Page 16 of Dirty Cops Next Door

“There’s a risk this might blow up on all of us, Grant, but it has to be done. Are you ready for that?” His penetrating look told me he knew I was ready for whatever came; he just wanted to hear it from me.

“Yeah, I’m ready, David. Fully committed.” We bumped knuckles and left the office, heading straight for the chief.

We passed Eric as an officer took him through the release process. The boy looked relieved but angry. I didn’t blame him. This was all turning into one giant fuckup and if I knew anything about politics, David and I would somehow catch the blame if it all blew up on us. I didn’t want that to happen, but who knew how our crazy idea would turn out?

Eric sent me a glance, a smile that quickly faded into an angry scowl. We weren’t winning brownie points there then. Damn! I didn’t really want to make him distrust us, but so far we’d done little to encourage anything but distrust.

Nothing would happen tonight, it would be a few days yet, but we had to get our boss’s go ahead before we moved forward. Maybe we’d have some time to get to know Toni a little better before we tumbled over the precipice into hell? I lived in hope.

The chief looked grim as we walked into the office but I think he knew the score. It was time to stop fucking around.

7

Toni

Eric maintaineda façade of bitter silence, anger pouring from him in waves until we pulled into the concrete driveway in front of our new home. He was behaving as I expected any teenage boy would after being arrested for something that was supposed to be over. I’d asked him if he wanted anything before we left and he’d shaken his head sullenly.

He’d slid into his seat, his large, masculine hands covering his face. The boy I’d once held was now taller than me, his hands once so tiny, now as large as platters. I didn’t know what to do for him, especially with my own brain a tornado of confusion. I wanted to hold him, but I knew he’d only shrug me off.

I moved when a sob broke from between the hands covering his face, pulling him to me over the space separating us.

“Come here, Eric. It’s okay, baby brother.” He sobbed into my neck, words coming out as little more than broken syllables. He was my little brother all over again, and all I could do was try to soothe away the tears, as I had always done.

“It’s okay, Eric, come on, baby. Please stop crying, before I join you!” I gave a bark of laughter as I wiped a tear away. He pulled away, his own shoulders shaking with laughter.

“Too late, sis!” He laughed as his thumb came up to wipe another tear away. “This is rough, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, just a bit. We can do it though.” I didn’t know how but we’d get through it. All we had was each other.

“I can’t seem to stay out of trouble, even when I’m not in trouble. I swear, Toni, as soon as this program is over, I’m going to get a job and make this all right again. I know it won’t be much, I’m still a kid, but I’ll do my best.” He looked so grown up again, mature and concerned about his sister, that it broke my heart.

“Baby, I’m fine. You do whatever it takes to get to college, you hear me? All I care about is that you get the opportunity. You have plans, and you need to focus on them. Don’t let this drag you down, you hear me?” I stared into his eyes, my hands on each side of his face.

He gave me a watery smile and nodded in agreement. “Okay, sis, but I’d still like to get a job to help out, you know? At least let me do that. I can get my own clothes and whatever I need then.”

A job would keep him focused, I hoped. Maybe it was a good idea.

“We’ll talk about it when you finish the program, alright?” I pulled my bag out of the backseat and got out of the car. “Come on, I think it’s hot fudge sundae time!”

I wiggled my eyebrows at him and when he laughed it melted my heart. He’d always had the sweetest laugh.

He plugged his phone into the speakers, our joint Christmas gift to each other last year. The most awesome speakers we’d ever had. He put on an R and B song that we both adored, though it probably wasn’t appropriate, and I proceeded to make Mom’s homemade fudge sauce recipe, both of us relaxed, dancing, and singing into spoons. You’d never know an hour before we’d both been distraught.

Eric put ice cream into bowls carefully so each portion formed a ball, the way we both liked it, and crushed some peanuts to top it all. We ate with glee, the hour late but not caring. He was young and would bounce back, and I had work in the morning, but Eric needed this. He needed something to soothe him.

He was still a kid, after all.

“You know, for all the bad, Toni, you really do make it all worth trying for.” He didn’t look at me when he said those heart-melting words.

“What?” I asked in a whisper, tearing up.

“You gave up your life for me when you didn’t have to. You could have let the foster system take me, or some unknown relative. You took the responsibility on when you absolutely didn’t have to. I wouldn’t do any of those things, you know?” He stuck his spoon in his ice cream, letting it slide off before he looked at me with sad eyes.

“The charges you mean?”

“Yeah, the charges. There’s no way I would ever do anything to get in trouble, not on purpose, not knowing what you’ve given up for me. I couldn’t do that to you.” His voice broke but he hid his tears by looking the other way.

I took his hand, not wanting him to necessarily turn to me and let me see his tears, he was a growing boy trying to be a man after all. I just wanted to give him some comfort.