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  “Mr. Klinger, the back exterior door alarm at Bronco’s is indicating a break-in.”

  Harry was instantly awake. “Call the police. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  Chapter 4

  “WHAT’S GOING on?” Tristan asked as he pried his eyes open. His body was sore in all the right places, and he stretched lightly. He heard Harry say something about calling the police, but he was too groggy for it to register right away.

  Harry hung up the phone and jumped out of bed. “The alarm is going off at the club. It happens sometimes, but I need to get down there.” Harry turned on the bedside light and began getting dressed.

  Tristan wondered if he should get up as well. He was dog-tired, and his body screamed to stay in bed, but when he opened his eyes again and saw the concerned expression on Harry’s face, he pushed back the covers, got up, and walked to the overstuffed chair in the corner for his clothes.

  “You don’t have to go,” Harry said.

  Tristan ignored him and continued dressing. By the time Tristan was finished, Harry had opened the door and left the room. Tristan heard the cat jump up on the bed and did his best to ignore the carnivorous beast. He tied his shoes and left the room, then went downstairs with the cat right behind him. “Go away,” Tristan snarled. The damn cat stopped, blinked at him, and then continued following when Tristan tried getting away.

  With difficulty, Tristan did his best to ignore the cat and managed to make it to the kitchen unscathed. Harry dumped some food in the cat’s bowl, and then Tristan followed him outside to the car. As soon as they were on their way, Harry used the hands-free Bluetooth in the car to call Bull. “The alarm company called, and I’m on my way to the club.”

  “Is it the back door?” Bull asked.

  “Yeah,” Harry said.

  “That’s happened before.”

  “I know, but I had the locksmith come out, and they said it was fixed. Hold on. I have another call.” Harry pressed a button on the dash.

  “Mr. Klinger, we’ve called the police, and they’re on their way, but we’re getting a second alarm from an interior door.”

  “Thank you. I’m on my way.” Harry sped up and touched the button on the dash again. “Bull.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Get down here. It isn’t a false alarm. Someone is inside the club.” Harry flew over the bridge across the river. “I hope we catch whoever it is red-handed.”

  “I’m on my way,” Bull said, and the call disconnected.

  Tristan’s stomach clenched, and he began to shake. In his heart he knew who it was. Eddie was trying to send a message. If it was Eddie, then that meant that all this was because Harry was trying to help him. “Harry, what if….”

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Harry said without looking away from the road. They took the last turn, and Harry approached the front of the club. The police were already there, cars parked out front, lights flashing. Harry pulled to a stop beside one of the police cars. They got out, and Tristan followed Harry to the back door. “I’m Harry Klinger, one of the club owners. Bull Krebbs, the other owner, is on his way. What happened?”

  “I’m Officer Barker, and someone did indeed break in. They made quite a mess before we got here. They seem to have directed most of their anger at the bar area. Apparently they tried to get through an interior door, but they don’t appear to have been able to.”

  “Good. At least they didn’t get into the office. When can I see what happened?”

  “As soon as we process the area. We need to see if we can get any evidence. They probably weren’t in there long, just smashed what they could and then took off just before we got here. Officers are searching the area, but at this time of the morning, it isn’t likely anyone saw anything.” He sounded truly disappointed. “Hopefully we’ll be able to pull something from inside.”

  Harry nodded, and Tristan moved next to him. He wasn’t sure what to do except offer comfort, so he slipped his hand into Harry’s.

  Bull arrived a few minutes later. He and Zach joined them as they waited. Officer Barker asked Harry and Bull a number of questions and then went back inside. After what seemed like a long time, he returned and ushered their small group into the club.

  The scent of alcohol assailed Tristan’s nose as soon as he stepped inside. From the door, he could see that the bar had been decimated. Tristan gasped as they stepped further into the club. Bottles had been thrown all around the room. It looked as though someone had stood behind the bar and simply chucked bottle after bottle in every direction. Glass littered the floor, along with pools of liquid.

