Whatever the reason, it wasn't good. She knew her brother. For years she'd watched him operate. When it came to a hair trigger, Joey had been cursed. He took hair triggers to another level. A double hair trigger. Maybe even a triple.

  Cop number one nudged in closer, getting in Joey's space. "You don't tell us what to do. We tell you what to do. Now leave."

  Oh, boy.

  "You—" Dad poked his finger at Joey, "—calm down. Right now. Don't even think about busting this place up."

  "Ray," cop number two said, "I've got this."

  Except Joey inched closer, and with him came an electric buzz that sent the energy in the room crackling. "Get away from my father before I kick your ass."

  Ohmygod. "Joey! Stop it."

  The cop snorted. "You think you're gonna kick my ass. That's it. Up against the wall."

  Could there be anything worse than a bunch of high-strung alphas in a confined space? Enough already. Lucie wedged herself between Joey and the jerky cop and shoved. Unfortunately, at 6'5", her brother was basically a human mountain and didn't budge. Lucie dug her heels in and threw all her weight forward. Pushing, pushing, pushing. Her sneakers squeaked against the tile and...grrrr...began to slip.

  Damn it.

  Joey grabbed her by the arms, picked her up—whoopsie—and set her beside him.

  Well, that was a bust.

  The cop inched closer and Lucie inserted herself into the fray again, throwing her elbows to separate the two men. Damned Joey. He'd get them all arrested.

  Cop number two stepped in, pointed at Lucie and Joey. "I want you two over there."

  "Bullshit," cop one said. "I'm arresting him."

  First Ro, now Joey. For the love of God.

  "On what charge?" Joey said.

  "Resisting arrest. I told you to put your hands on that wall."

  Cop one reached up...and shoved Joey, sending him back a step. That'll do it. A sudden pained look crossed cop number two's face.

  Joey shoved back and Lucie rushed in to break it up. She plowed into cop one, and once again the petite one was overmatched. She bounced off him and flew backward, sticking her hands out behind her to break her fall. She hit the tile, her wrists taking the brunt of it before her rear got in on the act. Pain shot straight up her arms clear to her shoulders. Dang, that hurt.

  And Joey saw red. Well, first he saw his sister flat on her ass and then he saw red.

  On his best day, her brother set an example for idiots everywhere. She'd be the first to tell him that. Above all that moronic behavior, though, was a man fiercely loyal and protective of his loved ones. In his mind, that cop had just put her on the floor.

  So what did he do? He shoved the jerky cop again. Of course he did. Testosterone must have flooded the jerky cop because he shoved back. The nice cop got between them. Dad hollered at everyone to knock it off, because he was on parole and couldn't get in the middle of the whole thing.

  Lucie stood stunned. Completely gobsmacked at the sight of her brother being manhandled by two Chicago cops. Something sparked inside her. Idiot or not, she loved Joey and it was two against one.

  And those were never good odds. Next to her, Dad made a move to step in. No. He couldn't do that. They'd lock him up, and her mother would face the humiliation of having a jailbird husband all over again.

  So Lucie did the only thing she could.

  She leaped, landing on the jerky cop's back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, and hanging on as he swung around trying to buck her off. If she could hold on long enough, he'd step back from Joey and not do some sort of crazy body flip on her. Hopefully. One could never tell in a situation like this.

  Please.

  All she needed was to distract him long enough for the nice cop to get control of the situation.

  "What the hell?" the jerky cop yelled.

  "He's my brother," Lucie said, "I'm not letting you hurt him."

  "Get off me. Right now."

  The interior door flew open and four, no, five more cops streamed out. Their shouts filled the small lobby and ricocheted off the walls. Two of them headed toward Lucie and the other three to Joey, who was still trying to get around the nice cop to kick the jerk cop's ass.

  "Police brutality," someone yelled. Lucie swiveled her head to see the guy with the briefcase taping the whole thing.

  Just got worse.

  Lucie's rear hurt.

  She sat on the metal bench inside the temporary holding cell, really just a giant cage, inside the administrative area of the police station. In the bullpen, half a dozen cops went about their business, answering ringing phones and snickering at the Rizzo kids locked up like animals.

