Mike gave it a beat before he remarked, "This gets to Colt, you better have this speech down, Merry, because if he thinks you"re not in this for the reasons you just gave me, then he"s gonna lose his mind."
"Colt knows about the hookup and I"ll explain s.h.i.t now. I"ll do it once, Mike. He doesn"t know the man I am or the feelings I had for Cher even before this happened and know I"ll have a care, then we got problems."
Mike nodded, muttering, "I"ll take your back on that, brother."
Garrett didn"t reply. He grabbed his coffee and took a sip.
"Now, the good stuff done, what"s got you p.i.s.sed?" Mike asked.
"You know if Colt gets any a.s.sholes up in his s.h.i.t, writin" books or anything else to do with Denny Lowe?" Garrett asked back.
Mike straightened. "He and Feb used to. Think that"s died down." His head tipped to the side. "Cher still got issues with that?"
"Former FBI profiler walked right up to her door an hour ago, offerin" her a grand to have a chat so he can write a book."
Mike"s mouth went hard again.
"What a f.u.c.kin" d.i.c.k," he clipped.
"It happens to her, Mike. Not frequent, according to her, not anymore. But it still happens. Phone calls and visits."
"She shut him down?" Mike asked.
"She started, I finished. But she"s open to that. Wide open. She refused this guy"s calls and he still showed. That ain"t right for her, but she"s got Ethan. She said he doesn"t open the door to that, but it could happen. And that really isn"t right."
"Agreed, but I"m not sure what can be done about it. It isn"t a crime, and I don"t wanna p.i.s.s you off, Merry, but Cher"s a single mom bartender and ex-stripper. a.s.sholes like that"d think she"s open season, not only because she believed Lowe"s s.h.i.t but because they think she needs the money. Colt probably doesn"t get this "cause, one, he"s a cop, and two, he looks like he can break a man in half and would, they brought that s.h.i.t into his life again."
"Yeah, that"s exactly why she gets it and that"s exactly why a statement needs to be made she"s off-limits," Garrett stated, reaching into his jacket pocket to pull out his phone.
That was when Mike went alert.
"Brother..." he trailed off, but that one word was cautionary.
Yeah, he knew his partner.
"You can either take a walk so you don"t hear this call or I can. Which one"s it gonna be?" Garrett asked.
Mike studied him again.
Then he grabbed his coffee, nabbed a file, and took off.
Garrett engaged his phone.
He made his call and put it to his ear.
"Talk to me," Ryker said in greeting.
Garrett kept his eyes on the room as he replied, "There"s a man in town, name"s Walter Jones. Ex-FBI profiler who"s writin" a book on Denny Lowe. He came at Cher. He was shut down. But he"s here "cause he needs s.h.i.t. Thinkin" he knows not to go at Cher again, but she"s got a mom and a kid. They also aren"t the only ones in this "burg who he could hit to talk about Lowe. Some might not mind talkin". Most won"t wanna be bothered. He needs incentive to get his a.s.s gone."
"You know where he"s stayin"?" Ryker asked.
"No clue," Garrett told him.
"A challenge," Ryker muttered.
Not a surprise, Ryker was on board.
"Can give you this clue-the make, model, and plate number for his vehicle," Merry told him.
"Text it to me," Ryker ordered.
"For this, you hold a marker or I give you cash. Think on it and tell me which way you wanna go. We"ll talk after you get this done."
"Cher"s a sister. This a.s.sclown came at her, not down with that. This is a freebie. But, bro, just sayin", don"t get used to that."
Before Garrett could extend grat.i.tude, Ryker disconnected.
When he did, Garrett typed out the car"s details and a description of Jones, and he sent it to Ryker.
He didn"t like doing it like that.
Not the part about setting Ryker on it. He didn"t mind that.
The part that it wasn"t him taking care of this business.
But he liked his job and he needed it to keep eating and to get out of his s.h.i.tty-a.s.s condo, because the time was ripe.
