Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 90919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“You need to come back later,” one of them ordered.
Aoife was sitting by Richie’s bed, face ashen, her hands clenched tightly on top of her purse.
“Nah,” I said slowly, looking back at the suit. “I think I’ll stay.”
“We need to speak with Mr. Lewis and his wife alone.”
“I’m her brother,” I said, planting my feet. “What’s this about?”
The suits looked at me like I had a screw loose.
“Your brother-in-law was shot—”
“I’m aware of that,” I cut him off, glancing pointedly around the room.
“Richie—” Aoife said, her voice wobbling. “They want to offer him a deal.”
“What kind of deal?” I asked suspiciously.
“They want me to testify,” Richie rasped, his eyes on the suits. “Put Julian in jail.”
“Not just Mr. Kitz,” the suit closest to me clarified. Then he made a noise in his throat and shook his head. “This is a private conversation.”
“He stays,” Richie said flatly.
The closest suit opened his mouth to argue but shut it again when his partner shook his head. “Frankly, you’re in deep shit, Richard. You can go to prison for money laundering, and let’s be honest here—you wouldn’t be there long.”
Aoife made a little noise as his insinuation hit home.
“Or you can testify as the state’s witness.”
Richie stared at him.
“Aces and Eights Motorcycle Gang,” the other suit mused, checking out my cut. “Oregon. I doubt you’ll have much pull in the prisons here.”
“We’re a recreational riding club,” I corrected flatly.
“Sure you are.” He smirked.
“And you’d be surprised.” I smiled back at him, holding eye contact until he looked away.
“Better me than them,” Richie said finally, looking over at my sister. “Talking to you would put a target on my wife’s back.”
“It’s a federal case,” the suit furthest from me said easily. “Which means you’d be put in witness protection.”
I could see the wheels turning in Richie’s head. The man had absolutely no poker face, and I’d always been able to tell when he was actually weighing the pros and cons of something or just delaying his answer. “My wife and son?” he asked.
“Well—”
“Stop,” Aoife said quietly, her voice hoarse. She turned to look at Richie, and what composure he’d been hanging onto was gone in an instant. “You know I can’t.”
“E—” he pleaded.
“You know I won’t leave them.”
“Aoife—”
“You know I’d have to be dead to leave them,” she said harshly, slicing her hand through the air. “You’ve always known that.”
“Who are we talking about here?” the suit closest to me asked.
No one answered him.
My gut churned with nausea.
“They’re grown now, baby,” Richie argued. “You did your part.”
“You think it ends when they’re out of the house?” Aoife shot back.
“Think about what you’re saying, Aoife,” Richie replied, grunting as he tried to sit up further in bed.
“You know my answer,” Aoife whispered painfully.
“How can I protect you if I’m stuck in some safe house somewhere and you and Sean are here?” he asked desperately. “You have to come.”
“I don’t,” Aoife replied, straightening her shoulders. She looked like she was about to shatter into a million pieces. “I’m not.”
Richie stared at her for a long time before his gaze moved to me. He didn’t have to say a word.
I nodded.
If the suits hadn’t been in the room, I would’ve told him it was a terrible fucking idea. I would’ve warned him that there was a good chance he wouldn’t even make it to trial, and even if he did—he’d have that monkey on his back for the rest of his life. Once he testified, there wouldn’t be a place on the West Coast that was safe for him, maybe even the entire US. I would’ve urged him to get a lawyer, to play dumb, to keep his mouth fucking shut until we could figure out how to get him and my sister out of this mess safely.
But the damage had been done before I’d even entered the room. Richie wasn’t a criminal mastermind, and to him? The FBI was a godsend. He’d never wanted to fall into the shit with Kitz. He’d been offered an opportunity, and the moment he’d said yes, Kitz had all he needed to keep Richie on a leash. As I watched detachedly, my brother-in-law convinced himself that going into witness protection was the best for all involved and seemed to sink into the bed, as if agreeing to testify against the crazy motherfucker had absolved him of the mess he’d made.
Half an hour later, there was a plain clothes officer sitting at the nurses desk across from Richie’s door as I led my sister gently out of the room.
“What the fuck just happened?” she asked under her breath, her fingers digging into my hand.
“Just keep walking.”
Everyone stood as we came through the ICU doors, but we didn’t stop. I just kept leading her toward the elevator.
“Let’s go,” I said quietly as we passed them.