Secret Worlds (582 page)

“I didn’t tell them anything,” Ari lied.

Jace shook his head. “They’ve been looking for me and only one person could connect me to that robbery. I saw you there—and you saw me.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. The police collected evidence at the crime. Fingerprints, that kind of thing.”

“Yeah, but I could have been in there at any time. You’re the eye witness.” Jace moved his lean body so she couldn’t possibly escape. The guy behind her stood just far away enough for her to understand this was Jace’s issue to deal with. He was simply muscle. “The funny thing is I’ve always known who you were. The only young, hot chick in that office. I tried to talk to you more than once.”

Ari tried to ignore the creepy look on his face, but clenched her keys in her fist. Where was Oliver? Or a passing car for that matter?

“Jace, I didn’t tell the cops anything, but this is only going to get you in more trouble.” She hoped to rationalize with him but after the story Hope told her, she wasn’t sure it would work.

“Thought messing up your car would help you get the idea, but you’ve been talking to the police. That’s right …” Jace laughed, when she realized he’d been following her. She’d felt it all along, she’d just hoped it was someone else. Someone who obviously had better things to do or he’d be there right now. “I’ve been following you for some time and it’s been a treat. You like to get around, huh? Dirty dancing at the club, meeting up with different guys. I know you’ve got that lawyer on the hook.”

He made a move toward her chest with his hand. She batted it away, trying to make contact with her keys, but he stopped her, forcing the keys from her hands. They fell to the ground. Jace aggressively pushed her up against her car, using his hips to hold her, while one, calloused hand covered her mouth. With the other, Jace tugged down the zipper on her sweatshirt, shocking her skin with cold, winter air. He smiled, flashing a row of gold teeth when he saw her thin tank top, and the cloth bandage covering her new tattoo peeking out from the fabric.

“I wanted to see it myself.”

Despite the cold, Ari broke out in a sweat. She felt Jace all over her. His hand on her face, his arousal against her stomach, his dirty fingers lightly stroking against her chest, toying with the bandage. She gagged and Jace’s face went from delight to disgust. “Don’t even think of puking on me, bitch.”

His hand went from her mouth to her throat and from the corner of her eye she saw his free hand go to his belt.

“Don’t do this, Jace,” she whispered. “You’re better than this.”

Jace snorted and opened his mouth to say something but they both saw a flash movement to the side. Ari used the distraction to get her knee between his legs, ramming it upwards as hard as she could. Jace’s face contorted and he dropped both hands. “Motherfucker,” he grunted, lunging at her. He was too late. Ari darted out of his reach and toward her house, yelling for Oliver—for anyone. She couldn’t get in without her keys. She banged on the door over and over until Oliver, groggy and confused, peeked through the window. His eyes popped wide open and she could hear him scramble to get the door open.

“Call the police!” she shouted, locking the door behind her.

Finally awake, Oliver dialed 911 and made the report, even if somewhat incoherently. A loud crash came from outside and Ari ran to the window. Jace was still out there. In the throes of a fight with the Vigilante.

He came.

“Oliver! Look!” she cried and he rushed next to her. “That guy is destroying him.”

Ari unlocked the front door and went on the porch. She knew the mystery guy wouldn’t let him get away a second time. She winced as she watched Jace’s face slam into the tree in their front yard. She heard him beg for his life. “Don’t!” Jace cried. A similar plea to one Ari had made only moments earlier. “I didn’t do this on my own,” he said, between spitting out mouthfuls of blood. “I can tell you things! I’m not the one that wants her!”

The mystery guy didn’t seem impressed and kneed Jace in the back. He hovered over him and whispered something in his ear. Ari was too far to hear and the sirens wailed on her street. She didn’t take a breath until the flashing lights stopped in front of her house and the police spilled out of the cars.

The mystery guy stood up and faced Ari. In the darkness of the night, she couldn’t see his face, cloaked by his hood. He bent down once more, slipped something into his pocket and then disappeared into the night.

***

This time, the police invited her back to the station. “Invite” was the nice way to put it. Forced sounded so … well, forceful. Ari willingly went with Detective Bryson, knowing her repeated involvement with Jace Watkins and the mystery man was too much to ignore.

