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“Who said you are going to spend a dime?” She doesn’t give me time to speak. “And by the sound of your tone, if you need money, all you have to do is tell me, and I’ll give you whatever you need. You know this, Bri. We’re family.”
I grit my teeth and face forward.
I don’t want her and Jackson’s money. I’m an adult with a job. A twenty-nine-year-old, independent woman who does not want anyone, including her big brother and best friend, coming to her every need.
You’d think they would understand this by now. They don’t, and I doubt they ever will.
At least one to two times a year, I have money mysteriously deposited into my checking account. Always when I’m low on funds. Makes me wonder just how much Jackson orAlana, know about my finances. I doubt it’s Alana.She’d expect me to ask. Jackson, on the other hand, does what Jackson wants without regard to others. Just like another man I know—our father.
“No. I don’t need money from anyone,” I stress my point to her. “I’ve got me just fine, thank you.”
“No need to be snippy.I was just lettingyou know.”
“Well, I know.End of it. Okay?”
“All right.” She pulls out of the parking spot. The exit is straight in front of us, and with no traffic, she doesn’t stop, instead, easing out andmaking a left turn.
“So where are we going?”
“Target, but only because I don’t want to drive an hour away up toward Glendale to the baby store. Target should have everythingyou need anyway.” Her speed increases.“Now spill it.”
Twisting in my seat, I look in the back to make sure Gabriel is fine,but I can’t see him with the seat facing backward. He isn’t fussing, so I take that as a sign he’s okay and turn back around and launch into more detail about everything that happened last night, starting withGabriel’s mother’s story.
I’m not supposed to divulge police information to anyone outside of law enforcement.We have rules. Code of ethics.I follow both, for the most part. I’m not a rulebreaker or a bad cop. At least I don’t consider myself one. I’m certainly not amember ofThe Dirty Blue. That’s a wordLEOs—Law Enforcement Officers—use to describe fellow officers who’ve become bad cops, dirty cops,cops that don’t do things by the books anymore.
They’re cops who take bribes to overlook certain things, and in turn, receive money on the side. But it doesn’t stop there. I’ve heard of officers who have turned a blind eye, pretending they didn’t find guns, money, or drugs in places they’ve searched. I’ve even heard that some have destroyed evidence resulting in a criminal being set free rather than paying for the crime he or she committed.
It’s assholes like them that give good cops a bad reputation. I take my job seriously, and I would never do any of those things. Ever.
Alana is my soundboard. She listens. Sure, she offers an opinion even when that isn’t what I’m looking for, but most of the time, hearing myself out loud helps me see it differently and helps me make better decisions.
The biggest hurdle I had to learn to get over as a rookie was not to act on my first thought. To stop, take everything in, and then react or make the call.
There are times, though, when that luxury isn’t afforded to us. There are times that call for in the heat of the moment reaction, and that’s when you prayyou make the right call, not only for yourself but for the person you’re apprehending, helping, or both. Every situation an officer walks into is a potentially hostile one; so making the right decisions are crucial.
After full disclosure, Alana despised Chasity, and she agreed with me that goingoff what I told her, something was off with the girl’s story.
My screw-up is when I tell her the possibility that Gabriel will go into some form of witness protection rather than child services. Knowing that if I told her CPS already refused to take the baby, it would have caused her unnecessary anger I’m harboring for both of us. So, instead, I chose to tell her the partial truth that Mike wanted to wait for the chief’s directions on this delicate situation.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“You know not everything is like what you see on television. They’ll make arrangements and accommodate whatever he needs.”
“What he needs is to be in a familyenvironment.”
“I never said that wasn’t a possibility. I’ll know more once Italk to Tom Monday. This is new.Something I’ve never had to dealwithbefore.”
I decide to change the subject. If I don’t, she’ll never let this go. “So, what are the plans for Care’s birthday?”
My niece, Carrie, will turn seventeen on Thursday. No doubt, thetroublemakers—Carrie and Caleb—have plans that Alana and Jackson know nothing about.
My niece and nephew are not only ten months apart in age, but also in the same grade in school, so they share the same friends. But they’ve been thetroublemakerssince diapers. They stick together on everything. Neither will rat on the other, and they both have each other’s back always.
“Nothing huge,” she sighs as she makes a right turn at the red light. “Not like last year.”
I snort a laugh thinking about the over-the-top luau bash at their house for her sweet sixteen. It was crazy. Way too many teenagers in one place.
“Jackson is leaving the city early to pick her up from school as a surprise. Then we’re planning a family dinner at Seven Hills followed by a few hours down at Fisherman’s Wharf. You know how she loves to just hang out down there any chance she gets.”
