Chapter Thirty Five: Assignment of the Year
Don't tell me how life is
'Cause I don't really want to know
Don't tell me how this game ends
'Cause we'll just see how it goes
3 Doors Down - Going Down in Flames
Tonight had been a living nightmare. Antonio could feasibly see how he ended up in this situation but he was still in a state of disbelief at the turn of events. He had never envisioned that his last night working with Asher Rosalyn would also end up being the other man's last night alive. He had stepped out for a pack of cigarettes and returned to find Asher dead in the back of the SUV with a bullet wound through his left temple. The compartment between the seats had been jimmied open and whatever had been located in there was missing. Antonio suspected diamonds from his previous escapades with the other man, how much he had no clue.
"Antonio." he heard his name being called from the back of the shiny black SUV and caught sight of Maggie's concerned face as she approached him. Her dainty hands were wrapped around the grip of her Glock, her finger resting on the trigger as she ducked along the length of the car, Sean Roman a mere footstep behind her.
"Shooter?" she questioned, her cobalt blue eyes quickly sweeping over him as she cataloged him with an intensity he was wasn't used to. It had been a long time since someone had cared about him like that. It still surprised him, even now that this woman was his and his only.
"Gone." he said, holstering his own weapon into the leather shoulder strap tucked away under his suit jacket. Maggie nodded her understanding before both Roman and herself stowed away their weapons.
"What happened?" Roman asked, his blond eyebrows curving into a crease as Antonio tilted his head indicating to the back seat of the SUV.
"Asher was shot in the head at point blank range." Antonio confided before casting a glance at the gas station store over his shoulder. "I went in there to grab a pack of smokes and he was like that when I came back. I couldn't have been gone more than a minute."
"And you saw nothing out of the ordinary at all?" Maggie asked, the left side of her mouth turned down in a sympathetic grimace.
Antonio sighed deeply, placing lacing his fingers behind his head before he shook it to answer her question. Maggie recognized the gesture, it was something he did when he was pushed to breaking point. She knew this situation had to be putting him under intense mental pressure. He knew what this would look like and she hated the fact that he was trapped in this position.
"Hey." Maggie said lightly, her small hand clasping his shoulder gently.
His gaze met hers and she could see the fear in those dark pools of his, that strain bearing down upon his shoulders. There was no misunderstanding there, he was dealing with the cards he was dealt and the future looked bleak. His life was this job, he didn't know who he was without it.
"Have you called Voight?" she murmured.
"Yea." Antonio responded, dropping his hands so they came to rest on either side of his body. "He should be here any minute now."
"Don't speak to anybody else until he gets here." Maggie told him firmly, the tone of her voice demanded compliance. Antonio understood as he stared into those steely blue eyes of hers that this was not a request. "I don't care who it is just promise me you'll keep your mouth shut until he gets on the scene."
"I won't." he promised her devoutly.
For the first time tonight he was glad that Roman and her were the first to arrive at the scene. His head had been battered struggling to make sense of the chain of events that had led him to this point in time. He was clearer now, more focused. Maggie was watching his back and he knew the rest of his team would too. He just had to hold on until Voight got here and keep his mouth shut.
"We got incoming." Roman muttered to the both of them from his position at the rear of the SUV. "Detective, I don't recognize."
"Remember what I said." Maggie murmured before drawing away from him enough to maintain a professional distance.
Antonio straightened his spine, his broad shoulders set as his chin jutted out before he stepped forward to meet his fate head on.
To say that Antonio Dawson excelled in interrogation had always seemed to be an understatement in Maggie's eyes. Those same skills that made him a superb undercover cop served him just as well when he was sitting across the table from a suspect. Sitting back and watching him work was a rarity these days, their shifts sometimes brought them together on a case or two but she never got to see this side of him anymore. She was standing on the opposite side of the two way mirror, the side where you could observe the interrogation. Voight was standing beside her, his arms crossed over that plaid shirt of his. His jaw was set as he watched the interrogation analytically, taking in all the information betrayed through tone and body language.
