Cowboy Ending - Overdrive: Book One (39 page)

Seriously, what
the fuck is wrong with me?

"Joe?" Shelby
asked again, her eyes clearly concerned.

My small smile
returned and I regained proper eye contact with her, no matter how
difficult it was given that gravity defying outfit. "Just fine," I
said quietly, my voice already returning. Another sip of water,
another short rush of relief. "Rough day."

Her worry
abated some, eyes flickering over to where Miller and Mackie stood.
Her concern flickering some more.

She was worried
about them too.

"Are
you
okay?" I asked
quietly, just loud enough for her to hear from across the
bar.

Shelby's eyes
snapped to mine her perfect smile reappearing at full power.
"Absolutely," she lied to me, her voice overly bubbly like you'd
expect from the buxom blonde bartender stereotype. My respect for
her jumped significantly in that moment. Why hadn't I ever actually
talked with her before now? Right, because I'm a depressed Mama's
boy. Moving on. "Busy week for me here with all these parties and
foreign dignitaries." Her eyes flicked to Miller and Mackie again.
"Be good when it's over."

"I'm sure Aaron
could find another girl to work the bar if you have other things to
do." That was Miller, his voice gruff and harsh. Barking almost,
like a German Shepard. His smile was still too wide, too toothy.
But his eyes had gone dark. Mackie winced again as Miller tightened
his grip.

"No, that's
fine." Shelby said hurriedly, feigning a girlish laugh. "Just not
used to working every night. I usually spend weeknights with my son
is all."

This tight
little body had a kid?

Damn.

"Speaking of
Aaron," I cut in before Miller could bark again. "Did you talk to
him?"

Shelby turned
back to me, a touch of relief in her eyes. "He's in the middle of a
presentation. Said that he'd be down as soon as he could."

I nodded, my
fool head throbbing with the motion. Goddammit. "I'll hang here for
a bit if that’s cool. I need to talk to him when he has a
minute."

"I'll remind
him when I get back up there. You gents want anything before I go?"
Miller shook his head and Mackie said nothing. Shelby nodded and
clicked her heels to the other end of the bar, retrieving a couple
bottles of whisky from the shelf before heading towards the stairs.
She tossed me a glance back over her shoulder that could've been
mistaken for flirtatious but it looked otherwise to me. Concerned?
A warning?

Well, at least
I had a sandwich.

Nausea nearly
defeated me, but I forced myself to take a bite to try and refuel
my body. It tasted like ashes at first, my mouth still not quite
producing its own moisture. Head throbbed and my stomach twisted
with each chew.

"So what're you
doing here, Joe?" Miller asked, finally releasing Mackie's shoulder
who gasped in relief. Miller planted himself within three feet of
me and leaned against the bar, clearly invading my personal space
ever so slightly. Classic macho intimidation game plan. The stuff
they teach you on the playgrounds in Grade One. "Figured you'd be
home. With your mother. Recovering."

I needed
another sip of water to get the single bite down my throat. Did he
mention Mom on purpose? Was that a veiled threat?

"Like I said,"
stupid throat, stop needing to be cleared every few moments. "I
just need to talk to Aaron for a minute. Shouldn't take long."

"Well in case
you couldn't tell, Aaron's pretty busy tonight. Investors. Private
party." Miller adjusted one coat sleeve, his shoulders stretching
the fabric as he did so. More macho posturing. "Might have to try
another night."

"I can
wait."

"Maybe you
shouldn't."

"I'm in no
rush."

"Are you going
to make this an issue?"

"I work
here."

"Not tonight
you don't."

"Why isn't
Keimac Cleghorn in jail?"

Mackie's head
snapped up at that, his eyes locking on me despite his intoxicated
state. His gaze shifted to Miller, suddenly worried.

Miller's face
went grim. No more toothy smile. Just a blank expression. Danger
just beneath the surface.

"Who?" he asked
quietly.

"Keimac
Cleghorn," I repeated. I could do blank and dangerous expressions
too. If only my head and stomach would cooperate I might've felt as
confident as I tried to appear.

"Doesn't ring a
bell."

"It should.
According to Officer Parise you're the reason why he's walking the
streets today instead of sitting in the Remand Centre awaiting
trial for my attempted murder."

Danger swelled
like a black thunder cloud off on the horizon just beneath the
surface of Miller's face. His shoulders rose in time with his
deepened breathing.

"Do you know
how hard it is to keep this city safe?" Miller's voice was deeper
than before, almost growling. His fingers clenched and unclenched
visibly. "Every day we go out there facing some of the worst scum
you can imagine. Criminals with no regard for property or the
safety of private citizens. So on a night when someone gets shot
right in front of you, it's natural to overreact. To want to punish
someone." He shook his head slightly. "It's tough to remember
sometimes that it's not our job to punish. It's our job to serve,
to protect. I crossed that line and now you're paying for it as
well."

I blinked.

That was a hell
of a speech.

A very
rehearsed speech.

One that
someone had likely written and coached him through. I've watched a
ton of cop shows, and there was no doubt that Miller and company
had needed to talk to an Internal Affairs agent. Sounded like I
just got a rehash of what he said to them.

Sounded good.
Sounded believable.

I met his
eyes.

Those dark eyes
were enraged beneath his thick and bushy eyebrows. Furious at being
questioned.

Sounded like
bullshit.

Chapter
37

Aaron and
Parise came down the marble staircase roughly fifteen minutes later
followed by a crowd of finely attired people; gentlemen in suits
surrounded by young women in stunning dresses. All looking like a
million bucks. Shit, some of those men probably were millionaires
at that.

