Page 29 of Justice's Reward
“That can’t be. They run checks on police officers,” Tack said.
“He supposedly transferred from a department in New Mexico. The checks in his file for his records, etc., are bogus. Somebody covered for him,” Macy said.
“I realize I don’t know what they look like. Do you have pictures of them?” Judith asked.
“Sure. I printed the earliest ones my contact found but forgot to grab them from the printer,” Macy said.
“I’ve got it,” Tack said, walking out of the room to Pit’s office. He walked back in with two pieces of paper and hung them near their names. He sat back down, and Judith gasped.
His mom patted Judith’s shoulder. Judith turned toward Ruthy. “Tell me it’s not possible,” Judith said.
Ruthy stared at the pictures, then looked at Judith. “I’ve never seen a good picture of him. It’s why I never noticed the resemblance.”
“Ruthy, do you want to let the rest of us in on what the fuck is going on?” Pit asked.
“When we lost my husband, Charlie’s husband, and some of the men, she and I created Ruthless, my alter ego, to scare people into leaving the club alone. When you all left for the military, I still had a lot of anger. I channeled that into helping otherswhile getting rid of what I considered the less-desirables.
“You were the figure in black who rescued us when I was eleven,” Adley said.
Ruthy nodded. “I did. I had proof that the club was selling women and kids. Your mom contacted me because she’d overheard the President making plans to gift you to his Vice President’s son on your twelfth birthday. She gave me what information she could, and I planned. After I had sleeping agents put in their food, I snuck into the clubhouse at three in the morning before I burned the clubhouse to the ground with the men inside it. I had made arrangements for the women to have new lives, new names, new jobs, and a way to heal. I assumed that the women and children weren’t evil like the men of the MC, but I might have been mistaken, and this is all myfault,” Ruthy said, then paused, staring at the picture.
Judith stood up and walked over. “Detective Stanza looks very similar to a younger version of my husband’s VP. His son would be around Detective Stanza’s age.”
Ruthy walked over to Pit and Ariel. “I’m so sorry. I put everyone in danger. At the time, though, his mom sounded so convincing that she, her son, and her daughter were there under duress.”
Pit stood up and wrapped Ruthy in his arms. “You did what you thought was right, and you avenged our family. I could never fault you for that.”
Justice was trying to wrap his head around the fact that the person who was going after them was someone who had planned this and not just recently. A year ago, Ariel had rescued them when they’d been attacked.He and Pit had chalked it up to gangs, but now Justice had to wonder if it was related.
“With his being a police detective, I think we need to come at this cautiously. First, Ruthy, you gave us new names and settled us here in Kansas City. Where did you settle his mom? And do you keep an eye on them?” Adley asked.
And another reason he adored his woman. She was thinking ahead on how to neutralize the problem. And now he knew she’d grown up in a fucked-up MC; hewas amazed she even gave him the time of day. The courage she had to have to take a chance on him. He admired her even more.
“All the women and kids are in Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri. I can check my file and find out where I sent them. It was a dark time for me. Your mom and I connected when I was planning, so I wanted her close by. We’ve been friends for years,” Ruthy said.
“Let’s get the information from Ruthy, and then we need someone checking to see if everyone is where they are supposed to be. I don’t want to assume Detective Stanza is that kid and then find out we had someone get hurt because we weren’t a hundred percent,” Pit said.
Justice agreed. He walked over and hugged his mom one-handed. “Thanks for rescuing your future daughter-in-law,” he whispered in her ear. Hopefully, good news would help mitigate the guilt she felt over this.
“I don’t see a ring. Do I need to make you a list of what you have to do to get married?” she said back, hugging him and taking Ian from his arms. Adley snuggled under his arm and placed her hand on Ruthy’s arm.
“Thank you for rescuing us,” Adley said.
Justice listened to the women talk, staring around the room at his family. He had a code he lived by. It wasn’t the same code that the police held to because sometimes, to achieve justice, you had to step over the line to make the guilty pay. They’d figure this out, take care of the problem, and then he, Adley, Ian, and any other kids they had would live a life full of love.
Chapter Nineteen
Adley was ready to scream and stomp around her office like a little kid. It had been two and a half weeks since they’d figured out the relationship between Detective Stanza and the MC she was rescued from.
All their leads seemed to evaporate like smoke. Detective Stanza had filled out paperwork for an extended leave, claiming his mother was ill. The last known address for his mother was empty and had been for over five years.
They still didn’t know if Gina was the younger daughter of the woman Ruthy hadlet go because she was cremated. There wasn’t any way to prove it, and even if they did have her DNA—the woman and the detective had vanished.
Justice had been worried, but he and Pit agreed they all couldn’t remain in lockdown forever. They’d set some parameters. Adley would only work in her office with Macy there with her and a prospect at the door to the stairwell. Adley’s office was on the second floor of a building with multiple other offices.
Adley checked her calendar again. She’d had a call about representing a woman who was fighting a charge of battery against her ex-husband. As far as Adley was concerned, it was self-defense, and she wasn’t sure why the woman had been charged. Adley had only talked with her on the phone, so she’d knowmore when the woman brought all the information in.
Adley was enjoying living at the compound with Justice, Ian, and the brotherhood of family there. It had been eye-opening to know that her mom had become friends over the years with their rescuer, Ruthy. She’d thought she wouldn’t approve of the actions of a one-percenter motorcycle club, but she’d be a hypocrite if she disapproved of their actions. Ruthy—or Ruthless’—actions had saved Adley, her sister, and her mom, along with countless others.
