Page 15 of Committed
Silence fell between them before Prentice burst out laughing. He glanced at her and then back to the street, still snickering.
Journey glared at him as hurt crept through her body. “There was nothing funny about anything I just said,” she bit out, suddenly wanting to punch him and take all her frustration out on him. “Or do you get off on people telling you that their marriage might be over?”
He dabbed at the corners of his eyes with the heel of his hand. “I’m sorry. It’s just that…if it was any other couple, I might be concerned. But you and Laz? Journey, you two are so in love and perfect for each other, it’s nauseating. There is no way in hell Laz would ever leave you.” He shook his head. “No way. I’m not buying it. You forget…I know him.”
He and Laz had worked for the same precinct for a while when Prentice was a detective with Atlanta PD. That was before moving over to the DA’s office and becoming an investigator.
Prentice stopped at a red light. “Journey, Laz would walk through fire for you. Hell, he already has…sorta,” he said.
Journey knew he was referring to the time she’d been kidnapped. Not too many people knew about that, and thankfully it had never made it to the media. But from what she’d been told, when Laz found out she was missing, he lost it. Hunted the city tirelessly for her and had even pulled his gun on folks, trying to get answers. He hadn’t literally walked through fire, but there was no doubt that he would’ve if he had to.
When the light changed, Prentice pulled off. “No offense, but everybody knows your husband can be an asshole on most days. With that said, though, I have mad respect for the way that man worships you. I’m telling you, unless you’ve done something suicidal like cheat on him, I doubt you have anything to worry about. Besides, I know you would never step out on him.”
Journey stared out of the passenger window, remembering how Laz had made the off-handed comment about her having an affair with Prentice. She knew he didn’t believe it, but the fact that he had even spoken the words meant her marriage—more importantly, their relationship—was in trouble.
“A lot has changed over the last couple of months,” she said to Prentice. “You know I’ve been taking on our biggest cases, trying to show how dedicated I am to this office. I want that DA’s position when Henry retires,” she said of her boss, Henry Gaines. “But my marriage is more important than my career. If I’m struggling to juggle the two now, I don’t know if I can handle a more demanding job.”
“I get that you’re eyeing the DA’s position, but maybe just focus on the here and now. When the time comes, you’ll know if it’s something you should pursue. Now, getting back to my original question. Why didn’t you tell Laz about the threat?”
“You know better than anyone how many threats prosecutors and defense attorneys receive.” She shrugged. “It’s just a part of the job. Besides, I think it’s a scare tactic, probably from someone who works for Leverage Construction. When Dennis Stratton’s defense attorney made that public statement, sounding like the company would collapse without him, his employees probably got nervous.”
“Yeah, I thought that was interesting. It’s a multimillion-dollar corporation. I can’t see it falling apart just because he’s not in charge.”
“Yeah, me either. I doubt the board of directors or any of the executives would let that happen. It’s not like he founded the company. So, I think one of the employees or….” she shrugged, “…somebody is pissed that the CEO was arrested.”
She hated when their office received threats, and if they fell apart or freaked out every time someone wanted them to drop a case, they wouldn’t ever lock up the bad guys.
“Is that the only reason you didn’t tell Laz about the threat?”
Journey dropped her head against the headrest. “Can you give it a rest about Laz?”
“No, because even if you’re not taking the threats seriously, he would,” Prentice said with conviction. “I have no leads on who sent the letters, but Laz has connections on the streets that I will never have. That man loves you, Journey, and knowing him, he probably would’ve hunted down the sender by now.”
He was right about that. Laz might be mad at her, but he was crazy protective of her. Nothing would change that, not even if their marriage ended. He would still look out for her, and she believed that with all of her heart.
But that was part of the reason why she hadn’t told him about any of the threats she’d gotten over the years. He would burn the city down to find whoever was behind them. Then she’d have to visit him in prison for murdering someone.
No, thank you.
Thinking about Laz, Journey remembered that she hadn’t turned her phone back on. Since the DA’s office was swamped with cases, some of her staff were putting in weekend hours. Unfortunately, they’d been calling her with one question after another for much of the morning. She had shut her phone off when they arrived at the crime scene, intending to turn it back on when they left.
She dug into her oversized bag for the device and wondered if Laz was still giving her the silent treatment.
“No matter what’s going on in your marriage, your husband has a right to know that someone is….Sonofabitch!” Prentice slammed on the brake, causing the car to lurch forward.
Journey gasped, banged her hand against the dashboard, and braced herself when the car came to a sudden stop.
“What in the world?” she mumbled.
Her attention was glued to the two huge black SUVs that seemed to come out of nowhere. The menacing-looking vehicles with tinted windows were parked at an angle, effectively blocking them.
Prentice put the car in reverse, glanced back, then cursed. “We’re jammed in.”
Her head whipped around, and out the back window was another SUV.
Journey swallowed hard as fear charged through her body. Prentice already had his gun out before she reached into her bag for hers. There was a time she didn’t carry a weapon, but being married to Laz had changed that. He insisted that she be able to protect herself at all times.
No one climbed out of the vehicles.