Free Rock Chick 08 Revolution by Kristen Ashley

Tucker had had a
beautiful life a long time ago. A big loving family, good friends, a bright
future. And all that went to shit. He made desperate—and it had to be said,
angry—decisions, and his life spiraled down the toilet. In that time, I
suspected he did a lot of things that seared marks onto his soul.
    I just didn’t know if he was on a
path to redemption or thought his future only held damnation.
    That was his to know and share if
he felt like it.
    As for me, I’d learned over and
over again, since Rosie dragged Indy into his mess (thus starting the Rock
Chick Rollercoaster), good people did bad things and bad people did good
things.
    I just trusted God would sort it
out as it needed to be.
    When Darius said nothing, I assured
him, “You don’t have to say it back. I know where you are. And if I didn’t, you
coming here tonight and doing what you’ve done would have told me.”
    To this, Darius said, “You’re a
pain in the ass.”
    He so totally loved me.
    “Good,” I replied on a smile.
“That’s what I strive to be.”
    “Woman, trust me. You’re succeeding
beyond your wildest dreams.”
    My smile got bigger.
    He took it in, shook his head, then
looked back in my eyes.
    “Tonight, you’re done. You wait
until we look over what Brody gets. He gives you what you need, you got no
reason to come back. He doesn’t, we’ll assess and plan. You down with that?”
    “Totally.”
    “Right,” he muttered, sliding out
of the booth. “Get your ass outta here. We’ll go somewhere else and get a
drink. You brief me, then I can end this day and get home.”
    I followed him out, asking, “Would
it be a hit to your street cred if I held your hand?”
    “Pain in the ass,” he muttered as
answer.
    “Or hugged you?” I threw out an
alternate suggestion.
    “Total pain in the ass.”
    I grinned.
    We hit the door.
    Darius pushed it open for me.
    I moseyed through.
    * * * * *
    Two
days later…
    I hauled my ass up into Darius’s
black Silverado and slammed the door. I didn’t put on my seatbelt. I leaned
forward, put my elbows to the dash and drove my hands into my hair, yanking it
away from my face and scrunching it at the back of my head.
    Brody had found nothing.
    But we’d just had a conversation
with one of Darius’s informants, and he knew everything.
    The vehicle rocked when Darius
folded into the driver’s seat and closed his door. He didn’t hit the ignition
and the cab stayed silent.
    It was the dead of night and we’d
just cracked Garden Girl’s case.
    And what we learned sucked.
    After some time, Darius broke the
silence.
    “Tomorrow,” he said gently, “you
report this to her man and walk away.”
    I sat back with a jerk, pulling my
hands out of my hair and twisting to him.
    “We have to do something,” I snapped.
    “We don’t gotta do shit,” he
returned, his words harsh but his tone still gentle.
    “Darius—”
    He leaned into me and hooked his
hand behind my head, pulling me close.
    “This guy works at an electronic
store and is payin’ you by givin’ you a discount on a new flat screen TV. You
do not wade into a mess like that for twenty-five percent off a flat screen TV,
Ally.”
    “That’s a good discount,” I shot
back.
    His lips curved up, but the humor
didn’t reach his eyes. “You give him what he asked for and let him deal.”
    “His woman is turning tricks to pay
off her brother’s drug debt,” I told him something he already knew since he was
the one who found the informant and he stood right by me when we both learned
what had befallen Garden Girl.
    “That is not your problem.”
    “Someone has to tell her it’s not
hers.”
    “That’d be her man’s job.”
    “You think her man’s gonna stick by
her side, knowing she’s giving fifty dollar blowjobs?” I asked.
    Darius said nothing.
    That meant no.
    I kept going. “Someone has to kick
her brother’s ass straight into rehab”
    “That’d be her job.”
    “Darius—”
    His hand on my head