Something about his tone I just didn’t like. “Spill it.”
When he hesitated again, I narrowed my eyes.
“The Undertaker is out on the street. The conviction was tossed out on a technicality. Something about jury tampering and his defense attorney was all over it. The prosecutor’s office has yet to determine if they plan on retrying the case. Don’t tell me how the bastard managed to do it other than he brought in a notorious defense attorney from Chicago who’d once practiced law in Miami. Guess who he used to defend?”
What the fuck? The case had been airtight. There’d been no tampering. That was something I didn’t allow in my courtroom. Someone had been bought off or threatened. I immediately saw stars from absolute, mind-boggling rage.
I was caught up in the fact Jacob had been released, stunned to my core. How could any court of appeals free that fucking man? How?
“Let me guess,” Gabriel snarled. “The Delgado Cartel had a hand in ensuring his release.”
“Bingo. Granted, just my thoughts but I have no doubt Luis Delgado hired this new swanky attorney.” Chase sighed. “I thought you’d know first, Hudson. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.”
Exhaling, I walked toward the open set of doors, leaning against the doorjamb and studying the harbor. When I slammed my fist on the wall, I could feel all eyes on me. “What the fuck is going on with our goddamn legal system? When victims aren’t believed, witnesses are ignored, and corrupt attorneys take the lead, justice can’t be served.”
I knew I was preaching to the choir. We’d all had our share of cases where we’d been in shock at the outcome. Even Chase hadbeen affected in trying to track down criminals who sold drugs to teenagers and brought assault weapons in through the borders as if they were selling tomatoes in an outdoor stand.
The reason Maverick had finally tossed aside his career in law enforcement, choosing to write about the horrors he’d witnessed had been because of an uptick in corruption within the system. Not one of us hadn’t experienced sleepless nights.
“Why the hell did you get the information and not Hudson?” Kendrick asked, just as enraged as I was.
Chase flanked my side before answering. “There’s concern that the Delgados are in a war with a drug lord from Colombia. Word on the street is that they arranged a deal for the Undertaker’s release so he could be placed back in service for very special needs.”
Needs.
That meant slaughtering their enemies.
Snorting, I brought the glass of whiskey to my lips, trying to rationalize the reckless decision. There was a quiet in the room that rarely occurred when the five of us were together. They all knew the toll the case had taken on a half dozen people, including the victim’s wife and daughter and the brave witness.
My mind wandered to the same filthy place that had gotten me into trouble months before. The way Valentina had laughed. The spark in her eyes. The light touch of her hand.
And the sweet taste of her pussy. Fuck me. My dick was hard.
“Fuck,” I hissed, rubbing my eyes. I don’t think there’d been another case that had affected me so greatly.
“Now you know why I mentioned taking justice into the hands of the people who could do something about it.” In Chase’s past, he’d been known for his short fuse, almost getting himself kicked off the police force. From what I could tell, being asked to join the DEA had been good for his anger management. He had more hands-on activity involving criminals.
I had to sit behind a bench and remain impartial. There were some days it pissed me off. “Yeah, well, I don’t think becoming a vigilante would do our careers any good.”
“But it might do some good for our souls,” Kendrick said, which shocked the hell out of me.
Turning slightly so I could see all four of them, I glanced from one to the other. “What are you talking about?”
“Not vigilantes. Assassins. Removing the worst of the worst.” I could tell in a few seconds Chase wasn’t kidding.
Maybe my laughter was based on slight surprise.
Or maybe deep down inside I liked the idea.
“Where are you going with this, bud?” Maverick was genuinely curious as well. I had to wonder whether it was his structured law-abiding citizen brain working or the one where he created thrilling, dangerous worlds from his professional experiences.
Chase shrugged. “I don’t have it all worked out yet. I’m thinking a group of talented men, some with a military background, others with law enforcement and potentially even bringing in some nonviolent criminals and hackers to help with the endeavor. Discovering information. Breaking into buildings. That kind of thing. They’d have to be a core group completelywalled off to the rest of the world. Private with all information collected as protected as the people involved.”
I found myself staring at the man in disbelief. “You are serious.”
“To a point. I realize what I’m suggesting. Every bit of it is dangerous as fuck.”
“And against the law,” Kendrick added, but there was a look in his eyes that told me he wasn’t completely against the idea.
