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“I do. Understand,” he clarifies, tucking his arms by his sides when the wind picks up. “Trust and privacy matter amongst friends. I know that better than anyone.” He allows us to walk in silence for a beat. As cars crawl past and a bus putters to a stop nearby. People get on, others get off. And all the while, Fletch has my back. Because trust matters between partners. That’s something he and I have never, will never, lack. “I keep turning it over in my head,” Taylor finally murmurs. We come closer to the bar, where pedestrians thin out the nearer we come to a crime scene.
The yellow and black tape still surrounds my building… something that should probably come down before Minka gets home.
When he trails off, I glance across and find Taylor watching me. Waiting. “Turning what over?”
“You. Your family.” He drops his eyes and kicks a quarter when we come upon one lying on the sidewalk. “Like… we’re not on the record here. It’s just us, and you’ve already said you and Detective Fletcher have no secrets. So I guess I just wonder how someone like you balances the badge and family.”
“Balance it how? I do the job. My solve rate is decent. Above departmental average, actually. My lieutenant likes that about me.”
“Right. But how do you keep the brass off your back?” He slows his steps as we approach the bar. Once we step inside, he’s on Malone territory, and fuck, but he’s not so sure about that. It’ll be noisy in there. Packed. Hot. And he won’t have his back to the wall. “How do you keep Bower off you while also serving your family the way you do?”
I come to a stop and pin him with a glare that has him moving back a step. He gulps as nerves wash through his veins. “Serving my family how?” I raise a brow and challenge him to say his shit out loud. “What exactly are you accusing me of, Detective Taylor?”
“Accusing?” He shakes his head and lifts his hands in surrender. He’s a coward behind the powerful gun, a puppet controlled by Nathan Booth. And Nathan Booth is a puppet controlled by someone else. That someone else, eventually, is who will have me in their scope at the end of the day.
Here’s hoping I’m faster than they are.
“I didn’t mean any disrespect, Detective. I’m not…” Taylor conspiratorially lowers his voice. “I’m not trying to bust you for the things you do for your family. I was…”
“What?”
“Just trying to see where you stand, I guess. Loyalty matters. Family matters. When we’re lucky, everything points in the same direction: blood relation or not.”
“Where areyourloyalties, Detective Taylor?” Fletch stalks closer, creating a wall that’ll keep everyone else out. Our cop killer wanted a private discussion, so now he’s got one. “Like you said, we’re not on the record right now. We’re not even in the station. So if you’d like to speak plain English and state where you stand, our conversation is bound to go smoother. We don’t deal in vague, sweeping statements. That would be dangerous.”
“It’s just…” He gulps again, swallowing so his throat bobs. “Can I be frank?”
“Please,” I huff, stopping barely short of rolling my eyes. “I’d prefer it.”
“You’re Timothy Malone’s son.” Nervously, he looks left and right. “Outwardly, you present a fractured front and declare the family is at odds. But I’ve seen behind the curtain.”
“What curtain?”
“Families like yours… there is no fracture. There can’t be. Either you’re in, or you’re dead. So since you’re here and alive, that means a unity exists. Whatever you told Bower, its clearly convincing enough. Either that, or he’s on the take, too. But the point remains… you serve more than a badge.”
“So what if I do?” I step forward until his back hits the wall and his eyes grow panicky. “You think you can bust me down and take the collar? You think they’ll give you a shiny medal when you dismantle the Malone family and deliver this city from their shitty clutches?” I lean closer, closer, and faux-whisper, “I’ve killed men for considering this kind of stuff, Taylor. Cops or civilians… didn’t matter to me.”
“Might I suggest you sew your lips shut,” Fletch growls toward the quivering weasel, “then ask for a transfer over to traffic. You don’t get to throw those words around a Malone and stay out of the sea.”
“I’m not here to bust you,” he argues shakily. “I’m actually… actually…”
Say it, bitch! You’re on the take, and you killed those cops.
A phone trills, ringing from Taylor’s pocket and vibrating until the zipper on his coat hums with it.
“Expecting a call?” I watch as he blindly dips a hand into his pocket. I attempt to see the screen, to read the name of his caller, but all I catch is the unmistakable ‘unknown’we’ve all seen at one point or another. “You should take that, Detective Taylor.” I stand taller, towering over him. “Could be important.”
“Let’s get a beer.” Fletch claps my shoulder and drags me back a step. “Let him talk to his friend in private.” He looks at a mildly terrified Taylor and winks. “We’ll order your burger when we get in there. Maybe we can discuss family and loyalty after we’ve had a beer together.”
I push away from Booth’s puppet and stride through the bar’s front door, catching Tim’s stare the moment I cross the threshold, then I glance back when Fletch follows me in.
“You got that intimidation from your daddy,” he chuckles as soon as the door swings shut. “You’re lucky I know better, bud, or I might believe you’re on the take, too.”
“I mean…” I exhale to rid my body of the tension coiled in my belly. The anger, real or not, from my veins. “I’m a Malone,” I speak louder to talk over the music, “and I have a relationship with my brothers. That’s enough to have Bower toss me on my ass. We both know it.”
“Lucky you have that above average close rate,” he snickers, tapping the bar as soon as he’s within reach and holding up three fingers.Start pouring. “We’ll give him a minute on the phone, then we’ll continue our conversation. He’s pissing his pants afraid of you, Arch. He’s been warned by whoever controls him:Malone is powerful. Be careful.”
“He wants to tell us who he is. But he’s not sure if we’ll congratulate him for being a badass, or arrest him for being a killer.”
