Lori walks into the room, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “What’s all the noise about?” She sees me on the floor on my knees and she is suddenly awake. “What happened?” she asks, falling down next to me.
“Someone was in the house,” Mick says to her, going to look outside for God knows what. He pulls out his phone, texting or calling someone. I have no idea. My eyes are fixated on the roses that are sitting on my bureau.
“Pack a bag. We are leaving,” he says while he grabs a bag from my closet. He turns to Lori. “I need you to go into your room and bring stuff you need for the next couple of days.”
She nods at him and runs in her room, opening all her lights and the lights in the closet.
I watch Mick run around my room, throwing stuff into a bag. “Babe, you need to get up and get dressed.”
But I don’t have time because before I know it, we hear Lori yelling from her room.
Mick gets there before I do, with his gun drawn. She’s sitting on her bed, the drawer open next to her bed holding all her bras and underwear. All have been shredded. She holds them up in her hands. “Drop it, Lori, don’t touch anything.”
Her hands shake while she dumps the things back in her drawer. Mick picks up his phone and calls Jackson. “We have a break-in at Lori and Marissa’s.” That is the only thing he says and then calls someone else. “I’m at Lori and Marissa’s. Someone is fucking with them.” I hear him say okay four times and then hangs up. Then he calls one more person. “This is Detective Moro. I have a PC 664/459 at the address One Four Seven Grand Road. No suspect on the scene.”
I look at Lori whose hands are shaking, and tears are running down her face. “Who would do that do us?” she asks me, and I have no idea what to answer her, so I just hold her while she cries.
I hear a knock at the door and I start to shake, but Mick is gone for two minutes and returns with two guys in uniform. He takes them to my room where he shows them the flowers and then brings them back into Lori’s room, showing them the drawer where her things are chopped up.
I hear more people coming up the steps.
Jackson fills the doorway this time. “Hey, Bella is in the car. She can take them to your house. I have Ralph on standby to watch them while we finish here,” he says, but we both shake our heads no. The thought of being without him to protect us is something we aren’t going to do.
“No, I’m not leaving without you,” I say, and Lori nods with me.
He doesn’t say anything before we hear stomping coming up the stairs and Chris is there, his hair all disheveled like he was sleeping. His basketball shorts hang low on his waist, and his T-shirt tight on his top. His biceps almost break out of the sleeves. “What happened?” His eyes go straight to Lori, who looks at him with full eyes, in a way I didn’t notice before.
“Someone must have broken in and destroyed all of Lori’s things,” I tell him when he walks toward the drawer to look in.
“Don’t,” she yells out. He looks up shocked. “Please don’t,” she whispers, looking down at her hands.
He looks at her, going to his knees in front of her. “We are going to make you safe again,” he tells her, squeezing her hands. “I promise you. If it’s the last thing I do it’s going to make sure you’re safe.”
She looks at him and doesn’t say anything but stares at him. His hand comes up to wipe off a tear that is falling down her face.
He gets up and goes out the door, jogging down the steps. The only thing we hear is the door slam so hard the windows shake.
It takes them over four hours to process and take pictures of everything. By the time we get in the car and drive over to Mick’s house, we are all dead on our feet. Phyllis sent me a text, telling me to take the next shift off. I’m so tired I don’t even argue with her.
Once we make it inside his house and he has Lori settled, he comes back into his room, climbing into bed next to me. If I had known that this would be the last night I would get to hold him, I would have held him tighter. Spent more time touching him, spent more time smiling with him.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Mick
When the words ‘There was someone in the house’ left her lips it was the second time in my life my blood ran cold. The first was when I watched my mother overdose in my arms.
It was also the second time in my life I vowed revenge. My main goal is to get the person fucking with them. I wasn’t going to rest till it was done.
All inventory was taken from the scene, including the fucking white roses. The minute my eyes flew open the next day I knew the end was in sight. I felt it in my gut. My fingertips almost touching it.
I get out of bed, going downstairs to get coffee. There are questions that need answering, and I know yesterday wasn’t the right time.
I look in on Lori, who is sleeping curled into a ball in the queen-sized bed I have in the spare room, the white bear in her grips.
When I finally walk back into my bedroom with two coffees in my hands I see that the bed is empty, the bathroom door opening right after.
“Morning,” I say, giving her one of the coffee cups.
“Thank you,” she grumbles, taking it from me. “What the hell is going on in my life?”
“I have no idea, but we are going to find out. And it’s going to be soon,” I tell her, watching her eyes close while she nods again. “We need to have a talk.”
Her eyes open with fear.
“I understand that this is too much to have in your life. I get it. Trust me, I do.” She puts her coffee cup down, hugging her stomach.
“It’s not that kind of talk.” I look at her. “I need to know what you guys know about Trevor.”
She sits on the bed, wrapping her arms around her legs, close to her chest. “We met him in therapy. He has no parents. He was born addicted to crack. He says that his grandparents were killed by his parent’s dealer, he got the insurance settlement when he turned eighteen, which is why he has a car and an apartment and can afford not to work. He spends most of the time with us. He doesn’t give up much, and it’s not like we ask him questions. Do you really think it’s him?”
