Fighting Conviction by Greer Rivers

Chapter Eighteen

Devil glanced up at the newest arrivals in the room. How Nora had snuck herself, Assistant District Attorney Marco Aguilar, and Officer Henry Brown into their fucking war room was beyond him. The quirky woman was a magician with technology so he’d learned not to question it. He wouldn’t understand the explanation anyway.

That didn’t stop Snake though. “I told you to text me so I could get you a temp code.”

“Who the fuck is with Jules, Nora?” Jaybird demanded.

“What the hell are you doin’ here, Henry?” Phoenix sputtered out. “What are any of you doin’ here?”

“I invited them,” Hawk explained. “Nora, Marco, Henry, why don’t you have a seat.” He gestured to the table.

“And Jason.” Nora pointed her finger at Jaybird as she walked to her seat. “Why don’t you do your woman—and me—a favor and leave her the eff alone, you godsdamned stalker. She’s at home and just fine.”

Jaybird snapped his eyes to Hawk. “We need to get this meeting over quick. I can’t be having Jules alone. She’s pregnant for Christ’s sake.”

Nora rolled her eyes. “Pregnant, not aninvalid, ya crazypants. You need to chill out.” She pulled a chair from the table and plopped into it. “And sorry we’re late, Cap’n. I had to bypass your security.”

“Bypass secur—” Snake swiveled in his chair and typed away at the keyboard before huffing out a surprised laugh. “I don’t even have you on any of our cameras. Damn, how did you do that?”

Nora shrugged. “I have my ways.” Her smile was wide like a cat that got the cream. “I’ll show off after the meeting, babe. Can’t be having just anybody off the street come bee-boppin’ up in here, can we boys?”

“Nora…” Hawk lowered his eyes at her. “Stop antagonizing Snake.”

Her mouth opened but she must’ve seen Snake’s scowl because it quickly shut again. Instead, she sobered, as if realizing she was toeing the line marking Snake’s bad side.

“Sorry, Snake. When I actually pull one over on ya, it feels good to rub it in. You know this game we play is like one of the highlights of my week.”

Snake’s foul expression immediately relaxed as he snorted and shook his head. “Mine too, if you weren’t so damn good at it. Don’t say you won this round yet, though. If I fix the breach before you tell me how you did it, then the score stays zero-zero.”

Devil never understood where the Nora and Snake dynamic came from, but they fought like siblings. It was a constant back and forth, but they always eventually hugged it out.

“Fair enough, Superman.” Nora pointed a finger gun at him.

“Back to the list…” Hawk began. “Marco, Henry, and Nora, as you’ve probably gathered, I’ve invited you here today to help us make plans for the scholarship benefit. We have a hunch the same bastards as last time will make the mistake of trying again.”

“Bold move,” Marco replied, his lips pursed as he nodded.

“Yup.” Snake’s expression mirrored the ADA’s. “But this time we have the guest list and we can vet people. We’ll have a plan instead of going in blind like last time.”

“How’d you get a guest list?” Henry asked.

Snake’s pale skin turned a new shade of beet red as he straightened his collar. “Um, my, uh friend works for a company that helps throw it every year.”

Devil felt his brow raise slightly, but he quickly schooled his face. He’d never seen Snake bashful before. Interesting.

“Is this friend the one who recently started volunteering for Sasha Saves and is gorgeous and funny as Hades with a daughter that’s just as fiery?” Nora waggled her eyebrows before giving Snake a pronounced wink.

“That’s awfully specific,” Marco laughed.

“Yes.” Snake cleared his throat. “It may or may not be the woman you’re speaking about, but she’s taken. And honestly, ‘friend’ might be generous.” He grimaced before mumbling. “I think she might hate me.”

Nora waved her hand at the air as she blew a raspberry. “That woman does not hate you. She’s a little sassy, but who here among us boss ass bitches isn’t sassy every now and then, amiright? Give her time and keep fixing Sasha Saves’s oh-so-spotty security, lately.” She gave Snake a knowing grin. “Seriously, Superman. What is up with our wiring lately?”

“That’s been you?” Snake snapped his fingers and pointed at her before a bark of laughter escaped him. “Ha, I knew it!”

Nora beamed and gave a small curtsey. “What can I say? Somebody’s gotta play cupid ‘round here.”

Snake’s smile lit up his face before he took off his glasses and massaged his closed eyes with a chuckle. “God, Nora, you’re like the kid sister I never wanted.”

“In any case.” Hawk emphasized the words, cutting off the faux family banter. “Snake’s going to go through the guest list and vet all the attendees. No one will go in or out of that hotel without our knowing about it. Nora.” He paused and turned to her before speaking. “We might need you in the field.”

