Storm's Cage by Mary Stone (uplifting novels .TXT) 📕

With a chuckle, Alex retrieved his phone from an interior pocket. “Normally, I’d stick to that promise. But since this is the first time you’ve been in my car, I’ll try to be a little more accommodating.” As their eyes met, he forced his expression to remain level. “Other than the Bee Gees, what do you actually listen to? I like a little of just about everything, so I think there’s a good chance we can reach a compromise.”

“Okay.” She batted her eyes coquettishly at him. “How about the Dave Matthews Band?”

He searched her expression for any signs of deception but found nothing. Shaking his phone at her, he turned his attention to the windshield. “I guess we’re driving in silence, then.”

As another round of melodic laughter bubbled from Liliana’s lips, she reached for her seat belt. “I’m kidding. They’re fine, I don’t have anything against them, but that’s far from my first choice.” She waved a dismissive hand. “Okay, okay. Really, though, I listen to a bit of everything too. Lately, I’ve been on an electronic kick, but I’m pretty amenable. Anything from Chris Stapleton to rap to metal, and I’m probably okay with it.”

Some of his anxiety dissipated. “I listen to a lot of EDM while I’m working, mostly because it doesn’t usually have words.” Swiping a pattern to unlock the screen, he was about to add to the statement when the first buzz vibrated along his ribs. “Shit. Hold on.” As he dropped the smartphone back to the cup holder, he reached into his jacket for the archaic flip-phone he used for work.

After a quick look at the number, he flashed Liliana an apologetic glance.

She waved a hand, clearly used to men in her life being forced to take a phone call. “No worries. Go ahead. Answer it. I’m used to random work calls, believe me. Dad and my brothers get plenty of them.”

He gave her a thank you smile as he pushed open the driver’s side door. Though he was sure Liliana had heard more than her fair share of business-related conversations, he wanted to maintain some shred of politeness.

Just in time for another gust of chilly air, he elbowed the door closed and answered the call. “Yeah?”

“Hey, kid, it’s me.” Uncle Tony’s greeting sounded unusually strained. “We’ve got a problem.”

Alex’s mouth went dry. When Tony sounded like that, it was something serious. “What’s going on?”

“I just got a call from Elana. It’s about one of your guys, Gabriel Badoni.”

The reference to Elana Haviv and the prestigious law firm the D’Amatos kept on retainer raised the hairs on the back of Alex’s neck. “Shit. What about him? What happened?” Gabriel was one of Alex’s most competent lieutenants, and after a scuffle had ended with him shooting a Leóne soldier in the throat a few years ago, Gabriel had made a point to lie low.

“He was arrested this morning.”

“Arrested?” Alex didn’t bother to conceal his incredulous tone. “What the hell for?”

“That’s almost exactly what I said when Elana told me about it,” Tony argued into the phone. “But this is the really weird part. He was arrested for the murder of a CPD homicide detective, Ian Strausbaugh. Do you have any idea who that guy is? Because I sure as hell don’t.”

“Strausbaugh? No. I’ve never heard that name before. What evidence do they have? When did this happen?” He massaged his temple. “There’s no way he just went off the rails and took out a fucking homicide detective for no reason. I sure as hell didn’t give an order for that, and I know none of my people did, either.”

“They’ve got ballistics.”

“They’ve got what?”

Tony hesitated, clearing his throat before he replied. “Yeah, that’s about what I thought you’d say. I asked my brother, your dad, and he didn’t know who Strausbaugh was either. Elana’s looking into it, but it wouldn’t hurt for us to do the same.” The rustle of wind on Tony’s end of the line gave way to the faint creak of a door. “Look, I know you’re busy tonight with Liliana, so I’ll take a look at this Strausbaugh guy after I have some dinner.”

Alex rubbed his eyes. “Okay. I appreciate it. Let me know what you find.”

“Will do. Take care, kid.”

“Thanks. You too.” As Alex flipped the burner phone closed, he swallowed a groan and let himself back into the driver’s seat.

“That sounded bad. If you need to deal with it, that’s fine.” Liliana spoke matter-of-factly. No doubt she’d dealt with countless occasions where family plans had been halted for family business. “We can reschedule.”

It was nice of her to offer and further proof of her family loyalty. He shook his head, fearing he might have bigger problems to deal with if Sal learned Alex had stood his daughter up. And besides, Tony was already looking into it. He had a few hours to spare.

“No. We’re still going out. I’ve got a mess to clean up later, for sure, but it’s not the type of thing I can do anything about right now.” He snatched the smartphone from the cup holder, unlocked the screen, and handed the device to Liliana. “Here, find us some tunes. It’s almost six, and I’m sure we’ll wind up in traffic on our way downtown.”

As she accepted the phone, her expression brightened. “All right, I can do that. We can eat some good food, have a few drinks, and take a load off.”

That was the plan. And after the call he’d gotten, Alex really needed to blow off some steam. He shifted the car into gear and pulled away from the curb.

If physical evidence tied Gabriel to a murder he hadn’t committed, Alex’s options to resolve the issue were limited. The D’Amato family had plenty of detectives and beat cops on their payroll, but he couldn’t be sure their reach extended to Strausbaugh’s precinct, wherever in the hell that was. And if ballistics had already been analyzed, then