Page 48 of Tough Justice

“Because,” he said as he stepped out of the SUV, “I can identify the driver. I don’t know his name, but I’ve seen him before.” Somewhere.

The question was where.

Chapter Sixteen

Tori picked at one of the ham-and-cheese sandwiches Detective Ruiz had procured for her and Deck. Something about getting shot at—again—took her appetite away. Go figure.

Only a few minutes had passed after he’d called 911 before they were surrounded by police cars. Then a tow truck came to drag off Deck’s SUV. What was left of it anyway. Both left side tires had been shot out, along with all the windows on the left side. Bits of glass littered the interior, including Thor’s kennel. Thank God he wasn’t with us. He most certainly would have been hit by one of the flying bullets. It was a miracle she and Deck hadn’t been hit. Aside from minor scratches, they were both okay. At least she’d finally stopped shaking.

They’d been at the police station for two hours now. Deck’s boss, ASAC Santiago Rivera, and another DEA agent had shown up shortly after they’d arrived. Lakewood PD Detectives Mark Ruiz and Joe Schwartz had been assigned to the case.

After they’d all listened to Deck describe what had happened, Detective Ruiz indicated to his partner, “Joe, set Deck up over there with that mugshot database.”

Deck walked over to her. “Sorry this is taking so long. Someone from my office should be here soon to drop off a spare K-9 unit. If you don’t want to wait that long, I can get a patrol car to take you home.”

She shook her head. “I’ll wait for you to finish.”

He touched two fingers to her chin, tilting her head as he took in the tiny red scratches. She hadn’t even known they were there, hadn’t felt any pain. Adrenaline would do that to a girl. “Okay.” Then he opened his mouth to say something else.

“Deck, you’re all set.” Detective Schwartz waited for him behind a desk with two computer monitors.

“Sit tight. I’ll be back.” He went to the desk, sat, then began tapping away on the keyboard.

Tori took a sip of water then leaned back in the quasi-comfortable chair. Somewhere in that database was a picture of the man who’d tried to kill them. It didn’t matter that Deck thought he was the target, not her. This was the second time she’d nearly been shot in two weeks. She so was not cut out for this line of work. Was anyone, really?

He is. Deck stared at the monitors and kept pecking away at the keyboard with his big hands.

Wil would have a field day when he found out what happened. She could hear his groan and admonishment already.

She bit her lip. Maybe she wouldn’t tell him.

She had no intention whatsoever of telling her dad or sister about this. Any of it. Worrying them wouldn’t help matters any and after what her dad had gone through, he’d probably file a lawsuit against the DEA on her behalf.

“Tori.” Evan had arrived, along with his blue-eyed German shepherd. The dog was even bigger than she remembered. “You okay? Deck texted us what happened.”

“I’m fine. We’re both fine,” she reassured him. As fine as two people can be after nearly getting drilled by over a dozen bullets. That was just an estimate, based on the number of holes in the side of the truck. Who knew how many times they’d missed?

“Deck said he’ll be here a while going through mugshots. Do you want me to give you a ride home?”

Disappointment flooded her bloodstream. Was he trying to get rid of her? “Did he ask you to take me home?”

“No. Just thought I’d offer.”

Relief replaced disappointment. Still, since they’d left Mick’s, she’d detected a slight chill from Deck, as if he wanted a little distance. The only break in that chill had been when he’d dabbed her bleeding face with a napkin.

“Gotcha!” Deck fisted his hand. “Timothy Lomax, aka T-Lo.” He hit a button on the keyboard, and a printer on the desk began spitting out pages. He grabbed the stack and passed out pages to the detectives and ASAC Rivera. “Possession with intent to distribute, conspiracy to distribute, unlawful possession of a firearm, assault on a PO. A tiger never loses its stripes.”

Ruiz held up the page he was reading. “This is the guy who shot at you?” Deck nodded.

“You’re sure?” ASAC Rivera asked. “His lawyer will say it was dark out.”

Deck snorted. “His lawyer will say a lot of things, but it won’t matter. That’s him.”

“Okay. That’s enough for a warrant.” Ruiz returned to his desk and picked up the phone.

Deck came around the desk, sat on the corner, and crossed his arms. The movement hiked up his shirtsleeves, revealing thick, bunching biceps. “I knew I’d seen that guy before.”

“Did you arrest him?” Tori went to the desk, leaning her hip against it. “Is that what this is about, revenge?”