After the divorce, he"d left the house they"d lived in to Mia and he understood now a part of him was staying in his current place because he expected he"d be going back.
He also understood now why he"d saved up for a down payment on a place but then he bought a Harley. Same s.h.i.t happened and he bought a speed boat. Same s.h.i.t and he got a timeshare in Florida.
He"d never quit living his life for the now.
And he packed as much in as he could, eating what he wanted, drinking all he wanted, taking off when he wanted, f.u.c.king who he wanted, living how he wanted.
Just like his sister after their dad got drilled with five rounds from his partner"s gun, the same night their mother was tortured and murdered by that partner when Rocky was hiding upstairs, Garrett lived with the poison in his mind that life would eventually turn. The happy family they had-their mom a beautiful, vibrant woman, their dad a good man in love with his wife and always showing it, Christmases, birthdays, some part of every day filled with all that was right about family-all in one night...gone.
So he"d lived in the now. He"d gotten rid of the only person in his life who wouldn"t get it like his dad did, like Rocky did, but she was the person who would feel it the worst if something happened to him. After Vegas, he"d made it so Mia would never feel it when that day happened like the poison in his mind told him it was sure to.
He had no idea how he"d get past that with Cher and her son. If the worst happened to him on the job or just because life sucked, she deserved it even less if she got in deep with him and s.h.i.t went down.
He just knew now that poison was in his system, and the woman Mia was, she didn"t have it in her to help him work it out.
The woman Cher was, she did.
He"d sorted that in his mind, but that was the least of his baggage.
He not only needed to start conversations with Cher about what was happening, he needed to have a conversation with Mia.
She"d f.u.c.ked things up since he left.
But he"d f.u.c.ked things up, leaving her. She"d loved him. It was clear she still felt that. And bottom line, back then, he"d hurt her and he"d played his own part in continuing to do it.
He had to explain and apologize so they could both move on.
Mike came back, they went through their cases, decided where they were going to start their work that day, and they were getting ready to head out the door when Sully and Colt hit the top of the back stairs.
"Merry," Colt bit out the minute he made the room. "Interrogation."
Without another word, Colt stalked toward the side hall where the interrogation rooms were.
Garrett felt his jaw set and looked to his partner.
Mike"s eyes were aimed at where Colt was disappearing. He felt Garrett"s gaze and looked to him.
"Think he"s heard about Sw.a.n.k"s," Mike noted, mouth twitching.
"I see that didn"t sit real good with you," Sully called to Merry. "But my advice, get in there or you"re both gonna get suspended for brawling in the bullpen."
Not happy about it but knowing Sully wasn"t wrong, Garrett got up and walked to the hall.
He found the door open to interrogation room one, Colt waiting inside, a.s.s leaned to the table, palms pressed to the top beside his hips. Garrett made his statement by not entering the room but instead stopping in the doorway and leaning a shoulder against the jamb.
He further made his statement verbally.
"Not a big fan of being summoned, brother," he said quietly.
"Cher"s made the calls," Colt clipped. "All hands on deck with her girls bringin" dresses to J&J"s she can look over tonight and pick one for her date with you tomorrow at Sw.a.n.k"s."
f.u.c.k, he needed to call to get a reservation.
He made note of that even as he felt his lips curve at Cher doing what Cher did.
"I see that pleases you," Colt remarked, not sounding pleased, and Garrett focused on him again. "Probably please you more she made a date for a weekday sleepover for her boy at Meems"s. So rest up "cause you got all night to tap that real good, brother."
His tone was cutting.
His words were incendiary.
Garrett battled the burn as he pushed away from the door. "Watch yourself, Colt."
Colt"s brows went up. "You"re playin" with my girl and you"re tellin" me to watch myself?"
"No, I"m takin" my girl out to dinner and I"m tellin" you, even though I know you"re makin" a point, you need to watch your mouth when you"re talkin" about her."