“I have no idea, but my gut is pointing in his direction. So I’d be more than happy to cross him off the list. For Lori,” I say, crossing my hands over my chest, leaning on the bureau in my room.
Lori walks in, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Marissa opens her arms so she goes into them. Both my girls are in my bed. Dream come true. But not this shit that lingers over them.
“Lori, what do you know about Trevor? Anything, anything you think can help cross him off the list.”
She looks at both of us, turning her head back and forth. “You really think Trevor did this? But, why? I don’t understand. Should I ask him? Should I text him?”
I answer her right away. “You don’t have any communication with him till I know it’s safe. Nothing, Lori. I don’t have any answers right now, but you can bet I’m going to find out even if it kills me.” Maybe those were not the best words to say because they both gasp out loud. “Ladies, it’s a figure of speech.” My phone rings at the exact moment.
I see that it’s Jackson. “Yeah?” I ask.
“We got something. I’m going to three way Thomas in. He’s been at it all night,” he says while putting Thomas on. “Okay, I’m with Mick. What do you have?”
“Fuck, what don’t I have? First thing, the license plate you took yesterday. The car is registered to a dummy corporation. I’m trying to get who owns it, but it’s all fucking criss-crossed. One name leading to another till you get back to square one. Two, this fucking kid Trevor...his prints are all over your girl’s house.”
“I know he’s there all the time.” I look at them both, watching them watch me. “All the fucking time.”
“Yeah, well, is there any reason we would have his fingerprints all over Marissa’s stuff? Like all over her drawers, her fucking shower soap?”
I look down, trying to keep my rage intact till I can
get out of here. “What else you have?”
“His apartment that he has on file is a fake one. No such address. But get this, the fingerprints that we picked up aren’t Trevor’s.”
“What do you mean? You just told me they were.”
“Oh, they’re ‘Trevor’s’ but that isn’t his name. His name is Tim Bennett,” he says, blowing out a huge breath. “Both parents dead and so is his younger brother, Trevor.”
I hear Jackson curse out. “He’s been using a fake name. So I pulled Tim’s record. Not a lot off of it. Some small shit selling and stuff but nothing extreme. I also have an address for him. Get this, in a ritzy high-rise. Now how does someone with no family, no money, nothing afford that shit?”
“We need to hit up that apartment,” I say, and Jackson agrees.
“I just called Chris in. We do this, we do this now, and we do this fast. My guess is that he knows we are on to him, and we don’t want him leaving town before we get him. I say twenty minutes we meet at his place, pack your heat. I’ll also pass this with captain in case we need backup.”
We all agree. I hang up, rushing around the house, getting my clothes and dressing. I take out my gun box, opening it up and taking an extra two just in case. I look up. The fear on both girls’ faces has gotten them to sit there pale and shaking. “It’s just in case.” I go into the bathroom to put on my bulletproof vest. I’m not taking my chances. He might be a loose cannon.
I walk out, looking at both of them. “Brian, a security guy is downstairs, and he’s going to be guarding the house. You do not leave under any circumstances, unless you hear it from me,” I tell them, knowing it’s a lot to take in. “I need to go, but I need to know that you hear me.”
They both nod at me. I go in, kiss Lori on the head, and then go to Marissa. “I’ll be back later.” I kiss her lips softly, letting the kiss linger.
“Promise?” she says, and I nod at her.
“Promise.” And with that, I walk out of the house.
We all meet at the corner of the high-rise that Tim lives in. Jackson and I get there first, but not a second later Chris and Thomas climb out of their cars. “Okay, I got someone on the inside to give me the scope. There are two ways in, elevator and stairs. Now his apartment is in a corner right next to the stairs.”
“I’ll take the stairs,” Jackson says. “With Chris.” We look over at Chris and see him shake his head.
“I want in first.” We all look at him, Thomas speaking first.
“You need to lock down whatever shit you have going on in your head. This isn’t practice at the academy, this is real fucking life.”
Chris whips his head to Thomas. “You think I don’t fucking know this? I want to get to this bastard first. I’m fucking ready.” He finishes the sentence, looking at me.
“I go in with Chris,” I say, looking at them then back at Chris. “But I go in first.”
“Let’s do this.”
We take the elevator to the floor level, walking out two at a time, our guns drawn. We walk past the apartment where we hear loud voices. Jackson motions he’s going in the stairwell while Chris and I take one side of the door each. Before we knock, we listen to the voices inside.
Two males’ voices. I recognize Tim’s right away. The other is deeper, raspier, older.
“I paid you to fuck up these girls, not to fall in love with them, you stupid little twit,” the strange voice says, and I look over at Chris, questions all over his face.
“You paid me shit. I got closer than you thought I could,” Tim says. “You fucking push me, old man, I’ll go straight to them and tell them everything. EVERYTHING,” he screams, and in a blink of an eye, we hear him groaning and a thump to the floor.