  Another day in paradise.

  At least Dad had managed to stay out of the melee while Lucie and Joey were fitted with handcuffs.

  Arrested. Unbelievable. This made two trips to the clink for Lucie. Technically, the first time didn't count because she'd been framed. It sounded lame, without a doubt, but her sanity depended on that line of thinking. She'd spent her entire adult life trying to be the good one in the family. Honest, hardworking, make-her-own-way Lucie.

  Except, she'd now been arrested more times than Joey. Joey, the bookie, before today, had never been arrested.

  Across from Lucie, Ro slid off her shoes and leaned on one of the cell’s support poles. She swung her head to the cage beside them—the men's cage—where Joey sulked on his own bench.

  "Well, I'll say this, you're the family that stays together. Just lovely."

  "Shut it, Roseanne," he said.

  Good thing male and female prisoners needed to be separated. Between the mutinous look on Ro's face and her miserable mood, she might have scratched Joey's eyes out. Their truce had been short-lived.

  In the bullpen, one of the cops looked over at them and laughed. Great. Let's throw gas on this fire.

  Lucie rose from her seat and walked to the wired-mesh wall separating the two cells. "Let's not talk. Okay? Willie is working on bond for Joey and me. Then we'll deal with getting Ro out."

  Ro let out a grunt. "I swear, I don't know how you two got into this mess. All you had to do was get me a lawyer and you wind up right here with me."

  "Well," Joey's voice boomed, "maybe you shouldn't have sent that damned tweet and none of us would be here."

  Lucie whirled on him. "Joey!"

  Too late. Ro smacked the wired mesh and Lucie winced. That had to hurt.

  "You're an animal, Joey. Why I ever got mixed up with you is beyond me. Every place we go, you’re looking for a fight. I'm done. I can't take it anymore."

  "Pipe down in there," one of the cops yelled.

  "Oh, pipe down yourself," Ro hollered back.

  Now that was funny. Lucie couldn't help laughing. Maybe it was her own weird form of stress relief. All she knew was that the day had been straight out of hell.

  "Officer," Lucie said, "take my advice. Don't engage them. It'll only get worse. I find if I ignore it, they'll stop."

  "Screw you, Luce," Joey said.

  Lucie jerked her thumb at Joey. "Case in point. If I don't respond, he'll leave me alone. Exactly what I want."

  "What I want," the cop said, "is for all of you to shut the hell up." He spun his chair back to address the room at large. "Anyone have word on transport for this bunch?"

  One of the other cops scooped up his desk phone. "Nothing yet. We're stuck with them."

  Tim strode through the front door of the station, badged the receptionist, and waited for her to buzz Sergeant Kristoff, a guy Tim had been through the academy with.

  Thankfully, Kristoff wasn't involved in whatever screwed up assaulting-an-officer scenario Lucie and Joey had going here, but he'd been one of the cops to break the whole thing up.

  As soon as Lucie's father had called, Tim punched up Kristoff for the full story on how the love of his life wound up in a holding cell.

  The Rizzo bunch. Never a dull moment.

  If Lucie kept this up, Tim’s stomach would disintegrate. Not to mention the career implications of having a girlfriend with a tendency to get locked up. This nonsense had to stop.

  The interior door swung open and Kristoff waved him in.

  After shaking hands, Kristoff smacked Tim on the back. "Do us a favor and get them out of here. My man, you got your hands full with this girl."

  If Tim had it in him, he’d have laughed. As it stood now, none of it amused him. "You have no idea. Any chance I can get them out with a citation?"

  Each of them getting a fine would be the simplest thing for the PD—and Lucie and Joey. The Rizzo name drew attention. Ro suddenly being arrested for murder and being the girlfriend of Joe Rizzo Junior? Forget it. For the media, it would be a hit of acid.

  "Brass is behind closed doors now talking about it. This thing is ripe with problems." He held up his thumb. "We got Joe Rizzo's kids. You know the curiosity that creates." His index finger went next. "Then we got a hot-headed cop who just came off administrative leave." His middle finger went next. "Add in the video and it's a PR cluster."

  Tim stopped walking. "Video? What video?"

