Page 47 of Rescuing Baylee

Landon secured his own belt and waded into the traffic, leaving the cemetery. He clasped Baylee’s hand on her thigh and didn’t let her go as they drove.

“It was strange,” she murmured. “He reminded me of my grandfather, and he seemed to have a genuine kindness. But then this switch flipped, and I could tell no one around him mattered, just the safety of his family. And he would have disposed of me without hesitation if I was a threat.”

Landon glanced at her. Baylee had been through a lot in her life, but he could tell that the interaction had shaken her. “You’re okay,” he told her firmly. “If he gave you his protection, no one will touch you.”

“Do you know who he was?”

“I have an idea,” he said, sighing. “The Texas Syndicate and the Tango Blast gangs have been fighting over territory for a long time. I don’t think Chino Vega was a big player, but I think he was one domino in one crew. You knocked him down, and they knocked the next two down. More territory for them.”

Baylee shook her head. “It’s so crazy. To look at him you never would have thought…”

They confirmed the man’s identity as soon as they got to the station and into Cass’s office. She listened intently to Baylee’s description. “Only one man with a scar like that,” she said, and tapped into her computer.

When she pulled up a picture, Baylee nodded. “That’s him.”

“Roberto Ramirez was a long-time criminal,” Cass said. “He’s been in and out of prison many times, but in the past twenty years, he’d cleaned up his act. Now he just runs the Texas Syndicate, absorbing territory as his soldiers fight. He has a pretty big family now, and he’s a grandfather several times over.”

“He said he got the scar when he took over his family,” Baylee said.

“Yeah, he perpetrated a coup. We believe he killed his own father to take over the position, although it’s never been confirmed.” Cass grimaced, her pale eyes narrowing. “Most of what we know is hearsay, but we know he’s been the leader for a long time. And Hunter is right. If he promised you protection, no one will touch you. He could have killed you ten times over sitting beside you at the cemetery. I think you’re safe to resume your life.”

Baylee sagged in her chair, and Landon gave her a smile. She reached out and took his hand, which surprised him. It seemed to surprise Cass and Morgan as well, but they didn’t say anything.

They walked out of the station half an hour later, after she’d written her statement. Landon would add it to the case file, and his investigation would be complete. Once he debriefed his lieutenant, he would move on to the next case.

There was no moving on from Baylee, though.

They drove home, neither one of them saying much. It had been a crazy day, and they were each dealing with the information they’d learned.

“So, that means you’re off the case,” Baylee said, stroking her fingers over the back of his hand. It seemed so natural now when he drove to just rest his hand on her thigh.

“Yes. It actually means the case has been closed. It seems weird to take the word of a gangster, but they do have a strange honor they live life by. I feel like you’re as safe as you can be.”

She nodded, resting her head against the seat back. Her face was flushed, but the AC was pumping out good, cool air. They would cool down in a minute.

“I mean,” she said softly, “I’ve gotten used to seeing you every day. I might go through withdrawal.”

Landon slanted her a grin. “Oh, really? Well, we can’t have that, can we? Maybe you need to bring me cookies every day.”

Baylee laughed, her eyes glinting, and something cracked in his heart. After everything that had been thrown at her recently and throughout her life, she still found a way to smile and give back to people. He needed that kind of light in his life.

“I don’t want to go back to just passing you in the hallway,” he said. “Your ass is great, but I want to be snuggled up in bed with it, not watching it walk away from me.”

Her expression softened. “I don’t want to just pass you in the hallway, either. Let’s play it by ear and see where it takes us.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Baylee laughed and flopped down into her overstuffed chair, swiping the bar on the phone. “Where the hell have you been, woman? I’ve been calling you and you never returned my messages.”

“Well, it’s been kind of busy, here. Jessamy brought something viral home from the sitter’s the other day, and then baby Nicole got it, and we ended up in the hospital with her for a couple of days. Two of Connor’s men were out with the same thing, so he couldn’t take off… Life has been a bitch recently,” she finished, huffing out a breath.

“They’re okay now, though?”

“Yes, they’re completely recovered, though it was a scary couple of days. What’s been going on with you?”

“Oh, you know,” Baylee said. “Same old, same old. Well, not exactly.” She recapped the past week for Olivia. There was silence on the other end of the line from her, and Baylee worried she’d overloaded her former lieutenant.

“I’m gobsmacked,” Olivia said eventually. “I mean, I heard about the shooting. The whole country did. But I didn’t connect the dots that it was you. Are you okay?”