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“Those are the guys,” she whispered. “They’re still here. They’re still…”
She didn’t have to finish that sentence. It was obvious by the young girls coming and going what was happening there. Ricky Montoya had died, but his friends were still alive and well. With the exception of the piece of shit they pulled out of the dumpster behind my shop, anyway. A crime Birdie had since confessed to. Once she was tried for the murders of Trouble and Detective Taylor in California, she would be brought back to Nevada to stand trial there.
Considering the odds against her was a black hole I didn’t want to fall back into. For weeks, I’d been telling myself I could save her while everyone around me humored my cause. They didn’t have the heart to tell me how foolish they thought I was.
A rap at the door interrupted my thoughts, and Kodiak checked the time before jumping to his feet. “Who the fuck is dropping by at two in the morning?”
I didn’t know, but when he opened it, and I saw Gypsy there, I jumped to my feet. “Is Birdie okay?”
Gypsy offered me a watery smile. “She’s fine. I just need a word with you. Alone, please.”
I glanced at Kodiak, and he disappeared without a fight. Pulling out a chair at the table, I offered Gypsy a seat, but she declined, opting to pace the floor instead. She’d seen her sister today, but she said Birdie still refused to talk. It was another blow in a series of shitty blows this week.
“Lucian doesn’t know I’m here,” she began.
“Okay.” I scratched at my beard. “Is there a reason for that?”
She sat down on the bed and folded her hands together. “He’s a good man, Ace. A moral man. He believes that justice can always prevail, but it takes time we don’t have, and there are no guarantees. He wants to fight the good fight, do the right thing…”
She looked up at me with eyes like her sister’s. “What about you, Ace? Do you want to fight the good fight too?”
I didn’t even consider what she was asking. There was no room for consideration. I’d been a criminal. A prisoner. A fucking pariah. And even if I hadn’t done the things I’d gone to prison for, those years had changed me. I wasn’t a good man. I wasn’t even a decent man. But I was a man who knew what he wanted, and a man who would do anything to get her back.
I met Gypsy’s eyes, so there could be no doubt to the truth in mine. “If you told me there was a way to save her, there isn’t a moral boundary I wouldn’t cross to make it happen. She’s mine. She was always meant to be mine. And I can’t live in a world where that isn’t my reality.”
She nodded and then wiped away the moisture gathered at the corners of her eyes as her chest heaved. “I think I know who did this to her. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before, but it makes so much sense now. She’s always hated the smell of black licorice.”
“Who?” I demanded.
She hesitated like she wasn’t quite sure I would believe her. “His name is Eric Brentwood. He was a cop back when half of the force was corrupt. He was also a frequent visitor at Ricky’s house. He used to bring Birdie gifts. Stuffed animals… and they always reeked of his cologne.”
“You think it’s him?” I asked.
Gypsy squeezed her eyes shut and nodded. “Birdie said this is what the man with all the power wants. The man who smells like black licorice.”
“GET UP.” THE GUARD RAPPED a set of handcuffs on my cell door.
“Why?” I asked. It was late, and I didn’t understand where he’d be taking me. I didn’t trust him. I didn’t trust anybody in here.
He entered my cell and forcefully dragged me to my feet while another guard watched with a bored expression. Terror laced my veins as he hoisted my arms back and secured them with the cuffs.
“What are you doing?” I demanded. “You can’t just take me out of my cell in the middle of the night.”
“You have a visitor.” He smirked. “And in case you haven’t learned yet, I can do whatever the fuck I want.”
My body lurched forward as he dragged me along beside him, forcing me out of my cell and down the hall. I already knew I wasn’t going to like whatever was waiting for me, but this was the hell I’d consigned myself to.
They led me down a secured corridor and toward what appeared to be a cleaning closet. My heels dug into the floor, but it was useless. We were past the point of no return, and I couldn’t put up a fight with a large man on either side of me. They also knew I wouldn’t because in my belly was one thing that mattered more than my own fear.
