But his father could also be kind to them, and gentle, and although his words were never soft and caring, he showed them how much he loved them in his actions not in his words. Like when he sat by Duke’s bedside all night long when Duke had been in a bad car accident and broke his arm. Or when he stood at that door less than an hour ago and said that he was afraid of Roz leaving him ever since the day they met. He could be all bad if you pushed him too far. But all good too.
His twin Jackie once said that Duke was just like their father. But Duke thought she was just being messy because he was laughing at her when Dad wouldn’t let her go to Cabo with some friends for her high school graduation celebration. But Duke knew long ago, if he were to be honest with himself, that he was a lot like his dad.
But when they came to a dead end and turned a corner, they could see the Fangen Police Department’s one-story building at the end of the street. “Finally!” Duke said.
But Mick wasn’t saying anything. Because something felt off about the whole place. But he couldn’t turn back now. He had to get Roz out of whatever kind of place this was.
When he stopped in the parking lot of the police station, he pressed a button and his glovebox unlocked. “Get the gun,” Mick ordered Duke.
Duke grabbed the gun and closed the glovebox back. But Mick waited until Duke stopped admiring the gun and looked at him again before he continued. “No matter what, don’t you get your ass out of this truck. It’s fortified. And bulletproof.”
“Including the windows?”
“Including the windows.”
Duke grinned.“Shit.”
“Keep your ass in this truck and keep it locked.”
“Yes sir. But why you so worried, Dad? What could happen in this nothing place?”
Mick stared at Duke. He hadn’t taught his bougie ass shit about the other side of life. Or what being the son of a man like him truly meant. And the dangers it fostered. “If something goes down,” Mick said, “you call your brother. You hear me?”
“Yes sir.”
“He’ll know what to do. But you take this truck and get the fuck out of here. Don’t you dare go in there to see what’s happening. You get out.”
Now Duke was concerned too. He’d never seen his father so worried about something that should be just fine. “But nothing’s gonna go down though, Daddy, right? With Ma inside of there?”
Mick’s heart sank for his son. Why did he allow him to come with him! He was not ready for the kind of contingencies Mick faced every day of the week. He regretted that he listened to Roz and didn’t prepare his son better. “If something does happen,” Mick started saying.
But Duke interrupted him. “I know already. Call Teddy.”
“You’d better. He’ll know what to do,” he said, got out of the truck, waited for Duke to lock it back, and then he went inside of the FPD.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
When Mick walked into the police station, there were three sheriff’s deputies at the front desk: The deputy with the wordsergeantstitched on his uniform was seated behind the desk with a window in the middle and a tall glass on either side. Two younger deputies stood on either side of the glass. They appeared to be joking around until Mick walked in.
The sergeant stared at Mick as he made his way to the desk. “May I help you?”
“Is your chief in?”
“Depends on who’s asking,” the sergeant said and the two deputies grinned.
“Mick Sinatra is asking,” Mick said.
When he said that name, the grinning stopped. The sergeant swallowed hard and then picked up the phone. “Chief,” he said, “Mick Sinatra is out here. Yes sir, you heard me right. He says he’s Mick Sinatra.” He ended the call. “He’s coming out now.”
But the first deputy grinned. “Why do they call you Mick the Tick?”
Mick didn’t even look at that deputy.
“It’s because he has a temper like a ticking time bomb,” said the second deputy.
“You mean like this?” the first deputy asked as he pulled out his gun to aim it at Mick.
But Mick, who was already hyperaware, saw his slick move coming a mile away and grabbed the gun before he could aim it at him and flung it away from his body, which caused it tomisfire. Then Mick took the gun out of his hand as the sergeant and second deputy began pulling out their weapons.