They made Ari feel comfortable—she was the victim after all. She was given a large cup of coffee and a cushioned chair to sit in. It was all very benign except she suspected it wasn’t. Four crimes in the past month, two involving the Vigilante. All of them involving Jace Watkins, a former client in her department. The police wanted answers. She didn’t blame them.

Detective Bryson sat behind his desk and pulled out a clean sheet of lined paper. The kind reports got filed on. Ari had similar paper in her desk. He cleared his throat and asked, “Are you feeling up to this?”

As though she had a choice.

“I’m fine, let’s get this over with.”

A knock on the door interrupted them and Ari was shocked to see Nick poke his head in. He gave her a sympathetic look and said, “I’m here to advise Ms. Grant during her questioning.”

“That really isn’t necessary and Ms. Grant hasn’t requested representation,” Detective Bryson stated.

“No, let him stay. It’s fine,” she said uneasily. How did he know she was there?

Nick touched her shoulder and took the seat next to Ari. If it annoyed Bryson, he didn’t let on. “Let’s start with what happened tonight.”

Where should she start? With Nick coming over for dinner? Rebuking her advances? The ritualistic tattoo habit? Ari guessed it had to be the tattoo parlor.

“I’d just left Marked, the tattoo parlor on Arbor Street. When I got home, they attacked.”

“Who attacked you?”

Ari told her story to Bryson and Nick. Slowly sharing the terrible details. She fought back tears, unwilling to seem weak in front of either of them, because she already felt exposed enough. This was not how she wanted to reveal herself to Nick.

“Tell me about the Vigilante,” Bryson asked.

“He came out of nowhere. I didn’t even realize it was him until I was in the house.”

“This makes the second time he’s been at a crime scene with you and Jace. Any idea why?”

“No,” she shook her head. “None.”

“Maybe he has a fixation with you,” Nick suggested. “It can’t be a coincidence.”

“I don’t think he’s fixated on me. He’s never approached me or anything.” Lie. Maybe he didn’t start a conversation, but he actively saved her life that first time. The box came to mind but she didn’t mention it. She was protecting him, she knew that, but why not? He protected her.

“Maybe he’s been after Jace this whole time?” She thought back to some of the things Jace had said during the fight. “Maybe all this is about something else? He said he knew information but the Vigilante didn’t seem to care.”

Bryson flipped through a report on the desk. “Jace doesn’t have any known gang affiliations, but it’s possible. The robberies do have a crime-ring feel about them.”

The detective asked Ari some other questions about the incident. Had she seen any of the other men? He told her that the one backing up Jace had been taken to the hospital and then into custody. Jace himself had been unconscious when the police arrived, the mystery man having knocked him out.

“Any last thing you can tell us?” Bryson asked as she and Nick stood at the door.

“No, not that I can think of,” she said. But there was one other thing. One thing she kept to herself. The mystery man moved sleek and quiet, like a cat. Ari knew only one other person like that.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ari said. The early morning air cooled her cheeks and she wished for a cup of coffee. What she really wanted was to be back in her bed, but this terrible day of all days had just begun, and looked to only get worse. She took a day off after the attack in her front yard, but that was all Ari could afford. Hope had skipped her first counseling appointment and Maria’s funeral was scheduled for later in the day. At 8:00 a.m., the day was already heading downhill.

Hope’s grandmother shook her head. A tight scarf wrapped her curler-covered hair and she wore a pink, flowered robe. “She was in her bed last night. I checked after I watched the Late Show. She must have snuck out after that.”

“I’m going to have to report this,” Ari said with a sigh. So much for second chances. Or third. Or fourth.

“I know, Ms. Grant. That girl just can’t seem to control herself.”

“Any idea where she went?”

“No ma’am, she don’t tell me anything.”

“Let me know if you hear from her,” Ari said fruitlessly. Her grandmother was sweet but no way she’d turn Hope in. She added, “I don’t want her to get hurt or anything.”

“I will. I have your number. She’ll be okay.”