  "Ambulance chaser in the lobby when it went down. He's already screaming about police brutality. I'm guessing the brass'll want this whole thing to go away. Any help on your end would, I'm sure, be appreciated."

  Meaning, get Lucie and Joey to shut up about this whole episode and they might be able to walk free. Could they all get that lucky?

  Tim nodded. "I'll take care of it."

  They walked down the short hallway to the bullpen. As soon as Tim entered, he spotted the two mesh cages in the back of the room. Seeing Lucie in that cage tore something inside him.

  Cluster.

  Ro spotted him first and wagged a finger. "Don't be mad at Lucie, O'Hottie. It's not her fault Joey can't control himself."

  "O'Hottie?" Kristoff said. "That's beautiful."

  Tim ignored him. Any reaction would bring a shitstorm of heckles from the rest of the room. It would probably happen anyway, but Tim wasn't about to help the process along. Bad enough he’d have to deal with the speculation about his relationship with the Rizzos.

  Kristoff left Tim at the cage and disappeared behind a door to the right.

  "Technically," Lucie said, "it's my fault. I jumped on the guy's back. I was afraid Joey would get hurt, and, well, you know how I am. I can't let that happen."

  As much as he hated sighing, Tim let out the mother of all sighs. She's killing me.

  Why did she have to be so damn cute?

  Joey walked to the adjoining mesh wall of the holding cell. "I can't control myself? You broads are nuts. We wouldn't be locked up if it weren't for you two."

  "And it starts again," one of the cops announced over the ringing phones. "Any word on that transport? Anything? I'll drive them myself. Where are the keys to the van?"

  Kristoff emerged again and waved at the cop. "Knock it off, Conklin,"

  He pointed to Lucie, then to Joey. "You two. We're releasing you with a citation."

  Lucie—all big eyes and wonder—slid her gaze to Tim, then back to Kristoff. "Really?"

  Kristoff opened the cell door, but Lucie spun back to Ro, who stood there, her pretty face rapidly losing color. Certain things Tim couldn't fathom. Roseanne standing in front of him in terror would be one of them. Lucie threw her arms around her and held on.

  "You'll be okay," she said. "I promise. We'll get you out of here. Willie is good. You know that."

  Ro squeezed her eyes closed and Tim had to look away. Had to. Ro was usually the one helping Lucie out of these jams. He wasn't sure if either of them knew what to do with the situation reversed.

  He himself felt…stuck. His love for Lucie dictated he should do something, anything, to protect her from the heartbreak of her closest friend being charged with murder. That love sat in direct opposition to his job. And his boss, knowing his involvement with Lucie, had obviously boxed him out. Tim hadn’t even known they were questioning Ro. Not a scrap of information thrown his way. Did it bug him?

  Sure did.

  It stunk to admit it, but he’d spent over ten years building a career, being promoted to detective and enjoying a reputation based on the trust of his superiors. Now?

  No intel. Nothing.

  At least until Tim called Kristoff.

  Hard not to resent the big freeze-out. All because Lucie and her crazy family couldn’t stay out of trouble.

  "Ladies," Kristoff said, "move it along."

  Lucie leaped back and squeezed Ro's arms. "I've got you. Don't worry."

  Then she turned and met Tim's eye, that fierce determination he adored about her firmly in place.

  Before Kristoff opened Joey's cell, Ro walked to the adjoining wall and murmured something. Whatever it was, it brought a sad smile to Joey's face.

  "I know," he said, lifting his hand and pressing it against the wall. "I'll take care of it. We'll have you out by morning."

  "Thank you," Ro said. "I love you."

  "Love you too. Just don't get crazy in here."

  "Too late for that," one of the cops yelled.

  Alright, enough from the peanut gallery. Tim turned and shot him a look. The guy shrugged. "This chick is crazy."

  "All of you," Kristoff said, "cut the crap. Right now."

  What the brass wanted to avoid was any scrutiny—from wherever— of this incident. Particularly with the ambulance chaser crying brutality.

  Something told Tim he hadn't heard the last of that video, but he couldn't deal with it now. One thing at a time.

  Where Lucie was concerned, that wasn't always easy.

