The Law of Deceit, page 23
“Or,” she continues, “maybe she went to see her family. You said they’re getting along better.”
I rub my hand over my face, unable to shake the terrible feeling in my gut. She’d have called or responded to my texts if that were the case.
“Does it make me a psycho boyfriend if I drive around looking for her?”
Gemma sniggers. “Yeah, kind of. It’s still weird knowing you two are a thing and Mom and Dad are okay with it.”
“Something doesn’t feel right, though.”
Headlights flash through the front windows and my heart does a somersault. Thank fuck. I’m going to bend Sloane over my knee and spank her pretty ass for giving me heart palpitations. Dating a cop—one who’s been shot in the line of duty—is hard on the nerves.
“I guess you don’t need me anymore,” Gemma says as she stands, tossing her long brown hair over one shoulder. “See you in the morning.”
I give her a fist bump as she leaves. Until I find a car, she’s been picking me up for school since our university schedules are pretty much the same. She’s gone for ten seconds or so before she’s walking back in, a frown on her face. Kaden bursts into the living room behind her.
“Aunt Sloane’s at the hospital,” he says, tears in his eyes. “Trevor too. The cop dude came by our apartment to tell Mom. I told her you’d want to know, but she didn’t have your number.”
Holding up a hand, I rasp out. “Wait. What do you mean she’s at the hospital? Did something happen to Trevor?”
“The cop told Mom they’d gotten hurt. He didn’t give us much more than that just that we’d probably want to get to the hospital to be with them.”
“Fuck,” I snarl, shooting a panicked look at Gemma. “We have to go. Now.”
She nods and the three of us rush out of the house. Kaden jumps back into the car with his mom, and me and Gemma take off in the Tahoe. I’d expected her to hand me the keys, but she didn’t. I’m thankful, too, because I’m shaking so damn bad with panic that I’d have a hard time keeping the vehicle on the road.
Sloane’s at the hospital.
She’s hurt.
I fucking knew it. I had a feeling and I chalked it up to my obsession with her. All along, she wasn’t avoiding me or rudely failing to communicate with me. There was a problem.
Please be okay.
What if she’s been shot again? This time worse? What if she was in a traffic accident? Too little information and too many what-ifs keep ping-ponging inside my head.
Minutes later, we arrive at the hospital. I’m having triggering memories of the last time I was here when I was denied access to seeing her. Luckily, I do have her family with me, so that might help my case to see her.
The chief meets us—the guy Sloane has had so many issues with—and it takes everything in me not to deck the fucker. Was he involved in this? Is he responsible?
“What happened?” I demand, storming over to the guy. “Where’s Sloane?”
Tanaka holds up a placating hand. His usual asshole sneer is gone. “She’s okay. We got to her in time.”
We got to her in time.
What the actual fuck?
“What about my son?” Rhiannon asks, voice trembling. “Is he okay?”
“He’s going to be okay too.” Tanaka frowns at us. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. They went through an ordeal, but they’ve both made it to the other side. They’ll need family support to get them through the mental anguish they’ve experienced.”
I feel sick to my stomach.
“Spit it out, man,” I choke out. “You’re freaking me the fuck out.”
“One of the detectives lured Sloane to the biker compound with the promise of a lead on Trevor. When she arrived, she was ambushed.”
Ambushed.
My knees buckle, but my sister hooks her arm in mine to keep me steady.
“Both Trevor and Sloane were assaulted,” Tanaka grits out, eyes flashing with fury on their behalf. “The degree and specifics will be up to them to share.”
“So let me get this straight,” I growl. “You were harassing my girl because you thought she was doing something shady and all along it was someone else?”
Tanaka’s head bows and his black eyebrows pinch together. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“Where is that fucker who tricked you all? I’m going to fucking hurt him.”
Gemma tightens her hold on my arm. “Dempsey, don’t.”
“You can’t,” Tanaka says with a shake of his head. “He’s been arrested along with every person involved.” He meets my furious glare. “I understand you’re angry. I’m angry too. I feel like I was fooled. But, in the end, we got the bad guys, and Sloane and Trevor are going to be okay. It’s the best outcome we could have asked for.”
