"What does that mean?"
"It means sometimes the best revenge is giving someone exactly what they gave you," Reign said. "I'm not in a place where I can judge you for wanting him to bleed for this. Trust me, I've been there. But you're free, babe. You don't want to throw that shit away on something as fleeting as revenge. And I don't think you're the sort who could do something like that without regret."
"What is it that you guys have in mind?"
"Reign knows someone in the NBPD who would like nothing better than to stop the date rape drugs on the streets."
"You want to tell them what you know, catch him dealing, and put away for distribution."
"Had Jstorm look into this Tanner fuck. He's been pulled in half a dozen times for possession. But they never caught him with enough on him to really put him away. With that on his record, they will throw the book at him," Reign told me.
Throw the book at him.
Like they'd done to me because of him.
"It's the right revenge," Ty reasoned, seeming to think I was hesitant. "It's the same punishment for the same crime."
"But he might get out in ten years, get right back on the street, doing all this again."
"That's a problem for a decade from now, Freddie," Reign told me. "Don't take on tomorrow's problem right now."
"I didn't want to take your revenge away from you. You give us the go, we'll call Lloyd. You don't think it's good enough, we'll handle it another way."
Another way.
They'd kill Tanner.
For me.
And not just any of them.
It was Ty who would do it.
He would get blood on his hands, take a life, take the risk of getting caught.
For me.
No matter my concerns about the future, Reign was right, that was a problem for then, not now. Now was the issue of Ty.
And I didn't think we could have a future with a body between us. I would never forgive myself for letting him do that for me.
"Call Lloyd," I said, voice not having enough conviction. "You're right. I wouldn't be able to go through with it myself. And I couldn't let you do it either. But he needs to pay for what he has done. Call the NBPD."
"You're sure?" Reign asked.
"I'm sure."
"I might be able to persuade Lloyd to let you get a couple minutes in a room without a camera with the bastard," Reign suggested.
"I'll think about that," I said with a small smile, oddly grateful for his interest in what would make me happiest. "Can I ask something?"
"Sure," Reign agreed.
"Putting Tanner away doesn't really fix the whole problem, does it?"
"We'll see. Maybe someone else will step up and continue this shit. In which case, we'll have to handle it."
"I mean with the date-rape drugs."
"Those will stop," Reign said, voice suddenly fierce. "They can sell what they want to people who use it to ruin their own lives. They aren't going to be selling shit on these streets to ruin others. It's not just us who will have a problem with it either. Mallicks, Grassis, Hailstorm. No one is going to let that keep happening."
"That's good to know," I agreed, giving him a small, grateful smile.
It was half an hour later that Detective Lloyd showed up, casting a knowing look at Reign as I peeked out from the hallway. "So, I'm not going to ask of the fate of the man who gave you this information."
"Not like you'd get a straight answer anyway," Reign agreed.
"So, tell me how to get these drugs off the streets," Lloyd demanded, pretending to completely ignore that he was, essentially, in enemy territory, a place he knew was full of illegal guns, dirty money, and, well, who knew what else.
"Come on," Ty said in a quiet voice, moving in behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist. With that, he led me into his room, dragging me down on the bed with him, tucking me in at his side. "You alright?"
"I'll be better when I know he is not walking the same streets I am," I admitted. "But I'm glad to know it's going to happen soon."
"Lloyd doesn't like working with us. Sometimes, he will look the other way, going after guys who do worse shit than us, but he doesn't like having to sit here and take advice from us. So it shows how hungry he is for this arrest. I imagine this will be done within the next week."
"Hey Ty," I started, voice small after a long silence.
"Yeah?"
"Where's the guy? From earlier," I specified, knowing I probably wasn't supposed to ask questions like that, but not able to stop myself.
"Chained to a bunk bed in the basement," Ty supplied without hesitation. "He will serve us better alive. But he can't go tattling back to his boss. So we will be holding onto him until Lloyd does his job."