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Chapter Five

Rooster

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I whisper. From underneath the shade of a one-hundred-year-old oak tree, I watch as Derek fucking LaBeouf waltzes out of the Baton Rouge Police Department like he owns the damn place.

Who the hell knows?

Maybe he does.

It’s not the fact that he was released again that surprises me, though. No, it’s the fact that they were able to keep the bastard locked up for longer than an hour or two that I find shocking. When Detective Mobley called me thirty minutes ago and instructed me to sit outside the police station, somewhere that I wouldn’t be easily seen, I honestly didn’t know what I was walking into. And on the drive over here, my stomach was churning with all sorts of terrible possibilities but I never expected this. Last night, I would have bet everything I own that Derek found a way to get himself out of trouble again with a few strategic phone calls but obviously that is not the case. He strolls down the front steps, almost gleefully, like he doesn’t have a damn care in the world. And why would he? It doesn’t matter what he does or who he hurts because all he has to do is pick up a phone and it’s like it never even happened.

Fucker.

Someone calls his name and he looks up, his expression quickly morphing to sorrow and pain as a sophisticated older woman walks towards him. When they are standing in front of each other, she reaches out and gently lays her hand on his cheek. I’m too far away to hear anything they say to one another but he keeps up the pitiful act, nodding along mournfully as she speaks. Finally, she pulls him into a hug and for a split second, I watch his face relax. Gone is the sad, mopey man from a moment ago and in its place is the monster that’s been beating the shit out of Raya for years. But as soon as they pull apart, he’s frowning again. His brows are drawn together to convey his deep pain and his concern for the situation he’s found himself in.

Fucking Christ.

He’s a sociopath.

The woman looks him over one last time before turning and pointing a few feet down the sidewalk, where her sleek black Lexus is idling on the curb. They turn in unison and he offers her his arm like a perfect fucking gentleman. She slips her hand through, resting it in the crook of his elbow as they walk and I swear, her lips don’t stop moving for a single second. From what I can see, she seems like the bossy type and Derek continues with his melancholy act, nodding along to whatever she says. It has to be his mother, swooping in to solve all his damn problems for him when she should be beating him senseless for putting his hands on a woman.

“It’s quite the show, isn’t it?”

Startled, I glance to my right and sigh. “Mobley.”

“Rooster,” he responds, lifting a to-go cup of coffee from Sugared Magnolia, my favorite little bakery, to his lips and watching the scene play out in front of us. He’s got a case file in his other hand but I ignore it in favor of turning back to the police station and watching as Derek deposits the woman in the passenger’s seat of her car. After she’s in the car, he practically skips around the back of the vehicle and jumps behind the wheel. As soon as he pulls away from the curb, I glance back over at Mobley.

“Never thought you’d be able to keep him through the night.”

Mobley scoffs.

“Almost didn’t,” he says, turning to me with a wry smile. “He’s not the only one that can call in favors, though.”

I let out a surprised laugh. “It’s not like you to get your hands dirty, Max.”

“Yeah, well… I can if it’s for a good cause and I’m fucking tired of seeing this bastard get away with this shit.”

Turning back to stare at the police station, I nod in understanding. Corruption has been rampant in our district for years and it only seems to be getting worse. Soon, good cops like Mobley are going to pack it up and move to a city where they don’t have to fight their own brothers on top of the criminals.

“How’s Raya?” Max asks and I glance over at him with a nod. I stopped to check in on them before I headed over here but I didn’t tell her what was going on. Mostly because I didn’t know myself but also because I didn’t want to get her all worked up over nothing. Derek being out doesn’t change much for her now that she is living in the safety of the compound.

“Good. She seems more relaxed today and Joey is starting to act like a regular four-year-old.”

Max snorts. “Is that code for he’s being a little shit?”

“Naw,” I answer with the hint of a smile. “He’s a good kid, just a little touch of rebellion now that he feels safe enough to act out is all.”

He chuckles, takes a small sip of his coffee and when he glances in my direction again, the smile has melted off his face. “I gotta warn you, man… she need to get the hell out of Baton Rouge. Or better yet, she probably needs to leave Louisiana all together if I’m being honest.”

I can’t say that I disagree with the man and I trust Max’s instincts but something about the look on his face isn’t sitting right with me.

“What happened?”

He turns, meeting my eyes. “I stopped by his cell last night and spoke to him. Off the record, of course, which allowed him to much more… free with his words.”

“What did he say?”

“Come on,” he shoots back, giving me a look. “You know damn well the kind of shit he spewed but that isn’t the point. What concerns me most is the look that was in his eyes. That is one determined bastard and he’s not going to stop coming after her. Ever. As long as Derek LaBeouf is alive, she and her son aren’t safe.”