Chapter Thirty-Eight

I watched her go, feeling helpless.

It wasn’t an emotion I was used to, but I was too tired to channel it into one of my more familiar angry outbursts.

I had expected Cass to have a strong reaction. But I had expected her to let me explain, too. As soon as the admission was out of my mouth, her usually kissable lips set into a grim line, and I knew she wasn’t going to give me a chance.

Billy came to the door and shook his head at me.

“I told you she didn’t want to know,” Billy said. “And close your mouth.”

He sounded like he was making a joke, but he was frowning, and his scar was bunched up in a frustrated pucker.

“I didn’t even get to tell her exactly what happened. Not really,” I replied.

“You obviously told her something.”

“Nothing good.”

“Did you tell you really love her?” he asked.

“No.”

“Well that might’ve been a good place to start.” Billy rolled his eyes and punched me in the shoulder. “She can’t have gone far. There’s about six officers under orders to keep her close.”

I stared at him dumbly, cursing my own stupidity. Of course I should’ve started with that.

“Go!” Billy commanded as he gave me an unceremonious shove.

By the time I hit the stone steps outside, I was running.

“Cass!” I called.

It was dark outside the station, and the rain was pelting down.

“Cass!”

“She’s not here,” said a wheezing voice.

I glared at the out of breath, uniformed cop who came jogging up the sidewalk.

“Where is she?”

“A car came up and she got in. They took off,” he explained apologetically.

Panic made my heart race..

“What do you mean? Tell me exactly what happened…” I squinted at his name tag. “Please, Lieutenant Bosley.”

“She wasn’t forced into the vehicle, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he replied defensively.

“It was your job to keep her here!” I almost-yelled.

The other cop shrugged. “I called it in, but they told me told me to let her go.”

“Who told you?”

He put up his hands. “Dispatch. I just do what I’m ordered to do, man.”

I ran my fingers over my short hair. “What kind of car?”

“Big red boat. Nice one, too.”

The Parisienne. Blair.

“You got keys to a squad car?”

He nodded. “Number eight-oh-five.”

“Give them to me.”

“No.”

“Don’t make me pull my gun, Bosley.”

For a second I thought he was going to laugh, but when I didn’t crack a smile, he relented, and handed me the keys nervously. I smacked him on the back, thanked him, and took off for the parking lot.

I drove quickly with the lights and sirens off. I caught up with them less than ten blocks from the station. When we hit an intersection and the light turned red, I pulled up behind my car and honked unceremoniously.

The driver’s side door swung open and I winced as Blair stormed out. She marched to the police car and banged her fist against my window. I opened it.

“What do you want, asshole?” she demanded.

“Cass—”

“No. You can’t have her,” Blair stated.

She turned and stomped back to the Parisienne. She peeled away without waiting for the light to change to green, and with a sigh, I turned the flashing lights on.

Blair sped up, and I did too.

I ground my teeth together as Cass’s friend wove through the streets. I had to force myself to leave the sirens off. It was late, and we were in a residential area, and I didn’t really want to draw any more attention from my superiors than I already had.

“Dammit,” I muttered as Blair jerked the Parisienne the wrong way up a one way street.

I pulled around the block quickly and drove up the right way. I tensed as the lights of the Parisienne bore down on me. For one very long second, I was sure she was just going to ram straight into the cruiser. I closed my eyes as the tires screeched, and prepared for impact.

“What. The. Hell.”

Blair’s angry face was glaring at me though my still-open window.

“I need to talk to Cass,” I replied calmly.

“And I guess you’d kill us to do it?” Blair yelled.

“It’s okay.” Cass’s soft voice came from behind her friend, and I strained to see her through the dark and the rain.

She took a step forward, and my breath caught a little in my throat. Her hair was wet, and her eyes were sadder than I’d seen them since we met.

“Cass.” My voice came out sounding strangled.

You made her face look like that, I reminded myself. You made her feel that way.

Blair looked from me to Cass, then rolled her eyes.

“Christ,” she muttered.

“The uniforms weren’t supposed to let you go,” I said to Cass.

“I don’t think they were too eager to chase me down,” she told me.

“I can’t think why they wouldn’t want to get in the middle of this,” Blair added.

I ignored her. “Can we go somewhere?”

“In the cop car?” Blair asked, and when I turned to glare at her, she shrugged. “I was just gonna offer to let you guys have the boat. I could drive that thing back to the station.”

“No!” Cass and I said at the same time.

“I’ll park it,” I said.

“All right.”

I quickly backed out of the one way road, found a spot and made my way back to Cass and Blair. They were arguing, and I slowed as I approached them.

“You’re making the biggest mistake of your life,” Blair said.

“Didn’t you tell me nothing could top my marrying Dean?” Cass replied.

Blair looked like she was going to say something else, but then she caught sight of me, and gave her friend a shove.

I looked down at Cass. She was smiling a little sadly, and she was getting more soaked by the minute.

“Can we walk?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“I live nearby. If you don’t want to hear what I have to say, I can call you a cab from there,” I offered.

“Don’t go in with him,” Blair cautioned, and I rolled my eyes.

Cass gave her friend a quick hug, and we left both her and the Parisienne behind. We walked in the rain, not too far apart, but not quite touching. I had to work to keep my hand from reaching for hers.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you I was working undercover,” I said after a few moments.

“You were just doing your job.”

“Not very well,” I replied.

“You caught the Doc and killed Monato. I’d say you did more than very well.”

I smiled. “Monato’s not dead.”

“He’s not?” She sounded surprised.

“No. Though I wouldn’t mind too much if he was,” I admitted. “And I’m sure not unhappy Billy clocked him. But he’s not dead, he’s just in custody, and he will be convicted for Colin’s murder…Among other things.”

“Good.”

I released a breath. “And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about what the tattoo meant.”

She didn’t answer, and I my heart dropped.

“I think Colin was on to the Doc,” I said. “Or at least suspected Monato wasn’t working alone. He had a bunch of police files hidden in his bedroom at the house. I found them after I…”

“After you kicked me out,” Cass filled in.

“I’m so sorry.”

“One of the files was my sister’s?” Cass asked.

I nodded and went on. “I swear that was the first time I realized she was connected.”

Cass’s face filled with pain. “Tell me how it happened.”

“Monato and the Doc have been manipulating these girls. They offer them a lot of money, and tell them they’re not going to have to do anything big. They like them young, and innocent, and desperate. They find them working at the clubs, or waitressing at cheap restaurants. It’s like they’ve got a sixth sense for vulnerability,” I explained.

“Like Jeannette. She would’ve wanted the money for us,” Cass agreed sadly.

“And once they’ve been on a few dates, they offer the girls something simple. An upper to help them stay up late. Then something more to help them sleep. It becomes a cycle, and pretty soon the girls are hooked on drugs. And suddenly the dates are more than dates and they need something to dull their memories of the experience.”

“You know a lot about it,” Cass said.

“The Doc confessed everything,” I told her.

“And Colin?” she wanted to know.

“He was just meant to be infiltrating Monato’s business. I know he started to. But I think he suspected Monato was using drugs to hook the girls, then using their addiction to keep them under his thumb. And when he realized some of the girls were ODing...and no one was being held accountable…”

“He had to do something more,” Cass filled in.

I nodded. “Exactly.”

“Can I ask you something, John?”

“Anything.”

“Was any of it real?”