by Ivy Blake
I took a deep breath. The cold steel of my weapon pressed against the side of my body as I scooted forward to the edge of the couch cushion.
“I saw you, Mason.” His eyebrows furrowed as I continued. “I saw you talk with Nico Dellucci that day after I spoke with you in the park. Since then, I trailed you to a few spots just to see if you were doing anything that indicated you were in business with them.” I could see the worry spread onto his face like a rash. His eyes bounced back and forth around the room like ping-pong balls, looked at one thing and quickly moving to the next.
“Just shoot straight, Mason. I need to know what the fuck is going on.”
His feet shook nervously as they were propped up on the recliner.
“Damn it, Harrison. Damn it.” He exhaled and put his hands over his face. “I just needed some extra money. I mean, I wasn’t making enough to support an ex-wife and three fucking kids. I saw a chance to make some easy money. An extra couple thousand dollars a week, you know? That shit comes in handy when I am trying to pay a fucking mortgage, you know? That’s all this shit was about. I watch them when they transport drugs so that no other cop steps in on their shit. I move money for them. I just handle some of the legwork when it comes to transporting and then they wire money into an offshore account. That’s it.”
“Fuck.” I stood up and paced the room.
“Damn it, Harrison. What are you going to do with this shit? You’re not going to rat me out, are you? I know you’re working the case and I had a feeling you would start snooping in my direction. I need this money though, Harrison. I need it and I can’t let you come between that.”
I turned towards him as he sat on the recliner, watching my every move. “I’m off the case. O’Malley pulled me because I compromised it.”
“Compromised?”
“Yeah. I got too attached to Tony Dellucci’s daughter.”
“Carina? Oh, yeah. She is beautiful. Shit, if I was her age, I would give her a run. But wait, you’re really off the case?”
“Yeah. He pulled me and suspended me in the process. I’m not even allowed to show my face at the precinct.”
“What?” He scratched his head. “Then why the fuck are you doing police work, Harrison? What the fuck is this all about?”
I took a deep breath and walked to the window on the side of the house. The dogs ran back and forth, growling at each other as they were immersed in a chase between the two.
“I don’t know, Mason. The crazy thing is that I think I am doing this to protect her. To protect Carina and her family. I started dating her, but then I found out that she was a part of the Dellucci family. I didn’t know it before hand and after that, it compromised my ability to do my job.”
“Wow.” He laughed. “Now, that is some crazy shit. You are willing to sacrifice your career for that woman? That says a lot.”
“Not sacrifice.” I closed the window’s blinds and turned back towards him. “Just put on pause, for now. I would hate to see her hurting and I know that if she witnesses her family fall apart, then she would fall apart internally right along with them. I need to know what you know about any deals that come up. Anything that will grab the attention of the Chicago police department.”
“Why?”
I grinded my teeth together inside my mouth like I was trying to smash them to powder. I couldn’t believe my position had changed so dramatically and all because of a woman that I couldn’t seem to shake out of my heart. She grew like a rose in a place that I never thought there would be life.
“I need to protect Carina and if that means keeping her family out of trouble, or at least giving them the heads up, then that is what I am going to do. I just need to know what is happening Mason. Can you do that for me?”
He exhaled, then leaned back in his seat. “Yeah, man. Yeah, I can do that. It will be weird as fuck, but I can do it.”
“Good. That’s all I need from you.”
I headed towards his front door, but he spoke up before I could reach it.
“Hey, you’re leaving?”
“Yeah. I need to take care of some things first. You just make sure you keep me alert to anything big, alright?”
“Ok. I got it, Harrison.”
As I walked by him, I saw the shotgun just to the right of his chair and wondered if he would’ve had the gall to use it if things didn’t go the way they did. I was just happy that I didn’t have to find out.
***
Over the next couple of weeks, I kept my distance from the precinct, but at the same time, I made sure to stay in touch with Mason in case anything changed about the Dellucci family. I hadn’t heard from him in the last two days, so I started to wonder if everything was alright.
Carina and I continued getting closer and as the days went by and the more we hung out with each other, the more I wanted to make sure nothing happened to her or her family. She had become a thorn in my side, but it wasn’t one that I wanted to remove. I couldn’t move the way I normally would have, but I loved having her around.
One evening, during a date with Carina, I got a call from O’Malley.
“Hello?”
“Are you enjoying your vacation?”
“Vacation? That doesn’t sound like ‘suspension’ to me.”
“Yeah, same thing. Bring your ass into the precinct within the next hour.”
“O’Malley, I am out right now.”
“I don’t give a shit if you are in fucking Puerto Rico. Bring your ass to the Precinct in the next hour.”
He hung up before I could response. I shook my head as Carina sat on the other side of the table. The sparkle in her eye glimmered as she sat in front of the glass of champagne. I shook my head sadly.
“Babe, I need to go.”
“I understand. Are you getting called back to work?”
