Ty was silent and he was silenced by surprise.

Then he asked, “You backin’ off?”

To that, Peña was also silent for long moments before he said quietly, “Been chewin’ on that.” He paused then continued, “And, see, I wanna help Officer Dolinski out. Only got a very long phone call to get to know this guy but I got the feelin’ he’s a good man. Know, doin’ what he’s doin’, he’s a moral man and a brave one. Problem is, he shared with me that someone got the idea that all this started with you gettin’ out, it was all quiet before you came home so they felt the best course of action was to make a statement and get you back in. And seein’ as you weren’t helpin’ with that, not barrelin’ into Carnal, guns ablaze, metin’ out retribution, but instead enjoying your newlywed status, they felt it was necessary to draw you out. And they felt the best way to do that was to f**k with your wife. So, Officer Dolinski told me they put that plan into action and he promised me he’d do what he could for Lexie but I’m not feelin’ good about that promise or how long it’ll take for this shit to get done and if shit’s so buried that wrongs will never be righted. I’m not big on wrongs not bein’ righted, wrongs bein’ righted are kinda why I got in the cop business in the first f**kin’ place, so I still feel I gotta do what I can do to make that happen.”

Ty made no response.

So Peña asked, “You gonna talk to Mr. Jackson?”

To that, Ty answered, “Yeah, but we’re not backin’ down either. Frank’s a good man and I feel for him. He’s already taken Lexie’s back. The thing is, I don’t wanna go back in and Lexie and I wanna start a family and I want my kids to have a father who doesn’t have that kinda shadow hangin’ over his head. The mission is to stay free and clear my name and I trust Frank but one man against many isn’t gonna do shit. I cannot say I’m not smilin’ inside that these guys are feelin’ the heat enough to get twitchy so not sure I wanna turn down that heat. We’ll do what we can to have Frank’s back but it’s not only his future that’s ridin’ on this.”

Silence then Peña exposed he’d honed in on one thing in all that Ty said, “You and Lexie tryin’?”

Fuck.

Ty didn’t want to answer but he did. “Yeah.”

Then a surprised, “Already?”

“Angel, I lost five years. You think I’m big on pissin’ away anymore?”

“Got a point,” Peña muttered.

“Anyway, Lex wants four kids. She’s thirty-four, she wants that, we gotta get started.”

He listened to Peña roar of laughter before, “Madre de Dios, esé, you just cured me. Tu esposa es muy linda but four kids? That’s about three headaches and definitely three college tuitions I’m glad I’m gonna miss.”

Shit. That wasn’t something he’d thought about.

He was rethinking his vow never to sit a game of poker again, and definitely the coffee table shopping expedition when Peña finished it.

“All right, Ty, don’t expect an invitation to the baby shower but you got my number now, you need me, she needs me, I’m a phone call away. I’ll keep an eye on Martinez and give you a head’s up, I hear anything.”

“Thanks, Angel and a little payback, not for you but just in case Frank calls you, we haven’t been sittin’ on our hands. He needs to lean on someone to flip, he leans on Crabtree.”

“Crabtree?”

“As in Officer Rowdy Crabtree.”

“What you got for him to use on Officer Crabtree?”

“What I got is that Officer Crabtree visits Denver every other weekend and he does this because there’s a certain service he can get in Denver he can’t get out here in the mountains. And this service is provided by men who look like boys and it’s provided for a fee.”

A low whistle then, “How solid is this?”

“Very.”

“Ole Frank gave me his number,” Peña told him.

“’Spect you’ll find time to call.”

“He’s not on your speed dial?”

“Frank’s givin’ me and Tate a wide berth these days.”

“Probably smart,” Peña muttered.

It probably was and now Ty knew why. Before, he thought Frank had gone to the dark side which meant his stepping in for Lexie didn’t make sense. Now, it made sense.

“One thing,” Ty added. “Frank’s gonna use this, he needs to do it soon. If he doesn’t, Crabtree is gonna have a talk with someone else. He sits a cruiser, he’s not gonna be pullin’ my wife over for bullshit and he was involved in my shit so I got a desire to watch him squirm. This info is new, we’ve not been sittin’ on it long and we won’t sit on it much longer. He flips for Frank or he flips for me but he’s gonna flip.”

“Right,” Peña whispered.

“Right,” Ty confirmed.

“You got more?” Peña asked.

“We do but what we got is shit I’m gonna keep. Crabtree isn’t the only one needs to squirm.”

Silence then, “Right. Okay then, Ty, again, stay sharp.”

“Same to you.”

“Keep her happy.”

Jesus.

“That’s another mission, Angel.”

This got a chuckle then, “I’ll bet. Later, amigo.”

“Later.”

He flipped his phone shut.

Then he flipped it open and called Tate.

Then he flipped it shut again and got back to work.

* * * * *

At twelve thirty, Ty was standing with Wood just outside a bay when the Viper turned into the garage and growled down the forecourt.

Ty and Wood stopped talking in order to watch and so did every single man on Wood’s payroll and Ty didn’t even have to turn to confirm. Lexie had visited him in the forecourt of the garage twice and once was incentive enough for any man to stop what he was doing and pay attention.

But watching her park the Viper, throw out a long, tanned leg and fold out of his car wearing a pair of black short-shorts, the tight, berry-colored, halter-topped tee she was wearing that day by the pool in Vegas, high-heeled, black sandals on her feet, a pair of classy, black-framed shades covering her eyes and her long, soft, shining hair falling over her shoulders could cause even Rowdy Crabtree, with his closeted tendencies, to have one motherfucker of a wet dream.