Under His Persuasion
Juanita Kees
Detective Mark Johnson wants nothing more than to bring the men behind the Tag Raiders street gang to their knees...until meeting Lily Bennetti makes it personal.
Not the normal setup in which to propose to the woman he loved, but he wouldn't have it any other way.
Detective Mark Johnson sat back and studied the motley crew at his breakfast table at Cafe Nix. Who would have guessed they'd scrub up so well? Despite the horrors the boys had experienced at the hands of the Tag Raiders street gang, Marty and Luke had embraced the apprenticeship program and committed to rehabilitation at TJ Devin's centre. He couldn't be prouder if he'd fathered them himself.
But he couldn't take all the credit. Without Scott and TJ Devin, the Tiny Watts Rehabilitation centre would never have existed, and Lily-his beautiful angel-and her son, Luke, would be dead.
He turned his head to where she sat next to him, her face glowing with pride as she chatted to TJ. Gone were the bruises her late husband Gino Bennetti had put on her body with his cruel hands. Mark reached out to wrap a blonde curl around his finger, brushing the tiny white scar on her cheekbone. He gave the curl a gentle tug.
Lily's gaze slammed into his. God, he loved the impact of that look. The love and trust in her eyes, the naughty twinkle he'd put there earlier this morning when he'd worshipped her body with his.
She leaned toward him, her head tilted to the side. He met her halfway and dropped a kiss on her warm, welcoming lips. Heat and an overwhelming love embraced him. Oh how he'd like to take it further, but the catcalls and whistles from the table had him smiling against her mouth instead.
"Later," he promised.
"You're on," she agreed then turned back to TJ.
"Horny bastard," muttered Harold from his right.
Mark chuckled. "You betcha. Jealous?"
His partner snorted. "Not a damn. Jeannie might be though." He jerked his thumb at his wife. "I swear that woman loves you more than me."
"Only because I compliment her cooking skills while you inhale the food without tasting it. What the hell are you reading?"
Harold flicked over the page of the dog-eared magazine. "A trashy mag. Check it out. Nudie shots of your favourite racing car driver and his fling with a chick he picked up while on tour here."
"That was ages ago. You're seriously reading that shit?"
"What else is a man supposed to do when his buddy is too busy mooning over his soon-to-be-wife to talk to him?" He flicked over another page. "Well, well, look at what we have here."
Mark knew that terse tone well. His gut tightened and his instincts switched to high alert. "Spill it."
Harold spread the magazine on the table between them and ran his thumb down the spine to flatten it out. "An article on our men, Gino Bennetti and Nic Albero."
At the sound of their names, Lily turned toward them, placing a hand on Mark's leg. He felt the tension in her grip as she squeezed. Two names that still haunted her sleep, turning dreams into nightmares. While comforting her after those night terrors led to more pleasant things like love and the reassurance no one would ever hurt her again, he really wished their names wouldn't keep popping up. He covered her hand with his, turned it over and entwined their fingers.
As her fingers curled tightly around his, he leaned closer to look at the photograph on the page and asked, "What's it about?"
"Guess we always knew those two were skanky lawyers with dangerous connections, but look at who they partied with." He stabbed his index finger at the bearded man between Albero and Bennetti in the photograph. "George Kavac, aka Kasun, president of Beyond Hell's Reach."
"Well fuck me, looks like we've confirmed the connection. Kavac and his gang have been up on charges for possession with intention to supply numerous times. They've got off every time thanks to Albero and Bennetti's fancy defence tactics. My bet is they're the suppliers the Tag Raiders were doing the running for." Lily's fingers tightened on his, her grip fierce. He turned to her to find her cheeks pale and her eyes haunted.
"George Kavac? Mark, he's a dangerous bastard." She shivered and leaned into his shoulder. "Please, please promise me you won't go after him?"
Mark's heartbeat snagged in his chest. He'd give the world to promise her he wouldn't but knew he couldn't. The reign of terror the biker gang had over Perth's nightclubs had to end. He and Harold only had one lead left to follow in this case and that was the youngest of the Tag Raiders, Connor Cappelli. This new information only added another level of danger.
