AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Now you’re feeling me, Coop!”
“I’m not trying to deflect here, but, who are some of your ‘keys’ that you’ve had in your life?” Coop asked.
“My wife, Evelynn, for one. I was an angry young black man when I met her. I won’t get into it, but she helped unlock the part of me that wasn’t always assuming that people were out to do me wrong.”
“That’s pretty amazing.”
“She is amazing,” Clarence confirmed.
“Anyone else?” Coop asked.
“Cara’s brother, Jason.”
“Jason? How so?”
“He wasn’t like most of the cops I knew. He definitely is not an alpha male, which is probably what makes him a great detective. He barely has an ego, but he’s also confident and tough. He’s one of the best dudes I know.”
“He definitely seems like it, and I know how much Cara loves him.”
“And he loves her, man.”
“Anyone else? This has been great, man.”
“My daughters, for sure. They softened me some more and taught me how to love unconditionally. That’s something you won’t ever know until you become a father.”
“I hear that a lot, and I believe it.”
“God willing, someday you’ll know for yourself.”
“What about Grace?” Coop asked.
“Grace Brooks?” Clarence replied.
“Yeah, is she a ‘key’ in your life?”
“Absolutely, man. She opened up that part of me that allowed me to have empathy for people who had an unfair hand dealt to them.”
“Unfair? How so?”
“She was a great cop, man. Notice how I didn’t say a great female cop? She was just a great cop. One night she was chasing a drug dealer who tried to flee during an arrest. He was a little guy, a real asshole. His nickname was Tick because he was so small and would get under your skin.”
“Sounds like an appropriate nickname, then,” Coop agreed.
“Oh, you better believe it.”
“What happened?”
“Well, Tick takes off running and Grace is in pursuit. She manages to catch up to him and tackle his little ass. Instincts kicked in and she used some of her MMA skills to put him in an armbar to restrain him. She didn’t know if he had a gun, you never know to be honest. Well, he kept fighting to get free and she applied more pressure on the hold and pulled his goddamn elbow out of the socket. I mean like, pop!” Clarence emphasized.
“Holy shit! That’s awesome!”
“You’d think, right? But, it wasn’t. Not for Grace, man. They said it was an excessive use of force and she was going to have to do all sorts of bullshit just to keep her badge. The worst part is that little bastard got off because of it.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Wish I was...”
“So did she keep her badge?”