Layla Rosalyn was a piece of work, Maggie could tell that much from the way the other woman stood on the opposite side of the table, those glossy lips of hers pouting as she surveyed the room. She was dressed in black, calf length athletic leggings that clung to her like a second skin, her rose pink tank top was low cut showing a generous expanse of cleavage despite the fact she was wearing an expensive black zip up hoodie over the top. The clothes could have given her the look of someone who had thrown on the moment they had heard the news of their husband's death if her hair and makeup hadn't been so perfectly put together.
Antonio said nothing as he leaned against the wall alongside the door. He had changed into his civvies somewhere in the time between leaving the scene and Maggie being called up here by Voight. He looked every inch the bad boy, with that diamond earring of his glinting in the florescent lighting. Layla was taking in the sight before her with an interest that Maggie want to throttle her. She wasn't a possessive person by nature but she was protective especially when it came to the people she cared about. Maggie didn't give a shit that Layla had tried to ruin her relationship with Antonio, she had failed spectacularly on that front. However she did care that this gold digger was willing to destroy Antonio and his career to get what she wanted. It riled Maggie, it made her want to shake the truth out of the other woman.
"Life's so fragile, you know?" Layla was saying, her right arm wrapped around herself as her fingertip toyed with a lock of her ebony hair.
Antonio's dark eyes were on her stern and intense, he was barely able to contain the disgust in his handsome features as he navigated the conversation.
"Outside the club, you were arguing about someone named Terry." He told Layla. There was no point in denying it, Layla was smart enough to know that and to her credit she played it to her strength.
"Were we?" she queried before continuing as if distracted. "Oh, I had sex with him a couple times."
"Just like that?" Antonio questioned skeptically, quirking a dark eyebrow.
"Asher got off on it." she informed him before a slow flirtatious smile crossed her caramel features. "Why do you think we were there?"
"I don't know, Layla." Antonio responded, his chocolate brown eyes were cold and hard as he stared back at her. "I'm not a pervert."
"So your telling me you've never thought about watching your little girlfriend, what was her name..." Layla asked tapping her chin with her fingertip for a second before her eyes brightened. "...Maggie with another woman? Could you imagine what I would do her while you watched?"
Layla's teeth grazed her lower lip as she straightened her spine so even more of her curvaceous assets were on display. Antonio snorted rudely in response to Layla's teasing. Maggie understood that it was nothing that he hadn't expected. Layla was used to controlling men through seduction, everything about her from her words to her body language was rehearsed and practiced. Maggie wondered how many people had fallen for that over the years, how many lives she had left in ruins.
"Your not her type, the same way your not mine." Antonio asserted, his body language remaining nonchalant at the suggestion. There was no interest in those serious features of his, there was nothing for Layla to feed off and Maggie could see it knocked her off balance.
"So this is Antonio Dawson the cop, huh?" Layla responded coolly, her gaze dropping to the shiny gold badge that was clearly displayed on his hip.
"Tell me about Terry." Antonio requested, tilting his head to the right as he reviewed her stoically.
"Just did." Layla informed him, wrapping both arms around herself. "He was just some guy we hooked up with..." She smiled once again, her perfect eyebrows arched as she spoke. "...One of many."
"That's a real nice life." Antonio responded snidely, his distaste evident.
"Better than some." Layla shot back. "Monogamy gets boring. You'll see."
The implication was there and although it irritated Maggie, it rolled over Antonio as if the other woman hadn't even spoken. She couldn't believe that he had to deal with this absurd woman for so long. She had to applaud him, he had the patience of a saint.
"You don't seem too broken up over Asher's death." Antonio stated frankly.
"I don't parade my emotions around in front of strangers just to make them feel better." Layla said, her voice devoid of emotions.
It sounded practiced in Maggie's ears, a way to explain the lack of empathy she had for the dead body she had once called her husband.
