All He Wants (29 page)

“No! Don’t! Billy don’t!” she screamed as she was finally able to move freely when the dogs ran to their owner’s side. She, Bonnie, Clyde and Carter rushed towards Billy and Mr. 7G at the same time. Carter jumped on Billy’s back as Maxi kept yelling, “Don’t hurt him! He didn’t do anything.”

Before he landed a punch, Billy stood and shrugged Carter off, still holding the gun as he stood he pulled Maxi into his arms just as she reached him. As much as she wanted to stay there, to absorb his safety and strength, she couldn’t. Pushing away from him she pointed to the back door. “They have Jana! He said they have Jana!”

Billy scanned the area, saw the man that was knocked out on the floor and pushed the gun in Carter’s hand. “I’ll take care of him. You take them into the office, lock the doors, the police are on their way. Don’t let anyone in but Grover or me. Do you understand?”

Carter nodded as he started helping Mr. 7G, who was getting licked by his dogs.

In two steps Billy crossed the foyer and reached the man knocked out on the ground when Maxi heard Jana’s voice.

“What the hell is going on?”

Maxi turned to see her friend standing in the lobby. Alive.

“Jana!” Maxi ran and threw her arms around her. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

“Who? Did who hurt me? Are
you
okay? What’s happened?”

Letting her arms drop, Maxi stepped back, pointing at the man that Billy was standing over. “He grabbed me and said they had you.”

“No one had me. I was shopping and realized I didn’t have my phone. I came back to get it,” Jana explained.

“Oh thank God.” Maxi hugged her friend once more before turning to Mr. 7G and asked. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry.”

“I’m fine.” He assured her as he got up and gathered the dog’s leashes.

A moment later, a dozen or more police officers flooded through the doors and Maxi felt tears filling her eyes, blurring her vision. There were loud voices and commotion and the room was spinning. When she felt Billy’s arms surround her she let herself fall into him. He ran his hands through her hair as he promised her she was safe and everything was okay now. And it was. Everyone was safe. And as long as Billy’s arms were around her, so was she.

“H
e’s getting released from jail?” Maxi couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

After everything she’d been through, everything she’d put people that she loved through, Damien “The Smasher” Samuels wasn’t going to stay in prison.

“He cut a deal. The FBI have been trying to get him to turn on the Galletti crime family for a while now. Once this all blew up they pulled him out and got him to talk. He’s going into WITSEC.”

They’d been at the station for almost ten hours. She’d given her statement four times and been questioned by six different people. Four of them had been from the FBI.

She wished that Billy was with her, she felt lost. The last time she’d seen him, he’d been led away to give his statement to one of the feds. That was right after her dad left with Jessie and Zach. They had taken him home a couple of hours ago. She’d called him before they came to the station and he met her there. He was upset that she hadn’t told him what was going on, but more than anything he was just happy that she was okay. He’d stayed with her while she’d given her first two statements but once the FBI showed up, things had changed. Rules that didn’t allow family members to be with you while you gave your statement were no longer bent.

After her second FBI interview she’d been escorted out to the waiting area. That’s when she’d convinced her dad that she was fine and that he should go home and get some rest. Well, she tried to convince him, Billy was actually the one that had made that happen. He’d pulled him aside and spoken to him. She couldn’t hear what he’d said to her dad, but after a few minutes her dad agreed that he’d go home and rest.

She said her goodbyes to her dad, and as soon as he left Billy was pulled away to speak to one of the agents she’d already spoken to and she’d been brought to this room. After two more fed interviews Grover had come in to answer any questions she had. She had a lot.

So much information had come to light and she was still trying to make sense of it all. “And what about the guy that hacked into the security cameras at my gym and sent the emails to the office?”

“Todd Bond. He was Samuels’s cell mate, served eight years for cyber-crimes. Identity theft. Hacking. Phishing. He was released three months ago. After his release he states he was approached by a member of the Galletti organization to hack into your personal computer. They wanted to find anything they could to see if you’d told anyone else about your plans and also to find something to blackmail you with. Debt. Shady business dealings.”

“Because they had connections at the DA’s office and knew that I wanted to testify against Samuels,” she reiterated.

Grover had explained that the Galletti family had informants everywhere in law enforcement and that she probably hadn’t even made it to her car after her meeting with the DA before they were notified about her plans.

Grover nodded. “Samuels’ father is a Capo in the family. Samuels served as a solider for four years before he was arrested. When they found out that the feds were trying to turn him, the family got nervous. They knew if he had to serve more time, chances were, he would turn. With anyone else they would have probably just taken care of him in prison. But they were banking on ‘The Smasher’ being their golden ticket. They’d already secured his release and were poised to make millions on the fight that they’d set up for him.”

“Secured his release?” Maxi repeated.

“Payoffs, threats, blackmail. They have their ways.” Grover took another sip of coffee. “Then you came along. When they couldn’t find anything to blackmail you with they decided to scare you. To intimidate you. They wanted you to withdraw your appeal to speak at his parole hearing.”

Maxi was starting to feel like she was
in
one of the procedurals that she watched on TV. “Okay, so what about the girls. The girls that I saw him with. The girl he put in the trunk. What’s going to happen regarding justice for them?”