Nora’s smile vanished, but she nodded as she brushed her newly dyed black hair behind her ear.

“Nora, really?” Jaybird looked to Hawk while he pointed to the woman whose face had turned a sickly pale. “What if anyone recognizes her?”

“I doubt they would.” Snake pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Last time she had a very distinctive shade of purple hair. This time it’s a faded black, the most common hair color all over the world.”

Hawk’s brow furrowed and he lowered his voice as he directed his attention to Nora, as if Snake and Jaybird hadn’t spoken. “It’s okay, Nora. We’ll all be there in some capacity. Nothing will happen to you.”

“That’s what you said last time.” Her whisper was barely audible. “And now you have one fewer agent to make the same promise.”

The room quieted at her point and Devil felt the weight of Draco’s absence heavy on his chest. She was right. The Crew had promised her the same thing last year, but Draco was shot and Nora was kidnapped and almost lost for good, along with Ellie and the rest of the trafficking victims.

Devil and the rest of the men shifted and fidgeted in the silence before Hawk finally spoke up on a deep sigh. “I’m sorry Nora. If we can get around it, we will. But for now, we might need you in there, at least with an earpiece. Having a woman in the mix will put less suspicion on the agents in the field. Do you think you can do it?” Nora pinched her eyes closed before nodding again once. “Thank you.” He turned to the other men. “Marco, Henry. You’re going to be there, right?”

“Yeah, they’re actually using security this year, so I’ll be there,” Henry offered.

Marco nodded as he explained, “Apparently I count as the ‘elite’ this year. I received a verbal invitation yesterday from the Mitchell Strickland, himself, if you can believe it.” Everyone groaned at the mention of the biggest jackass in Ashland County—one who had been acting like a fucking choir boy since they were given a clue about him the year before—and Devil couldn’t help but join in. Marco shifted his head in the direction of the computer screens. “All your intel is right from what I know, which, admittedly, isn’t much.”

Hawk tapped his lips as he thought. “Excellent. For now, Snake and Nora, you get together and go through this list. Run a background check on everyone. Dig deep. Remember what that Ascot kid said last year. He said Strickland has a brother, but maybe he got the name wrong. Dying men aren’t infallible. Still, go through extended families, friends, jobs from high school, shirt size. Anything you can get, we need to know about it.”

Snake winced. “That’ll take a while, Hawk.”

“We’ve got a month to plan in advance this time. Like you said, things have been quiet in Ashland lately.” Hawk turned to Marco and Henry. “You guys haven’t heard anything right? I know Burgess was a dead end again last time we met with him. But when he mentioned looking into the party more we got serious about—” Henry shifted in his chair. “What? What is it? You both looked at each other.” Hawk crossed his arms and adopted his deep commander voice.

Henry exchanged glances with Marco, apparently for a second time since Devil hadn’t seen them do it the first time. “It’s just…” Henry began and rubbed the back of his head. “Burgess has been actin’ real weird lately. I’m not sure he’s as reliable as y’all think. Maybe even unreliable. This party might be just ‘nother red herring like he’s been givin’ y’all the entire time.”

Hawk’s sharp eye stabbed into Marco. “Is this true?”

Marco’s lips tightened and he rubbed his goatee. “Last time I saw him, he was jumpy, seemed cagey—”

“—pale, sweaty.” Henry grimaced.

Marco continued on. “He was in the evidence room for a case that’s not even on the trial docket, even though he said it was. I don’t know, man. Brown’s right, Burgess was acting pretty strange.”

Devil recalled their last meeting and cleared his throat to speak. “I’ve always thought he was a little off. Last time we met with him he was relatively calm, which I actually noticed only because he’s usually fidgety.”

Elbow propped up on his crossed arm, Hawk tapped his lips. “He might be questionable but he’s our only lead in the sheriff’s office who has any real power” —he winced— “no offense, Henry.”

A look Devil couldn’t decipher passed over Henry’s face before it went blank and he shrugged. “I’m still technically a rookie, so you’re right. I’ve been keepin’ an eye on him though. I’ll let y’all know if he starts actin’ even weirder.”

Hawk nodded. “Thanks. Hopefully we won’t need that intel. I’m not sure what’s going to go down in that hotel during the party, but I know for sure we’re going to use the swiftest, safest, and most effective measures to extract any and all victims. It might not be what you want to be a part of in your positions in the government.” He sighed and leveled his gaze. “I’m going to be real with you. We need you and Marco to sort of turn the other way, if you feel me.”

Marco’s lips tightened again and he nodded once. “I’m not comfortable with that, but I also know when you guys had a hard time depending on the Ashland cops last time, women were abducted and murdered. I’m doing my job for justice, not to ensure the law is followed if you feel me.”

