Page 29 of A Charming Touch of Tarot (The Gin & Tarot Club #2)

29

Seven of Wands

Nick

My phone pings, signaling I’ve received a text message.

Alyssa

Ashley’s heading your way.

She’s not in good shape.

The woman is likely hiding out in the shadows.

Not even two seconds later, Ashley Evans is walking out of the bar, alone, but I remain in my car. Alyssa said she was drugged, and that the woman will likely present herself.

I could intervene now and get her to safety, but that’s just a temporary fix. I need a reason to arrest whoever comes after her, and giving away my presence is unlikely to accomplish that.

Ashley’s moves are slow and unbalanced. I’m concerned that she’s going to face-plant into the stones.

“What are we doing?” Lanie says. “Should we help her?”

“Not yet,” I say quietly, watching Ashley closely.

Out of the shadows from the side of the building, a woman emerges, moving up behind Ashley. She’s too messed up to even hear the woman’s approach. She wraps her hand around Ashley’s mouth, but I’m not sure it’s necessary. Ashley’s too disoriented. The woman is having a hard time holding her up.

“Holy shit,” Lanie says, voice shaking. “Nick, we have to—”

“Look,” I say, dipping my head forward, pointing out the man exiting the bar.

“That’s him,” I say.

He’s heading toward the girls, steps quick and assured. He doesn’t even bother scanning the area. He exchanges words with his accomplice before bending down and picking a now-limp Ashley up off her feet. The woman rushes off toward a truck.

That’s when I jump into action.

“Need some help?” I say, slamming the car door behind me.

The man’s head snaps to me. “I’ve got it handled. My girlfriend is just a little drunk. That’s all.”

Ashley fidgets in his grasp.

“Not…girl…fend.” Her words are choppy and slurred, just barely audible.

“Do you know him?” I ask Ashley, knowing I’m unlikely to get a response.

But I need to do things by the book; otherwise, I’ll have nothing.

Ashley’s head shakes, just barely.

“It appears as though she doesn’t know you,” I say, eyes lasered in on the man.

“Use your fucking eyes, man. She’s wasted.”

I shrug. “Doesn’t matter. If she says she doesn’t know you, I’m gonna have to insist you put her down.”

“Who the fuck are you? Get lost, douchebag.”

I pull my badge from my back pocket, lifting it to the man’s face. “Police, asshole, and I said to put her down.”

I hear footsteps approaching from behind.

“It’s me,” Lanie calls out, rushing up to my side.

The man drops Ashley, and Lanie jumps forward, falling to her knees on the stones, doing her best to provide a softer landing for Ashley.

She’s got to be hurt, but I can’t worry about it right now. The guy is sprinting toward the truck.

Gunshots are fired, and I dive forward, tackling the skinny piece of shit to the ground. The truck tires squeal, peeling out of the bar parking lot, headed south down the road.

“Fuck,” I say, pain lancing up my back from the impact of securing one of the suspects. “You’re under arrest for obstructing justice and attempting to flee the scene,” I say, cuffing the son of a bitch.

“What can we do?” Alyssa says, rushing toward us.

Half the bar is outside, checking out what’s happening.

“We heard the gunshots,” she says.

“Help Nina with Lanie,” I instruct, the man underneath me trying to wrestle his way out of my hold.

The bartender rushes up, helping me contain the man while I search his pocket for an ID.

“Austin Barlow,” I say, reading the name off his license.

“The police are on their way,” the bartender says, pushing a knee into Austin’s back, holding him in place.

“Do you have a first aid kit?” Nina directs to the bartender. “One of the girls has a pretty deep cut on her knee and a gash on her head.” She turns to look over her shoulder. “The other girl needs to get to the hospital. She was drugged.”

The bartender hops to action, racing off toward the bar, waving for the other patrons to get back inside and allow me to do my business.

Exhaustion is pressing down on me.

I’m getting too old for this shit.

Nina bends down, peering into my eyes. “Can I?” she asks, and I nod, giving her space to use her ability.

I watch as she bites her tongue, eyes narrowing, then darkening.

“He was contracted by a group known as KVS. He wasn’t part of it in the beginning. The woman was. He was just supposed to help dispose of the girls. Turf war,” she says, shaking her head. “He’s a nobody piece of shit.”

