Gallagher Justice by Amanda Stevens

Author:Amanda Stevens
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Gallagher Justice
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE TWO-FLAT DOGGETT RENTED was on the fringes of a ghetto, in an old, run-down neighborhood that was showing signs of a comeback. A new subdivision was going up a few blocks over, and Doggett still hadn’t gotten used to seeing the old row houses surrounded by the modern glass and brick dwellings that were selling for close to half a mil.

In Cabrini, a lot of the longtime residents had moved out when the new construction began, and they’d never come back, but in Doggett’s neighborhood, most of the old-timers, including his landlady who lived in the other flat, had stubbornly refused to budge.

Doggett didn’t know why he’d hung around for as long as he had. He could afford something better now, in a safer neighborhood, but he had no desire to move. Besides, the two-flat was like a palace compared to the dump he and Ruby had lived in.

It bothered him still that he hadn’t been able to afford a better place for her. After he’d finished his training at the academy and his six-month probationary period on the force, Doggett had figured on looking for a nicer apartment, in a better neighborhood. He and Ruby had managed to put away a little money, and they’d even talked about buying a house someday, having a family.

Even then, Doggett had known it was a pipe dream. Ruby’s past, the awful things she’d lived through, horrors that she hadn’t been able to talk about, even to him, wouldn’t let them have a happily-ever-after.

But back then dreams were about all they did have. It was pleasant to lie in bed at night and contemplate a better future. Until the nightmares came back. Until Ruby’s past would start haunting her again, and she’d take off. Stay gone for days at a time, and Doggett, sick with worry, would comb the streets looking for her. Except for the last time.

Doggett was never certain why he hadn’t gone to look for her then. Maybe he’d gotten fed up or maybe he’d just given up, but he’d left her out there all alone. Three days later, her body had been found in an alley. He’d had to live with that.

He’d had to live with a lot of things, not the least of which was the fact that Ruby’s killer was still out there. Nor the fact that, in all this time, he hadn’t been able to give her the one thing that could have made things right. For twenty years, justice had eluded them.

Doggett got out of the car and locked the doors, then crossing the tiny front yard, let himself into the apartment. Flipping on a light, he winced. The place was grim. No getting around that. The kitchen, living and dining areas were all crowded together, and a dark, narrow hallway led to the bathroom and two bedrooms, one of which he slept in and the other he used as a junk room-slash-office.

He hung his gun and holster on a coat hook just inside the front door, but later, when he went to bed, he’d take the weapon with him.

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