Her Regret, His Resolve; Bouncing Back, Book 2

30

Trinity watched as the man who had fathered her child vanished over the horizon. The car left a trail of fumes and road dust as it became nothing more than a speck.

Her long-time boyfriend had been beaten to within an inch of his life and forcibly taken from her home. Marks was clear that he wasn't playing around when it came to the well-being of his daughter. Getting to her feet, she started walking back toward the house, dusting the traces of gravel from her clothes. "f*****g asshole, walking into my house and beating my s**t up like that. Just wait, Marks. I'll get you back."

The wail of sirens blasted through the late morning air. She looked down the road, her heart pounding as she thought of the illegal drugs hidden inside. Had David called them on her?

He did say that he would make her suffer, or at least something along those lines. Damn it, she was too high to remember what he'd actually said. She didn't even really know if the sirens were for her or not. Like a nosy neighbor, she stood there on the path, waiting for them to stop.

When the lights came around the bend in the road, she finally started panicking. They were coming for her, and she knew it. That bastard must have called before he came by. Running back to the house, she tripped over the steps. "Ow, damn it."

Brushing off the pain, she ran into the house and locked the door behind herself. Going from room to room, she tried to find as many of the baggies as she could. Stuffing them into her clothes, she kept locating what Jericho had hidden around the house.

When she felt that she'd found them all, she ran upstairs to the bathroom.

She wasn't supposed to have the drugs. Having even a little bit was going to get her thrown into prison. Flushing the first few, she heard someone banging on the front door. A voice shouted to go around back, and she belatedly realized that she'd forgotten to lock the rear door. Her heart racing, she stuck her nose into the next baggie and took a deep sniff of the powder. David had taken her life and given it a good, hard shake.

That's okay, she thought with a smirk. She would throw him under the bus. He said he knew the Scorpion's owner; she would call him on his bullshit. Grabbing her phone out of her pocket, she dialed her friend Beth's number. "Beth, hey—"

"Stop calling me, Trinity. Kennedy said she doesn’t want you around anymore. You’ve got no idea what she’s capable of, but I do. It was only a matter of time before someone in the club got to him anyway," the other woman said before disconnecting the call.

Furious, Trinity threw her phone against the wall. Damn that prick and his connections!

Trying to stuff as many drugs into the toilet as she could, she seethed in frustration when the toilet backed up. "s**t! No, no, no! Go down, not up!"

"Freeze! Trinity Gabriel, you’re under arrest for possession, breach of probation, and breach of court-ordered conditions. Hopefully, the justice system won’t put you back on the streets too soon," the woman said as she whipped out her cuffs before leading Trinity down the stairs. Her hands behind her back, she hung her head as the police raided the house.

“There’s no telling. If there are higher priority cases, they’ll get in first."

Another officer came forward. Shaking his head, he sighed. "There's more than enough evidence to detain her. Looks like someone got into a fight in the living room, though."

"My daughter's father broke in and attacked my boyfriend! His name is David Marks. You have to find him and save my man. David’s going to kill him!" Trinity screamed as they dragged her out of the house to put her in the back of the car.

As the door closed, the female officer glanced at the sleek, black car a few meters away. They knew that the driver was watching them take the woman into custody. Even though the windows were tinted, they could feel him monitoring their every move.

"He's waiting," she said wistfully. "Are we going to look into her claims? That the father did what she said?"

The male officer beside her smirked knowingly. He shook his head. "You got a lot to learn, Rookie. The law doesn’t keep this place clean, Stella."

She frowned, obviously not liking where the conversation was going. "Then who does?"

"The Veiðimenn mafia," he replied, lighting a cigarette. "We get the cases solved the way we do because they got their fingers in all kinds of pies. The guy she’s talking about, David Marks, is a friend of the force, Chika. He's got a background working with the social system, too. If he made that mess in the living room, he had a damn good reason."