Grover shook his head. “Nothing. What he’s giving the feds is a lot more valuable to them than solving two missing girl cases, both over a decade old. Even if he did admit to any wrong doing, he’s got full immunity.”

Unfair didn’t even begin to describe what this was. For years, she’d carried the burden of what she’d witnessed. The guilt of not speaking up. The terror of keeping her secret. The trauma had affected her entire life. And now that she’d finally spoken up, finally found the courage to do the right thing, to be a voice, a witness for those girls… nothing was going to happen. It didn’t even matter. He was a free man.

“What if he does it again? What if he hurts someone else?” Maxi argued.

Grover pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb. She could tell that her incessant questions were frustrating him, but she wasn’t about to apologize for them. She needed answers.

He sighed. “Samuels isn’t insane. If he was, I would tell you that he might do it again and that there wasn’t a whole lot we could do about it. He’s a sick, sadistic predator, but more than that he’s a survivor. He’s going to keep a low profile. Not out of the goodness of his heart, but because if he doesn’t and the Galletti family finds him, it’s game over.”

“What about the guy that tried to kidnap me?” There were so many players in this thing it was hard to keep everyone straight.

“Angelo ‘The Gun’ Nespola. He’s a solider in the family. Flew into Chicago after we picked up Tully. The feds have him now. He’ll either talk and take a deal or end up behind bars. He has several outstanding warrants in addition to the charges he’ll be brought up on for the incident today.”

The door opened and Maxi looked up expecting to see yet another officer or agent that she’d have to go through her entire story with. Instead, Billy stood in the doorway.

He stared straight at Maxi and like always his stare was a wave and the rest of the world washed away like sand on the beach. She was so happy to see him but wished she knew what he was thinking. His expression was blank. The same way it had been the entire night.

She knew that everyone dealt with things differently, but it would be nice if he could give her some clue of what he was feeling. Was he mad at her? Was he relieved that this entire fiasco was finally over? Was he just tired and over this entire situation?

“You ready to get out of here?” he asked.

Her stomach dropped. For the last two weeks, whether they were in the city or in Harper’s Crossing, whenever he referred to either her condo or his house he used the term “home.” Now he asked if she wanted to get out of here. Not do you want to go home. Maybe she was reading too much into his choice of phrasing. Maybe she was just letting her fear that he was going to grab his bag and leave the second they walked through the door color everything he said, every look he gave.

Looking at Grover she asked, “Can I go?”

“Yes.” He stood. “You are free to go. You have my card if you have any more questions.”

“Thank you, for everything.” She shook his hand and the reality that this was really over sank in.

As she walked beside Billy through the precinct, she tried to prepare herself for whatever was going to happen, or not happen between them. She’d known that this was temporary, whether they talked about it or not. She wasn’t stupid. There was always an expiration date on their time together.

If this was the end, then she knew she was walking away from what they’d shared a better, stronger person. He’d shown her what she was missing. She wasn’t going to settle for safe anymore. She wanted more. She wanted the world disappearing with one look. She wanted her body to go up in flames from one touch. She wanted…Billy.

B
illy watched as Maxi tried to slide her key into the lock on her apartment door, but her trembling fingers just wouldn’t let the alignment come together. He was doing his best to give her space. He didn’t want to be accused of robbing her of her independence or of trying to take over her life, so as much as it pained him—no, fuck that, infuriated him—he forced himself to stand idly by and watch her try without saying anything.

Tonight had been the biggest test of his life and at this point he wasn’t trying to ace the bastard, he was just trying to get a passing grade. He was trying not to show any emotion, because apparently they were the wrong ones. When he’d told Zach how upset he was that Maxi had gone out into the hall without telling him, his friend had told him he needed to remember who they were talking about. That this was Maxi. That she had always done things on her terms. He’d asked Billy point blank what was going on between them and Billy told him the truth, he loved her. Zach hadn’t missed a beat when he’d told him that he better get used to being frustrated because she was never going to be the girl that wanted to be saved.

When the keys fell to the ground he couldn’t take anymore, he stepped in and took control. He calmly picked them up and smoothly slid the right one into the lock, and pushed the door open. He did all of this without saying anything. It wasn’t that he didn’t have anything to say. He just didn’t think he could get the words out around his clenched jaw.

He pushed the door open with a decisive shove and she walked in ahead of him. Not too far ahead, though. He stayed close enough to her that he could feel her shaking like a leaf, even through her clothes, and his. When he glanced down, he could actually see her knees shaking.

Fuck. He hated that asshole for making her feel like this. Not to mention the very stark reality of the situation—he could’ve lost her. He could’ve actually lost her. That was, he knew, the root of the volcanic anger that was boiling inside him right now—fear. Fear more harsh and terrible than he’d ever felt before. He wasn’t afraid of physical harm, or even death. He risked those, gladly, in the course of his job. He didn’t mind. He’d rather die than live afraid.

But the thought of losing Maxi—especially when it became more than just a concept, but a real possibility, like had happened today? Fuck. That shook him to the core. Made him feel scared and helpless.