Page 68 of Great White
“Siempre estaré alli para ella. Siempre.”
I’ll be there for her. Always.
“I need to stay away. Keep the heat low.”
“I understand.”
“You know where to find me if you need me.”
“I do.” I hang up with Stefania. Taylor is chomping at the bit to know what that phone call was all about. “We may have just gotten the break you were gunning for.”
* * *
I sitin the back of the courtroom as Dove is escorted in. She carries herself as strong and as fiercely as the day I met her. Not an ounce of intimidation in sight. That’s myTiburona. She doesn’t see me, and that’s okay. The more invisible I am, the better.
The prosecutor reads the charges aloud, and I cringe. It’s bad.
Caught with fifty kilos of a controlled narcotic. With intent to distribute, and trafficking. She is looking at ten to fifteen years minimum if convicted. My heart sinks. The only thing she has going for her is that this is her first offense, but her ties to the Deltoro cartel aren’t helping.
I’m familiar with Judge Moreno. We had a run-in a few years ago. He’s very by the book and takes his position seriously.
Moreno detains Dove with no bail and a court hearing pending. That was no surprise. I could have predicted that outcome. Even with the best lawyers money can buy, the odds are stacked against Dove. The evidence is concrete. It will take one of two things to get her out of this one. A miracle, or some very persuasive convincing.
* * *
Another three a.m.meet and greet.
Except this one isn’t with Taylor. This one is the most secretive of all. It took a hell of a lot of persuasion on my part to set this meeting up. It’s highly unusual, but not unheard of. It’s a crap shoot. One I’m betting the farm on. I’m blowing my cover and showing all my cards, with hopes it will work in my favor. Because if it works in my favor, it will work in Dove’s favor. It will be a symbiotic exchange. It will make or break us. The bond we forged is going to be put to the test. Right here right now.
The door creaks open, and my anxiety spikes.
I smile when I see her. “Hey,Tiburona.”
14
Dove
The shady prisonguard ushers me down a dark hallway. He’s looked at me like he’s wanted to rip my clothes off since the moment I got here. The uptick of adrenaline I’m experiencing is telling me we’re on our way to getting what he wants. I mentally brace myself for what’s to come. Fighting him off isn’t an option. Bad behavior leads to a hellish existence behind these walls, and a bad reflection on my case.
I am a true prisoner, and I have to persevere as such. Which means enduring anything that’s thrown in my direction. No matter how vile. I’ve lived through worse; I can survive Officer Lopez.
With my hands shackled, he pushes open a steel door, and my stomach drops to my knees. I nearly trip over my own feet as he shoves me inside. That’s when my universe spins on its head.
“Hey,Tiburona.” Tate’s smooth voice washes through the small room like holy water over a sinner. I want to run to him. But I’m too confused to move. What’s happening here?
“Sit.” Lopez manhandles me, and I see the annoyance in Tate’s dark eyes. Lopez makes quick work of securing my bonds to the metal table, then steps back, standing guard in the corner of the room. I stare at Tate, my agitation climbing higher and higher by the second.
“What the fuck is going on?” I may not know much, but I know Stefania doesn’t have the power to smuggle Tate into a federal prison.
“You can wait outside,” Tate orders Lopez to leave.
“I’m supposed to stay.”
“No, you’re not. The only people authorized to be in this room are me and her. Get out.”
My gaze becomes sharper, more acute. If I were a dog, my hackles would be standing straight up. Something isn’t right.
Lopez grunts, but resigns, leaving the room in a rush.