  “The back door was forced open,” Officer Martin said. He didn’t introduce himself, but Tristan read his badge. “They tried to get through the interior door over there, but the door held, so they took their anger out on the bar. It looks to me as though it was kids either looking for money or high as kites.”

  That wasn’t what it looked like to Tristan. Someone had been angry, maybe beyond angry. They’d smashed what they could before taking off. “They must have heard the alarm,” Tristan said softly to Harry. Bull looked at him and nodded.

  “We’ll let you finish out here,” Bull said. “We need to make sure the office is okay.” He fished out his keys and unlocked the battered door. It opened, and the four of them went down the hall to the office, which Bull also unlocked. Harry walked to the safe and checked that it was secure while Tristan watched Bull activate the security-camera system.

  “Was it on all night?” Zach asked hopefully.

  “No. I turned it off before I left,” Harry said.

  “Don’t second-guess stuff,” Bull said, turning to Harry.

  “Why are you turning it on now?” Tristan asked.

  Bull closed the door. “You know we think Eddie has someone on his payroll within the police force. That’s why evidence goes missing, remember?”

  Tristan nodded and stepped closer to Zach. He needed his friend right now.

  “We don’t know if Eddie is involved in this, but I’m willing to bet that slime is involved somehow. If he is, and if the officer on his payroll is here, we might see something.” A knock sounded on the door, and Bull turned off the monitors. The door opened, and Tristan recognized Officer Douglas from the night before.

  “Is there any damage in here?”

  “No. Everything is as we expected. They didn’t get in here and it’s fine,” Harry answered. “We appreciate you coming down.”

  “No problem. It really looks like a simple burglary attempt, and then when they couldn’t get what they wanted, they trashed the place.” Officer Douglas paused.

  “Or maybe that’s what we’re supposed to think. I mean, why make a mess? When they couldn’t get what they wanted, why wouldn’t they just get the hell out? The longer they stayed, the greater their chance of getting caught,” Bull countered, and Tristan’s stomach knotted again. If that was the case, then it could have been Eddie behind it, and all this was because of him.

  “They’re just about done out front,” an officer said, poking his head into the office.

  “Thanks, I’ll be right out,” Officer Douglas said.

  “How long before we can get someone in here and start cleaning up the mess?” Harry asked.

  “Once they’re finished, we’ll review things, and then we can let you know. Hopefully it won’t be long.” Officer Douglas nodded to them and excused himself, closing the office door behind him as he went.

  “We could close tonight,” Bull said to Harry.

  “And let whoever did this win? No way in hell!” Harry’s vehemence was impressive, and Tristan took his hand. “Let’s get an inventory of what we have. We should be able to reconcile it with our last one and work out what we lost. The insurance company will need the information anyway, and that way we can begin to put together an order for rush delivery.” Tristan could feel Harry’s energy level rising.

  “We can’t get any help in here until the police are done, which is going to
give us limited time to get the place in shape. We also don’t know exactly what damage was done. Everything is soaked in alcohol.”

  Harry whirled around, taking Tristan with him. “The police may not know who did this, but we do. The bastards broke in and did what damage they could before the police got here. They were counting on delays and phone calls. It doesn’t take a lot of time to make a mess and send a message, and that’s exactly what the fuckers were trying to do.” Harry’s voice got louder. “I intend to send a message back. We’re stronger than these fuckers, and we have a hell of a lot more friends.”

  “Okay,” Bull said, putting his hands in the air. Tristan had never seen Bull be anything but strong and in charge. “What do you want me to do?”

  “First, we need to wait until the restaurant-supply place opens and see what they have in stock to replace the damaged stuff. We’re going to need to be ready. I’ll call the Liquor Control Board rep and arrange for a delivery, but we might have to go pick up what we need, since the state is rarely responsive.”

