Falling Deep Into You Trilogy Box Set

by Terra Kelly

  “I think we are the topic of discussion,” Miles said, leaning his head forward slightly to peek around the wall. “I’m bummed we missed the fun.”

  “How the hell do we get to the next floor unnoticed now?”

  “That way.” Miles pointed at two men walking down the hallway away from the stairs.

  “You don’t really want to do that, do you?”

  “Why not?”

  “Because the last time, I was left to get my ass kicked while you took a ride.”

  “A ride, I might add, that ended with me in a cell for five days.”

  Ricky softly chuckled and carefully followed behind the two men. He stayed far enough back to not alert his presence but close enough to prepare to knock them both out without a sound. Miles was right by his side and ready to spring into action. Just as the men were about to open a door, Miles and Ricky at the same moment knocked them over their heads.

  Ricky glanced around again and then dragged them into the room. “We need to change. Then still work on keeping out of sight as we find out where that scream came from.”

  “I would say it was not a cry for help.” Miles laughed. “That was more of a cry for more.”

  There was a door that closed just above them. “Come on, we need to get upstairs.”

  Just as Ricky was about to place his foot on the bottom step, he heard familiar voices.

  “Is she at it again?”

  “You know her.”

  “Yeah, her favorite thing to do.”

  Miles and Ricky were listening from below. Ricky turned to Miles. “That’s Giano and Dego, right?”

  “That can’t be.”

  “This was too easy.”

  Miles pulled up his phone and sent a text to the agent they were working with. We have both targets in sight. He closed his phone. “How do you want to do this?”

  “The other two agents are on their way, so we wait.” Just then they heard a scream, but this time it wasn’t a sex scream. The person genuinely sounded scared from the high-pitch sound. “Or we don’t wait.”

  “Ricky, hold up.” Miles placed his hand on Ricky’s shoulder. “We need to wait. I don’t want to chance anything and be the cause of Erickson’s death.”

  He stopped and leaned up against a wall. “Fuck.” Ricky shook his head. “Do you remember the family I was assigned to protect?”

  “Yeah, I know the whole story.”

  “I never told anyone what the little boy begged before being killed.” Miles stayed silent, so he continued. “Will Grandma and Grandpa be okay?”

  “Were they in the house, too?”

  “No, but we found out they were on the way to visit them.”

  “Fuck. I don’t remember in the reports two more bodies found.”

  “We intercepted them before they arrived at the home,” Ricky said, glancing up the stairs. “How can you be that young and know one man is so horrible. The kid knew Giano hated everyone. His father made that clear and tried to protect them.” He lifted his hand gun and ensured the safety was off. “Giano has been leaving bodies in his path for far too long. Someone needs to stop him.” Ricky sighed. “I mean, the reason this all started was because of Letizia’s appearance on the news. Which still seems so fucked up. She was too young to know jack shit and yet, he still planned to take her down.”

  “If we catch him, the chances of him actually going to jail are slim,” Miles said, leaning against the wall next to Ricky. “He has men on the inside and outside that will take care of him.”

  “Which is why he needs to die.”

  “Ricky. That’s not our job. We protect and serve.”

  “His death will protect and serve the community and most importantly give Letizia the life she deserves.”

  Miles sighed. “I want us all to feel normal again. My kids are so confused.”

  “Vikki is scared to go back to work because Ella played the kind friend card for so long at the hospital.” Ricky pushed off the wall and turned to Miles. “I won’t kill anyone unless it will save someone. I get it, man. It’s just hard to stomach everything this one man has done. Look at how much he has disrupted all of our lives.”

  Thirty-One

  “We’re here.” One of the agents Ricky and Miles were working with approached. “Nice suits.”

  “I would prefer a black suit, but it will do in a pinch,” Ricky said, pretending to brush dust off his shoulder.

  “Where are the men those suits used to belong to?” the second agent asked.

  “Hugging it out in a room just down the hallway.”

