I glanced at the senator, who seemed surprised. I didn’t know the senator or her sidekick, but the way the guy saidthose people, I immediately took offense.
“If, bythose people, you mean members of the rainbow army, I’d be damn careful who I talked shit about. Tell me, Marvin, how does who I love affect you in any way?” I felt Sean’s hand slide into mine, fueling the fire of hope deep inside me.
Marvin, the stupid fucker, spat and sputtered as if he couldn’t believe I would actually talk to him that way. I didn’t know him from apple butter, but my life was none of his damn business.
I turned to Sean. “You ready? We can go get something to eat with my friends if you’re done for the day.”
Sean grinned. “I’m ready.” He turned to the senator. “I’ll reach out to Senator Collins. Have a good evening.” I led Sean over to the table where Austin and Dominic were waiting.
“Let’s go.” We made our way to the front, and I pushed open the door, holding it for everyone to step outside.
At the same time, a black SUV squealed to a stop on the street in front of us. We all turned, and when the window came down, I pulled Sean behind a bus shelter while Dominic, having seen what I had, pulled out his gun from under his arm, aimed, and pulled off two rounds, shattering the glass of the SUV window and putting a slug in the rear passenger door.
The SUV sped away, and I turned to Austin. “We’ll get home. Go after them!”
The two of them ran to the black SUV parked up the block and were inside in record time. Sean pulled out his phone and hit a contact. “Detective Compton, this is Sean Fitzpatrick. The sameblack SUV that shot at me outside the Indiana Avenue station just shot at me outside...” He gave the cop the address, and we went back inside to wait for the police to show. I didn’t know about Sean, but I was starting to take this shit personally.
Chapter Seventeen
Sean
After the police finished questioning us, Jeri flagged a cab, and we went back to my condo. Never in my life had I imagined I’d be a target of someone so intent on killing me simply because I tried to be a voice to those who currently had none.
“Let’s go to my truck downstairs so I can get my guns. I’m sorry to bring them into your home knowing you don’t really approve, but there’s no fucking way anyone’s getting to you. They’ll have to be bulletproof.”
We went through the lobby where Adriana and Marco were sitting behind the desk. “Good evening, Mr. Fitzpatrick.” We waved to both of them before we boarded the elevator to the garage.
“You thought about what kind of car you’re gonna get?” Jericho’s hand touched the small of my back, sending a flash of lightning up my spine through my suit coat.
“Not a fancy German car, for sure.” I hadn’t thought twice about a vehicle since my BMW was blown to smithereens. Maybe it would be better if I used a car service? I had a fear of going into garages of late.
The elevator stopped on the bottom floor, where my two dedicated parking spots were located. “Stay here in the shadows. I’ll only be a minute,” Jericho ordered, touching my shoulder as we stepped off the elevator. I nodded.
Even with all the bullshit happening around us, I could watch the man walk away all day long. The way those Wranglers hugged his ass was unbelievable. My dick got hard in an instant, and I had to wonder if he had any idea what he did to me. The man was magnificent.
Jericho returned a moment later with a leather shotgun case and his shirt untucked. “Let’s get upstairs. We can get a food delivery unless you’ve gone to the grocery store since you returned to your condo.”
I chuckled as we got back on the elevator. I slid my key into the slot and pressed the button for my floor. “Why’d you untuck your shirt?”
He smiled and turned around, lifting the hem to show me his handgun. “Ah. Don’t shoot yourself in the ass. It’s too perfect.”
The tips of Jericho’s ears turned red under the brim of his cowboy hat. “Got it. We need to have a talk.”
Those six words made me nervous. “I need to call Senator Collins first, then I’m all yours for whatever you’ve got in mind.”
I let us inside, seeing Jeri’s duffel was under the console by the door, so I picked it up and carried it back to my room. I quickly took off my suit coat and draped it over the chair in the corner, pulling out my cell phone to look up the number for Leslie Collins in my contacts list. I listened to her cell ring.
“Hello, Sean. I was just watching the news, and I was surprised to learn that someone shot at you in front ofCrépuscule.You’ve gotten yourself between some serious crosshairs.”
There wasn’t a trace of her usual Alabama accent, fueling the rumors that she attended an elite boarding school in Switzerland during her teens. Her homespun campaign rhetoric was a steaming pile of horseshit.
“Yes, well, as I told you when we sat down to talk earlier, the ultra conservatives are pulling out all the stops. They want my head on a spike in front of the Capitol building to shut me up. I have Senator Rowe locked in to vote against the bill, but only if you’ll vote with her. I have the Dems on board, along with two of your Republican male counterparts. I need you two to vote with the Dems.”
Leslie sighed heavily, which didn’t sound good.
“Senator, you aren’t running again until 2028. So much shit will have happened between now and then that the vote you cast right now will fall way down the list of things that your constituents will remember about you.”
She’d just won her seat in 2022, so she had time to put the vote behind her if she ran again in 2028. She was the one Congresswoman Chu had suggested we go after, and that was exactly what I was doing.
