All Things Pretty, Part Two (Pretty #3.5)(8)
Author: M. Leighton

I want to hear her say it.  Yes, it makes me feel a little panicky, but I still want to hear the words come from those delectable lips.  Just not right now. Not this way.  And she must realize the same thing. She takes a single step back, trailing off into something else entirely. “I…I say we go get my brother.”

She threads her fingers through mine and we turn toward the back door, together.  As we near it, I move in front of her and tuck her safely behind me.  I don’t know what to expect, but I’ll feel better about whatever it if Tommi isn’t in the line of fire.

Inside, the room is mostly empty. There are a few crates stacked against one wall and a couple of old stoves, maybe from the restaurant, lining the other.  In the center of the floor is a chunky wooden table and four chairs poised under a swinging overhead light.  All it lacks is a bloody suspect tied to a chair and it would be the most cliché setup I’ve ever seen.

It’s at that table where Travis sits, playing on his phone. Chaps is on one side, Barber on the other. I wonder for just a second why they let Travis keep his phone and why he didn’t answer it when Tommi called.  Or call somebody for God’s sake.

“I’d just get that idea right out of my head if I were you.  You won’t be getting a signal in here,” Barber explains, uncrossing his ankles and crossing them to the other side, like he’s bored as hell.  “It’s jammed.  Can’t have you calling your buddies for help, now can we?”

I narrow my eyes on him.  “My buddies?”

“Yeah, your cop friends.”

My pulse flutters, but only slightly.  And I make sure nothing shows on my stone face.  “I don’t have cop friends.”

Barber smiles again. It’s humorless, though.  Maybe even smug, like he’s got me right where he wants me.  “I’d expect a criminal not to have many cop friends, but you’re not a criminal, are you, Sig?  You’re a cop.  What’s that say about you–a cop with no cop friends?  Don’t you play well with others?”

My blood runs cold, but I maintain.  “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.  Sounds to me like you’ve been sneaking into boss man’s stash.  What’s the matter, Barber?  You tweaking on the side?  Making you a little paranoid?”

He laughs.  “A smart ass to the end. Not that it will matter.  You’re caught.  Busted.  What I don’t know is why you’re still pretending.  Last ditch effort to save an operation?  Or maybe save face with a girl?”  His sharp eyes dart to Tommi.  “Does she know who you really are?”

In the quiet that follows his question, I hear Tommi’s breathing grow ragged where she stands slightly behind me.   The fingers twisted into my shirt grip tighter, so tight I can feel a slight tremble. I try to put her reaction out of my mind, but it’s hard as hell not to feel guilty when I’ve told her she can trust me.  Not to mention the fact that she just spilled her guts about some shit that she’d probably want anyone in the world to know except a cop.

“You must have me confused with somebody else, Barber.”

“Oh, I think not Sigmond Locke.  Did you really think Lance wouldn’t find out?”

Think!

“If you’re trying to throw some poor bastard under the bus, I’d suggest you pick one of your lackeys. Maybe one who’s too dumb to figure out what you’re doing.”

“Oh, I’ve got the right man.”

I don’t give in. I press the issue while moving a few small steps forward, nothing to alarm him. Just enough to get closer. “Is that why you took Travis? You trying to get rid of me?  Blame something on me?”

“The blame is already placed. You can deny it all you want.  It won’t change a damn thing.  But yeah, we did take the kid to get you here.  Fast.  Without time to plan or think. Or get word to your people.  And it worked like a damn charm, didn’t it?  You came alone.”

The tension is interrupted only by Travis.  He makes a strange noise and starts rocking back and forth, tapping his fist against his temple. We all look toward him and I hear Tommi gasp.  She tears herself away from my back.

“Travis!”

She streaks by me. I reach for her arm to stop her, but she shakes me off and runs to Travis anyway.  Barber doesn’t move.  He doesn’t even watch her, in fact. His eyes are trained on me, not Tommi where she squats beside her brother.

“Such a shame that you had to involve the girl and her brother, Mr. Locke.  Now you’ll all have to die. And I hate hurting kids.  That puts me in a terrible mood.  That’s why I’ll save you for last.  If anybody should suffer for the pissy way I feel, it should be you.”

“Why the hell would you want to hurt Tommi and Travis? They haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Oh, I think Lance would disagree.  Once he found out you were all up in his pussy, he looked into you a little deeper.  I mean, what kind of an idiot shit-for-brains moron would mess with Lance Tonin’s woman?  It seems there’s only one.  And guess what Lance found on you.  Cost him a pretty penny, but he got all he needed.  Spent the weekend getting this place cleaned up for your pig partners, just in case you’d screwed some information out of Tommi and sent it in. Unfortunately, that means my friend here,” he says, nodding toward Chaps, who hasn’t said a word since we got here, “will have to leave town. Too risky to keep business running the same way.  We could never be sure how much you’ve passed on.  It’s a pain in the ass to shift things around after all this time, but it’s worth it to stay in business and give you bungling dickheads something to do with your time.  Earn your pay and all that shit.”

I spare a glance at Tommi who is cradling Travis, petting his hair and whispering into his ear as he rocks.  The eyes that meet mine over the top of his head are shooting invisible sparks of heartbreak and betrayal at me.  They hit me like tiny dots of fire, burning their way through my skin and muscle, straight to bone.

This is not how I envisioned my confession playing out, but I can’t think about that right now. I have to get us out of here.  Alive.

As fast as my mind will work, I race through several scenarios, searching for the one that’s most effective and will buy me the most time.  I sent word to my handler that this is the place Tonin’s shit is kept. I hope to God they send someone to check it out because I have no choice except to own up to who I really am. That means that I have one option that’ll do both.  A bluff.  A big one.