"Did you have anything to do with your husband's murder?" Antonio asked, his voice strong and his question direct as he met Layla's smokey kohl lined eyes.
"No." she said smiling sweetly as she spoke."No, I went back inside the club. Remember? You should have come in with me..." Layla pouted as she fluttered her eyebrows. "Then you wouldn't be caught up in all of this."
Maggie turned her head towards Voight, her keen blue eyes taking in the profile of his face. She could see that slight twitch in his left cheek as he kept his eyes forward, his arms crossed over his chest, spine straight. It had taken her until now to realize what she was doing up here, watching this interrogation.
"The club..." she began, turning to confront him, one hand on her hip. "...its The Red Bridge isn't it?"
Voight nodded his head before his palm slapped the mute button on the intercom, silence drowning out the sound of Layla's voice as he turned to face her head on.
"You could have just asked." Maggie told him quietly.
Already Voight could see her withdrawing into herself which was exactly what he didn't want. He had brought her to this interrogation room so that she could see what they were up against. Compromising her was not a decision that he took lightly, if there was any other way he would have found it but they were on a time limit and Antonio's career was hanging by a thread.
"I couldn't." Voight said putting a fatherly hand on Maggie's small shoulder as he ducked his head so that she could see the honesty in his eyes before he tilted his head towards the observation window. "And neither could he."
She knew that Hank was saying and Maggie appreciated it more than she could ever tell him. Her transition back into this life hadn't been smooth and there were nights where she still woke up with the feel of Gregor's hands wrapped around her throat. Antonio knew that, he had smoothed her hair back away from her face and whispered the sweetest words into her ear when she experienced those nightmares. Being Magdalena again would take her right back to a place she had fought so hard to get out of.
"It needs to be different this time." Maggie told Voight, her brain already spinning over the logistics as she averted her gaze to that man on the other side of the window. Her man, the one that chased away every single one of her demons.
"Whatever you need." Voight responded, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. "You know we've got you covered."
Maggie nodded her agreement at his words. Logically she knew that Hank would never leave her and high and dry, he had guided her into a place where she could make the best decision she could with the information at hand. She knew his team both socially and professionally, hell Antonio trusted those people with his life on a daily basis. Her stomach was still twisting in knots at the possibilities ahead of her, she was scared that she wouldn't be able to handle this. That she would slip up and fail Antonio in some way.
"I love you." Antonio whispered against her hairline as he gathered her up in his muscular arms, cradling her trembling body against his. Her heart was beating like a drum against her ribs, she could still taste the bile on her tongue as she wheezed in a shaky breath trying to stave off the panic that flooded her senses. "Your safe here with me."
It was that memory that fortified her. She had lost count of the amount of times she had thanked God above for bringing this wonderful man into her life, for the strength that he had given her when it was far too much to carry that burden alone. She would do this for him. The two of them were together in this, no matter what.
Hey guys my apologies for the late chapter, my weekend got taken up with a baby shower and then some wedding planning as it is now only 8 weeks until the main event!
Medaling: Their relationship is definitely one of my all-time favs to write but to be fair Kayla and Roman do come a close second because of the fun they have together. I think Roman was rather brash and sarcastic in the beginning so I was defensive on behalf of Burgess but I really loved his char and was devastated when he left.
Anime: I constantly want to hug Kayla for all reasons, she's like that friend who is always there rain or shine. You will have to wait and see on her ex. I am just coming up to writing 'The Evil' as I call it so I'll let you know how it goes. There's plenty of stuff in between to keep you occupied so try not to drive yourself crazy :p
Lauren: At first it was a little weird writing them because I wasn't sure how Sean would respond to Maggie but they sort of forged their own relationship once I got started and it only goes from strength to strength as the story goes on. That doesn't mean that Burgess is out of the mix though. (she is defo one of my favs) You'll have to keep reading for their progress :p