Not today, please God, not today. He'd brought them all to Sydney to get away from the horrors of the last few months, to reward the boys for their hard work sticking to the program, to celebrate the official opening of TJ and Scott's rehabilitation centre and to pay tribute to Tiny Watts, the boy who'd sacrificed his life to save his friends.
Most of all, he'd chosen Cafe Nix on Circular Quay with its beautiful view of Sydney and the harbour bridge as the place to propose to Lily. Here, with the people he considered his extended family.
Harold closed the magazine and tossed it onto the empty table behind him for someone else to read. "Bugger it. We won't let those tossers spoil our day. I'll send word to HQ to pull some files and we'll sort it out when we get back to Perth. No point getting all worked up about it here. Where the hell's the waitress? I'm hungry."
Mark sent his partner a grateful look for his attempt at diversion. Harold was right. They had a new lead and would have to examine the evidence in detail before they followed it up. He released Lily's hand, put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug.
A squeal from the end of the table caught his attention.
"Marty!" TJ scolded across the table.
"What? I got her attention, didn't I?"
"By stomping on her toes? Boy, you need dancing lessons." Harold's lips twitched but he tried to remain stern.
"It worked." He grinned at Harold, twirled and dipped the waitress in one last dance move. He smiled cheekily at her and said, "Now I have your attention, can I have your phone number?"
The waitress shot him a warning look. He let her up, waited until she was steady on her feet, then removed his arm from around her waist.
"Marty! You apologise for that move right now." TJ's tone meant business and young Marty knew better than to disobey.
All charm, and with his fist on his heart, he said, "I am deeply sorry for my actions. Please forgive me." He took her hand and lifted it. Not quite touching her knuckles, he dropped a kiss in the air above them.
"Apology accepted." The waitress sighed, pulling her hand out of his. "Kids," she muttered as she walked away, leaving them to study their menus.
Mark smiled. The waitress couldn't be more than four or five years older than Marty's eighteen, six at a pinch. Not much more than a kid herself. If he was Marty's age, he'd have given it a shot at getting her phone number too. Now he had Lily, and thanked the angels for looking after him so well.
"Don't you dare do that again," growled TJ. When Scott chuckled beside her, she turned on him, "And don't you encourage him either."
"Sorry, TJ," said Marty.
"You're so sexy when you get mad." Scott gripped TJ's chin and kissed her hard.
While the rest of the table debated their breakfast choices, Harold said quietly to Mark, "It was Beyond Hell's Reach clubhouse that got shot up sixteen years ago when that young girl got shot and killed. Kavac broke code and messed with a rival gang's bitch. They came after him but the bastard got away. The girl wasn't as lucky."
Mark's grip tightened on his menu. How could the world outside the cafe look so damn bright and beautiful, when under cover of dark rats like Kavac, Bennetti and Albero crawled out of its sewers to taint the view?
"Remember the raid at the Golden Diva nightclub in Northbridge a few years back?" Harold pulled out the ever-present notebook from his pocket and jotted down a few notes. "The one that put one of our guys on desk duty with smashed kneecaps."
How could he forget? Mark hadn't been there. At the time he was working a case in Williams in the Western Australian wheat belt-another life, another time, another case too close to his family for comfort. His bastard brother-in-law had owed the owners of the Golden Diva money for his gambling debts. If only he'd known at the time that Albero and Bennetti were the sharks he owed, Mark could have taken care of them years ago. Then Lily and Luke wouldn't have gone through what they had.
"I remember. It happened at the same time that arsehole kidnapped my niece and took her to Williams."
Harold nodded. "Kavac and Beyond Hell's Reach again."
"We have to get them off the streets, Harold. Before we lose any more lives. We'll have to talk to the Capelli boy when we get back. Maybe he knows something the others don't. The last thing I want is for these three boys to end up back on the gang, and you know bastards like Kavac never give up. The only way we can truly save these kids and keep them alive is to put those wankers away for life."
"No argument there. Now that we agree, let's put all this shit behind us for another day. It'll keep until we get back. Might be an idea to tighten security around the Capelli boy, though. I'll check with Ethan and see if he's had enough of desk duties now his knees have healed. That counselling course he did might come in handy." Harold ran his finger down the menu, stopping at the Cafe Nix Big Breakfast. "Now there's a dish to fill a man's stomach."
"Make it two."
