Rock Chick Reckoning (Rock Chick #6)(86)
He pushed up, rol ed over me, got to his feet and then pul ed me to mine.
“Then you get a bowl of cereal,” he decided.
“Eric.”
“No argument.S">“NoGy His voice was firm, so was his grip on my hand which led me straight to the kitchen.
* * * * *
Eric
Eric forced a bowl of cereal on Stel a.
Then he sat on the couch and watched a movie with her which she fel asleep halfway through.
Then he carried her to his bed, pul ed a blanket over her stil -clothed body, left the room, closed the door and walked into the living room.
He made a couple of cal s and got the number he needed.
Then he dialed Lee Nightingale’s cel .
“Yeah?” Nightingale answered.
“It’s Special Agent Turner.”
Lee’s voice went on alert. “Stel a?”
“She’s fine,” Eric responded. “You stil got that boy wonder at your computers?”
Lee didn’t reply.
“You do, you get him to work on Preston Mason and whatever the f**k he’s holding over Stel a. Something happened in that car. She’s not talkin’. There’s gotta be a link.”
“We’re already on it,” Lee responded.
“She doesn’t know about Caitlin Mason,” Eric went on.
“I know,” Lee replied. “You said ‘doesn’t’, you didn’t share?”
“Not my place.”
Silence then realizing from Eric’s words the lay of the land, Lee went on, “Mace wants the papers kept from her.” Eric thought about the papers the last two days, rehashing every last, juicy, devastating detail of Caitlin Mason’s kidnapping and murder and Kai Mason’s involvement as part-martyr, part-hero. Worse, his now very public relationship (making out onstage with a local rock star, for f**k’s sake) was quickly becoming legend. Stel a was cast in the dual role as balm to soothe the wounded soul alongside damsel in distress. A dual role that would only be intensified after her version of “And So It Goes” (Eric didn’t see it, the agent he’d assigned to watch her had reported to him about it, in detail) and her post-gig kidnapping complete with the Nightingale Men publicly (and therefore open to cel phone cameras) engaged in pretty f**king brutal physical skirmishes in an effort at her protection.
“I don’t blame him,” was al Eric said but his point was made. While she was with him, Eric wouldn’t let Stel a see the papers.
“You get more –” Lee started and as much as Eric hated it, he interrupted.
“I’l cal .”
He beeped off his phone, set it on the end table, went to check the house alarm, looked out the window in the door to check for the car on the street, two houses down, two agents sitting inside. Spotting the car, he got his gun, put that on the end table too, grabbed a blanket, yanked off his boots, lay down on the couch and finished watching the movie.
Chapter Sixteen
Squirtable Cheese
Hank
The next morning, Hank and Mace walked into Lee’s office. Lee was sitting on the front edge of his desk, his head bent toward a file in his hand. It came up when they entered. He closed the folder and dropped the file on his desk.
“What did George say?” Lee asked.
George Riverside was a prosecuting attorney. Hank, Eddie and Mace had a meeting with him that morning to discuss the Sidney Carter case. Primarily, the discussion centered around if it was strong enough to arrest him.
“He says we don’t have enough,” Hank replied and Lee’s eyes narrowed.
“You are f**kin’ shittin’ me,” Lee muttered.
Hank shook his head.
George Riverside was a good attorney. He was also ambitious. He knew the Sidney Carter case would make headlines. It could even make careers. George liked headlines and he had big ideas about his career. He wanted people to remember his name, especial y come election day.
He also liked to win cases.
What he didn’t like was headlines about cases he didn’t win. Even though Hank, Eddie and Mace had a tight case, George was being cautious with Carter. He wanted the case locked down, a sure thing, which was impossible.
That kind of sure thing didn’t exist. It was not only impossible, it was f**king frustrating.
“Eddie get anything out of the shooter?” Lee asked as Hank stopped at the side of the desk.
Lee was referring to the man who shot at Stel a and Mace Saturday night.
Mace moved to a chair in front of the desk, sat down, putting his ankle on his opposite knee.
“Nope, shooter’s closed tight,” Mace replied.
Hank watched as Lee shook his head in surprise and he knew why.
Eddie was known to be particularly good in the interrogation room.
Hank had watched, though, and Eddie got nothing.
Hank also knew why that was.
The shooter was on a semi-suicide mission. He didn’t expect to get away with shooting Stel a in a crowded club.
He expected to get the job done but get caught and then get rewarded. Likely, Carter made a deal and was doing good deeds for the shooter’s family. It was Carter’s MO. He bought al egiance, one way or another, and paid wel for it.
So wel , the chain was buried under money so deep, no one along the line was wil ing to break it.
On this thought, Hank took in Mace. Even after yesterday and their bad news from George this morning, Mace looked calm and relaxed. Hank had known Mace long enough to know Mace was neither calm nor relaxed. His body, even at rest, was alert, his eyes were stone cold.