LOVE ABOVE LAW
SANDY ALVAREZ
CRYSTAL DANIELS
Copyright © 2019 by Crystal Daniels & Sandy Alvarez
All rights reserved.
( NOTE: This book is a work of fiction. )
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Cover Artist: Crystal Daniels
Image Provided by: Wander Book Club - Photographer: Wander Aguiar Photography
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Contents
CONNECT WITH US !
1. Lex
2. Leyna
3. Lex
4. Leyna
5. Lex
6. Leyna
7. Lex
8. Leyna
9. Lex
10. Leyna
11. Lex
12. Leyna
13. Lex
14. Leyna
15. Lex
16. Leyna
17. Lex
18. Leyna
19. Lex
20. Leyna
21. Lex
22. Leyna
23. Lex
24. Leyna
25. Lex
26. Leyna
27. Epilogue
Excerpt from Undaunted Chapter One
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Sandy Alvarez
1
Lex
Eat. Sleep. Repeat. That's how this whole week has gone since I was given this assignment. The FBI has been trying to gather enough evidence to take down Miguel Santino—a huge shit stain on our society. He traffics people and drugs in and out of this country and has been slipping through the fingers of justice for several years. I've spent endless hours going through every file we have on him. Studying the ways he operates. Looking into his contacts here in the states and abroad. The man has roaches working for him all over the damn world. I'm determined to help take down this piece of shit. The vile things he's been a part of disgusts me. People like him shouldn't be allowed to walk the earth.
I scrub my hand down my unshaven face and breathe out a tired sigh. It's been a long ass week, and I'd like nothing more than to go home, nurse a couple of beers, and maybe catch the tail end of the football game, but instead, I'm on my way toward my childhood home in the suburbs of Tacoma. I have a huge family; 100% Italian on my mother's side and every Sunday my mom and my sisters cook dinner. If I were to try and skip out, I'd never hear the end of it. It's not that I don't love my family—I do. We are close. The problem is they don't understand boundaries.
My phone rings. Tapping the in-dash navigation screen, I answer the call, and my sister's voice fills the space around me as I continue driving down the busy streets, leaving the Seattle skyline behind me.
"Hey, Lex," Fran speaks softly on the other end of the line.
"How's it going, sis? You sound as tired as I feel."
She sighs. "Yeah, it's been a long day. Listen, I forgot to stop and get the wine, and I still need to pick the kids up from the sitter's house on the way to mom and dad's. Could you swing by the liquor store on the way?"
I cringe inside knowing I'll have to stop in town. "I'll take care of it." I glance at the time. "I should be there in thirty minutes if the traffic keeps moving."
"Thanks, Lex. See you soon."
The call ends, and I continue the rest of my drive in silence consumed by my thoughts. This case is a big deal for not only the department but for me. I've worked on many cases since joining the FBI. Most of them happen to involve human trafficking and in almost all of them I've helped take down the pieces of shit behind the crimes. I'm good at what I do. Digging into the inner workings of the suspect and analyzing the way they think and do things has become one of my better skills. The downside to that is the isolation that comes along with it. It happens to all of us. If we aren't careful, this line of work can start to seep into all aspect of everyday life. So, as tired as I am, and as much as this weeks workload has beat down on me, I'm thankful for Sundays with my crazy ass family. They help keep me grounded when all I want to do is turn in on myself.
The liquor store comes into view, and I pull my pride and joy into a parking spot. I drive a black 1968 Chevy Camaro SS with a bored out 390 big block. When I need to let off some steam, I take her out to a secluded area and open her up. Climbing out of my car, I walk into the store.
"Well hell, I haven't seen your face in a while, Lex. How's city living treating you?" the owner of the place, Frank greets me as I walk past the counter toward the wine selection he keeps to the right. Frank is a good guy. He's around the same age as my dad, and I've known him since I was a kid.
"She's chewed me up and spit me out this week," I place two bottles of red wine on the white countertop and pull my wallet from my back pocket as he chuckles.
"It was good looking at you again. You take care of yourself," Frank bags my purchase as I place my credit card back inside my wallet.
"You too," I tell him and walk out the door. I come to an abrupt stop the moment I turn the corner of the building where my car is parked. There perched against the hood of my car is my ex. She is the one reason I avoid stopping anywhere on my way to my parents' house. Peeling my tired feet from the pavement, I make my way past her to the driver side door and insert the key to unlock it.
"The Bureau must pay you well." April runs her hand across the hood of my car as she roams around to my side and stops beside me. Her perfume fills my senses. I used to love the smell.