I look at Chris, making the decision to kick in the door. I kick it, and it opens in one kick.
I take in the scene. Tim is on the floor holding his side, which is bleeding out while he chokes on his own blood. And then the man holding the knife that is still leaking blood down his hand.
My eyes make it to his. And in a blink of an eye, my life changes. “Hello, Son,” is the last thing I hear.
Chapter Forty
Trevor/Tim
I’ve been up all night. Fucking cocaine is wearing out. I look in the kitchen drawer for more. Finding another ten packages, I take another three hits before it finally reaches, and my heart starts beating a little bit faster.
I fucked up last night, getting caught in the fucking kitchen fucking with the door. I wasn’t expecting that pig to come in. From what Lori said he was working. Which gave me enough time to fuck with the locks. I had to wait for her to go up to bed.
All I needed was another second and I would have been home free. Now I’ve made a mess of things.
I got back home and started my plan into motion. I was going to kidnap them both. I could do it. Lori would come willingly, but Marissa might give me problems. But once she saw that I loved them, both more than anything they would stay with me.
What I wasn’t expecting was getting a call this morning from him. He never calls me. I met him twice, and then I’ve been off his radar. Till this morning.
When I heard the knock at the door I took another hit, the burning sensation shooting straight into my nose. Shaking my sweaty palms, I open the door, not expecting to see both of them.
“What’s going on?” I ask them, looking at both of them, my confidence slowly coming down.
He pushes past me and walks into the room. “Word is you fucked up bad this time, Tim.”
I close the door after they both walk in. “I did no such thing.”
He stands up, looking out at the view. “I loved this fucking apartment. You know this is where I used to bring my whores? Your mother included. She used to suck my cock while I looked over the skyline.”
My fists clench by my sides. I don’t know why my mother messed around with this guy, but money pays the bills. “I’ve heard this story before.”
“Did you know she was one of my favorites?” he says, still looking outside. “Well, not counting Mick’s mother. Now that bitch could fuck till my balls had nothing left. And the best is she believed I was actually in love with her.” He snickers like he’s a comedian. “Got knocked up with that bastard and then tried to hook another one on me.”
He turns now, and I can see his face clear. The face of a devil. “I made sure she didn’t have any kids after that. Can you imagine? I married into money, taking over my father-in-law’s investment corporation. The perfect fucking son-in-law. Keeps his daughter happy. No one cared that she was like a dead fish in bed. So I fucked her to have kids. When that happened I sealed the deal to take over from him once he retired.” He puts his hands in his pockets. “I had it all, till that bitch sent me a letter, blackmailing me. She thought she got the best of me.”
He drags his hand through his hair. “You see, she got me good, but then I found out where she was, had her drugged. Watched her whore herself out.” He chuckled. “Once when she was so loaded I got into that pussy again, and let me tell you, fucking heaven.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I ask him, waiting to see if he will give me answers.
“I paid you to fuck up these girls, not to fall in love with them, you stupid little twit,” he tells me.
I snap then. He can’t fucking push me around. I have proof of everything. “You paid me shit. I got closer than you thought I could,” I tell him, advancing to him, almost nose to nose. “You fucking push me, old man, I’ll go straight to them and tell them everything. EVERYTHING,” I yell the last word out, and in a blink of an eye, his hand comes out of his pants and he shanks me twice in the side. The burning hitting me the first time causes that I don’t feel it the second time. I look into the devil’s eyes one last time before I slump to the floor, holding my side. Trying to stop the bleeding, I look over into the corner, wondering if he is going to help me. He is my father after all. Is he going to do anything?
I see the gun in his hand the same t
ime I hear the door being kicked open. I blink and then see Daniel raise his gun and shoot three times straight at Mick. Two hit him in the chest, protected by his vest, but one hits him in the side of the stomach where he has no protection and just like that, he’s slumped on the floor.
I close my eyes just to rest for a second when I hear yelling and more gunshots. I try opening my eyes to see what’s going on, but it’s getting harder and harder to breathe. Till I’m soaring.
Chapter Forty-One
Mick
Eyes I could never forget stare back at me with blood leaking down his hands. “Hello, Son,” is the last thing I hear before a gunshot brings me back into the now.
I didn’t see Daniel standing in the corner with his gun drawn. One shot gets me in the chest, knocking me back, making my breath hitch. Another shot gets the other side of my vest, jerking me that way. By the time I aim my gun he’s shot off another round, landing in my side. I look down at my side, the blood coming out. Holding my side, the blood seeps out of my hands. I fall to my knees while I hear yelling all around me.
I hear another gunshot go off, but this time I see the knife fly from my father’s hand, his shoulder being hit, and his hand going to the wound while another hits his leg. He falls to the floor. If I had my way, I would put a fucking bullet in between his eyes.
I close my eyes, pressing down on the wound when another shot is fired. I don’t open my eyes for that one because I’m just too tired.
I hear Jackson next to me, talking to me.
Pieces Of Heaven: Pieces Of Heaven (Heaven & Hell Book 2) Page 22