Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 127715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
“You know who I’m talking about,” she spat.
Harry sat back and linked his hands on his stomach.
He then said, “I understand, as a mother, you want your children to have what they want. As a flight risk, your boy is being held without bail. He’s probably not thrilled with his accommodation. I’m afraid I can’t dredge up much empathy for him, considering he burned down my stables and grifted tens of thousands of dollars from unsuspecting women, and left three men, whose identities he also stole, in debt they have to untangle themselves from, illegally wed to women they’ve never met.”
Her face a mask of banked fury, Rita said nothing.
Harry continued, “Now, he’s in Seattle, which isn’t all that close. But it doesn’t matter where he is, what he had with Lillian was over years ago. She has no relationship with him. She’s not thrilled he woke up my father in the middle of the night while committing arson, but other than that, he does not factor in her life in any way. He can want whatever he wants. She is not going to visit him. She is not going to take a call from him. Except as a memory of a mistake she made she’s since rectified, he doesn’t exist for her.”
Rita remained silent.
“I take it you’re coming to me in the hopes I’ll intervene for him,” Harry guessed.
“You’re a fair man,” she snapped. “Usually,” she added sarcastically. “And I do believe you understand his feelings for her.”
Oh yeah, he understood Willie not being able to give up on the thought of being with Lillian, no matter how much time had passed.
Even so.
Harry leaned forward on his forearms again. “Right, and being fair, I’ll warn you, not as the sheriff, as Lillian’s man, this is one hundred percent not fucking okay.”
Rus shifted.
Harry didn’t break eye contact with Rita.
“Rita, I feel for you. You love your boy. He’s in a load of trouble. But do not ever come to me again asking for a favor for that man. You won’t get it. Not ever. And absolutely not if it has one fucking thing to do with Lillian. Am I understood?”
She sat rock solid and then she jerked her head in what Harry was going to take as an affirmative.
“You’ve changed,” she accused.
“No, I haven’t, Rita. You know me. You do because we’re the same. We’ll both go to the mat for someone we love. So you know where I’m coming from.”
Her eyes flickered on that.
She knew where he was coming from, and the wrath he sensed in her wasn’t aimed at Harry.
She was pissed at her son not only for being stupid, but also for getting caught doing it, and further because she knew if he’d stayed in the family fold and did what he was told, he likely wouldn’t be where he was.
The same thing happened to her other boy who decided to start a side gig apart from the family by cooking meth.
“He should have come forward,” Harry said quietly.
“I’ve never been able to control that boy,” she replied frustratedly.
And with that, Harry knew with certainty what he suspected. The ongoing cons weren’t her idea. That was all Willie. He’d gone maverick. And now he was fucked.
Harry sat back again. “No matter his age, a man should listen to the wisdom of his momma.”
She opened her mouth, but Polly was there again.
“Harry, Rus…” Polly’s eyes darted to Rita, but Harry was already strung tight by the voltage he saw in them.
“Rita, if you’ll excuse us,” Harry said urgently.
She got up and gave Harry even more to chew on about how he felt about her, knowing who she was, the gang she ran that she’d birthed herself, and still thinking there was some inherent good in her.
She did this by reading the room and not wasting any time in leaving.
Polly slammed the door on her and rushed to the desk.
She didn’t make them wait.
“Michelle Dietrich is here.”
Harry only took the time to share a glance with Rus.
Then they were both charging toward the door.
FORTY-SIX
Consequences
Harry
Harry had no idea where Special Agents Fatima Bakshi and Joseph Patterson were.
But he was pleased as fuck they swung into his station just over an hour after Harry phoned them about Michelle Dietrich.
The observation room was packed with Harry, Wade, Sean, Karen, several other deputies, along with Cade, Jason and Jesse Bohannan.
Rus was in the interrogation room with Mrs. Dietrich and the two FBI agents.
And Michelle Dietrich looked as if she’d just left her salon after a hairstyle and a makeup touchup.
As far as Harry knew, she did.
“Let’s start at the beginning, Mrs. Dietrich,” Bakshi began.
“I want protection for me and my husband,” Dietrich retorted.
“We can talk about that later, now—” Bakshi tried.
“And immunity,” Dietrich cut her off. “Protection and immunity.”
Bakshi sat back and looked at Patterson.