Colt"s eyes went intense.
"Your girl?" he asked.
"Learned from her, not your business until she makes it. You two are tight. You and me are tight. For her, what she"s got with you, that wins out. So she makes this your business, that"s hers. What you need from me, respect to you as my brother, respect to you as the man who gives a s.h.i.t about her, I"m havin" a care. You got my promise on that, Colt. Now, the rest of it, you need to have a care."
"I told you-"
"Her son"s daddy and his b.i.t.c.h are thinkin" of makin" a play for her boy," Garrett cut him off to say. "I found that s.h.i.t out for her so she could shut it down."
"She told me that, but-"
"This mornin", a man walked up to her door and offered her a thousand dollars to talk about Lowe."
That made Colt push up from the table.
"I shut that down too," Garrett told him. "This is not play. This is not a hookup. This is not about Mia. This is not d.i.c.k but me and a woman I have feelin"s for, explorin" what"s goin" on between us. It"s time she started her life again after Lowe interrupted it. She"s doin" that with me."
He crossed his arms on his chest, held Colt"s gaze, and kept going.
"I have no clue how this is gonna roll. I got s.h.i.t I gotta deal with. She does too. But right now, we"re lookin" at doin" it together. We can tough it out, I see good things. We can"t, we can"t. But that"s ours. Not yours because you want to cushion her from any hits life might land. Not anyone"s. I gave it time because I needed that time to know exactly where I was before I took it further. I gave it time because she needed to know I gave it that time for her and her kid. I"m all about doin" this right and that"s also for Cher and for Ethan. That"s said, so now you need to stand down, Colt. If not for me, wantin" me to have good in my life, then for her."
"You better-" Colt kept trying.
But Garrett was done with this s.h.i.t.
"Don"t say more. Don"t threaten me. Don"t warn me. Don"t do s.h.i.t, Colt," Garrett interrupted him again. "Not s.h.i.t you can"t come back from. You know I"m only givin" you what I just gave you because of what she means to you. You don"t cut me some slack, we got problems, and straight up, man, I do not want problems with you when my attention needs to be on sortin" my s.h.i.t so I can bust my a.s.s to make a good woman happy."
Garrett knew he finally got to Colt before he watched his friend"s eyes narrow as he asked, "Some a.s.shole walked right up to her door to get to her about Lowe?"
Garrett nodded. "She says it doesn"t happen much anymore, but it happens."
"He didn"t call first?"
"He called. Cher didn"t take his calls, so he decided on a face-to-face."
"f.u.c.k," Colt hissed.
"Rumor"s spreadin", seein" as this guy probably has a hit list and Cher was just his first, and Ryker"s heard." Colt"s face froze, but Garrett kept talking. "You know how protective Ryker is about the citizens of this "burg, so I think Walter Jones might soon feel induced to find his way to the town limits."
"s.h.i.t, Cher"s never learned, you got a problem, you court it gettin" bigger if you don"t tell somebody. She could have told me about the calls and I could have had a chat with this moron over the phone and convinced him a trip to the "burg would be a waste of his time. Instead, she didn"t take his calls, you were there when he made his play, and now I don"t know what"s worse, whatever Ryker"s gonna do to "induce" this guy to take a hike or you bein" a bigger lunatic than Ryker because you know he"s a lunatic and you set him on this guy."
"And you would have played it how?" Garrett prompted.
"My play would have been personal," Colt returned.
And that was why Colt and February didn"t catch this s.h.i.t.
"Yeah, and that gets messy. The cap, every one of your brothers, every man and woman in this county, and every judge at the courthouse would see your play because they"d play it the same way. Lowe spent decades where he existed only to destroy your life. He nearly succeeded in that. They"d get that. Me actin" for a woman I haven"t even taken on our first date? Not so much."
Colt said nothing for a beat before he sighed.
That meant he saw Garrett"s play.