Rock Chick 07 Regret (5 page)

“She came in this afternoon, asking for protection. There’s rumors she’s having troubles with the Balduccis but she didn’t confirm and she didn’t explain. I sent her to Dick Anderson.”

“Anderson is in Alaska, visiting his son.”

“
Fuck!
” Lee exploded and Luke and Hector’s eyes sliced to him.

Hector didn’t look good; Hector looked about ready to blow.

Lee watched as Luke closed in on Hector, not enough to be predatory but enough to offer containment then Lee turned his back and walked several more feet away.

Lee did not have a good feeling about this and Lee’s feelings were normally right on target.

“Eddie, it had to take everything she had to come to us with Hector there.”

“You’re blaming yourself,
amigo
. You didn’t beat her up and rape her.”

“She asked me for protection. I sent her away. Told her we had a full caseload.”

“Do you have a full caseload?”

“Yeah. But my caseload lightens when a five foot five, one hundred pound woman needs protection from someone who’d beat her close to death and rape her.”

“Lee, you need to keep your shit together. This is Sadie Townsend. We know –”

“We know,” Lee interrupted.

“Then you gotta keep cool because Hector is gonna lose it.”

Lee glanced at Hector. He was surprised Hector hadn’t thrown a chair through the window by now. Hector was a very edgy guy.

Lee pulled in a breath. “Hector’s gonna lose it.”

“I’ll be there in ten.”

* * * * *

Eddie

Eddie turned to Jet.

His fiancée was already out of bed and getting dressed.

“Lee needs Indy,” he said.

Jet nodded then pulled a t-shirt over her head.

“Sadie’s gonna need –”

Jet yanked the t-shirt down and walked to Eddie, leaned in, put her hand on his stomach, got up on her tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the mouth.

“I’ll take care of it, get to Hector,” she said.

When she moved away, Eddie grabbed her by the neck and pulled her to him.

His kiss wasn’t light.

Then he was gone.

* * * * *

Lee

By the time the doctor came to the waiting room, Luke, Hector and Lee had been joined by Eddie, Lee’s brother Hank (also a cop) and four men that worked for Lee: Vance, Darius, Mace and Bobby.

Lee had pulled in the boys because if Hector (or Luke, for that matter) went gonzo at whatever news they were going to get, they were going to need manpower to lock them down.

Lee had recruited men who, it turned out, had a strong ethic about women and how to treat them and an even stronger ethic about how they felt about men who didn’t treat them right. This wasn’t on the job application but, bottom line, it was the only kind of man Lee would have in his employ.

This was a situation that could blow his men apart. It had happened before and they knew the drill but it had never been this bad.

What he wasn’t prepared to see was Jet walking in with Indy, Roxie, Ava and Stella. He wasn’t prepared for it but when Jet smiled at Eddie and he realized Eddie had arranged it, he was glad for it. Nothing soothed the savage beast like a woman’s touch. His wife Indy’s crew (known as the Rock Chicks) would likely be busy that night.

Indy walked straight to him, put her arms around his waist and kissed the underside of his jaw. Usually this worked like magic but Lee didn’t feel soothed.

She tipped her head back to look up at him and whispered. “It’ll be okay.”

“Yeah,” he said but he didn’t agree. She hadn’t seen the tape. Fuck, but he’d never forget what he saw on that tape.

“It’s always okay,” she said, breaking into his thoughts.

“You don’t know who this is,” Lee replied.

“Yes I do, but Lee…” She hesitated because she didn’t want to say what she was going to say next then she continued, “You have to know, Daisy doesn’t think much of –”

Lee looked down at Indy. “Hector does.”

Indy’s head jerked at the shortness in Lee’s tone.

Then she got closer. “Is there something I don’t know?”

“There’s something no one knows. No one knows why he pulled out of the DEA after that job. At least no one knew until today, until she walked into my office.”

“Do you think he had a thing with her?” Indy whispered.

Lee turned to her. “Did you see her?”

Indy scrunched her nose, looking uncomfortable. “I saw her in the reception area. She’s gorgeous but she was cold as ice. Do you know they call her the Ice Princess?”

Lee shook his head and ignored her last comment. “I saw her too. I also saw Hector watching her the entire time I spoke to her.”

“Was it intense?”

Was it intense?

Hector never gave anything away, anything that was personal.

He gave it away that afternoon. He couldn’t take his eyes off Sadie.

“It was intense. Tonight when he got to her, Hector wouldn’t wait for an ambulance. He picked her up and made Luke drive them here.”

Indy’s eyes grew wide. “Was that smart?”

“No.”

“Holy crap,” she whispered as her eyes slid to Hector.

“Doctor.” They heard Stella say and everyone turned as the doctor walked in wearing scrubs, a white lab coat and an unhappy expression.

“Anyone here for Sadie Townsend?”

Everyone looked at everyone else except Hector who said a sharp, “Yes.”

The doctor looked at Hector as Stella moved close to him. “Are you her partner?”

“Yes,” Hector lied, bold, bald-faced and without hesitation.

The doctor’s face changed and it wasn’t a good change. “We need to go somewhere and talk.”