“I don’t know what the fuck is going on. All I know is that I need to go down to the station so I can see what that bastard wants.” A look of disappointment flooded her eyes. I reached my hand across the table and gently slid it on top of hers. “Babe, don’t worry about anything, alright? I told you that I will make sure you are safe above all. Besides, I haven’t heard from Mason in a few days, so maybe I will find out what the fuck is going on with him.”
“Ok, baby. Be careful, alright?”
“Always.”
I took out my card and dropped it onto the table so she could pay for our meals. After that, I kissed her on the lips and then left to go to the precinct. A million scenarios ran through my head like a track meet. I wondered if O’Malley figured out that I was trying to keep Carina and her family safe, or even worse, Mason could’ve ratted me out and made me appear to be connected to the Dellucci family. Either way, I had a dreadful feeling that shit was about to hit the fan.
When I walked into the building, everyone looked at me as if I was a ghost. I sucked the air out of the room when I stepped into the lobby. I clenched my jaw as officers cleared their throats and waited for me to make my next move. I looked throughout the office until I landed on Mason’s desk. It was wiped clean as if he was no longer around. With a curious eye, I walked towards it, searching for an explanation. One of the officers spoke up.
“He is gone, Harrison.”
“Gone?” What do you mean by that?”
“He is gone. I guess someone found out that he was connected to the Dellucci family. He is detained right now, but he is trying to make bail.”
Fuck. “When did this happen?”
“A couple of days ago.”
I shook my head. The timeline made sense now. For the last couple of days, it had seemed as though he had fallen completely off the face of the earth. There was no sign of him at his home and his voicemail filled to capacity so that I couldn’t leave another message.
“Alright,” I said solemnly as I walked to O’Malley’s office. I knocked twice and after that, his voice billowed from the other side, telling me to come in. When I opened the door, another officer sat in my chair wi
th a smirk on his face. O’Malley grinned as he pressed his fingertips together.
“Glad you could join us, Harrison. Have a fucking seat next to that guy.” I looked at Ronald. He was an undercover cop who was trying his best to take my ranking as lead undercover.
“I just wanted you to take a look at what a real fucking detective looks like.” O’Malley laughed. “Within a matter of days, this guy not only came in, but he got concrete information about a deal the Dellucci family is getting ready to make and in that process, he bagged four dirty cops for their connections with Dellucci. And your friend, Mason?” O’Malley shook his head, “that filthy fucking fat piece of shit was one of them. I just wanted you to see the man who will most likely replace you because of your inability to separate business from pleasure.”
Ronald smirked as he looked at me like a winning fighter in a cage match. I threw up my hands and I walked out of the office. I could hear O’Malley calling my name behind me, but I did not care. I was in too deep now, and I had to know exactly what was going on. And the only way I could think of doing that was to talk to the one person I wanted to keep away from this.
Chapter 20
Carina
“Fine, daddy. I will come. It is later tomorrow, right?”
“Yes, sweetheart. We have a dinner at our place and you know how much me and your mother love to have you around when these things take place. You help bring life to the room with your beautiful smile and your demeanor. It’s like you put everyone at ease.”
Years ago, I had done this for my family in the past. It was never anything more than just a dinner. No business was ever discussed. After desert was served, that was when my father and brothers always went out to the porch to talk while I helped my mother clean dishes. Once I was seventeen, I figured out what these dinners we really about and I hadn’t been to one since.
“I’ll think about it Daddy.”
“Just come tomorrow evening, sweetheart. For me? It will be the last time I ask you to take part in such a thing.”
I huffed. “Fine, daddy. I’ll go. But please let this be the last time.”
“Absolutely, sweetheart. Absolutely.”
I hung up the phone, then got up to find something to wear to dinner. As much as I hated what my family did, they were still my family. I was lucky that this was the only involvement I ever had with the family business. When I was younger, I told them that I didn’t want anything to do with the business side of it, and they somehow had agreed. As I grew up, they had helped me so much with college tuition and my apartment that I felt like I owed it to them to help out in these types of situations. It was harmless and besides that, it was the least that I could do for my family.
I thought about Harrison as I pulled a long, sleek black dress out of the closet and laid it on my bed. I wondered what would happen if I brought him to the dinner with me. I laughed thinking how daddy would probably have a fit that I brought someone outside the family to a thing like this. Besides that, I didn’t think it would be a good idea, especially if other members of the family, and other families were going to be there. All it would take was one person to figure out that he was a cop, and after that, I knew all hell would break loose.
Right on cue, I got a call from Harrison.
“Hey sweetheart? I was just thinking about you. How did everything go at the precinct?”
“Baby, I need you to be upfront with me, alright?” I could hear the distress in his voice.
Panic slowly started to course through my veins. “Sure, baby. What’s wrong?”
“Does your family have anything going on right now? Any deals?”
I lowered my eyes and pulled my ear away from the phone. I shook my head, thinking that his Captain must’ve gotten into his head and forced him to get some information out of me.
“Why, Harrison? Why are you asking?”