“I want to see my son,” Rhiannon says. “Please.”
Tanaka turns on his heel, gesturing for us to follow him. We walk past the receptionist—a different one than the one I’d flipped out on last time—and toward the ER. Once there, he guides us to where Trevor and Sloane are in beds in the same area, their curtain pulled back so they can see each other.
I stumble to a stop when I see her bruised face and wrapped head. She also has a bandage on her wrist. Her hair is sweaty, bloody, and covered with bits of hay. What the hell happened to my girl?
When she sees me, her tough, stoic expression crumbles. I’m by her side before the first tear drips from her jaw. Gently, I take her hand in mine and lean forward to press a whisper of a kiss on her battered face.
“This job of yours sucks,” I whisper, voice thick with emotion. “Like, it really, really fucking sucks.”
She barks out a teary laugh. “Would you believe up until we started seeing each other, it was actually kind of boring?”
“What are you saying?” I grumble, “Am I your bad luck charm?”
“There’s not a bad thing about you, Dempsey.”
After several minutes, once Sloane has calmed down, I tear my gaze from hers to check in on Trevor. His face is a lot worse looking than his aunt’s. Rhiannon has crawled into the bed with her son, holding him like he’s three and not a grown-ass man like myself. Kaden, Lucy, and Gemma all hover nearby, their worried glances bouncing between Sloane and Trevor.
“What happened?” I ask, turning back to study Sloane. “Tell me everything.”
She sniffles, not meeting my stare. “I stupidly went chasing after something that felt way too easy and too good to be true. I knew, in my gut, that it was a bad idea, but I went anyway.”
I bring her hand to my lips and kiss it. “That’s just you, babe. It’s not a bad thing. You’re a cop. You chase down leads. You’re also an aunt who cares about her family. Anyone in your place would’ve done the same.”
Her smile is sweet. “Thank you.”
“So tell me when it went downhill.”
“Bishop, that lying sack of shit, brought me into another trap they’d sprung for me. This time, they caught me right where they wanted me.” Her chin quivers. “I saw Trevor and he was emaciated. I was so relieved but also terrified at seeing him in such a state that I blindly ran for him. Someone hit me from behind and I woke up handcuffed to a pipe.”
Only the fact the perps have been arrested quells the rage that burns hot in my chest. She and Trevor are safe from those bastards.
“Then,” I urge, voice murderous. “Go on.”
“Bishop admitted he was doing all the sketchy things I was suspicious of. It was never Tanaka. I feel like an idiot now.”
“Hey,” I say softly. “If it’s any consolation, he said he felt like an idiot too.”
A smile tugs at her lips. “We were both idiots, but I think we might be on the same page from here on out.”
I tuck a dirty strand of her hair behind her ear. I’m eager to get her back home where I can spend all the time in the world washing away the horrors she endured today.
“After telling me he was going to frame my murder on Trevor and then kill him too, I was knocked out again. I’m not sure how long I was out for, but when I woke up the next time, Trevor was there with me. Prez showed up and started talking trash. Trevor tried to defend me and ended up taking a horrible beating for it. I was able to get Prez’s attention back on me…”
Her eyes glaze over and terror gleams in her blue eyes. I’m not sure I want her to continue, but I can’t pick and choose what I hear.
“Did he rape you?” My voice is so soft, it’s barely audible.
She swallows hard and shakes her head. “He, uh, was going to. Had my pants down and everything.” A full-bodied tremble quakes through her. “Then the cops showed up. Bishop was back pretending to be one of the good guys. But when we got outside, Tanaka was ready and arrested him along with all his biker cronies.”
Sloane may have not been raped, but she was sexually and physically assaulted, terrorized, and held captive. I’m calling Tate tomorrow to set up an appointment with him. I may give him a lot of shit, but he’s a great therapist and Sloane’s going to need a professional after this. I’ll give her love and support. However, she still needs counseling after this. Anyone would after such a traumatic event.