  “I can call the guys in a few hours and get Jeremy and Kevin to come help,” Tristan said. “You know Spook will too.” He turned to Zach, who nodded. “We’ll both call friends. We can get lots of people in here if you need it. Just say the word.”

  Harry turned to him. “That….”

  Tristan could tell what Harry was going to say by the look on his face. “Say it, and I’ll smack you. You guys think you can do it all on your own.” Tristan shifted his gaze to Bull. “Part of being strong is knowing when to ask for help. Zach and I have lots of friends. People who have been coming here for a long time. We can call in the troops.”

  “But you need to go to work in a few hours.”

  “It’s Sunday, remember? I’m off. So what I need to do is help you clean up and get ready to open.” Tristan stared at him, daring Harry to argue. Thankfully he was smart enough to close his mouth and simply nod. “Good. The other thing you’re going to need to do is get someone in here to check out the sound and electrical. If they’ve messed that up, then there will be a lot of repair. The sound booth seemed solid when I glanced at it as we came through, but all they’d have to have done was pour a bottle on the electronics, and they’d be toast.”

  “Good point,” Bull said, and Tristan saw Harry nod.

  “If you want my opinion, I think one of you should stay here while the other goes home and gets some sleep. If by some miracle it isn’t as bad as it could be and you are able to open, then you’re going to need to be awake until closing.”

  “How’d you get so smart?” Harry asked with a small smile. “Bull, you and Zach go on home and try to rest for a few hours. I’ll stay here and call when I know more.”

  “Why me?” Bull asked, already crossing his arms.

  “Because we’re going to need all the security we can get if we do open, and that’s you. I can answer any questions the police have here and oversee the replacement of initial supplies and equipment. I can also try to call people in, but I’m afraid if electrical or sound people are needed, opening is going to be nearly impossible.”

  “All we can do is hope,” Tristan said, squeezing Harry’s hand.

  A knock sounded on the door, and Bull opened it, allowing Officer Douglas to come inside. A few minutes later, Officer Barker strode into the office.

  “Where were you after closing tonight?” Officer Barker asked.

  “Bull and I were home together,” Zach said. “We left after closing, as did Harry and Tristan. We all left together. Harry set the alarm, and we walked to our cars.” Zach stepped away from Bull. “If you think by some twisted logic that one of us did this, then you’re dumber than you look.”

  “Zach, he’s just doing his job,” Bull soothed, but Tristan could hear he was seething under the surface.

  “Not very well, if he’s asking dumb questions like that. The alarm company called Harry at home, and then he called you. Cell records will prove we were on the other side of the river if the officer here needs it. So maybe he needs to stop wasting time and find out who did this.”

  “I think that’s enough,” Officer Douglas said. “I’ll handle this from here.” Officer Barker puffed himself up. “Mark, go supervise the team out front.” It was clear he was in charge. After Officer Barker left, Officer Douglas said, “Do you have any idea who would do this?”

  Bull rolled his eyes, and Harry didn’t say anything right away. Tristan wanted to answer but wasn’t sure it was his place. He was still hoping like hell it wasn’t Eddie so the overwhelming sense of guilt would abate.

  “Of course we do, and you know who we have in mind, but we don’t have proof he’s involved. Unless you can find some, we’re going to get nowhere,” Bull said gruffly.

  “Whoever did this used the alcohol to wipe away most of their tracks. We can try checking the glass, but it isn’t likely we’ll get anything. The oils would be broken down by the alcohol,” Officer Douglas said. “We’ll try to get what we can, but frankly I’m not particularly hopeful. We took prints from the door, but there are so many prints on it that it’s impossible for us to tell them apart.”

  “Wouldn’t the people we’re after be the ones on top?” Tristan asked.

  “Yeah, they would. But it’s hard to tell sometimes, and with layer on top of layer…. Things aren’t the way they look on television, where they can pull a print from anywhere. The process isn’t as easy as they like to make it look.”

