It was intensely quiet for a few more minutes as we held and stroked each other, rememorizing all the touches we so severely missed.
“What do we do now, Mason?” her sweet voice reached inside me, stroking something profound.
“Now, we do what I promised. I lead the criminal enterprise within this city and put an end to sex trafficking within as wide of a radius as possible. You will stand by my side andhopefullykeep yourself out of obvious danger.”
“I’ll stay out of obvious danger if you’re always honest with me,” she countered.
“Deal.” I pressed my lips to the hollow beneath her ear.
“Deal,” she agreed.
Chapter 29
Mason
Afewdayslater,I left Claire home to attend the meeting with Captain Combs. Those few days had been a whirlwind of meetings, sex, and growing pains that would only increase over the coming weeks. I was nervous about this meeting, though I hated to admit that even to myself. So much rested on this, and while it wouldn't stop me, having the police in my pocket would make my job much more manageable.
I didn't know much about the man I was meeting with. His predecessor was one of my father's favorite subordinates and had been a ruthless bastard. He and the deceased officer Grant had a mentor-mentee style relationship, which said a lot about how awful the old captain was.
Combs was young for a police captain at thirty-five. Officer Barns had filled me in as much as possible in preparation for this meeting. He was still being secretive about our working relationship, but that would change soon enough once we got Combs on our side and got rid of the officers that would prove problematic in the change in power.
Combs hadn’t been in the position long enough for me to know what to expect from this meeting, but Barns insisted that this was a good thing.
Claire stayed home without complaint this time. We were past the point of keeping things from one another, and I think she actually trusted me to keep her informed. Claire's new injuries were not as severe as her old ones, but she needed a lot of rest.
Emma stayed with her, doting on her like a mother hen while Victor, James, and I drove across town. Emma was still staying at the house, which I didn't fully understand. There was no reason to assume she was immediately in danger. Even stranger, I hadn't heard her complain about wanting to leave. James hadn't mentioned it to me, despite her staying inmyguestroom. I didn’t get their relationship, but I didn’t care enough to want to know more. They would sort their shit out in their own time, and I had enough space not to worry about it yet.
Lawrence was at home with them as well as Mila. Mila and Claire had bonded through their shared experience. Though they were a little awkward with each other, it was nice to see Claire form another friendship. How long Mila planned to stay was another untouched subject.
She could stay as long as she wanted, but learning that Mila intentionally planned to leave before being abducted left a huge question mark on when that might be. Victor returned to his old self since we found them and brought them home relatively safely. Except that the usually quiet, serious man had become downright dour. As far as I could tell, he hadn't even looked in Mila's direction for days. While I wondered about that too, like James, he'd figure his own shit out.
The woman who led Claire out of the library turned out to be incredibly helpful in piecing together the events of my father’s death and the weeks in between. I was proud to say I wasn’t angry anymore after hearing things from her side. Maybe that wasn’t particularly impressive, but I knew my strengths and forgiveness wasn’t one of them. She had already returned home to her family, hopefully with the chance to recover from what was done to her
With my father and Daniel dead, we all felt comfortable enough to attend this meeting. It was essential to present a united front. Vick and James were an important part of my father's operation, and while I didn't know the chief, they'd had some dealings with him.
“He's always been tepid when it came to your father and the syndicate,” James told me the night before as the three of us sat in the study and drank bourbon. It was strange and fantastic to sit around, drink, and laugh, knowing that we were all okay for a few hours.
“Tepid?” I asked, then took a deep swallow.
James shrugged, “He played along with whatever your father said, but he didn't have the same enthusiasm the old bastard did.” The previous police chief really had been a bastard. “There's a good chance Barns is right, and this meeting will go well.”
“What do you think, Vick?”
Vick stared into his glass, not answering, “Vicky has a stick up his ass tonight, but trust me, Mason, I know what I'm talking about.” And I did.
We passed the police station, and my gaze trailed along the officers chatting beside their cars. They would either be on my side or working against me, and this meeting would determine which way that went.
Meetings of this nature never took place in the station. In part because the “upstanding” pillars of the community didn't tend to hang out with riff-raff and criminals who actually get charged. But also, the ordinary citizen shouldn't know how this clean and pretty city stays that way. Controlled corruption would serve them best.
We were quiet as we pulled up to a spacious but squat residential building bordering the high-end district. It said something that Combs invited us to his home rather than a secondary location, but perhaps he thought it would be easier to kill us on his turf.
We exited the car together and quickly walked to the front door. I knocked and took a step back. Things were quiet, and the three of us looked at each other, wondering when too much time meant something was wrong. I knocked again, and a moment later, the door opened. I was surprised to find officer Barns smiling at me warmly.
“Mr. Sharp, come on in. Victor, James,” he nodded to each of them. “Sorry for keeping you waiting. The Chief and I were talking in his office.”
He stepped back, allowing us to pass. We closed ranks when we saw how many other officers were here this morning. They largely ignored us, which was better than outright hostility. Barns led us through the house, which was very neat for a bachelor pad. He knocked on a door, and a moment later, Combs opened it.
He glanced at each of us, seeming to settle some unspoken question. “Come in, please,” he waved us in.