"April." Her name is the only word to come from my mouth and it's laced with distaste. Her hand reaches for my arm, but I avoid her touch, blocking it by opening my door. I haven't run into her in a long time. She hasn't changed much. Her hair is a lighter blonde, but that's it. I once thought she was the most beautiful woman—until she showed her true colors. I continue to look at her.
"It's been a long time. You're looking good," she flirts, and anger rises in my gut. "I miss us—I miss you, Lex."
I climb into my car, place the paper bag on the passenger seat and peer up at her. "You made your choice," and I slam the car door. The engine rumbles as I give
it a little gas causing April to step back onto the sidewalk in front of me; her face morphs into anger, and her arms cross over her small breasts from my rejection. The last thing I needed was my past to rise to the surface after the week I've had. Now that's all I can think about when I catch a glimpse of her still standing there in my rearview mirror as I leave the parking lot.
My whole life all I ever wanted was to wear the same uniform as my dad and his dad before him. I wanted to be a police officer. My entire family is deeply rooted in law. My great grandfather on my dad's side was the first in the family, to put on the badge. Then my grandad and his two brothers and my father along with his three brothers. Three generations of great men served their communities before me.
My mom's father and brother are also in law enforcement. My uncle went through the police academy with my dad, and that's how he met my mom. I knew by the age of six I wanted to be just like them.
I get to thinking about Chris. Chris Parker had been my best friend since the fifth grade. We did everything together. Football is where we shined throughout our junior high and high school career. I was the quarterback for the Bayview Eagles from seventh grade until I graduated. Chris played left tackle covering my back for six years. I could have gone on to play college ball. I had a full ride scholarship, but football was never what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. A career wearing the badge was always where my passion lay. Right after high school my best friend and I went into the academy.
Then there is April Moretti—beautiful, tall, blonde hair, brown eyes. We'd been dating since my freshman year of high school. Your typical cheerleader and football player matchup, but I loved her. Like Chris, she knew my dreams of becoming a cop and supported me every step of the way. Graduating from the academy was one of the proudest moments of my life. I'd done it. I'd become a police officer, and every person who meant something in my life was right there cheering me on. I was hired on with my hometown's local precinct alongside my best friend.
April enrolled in college to pursue a degree in fashion design, but a year in dropped out to take a modeling job for a new designer in Seattle. Everything was going well. I loved my patrol job, and I shared an apartment with April. After a couple of years, I began to want more out of my career and decided to pursue the idea of working for the FBI. Doing so meant going back to school full time. I studied for four years getting my degrees in criminal law, and foreign language. I worked my ass off to maintain a 3.0 and qualified for the honors internship with the FBI. In the end, I found my place. This was where I wanted to be.
Before I began training, I decided to propose to April. Our careers were taking off, and it seemed like the next step in life to take. Chris helped me plan the surprise. I took her to the top of the Space Needle. All our families were there waiting when I dropped to one knee. The following week I left to spend twenty weeks of rigorous FBI training at the academy; training that made the police academy feel like a walk in the park. But I threw myself into it. I gave everything I had—determined to make the top of my class.
Looking back, I should have noticed all the signs, but I didn't. I was so focused on my goal I didn't see it coming. I sure as shit never thought two of the most important people in my life would be the ones to pull the rug out from under me.
After three weeks in training, we were allowed leave to see our family, so I decided to surprise April. It was late afternoon when I made it home. With flowers in one hand and her favorite Chinese takeout in the other, I unlocked our apartment door and walked in. It didn't take but a second before hearing April's moan. A moan she only makes when we make love. My heart sank to my stomach.
My grip tightens on the steering wheel as I sit at the red light and continue to let my memories plague me.
I knew what I was going to find when my feet carried me across the living room. I hesitated for a moment as I stood there with my hand on the doorknob. Torturously I opened the door to our bedroom. I watched the motions of the sheets as they moved. I just stood there then dropped my eyes momentarily to the floor. A gasp brings my eyes back up. They connect with April's brown ones. She looks up in shock at the man hovering over her body; his face I can't see, but the back of his head starts to look familiar. The color of his hair. The cut. April looks at me again. Her eyes empty of emotion. Showing no signs of remorse in what she was doing. Then the man turns his head and looks in my direction.
My best friend—Chris.
I should have felt more pain in the fact that the woman I loved had cheated on me, but I didn't. I was more hurt by the fact my best friend, my partner—my brother, had stabbed me in the back. In the end, what did that say about mine and April's relationship? I left that day without saying a word to either one of them and never looked back.
