Now that you two have your tennis date sorted out, can I get a ride to the hospital?" I asked.
"Are you hurt?" both men asked me.
"No, but Damien said there's a man waiting at the hospital, which means Solomon and Anastasia could still be in danger. The moment word gets out that Damien is in police custody..." I trailed off, uncertain of exactly what would happen. Damien was panicked by the constant threats and it crossed my mind that there might be payback. It might not have been true that another man was waiting to exact revenge, but I didn't dare take the risk. "I think he has enough information now to take down the Niners and the Boston gang too. He's in as much danger now as Solomon," I explained.
"Leave it to me," said Garrett. "Maddox, can you take Lexi over to the hospital? I'll meet you there and get both of your statements."
"Let's go," said Maddox.
The whole floor was quiet. As soon as we stepped out of the elevator, I knew things had changed. Fletcher was waiting for us, his face solemn.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Solomon's fine. They took the ventilation tube out and he's breathing on his own. Dr. Forsythe said that was good news."
"No, that's great news!"
"It is. We're still on lockdown right now, hence the silence. Only authorized personnel are allowed in here."
Relief flooded me. "That's good too."
"I'm going to check in with Garrett," said Maddox. He reached for the elevator doors, holding them open. "The ambulance should be here any moment with Damien. You did really good."
"You saved the day," I said, hugging him quickly. "Thank you."
"Anytime," he said, kissing the top of my head before he stepped into the elevator, and raising one hand to say goodbye.
"Why's Damien in an ambulance?" asked Fletcher.
"I'll fill you in soon," I promised, "but the short story is: we've discovered the source of the threat. Damien got knocked out and, hopefully, he'll start filling in all the blanks very soon."
I could tell Fletcher wanted to ask me something else but instead, he directed me to a large room. Before we stepped in, I stopped him by placing my hand on his arm. "This was all because Damien owed the wrong people money," I said. "He's injured and he will be arrested when he comes around. There might be another imminent threat on Anastasia’s life. Maybe on mine too."
"You'll be safe here," said Fletcher. "Go inside and rest a while." He opened the door and I stepped into the room where Solomon lay. Anastasia sat at his bedside, reading a magazine, and Delgado was sitting in a chair. Sam's dinosaur was still on the bedside table, watching over him, and I smiled when I saw it. "You're back!" exclaimed Anastasia. "This is good news!"
Lily darted in, saving me from answering right away. "I heard you were here," said Lily. "Thank goodness you’re okay. I have been worried about you so much!"
"I'm here now," I said and Lily hugged me. "I'm okay, really. See? Still got my brave face on." I pointed to my face. Instead of letting go, Lily hugged me harder.
"What's that for?" I asked.
"Anyone who has to wear a brave face needs extra hugs. A brave face is the very definition of everything not being okay."
"The threat's not exactly gone, but it will be soon, I hope." I slumped into the unoccupied chair when Lily let go of me. I thought about the man Damien said was waiting for instructions and wondered if I should say something. The way Delgado kept checking his phone and giving me knowing looks suggested I didn't need to. Plus, I didn't want Anastasia to worry about her own safety on top of Solomon's. I reached for her hand and squeezed it, sorry that she would have to hear the whole story very soon; and even sorrier that it might split what was left of her family even further apart.
"You look tired," said Anastasia. "You should get some rest. Have you had a busy day?"
"Kinda," I said, stifling the yawn that persisted. I felt exhausted but wired. There was so much information still to process, and so much more to guess at. It would probably take weeks for me to unravel everything once Damien started to talk, if he started to talk.
"Take the cot," said Delgado. "Close your eyes and rest. You've been running around like the world is on fire for too many days. When did you last eat a proper meal?"
"I don't know." My body felt sluggish and unwilling to move. The cot seemed too far away. Delgado picked me up and carried me, gently adjusting the pillow under my head. Lily lay a blanket over me.
"Go to sleep," she whispered and I did.
When I awoke, it was fully dark and something smelled delicious. I stirred and pushed back the covers. Lily and Delgado had swapped chairs and Anastasia was missing. "Where's Anastasia?" I asked. Then I added, "How long was I asleep?"
"Two hours, and she's outside, getting something to eat and trying to drag information out of everyone."
I grimaced. "Is that what I smell?" I asked, pointing to a large paper bag on the table.
Lily handed it to me. "Maddox came by with dinner for everyone. Tony and I already ate," she said. I swung my legs over the side of the cot and opened the bag, the smell of grease and salt greeting me. Lily continued, "He brought cheeseburgers, fries, and a milkshake. There’s a jelly donut too."
