by Debra Kayn
“Don’t go there,” he whispered. “Stick with the plan. Get your head straight.”
“I know what I’m doing, Weston,” she hissed.
He smiled that lopsided grin she loved. “That’s my girl. On the count of three.”
As instructed, she held up three fingers, two fingers, and then one finger. Tony stepped away from the building and in seconds, he barged forward. She followed Tony as he broke through the door with his shoulder.
They separated, with her going to the right, Tony to the left. She held the gun in front of her, scouring the area.
An old warehouse, barren except for wooden crates left behind years ago, most of them busted by vandals, that dotted the concrete floor. The high windows, covered in dust and grime, blocked the brightest light and she blinked to accustom herself to the dim lighting. She moved forward, scanning the large room.
Toward the west end of the opened floor building, a motorized cart blocked her view. She sidestepped into position, clearing the structure, and spotted her nightmare. She bit off her gasp, steeling herself. Tony moved in front of her the second her gaze landed on her mom.
Around his arm, she viewed Mary sitting on a chair, hands tied behind her, and her mouth moving in surprise at seeing Rocki. Through the rush of her pulse pounding in her ears, she heard her mother speak but couldn’t decipher the words. She pushed away the panic and pulled every bit of strength from her resolve. She’d handled situations worse than this before. She knew what to do.
Rocki moved to the left of Tony, staying behind him to make herself less of a target but allowing both of them to have clear shots in case she needed to shoot her way out. She ignored her mom’s rustling and concentrated on Marcelli.
Marcelli stood ten feet away from her mother, leaning against a crate, his arms folded and acting as if they’d run into each other at the mall instead of an abandoned warehouse after having just kidnapped her mother. She clenched her teeth together, disgusted and sickened by the truth. Until now, she’d hoped Gino had a fricking good reason to turn his back on the department. What she saw on his face and in the situation told her things were worse than all the proof she had on the detective.
He was a sick bastard who would kill without any thought, and cocky enough to throw the truth in her face and take her down with him.
“It took you an hour longer to find me than I thought it would, Bangli. I taught you better than that.” Marcelli tilted his head, letting his hands fall to his sides.
She took in the other two men in the area. Their profiles unfamiliar, she gave them the once-over. Both of them right-handed, and holding a pistol aimed at her and Tony, finger on the trigger. A bulkiness on their right ankles confirmed they were each packing more than one weapon. These guys weren’t messing around.
“You have a warrant out for your arrest,” she said. “Everyone in the state is looking for you.”
“Doesn’t matter. Thanks to you, my name means nothing anymore. You’ve succeeded in killing off Detective Gino Marcelli and making him disappear all by yourself. Unfortunately, I fear you’ve brought more trouble down on your own head. Without me, the case remains open. You’ll never make top detective…such a shame. All that work for nothing.” Marcelli pushed away from the crate and walked toward her mom. “Once we’re done here, I’ll be long gone and you’ll be busy cleaning up the mess you created, or not.”
Anger rose to the surface, and she forced herself not to show him how much his closeness to her mother bothered her. “And you decided for shits and giggles to kidnap my mom? What’s that about?”
Marcelli sighed and swung around to face her. “Insurance, of course. You’ll get your mom back when I’m out of the country. It all depends on what you decide to do, Bangli.”
“You know I can’t let that happen.” She stepped forward, not taking her aim off Gino. “I won’t let you take her from me, and I’m not letting you slip away.”
His men moved forward, arms raised, weapons pointed at her. She ignored them and stopped five feet away from Gino. “I’m not playing your game. If you wanted freedom, you would’ve taken the first flight out of town the moment you got word that you screwed your own ass by playing both sides.”
Gino laughed. The sound, victorious and confident, pissed her off. “Maybe you did learn something working under me.”
She widened her stance and waited. Having partnered with Gino many times in the past, taken his tutelage, and mastered his negotiation skills, she knew he wasn’t finished. The big finale was coming.