  Ricky quickly opened a door, hoping it would be safe for them to enter. They were standing in what looked like a small closet with brooms, mops, and cleaning supplies stacked on a couple shelves against the wall.

  “What’s our next move?” the first agent asked.

  “Get to the top floor.” Ricky walked around the small space, looking for anything they could use to help them against Giano and Dego. “There’s someone having too much fun on one of the floors above us.” He grabbed an empty spray bottle and a bottle of bleach. “My bets are it’s Erickson.”

  “He is hot from what Preslie has told me.” Miles winked.

  Ricky punched his arm. “The poor man may be getting abused and not in the way we all imagined, and you’re making jokes.”

  “What?” Miles held his hands up in the air. “Fine, he is disgusting, and we need to stop this charade.”

  Ricky poured the bleach into the bottle. “Why am I friends with you?”

  “Because you love me,” Miles said, punching his side.

  “Love is a strong word. Sometimes I like you.” He held the bottle up. “This will be a good weapon of choice if you want to drop them to their knees quickly.”

  The other men grabbed three more empty spray bottles right as the door knob to the room turned. They all four placed their bodies up against the wall and waited for the person to open the door. A young woman in a maid uniform opened the door just enough to reach for a broom and two bottles on a table within arm’s reach. Then she left.

  “How the fuck did we dodge that meeting?” Miles let out a heavy sigh.

  “Wow, that was too close for comfort. Let’s get out of here and get upstairs.” Ricky hooked the bottle of bleach onto his bag and grabbed the door knob. “Ready?”

  The moment they opened the door, all hell broke loose.

  Ricky was the first to see the action and took a few steps back and then ducked. He spun up the gun hanging over his shoulder and aimed it at the man to the right. “Four men in front of me,” he yelled and shot off several rounds. “We need to find Giano before he bails.”

  “He has to be on this floor still.” Miles shot his gun off several times; one of the bullets went through the center of one of the associate’s forehead. “Two more, come on.”

  “Agents down.” Ricky yelled. “Fuck, we’re on our own again.”

  “We got this Ricky.” Miles said, shooting his gun one more time and killing the last associate. “Go.”

  Ricky took the lead and made his way up the next flight of stairs. He stopped in his tracks when the scream happened again, this time for much longer. “We need to find Erickson and soon.”

  “Who invited you?” A voice rang out from the stairway above.

  Ricky looked up to see Dego leaning over the railing with his gun pointed right at him. “You did. Don’t you remember?”

  “It’s a pity I didn’t have the help make appetizers for the occasion.”

  “Yeah, I am a bit hungry,” Ricky rolled his eyes. “Sounds like someone is having a bit too much fun up there.”

  “Ella knows how to have a good time.”

  Ricky glanced at Miles. “Ella? Do you think it’s possible?”

  “Oh, I definitely think it’s possible.”

  “Look.” Ricky nodded to the room behind Dego. The door was ajar, and there was a pair of feet in view. “What, your boss didn’t have an exit strategy this time?”
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  “My boss?” Dego asked.

  “Playing dumb doesn’t suit you, Dego.” Ricky was about fifteen yards from where Giano’s Capo was standing. “You didn’t plan to have a house guest tonight?”

  “We were hoping for someone prettier, but that wish failed.”

  A scream rang from just down the hallway. They were close to the sound finally. “You better go help her. That doesn’t sound like she’s having any fun.”

  “Help her, Dego,” the man hiding behind the door yelled.

  “But…boss, I…I can’t leave you,” Dego stammered.

  “I can hold my own. Fucking go make sure my daughter is safe,” Giano said, stepping around the door.

  Dego ran down the hallway and entered the last door on the right.

  “And then there was one,” Ricky said, pointing his gun right at Giano’s head.

  “Ricky, it has been so long. How are you, son? How’s that family you were protecting?”

  Just looking at the man, made Ricky’s stomach turn. “Together.”

  “Yeah, so much better.” The mob boss let out a maniacal laugh. “How’s your girlfriend? Doing okay I hope.”