I feel the start of a headache at the base of my skull as I turn onto the street my parents live on. Pulling into the driveway of my childhood home, I try to shake away all the bullshit wrapped around my head, grab the wine and head to the front door. The moment I step inside the smells of Sunday dinner engulf me, and I feel myself relax just a little. I find my dad in his usual spot sitting in his recliner in front of the TV watching the football game and my Nonno napping in his favorite chair next to the window.
"Who's winning?" I pause and watch the kicker on the opposing team miss the field goal.
"We are; by one touchdown, and we still have forty minutes left in the game. Grab us both a beer after you've seen your mom and watch the rest of the game with me." He finally looks up from the TV after calling bullshit on the call the referee just made against our team. "Damn referees have been making shitty calls against us all night. You look tired and pissed. Work?" his observation is usually accurate when it comes to my moods. He knows the nature of the beast so no need in lying about it.
"New case. Let me go grab those beers, and I'll join you," I tell him. My dad doesn't say any more about it as I turn and head toward the kitchen.
"Sneak me one of those cannolis will you?" My dad tries to whisper, so my mom doesn't hear him.
As soon as I appear in the kitchen, my baby sister Lily pounces me. "Lex!"
I embrace her. "Hey, little bit."
She pulls back, looks up at me and scrunches her nose. "What wrong?" All my sisters stop what they are doing and hone in on me. Great. Don't let them smell your fear. Out of five kids, I'm the oldest, and I have four sisters. Francesca, Viola, Ariana, and Lily. The women in this family have a sixth sense for things that are none of their business. And know when you're trying to bullshit them. Their interrogation tactics are better than mine.They won't stop until you give in. I walk over and set the wine I'm carrying on the counter next to the platter of cannolis and go to grab one, but my mom stops me. "Spill the beans if you want that cannoli."
Shit. Do I want one bad enough? Is nabbing one for my dad worth it? "I ran into April at Frank's."
"That bitch," my sister Vi mumbles under her breath as she takes dinner out of the oven.
"Need me to take care of the skank?" Ari says never taking her eyes from her phone.
I have to laugh. "And what is it you plan on doing to her?"
Her shoulder shrugs. "The less you know, the better."
Turning around, I open the refrigerator door and grab a couple of beers. I get it; my sisters loath April for what she did. With them, once you hurt the family, you get no second chance. I hear the front door open and seconds later my nephew and niece Luca and Emma barge into the kitchen. My mom grabs them each a sweet treat off the platter, kisses them on the forehead and they leave just as quick as they came.
"How is it I have to spill my guts to get something to eat, and those turds get grub for free?" I pop the top on my bottle and take a drink. My mom looks at me and does not explain because she doesn't need to. Her house her rules. End of story.
"That girl stopped me in the grocery store the other day. Wanted to talk to me as if she didn't stomp all over my boy's heart. She wanted to know how you were and if she could have
your phone number. Good thing she doesn't speak Italian because I had a few choice words for her before I kindly told her I didn't wish to speak with her," my mom chops tomatoes and tosses them into the salad bowl.
"What's all the fuss about in here?" Fran finally makes her way into the kitchen I desperately want to escape.
"April cornered Lex at Frank's this evening. Whatever she had to say to him left him in a bad mood, and we are still waiting for him to tell us," my baby sister Lily tells her. Fran looks at me and waits to see if I'm going to divulge any more information.
"You ladies leave my Principino alone. Stay out of his business and stop picking at him like vultures. Shew," my sweet Nonna shuffles into the kitchen behind her walker. This may be my mother's home but Nonna is the matriarch of our family, and she rules with an iron fist.
Leaning down, I kiss her cheek. "How are you today, Nonna?"
My Nonna is everything to me. I've always had a special connection with her. She also happens to save me from the wolves from time to time. Her small hand pats my cheek, and she looks at me. "I am good, sweet boy. Go sit with your father and your Nonno and leave the kitchen to us women." She studies me a moment longer. "You remember that everything in life good or bad happens for a reason. You are being prepared for much better things. They call it the past for a reason, Principino." Her warm smile makes me smile back at her.
"Now, go get you a cannoli and take one to your father too." Nonna gives her order. With a grin on my face, I look at my sisters and my mom. They all know I'm Nonna's favorite. With beers in one hand and cannolis in the other, I walk out of the kitchen.
LOVE ABOVE LAW Page 1