front of his friends. He wouldn’t have the balls to shoot out my window.”
“He seemed pretty angry.” Though she was stating the obvious again, Gabriella couldn’t help it.
Vince glanced at Shane, then back at her. “Emotions run high when a cop dies. There’s a rush to judgment. They want to believe they’ve caught the bad guy. But in this case they haven’t.”
“It’s not our fault they don’t want to do their job.” Shane leaned against the wall of the elevator and folded his arms across his chest.
“What happened?” They both were talking in riddles. Then again, maybe it would have made more sense if she’d been paying attention earlier in court.
“A cop interrupted a liquor store robbery and was killed. My client is accused of committing the crime, but he wasn’t even in town at the time.”
She nodded as a level of understanding sank in. Shane had been there to testify that he’d uncovered evidence that the defendant was incapable of committing the crime. No wonder everyone was so on edge.
* * *
Shane couldn’t explain why, but he had a really bad feeling about the Marcos case. Maybe it was the confrontation with O’Brien afterward. Maybe it was residual from the window being blown out in his car. Maybe it was a good old-fashioned case of a gut-twitch that wouldn’t go away.
Either way, as he waited for Gabriella while she changed, a niggling sensation in the back of his head warned him to send her back to Florida on a one-way ticket. But a bigger part of him knew if he did that he’d never see her again. And for the first time in a very long time, maybe forever, he didn’t want that to happen.
“I’ll be in later.” He pulled to the curb in front of the Blues Stop and came around to help her out of the car. She gave him a weird expression when he grasped her arm. He had a nearly irresistible urge to kiss her goodbye, but fought it.
What the hell? A few hours around her and he was going soft.
She turned to look at him as she walked to the door looking smoking hot, as always. “Okay…hmm…I guess I’ll see you later.”
After he watched her saunter inside and meet up with Mack, he went back to his car. He drove to his office and examined everything he had on the Tony Marcos case, hoping maybe he’d missed something.
Cops had a tendency to go a little crazy when one of their own was killed. He could understand that. But there seemed to be more. He just hadn’t figured it out yet.
He was scanning through file after file when his phone rang. “O’Neil.”
“Tony Marcos was stabbed this afternoon in lock-up,” Vince said softly on the other end of the line.
Was this another case of cops ensuring that justice was served?
* * *
When Shane arrived at the club some time later, Gabriella noticed he didn’t look very happy. Though that wasn’t all that unusual, his unhappiness this time seemed to run deeper. Sadness evidenced itself in his slouched posture and the defeated expression on his face.
“What’s going on?” Call her crazy, but she needed to know what had him so preoccupied.
“Tony Marcos was stabbed in prison. They’re not sure if he’s going to make it.”
A shiver raced up and down her arms and an eerie sensation rattled her bones. “Oh, my God.”
Shane nodded in a distracted kind of way, as if he were trying to think through a solution in his head. “Tony didn’t want me to testify on his behalf. I’d stake my life on the fact he was being threatened. He was afraid of what might happen.” He blew out a breath. “Now it has.”
She gulped, knowing the answer before she even asked the question. “Do you think that’s why he was attacked?”
He nodded. “I have to figure out a way to prove it.”
Okay, that sounded pretty darn dangerous, even for Shane. But she wanted him to keep talking. She wanted to know what he was thinking. “Are you sure getting shot at earlier isn’t also connected? Those cops seemed awfully angry.”
He
“He seemed pretty angry.” Though she was stating the obvious again, Gabriella couldn’t help it.
Vince glanced at Shane, then back at her. “Emotions run high when a cop dies. There’s a rush to judgment. They want to believe they’ve caught the bad guy. But in this case they haven’t.”
“It’s not our fault they don’t want to do their job.” Shane leaned against the wall of the elevator and folded his arms across his chest.
“What happened?” They both were talking in riddles. Then again, maybe it would have made more sense if she’d been paying attention earlier in court.
“A cop interrupted a liquor store robbery and was killed. My client is accused of committing the crime, but he wasn’t even in town at the time.”
She nodded as a level of understanding sank in. Shane had been there to testify that he’d uncovered evidence that the defendant was incapable of committing the crime. No wonder everyone was so on edge.
* * *
Shane couldn’t explain why, but he had a really bad feeling about the Marcos case. Maybe it was the confrontation with O’Brien afterward. Maybe it was residual from the window being blown out in his car. Maybe it was a good old-fashioned case of a gut-twitch that wouldn’t go away.
Either way, as he waited for Gabriella while she changed, a niggling sensation in the back of his head warned him to send her back to Florida on a one-way ticket. But a bigger part of him knew if he did that he’d never see her again. And for the first time in a very long time, maybe forever, he didn’t want that to happen.
“I’ll be in later.” He pulled to the curb in front of the Blues Stop and came around to help her out of the car. She gave him a weird expression when he grasped her arm. He had a nearly irresistible urge to kiss her goodbye, but fought it.
What the hell? A few hours around her and he was going soft.
She turned to look at him as she walked to the door looking smoking hot, as always. “Okay…hmm…I guess I’ll see you later.”
After he watched her saunter inside and meet up with Mack, he went back to his car. He drove to his office and examined everything he had on the Tony Marcos case, hoping maybe he’d missed something.
Cops had a tendency to go a little crazy when one of their own was killed. He could understand that. But there seemed to be more. He just hadn’t figured it out yet.
He was scanning through file after file when his phone rang. “O’Neil.”
“Tony Marcos was stabbed this afternoon in lock-up,” Vince said softly on the other end of the line.
Was this another case of cops ensuring that justice was served?
* * *
When Shane arrived at the club some time later, Gabriella noticed he didn’t look very happy. Though that wasn’t all that unusual, his unhappiness this time seemed to run deeper. Sadness evidenced itself in his slouched posture and the defeated expression on his face.
“What’s going on?” Call her crazy, but she needed to know what had him so preoccupied.
“Tony Marcos was stabbed in prison. They’re not sure if he’s going to make it.”
A shiver raced up and down her arms and an eerie sensation rattled her bones. “Oh, my God.”
Shane nodded in a distracted kind of way, as if he were trying to think through a solution in his head. “Tony didn’t want me to testify on his behalf. I’d stake my life on the fact he was being threatened. He was afraid of what might happen.” He blew out a breath. “Now it has.”
She gulped, knowing the answer before she even asked the question. “Do you think that’s why he was attacked?”
He nodded. “I have to figure out a way to prove it.”
Okay, that sounded pretty darn dangerous, even for Shane. But she wanted him to keep talking. She wanted to know what he was thinking. “Are you sure getting shot at earlier isn’t also connected? Those cops seemed awfully angry.”
He
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