Once I was all geared up, I glanced at everyone standing there, the people I trusted to care for my family in my absence. “We all need to sit down and have a conversation when this is over. Lany never should have ended up in this situation.”
Marcus grimaced. “Sal—”
I held up a hand to stop him. “I am very well aware of the fact that Lany is a trouble magnet. Our job is to try and minimize the damage when he gets into trouble.” I narrowed my eyes at Marcus. “No matter what Lany said, I should have been called the second he disappeared.”
Marcus nodded and dropped his gaze to the ground. “I know. I was just really hoping he wasn't in some sort of mess again.”
Lany not in a mess?
We all just stared at him.
Marcus huffed before tilting his head back and staring up at the sky. “I know. It was stupid.”
It was.
I turned my attention to Clarke. “It is not your job to teach Lany a lesson. You are not his parent, and you are not his husband. If he does something stupid, you tell me, and I will punish him.”
“Technically,” Clarke said, “I was under a court order to arrest everyone in that house.”
My eyes narrowed once again. “You know what kind of trouble Lany can get into just walking across a room. Even if he had to be arrested, you should have sent someone with him to make sure he was safe.”
“Sal—”
“Lany may be a trouble magnet, but he doesn't go looking for trouble. And his heart is usually in the right place. You know that.”
“I know,” Clarke replied in such a downtrodden tone that I almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
“We have no idea why Lany was in that house, Clarke, and we won't until I speak to him. He could have a perfectly good reason for being there. Did you ever consider that?”
“No.” Clarke sighed. “To be honest, as soon as I saw him, I just panicked. I wanted to get him out of that drug house as fast as possible.”
That I could understand.
“I get that, I really do, but next time send someone with him.”
Clarke nodded. “It won't happen again, Sal.”
“It had better not, or you won't see your bed for a very long time.”
Clarke winced.
I was fully aware of what it took to get back into my bed when I had pissed Lany off. Considering Lany and Lyn were best friends, I had no doubt that Clarke had to jump through the same hoops to get back into his bed when he pissed Lyn off.
“Let's go.”
Marcus, Dmitri, and my team followed me inside the police precinct. I walked straight up to the reception desk. The officer behind the counter glanced up and then nodded respectfully.
“How can I help you, Lieutenant?”
“I'm Lieutenant Salvador Delvecchio. I'm looking for Police Commissioner Harris. I'm supposed to be meeting him here. Has he arrived yet?”
“Yes, sir,” the officer was quick to say. “Commissioner Harris has already gone back to one of the interrogation rooms to speak with Detective Sparks.”
I seethed with anger. “Take me there.” I turned to look at the others. “Marcus, you come with me. The rest of you wait here.”
I wasn't sure just how much damage control I'd need to do before I could leave with Lany. I wanted Marcus there to stand with Lany while I tried to defuse the situation. Normally, his sole focus was on protecting Lany.
