School of Fish (Fish Out of Water #6) - Amy Lane Page 0,46
jumped in, and the DA’s office went, ‘Yes! Prosecute the young ’cause it makes us look strong!’ And the one crooked prison guard was like, ‘Okay, we gotta rough this kid up ’cause someone says so!’ and….”
They both shuddered.
“One weak link, some miscommunication, and a public defender who didn’t see the disconnect, and that kid could have been dead,” Jackson finished. “I mean, on the one hand, I’m glad it’s not corruption, but on the other, you’ve got guys like Sean, guys like Fetzer and Hardison, and they deserve better than an undertrained lieutenant and a DA out for numbers instead of real justice.”
“I agree,” Ellery said. “System’s broken. Let’s leave it all and go run a restaurant in Jalisco.”
Jackson blinked. “Jalisco?”
“Supposed to be a wonderful place for American expatriates,” Ellery said blithely. “Do you have your passport?”
Jackson slowed for the hospital on their left and prepared to turn. “You made me get one,” he said, “when we went to visit your family over Thanksgiving. But I’m not saying we should chuck it all and run off into the wild.”
“Then what are you saying?”
Jackson picked the parking structure and not the ER ground-floor parking. “I’m saying that the system is helping these guys. And I would wager, whoever Sergio Ivanov works for, whoever is trying to set Ty Townsend up and frame Tage Dobrevk, they’re counting on the brokenness. That’s why all the panic about Tage’s file getting to the hands of someone like you and me.” He frowned. “Which means….”
Ellery’s jaw gave a throb, and he shut up and let Jackson think.
Jackson blinked. “Gah! I’ve never had a case with so many leads! But Henry and I have to interview the people in Jenny Probst’s office. Somebody leaked where that file was going.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m going to have to spend all night making a to-do list for Henry and me.”
“Why don’t you split up?” Ellery asked. “I mean, twice the work, twice the people.”
Jackson pulled the Lexus into a parking slot and stopped before glaring at him. “And leave Henry out there alone? Are you shitting me? After the way this day has gone? If that kid buys it, his boyfriend will kill me!”
Ellery chuckled as they both got out, and Jackson walked around the car to take the ice pack from him and check his jaw again.
“How bad does it look?” Ellery asked, fearing the answer.
“You’re still dead sexy,” Jackson said with a slight worried smile.
“I look like an extra from a horror movie, right?” He hated that his vanity was coming into play, but he prided himself on looking professional, and a swollen face did not keep up that image.
“You look like you got clocked in the jaw for a good cause,” Jackson said, giving his cheekbone a brief caress. “But do me a favor, Counselor.”
“Learn how to duck. We covered that.” Ellery’s heart picked up speed, just being near him. Weird how that happened but never, ever unwelcome.
Jackson shook his head. “Leave the pissing people off to me, okay? You’re supposed to be the reasonable one. We need to keep it that way.”
Ellery shrugged. “Well, given the way Herrera was looking at us, she seems to think we’re both crazy.”
“She’s right. But we want to make your crazy secret, stealth crazy, like a secret weapon, okay?”
The criticism was leavened by Jackson’s closeness and the concern in his eyes, and Ellery leaned into him, testing Jackson’s usual public space.
Jackson rewarded him with strong arms around his shoulders, and Ellery took the comfort—real comfort—with the care Jackson intended.
“Gotcha,” Ellery murmured against his shoulder. “Stealth crazy. I’ll work on it.”
Jackson stepped back and smiled faintly. “Only masters of crazy can implement that kind of thing, if the challenge makes it worth it.”
Ellery chuckled briefly, and Jackson’s hand went to his phone. He pulled it out as they started walking through the parking structure, and the tightness that had never left his eyes since he’d shown up at the jail relaxed slightly.
“He’s awake,” Jackson said, texting. “And he’s asking for us.”
“Well, that man’s earned the right to ask for whatever he wants,” Ellery told him primly.
Jackson’s fierce grin was enough of an answer.
His bravado faded a little as they approached the hospital entrance. Ellery might have been the only one to notice it, although Jade might have. Jackson’s steps never faltered, but his jaw was clenched tight enough to pop a vein in his forehead, and his face—tanned skin with a faint ruddiness from lots of