After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 129

The captain took one look at Lawrence and could tell he was different. He asked, “You must be ex-military, right?”

Lawrence gave a small nod. “Discharged a few years ago.”

That made everything clear. The captain motioned for his officers to get the men into the patrol car, then turned back to Lawrence. “We’ll need you to come down to the station later to give a statement. And, honestly, thanks for helping out. We’ve been after these guys for a while.”

“No problem,” Lawrence replied.

The sirens tore through the night as the police cars drove off. Lawrence stayed where he was, standing tall and unshakable, like a blade embedded in the earth, daring anyone to test its edge.

***

At ten thirty that night, Malloy was at home, still waiting to hear some good news. Instead, two plainclothes officers showed up and pinned him right at his front door.

Malloy froze, not believing what was happening. Then it clicked. He hadn’t managed to teach Lawrence a lesson. Instead, he’d landed himself in trouble.

His wife rushed out, panic in her voice. “Malloy!”

He shot her a desperate look. “Go find Alice and Nestor. Get them to help me!” But the officers were already taking him away.

In the middle of the night, Alice shook Nestor awake to tell him what had happened. Nestor was confused and groggy, but he knew one thing for sure—this wasn’t his problem to solve in the middle of the night.

He decided to let it wait until morning.

The next day, when Nestor got to the office, Lawrence was already there, waiting for him.

Lawrence filled him in on everything that had happened. Nestor’s face darkened. He slammed a hand down on his desk. “Wait, what? Malloy actually hired people to attack you? That’s insane.”

“Dad, it’s handled now. The company’s letting Malloy go,” Lawrence said quietly.

“Malloy’s worked for your dad for eight years. Even if he hasn’t done anything big, he’s put in the time. Now your dad’s ready to cut him off just for Lawrence. Give it a couple years and the company will be Lawrence’s, don’t you think?”

Shirley realized she needed to take Lawrence more seriously. In just one week, he had gotten Nestor’s full attention. Clearly, he wasn’t as simple as she’d thought.

“Mom, don’t panic. And don’t get involved with Malloy’s situation. If you do, Dad’s just going to get angrier,” Shirley said, keeping her cool. “Dad’s furious right now. Malloy brought this on himself. Let’s just stay out of it.”

Alice took a breath, but she still sounded upset. “Fine, I’ll leave Malloy alone. But Lawrence getting closer to your dad is a real threat to us.”

Alice wished Shirley would just marry someone powerful and take the company back for their side.

“Mom, let me finish up here and then I’ll come home,” Shirley said, already thinking ahead to Waldo’s plans.

Let Lawrence keep going for now. If he stirs up trouble, maybe Nestor will finally see he isn’t as capable as he looks.