“Say it,” Hector snapped.

The doctor’s face scanned the crowd then his eyes went back to Hector and said, “Sir, I think –”

“Fuckin’ say it!” Hector barked, his body rigid, his face filled with fury and the doctor took a step back as Stella took another step in, getting close, putting her hand on Hector’s arm and keeping it there.

“I don’t think you under –” the doctor began.

Lee got close to Hector. So did Eddie and Darius. Hank, Vance, Mace and Bobby closed ranks. Luke was already close. The doctor took this in and his body relaxed.

“Just say it,” Shirleen appeared by the doctor and she was speaking quietly. Lee hadn’t even noticed she arrived. This was unusual for Lee Nightingale, there wasn’t a lot he didn’t notice but that night his mind was on other things.

“You’re amongst Sadie’s friends,” Shirleen went on, also bald-faced lying and also without hesitation.

The doctor looked at Shirleen, she smiled encouragingly but he said, “We have a policy –”

“Ain’t no policy when there’s friends,” Shirleen interrupted. “We all gotta know. We’ll all eventually know. Just tell it like it is.”

The doctor sighed, pulled his hand through his hair and looked at Hector.

“She’s been beaten badly.”

“I guessed that.” Hector voice was sharp and impatient.

The doctor nodded and went on, “Five broken ribs, a broken wrist, dislocated shoulder, severe concussion and multiple cuts and contusions. She’s had to have a deep cut on her cheek stitched. She’s been admitted.”

The doctor stopped, his back went straight and everyone held their breath.

“I really think –” the doctor hesitated, eyes on Hector.

“She’s been raped,” Hector said for him.

The doctor did another group scan then nodded and took a step toward Hector. “I’m sorry but yes, Sadie’s been raped.”

“Fucking hell,” Hank muttered from behind Eddie and the atmosphere in the room changed to a strange, uneasy hopelessness. It wasn’t a feeling they were used to and it didn’t sit well with a single one of them.

“We’ve done a rape kit and called the police. She’s sleeping now. Sir, if you can –”

“Take me to her,” Hector cut in.

“You have to understand what you’ll –” the doctor started.

“I found her, I brought her in, I know what I’ll see,” Hector bit out. “Fucking… take… me… to… her.”

The doctor nodded. “Follow me.”

Eddie’s eyes cut to Lee then to Darius. Then Eddie followed Hector as Hector and the doctor walked away. Darius followed Eddie.

Luke turned on his boot and without a word left the room.

Lee turned to Bobby and said simply, “Follow him. He has an alibi everywhere he goes.”

Bobby nodded and followed Luke.

Lee’s eyes stopped on Ava. Ava was Luke’s woman, she was watching the door Luke just walked out and her face was pale.

Finally Lee turned to Indy. “Phone Daisy.”

“But –” Indy began.

“Do it, gorgeous. Now.”

Indy dug in her purse for her cell.

* * * * *

Marcus

The phone rang and Marcus Sloan slid away from Daisy’s body, rolled and grabbed it from its cradle.

With his eyes on the clock, he said, his voice curt, “It’s barely five o’clock in the morning.”

“Marcus? I’m sorry, it’s Indy. Is Daisy there?”

Marcus felt an unaccustomed chill slide up his spine as Daisy moved, rolled and he felt her eyes on him in the dark.

“Is everything okay?” he asked Indy, as always wanting to make any fall his wife was going to take a softer one. She’d already had more than her fair share of the hard ones. These days she only experienced some bumpy rides with the Rock Chicks, though some were bumpier than others.

So far, they’d been lucky.

“No. Everything isn’t okay. Lee wanted me to call her. I’m not sure why but…” She hesitated and he could tell she was seeking privacy before she started talking again. Daisy was up on an elbow now and he could feel her body getting tense. “The thing is, Sadie Townsend was beaten up really badly tonight.”

Marcus felt it like a punch in the stomach.

Ricky fucking Balducci. Or one of his fucking brothers.

“Fuck,” he whispered.

“What?” Daisy was sitting up and Marcus sat up too.

Marcus turned and snapped on the light. Twisting back to his wife, he shook his head.

“Is she going to be all right?” Marcus asked.

“I… there’s more,” Indy replied.

Marcus waited and Daisy slid closer.

“What is it?” Marcus prompted.

“She was raped.”

Marcus threw the covers back on the bed and knifed out.

“Where is she?” he snapped.

“Denver Health,” Indy answered.

“We’ll be there in thirty minutes.” He didn’t say good-bye; he put down the phone then walked to the closet.

“Marcus, honey bunch, you’re
scarin
’ me,” Daisy said from the bed.

“Get up, darling. Get dressed. Sadie Townsend is at Denver Health. She’s been beaten up and raped.”

Daisy’s gasp was sharp and Marcus heard rather than saw her jump from the bed.

That was his wife. She still thought Sadie had shoved a knife in her back and yet she was out of the bed like a shot.

He didn’t look forward to telling her what he was going to have to tell her.

He got dressed, Daisy got dressed and he stood over her while she pulled on her boots.

“I have to tell you something,” he said to her bent head and it snapped up so she was looking at him.