The officer hesitated, but finally answered. “No, he’s not.”

Cicero gave them all a cold smile. “Good. Then I’m going in to visit with my friend. From what I heard, he’s had a difficult night. I think he’ll appreciate some support. Not that you all aren’t doing everything you can to get to the bottom of this, I’m sure.”

The sarcasm touched Paley off again. He lunged at Cicero, but he was still held back by his fellow officers. “Guinea cocksucker!” he yelled. “I swear I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you!”

Cicero nodded at the giant, red-faced detective. “Detective Paley,” he said. “You have my sympathies on your cousin’s death. My father used to say that if you swim in the Devil’s waters, you shouldn’t be surprised when he reaches up and pulls you under. Your cousin should have kept that in mind. You should keep it in mind, too.”

Cicero stepped around the remaining cops and headed down the hall toward Cormack’s hospital room. Behind him he could hear the commotion as several officers struggled to restrain Detective Paley, who continued shouting obscenities and threats.

Cicero didn’t look back.

“Thanks for coming.”

Cormack was feeling better. “Better” being a relative term. Two of his ribs were badly bruised, and he had lacerations on his face and hands. Breathing was a journey through a thousand minor agonies. The gunshot wound in his calf oddly hurt least of his injuries. The bullet had passed through the muscle, missing the bones and tendons.

Cicero shrugged. “You called me. I came.”

Cormack chuckled, and a wave of pain shot through his core. He grimaced. “Not everyone would have showed up. This was an act of war. Soh can’t go back now; he has to take me out. By showing up, you’ve sent a message that you’ve chosen sides.”

“Not much of a choice, in my book. Soh’s a psychopath.”

“The same has been said of you.”

“That may not be totally wrong. But the last thing I need is some other psychopath running things around here. There’s got to be someone providing some stability, otherwise everything goes to shit.”

“Is that it?”

Cicero raised his eyebrows. “Loyalty?” He shook his head. “Look, I appreciate everything you did for me, but if I thought it would be better for me if you were out of the way, I’d put you down myself.”

“That’s comforting.”

“It’s honest. If we’re in this together, we need to be honest with each other. I mean totally honest.”

Cormack saw the question in Cicero’s eyes. “What do you need to know?”

Cicero stared Cormack in the eyes. “Are you up for this?”

Cormack touched his ribs gingerly. “These will heal. The doctors say I’m lucky. All of my injuries are superficial. I’ll be out of here today.”