Chapter Twenty-Seven

"S o, can we talk about our game plan, or are we going to pretend we don't need one?"

"About Willie?"

It was a perfectly legitimate question since they were on their way to the county jail to meet with Willis "One-Eyed Willie" Morrison, his attorney, and the federal prosecutor overseeing the cartel investigation. For three days, they'd spent endless hours listening to recordings and had just peeled back the surface layers of the cartel's organization and reach. It would take a lot more investigating and a special grand jury to issue the sheer number of indictments they needed to make a dent in the evil empire, but Ridge was excited to serve the one that meant the most to him until he stood face-to-face with Sheldon Harris.

"Hardly, but nice try," Eddie said. "You know damn well I'm talking about Kendall and possibly the reason why you're wearing long-sleeved dress shirts during summer in Savannah."

Ridge fought the urge to rub the fabric burns beneath his shirt cuffs. It had been his first experience with any form of bondage, and he'd been unprepared for the marks it left behind. Kendall, also a novice, had felt awful and expressed remorse for binding his wrists so tightly. Ridge wasn't sorry. Wearing a lightweight dress shirt was a small price to pay for the most incredible experience of his life. Just thinking about it made him want to squirm.

"Stop thinking about sex with your man," Eddie griped from the passenger seat.

"I'm not." But now he was. "My fashion choices aren't your concern, buddy."

"They are when they're hiding something that could get you in big trouble."

Ridge glanced over at his best friend. "The worst Marks will do is fire me. How does that impact you?"

Eddie slugged him in the shoulder. "Stop being an idiot. I'd lose the best partner I've ever had, and I could get swept up in the tide that drags your ass out to sea."

Ridge hadn't really thought about how his deceptive behavior could affect his best friend. "I'm sorry."

"About which part? Falling for the guy or not having the conversation with Marks you agreed to have days ago?" Ridge had promised Eddie, but that was before the case against Willie and Harris had heated up. "Your tunnel vision will cause you to get blindsided. Makes me think of a few quarterbacks I played against. Brilliant athletes until you blitzed them."

"Blindsided by who? No one knows about my living situation," Ridge said.

"Kendall's mother knows. Do you really think she won't use the knowledge to her advantage?"

Kendall hadn't said much about the situation with his mom, but he had told Ridge Rebecca was the one who'd tipped off the FTC. Stan had gotten careless and left falsified documents on his desk, and Rebecca had overheard a few phone conversations between Stanton and his business partner. The news bumped her up in his esteem but only slightly. Ridge couldn't get past his thoughts of Kendall practically starving himself as a kid because he wanted to disappear.

Ridge tightened his grip on the steering wheel and forced his thoughts back to the conversation with Eddie. "I don't know."

And it was true. One good deed didn't make Rebecca Burkhart someone Ridge could trust. He'd seen firsthand what a damn good actress she was. No one involved in the raid would've known the blindsided, cheated wife was the person who'd triggered the avalanche.

Ridge and Kendall had spent very little time together since the cartel investigation had kicked into high gear, and the time they did steal wasn't spent discussing topics that might dampen the mood. Ridge had learned a lot about the kind of entertainment Kendall liked and got to witness the creative genius develop a new sauce for the club. It was delicious, and Ridge's praise made Kendall blush. Seducing the sauce's name from Kendall had left them both in a sticky, sweaty, and satiated mess. Ridge had volunteered to be Kendall's taste tester whenever he liked but regretted it when a look of sadness washed over Kendall's face.

Ridge's previous assertion that he would leave Savannah as soon as the case wrapped up still hovered over them like a depressing pall. He could dispel the gloomy cloud with just a few words but didn't. His relationship with Kendall was so new and right on the heels of a breakup. He'd promised not to break Kendall's heart and giving him false hope and flimsy promises would surely do just that because Ridge's urge to leave was still there. It wasn't as strong, and Ridge would be the first to admit it, but he also couldn't deny his reasoning might not be sound.

Kendall wasn't asking him for a commitment on any level, and Ridge wasn't going to volunteer one until he knew his affection for Kendall and the urge to stay weren't just fleeting emotions.

Eddie snapped his fingers. "Come back to me, buddy."

Ridge glanced over at him. "What?"

"I said, ‘I don't know' isn't a good enough answer." Eddie chuckled and shook his head. "I know you've got it bad for the guy, and I'm overjoyed for you."

"You're just glad you can say I told you so ."

"No, that's Zack. He's the smug bastard in this friendship."

Ridge laughed, but it didn't linger. "Eddie, I do care about Kendall a lot, but I'm not sure the relationship is serious enough to lay it all out there for Marks." The words felt all wrong, almost like a lie, which only ratcheted up Ridge's anxiety.

"You're an idiot," his friend said. "It may not be serious enough to keep you in Savannah, but I promise you the relationship is damaging enough to ruin your career in any city. That's where your brain needs to be right now, but you're so hyperfocused on—"

"Do not say sex or anything else that belittles Kendall," Ridge warned.

Eddie was silent for so long that Ridge glanced over at him again. Eddie's smile was brilliant and rare, the one usually saved for talking to Jess or about her.

"Not that serious, huh? You're an idiot," Eddie finally said. "I wasn't going to say anything about Kendall. I was accusing you of being so hyperfocused on capturing Sheldon Harris that you weren't using your best judgment. See, right now, you're worried Marks will pull you off the cartel investigation if she finds out about your relationship with Stanton Burkhart's stepson."

Eddie wasn't wrong. Ridge had thought the exact thing too many times to count, though he'd never spoken his fear out loud. "Estranged stepson," he said, which was the closest he'd get to admitting his friend was right.