“We’re not going to go out of our way to break the law, but we’re sure as hell going to get in the way of someone who does. By whatever means necessary.”

Devil nodded his agreement along with his teammates.

“Now, going back to Ellie…” Hawk turned to Jaybird and Devil bristled at the thought of what either of them would say next. “Snake and Nora are going to go through the guest list to cross reference everyone who was there last time, but we really need Ellie to help us. If she remembers anything, anything, about who attended that party, her going through the lists of faces would be invaluable. We need whatever her memory will give us.”

Devil opened his mouth to say no but Jaybird glared at Devil before cutting him off. “I think I know what Devil’s gonna say, and I’m actually with him on this one. I don’t want her anywhere near this. She was re-traumatized less than twenty-four hours ago, and I don’t want her to go through her nightmares again. I don’t know if you guys remember Ellie after the kidnapping—”

“I fucking remember.” The words slipped out before Devil could catch them, but they were the truth. For over six months after Ellie had been rescued, she’d suffered night terrors and panic attacks. She wouldn’t sleep away from BlackStone or her brother’s apartment and Devil had talked her through more than one.

He cringed inwardly as he recalled the attack he’d caused the week before when he’d come onto her, making her feel helpless. It’d been forever since he’d seen her that broken, and he’d be damned if he allowed her to break again on his watch.

The idea he’d been cooking up ever since he talked to her last night percolated again. It never dawned on him she might’ve felt out of control in that moment, but if he made sure she knew who was really in charge, maybe they could work. He wouldn’t spring it on her yet though. He’d bide his time and wait until it seemed like she was ready again. Hopefully his solution worked.

“Keep Ellie out of it, for as long as we can.” Jaybird’s tone was on the verge of begging but Devil wasn’t very far behind him.

Phoenix whistled. “Dayum… what’re y’all fools gonna do when your girl starts datin’ some dude? You won’t be able to call all the shots then, ya know.”

“The fuck?” Devil barked out. Ellie dating? No one was good enough for her. They wouldn’t begin to know how to appreciate what they had with Ellie in their arms. No one else knew the extent of what she’d been through, how to get her through the pain when the past was too much, or how hard she’d worked to get in a better place. How hard she still worked.

But I do…

The words were a gentle nudge in his mind, but they crashed into every one of his last hard-fought convictions to stay away from Ellie.

Snake lifted his glasses and wiped at the bridge of his nose. “I guess… I guess I could ask Naomi. She had the list—”

“Naomi? Who’s Naomi?” Henry butted in.

Snake paused as he returned his glasses to his nose. “The woman who gave us the list. Anyway, she was there last year, too, so I’ll ask her to sit with me—I mean us. Hopefully, she won’t bite my fucking head off again.”

“I still think you Neanderthals are making a colossal mistake not allowing Ellie to make this decision.” Nora tapped her long nails on the table and raised a black brow in Devil and Jaybird’s direction.

Devil clenched his fist as he spoke. “Naomi will have to do until you absolutely need Ellie.” Jaybird nodded his assent.

Hawk steepled his fingers in front of his chin and tapped his lips with the side of both pointer fingers before shaking his head. “It is what it is. But if shit hits the fan and something she knows could’ve prevented it, whatever happens is on you two.” He narrowed his eyes at Devil and Jaybird, emphasizing his point before continuing. “In the meantime, when you two bastards want to let a grown ass woman make her own goddamn decisions, let us all know so we can help save those who aren’t as lucky as she was to have a team of ex-soldiers dedicated to looking for her.”

Devil’s lips tightened and he could tell Jaybird was equally offended at the truth of their situation. But it didn’t change anything. It might be the wrong choice, but if he could protect his angel in any fucking way, he damn well would. If that meant making sure she never had to see the face of one of her perpetrator’s ever again, even if it helped someone else, that was a decision Devil was willing to go down for. He would carry that burden to make sure she never had to carry one ever again.

Phoenix’s words had clicked something in his mind and he realized what he had to do. There was no just getting Ellie “out of his system”. If nothing else had taught him that, his limp dick at a strip club sure as hell made him learn that lesson. He’d been afraid of damning his angel, but maybe giving in to temptation was what they both needed after all.

Jaybird looked at the table before speaking in a low voice. “It’s nonnegotiable at this point.”

“So be it,” Snake replied. “But for the record, you’re making a mistake.”

Resolve settled over Devil’s soul, finally at peace with the choices he was making regarding Ellie. He narrowed his eyes at Snake, challenging him—hell, the whole goddamn world—to fight his determination to keep her safe.

“So fucking be it.”