Page 20

TWENTY

T he lobby of the police station must’ve been designed to be as uncomfortable as possible. The hard bench pressed into Bryce’s back while he lay on it. He tossed a nerf football up in the air and caught it again. Background chatter from the other police officers working buzzed in the background. Izan had left earlier, but Bryce wasn’t going anywhere until he talked with Penny. He had to show her that he wasn’t a playboy. He wasn’t a cheater. He was serious. Plus he needed to know what they figured out about the Sosa guy from his girlfriend.

But this was taking forever.

A rush of footsteps made Bryce drop the ball and sit up. What was all the commotion? Anthony, Olivia, Jude, and Penny rushed from the back hall. Jude was on the phone.

Bryce stood. “What’s going?”

Penny did a double take and stopped. “You’re still here?”

“I told you I?—”

“That doesn’t matter now. Your family.” She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the door.

“What about my family?”

“You have your keys?” she asked him.

“Yeah, but?—”

“You drive. I’ll explain.” They all ran out into the night air. “I’ll ride with Bryce. Meet you there,” Penny yelled to the other three as they split up. Other police officers ran for their vehicles.

This wasn’t good. And it had something to do with his family. Bryce sprinted to his truck. Penny hopped into the passenger seat, and he took off. “What happened?”

“Sosa is back.”

Bryce squeezed the steering wheel tighter. “That guy is really a Sosa?”

“The man that got away tonight is Diego Sosa’s nephew. Alonzo. We weren’t able to get a whole lot of information from Emma, but we at least got that much.”

“Is he back for revenge?”

“It would make sense that he’d target you guys, since Jude shot Diego.”

“That was two years ago. Why now? And is Izan okay?” Bryce’s mother had hidden the identity of the child Diego had thought was his heir. Turned out Izan was that child, but Diego wasn’t his father. His father was Diego’s accountant, who’d run away with Diego’s girlfriend and, over the years, siphoned off a few million dollars.

“We don’t know exactly. But when we were interrogating Emma, she told Jude to keep his new family close. How else would she know anything about his new family, your family, unless they’ve been studying up on what happened back then?”

At the sound of the threat, Bryce pressed the gas pedal even harder. He swerved around a sedan and SUV. “If that man even thinks about hurting my fam?—”

Penny’s warm hand cupped his shoulder and squeezed. “He won’t. We’re almost there.”

“He had a head start!” Bryce pounded the steering wheel. “He left the club hours ago. Who knows what he’s been doing ever since, and I’ve been lounging around like?—”

“This isn’t your fault, Bryce. Emma could’ve been taunting us just to rile us up. We don’t know for sure but wanted to take extra precautions. We’ll bring your parents somewhere safe.”

“And Andi?”

“Jude was talking to her on the phone. She’s at your parents’ house already.”

That was a small relief. The police cars behind them all had their sirens and lights on. Bryce ran a red light, hoping with the sirens right behind him, traffic would be stopped. Finally he turned onto the road his parents lived on. Just a few more blocks.

The outdoor lights were on, the living room window lit. His tires squealed as he yanked the wheel and skidded into the driveway. He didn’t even have the truck in Park before Penny was out the door running. He threw the gear shift into Park and leaped out after her. The other police cars pulled up.

“Mom! Dad!” His pulse roared in his head too fast and too loud. He strained to hear his mom’s voice. “Andi!”

Penny had her gun out and was at the front door, pounding.

The door opened. “Everything’s fine. We’re okay.” It was Andi.

Bryce grabbed his little sister and wrapped her in a tight bear hug. “You’re all right?”

“Yes, we’re fine. Jude called. I got Mom and Dad hiding back in their bathroom like he said.”

Oh, thank God.

Bryce dropped a light kiss on her head. “Good job, sis.”

Other police cars and Jude’s SUV filled in the driveway and street.

“Andi?”

At the sound of Jude’s voice, Bryce released his sister. She ran to her husband and kissed him in the middle of the front lawn. Bryce looked away. Penny stood by the door, waiting for him. Now that he knew his family was safe, he wanted his own moment. With her. But there were more important things first, so it would have to wait.

He walked inside the house with Penny. “I should go tell Mom and Dad it’s okay to come out now.”

“I’ll come with you. We’re going to have to get them somewhere safe for a few days. The cops will need to clear the house. It will be less upsetting for your dad if he’s not here.”

“I’ve got a friend with a cabin a couple hours away. Mom can take Dad there.”

“What about you? Maybe you should go too.” Penny paused in the hallway outside the bedroom.

“I’m not running away from this guy.”

She laid a hand on his chest. “Bryce, he’s dangerous. Look at what he’s already?—”

“I’m not going anywhere, Penny.” He covered her hand with his own. “You know me better than that.”

She rolled her eyes a little and chuckled. “Yeah, I do. You’re too stubborn for your own good, you know.”

“You were worried about me earlier, huh? Back at the club.”

“I thought you’d been shot. Of course I was worried.” She started to tug her hand away, but he held it fast.

“You care about me.”

“It’s my job to care. To protect.”

“That kiss said it was more. Why are you denying it?”

“Bryce, I can’t do this right now.”

“Then when? Because I mean it. I’m not going anywhere. I want to be with you. Let’s see what we can be together.”