“It’s over, babe,” I murmur, squeezing her hand in mine. “You’re safe. Trevor is back with his mom. You did it. Time to rest.”
As though my words were exactly what she needed to hear and the last of the adrenaline has left her body, her eyes flutter closed and she passes out.
When I look back over at Trevor, Rhiannon is no longer in the bed with him but sitting in a chair beside him. Her other two kids and my sister are gone.
“Where’d they go?”
“Gemma said she’d take them back home. Now that they know their brother is safe, they don’t need to sit up here.” She looks over at her son, who is also now sleeping. “My sweet boy got on the wrong path. This is all my fault.”
“You didn’t force him to join a biker gang, Rhiannon.”
“I know,” she says with a huff, “but because of my relationship with Lenny, he was exposed to that life.”
“That’s reaching. He chose his own way. It’ll be up to him if he wants to do better.”
She nods. “I think he’s ready. He agreed to go to rehab.”
“Best place for him.”
“He’s going to be okay. My boy is a fighter.”
“Like his momma.”
Her brows scrunch. “I’m trying to do better—to be braver.”
“One day at a time.”
“You know,” Rhiannon says, a soft smile on her lips, “you’re good for my sister. She’s not so cold and distant. I know you’ve helped her a lot. And Kaden thinks the world of you.”
“Your kid is cool as shit. As far as Sloane, she helps me too. We’re good for each other.”
Rhiannon’s expression turns wistful. “Sometimes I wonder what finding true, healthy love would feel like. Sometimes I don’t think it’s in the cards for me. Hell, look at my track record so far. The first man I loved abandoned me and our kids. The second one abused me. I’m a magnet for disaster.”
“You just haven’t found the right one yet. He’s out there. Don’t give up hope.” I turn to look at Sloane’s beautiful sleeping form. “I have loved your sister for as long as I can remember. Now look at us. Imagine if I’d given up.”
Rhiannon sighs and then parrots my words, “Don’t give up hope.”
“Never.” I bring Sloane’s hand to my lips and kiss her again. “Never ever.”
Sloane
Several months later…
“Can I have him?” Tate asks, giving me his saddest face. “I’ll be the best daddy to her in the whole world.”
Jude grunts nearby and I can’t smother the giggle that erupts from me.
“Didn’t you guys just get two more dogs?” I ask, amused by my friend.
“But we don’t have this one.” Tate snuggles Dempsey’s and my new pup. “See, she loves me.”
Dempsey saunters over and holds out his hands. “Mine.”
Tate rolls his eyes playfully at me before passing the sleeping puppy to his real daddy. Dempsey hugs Beauty to his chest and kisses her golden, fuzzy head. I rescued her earlier this week from a dumpster. Her mother was nowhere to be found. Beauty and her siblings were malnourished, cold, and on the brink of death. The other four pups were quickly rehomed to Tara, Aisha, and Tanaka of all people, who took two. Beauty was mine the second I laid eyes on her. Bringing her home to Dempsey and seeing his overjoyed look was one of the best sights I’d ever seen.
We’re a family now with a little furbaby.
Dempsey, seeing my dopey smile, leans in and kisses my cheek. “You’re mine too. Don’t be jealous, babe.”
He leaves my side with Beauty to go sit by Spencer, who’s trying to corral Rex. Kaden, who came with me for this week’s family dinner, is helping Jamie and Gemma in the kitchen. I actually look forward to the Park Sunday meal with this chaotic group.
“How are you doing?” Tate asks, slipping into therapist mode. “You’re awfully quiet today.”
“I’m just happy. Enjoying life.”
He hooks his arm in mine and leans his head on my shoulder. “Good. I knew we’d get there eventually.”
When Dempsey told me he’d set me up an appointment with a therapist, I felt betrayed and pissed. I was defensive, thinking something was wrong with me he wanted to fix. Yes, I went through a traumatic experience with the bikers, but I was fine. We fought about it for a straight week where I did my best to ice him out, but eventually, I gave in.