  Kristoff processed Joey and Lucie while Tim waited near the back door of the station, where the brass decided it would be in everyone's best interest if Lucie and Joey exited. Reporters swarmed the front, but with the gate around the back, couldn't get to that door.

  So Tim waited, returning calls regarding a robbery he'd handled that morning. They had a lead on a suspect, and he needed to wrap up here and hit the pavement. First things first.

  Joey and Lucie swung around the corner, the two of them droopy-eyed, pale, and more worn than Tim had ever seen. Throw in the wrinkled clothes and they'd had a day.

  "You both okay?"

  Joey nodded and Lucie glanced back down the hallway to the bullpen. And presumably her closest friend.

  She paused for a solid ten seconds, raised her hands then, as if the weight of the world had driven them down, let them drop. "I can't go. How do we just...leave her here?"

  That right there, that fierce loyalty—no matter what—was the thing that made Lucie Rizzo the love of Tim's life. The thing that kept him coming back when the chaos of her life had him chasing his tail. And, even now, when his lieutenant had by-passed him and asked a few of his fellow detectives to help with the Buzzy Sneider murder, Tim found it impossible to abandon Lucie. She might kill him before he reached forty, but if he played it right, she'd be by his side when he died.

  "Luce," he said, "I promise you, they'll take care of her. Everything will be by the book. What the brass doesn't want is any additional attention about Buzzy's case. And they really don't want hype about the three of you being locked up together."

  "Because we're Rizzos?"

  No way to deny it. "Yes. This case is already tearing up the Chicago airwaves. We don't need to throw Ro's connection to Joe Rizzo Senior into it."

  A cop strode by, shifting a gaze at Tim. By nature, cops were nosey people. At least the ones Tim knew. He didn't consider it a bad thing if it kept people safe.

  Then again, he didn't need an audience right now. He snagged Lucie's coat from her and held it open. "Let's move this outside"

  She shoved her arms through, her hands automatically moving to the buttons while he straightened her collar the way she liked it. "Thank you. I know you got us out of there."

  "I didn't do much, Luce."

  "You sped things up, though. I'm sorry if we embarrassed you."

  "Would I prefer it didn't happen? Yeah, but that's because I don't want you dealing with it. It's not about me. I'm a big boy."

  "I keep telling her that," Joey said.

  For the most part, Tim was entertained by Joey. Bookmaking aside, he and Tim were of the same mind about plenty of things. Taking care of their loved ones sat at the top of the list. On this topic? Solidly in the same camp.

  Lucie stood on tip-toes and kissed his cheek. Seriously, how cute was she?

  "You're a good man, Tim O'Brien."

  "Blah, blah," Joey said. "Can we save this lovey-dovey crap for later and talk about Ro?"

  "You're such a jerk."

  Cripes. Tim held his hands up. "Outside."

  They strode through the doors to the back walkway and hunched against the wind in front of an unmarked department vehicle.

  "I guess," Lucie said, "she'll be arraigned soon."

  Sad, the familiarity with the legal system. Tim nodded. "She'll have a hearing and they'll talk bond."

  "When is that?"

  "It has to be within 48 hours," Joey said.

  Lucie shot him a surprised look.

  "When Dad got arrested, I wanted to know how long it would take to get him bailed out. I did research."

  "He's right. Here's the bad news. Bond court starts at 1:00. Monday through Friday."

  Lucie’s eyebrows rose. "But it's five now."

  "Which means..."

  "Oh my God. She's going to be in jail overnight. Just stop it!"

  What did she think? The criminal justice system would allow a murder suspect to waltz out of custody. Oh, you can go now. Come back tomorrow.

  "Honey, it's a homicide. They're not about to let her walk out."

  "But she's innocent."

  Okay. His girl was too hyped up to discuss the finer points of the judicial system. And Tim wasn't about to get into an argument behind the PD.

  "Luce," Joey said, "don't get worked up. We're at step one in a fifty-step process. I'll talk to Willie, see what they've got on her that was enough to get her locked up." He looked at Tim. "I mean, it has to be more than that damned tweet."

  "They've got something. Before you ask, I don't know what it is. With the media frenzy, they're keeping details on lockdown."

 

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