Miller and I
had spent the last several minutes in tense silence, eyeing each
other like prize fighters. Mackie was slumped over the bar, another
drink clutched in his hand despite Shelby’s disapproving
expression. The patrons in the VIP section were getting rowdy, with
lots of laughter and high pitched girlish squeals. Presumably of
delight and enjoyment, though my instincts told me otherwise.

My head still
throbbed like an open sore and my guts were twisted into knot. I
had turned down a second Corona and managed to get half of the
sandwich down my throat, but was still trying to fend off the
feeling of nausea. I felt like I should be sweating yet my skin was
clammy at best under my shirt and jacket.

Shelby had been
giving me concerned glances when she thought Miller wasn’t looking
but had remained silent, aside from normal bartender chatter when
VIP Patrons wandered over.

The tension was
obvious.

“Joe,” Aaron
said after separating from his party mates and placing his hand on
my upper arm. His suit was even more flamboyant than usual; not
white, not silver but definitely shiny. His short cropped hair was
immaculately styled. Despite partying and entertaining clients for
several nights he looked none the worse for wear and ready for
more.

I tried to keep
my face impassive as my gaze shifted from Miller. My stomach was
still rolling badly but I think I managed to keep how lousy I was
suddenly feeling inside. What I had going on in my head was too
important to look like it was coming from the mouth of a pain
riddled crazy man.

Aaron continued
with a big smile though his gaze passed over my outfit with a hint
of disdain. “If I’d known you were wanting to join us I’d have
gotten you appropriate attire. Bit of a black tie affair you
see?”

I forced a
slight shrug and cleared my throat. “Didn’t know I was coming.”

Aaron’s
expression didn’t change but something behind his eyes did. “Well
as you can see, we are entertaining some important business types
this week. So I can give you a few minutes but that’s about all I
can spare for now.”

“S’okay, I’m
not big on talk.”

Peripherally I
could see Miller’s glower intensify as Aaron and I began our
discussion. Parise came over with a girl on each arm, leaning in
and beginning a hushed dialogue with Miller.

Now or never,
Joe.

“Are you
running a brothel, Aaron?”

I kept my voice
quiet so that only Aaron and I could hear. It was important for me
to maintain as much focus and intensity as possible on Aaron,
despite the hushed conversation happening to my immediate left.

Aaron’s
expression froze.

“Joe, what are
you …”

“It’s okay.” I
broke in, giving him my small smile as my guts twisted in time with
the throbbing of my head. “I don’t have an issue with prostitution
as a concept. I’m not an idiot. Odds are the rooms upstairs are top
notch, great for high priced entertainments.”

Aaron’s
expression was nervous. “Look, Joe … You don’t….” He cleared his
throat, eyes flickering over to where Miller and Parise were still
talking. Mackie stayed slumped over the bar, the booze finally
hitting him hard. “You really shouldn’t make any assumptions.”

My fucking
head.

“I figure this
is what you guys wanted to talk to me about a few weeks back,” I
continued, rubbing gently at my left temple and wishing for another
glass of water. But I didn’t want to bug Shelby for a drink, who
knew if I’d get another chance at this. “When you guys wanted me to
stay after close. Ease me into the idea.”

“After this
week, Joe. We can talk more about this after this week. I do want
to bring you in. But right now …”

Two Asian
businessmen walked past Aaron, a young lady accessorized for each
of them. Lots of laughter and hands in inappropriate places for
public viewing as they headed towards the marble staircase.

“Here’s the
thing,” time to bottom line this conversation. “If this was just
about providing a safe place off the streets for girls to make
money and take a cut, I’d have no issues.” I really wouldn’t. Sorry
if that bothers you. I narrowed my eyes and gave my best glower at
Aaron, driving my point home. “But I didn’t get shot because Keimac
Cleghorn’s sister Candace was being treated well and fairly did
I?”

Aaron’s face
had gone ashen. His fingers tightened on my arm unconsciously. Was
he starting to sweat? Parise wrapped up his conversation with
Miller and was starting our way. “Joe, no one was supposed to get
hurt. I swear it.”

“But people are
getting hurt, aren’t they Aaron? And you’re letting it happen.”

“You
don’t understand, Joe. But we can’t talk...”

“What’s to
understand? Why are …”

Parise’s hand
clamped high on my other arm, tighter than was really necessary.
Miller had followed along, his expression beyond cold.

“Mon ami
,” Parise began coolly in his
French-Canadian accent. His perfectly groomed features calm and
expressionless. “This is really not a good time for you to be
here.”

My headache was
becoming difficult to ignore.

“What’s
with the girls, Officer Parise?” I was too far gone to talk around
the subject. After everything at the
Posse
hideout with Cathy, hell for the weeks
since getting shot; I couldn’t pretend that things were hunky dory
at this point.

I wanted
answers.

“We are
entertaining some guests from out of town,” Parise replied, his
expression still unreadable. “It seemed only appropriate to have
some ladies on hand to make them feel welcome. Some local flavor if
you will.”

“I bet they’re
very entertaining.” I kept blinking my own eyes, they were starting
to feel dry on top of everything else. Hope no one thought I was
trying to flutter my eyelids or anything weird.

“What’s wrong
with your eyes?” Miller growled at me. “You some kinda fag or
something?”

Sigh.

“This
really
isn’t a
good time, Joe.” Parise continued, shooting Miller a disgusted look
over his shoulder. “It is quite clear that you are under the
weather and we are wrapping up our business for the night. We can
talk about this another time.”

“What happened
to Candace Cleghorn?”

Everyone
froze.

“Her
brother Keimac was certain that she died after working here as one
of the VIP Girls. His
Posse
members said a lot of their girls came through here when I
talked to them earlier tonight.” I took in all of their faces in
turn. “I remember Candace being here, being like those others.” I
motioned with my head to the VIP section where some shenanigans
were still afoot. “So I know that’s true. Is the rest
true?”