The waitress came back to take their order and it wasn't long before conversation at the table died to make place for the clatter of silverware against porcelain, and appreciative hums.
Half an hour later, Harold sat back and rubbed his belly. "I swear that meal was better than sex."
Jeannie punched his arm.
"What was that for?" He aimed for a hurt expression but failed miserably. He adored his wife, even when she glowered.
"Where should I start?" Jeannie smirked and counted his sins on her fingers. "One, if food is better than sex, you're not doing it right. Two, after young Marty just got in trouble for pinching the waitress' arse, I'm wondering where he got the idea from..." She eyed him meaningfully. "Three..." Jeannie trailed off as a petite woman with dark curly hair and watchful eyes approached their table.
She stopped and stood opposite Mark. "Hi, I'm Nix, the cafe owner. How were your meals?" A chorus of satisfaction whipped around the table. "Excellent, exactly what I like to hear. Now, a little birdie told me there's a fair bit to celebrate at this table, so-compliments of the house-I'd like to present you with a bottle of our finest champagne. Tamsin will be over shortly with some glasses. And this time, young man..." She looked at Marty. "Please keep your hands on the table? I'm sending out my best crystal champagne flutes for this toast. I'd hate for Tamsin to drop them."
Everyone at the table spoke at once.
"Celebration?"
"What are we celebrating?"
"Someone getting married?"
"Marty, did you score a date?"
"What? No!"
Mark held up his hand to silence them as the waitress unpacked the glasses from her tray around the table. With skilled finesse, she popped the cork on the champagne bottle and filled each glass. As she walked away, Mark stood.
"We do have a lot to celebrate. Marty, Luke...you guys have come a long way since you led TJ in a race across the city to save your butts. It's been a tough ride but you kept your word and stuck with the program. I'm proud of you, guys." He raised his glass to the two boys and the others followed. "To Marty and Luke."
When the echoes died down, he looked at TJ and Scott, and raised his glass again. "To Tiny, the legacy he left behind and the two people who embraced it to open their home to others like him. Cheers."
He had to wait a while to continue as Marty leapt up, ran around the table and hugged TJ and Scott so hard they gasped for breath. He shook his head. So different from the drug-addicted, troubled boy TJ had first taken in.
"Lily?" Mark put down his glass, held out his hands and drew her to her feet. His heart pounded against his ribs. "When I first met you, I was reminded of an angel. With each step we took, I watched you grow stronger, stand taller. That day up in Kalgoorlie, when you faced down one of the most wanted drug dealers in the west, I knew I couldn't lose you, that I would fight with my last breath to keep you safe and in my life." He tipped up her chin and looked deep into those green eyes he adored. "Lily, I love you so much. Will you marry me?"
"Yes," she whispered without hesitation.
As cheers broke out around the table, he took her in his arms and kissed her, taking his time to enjoy the taste of champagne on her lips, the gentle nudge of her tongue and the sweetness of her mouth. No rush...he had her for the rest of his life.
When he lifted his head, he saw Marty running around the restaurant, waving people to their feet as they joined in, clapping and cheering.
"See that?" Marty yelled proudly. "That's my family."
Mark's heart swelled with pride. He'd do all he could to protect his family. All he had to do was overcome one last hurdle. Beyond Hell's Reach.
Mark and Lily's story is told in Under Cover of Dark, Book 2 of the Tag Raiders Series by Juanita Kees
A new Australian romantic suspense, it follows Under the Hood, about a Western Australian drug gang, the teenagers they recruit, and the cop who wants to bring them down.
When Mark Johnson delves deeper into his investigation into the murder of Tiny Watts and the involvement of a teenage gang with sleazy lawyer, Gino Bennetti, and his drug world ties, the last thing he expects is to be interviewing Gino's widow, a woman in a world of trouble.
When her husband is shot and killed, it is both a relief and a disaster. Lily has her son to protect and secrets that run deeper than the scars she bears. Mark Johnson is the last person she wants uncovering those secrets, especially the truth about her son Luke's involvement in Tiny Watts' murder.
As the investigation continues and Lily's wounds begin to heal, she finds the detective easy to trust and the friendship between them blossoms into more. But the secret Lily holds places everyone in very real danger. When it is finally revealed, Lily could lose everything: her son, the man she's grown to love, her freedom, and her life.