He had a different game plan. One she never suspected. He was out for revenge.
She assumed he’d try to upset her or get her riled, so she lost her head. But he’d shown his real reason why she was standing here talking with him. He wanted her to know what he’d done and throw it in her face. He was proud of going this long without anyone catching on, but he underestimated her. She glanced at Gino’s hand. Sure enough, his finger went to war, trying to rub the prints off his thumb.
“Mom?” She remained looking at Gino. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, honey,” Mary said. “Thank you for coming for me. I don’t know what we’re doing here, but after the way that man pushed me in the car, I knew it had to do with you. I thought your troubles were over.”
“Not yet.” She paused. “I have a few more things to handle, and then I’ll be done.”
“Good.” Her mom’s exhale came out harsh and fast, and Rocki knew her mother understood what was happening. “I took pictures in Hawaii on my phone. I had the loveliest time. The weather was fantastic, and I even lay out on the beach and got a little color on my face. See?”
Rocki wanted to roll her eyes. Only her mom would bring up her getaway-to-stay-safe as a distraction for Rocki.
“That’s great. As soon as we’re done here, I’ll look at your pictures.” She moved closer to Tony. “How are you doing, Weston?”
“I’d be better if there weren’t three guns aimed at you,” he mumbled. “I think it’s time to bring this meeting to a close.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” She walked purposely to Gino. “Call off your thugs.”
“Not happening,” Gino said. “Bring the evidence you have against me, and I’ll let your mom go.”
“That’s it?” She laughed. “Oh, come on, Detective Marcelli. I’m sure you have men inside the department who’ve already retrieved the package out of the evidence room.”
He glared but remained silent.
Bingo.
She’d covered her tracks making sure to double record the evidence, and Marcelli must have found out his moles were unable to attain the proof. She let herself smile. With what the police department held as evidence, he’d be doing life in prison for what he’d done.
She walked around him, taking her time, pretending to think over her next move when really she was checking him out for a weapon. After making a complete circle, she yawned loudly, irritating him more as she continued her inspection. On her second trip around Marcelli, she swung her leg behind his knees, sending him careening toward the concrete floor.
She wasted no time. In two moves, she had his pistol removed from his ankle holster and her gun jabbed into the back of his head. “Tony?”
“Covered.” Tony concentrated on the two men in the room.
From her spot beside Gino, she looked across the area. Marcelli’s thugs, distracted by a woman taking down their boss, kept their attention on her and off Tony. “You’ve got five seconds to hit the door, or you’ll be arrested along with Mr. Marcelli.”
The men snapped out of their shock, and raised their pistols. Shots rang out.
She scrambled a few feet and dove for her mom, colliding with the chair and dragging Mary down underneath her body, shielding her from getting shot. With her gun hand, she shot the closest man and took him down with a bullet to his shooting arm. His pistol flew to the floor ten feet behind him.
Tony clipped the other guy in the thigh, but he remained on h
is feet. She saw the injured man move and yelled, but the guy scrambled to the gun and got off one more shot. She jerked her gaze to Tony and watched him fall to his knees. Rocki screamed louder, turning to pick off the man, but the scumbag made it to the door and ran out of sight.
Pushing to her feet, she hurried to Tony. He groaned. Her gaze went to his front and relief swept through her. She sat on her ankles. “Oh, thank God.”
“Honey?” her mom said.
“Hang on, Mom.” She grasped Tony’s shirt and pulled each side, popping buttons. The mark on his bulletproof vest was a welcoming sight. She met his eyes. “You’re okay.”
“No shit.” He chuckled, wincing. “Nothing like setting me up to be your distraction, sweetheart. We need to talk about your leadership skills and who calls the shots.”
“Rocki?” her mom called again.
“Yeah?” She dragged her gaze off Tony and turned to her mom. Bile rose in her throat. “Frick.”
“First rule of combat, Bangli: do not take your eyes off the suspect.” Gino motioned with his pistol for her to stand.