  “You son of a bitch.”

  “Ricky, stop,” Miles whispered. “He’s doing this on purpose. Don’t let him win.”

  “Yeah, Ricky. Maybe you should listen to your friend finally.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Ricky scowled.

  “I seem to remember Miles told you to get the family to safety all those years ago. You said you would wait till the morning and take them to another safe house.”

  Ricky glanced over at Miles. “How does he know that?”

  Miles just stood there not saying a word.

  “Aw, did the cat get your tongue, Miles?” Giano turned his head to the side.

  “Fuck you.” Ricky yelled. He knew something was off. He thought about how Miles told him to get the family to safety, but they had removed all the intercoms to talk privately. Was it possible the boy wasn’t killed, was it a rouse? That seemed too far-fetched, though.

  “How did you do it?” Ricky said.

  “Do what?” Miles asked.

  “You figured it out, eh?” Giano laughed.

  “How the fuck did you do it?” Ricky yelled.

  “Calm down. You look like you may pop a blood vessel in your forehead.”

  Ricky tightened his fists. “How the fuck did you do it?” he said through clenched teeth.

  “Ricky, do you think I would really want to kill a young boy? Come on, give me more credit than that,” Giano said and rolled his eyes.

  “You hate everyone, especially kids.”

  Giano’s shoulders slumped. “Now I feel hurt with that comment. I love kids.” He shook his head. “How could you say that?”

  “How many kids did you steal, Giano?”

  “I never stole anyone’s kid.”

  “Ella was never yours to keep,” Ricky said, keeping his gun pointed directly at Giano’s head.

  “Well, that was not my fault. Jason, or Johnny as you all like to call him, he messed up. I knew he needed my help.”

  “I doubt he needed your help.”

  “Daddy,” Ella cried from down the hall.

  “Hopefully Erickson is giving Ella all that she deserves,” Ricky said, trying not to laugh at the thought.

  “The one who deserves something is Erickson for hurting my daughter.”

  Miles gasped. “Hurt your daughter?”

  “Oh, that’s right. We haven’t gotten that far in the conversation.” Giano took a step forward. “Should we continue?”

  Thirty-Two

  “Ella, where did you go?” Erickson ran out of the room with a towel wrapped around his waist. He stopped suddenly when he noticed Miles and Ricky standing several feet away. “Oh…”

  “Oh? That’s all you got right now?” Miles said, pointing his hand gun at Erickson.

  “Hey, son, we were just talking about you.”

  “Wait. That’s the boy? That’s impossible,” Ricky said, sounding confused.

  “Is it? You left the force what, fifteen years ago?”

  “And the kid was around ten or eleven at the time when you killed him,” Ricky said.

  “He was thirteen to be exact,” Giano said, turning to Erickson. “How old are you now?”

  Erickson scowled. “Twenty-eight. Why? I don’t understand what’s going on here.”

  Ricky stood there motionless. So, fifteen years ago when he left the force, he’d believed Giano Nesta killed all the family members he was assigned to protect. Yet, the boy who screamed for Ricky from another room was now here. He saw the boy’s lifeless body, though.

  “This has to be a joke. I saw the boy dead. We put him in a body bag.”

  “Did you? Are you sure about that?”

  Ricky wasn’t sure about anything at the moment. He let his mind play back to that horrific day. He had just arrived back at the safe house after running to the grocery store to grab the family some items. The front door was ajar, and there was a trail of blood all through the house. In the master bedroom the mother and father were lying face down on the floor in a pool of blood. In the boy’s room, he was lying next to his sister covered in blood.

  Then he thought about the people at the house. How the crime scene was scrubbed and who put the bodies in the bags. Then he glanced over at Dego who was walking into the room. Giano had managed to get his hands into every area of the case to ensure he got exactly what he’d wanted.

  “I don’t understand what is going on?” Erickson asked. “Miles, why are you pointing your gun at me?”

