“Okay here it comes.” Slade tilted the screen to lose the glare.
Ex noticed a huge change in God and Day’s stances, their body language and expressions becoming almost desperate. Meridian sat up as well, abandoning the last couple bites of his egg roll, narrowing his eyes at the video.
“He said his nephew was tutored by Evan and he’d gotten a look at the car...” Meridian’s breath hitched, and Ex saw a flare of light spark in his dark eyes. “The witness is a kid, but he says he recognized the shooter.”
Ex gripped the edge of the table. That was good news.
“With good news always comes the bad.” Slade shrugged sadly, then pressed a couple of keys and pulled up another video of an older man with thick jowls and graying sideburns walking through an underground garage. “This is the DA, Chuck Rowlands, Senior. That name sound familiar?”
“Yeah it does. It’s the prosecutor.” Ex crossed his hands over his chest, wishing Slade would just get to the point. Their handler wasn’t one for theatrics when delivering their intel.
“Two points for you.” Slade winked. “Mr. Rowland, senior, is the elected district attorney who keeps tanking Godfrey’s cases. Rowland, junior, was appointed deputy district attorney nine months ago. A corrupt father-son duo. I’d been on Godfrey’s tail all day and he had a meeting at the DA’s office yesterday. When they were done I stayed on the DA just for shits and giggles to see what would come up. As you can see from the footage, God, Day, and their sergeant, Sydney weren’t gone twenty minutes before Rowland, Sr. came out. And look who’s waiting for him.”
“Shit,” Meridian snarled.
“Yep. Those two brothers God and Day arrested—Jason and Marcus Stewart—who were let back out on the streets before the ink was done drying on their booking papers.” Slade nodded. He looked proud of himself at the information he’d brought them. And Ex had to admit that he’d gotten good, solid intel. “They’re giving the DA money... payoff money. The father put the son in a supervisory capacity so that all cases regarding special units—which includes the narcotics unit—come through him for approval. And guess which particular cases don’t get approved?”
Ex curled his lip just as he felt Meridian’s hand press against his lower back. Ex swallowed and did a three-second breathing exercise that didn’t work. He needed to let his rage out, to let it—
“We don’t have to guess,” Meridian murmured. “We get it.”
“Motherfucker.” Ex broke away from Meridian’s touch and picked up one of the heavy oak dining chairs and hurled it across the room, not bothering to wait to watch it crash into the lamp on the end table beside the sofa. “The moment Godfrey gets that witness I guarantee every gang within a two-hundred-mile radius will be notified. He’ll be dead long before he can testify, Meridian!”
“I followed the Stewart brothers after they finished paying the district attorney. They have a nice-ass house on the upper eastside in Pineland, but they’re laying low with a couple guys in Grove Park,” Slade added, ignoring Ex’s outburst.
Meridian came towards Ex but he didn’t want to be handled, he didn’t want to be controlled. He wanted to fuck some shit up because he was realizing this entire situation was going a lot deeper than he’d intended to dig. A corrupt DA? Fuck! Taking him and his fucking son out would cause a way louder ruckus than they’d planned. Ex could feel his op failing already. DAs were supposed to be pillars of the community, but they’d been a huge reason why his brother had gotten killed. Ex roared and grabbed for his twenty-five-inch monitor at the other end of the dining table and was prepared to hurl it out of the window when strong arms wrapped around his middle and yanked him backwards into a hard chest.
Ex tried to think of breathing but all he could manage to do was not fight the hold around him. It felt like if he didn’t have that anchor supporting him, then the rage he felt inside would devour him. Ex clutched at his chest, holding his breath as he grimaced from the burning pain. He had to do something. Shit, he needed Meridian to do something.
“I got you,” Meridian said just behind his ear. “Easy. Just breathe.”
Ex gasped for air as his vision fogged over from the lack of oxygen. He was enveloped in his partner’s scent, his warm body heat seeping into his cold soul. He felt so dead inside now that Evan was gone... except for the small moment of time that he was in Meridian’s arms with his mouth on his.
Do something Mere. Fuck. Just do anything. It’s too much. He pleaded with his eyes.
“Slade. Do you have the Navigator?”
“No,” Slade answered Meridian as he stood stock-still while Ex lost it.