He could see all the emotions flashing across her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“Give me a chance. Please.” If it was wrong for a grown man to beg, so be it.

She looked at him with a soft smile. “I can’t promise anything. But let’s finish this investigation and talk, okay?”

Now that was progress. “Deal!” He kissed her cheek and then opened the door to his parents’ room.

“Mom? Dad? It’s okay now. You can come out.”

His mother peeked out of the en suite bathroom. “Bryce?” He swept his mom up in a big hug, grateful she was perfectly well. “Do we get to know what’s going on now?”

“It’s a bit of a long story, and I’ll tell it to you while you pack. You and Dad need to get out of town for a while.”

Within the hour, Bryce’s parents were on the road with a police escort and his dad’s nurse en route to meet them. Andi refused to leave Jude, but they would stick together until Sosa was found.

With the adrenaline fading, Bryce was ready to leave all the commotion. Cops were still crawling all over the house, poking into every nook and cranny. Penny was talking with Olivia off to the side of the living room. She twisted her body to one side then the other, probably trying to loosen her back. Those tight lines around her eyes meant she was tired, most likely in pain. He should get her home.

He walked over to the women. “Doesn’t look like there’s much more we can do here, Pen. How about I give you a ride to your sister’s house?”

“That would be nice.” She waved to Olivia. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

They walked out into the crisp night air, crickets and cicadas chirping. He held the door for her as she plopped onto his truck’s passenger seat. “I’m beat.”

“Let’s get you somewhere you can rest.” He closed her door and walked to the driver’s side. He breathed deep, glad to finally do something for Penny, show her that he was more than just a good time. That he could help take care of her and she didn’t have to do everything alone. That he was a different man now.

Maybe she would come to see that God wasn’t so far off. That He cared about her too. Wanted her.

They drove in a comfortable silence, country music playing from the radio in the background until they were out of his old neighborhood. This was nice, but he wanted more. He wanted this every night, going home together knowing he wouldn’t have to say goodbye. Not that he would say that out loud and scare her off. But something inside settled. He knew what he wanted now. He just needed to figure out how to make this happen.

Help her to see You, Lord. And help her to see that we’re better together.

She leaned her head back and sighed. “This has been quite the day.”

“You’re telling me.”

“I still can’t believe we didn’t know about this nephew. I need to figure out where he crossed paths with Emma Kemper. Maybe then I’ll figure out what his plan is.”

“Let’s go over it all. What do we know so far?” Bryce turned down the radio.

“Emma arrives in Last Chance with Glock clips and a bomb—maybe more than one bomb—her brother made.”

“They blow up the warehouse, which we believe was a location the Puerto Rican gang was using.”

She turned to face him. “Right. Then there was the drive-by. We never did find out who was responsible.”

“And there was the fire and shooting at the Honduran restaurant.”

“Which we think would be the Puerto Ricans getting payback, but where did they get the automatic weapons from if not Emma’s clips?” Penny asked.

“But then why would Sosa and Emma blow up the Puerto Ricans’ warehouse and then give them Glock clips? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Exactly. And then there’s the militia. They don’t like either gang and have something planned, according to Bobby Prescot.”

“That’s a lot of pieces to the puzzle. But I’m not seeing how they fit. I feel like we’re missing something. Something big.” Bryce glanced over at her.

Penny was quiet. He wanted to give her an answer. Of course to help, but also to show her that he was fun and strong, but he was smart too.

So why would a guy like Sosa come here? What was his endgame?

Diego Ruiz Sosa had been a psychopath with a dying cartel looking for his supposed heir and stolen millions.

What did Alonzo want?

Then it came to him. “What if Sosa is driving out the competition?”

“What do you mean?”

“If he wants to set up his own cartel here—and didn’t you say that one of the drug dealers is getting pushed out?—wouldn’t it make sense to clear out the competition? Not only that, but instead of doing all the work himself, why not get these groups to turn on each other and do the fighting for him?”

Penny sat up straighter. “You know…that kinda makes sense. So Alonzo moves here, figures out who the key players are, and has them fighting each other while he swoops in and establishes his own little kingdom in Last Chance. Jude is always talking about how we’re so close to the routes between Salt Lake, Vegas, and Denver. A lot of different cargo moves through here.”

“Not to mention you can go straight north for a day to the Canadian border, and there’s not a whole lot to stop you if you want to go international.”

“And in the meantime he targets everyone involved with his uncle’s death to prove himself the new leader.”

“Now the question is, how do we find him? Because I’m not about to let this punk take over. And the sooner he’s gone, the sooner we can talk about us.” He reached over and squeezed Penny’s hand. She gave him a light squeeze back.

He let go to turn the steering wheel as he drove down the street Libby lived on. They pulled into the driveway. Bryce turned the engine off.

“I think I can walk to the front door myself. You don’t have to wait, let alone turn off the engine.”

“I’m walking you to the door, like it or not. Especially since there’s no light on.” He ran around the truck to open her door again.

She smiled. “I always did like that about you.”

Finally, things were looking up. He reached for her hand as they walked to the porch. Her long fingers fit nicely, entwined with his. He would have to?—

“Bryce. Look.” Penny stopped before they reached the step, her voice strained.

The front door of the house swayed open in the wind.