“Ok Jack. You got it. How you gonna get her there? You got a plan?” He half lifted his beer glass as he looked at me expectantly.
“Lucas will help. She trusts him. They’ve known each other for years. So Lucas picks her up and takes her somewhere safe to lay low until we got Conall. He can choose to take one of his trusted cops with him if he wants. They’ll make sure she gets there safe and has someone looking after her. He’s close with a few of the good guys on the streets. People that want Conall behind bars as much as we do. Hell, probably even more than we do. They got kids, families. They want this town safe.”
The Lieutenant nodded thoughtfully.
“Lucas will give me a call when she’s there. When I know she’s safe, I take a visit to this meth lab. See if Goldie was telling the truth. If so, I bust the place. I’ll try and get some of them alive to see if they talk. We’ve already got the meth from Conall, and we got Goldie, who’ll probably sing like a bird. We can put it all together, especially with Eden testifying against him as well. Then, we quickly bust Conall and his henchmen.” I finished my beer with a flourish.
The Lieutenant was shaking his head slightly.
“Good plan, Jack. Except the part where you take down what’s probably a heavily guarded meth lab on your own. I know you’re a good shot, but can you dodge bullets?” He smiled at me, concern on his face.
“We’ll do it as you say. Just go case the lab, check it out first. No heroics, Jack! If it's the place we think it is, call it in. We’ll have to show our hand sooner or later anyway.” He shrugged, draining his beer.
“There’s one more thing, Frank. I think some of the detectives are helping Conall out. I reckon he’s probably greased their palms already. They’ll try and makes things difficult if they can. I’m fed up with the department reeking of corruption. I want to take them all down, too.” I looked at him seriously. His eyebrows rose as he looked up at me.
“Listen, Jack. Between you and me, the Captain wants you to take over as lieutenant when I retire. So those detectives will be your detectives soon. If you can get something on them to clean the department out, then go for it. I’ve never been able to get anything on them, slimy fucks.”
“I’ll see what I can do. I’ve got a plan…” The Lieutenant stopped me mid-sentence with a loud laugh.
“You’ve always got a plan, Jack! Now, after you leave here give Lucas a call and get things moving. Start tomorrow, alright? Ain’t got time to sit on our asses. Tell him he’ll get overtime, but I know he’d help anyway. In the meantime, that’s enough work talk. You got a big day ahead of you. I’ll get some more beers. Let's chat like old times. Relax. I got some stories you haven’t heard yet.” He smiled as he went to get more beers.
I leaned back, my mind swirling with everything, Eden’s face appearing in my mind.
Don't worry, babe. Soon this will all be over. When you’re safe, I’ll come get you. Then I’ll never have to leave you again.
EIGHTEEN
Eden
Jack left just after the new door had been fixed securely in place. Heavy wood, secure locks. I didn’t think anyone would be kicking my new door down any time soon. Jack had insisted on paying half, despite my protests. It was nice to have someone to help out Honestly, I’d felt relieved at his insistence, my fears of him using me starting to fade.
Unless he’s merely assuaging his own guilt… Damn it, Eden. Stop it. You don’t have to worry anymore.
I’d felt a weight lift off my shoulders once I’d agreed to testify against Conall. Worries and doubts disintegrated as I’d made my decision, a single-minded purpose taking over. The presence of Jack made me feel safe and strong. I got a feeling he had been bolstered by our proximity, by our intimacy…
I was still glowing from the sex we’d had earlier, my mind filled with thoughts of Jack, his firm muscles, and his confident demeanor. He seemed immaculate, cool, calm and invincible.
He better come back in one piece, or I don’t know what I’d do.
Somehow I knew he would win, but I still had my doubts. I’d only known the guy for a week, but he filled me with certainty. He was the sort of man that spread a relaxed assurance in those around him with apparent ease, allaying fears with a gesture or a few words.
I couldn’t help but admit that I was falling for him already.
He’d left with a few brief words, and I guessed he didn’t really know what to say. I thought he was probably as new to this as I was.
Don’t worry, Jack. I’ve never felt this way either. We can find our way together.
He’d said he was going to speak to his boss and organize a way of getting me to a safe place. Somewhere where Conall couldn’t just turn up with a crew of his boys and take revenge for what he deemed was betrayal.
But it was Conall who’d betrayed me. Filled me with false hope and promises and left me. I knew he didn’t care, that the reason he came back was out of a warped sense of ownership. He left like he was owed something, just by merely being the nephew of the O’Rourke brothers.
Well, he was soon to get his due, I knew that much. One way or another, he wouldn’t be able to hurt me anymore. No more attempts to get at me out of spite and jealousy.
I went about the rest of the evening in peace, safe in the knowledge that Conall wouldn’t dare step near my place again. He was a moron, but he wasn’t completely stupid. He knew what he’d done and knew that Jack had the evidence on his phone. He’d probably be getting drunk, bragging to his cronies about what he was going to do to Jack. False promises. Vague threats.
I occasionally took a peep out of the front windows, hoping for a sight of Jack pulling up in his black car. After the third or fourth time of looking, though, I saw a marked police patrol car parked across the road and down the block a little, in clear sight of my front door.
That should keep any idiots away.