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My enemies. It was funny how he divested himself of the dark cloud of working for our family for years when push came to shove. Montoya’s family had sought revenge, but they’d been handled. There’d been no one pushing for a retrial because they knew better. Besides, my father had made it his mission to keep prominent members of law enforcement under his thumb.
However, I took a deep breath, fighting laughter as I poured two bourbon drinks. “Forgive me if I don’t see the problem. That was years ago.” The witness had disappeared. I’d searched for her at first, but it had become obvious she had no intention of making trouble.
“Bullshit, Constantine. If he reopens that case, everything in your world will be on lockdown. You almost went to prison for the rest of your life. My guess is that the prosecutor will make certain you do this time. Trust me. There will be little I can do to help you this time, especially if that girl remembers every detail. She’s no longer a child.”
I thought about the young girl and my cock twitched. The witness had been one week shy of turning eighteen when she’d seen me kill the pig. The prosecutor had tried to keep her name and her identity out of our hands. Barrett had intervened.
For killing a slime bag who’d stolen from us, but that was only half the reason I’d eliminated him myself.
As I closed my eyes, I envisioned her beautiful face, the same vile thoughts about what I’d wanted to do to her rushing into my mind. Hmm…
I tipped my head, staring into Barrett’s eyes. My arrest had been a fluke, a mistake that had almost cost me everything. Or had it been? That’s the same question I’d asked myself for years after the arrest. I’d fired two employees over the fact she’d been allowed onto a locked-down floor, resisting killing them because the spotlight had remained on our family for months after the mistrial.
The single witness to the crime had managed to get onto a locked floor of a casino my father owned, suddenly bursting into a room, acting as if she was there by accident. Before Tristen had been able to grab her, she’d run, disappearing within minutes. Then the little bitch had taken herself to the police station, identifying me after only catching sight of my face for five seconds. No more. “Isn’t there a statute of limitations?”
“Not with regard to murder,” Gabriel answered.
I’d already known the answer. I also remembered the case far too well. It had been the closest I’d come to prosecution, a situation I had no desire to relive. “The witness disappeared, Barrett. If I wasn’t able to find her, the police certainly couldn’t.”
“Well, somehow they managed,” Barrett commented, giving Gabriel another frown.
“O-kay. What’s the point of retrying it after all this time? Notoriety?”
“Absolutely. Martin Banks wants to prove his worth for one thing. And, from what I’ve been able to determine, the witness has a clear understanding of what happened on that night several years ago. You do remember it was a high-profile case.”
The media circus had been ridiculous, national coverage lasting for weeks.
“Yes, Barrett. I remember. Isn’t the timing interesting.” The arrest and subsequent controversial trial had almost brought our family to our knees, something that couldn’t be allowed to happen again. We’d been forced to back off our illegal activities for six months, which had pushed me into building our legitimate businesses.
“Not interesting, Constantine. Disturbing.”
I would never forget the witness, or the electricity that had soared between us even from across the room. I’d hungered to get closer, to be able to brush my thumb across her ruby-painted lips. But she was far too young, and I was the creature nightmares were made of. “What was her name again?”
“Jade Rollins, although she was known as Jade Wellington then.” Barrett pulled another file from his briefcase, walking closer and handing it to me.
“I remember very well what she looked like then, Barrett. I studied her for hours before the start of the trial.” She’d been so young, forbidden for several reasons. That had made my desire that much greater.
He observed me with a scowl on his face. He’d warned me against intimidating her then and he likely would again. All I’d needed to do was to keep my eyes on her during the tense moments in the courtroom. Chemistry had done the rest.
I took the information from his hand after hesitating. Then I flipped it open, gazing at her lovely young face. Even her smile was beguiling, forcing my cock to twitch. The girl had the largest luminescent eyes I’d ever seen, her expression filled with happiness, so unlike the days spent on the witness stand. Barrett had nearly torn her apart, which had pissed me off even if it had been necessary in order to discredit her. What I had learned after the fact was that she’d lied about her age in order to obtain a position inside my casino. And she’d only been working there for thirty days, during which she could have learned enough about the organization to keep my neck in a noose. A lot of things hadn’t added up then. “Any recent pictures?”
“I’m not Houdini,” he countered, frowning when I handed the file back to him.
It would seem Barrett was almost gloating at providing me with the news. “But I’m certain you are handling the situation. Have you located her?” I asked as I headed toward Gabriel, handing him a glass. While the news was unexpected, it would be handled one way or the other. The fucking junior prosecutor had somehow managed to get himself elected to a position he didn’t deserve. I should have had him eliminated prior to the election but hadn’t believed he had a snowball’s chance in hell of winning. I added two ice cubes each, seething from the news.
“I’m a damn attorney, Constantine. Not one of your soldiers. If you think the Feds are doing any talking, let alone that pompous prosecutor, you’re wrong. The girl disappeared right after the mistrial, never to be heard from again. This sudden interest was planned, and my guess is that she’s very protected. If I were you, I’d be worried. Very worried. A retrial isn’t in your best interest.”
“So what are you suggesting?” I was amused at his sudden fear that I’d be arrested a second time.
“Deal with the issue. Find her. But don’t tell me what the fuck happens.”
I was also surprised he was rattled, not his usual behavior.
“I’ll take that under advisement, Barrett.” I turned and looked at him, never blinking. We’d sparred on too many things as of late.
Vengeance.
I was prone to allowing my anger to take over any time my business or my personal space was betrayed. However, I wasn’t in the habit of eliminating beautiful, beguiling women who’d been trying to do the right thing. Although I had found it interesting that a good girl who was highly intelligent would work for such a bad man. My balls were now tight, aching. Sweet Jade had done that to me all those years ago. I could only imagine what she looked like now.