  “You know we have a case that involves Giano, Dego, and Ella, right?” Miles asked. “Or did you experience a head injury?”

  Erickson rolled his eyes. “My life with them is separate.”

  Ricky was confused now. “Wait, so you’re working as a cop. Well, a dirty cop.”

  “No, I love my job.” Erickson demanded.

  “Does Cooper know how dumb he was when he hired him?” Ricky asked Miles.

  “Well, he will now.”

  Giano let out one of his loud laughs. “No one will mention anything because I don’t see you both leaving the house anytime soon.”

  Ricky knew how many officers were outside and waiting for the signal. He reached for his phone.

  “Put your phone down,” Giano said, stepping forward.

  Ricky quickly hit enter and handed the phone to Giano. He had it programed to alert them when they needed help, all he had to do was hit the green enter button. Right as his phone dropped into Giano’s hand, there was a loud crash followed by several explosions.

  “Dego, find out what’s going on?” Giano screamed.

  Ricky ran forward and grabbed Erickson around the waist, and then he turned and flew down the stairs with Miles close behind.

  “Put me down,” Erickson screamed over the loud explosions. Several bullets were raining all around them.

  “Fuck no. I want to know who you really are,” Ricky said, throwing him over his shoulder.

  “Puppy, baby, come back,” Ella yelled from the top of the stairs. Her body jerked, and she fell forward.

  “Ella, no, Ella,” Erickson yelled, reaching out his hands.

  When Ricky reached the bottom step, he turned to find Ella’s body lying over several steps, she seemed lifeless. He noticed blood scattered all over the side of her head. He figured she was probably hit by a stray bullet that came in from outside through one of the many windows. He put Erickson down and then watched the guy run back up the steps and kneel beside her body.

  “Oh, God, no.” Erickson held her hand close to his face. “Why? Oh, baby.”

  Miles looked at Ricky and shrugged his shoulders. “Erickson, It’s time to leave.”

  “I don’t want to go anywhere. This is my home,” Erickson cried.

  Ricky sighed. “I don’t have the energy to go back up those steps to get the asshole.”

  �
�We’ll have someone grab him. He’s surrounded.” Miles put a new magazine in his hand gun and turned to leave. “I’m not buying the story Giano fed you. I do believe Erickson is dirty, though.”

  “It all seems fishy to me. Erickson could’ve been bought out, though.”

  “Money does talk.”

  There were still several more bullets coming in all directions. Ricky and Miles stayed low and started to make their way down each flight of stairs. As they reached the bottom step, an explosion went off in the location they had just left.

  “Do you think they escaped?” Ricky said, putting his gun out in front of his body before he stepped outside.

  “They will hope they died or managed to escape,” Miles said. “Because I plan to make sure they rot in prison for the rest of their lives if they survive.”

  A cop from the Denver precinct ran up. “Are you both okay?”

  “Yeah, Giano and some of his men may still be on the top floor alive.” Ricky dropped his gun to this side as he stepped outside. There were several bodies lying in all areas of the yard. The bombs had destroyed the grass, several statues, and blood was splattered everywhere.

  “So, Erickson was bad?”

  Ricky burst out laughing. “We can’t make this shit up. Wait till we tell Cooper.”

  “Sir,” the cop yelled from behind them. “No one is alive on the top floor.”

  Ricky spun around. “Even Giano?”

  The guy nodded. “The top floor was hit pretty bad by the explosion. The roof caved in several areas, and many of the walls were destroyed or collapsed.”

  He turned to Miles. “I need to see this for myself. You up for climbing the stairs again?”

  “Fuck. Okay. Race ya?”

  “Yeah, like that’s going to happen.”

  Miles reached the fourth-floor landing long before Ricky. When he finally made it to the top, he stopped to catch his breath. “Anything?”

  “There are only two bodies up here.”

  Ricky walked over to the burned bodies who were clearly two men by their size. “Where are the rest of them?”

  “This is it.”

  “Did the officer move Ella’s body on the stairs?”