“After all you’ve done, you deserve to spend time in prison.” She raised her hands to her sides, and Gino motioned for her to drop the weapon. She laid the gun on the ground, and stepped away from Tony. “We both know what the men in there will do to you when they discover you’re a cop. I’m thinking you deserve everything you’ll get. I thought you were one of us, Marcelli. One of the good guys. But you had us all fooled, didn’t you?”
“Not happening. I won’t be locked up.” Marcelli motioned her away from Tony. “Now, you’ve bought yourself a ticket out of the country. You and your mom are going to take a trip with me.”
Tony grunted, coughing hard enough to send him back to the floor. She hesitated. He’d have a bruised sternum tomorrow, but once his breath returned and the pain subsided, he’d be okay. She helped her mom out of the chair.
“Honey, can you unwrap my wrist?” Her mom lifted one of her shoulders. “I can’t feel a thing in my fingers.”
Rocki glared at Gino. “Can I at least rub her hands?”
The trauma her mom continued to go through would take longer to heal than the bruises from having her hands tied behind her back. She lifted her chin. “She’s not used to being tied up or seeing her daughter shot at…The least you can do is let me make her more comfortable. She’s my mother, dammit.”
Gino glanced at Tony on the floor. “Whatever. Make sure you keep her walking toward the door. I’m running out of time. We’re leaving.”
With her mom leading the way, she followed behind her and almost choked when she saw the reason why her mom wanted the rope off her wrists. Her mom held a pistol behind her back in her tied hands. She glanced behind her at Gino. He jabbed her in the shoulder with the end of his gun, but hadn’t noticed what Mary was holding. Rocki stumbled forward, overexaggerating the push, and took the pistol from her mom.
In one move, she whirled around and aimed the gun at Gino’s chest. “Don’t move, you bastard.”
He cocked his head, and kept his own gun pointed at her. “Looks like a standoff, Bangli.”
Another pistol cocked and Tony popped up behind Gino’s shoulder. “Let’s even the odds. You see, you fucked with my girl, so I don’t think I’ll wait to see who takes the first shot, because as far as I can see, just your aiming at Rocki is enough for me to kill you. Not to mention kidnapping my girl’s mother.”
“Shit.” Marcelli closed his eyes and lowered the pistol.
Mary nudged her shoulder. “Tony really is sexy, isn’t he? Did you hear how he stood up for you…his woman?”
Rocki stepped forward and removed Gino’s weapon. As Tony handcuffed Gino, she undid the rope binding her mom’s arms.
“How in the world did you end up with a gun when your hands were tied?” Rocki asked.
“Well, when Tony got shot—by the way, I’m glad he was wearing one of those vests—the man who ran out dropped his gun. I got up from the chair, sat down on the floor, rolled over to the gun, and picked it up.” Her mom smiled.
“Seriously?” Rocki shook her head. “How did you stand back up and get in the chair without using your hands?”
“Ever since you had me take that self-defense class, I decided I live a pretty sedentary life. I thought I’d change things up and be more active…daring, in the hopes of making myself more agile and limber. So I’ve been watching YYY DVDs.”
Rocki coughed to cover her laugh. “Please don’t tell me you meant a triple X DVD.”
“Well, that wouldn’t make sense when it’s called You, Yoga, and Your Health. Apparently, it’s working, don’t you think?” Her mom rubbed her hands together.
Rocki crushed Mary to her chest. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, honey.” Mary shivered and looked over Rocki’s shoulder. “Is this the man you were working undercover with?”
“No, it’s someone different. No one important,” she said.
“That’s good.” Her mom leaned closer. “I think he’s in a lot of trouble, isn’t he?”
“You could say that.” She studied Tony. He’d recovered nicely, but she could see the fury etched around his eyes, the pain he ignored, the seriousness of the situation. When he was down on the floor, she’d had a moment of freak-out.
