Merry with a Lawman (Love Beach, Holiday Collection)

14. The Middleman

FOURTEEN

THE MIDDLEMAN

DAVIS

Tracking Chadwick isn’t difficult. With a nod toward transparency, his office publishes his weekly schedule. Plus Gigi got in the habit of tracking the Senator’s whereabouts through all the major media outlets for Addie. When they were in the middle of their divorce, Chad had a nasty habit of showing up now and then wherever she was. Gigi’s info helped Addie to do her best to stay clear of him if she knew he was in town.

The challenge is getting him alone without his entourage of assistants and security guards. For some reason, he employs the most guards out of the entire current cohort of senators. Makes me wonder what exactly he’s afraid of or who.

Lucky for me, he’s scheduled to kick off the annual Santa’s Wishes and Pucks event at the Renegades Hockey arena over in Charleston a week before Christmas. Several of the professional hockey team players got together and started this up several years ago. This year, Beau, as one of the newest players for the team, has gotten involved, and as he is my brother-in-law, I could beg him for favors.

Besides, Addie really wanted to go, but didn’t want to run into Chad, so I promised Beau I’d keep an eye on her, and invited Belle to come along with us as well. It gets easier every day to involve Belle in my life, to find ways we can spend dating and enjoying this new aspect of our time together.

While the team holds this event for kids who have battled life-threatening diseases, Chad uses this as an opportunity to gain media attention and rub elbows with his constituents.

We roll our eyes through his opening speech, falling short of calling bullshit on his fake smile to the kids and families. When he’s almost finished, I need to get ready to get into position to ambush him. I make sure Addie and Belle are safe in their seats, completely stocked with water bottles, cocoa and a heaping plate of nachos for my craving pregnant sister. I kiss Belle on the temple and tell her I’ll be back. She questions me with her eyes, but I just play it off that I have to use the restroom.

Several minutes later, I’m dressed in a disguise and keeping a close eye on Chad in the staging area without his notice. Finally, when he enters the men’s room without his people around him and with his guards keeping low-key, I see my opportunity.

I follow in after him. His head snaps up from the urinal, taking me in dressed as Santa, with no idea it’s me underneath.

He laughs it off. “Shoot, Santa. Scared me there for a minute.”

Yep, Beau’s team needed someone to play Santa, and that was the only way I’d gain backstage access. I make sure no one else is in the room, and there isn’t. Then I make my move and lock the door.

I grab Chad by the back of his suit jacket as he’s putting himself back into his pants, and I shove him into the wall next to the urinal.

“Tell me why you had my mom sign a confession to a crime she didn’t commit,” I seethe. “Was it you behind the wheel?”

“Jeez—Davis? The fuck you doing dressed as Santa?”

“Tell me, now.” I shove him again, face first, into the wall.

“Ow. All right. Stop. I have a panic button and can call my guards in. They’ll have you down on the floor in seconds flat.”

I let him go, but stand only a foot in front of him, cornering him right where he is. He turns to face me, scowling and smoothing his suit and hair back into place.

“Did you do this to me?” I shake a finger at him.

“No. You’re Addie’s brother. I wouldn’t.”

“Then who was behind the wheel? It was her car, but she wasn’t the one driving.”

A look of realization come over his face, and he gives me a sideways glance. “Are you getting you memory back?”

None of his business. “Bet getting Mom to sign a confession wasn’t difficult. What’d you threaten her with?”

He scoffs, not wanting to answer.

“I won’t stop until I know the truth, and you know that, Chad.”

“You found out the truth once. Why do you think they tried to take care of you?” His words stop me in my tracks, and I try to dissect the meaning from them. So I uncovered something. I must have been trying to share the information with Gigi the night someone ran me down in the street.

“Who are they? ”

His lips form a straight line.

“Don’t want to talk? You can come with me now down to the police station where, whoops, you’re going to resist arrest and I’m going to have to beat your ass, stick a pair of handcuffs on you, and throw you into a filthy jail cell overnight until you talk?—”

“This is bigger than me, okay? You don’t want to mess with these people.” His eyes morph into that of a scared wild animal backed into a corner. “This is next level shit that no small town cop wants to get involved with.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you get it? I’m not the real enemy, just a puppet. But you compromise me as your middle man, then you’ll have greater enemies to worry about. Think of me as the one doing you a favor.”

My mind races, trying to put the pieces of a messed up puzzle together. But it doesn’t stop me. I pull out my handcuffs. “I’ll take my chances.”

I slap one on his wrist, but he resists pulling it back. Strong fucker, too.

“You’ll take your chances with your sister? With Belle?”

I gasp and back away a step, shaking my head.

“That’s right. They know all about you, watching you for the past year.”

“If not you, who then, Chad? If you’re not the enemy here, then at least clue me in who I’m dealing with.”

“Drug cartels.”

My blood runs cold, freezing me in place, like a soulless statue.

“They’ve been laundering money through this area. They think Love Beach is perfect for it, sliding under the radar of the DEA. These guys are dangerous, Davis. They’ll stop at nothing. Last year, you found out about it and you were going to blow this thing wide open. They couldn’t let that happen. They had someone run you down. Only you survived. They’ve had people planted in town watching you ever since. So, if I were you, unless you have a death wish for you and the people you care about, I’d think twice over every move you make.”

His threats wake me up. Blood finally surges through my veins, blinding me with rage. They’re bullies, the entire lot of them, and they’re infesting my town. My fists burn to smash their faces, just like the night I had enough of the abuse and mistreatment from the man they call my father.

Chad shoves around me and makes for the door.

“Where are you going? I’m not done with you yet.” My palm lands on the door, keeping him from opening it.

“Your accident was your only warning, Davis. Next time, you might not be so lucky. Or they’ll get to Addie or Belle, anything to keep you quiet. You don’t want that. Hell, they probably know you and I are talking right now. These people are insane. I need to get out of here.”

“Don’t say a damn thing to anyone about our discussion here.”

“I don’t plan on it. Get this fucking thing off of me.”

Reluctantly, I unlock the cuffs and pocket them. He scurries out the door.

I fall back against the wall, soaking in every word he said. I need to talk to my captain at the police station. Did I tell him anything I found out last year? Does he know what’s happening or in contact with the DEA about this?

Gigi and Jackson are also on my list to see. Because they are the only two people I could trust with this shit. They’d also want Addie and Belle to be safe, and if something ever happened to me, I’m going to need their help to watch over the two women I love most.

I swallow hard. Hate to admit it, but Chad’s right. This shit is bigger than him or me. And definitely Love Beach’s worst nightmare.

Outside the door, I hear the event planner yelling, “Has anyone seen Santa? He’s due to be on the ice with the kids.”

That’s my cue to slap on a cheerful face and pretend to be a fictional character for a while instead of a cop with the weight of the world on his shoulders. I exit the bathroom, yelling, “Ho, ho, ho, here I am!”