Page 36 of Dirty Deeds

Wolf raises an eyebrow.

“Maybe.” He releases a heavy sigh. “You need to go visit him, though. Get a feel for where he stands.”

“No fucking way,” Enzo says, moving to stand next to me. “That’s a bad idea.”

“Son, the calls aren’t going to stop and when he gets out of the hospital, he’s going to go straight for her. Right now it looks like she’s abandoned ship. You said the press has been sniffing around for a statement. Those vultures are relentless. They’re going to discover there was a fight and that you intervened, then they’re going to look into you.”

“So? I’ve got nothing to hide.”

“If they put two and two together and figure out you the two of you have a past, that changes things for you. Right now, as I see it, there isn’t much evidence against you to support his claim. You say he threw the first punch, that you acted in defense, but if he changes that story, and suddenly you’re not some innocent bystander who intervened to break up a domestic dispute, but the jealous jilted lover who went after a congressional candidate, you’re fucked. He’s a high-profile guy. Narratives are more important than facts.”

It’s not a stretch by any means. It is, however, another reason we shouldn’t be anywhere near each other.

“There is some speculation already,” I admit, turning to face Enzo. “When I went to give my statement the reporters outside the station were asking if you and I were in a relationship.”

“Right,” Wolf says. “So what do you think Brent is thinking? He’s laid up in a hospital bed, no sign of the woman he’s nailed to his side, listening to reports come in that she may be involved with the man who broke his eye socket. This shit is going to get all kinds of messy.” He pauses to point to his son. “And he’s going to do whatever he can to make sure those charges stick. With you out of the picture, he’ll think he can win her over again and back to the campaign trail they’ll go.”

“I don’t understand,” Enzo says. “Why don’t we just give him a dose of his own medicine? We tell him to drop the charges and in exchange we won’t go public with the con job he played on Frankie’s House.”

“If we present it to him now, with nothing but a bunch of screenshots of auction papers as our proof, he’s gonna laugh in our faces and cover his tracks. I got eyes in the hospital, Enzo. She’s going to have to face him one way or another, let it be where we have a little control because once he’s out, I don’t know what’s going to be.”

“Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it,” I say. “All I ask is that you don’t mess with Derrick.”

“Darlin’ I swear, I’m not going to touch your brother.”

“Then, I’ll do it. I’ll go see Brent.”

Wolf is silent for a moment, then he asks, “If you don’t mind, what’s the deal with your brother? His record says he’s away for murder.”

“Yeah, one he didn’t commit.”

I don’t like rehashing Derrick’s story. It feels like a piece of my soul dies every time I allow myself to even think about it. But I also don’t want there to be any secrets between me and Wolf or me and Enzo for that matter. I want them to be able to trust me.

“Derrick was at a gas station, buying cigarettes when some guy came in and shot the man behind the register at point blank range. The guy dropped the gun and fled. A woman came in, saw my brother—the gun at his feet— and the clerk dead.”

“There weren’t any cameras?”

She shook her head.

“A transformer blew a half hour before, taking out the power. When it came back on the system rebooted itself but never started recording again. The woman was convinced Derrick killed him and he couldn’t convince her otherwise, so he ran. He couldn’t even get her to call for help. They said she was in shock. The tire marks on his car put him at the scene and they had footage of him speeding on the highway afterward. The woman swore under oath that she saw him do it. She was considered an eyewitness.”

“But his prints weren’t on the gun.”

“Neither were the shooters. They were both wearing gloves. It was the middle of January.”

“Fuck,” Wolf mutters. “And you’ve appealed?”

I nod.

“I’m sorry, doll.”

Yeah, so am I.

I drag my fingers through my hair and sigh heavily. “I’ll go to visit Brent tomorrow. I guess we’ll take it from there?”

He shakes his head.

“I want someone at the hospital when you go.” He turns to Enzo. “Give me time to get in touch with Cobra that way I know when Celeste is working.” He brings his eyes back to me. “It’ll either be tomorrow or the day after.”

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