It probably would’ve helped if he’d told me the therapist was Tate. At first, when I’d met with Tate, I was guarded and quite bitchy, to be honest. But Tate has a way of getting you to spill your guts. We talked about the shooting and then the assault. Eventually, we started digging into my past and childhood. I didn’t realize how much I needed to talk through all of that stuff until we got into it. Now I look forward to my weekly meeting with Tate. And since he just opened up his own practice near the station, it’s been easier to get by to see him during lunch or right after work.
I was able to give Tate some closure too, at least. His stalker and Bishop were friends. Bishop abused his police power to help him find Tate. This was all uncovered after Bishop was arrested. Knowing we got that rat out is relieving to everyone. I’d even pushed Tanaka on Oliver, my dud of a date who was involved in the Ghirard case, thinking maybe he could’ve been an accomplice, but he was cleared of any wrongdoing. Since I know Tanaka is a good guy now, I was able to let it go, trusting my chief’s judgment.
I’ve certainly come a long way in the trust department. My therapist would be proud.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out to find a text from Nevaeh.
Nev: Mom wants us all to get together for Christmas. What does your schedule look like? Also, can we do it at your place since you have more room?
In the past, this would have caused me great anxiety, but since I’ve been working on forgiving my family and myself, it’s easier to take this stuff one day at a time rather than stewing on any tension between us.
Me: I’m happy to host. Ask Mom if she’ll cook her famous mac and cheese. Dempsey got a new smoker he’s been practicing with. I bet he could make the ham.
Nev: Sweet. Thanks, sis. The kids have been dying to go over to your house again. Plus, they want to see your new puppy.
This makes me smile. Mom is still cantankerous, but my sisters are warming back up to me, Rhiannon more so than Nevaeh. I’ve been inviting them over weekly once life went back to normal. And though it feels anything but normal to have my family in my house, I enjoy it nonetheless.
Nathan, who’d been talking to Hugo, excuses himself and saunters my way. Tate allows Jude to tug him away from me over to the dining room table. Normally, I’d brace myself for a conversation with Nathan, but things are different between us now.
“Sloane,” he says, offering his hand to shake. “I wanted to congratulate you on making detective.”
Pride thumps in my chest as I shake Nathan’s hand. “Well, they had an opening, so…”
He smirks. “They don’t just fill it with anyone. You deserve to be in that position.”
“Thank you.” Nathan doesn’t typically praise me, so this feels strange.
“Hiroshi tells me you’re doing well. I’m pleased the two of you were able to work things out.”
Once I learned that Tanaka was actually a good guy, it was easier to get to know him. I was also shocked to learn his wealthy wife was the Seattle gallery owner who hired Dempsey for commission work. Small world. Because of this, we’ve gone to dinner on a double date with them a few times now. Mona and Dempsey nerd out over art, while me and Tanaka talk about work, mostly to discuss updates on how Bishop and the mayor are faring in prison. I even talked Tanaka into buying the station a badass coffee machine when I got a few drinks in him one night.
“Me too,” I agree with a smile. “And Mona just found a buyer for a piece Dempsey is working on. Did he tell you? They’re from New York and offered him fifty thousand.”
Nathan nods, pleasure gleaming in his eyes. “He’s well worth it. Does this mean he’s going to pay off that ridiculous car now?”
The pearl-white Dodge Hellcat Redeye, the Widebody Jailbreak edition, purchase was another source of contention between Nathan and Dempsey. I’d cosigned on it for Dempsey since his credit’s still new, which didn’t earn me any brownie points from his father. Nathan thought Dempsey would choose something more practical or affordable. But my man prefers 807 horsepower over practicality. The girlfriend in me thinks he’s hot driving the thing. The cop in me nearly has a shit fit whenever he exceeds the speed limit.
“Doubtful,” I tell him honestly. “He wants to remodel the kitchen.”
Nathan narrows his eyes for a moment, considers my answer, and then nods. “Your kitchen does need updating.”
I flip him off. “I know, I know. My oven sucks and it drives Dempsey insane. You two are cut from the same cloth.”