"Estranged? Didn't you tell me Kendall had been there that night for dinner?"

"And the staff can confirm he left abruptly," Ridge said.

"It won't be good enough for Marks, and we both know it." Eddie sighed. "Look, I don't want to see my best friend unhappy, whether you're only here for a few more weeks or you retire to Tybee Island at the end of a long career. Burkhart's lawyers will drag this out forever, and it will hang over your head until you come clean."

"I know."

"I have your back, Ridgey. No matter what happens. Just do me one favor."

"Name it."

"Stay away from Burkhart and his codefendant. Don't give the brass more ammunition to use against you."

Ridge took a deep breath, relieved to have Eddie on his side. The tension between them had been weighing heavily on his heart. "And what do you propose?"

"I don't care how you do it," Eddie said firmly. "Call in sick if you get assigned to transfer them or volunteer for more desk duty."

Ridge snorted. "Like that's not suspicious."

"No worse than you wearing long-sleeved shirts." Eddie quieted as they pulled up to the guard shack at the jail. Once they showed their credentials and drove through the gate, he started back up again. "So, handcuffs? Zip ties?"

"Shut the hell up, Eddie."

He continued guessing every outlandish thing he could think of until they entered the jail. Then their demeanor and conversation matched the tone of the upcoming meeting as they navigated the various security checkpoints. An undercurrent of euphoria spiked Ridge's bloodstream, making him feel a little buzzed when they greeted federal prosecutor Francesca Baro. The woman's sleek hair was pulled into a tight bun, displaying a face with delicate cheekbones and a vivid scar across her right cheek that made her look like a warrior ballerina.

"Gentlemen," she said as she shook their hands. "The accused is already in the interview room, but we're still waiting for his attorney to arrive."

Knowing Willie was on the other side of the steel door amped up Ridge's energy. A jovial laugh echoed down the hallway, and he turned to watch a tall, roguish man wearing an expensive suit and a wicked grin approach. Ridge had seen him before, of course, and couldn't help but notice Vincent Bianchi had more gray hair at his temples than the last time they'd met.

"Well, if it isn't my cousin Vinnie," Francesca said drolly.

"Seriously?" Eddie asked. "Are you really related, or are you spoofing on the movie?"

Bianchi laughed when he reached them. "Cousins by marriage." He leaned forward and kissed her offered cheek.

"Enemies by choice," she said, patting the taller man on the arm.

Their tones and demeanors were far too friendly to mark them as enemies, but that all changed when they entered the interrogation room. The pair immediately started arguing as soon as everyone was seated at the table. Ridge would've wondered what their family functions were like if he hadn't been focusing all his energy on staring Willie down.

The asshole had the nerve to look smug and unconcerned about the reason for their visit. The look never wavered as Willie refused to answer any of the questions Francesca asked him, and Bianchi silenced him on the few occasions it looked like Willie might break.

"My client knows nothing about the allegations you've just made," he said after the first hour passed. "And if you have any proof at all, you would've charged him by now."

That's when Francesca opened her laptop and hit play. Ridge had never been so grateful to sit in during an interview as he was the moment Willie realized they had him by the nuts. It didn't happen quickly; it was a slow awareness dawning over his features until his face became mottled with red splotches.

"That bitch!" Willie roared as he tried to lunge to his feet, but the ankle cuffs attached to a ring in the concrete prevented him from getting far. "I'll kill—"

"Enough, Willie," Bianchi growled angrily. "You're not helping. Let me handle this." He settled his client back down in his chair, then straightened his suit jacket. "You expect us to fall for this doctored recording?"

"I'll take my chances with a jury," Francesca said. "And this is just the tip of the iceberg, which you'll find out during discovery." Ridge held his breath while he waited for the next part. Francesca pulled the federal warrant out of her briefcase and handed it to Bianchi. She glanced at Ridge. "Will you do the honors?"

It would be his pleasure. Ridge smiled at her before meeting Willie's scowl. "Willis Morrison," Ridge began, then stated his formal charges before reading his rights. "The US Marshals Service is taking you into custody and transferring you to FCI in Jesup." Away from his local thugs and where they could isolate him to minimize Willie getting word out to his crew.

"Your plan won't work," Willie said when Ridge rose from his chair and came around the table to begin transportation. "I will never betray my brothers."

"Maybe so, but your days of breathing air as a free man are over, Willie. You're going to die in prison," Ridge said.

The drive to Jesup took over an hour. Willie didn't utter a single word, not that they attempted to interrogate him after he'd invoked his right to counsel. Just escorting Willie to federal prison was enough for now. The rest of the chips would fall into place soon enough. He didn't look so brave when the federal prison guards met them at the facility and looked even less so when he'd been remanded behind bars.

"Give Sheldon my love, Huckleberry," Willie bravely said once he was out of reach.

Ridge didn't know what the hell the huckleberry reference was all about. "Will do when I find him."

"Or he'll find you first." Willie's laughter echoed ominously as the guards dragged him deeper into the prison.

"Huckleberry?" Eddie asked as they stepped into the sunlight.

Regardless of the weather, the air was always fresher once he exited the prison. "I have no idea, but it sounds vaguely familiar."

"Me too. It's going to bug me until I remember," Eddie said.

It might drive Ridge crazy later, but not until after his euphoric buzz faded.

"Congratulations, Ridgey," Eddie said and clapped him on the shoulder. "I know we don't have Sheldon yet, but this is the next best thing."

It was, and Ridge knew precisely who he wanted to celebrate the victory with.