I smiled. Of course there was a milkshake! Maddox remembered. "Perfect."
"Maybe we shouldn't make the room smell like a cheeseburger," said Lily.
I nodded and followed her outside, closing the door behind me. No one else was around and we sat in a pair of plastic chairs. The food was hot, so I ate quickly, feeling famished and tired still. Then I licked my fingers and took a long suck on the milkshake straw.
"I heard a little bit about what happened," said Lily. "Damien is not much like Solomon, huh?"
"I think Damien got in too deep and couldn't think straight anymore."
"That's charitable."
"I might not stay that way for long."
"Where did you go last night?"
"Maddox took me to a safe house to lie low."
Lily peered at me, her wheels turning at a faster pace than mine. "What happened?" she asked softly.
I wiped my hands and dropped the tissue into the paper bag before scrunching it up and setting it at my feet. "We fell asleep on the couch," I began, my voice soft. "When we awoke, we kissed and..." I trailed off.
"And?!" pressed Lily. "Lexi, did something happen between you and Maddox?"
"No. Yes, but we only kissed. We were half asleep and it was familiar and comforting so naturally, the old feelings came back. When we woke up properly and talked, we both agreed it wasn't a good idea. It was just stupid. A stupid moment."
"That's right," agreed Lily. "But it's understandable. Being in that much pain, you just want to reach out for someone to take it away, even for only a moment."
"I shouldn't have. I just wasn't thinking when I was half asleep."
"Also understandable, given the circumstances."
"You know, even though Solomon and I are engaged now and living together, there was still so much I didn't know about him! I've hesitated in moving forward, moving properly forward, until I got those answers. I was afraid I would find out something bad about him, something so terrible, I'd never be able to stay with him. I found out so much more about him in only the past few days."
"Did you get the answers you were seeking?"
"I think so." I nodded. "He wasn't hiding anything really terrible about him. He made choices and tried to avoid doing the wrong things. Instead of finding out he's not the man I hoped he was, I discovered what a really good man he is."
"He's not Maddox."
"No, he and Maddox are both number one in their own category. There's no crossover there. The strange thing is, although kissing Maddox felt wonderful, and that moment really gave me some solace, my whole world in the past few days nearly crashed and burned at the idea of losing Solomon. All I've been able to think about is Solomon and finding who did this to him and bring them down good and hard. I've had to imagine my life without him... Yes, I'd probably survive but would I want to? Solomon symbolizes my future happiness. He's the only man I want in my life. Not that he completes me, because I'm already complete, but to be with him as a partner, always there at his side and having him beside me, I can't think about anyone else."
"Have you told Solomon that?"
"He's in a coma."
"So what?"
"He can't hear me!"
"You don't know that! Talk to Solomon whether he can or can't hear. Talk because you're at his side, and he's at yours."
"When did you get so wise?"
"From the bar. I had to sign up for a counseling class. You would not believe what some people decide to unload on the bartender."
I tried not to laugh but I did and Lily did too. "Go," she said, nodding to Solomon's room. "I'll hold off everyone else."
"Even potential killers?"
"You bet," said Lily. "Although there's a bunch of people they will have to get through first before they reach me so they'll be pretty exhausted if they do get here! Now, go, and don't worry about us. We've got this covered."
Delgado left the room as I returned. I pulled up the chair to Solomon's side and wrapped both my hands around one of his before I began to talk openly, telling him what he meant to me. I spoke for a long time. I told him that when I first met him, I was so grateful for the job he gave me since it totally changed my life. I told him how I'd come to love him and would always be in love with him.
When I ran out of things to say, I watched the monitors blinking for a long time. Now, all I could do was wait as the room slipped further into darkness, the pale quarter moon casting a soft ray of light between the vertical blinds.
I didn't remember falling asleep but I must have because I awoke suddenly in the dark, with my head on the mattress, although I was still half sitting on the chair. The small, digital click blinked that it was quarter to four in the morning in artificial green light. Solomon's hand slipped from mine so I leaned over, adjusting my chair and rolling my shoulders to ease the aches that chronically set in. I reached for his hand, placing it between mine again. It took me a few minutes to realize the tapping against my wrist was neither a pulse nor my imagination.
Gently, I eased my hands apart.
Solomon's index finger moved.
The breath caught in my throat. I waited, unblinking. It moved again.
"John?" I whispered.
A cough, barely audible. Then through the gloom, a hoarse rasp. "Lexi?"