His phone rang. Picking it up, the officer swallowed as he read ‘Unknown Caller.’ There was only one person who would do that. Biting back his fear, he answered, "How can I help you today, Don Callum?"

"Make sure she’s held until she sees a judge." The man on the other end of the call stated darkly.

"Yes, of course, Sir," Steele said stiffly. "What about the man Mr. Marks took with him?"

"That is not your concern," Callum snapped. "The official police report better read that he skipped town and was last reported heading to the States. That won't be a problem, will it?"

"No, Sir. It certainly will not be an issue. As it stands, the arrest and subsequent detaining of Ms. Trinity Gabriel are perfectly legal. The information was provided on a tip from a concerned citizen and followed up by the local detachment," Steele said.

The lights of the car flashed a few times before the vehicle was turned around and driven away. Relaxing a little, the officer glanced at the retreating car until it was out of sight.

"Your cooperation in this issue has been satisfactory, as usual," Callum noted. "The force can expect another nice donation at the next Charity Auction as long as my orders are taken care of."

"Thank you, Sir," Steele replied. "I'll pass the message along to the higher-ups."

The mafia Don disconnected the call, and the officer relaxed. Beside him, the woman he was partnered with stared at him expectantly.

"We did well. Our quick work was enough to please him," he said.

She gasped, "That's a good thing? We're partnered with the mafia, and it’s a good thing?"

"Remember that case a few years back? The one where the East End Queen was taken down?"

His partner nodded. "Yeah, I heard about that on the news eight years ago. And?"

"The man in charge of bringing her down was Don Callum's father, the late Don Hans Stevensson. He saved a little over two dozen young people between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five from the s*x trade, then handed over the woman in charge. Before that, he helped bring home a massive number of kids that were sold on the Market. If you want to keep your badge, you keep your mouth shut," Steele warned as he slid into the driver's seat.

Nodding her head, the young woman got into the seat beside him. "What about that local gang? The Scrappers, wasn't it?"

"No, they got taken over by the Scorpions when the Queen took the helm. She’s not to be messed with, either. Roughly about a year ago, she got shot in a drive-by," Steele answered as he started the car.

Whistling, Stella sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. "Why? What’s so special about a girl leading a freaking motorbike gang?"

"Their leader, Kennedy, was one of Don Callum's people, too. When I said they had their fingers in everything, I meant it. The security system all the major businesses use, and that big funding grant at the annual Ball and Charity Auction? Don Callum owns Everett Holdings and he provides the grant," he said.

Stella blinked. "He basically controls Ontario, doesn't he?"

"In a word: yes. He and his wife carry the values set down by his father and his father's father," Steele replied.

Angry that they were ignoring her, Trinity kicked the back of Stella's seat. "Hello, I should not be in here!"

"You can save your complaints for the judge," Steele snapped.

"The one you should be arresting is David Marks, not me! He took my boyfriend with him when he left. He's going to kill him!"

Stella shrugged. "I doubt it."

"Oh, no. She's right. He is going to kill her boyfriend," Steele said. "If it was your kid, what would you do? If you had a chance, and knew you wouldn’t get into legal trouble, wouldn't you kill your child's abuser? If you knew you could get away with murder, wouldn’t you end them to further protect others from the same fate?"

Paling, Stella grasped the seatbelt. "If you put it that way, I'd shoot the fucker's balls off just to watch him bleed out."

"Exactly," her partner agreed.

As the car pulled into the detachment's parking lot, they noted that the Chief was walking over to them. Tall and muscular, the man exuded strength. Getting out, Steele greeted him as Stella pulled the woman from the back.

"The anonymous tip we received paid off, Sir. We caught her trying to flush the evidence, but we managed to get most of it. It’s in the van in a few evidence bags," Steele reported.

Nodding, the man smirked. "Mr. Hansson called ahead. He’s happy with the quick response time. You know what to do with the reports."

"Yes, Sir," Steele replied.