“Anything else?” I ask, and she touches him again.

“What the fuck?” he snaps. “Get your hands off me, she-devil.”

“If he didn’t do it, he’d be washing up to shore right along with her. Seems like our man here owed a lot of money to someone high up in the KVS.”

It’s going to be a long night.

“Nice work, West,” Chief Skiver says, patting me on the back. “How about next time you get a hunch, you call in for some backup?”

“I’ll consider that next time.”

He chuckles. “Get some rest. We’ll take it from here.”

I nod, standing to my feet and stretching.

Austin admitted to it all. He said he’d entered a poker game and bet money he didn’t have. So far, he’s agreed to give up the location of where this underground betting is happening and anything else he knows in exchange for a plea deal.

He doesn’t know who runs the poker games, but when he couldn’t pay up, he was dragged into a room where the woman, who we’ve come to learn is Olivia Rossi, told him he could die or pay off his debt. It was on him to kill and toss the bodies of those they deemed threats to their operations. He said that after the death of Sierra, they initiated him into the group, branding him with the outrageous tattoo.

Turns out that Olivia Rossi is wanted by the feds for multiple heists. The FBI is taking over the case, meaning I can finally go home and tell the captain that I’ve brought Chelsea’s murderer to justice.

I walk out of the station to find Alyssa leaning against my car, looking down at her phone.

“You’ve been here this whole time?” I ask, and she looks up.

“Just got here. I’ve been at the hospital with Lanie and Nina.”

My eyebrow lifts. “Everyone all right?”

She nods her head. “They will be. Lanie has a fractured patella, and she’s not happy about it.”

I whistle. “I bet. Makes it hard to lead yoga classes if you can’t do yoga.”

“It’s more than that,” Alyssa says, appearing lost in thought. “She’s acting so strange. Paranoid. Scared. They gave her a sedative.”

I pull my top lip into my mouth, bobbing my head, not at all surprised that Lanie Anderson is a tough patient. “What do you think is wrong? Just too close an encounter with a near death?”

She shakes her head, eyes narrowing. “No. It’s something more.”

I can tell Alyssa’s bothered, and I wish there was something I could do. But Lanie Anderson is a tough nut to crack, and it’s likely she’s just overwhelmed by tonight and unwilling to admit it.

“Lanie will be in a brace and will have to do some physical therapy, but she’ll be fine. They got her all cleaned up.” Alyssa yawns. “When she’s discharged, they’re going to check into the hotel to get some sleep.”

“Looks like you should too,” I say, pulling her into my chest and rubbing her back. “You look exhausted.”

“I am. But I wanted to wait for you.”

I get her into the car, heading toward the hotel. We’re both quiet for several minutes when I ask, “How’s Ashley?”

Alyssa’s head falls to the side. “They have her on an IV. A police officer is stationed at her door for when she’s better. Her mom was causing quite the scene when they showed up.”

“She’s going to jail,” I say, shrugging. “But I’m sure they’ll make a plea deal with her, and she won’t be in there long.”

“That’s what I said. The most important thing is to bring down the Order and whoever this KVS is.”

I nod. “Skiver and the FBI will do anything to uncover the people associated with KVS and the Order,” I vow, knowing that’s their objective.

“Now what?” Alyssa says, voice tinged with sleep.

“We get some rest and head home tomorrow.”

“I’m pretty sure Chelsea’s spirit has moved on. I don’t feel her anymore.”

I turn to look at Alyssa. She’s shrouded in darkness, but as we pass under a streetlight, making our way into town, her face is illuminated.

God, she’s beautiful.

Even exhausted, she takes my breath away.

“That’s good,” I say, clearing my throat when my words come out all husky.

“It is.” She sighs heavily. “Do you think when we get home, we can put the investigating on hold long enough to actually date?”

I laugh. “I promise you; we’ll make it happen.” I place one hand on her thigh. “You and me. This thing’s official, yeah?”

She turns her head to look at me, a lazy grin plastered across her face. “Definitely.”

That one word has the ability to turn an otherwise shit day into one that I’ll remember forever.

Alyssa Mann is quickly becoming my happiness. The woman I want to spend every minute with.

The woman I want to introduce to my crazy family.

And that scares me more than the KVS or Order of Providence.