She couldn’t lose him. But life with her would bring danger home. She’d already put her mom at risk, and she couldn’t ask Tony to handle the consequences of being romantically involved with a detective. He’d already used his parents to help keep her mom safe. What would happen if her life touched him in a negative way? It’d kill everything developing between them.
Tony shoved his phone in his pocket after calling the situation in and pushed Marcelli in front of him, leading the way to the door. She soaked in his control and professionalism. She couldn’t believe the situation was finally under control. Not only was her mom’s safety her main concern, so was Tony’s. Disgust for Gino burned inside of her, and she straightened her shoulders. Whether the bad guy wore blue or was just another drug dealer off the streets, she was proud of making her city a little safer for everyone.
She wanted to tell Tony what she was thinking, and how much she loved him. When she thought him shot, the fear of losing everything they had together pained her worse than if she’d been shot herself. She wanted to tell him how much she loved his support of her career and respected her decisions. He protected her and kept her safe. Not because he believed she needed his help, but because she realized she was the most important person in the world to him.
Instead, she said, “Nice save, gorgeous.”
“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you calling me Weston.” His gaze went to her ass. “The name’s Tony, sweetheart.”
She wrapped her arm around her mother and laughed softly. He might not like her habit of calling him by his last name when they were alone, but she was on to him. He’d purposely riled her earlier to make sure she kept her focus.
Although, she almost lost her cool, and he almost lost his life today, they’d saved her mom and brought in the bad guy. She’d done her job.
Outside in the sunlight, she blinked, letting her eyes adjust to the brightness. Garrett, Lance, and Kage pulled up to the curb in a flash of classic vehicles, followed by three squad cars with their lights and sirens going. Rocki hung back with her mom and let Tony put Marcelli in the rear seat of the holding car.
She turned away, wanting to put her relationship with Marcelli behind her, and spotted a black Lexus parked down the block behind a delivery truck. She stiffened, holding her mother’s hand.
“Honey?” Mary said. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, sure,” she mumbled. “It’s all over.”
She couldn’t find the strength to tell her mom the truth. Her dealings with Darrell Archer weren’t finished. She had a debt to pay and had to keep Darrell’s name out of the case.
Tony wanted her to stay clear of Kage’s uncle, but she was a detec
tive. It was her job to take out the bad guys. As long as the case continued against Gino, she’d be thrust into Darrell’s world, despite Tony’s advice to run far, far away.
Maybe the best thing to do was walk away from Tony before someone got hurt because of her.
Chapter Twenty-Three
At the request of the Cannon Police Department, the courtroom remained closed to the general public. Only the press, witnesses, and those directly related to the case were given permission inside of the courtroom. That included every off-duty officer from Cannon and Bay City, and a dozen officers from the county sheriff’s department.
Rocki stood from the stand and walked back to her seat after Marcelli’s attorney drilled her with questions. Her stomach knotted and she forced her shoulders back and her chin up. Seated beside Tony, she allowed herself to inhale a deep breath when he laid his hand on her thigh. The steely warmth from everyone studying her heated her back.
To the others in the room, Tony showed his support silently and unconditionally. For her, she zoned in on his constant, strong hand as a lifeline. The glares and mistrust she’d viewed from the other officers sitting behind her cut to the bone. They were called in as witnesses for the defense. Marcelli’s ties went deep in the department.
Wearing a shield meant she’d dedicated her life to the force. She’d sworn to protect not only innocent citizens, but also every one of the officers sitting in the room decked out in their dress uniform. What they didn’t understand fully was she was protecting them by bringing the evidence forward.
In time, she hoped they’d understand she did the right thing, the expected thing. The only thing her heart would allow her to do.
Once they grasped the seriousness of what Marcelli had done, they’d come to accept her actions for what they were. She’d cleaned the streets of yet another drug dealer and murderer.
The judge cleared his throat. “We’ll recess for one hour.”
Tony leaned toward her and whispered, “I need to find Kage.”
“Okay.” She stood, holding his hand. “I’ll go with you.”