Chapter 28
“It’s over when I say it’s over, Colonel.” General Peters’ tone and stern expression brooked no disagreement.
Jake met his gaze through narrowed eyes.
The general softened his tone.
“Look, Jake. I know this is hard. Sgt. Beloi was your friend, as well as your team member. Hell, do you think I don’t know how hard it is to let go of a guy that meant that much to you? But this investigation is finished. Done. They got the guy who did it. Turns out he was a crazy mixed up drunk, a psycho. Hell, he even cut up that stripper. And son, we can count ourselves damn lucky. I don’t mind telling you. We’ve all had some hard moments over this. For a while there, it was getting too damn close to the base”
The general looked around the table, including each of the men in his assertion.
“Hell, Mike here has practically gone without sleep for ten days trying to keep this investigation under wraps. You think he is an ornery son of a bitch, try him without sleep for twenty-four hours at a time.
Mike Pierce gave a snort.
“Who’s calling who a son of a bitch, General? But the general’s right, Jake. Christ, all you have to do is look at the way the press is raking the YPD over the coals. Hell, the only thing worse than a cop killing a cop is the army being involved in the death of one of its own, especially a war hero like Beloi. Fuck, can you imagine what the press would do to us? They’d fucking crucify us. Don’t want hurt your feelings, Colonel, but I won’t be sad to see you go.”
Jake quirked a brow.
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me, Colonel. But what about the drug ring? None of you can be blind to the fact that if it was any closer, it’d bite every one of us on the ass.”
Dirk broke in. “Jake, this is what we do. It’s part of life on the border. Those gangs live to make us squirm. Let us handle it. This is what we do every damn day of the year. Take some time off. You deserve it. Take that beautiful sister of Beloi’s and go somewhere special. I‘ve got a place in Belize that’s standing empty now. You’re welcome to it.”
“Thanks, Dirk. I might take you up on that.”
Jake surveyed the men in the room. He’d never stepped back from a fight in his life. But even he admitted, this dog wouldn’t hunt. Every one of these fuckers was counting the minutes until he was gone. May as well leave them with a bone to chew on. Hope they don’t choke on it.
“One thing you should know, gentlemen. I’ve requested a leave of absence from C.I.D. Looks like it’ll be confirmed quickly.” He grinned as he stood up, underscoring he was the one ending the meeting. “As you all know, rank does have its privileges.”
He stopped in the doorway.
“I’m posting with the YPD for the next several months. I’m not satisfied that we’ve reached the end of the road on this investigation. Chief Burton agrees with me.”
Mike Pierce’s ruddy face flushed dangerously.
“Fuck, Jake. Burton would do anything to take the heat off his guys. You know that. What’s got the bug up your ass, if it’s not too much to ask? Sure as hell hope it has nothing to do with the base.”
“It’s like this, Mike,” Jake grinned to himself when the colonel scowled at the use of his first name, “We Southern boys don’t give up easy. My uncle Peter Tom used to say even a blind hog finds a nut every now and then. And there’s enough loose ends in this investigation that convinces me we just might find a whole bag of nuts. In answer to your question, as I told you before, I’ll follow this investigation wherever it leads.”
General Peters voice was icy. “I’m with Mike, Colonel Gardner. Do you have specific information that you haven’t shared with us? By the way, your answer to that question damn well better be no.”
Jake gave him an easy smile. “No, sir. Nothing specific. Just the fact that neither Chief Burton nor I believe that Walter Cochran is smart enough to mastermind a snake pit this convoluted, one that has such far reaching implications. ”
He added with a wicked smile. “And for better or worse, I have a tell-tale symptom that clues me in when something isn’t right. I’ve learned when those nerve endings on the back of my neck start to prickle or shriek the way they are now, I’m on to something.” He added with the hint of a threat, “And nothing and no one is gonna pull me off.”
Mike Pierce looked apoplectic. Jake thought if that vein at his temple throbbed any harder that the damn thing might explode.
“You are one arrogant son if a bitch, Gardner.”
“So I’ve been told.” Jake dragged his gaze around the table, then saluted smartly.
“Good day, gentlemen.”
~~~
Lexie waited for Jake outside of the MMA center. He’d tried to convince her to stay at home, but she knew herself well enough to know she’d go stir crazy staying all day in the empty house. Jake did convince her not to go into the club tonight. He said there were news people twenty deep in the parking lot. Eager to discover a new hook to keep the story alive, they virtually accosted anyone going in to the club. Apparently, the waitresses and the strippers were their primary targets.
She thought she’d been over her nausea until they started flashing the pictures of Walter Cochran. Giving him a name didn’t help, didn’t make him a person. Rather than a heavy set nondescript gray haired man, she saw him as he was--the man who’d killed Anthony and Bella. Looking at a mug shot, she tried to see in his eyes. To see how she’d missed the evil. She’d thought he was pathetic, disgusting. But she hadn’t seen the man who dismembered her brother and set him on fire.
She’d almost fainted when she first saw Bella’s face. But that was nothing compared to seeing Anthony. The first time his picture flashed on the screen, she screamed. He looked real, alive. Crouched next to an Army jeep, his dark brown eyes flashing and tufts of blond hair showing under his beret, he looked as he did the last time she saw him--vibrant, young, handsome. And now dead.
Jake rushed in the room when she screamed. He held her in his arms. For many long moments, she buried her face against his shoulder, listening to the voice of the television anchor breaking the news of Anthony’s death. Listening to the professional voices describing the way he’d been killed, as though they were reading from a menu in a restaurant, Lexie thought she might throw up. When she managed to pull away from Jake long enough to look up at him, she was struck by grief on his face. He looked as broken as she felt. The pain on his face, the tears in his eyes, reminded her that other than her and Master Wan, no one had been closer to Anthony than Jake. By mutual agreement, they turned off the television. Lexie didn’t know when, if ever, she would look at it again.
~~~
Seeing his Jeep pull up, she marveled at the rush of excitement she felt. His mirrored sunglasses added a rakish touch to his regulation camouflage. And the smile that broke across his face when he saw her made her heart skip a beat. God, he’d only been gone a couple of hours and she’d missed him, as though she hadn’t seen him for days.
He hopped out of the Jeep and came toward her, his grin broadening more if possible. He took hold of her arm and leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. She felt her cheeks heat, surprised at his open show of affection. But she didn’t mind. In fact, she wished she had the nerve to kiss him back. The memory of last night came flooding back. The horrific events of the day had blocked the memory of their tryst on the kitchen counter. But the smell of his subtle cologne and unique male odor sent shivers up her spine.
Jake must have been thinking about the same thing because he pulled her closer to him and said in a husky voice, “How about we get out of here, sugar, before we give those guys over there with their tongues hanging out more of a show than they already have playing in their minds?”
Lexie nodded startled at how shy she felt. It was impossible to believe that it had been barely a week since she met Jake. And now he was the most important person in her life. The realization was shocking.
Inside the jeep, he reached across and buckled the seat belt across her lap. This casual show of protective possessiveness should have annoyed her. It would have if it had been anyone else. But, instead, she thrilled at his touch, remembering with a start how she’d felt when he handcuffed her to him on the back of the motorcycle. When
