Jacked (Trent Brothers #1)(105)
Sidel raised his brows, sliding his eyes my way. “I bet you do. You gonna film that for the show, too, or just add another one to your private collection?” Sidel leaned to speak directly at me, as though he was sharing a secret. “He’s got quite the fan girl following, you know.”
I didn’t understand his maliciousness. “Why would you say that?”
Adam grabbed my hand and shot Sidel a warning glare. “Come on, babe.”
“Have fun, Trent,” Sidel jeered.
As soon as we hit the parking lot, Adam walked so darn fast, it felt like we practically ran to his truck. He opened the door locks and held the passenger door for me, urging me to climb in. I waited for him to get us on the road and for him to calm down a little before even attempting to say anything. Luckily I didn’t have to.
Adam kept shaking his head. “I don’t believe it. I would have called somebody a liar if I didn’t just see that shit for myself.”
I rubbed my cold hands together and then slipped my sunglasses on. “So what did just happen back there?”
He glanced over at me quickly. “Fucked-up shit, that’s what just happened. Sidel? I just… Erin, I have no words. Yeah, he’s a dick most of the time, but a rat? Thought he was a cop to the core.”
“What do you mean, he’s a rat? He was pretty arrogant and I’m not sure because I don’t know him, but he seemed a bit jealous of you, too.”
Adam shrugged. “That’s his issue, not mine. We used to be good friends.” I could clearly see how much the divergence hurt him. “Ever since we started filming this show, things steadily got worse. All the other guys in my unit are rolling with it but Sidel seems hell bent on digging me every chance he gets. Still, I can’t believe it.”
His face was twisted with mix of anger and disbelief. “The guy that came in behind Sidel? I know who he is.”
“SO YOU THINK this Salvador Mancuso is the one running everything?” Erin asked, swirling the spoon in her coffee while she analyzed my dilemmas.
One cream, two sugars. I committed that to memory, trading my blinding rage and visions of dirtball criminals for sweeter things that didn’t make my blood pressure skyrocket. My woman liked her coffee on the sweet side. It totally fit.
Huh. My woman.
Somehow in the last few hours something inside me had claimed a stake on her and, strangely, I was totally at ease with that.
I glanced around the restaurant, assuring myself no one was listening, and gave her a single nod. I shouldn’t have been discussing this with her but when I’m around her I have no restraint. She was one hell of a great listener, helping me think this entire operation out rationally when all I wanted at the moment was vengeance. “Now you see my concern.”
She concentrated on her cup of coffee, her eyes narrowed and contemplating. “But what’s the motivating factor for Sidel to be seen in public with Mancuso’s brother? Sidel has to be getting something major out of it to be putting everything at risk like that.”
I shrugged. “People do all sorts of stupid shit for money.”
“Yeah, but he’d be in big trouble if he got caught. Would the money be worth it?”
“No amount of money is worth risking your career and going to jail, because that’s where he’ll be going if I find out he’s taking part in this operation. I’ll put him behind bars myself. Cops serving time don’t do well in gen pop and it would be my pleasure to see him suffer if he’s involved—”
Erin held up her hand, halting my tirade. “Why would a police officer meet up with his criminal friend in a public place where he might be seen by other cops? Would Sidel risk exposure like that? No, I’m not buying it. It’s too risky and frankly, enormously stupid.” I watched her finger slowly circle the rim of her mug, wishing that coffee cup were me. I could almost feel it echoing on my skin, lulling me into a trance.
“He may come off as a jerk,” she said, pulling back my attention, “but my gut tells me he’s a lot more calculating than that. Besides, if they needed to talk, there are a million other places to meet where no one would see them together.”
She had a point. A very good point. One that months of my growing animosity toward Sidel was refusing to let me see. “Yeah,” I scratched my brow, “but none of our team has seen Vincent Mancuso’s face. Well, not exactly all of them.” I started compiling a short mental list, which included my captain and my partner, Marcus.
“Well,” Erin continued, “until you have definitive proof, everything is just speculation. You’ll figure it all out.”
Her brush of confidence dropped my blood pressure a few notches. The waitress brought our salads and hot rolls, making my stomach growl in appreciation. I unrolled my napkin and snagged a fork. “You’d make a very good detective, Doc. You’re very levelheaded.”
Erin smiled shyly and nodded at me, covering her mouth with her hand. God she was gorgeous when she was being humble—another trait that I admired tremendously—even when she was trying to downplay my compliment with a well-crafted distraction about being a medical detective.
That sense of peaceful contentment I hadn’t felt in such a long time washed over me, almost making me feel lightheaded in its wake. I wanted to concentrate on the rage skimming around the edge of my thoughts—form a plan to lock Sidel and his criminal cronies away for a very long time—but the blistering anger simply vanished every time I looked at her. One thing was for certain. She was the source of the light snuffing out the darkness within me.