“What happened?”
“The owner of the dealership was wounded. Two suspects were killed trying to escape. And two hostages were rescued.” Cain paused. Sucked in a deep breath. “A woman waiting in the television lounge, after her car had been towed to the service center, was hit by a stray bullet coming through the wall behind her. She was the third fatality.”
Betsy leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling before closing her eyes. “Tell me they got the rest of the gang.”
“For the most part.”
She glanced back across the table. “I always wondered what Kennett’s story was. Figured sooner or later he’d tell people. Must have been hard being part of that. Maybe that’s why he moved here and took on cruiser duty.”
Cain rubbed his palm down his face. Tell her your story. Your day. Your assignment that crashed and burned. No. Now was not the time. Maybe never. Depending on how this case all washed out in the end. Betsy’s cooperation felt genuine. But many’s the time the lawbreaker thought to cover their back by working with the police or DEA or whoever was closing in on their operation.
Besides, how would telling her change his aftereffects. Dreams. Nightmares. Regrets. Losses. Self-blame. The telling would change absolutely nothing. Maybe it could help him explain his reason for the line he’ll never cross? Maybe. Maybe not. That day had not been a mistake, but the memory’s heavy load was hard to carry.
When had life become so difficult? That day. That second. That…
“Some takedowns go off like clockwork. Others shatter into a million pieces.” His insides burned like the touch of dry ice. “They both stay with you. But one of them leaves a vise-grip on your brain.”
He struggled not to divulge his worst day. Struggled and won.
Betsy eased up from her chair and reached across the table, stretching to rest her hand on top of his clinched fist. The warmth of the touch lasted only a moment, and then she leaned back in her chair.
His mind fuzzed with the thought they’d just shared a moment. What was that about? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Friends shared moments all the time. She turned her head trying not to let him see her wipe the corners of her eyes. Friends did that too. Or maybe she knew exactly how those emotional vise-grips linger.
“Okay. I’ll do it. Set up your stakeout. Pull in whatever you need.” She braced her hands on the table. “Let’s get the dealer who sold this dope off the street.”
“Works for me.” He got to his feet, shoving his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. This was about more than the dealer. This was about the region’s organization. “One more thing. Somebody needs to be in the service center to see what’s going on during the day. Pick up on what’s being said. See if you’ve got a bad apple working for you.”
She stood up and met his stare. “Sounds good. I’ll just tell the workers that I need someone to fill in for Earl while he’s in the hospital. Who are you sending?”
“Me.”
“No. You may know a little car repair, but we do big stuff around here and…” A tinge of pink brushed her cheeks. “And I’m sure you’ve got a lot of other things you’d rather be doing than babysitting my cars.”
What would she do when she realized he’d already been hanging around the service center to protect her? He’d face that when it came.
“Can one of your other workers run the service center for a while?” Cain asked. “Then you can hire me to help out.”
“Yes. In fact, I’ve been trying to get Earl to promote Derek Johnson. Take some of the work off himself. He just keeps saying the man’s not ready.” Her tone said she wasn’t happy with that evaluation. “You’ve met him. What do you think?”
“From what I’ve seen, Johnson’s competent, confident and careful. Exactly what a businessperson needs to be. No matter the line of work.”
“I agree. So, it’s settled.” Betsy nodded as she picked up the empty pizza boxes. “I’ll call him tomorrow. Tell him as of Monday, he’s in charge of the service center.”
Cain liked the way Betsy made decisions. “Be sure to tell him I’ll be around to help out on a part-time basis, too. Whatever he thinks I can handle, I’ll be glad to do.”
Shooting him a side-eye, she tossed the empty boxes in the trash. “You, JB and the police department are set on this plan, right down to you being around every so often. Right?”
“Yep.” He grabbed the note with Phillip’s name on it from the table and crumpled it into his pocket.
“Just remember, I’ll pull the plug if I think my customers are in danger.”
“Yep.”
He’d expect nothing else. That’s exactly what JB had made top priority for the police department’s plan. As for himself, he planned to make Betsy’s safety his top priority.
“Or my employees,” she said.
“Understood.”
