Reese

“You got it. Law might be a good guy to ask about this.”

“Not sure getting a cop involved is a good idea.”

“Ex-cop. I remember he was looking into the original cases himself before he was suspended.”

I sit forward. “Suspended?”

“About eighteen months ago. There was a shooting at the mall.”

“I remember seeing snippets of it on the news.”

“Some gang initiation thing. Anyway, one of the guys grabbed a baby out of its stroller while her mother’s back was turned and used it to ensure his getaway. Cops swarmed the place, but with the baby as a hostage, everything came to somewhat of a standstill as he made his way to a waiting car in the lot. Law was part of the SWAT team close by. They were given orders to hold their fire. But then the baby was tossed out of the car before they sped away. Law fired a shot, aiming for the tire. But in the chaos, someone clipped his arm, and the bullet went off course, hitting the trunk.

“The baby was a convenient means of escape. The initiation itself involved snatching a member of the rival gang’s family. Jamie Beckett, the leader of the rival gang, had no siblings except for a twelve-year-old sister who just happened to be exiting McDonald’s when they snatched her and tossed her in the trunk.”

“Oh, Jesus.”

“Yeah. Law’s bullet hit her in the back of the head. She died instantly, but it was a mess. Law was placed on administrative leave while internal affairs conducted an investigation. One of them had it out for him. Tried to get him on a whole shitload of charges, including involuntary manslaughter. Nothing, though, was worse than his guilt.”

“I bet. I mean, it’s awful. Truly fucking awful, but it was an accident.”

“I know that. But something like that changes a person. He ended up quitting. Started coming here to channel his rage with a bag before helping out with the junior classes.”

“How did the kids react to him?”

“They were little assholes to start with, but he refused to let them run him off. And when they saw he was going to stick around, they backed off. He’s good for them, tells them about what happened to him, and about all the other shitty things he’s seen that involved kids their age. He’s trying to save them all, I think, as some kind of penance. But he’s damn good, and that’s why I had him in here earlier. He’s been doing it all voluntarily, but I want to take him on full-time. The kids really do relate to him.”

“Do it. Whatever helps, right?”

“Right. Anyway, he’s a good guy, and he’s been through enough to understand that not everything is black and white. He’ll go to war to protect these kids, and if someone out there is picking them off, he’ll want to help you.”

“I’ll talk to him,” I agree. It can’t hurt at this point. “His name really Law?” If so, I guess there was no way he could have been anything but a cop.

“Nah, that’s all the kids. His name is Jace Jones. Used to go by JJ before all this went down, but you know what nicknames are like around here. Once you have one, it sticks with you forever.”

I grin. “Like Malice.”

“Exactly.”

“You want to teach classes while you’re here, or are you just going to be sparring?”

I ponder his words, knowing I’d like to get back into the thick of it.

“I wouldn’t mind doing a few self-defense classes.”

“That would work. We get the kids in here, but we still don’t have much in the way of female clientele. Not with the fancy gym around the corner with its juice bar and sauna.”

“I can work with that. Believe it or not, not all women want that. Some just want to work out without having to worry about their appearance, but places like this can be intimidating. We can do some marketing for it, put my name on it, and it will be another way of drawing people in.

“Someone has to know or have seen something. The more people in means, the more people I can ask.”

“It can’t hurt, for sure. You got a place to crash tonight?”

I smile at the man who has a soft spot for all his strays.

“Yeah, I’m good. I’m riding home tonight. Gotta feed Charlie. But I’ll be back. If you know of any places available to rent, let me know.”

“I’ll ask around and call you if I find anything.”