Ari shook her head. “No, I’m not sure she will. I don’t know if you are aware of this but I’m going to a funeral today for a client. She was murdered and dumped by her killer. We have no idea who did it which means a murderer is loose on the street and he could be preying on girls like Hope. If you hear from her, please encourage her to come home.”

Ari left the apartment and returned to her car. During daylight, the housing project felt a little less scary, only kids and mothers were out now, heading to school. Still, Ari looked cautiously around making sure no one was following her.

Jace had been arrested, or would be if he ever woke up. The sound of his head hitting the pavement during the fight echoed in Ari’s memory. And the mystery man. She couldn’t get him out of her head, either. Was he a stalker? Her protector? Both? She knew whom to ask. She knew who taught the boys in this city how to battle like that. She just hadn’t gotten up the nerve to do so yet.

In the car, Ari dialed the number for Apprehension Services and gave them Hope’s description and the details for the arrest warrant. There was little now she could do for her but wait.

***

The funeral went on for hours. The room became unbearably warm and everyone in the church was borderline hysterical. This was not Ari’s first funeral for a client but they never got any easier. She sat in the back, fanning herself with a thick paper program, listening as the minister talked about the trials of sin. So far, he’d been speaking for close to 30 minutes and showed little sign of stopping. She’d talked to Maria’s mother and family already, but they looked at her with judgment and disdain. She wasn’t welcome there, but it was her responsibility to come. Plus, she’d cared for Maria.

“You want to get out of here?” she heard from the row behind hers. She knew the voice and it set her skin on edge. Davis. The curse of a successful one-night stand was the involuntary reaction the body had to triggers. His voice was a trigger. Conjuring images inappropriate for a church, much less a funeral.

During the next hymn, Ari made a break for the back door. Davis followed and she ducked into a small room in the narthex. She noticed his suit and tie. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I try to attend the services of our fallen youth.”

“Did you know Maria?”

“No, not directly, but several of my boys did. We’ve been discussing her death in our group sessions. It’s hard on them when they lose one of their own.”

“What do you mean?”

Davis tugged at his collar. The entire church was sweltering. They must have had the heat cranked up. “Do you want to get out of here? Go somewhere?”

Ari looked at her watch. Barely noon. “I’m on the clock.”

“Let’s call it a work meeting. I’m happy to fill you in on Curtis’ progress.”

Inside the church, the hymn had finished and a second minister stood at the podium to begin his sermon. This wasn’t ending any time soon. She nodded but added, “I’m going to hell for this.”

Davis opened the door and they stepped into the fresh, cool air. Ari took a deep breath.

They went to a local burger place—Ari’s favorite—and ordered greasy hamburgers and fries. Over lunch, Davis explained that, “The children of Glory are in a battle. Most fighting against one another, but all ultimately from the same beginning. Every time a child dies here it affects the others. Some become harder. Others resolve to fight. And the rest turn toward the darkness.”

“So, you help the fighters?”

“I teach them how to fight against an assumed death.”

“What? Like training and preparing an army? That sounds a little out there.”

“Mental, emotional, and physical training is not the worst way to go. We’re trying to create strong minds and bodies.”

Ari wasn’t so sure about his vision but at least he had one. “Do you know how Maria died? The police have no idea other than a possible ex-boyfriend.”

“I have some speculations.”

“Care to share?”

Davis put his hamburger down. “There are different levels of crime in this city. The obvious ones,” he held his hand up to his eyebrows, “they exist up here. Where people can see them and identify their attackers. The drug dealers, for example. The ones you see on the street,” he lowered his hand, near his neck, “then there is the next phase. The distributor. You don’t see them, but they are the ones funneling the drugs to the dealers and into the community.” He then dropped his hand under the table. “Under that, you have this deep system of organizers. The real criminals. The ones that walk among us but wear a mask of good. They run our companies, the legal system, the churches …”

“What are you saying?”

He shrugged and took a bite of his burger, wiping his mouth before he spoke again. “I think the base level is using the kids of this city in a war, and Maria may very well be a victim.”

“Why do you think this? Why exactly?”