At Peace (The 'Burg #2)(191)

“I’m askin’ you to serve and protect. Tim did it and died doin’ it,” Cal reminded him.

Barry was silent and when he spoke his voice low and pissed.

“I met you, I liked you but don’t f**kin’ use the Tim card on me,” he warned. “You didn’t know him, you don’t get that card.”

“His daughters go to bed under the same roof as me. I know him, Barry,” Cal said quietly. “You’ve seen the waste Hart laid to those girls’ lives but I’m cleanin’ it up and you think I won’t use that card for them, you’re f**kin’ crazy.”

Barry was silent again, it lasted longer this time then he bit out, “We’ll do what we can.”

Cal didn’t respond.

Barry spoke again, “You tellin’ me you’re livin’ with Vi and the girls?”

“Yeah,” Cal answered.

Cal heard movement on the phone and he knew it was Barry seeking privacy when he said, “I checked you out.”

Cal pulled in breath and closed his eyes.

“Your line clean?” Barry asked.

Cal opened his eyes. “I’m on Colt’s phone at the Station.”

“You talk to him, you do it on a clean line,” Barry advised and Cal was surprised.

“He’s family,” Cal replied.

“You talk to him, you do it on a clean line,” Barry repeated.

“Barry –”

“I don’t wanna know,” Barry cut him off.

“You know,” Cal said again quietly and heard Barry sigh.

“Yeah, I know.”

“That shit doesn’t blow back on me,” Cal warned.

“We didn’t have this conversation,” Barry stated.

“Good,” Cal replied.

“Jesus. All the luck, Vi moves away from that f**kface and moves next door to a security specialist with mafia ties. Fuck me,” Barry muttered.

“She doesn’t seem real lucky to me,” Cal remarked.

“Maybe her luck has changed,” Barry returned. “I gotta go. I got a Captain to try to convince to commence operation shakedown on a guy who’s whacked one of his detectives and put two others in the hospital, one’s still a vegetable three years down the line. Lucky for you, Vi and those girls, he misses Tim’s shortstop on our softball team.”

“Tim good?” Cal asked.

“The best,” Barry answered.

“I’ll bet,” Cal murmured.

Barry was silent again. Then he whispered, “Keep her safe.”

“You got it,” Cal promised.

Barry disconnected and Cal put down the phone.

Colt rounded Cal’s chair and sat in his own.

“Pryor in line with your plan?” Colt asked and Cal looked at him.

“Yeah,” Cal answered.

Colt studied Cal then asked, “We good?”

Cal studied Colt then asked back, “I tried to take on Denny Lowe without keepin’ you in the loop, would you be good with me?”

Colt’s face went hard. “Not the same thing and you know it, Cal.”

“Explain to me how.”

“You were there when we had our conversation.”

Cal leaned into his friend. “Fuck, Colt, just you roundin’ my f**kin’ house to have that conversation meant you knew.”

Colt held Cal’s stare and then his jaw clenched.

“I stepped out for two and half months, leavin’ her alone,” Cal reminded him.

“You’re in that line of work, Cal. You knew what was goin’ down and where it was gonna go. You stepped out for a reason. You can’t tell me you weren’t workin’ through some shit,” Colt returned.

“I didn’t have the intel, Colt, you kept it from me. I was workin’ through some shit but I woulda worked through it next door to her f**kin’ house and in the know about the escalation of attention,” Cal shot back.

“We had our eye on her and the girls,” Colt informed him.

“That be good enough for you, someone was takin’ pictures of Feb and Jack?” Cal asked.

“Like I said, I made a call. You didn’t like it but nothin’ I can do to change it. We knew what was goin’ on and we kept our shit sharp and she’s good. Pryor knew all about it and her brother did too and they still did what they thought they had to do so that isn’t on me. You’re welcome to stay pissed at me, man, but it’s a waste of energy. It’s done.”

This was all true and it pissed him off.

Cal stood and looked down at Colt. “Now are you assured of my focus?”

Colt visibly bit back a smile. “Yeah.”

“Thrilled, man,” Cal growled and turned to the stairs.

“This is over, I’ll get Feb to make you one of her frittatas,” Colt called after him.

“Can’t wait,” Cal called back but didn’t turn as he took the stairs.

This was true too but he wasn’t giving Colt that. He’d heard about Feb’s frittatas. According to her brother Morrie they were heaven in the form of eggs.

They might be good but Cal would bet a thousand bucks that Vi’s seafood shit was better.

* * * * *

Cal was nearly home when his cell rang. He looked at the display and it said “unknown caller”.