Sinful Love (Sinful Nights #4)(64)
John dodged the cart, and his partner was right behind him as Luke rounded the corner into the back lot to the side of the store. Luke seemed hell-bent on escape, and John completely understood his drive. The man had lived a scot-free life for two decades. That could drive a man to run like hell. But so could the pursuit of justice, so could dogged determination, and so could years of running every morning before the sun even rose.
John had all that in his favor.
Even though the bastard was fast, he wasn’t fast enough. No f*cking way was John letting Luke Carlton get away from him in the back parking lot of a grocery store.
With his heart pumping, his feet pounding, and his breath coming in fast, powerful spurts, John neared him. Ten feet, five feet away now. John closed the distance across the asphalt, stretched out his arm, grabbed the back of his shirt, and tackled him.
Luke twisted in his arms. “Let me go. You’ve got the wrong man.”
He was like an eel, flinging and swishing and desperately coiling his body. But John wasn’t letting go, and as his partner reached them, the cuffs were ready.
John yanked Luke up, pinned both wrists, pushed him against a dumpster, and slapped on the handcuffs.
He breathed out hard. “As I was saying. Good to see you again, Luke Carlton. You’re under arrest for illegal gun trafficking.” Then he rattled off a litany of violations that this man had committed over the years, from selling guns without background checks, to peddling weapons to convicted felons, to giving firearms to fugitives.
And at last, they took him in.
*
The next morning, John paid a visit to Lee Stefano, to see if he could get that punk to serve up some details on T.J.’s whereabouts. Weeks in jail had worn him down. He wasn’t so keen on “protecting their own” anymore, so he named a few spots that T.J. had been known to frequent. An interesting list, to be sure. John had a hunch where they might be able to nab the guy. Bringing in T.J. would require some stealth. The man was already wanted, so John would need the element of surprise on his side, and he knew how to pull it off.
He called Michael Sloan to ask for his help. Michael said yes, then John cleared his throat, shifted gears, and asked him for the number of the cute blonde. He’d had Mindy on his mind since the night he met her.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
“You want us to set a trap?”
“Yeah. I would really like that,” John said, his tone somehow casual but also intensely serious.
Michael’s eyes swept from John to the two men he was making this request of. Leaning against the back of a royal blue lounge chair, Curtis scratched his square jaw with his thumb, glancing at Charlie before answering. “So we’ve got to bring those f*ckers back into our business?” he asked, arching an eyebrow skeptically as he waved a hand around the club, quiet now during the day. Jazz music hummed from the same speakers that played dance music after midnight.
John nodded. His arms were crossed. “I know it’s not what you want, but if we bring him in, and I’ve got the warrant for his arrest, we can take the gang apart. He’s the last linchpin left, now that we’ve got their head guy. One of my witnesses has named the places he’s been seen.”
Curtis shook his head. “This isn’t one of them.”
“No. But by using the guy who started trouble here a few weeks ago with the knife in the bathroom, we think we can lure him. That guy is willing to invite T.J. here. Make it look like just a regular night out. Once he’s here, you make the call and we’ll take him in.”
Charlie blew out a long stream of air. “I don’t like bringing them in here. We’ve been trying to keep guys like that out. I don’t want any guns in my club.”
“I hear you loud and clear,” John said. “But we’re close, so close to blasting them apart. We’ll have plainclothes cops here. They will be the only ones with weapons, besides my men and myself. We’ll do thorough checks at the door to make sure. And Michael’s team will ramp up security. We will keep your business safe.”
Charlie hummed and raised his chin at John. “I heard you talk at the benefit a few months ago.”
Michael’s ears pricked. He hadn’t attended that event, but both Ryan and Colin had. It was a fundraiser for the local community center where Colin volunteered. His girlfriend Elle ran it. Colin’s company was one of the main donors, and so was White Box. These guys were committed to cleaning up the city, and Michael hoped they’d take this chance, even if it put them at risk.
“You had a friend who was injured when you were younger,” Charlie said, meeting John’s eyes.
The detective nodded.
“I know what that’s like,” he said through tight lips. “I lost one of my brothers when I was younger. To street crime, too. That loss changed me. Led me to make some choices I wasn’t so proud of. Now, I’m trying to live a better life, in his name. He would have wanted this.”
Curtis nodded and patted Charlie’s shoulder. “He would have. He really would have.”
Charlie turned back to them. “We will help you.”
*
The waiting was miserable. Minutes ticked by as if they were hours. The days were elongated, like melting Dali clocks. Michael walked through town as if in a surreal dream. He was glued to his phone, and his phone was stuck to him. Just in case there was news. In case Morris, or Mindy, or John, or Ryan, or Annalise, or his White Box guys called.