  Tristan moved closer to Harry. “Then what do we do? Sit here and wait for them to come at us again? Do nothing?” Tristan gaped at the officer when he didn’t seem to have an answer. “Well, fuck that. I’m not sitting around waiting for something else to happen.” He was scared shitless. As much as he hoped Eddie wasn’t behind this, he knew in his heart that he was. This was a message that he could get to any of them he wanted and that he could get away before anyone got to him. That sucked, big-time. But Tristan had already learned that the rules didn’t apply to his slime of an ex.

  “Tristan, it’s okay. I have no intention of sitting around to wait for anything, and neither does Bull,” Harry said.

  “But….” Tristan sputtered.

  “The police are doing their jobs, and we need to help them while at the same time helping ourselves. Bull and I haven’t spent this many years in this business without knowing how to take care of ourselves and the people around us.” Harry stared at him, and Tristan remembered what Bull had done when the whole bugging-of-his-apartment thing had been discovered. He wanted this to be over, but Tristan did trust Harry and Bull. He just hated knowing that the asshole who’d done this was still out there.

  “It’ll be a while before we’re done,” Officer Douglas said.

  Harry nodded, but Tristan wasn’t ready to let him off the hook so soon. “Have you figured out who Eddie has in the department?” he asked softly.

  Officer Douglas’s silence spoke volumes.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” Tristan chided.

  “Well…,” he said and then tapered off. “Let’s just say I’m making progress.”

  “Okay,” Harry interrupted. “Just let us know what you find and when you’re done so we can get to work. Bull and Zach are going to leave so they can get some rest. If we are able to open, we’re going to need people here tonight, and all of us just had a few hours’ sleep.”

  “Okay, but make sure we have your contact information,” Officer Douglas said.

  “Harry is your point of contact,” Bull said forcefully. “If you need us, then he can reach us. Otherwise, we’re going home to sleep.” He tucked Zach under his arm and guided him toward the door. “Call if you need anything,” he said to Harry.

  “Get some rest and don’t worry about things here. As soon as I know anything, I’ll text you.” Harry touched Bull’s shoulder, and then Bull and Zach left the office.

  “Is he always like that?” Officer Douglas said.

  “Mostly,” Harry said, sharing a look with Tristan
, who nodded. “He’s a man who does things his own way.”

  “I get that,” Officer Douglas said. “I’ll check on their progress and get back to you as soon as I can.” He turned to leave, but then paused. “I want to get this guy just as badly as you do.”

  “We understand,” Harry said and waited for the police officer to leave. “We need their help, so we need to work with the police, not go off on them,” he said after the door had closed behind the officer.

  “It doesn’t seem like they’re doing much,” Tristan said, stunned that Harry was taking their side.

  “They’re doing what they can, and we need to keep them on friendly terms.”

  “It feels like they could be doing more.”

  “How, by stationing officers in the club? That will be great for business. Half the clientele will stay away, and the others will be here just to see what’s going to happen. No, we need their help, but they need to stay at a distance. A club like this has little more than its reputation, and once that’s gone, we might as well close our doors. That’s why we work so hard to keep the drugs and stuff out. If the club is clean, then we’re left alone to do business. But as soon as there’s trouble, regardless of whether we’re the victim or not, we get blamed for bringing down the neighborhood or some crap like that. Remember that club in York a few years ago? Some guy killed someone outside. It had nothing to do with the club other than the shooter had been inside, but they used that as an excuse to shut them down. So we cooperate and get them to help us while keeping them as far away as we can.”

  “Okay,” Tristan said. He could understand that, even if it didn’t make him feel any better. “I didn’t mean to make trouble.”

  Harry tugged him close. “You didn’t. We’re both tired, and I know you’re scared.” Harry’s warmth seeped through Tristan’s clothes. “We can’t let that get in our way. You and I need to be on our toes.” Harry guided him toward the leather sofa against the office wall. “Why don’t you lie down for a while and see if you can get some rest? There’s nothing you can do, and sleep will help.”