“Because, I just need to know. I need to know the details if you know anything.”
“Why?”
“Just trust me, Carina. Please.”
Why was Harrison asking me this, just as he left the precinct? Did they offer him his job back? I sat down on my bed as my mind raced. Harrison loved his job. He was willing to put his career on the line for me, but what if it got too much to bear? A dark thought crossed my mind and I clenched my jaw. Harrison was pulled back in. And now he is was trying to get information out of me.
“You know what? You think I am dumb, don’t you, Harrison? You think that I am going to give you information about my family right after you left the fucking precinct? Right after you spoke with your fucking boss? He probably called you in there to ask you about this information so they could have the upper hand whenever it happened.”
“What?”
“Don’t ‘what’ me, Harrison! I know that you spoke to him yesterday. You left me at lunch to go and speak with him, and here you are asking me for information on my family.”
“Carina–”
“And not only that, but the first thing you ask is if my family has something going on, involving business. Really, Harrison? Really?”
“Carina, if you would just shut your mouth for a second and let me talk, you will see where I am going with this. I have been putting my ass on the line for you. I have been risking my freedom for you and your family ever since I found out that you were connected to them, so why the fuck would any of that change now?!” His voice boomed in the phone and for as long as I’d known him, I’d never heard him use that tone with me. Anger bubbled up in my chest.
“Look, I just got word that some shit is going down,” Harrison continued. “The deal that your family is getting ready to make is fucking bullshit. The guy who is leading the operation. His name is Ronald and he has gotten his foot in the door so he can set them up. I need to know what the fuck is going on so I can warn your family to abort that shit. It is all a trap.”
I thought about the dinner that my father wanted me to go to tomorrow. I glanced at the dress that I had just laid out on the bed and imagined what things would be like if Harrison was telling the truth. If everything really was a set up, and I attended the dinner, I would be directly involved with the family business. I would probably spend some time in jail, but my family would be ruined. Dismantled. It was the one thing I had feared since the day I realized that they were involved in illegal activity.
“Carina? Carina, babe, are you there?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m here. I’m here. I was just thinking.” I stood up from the bed and started to slowly pace around my room. “So, it really is a set up?”
“Yeah. O’Malley called me into his office to show me the man who was about to bring them down. He is a real fucking prick, but that is another issue. Listen, you have to tell your family to kill that meeting. You have to. I know it will be obvious that I tipped your family off, but I don’t give a fuck. I will figure that out when it happens. I am not working with your family, I just care for you, Carina. I care for you a lot and there is nothing in the world that I want to protect more than you. Please. I don’t want you to get hurt. Tell your family to cancel that meeting and end all conversation with that businessman.”
“Alright. Alright, I will tell them know.”
I hung up the phone with Harrison, and then quickly made a call to my father. I needed to tell him everything that was going on. He picked up on the first ring.
“Daddy, I’m coming over. We need to talk.”
“Is everything alright sweetheart?”
“Yes, I’ll explain when I get there.”
I hung up the phone before he could ask any more questions and sped over to my childhood home. I called Harrison on the way.
“I’m heading over to my parents’ house now. What the hell am I even supposed to say?”
“I will meet you over there, and we will figure out what to tell them together.”
I hung up the phone and continued down the road. Well this is one way to introduce Harrison to my parents. I just hoped he wouldn’t end
up dead in the process.
Chapter 21
Harrison
I pulled up to the Dellucci’s house just as Carina was. A slight sense of fear that I was not at all used to started to course through my veins. I was about to go into Tony Dellucci’s home, tell him that I was a cop and that I knew about his business meeting. Oh, and by the way, I was dating his daughter. Fuck. This was not going to go over well.
I got out of my car and walked over to where Carina was standing.
“You ready for this?” I asked.
She nodded her head slightly, grabbed my hand in hers and we walked up to the door. I had been an undercover cop for so many years. I had been in a lot of scary situations, but I never have once felt the fear I did, walking up to the Dellucci’s door. Carina reached out with a shaky hand and rang the doorbell. I swallowed hard and squeezed her small hand in mine.
The door opened and Nico stood there staring back at us. He had a big smile on his face when he saw Carina, but then as his eyes darted to mine and then traveled down to our entwined hands, his smile quickly turned into a scowl.
“Who the fuck is this, Carina?” Nico asked.
“This is Harrison. We are here to see dad,” Carina responded. I could easily tell that she was trying to be strong, and I appreciated that. Nico took another look at me then finally moved his large frame out of the doorway.
“Carina is here!” Nico shouted. “With someone,” he added a bit more quietly. A loud booming voice, I could only have assumed was Tony Dellucci came from somewhere inside.
“Bring her to the living room, I’ll be down in a moment.”
We followed Nico inside the lavish Dellucci home. As we walked inside, I took a moment to look around me. As I pulled up to the house, I could tell that it was a newer home build, unlike the rest of the 1980’s style homes in the neighborhood. The walls were white, but they were covered with various pieces of art. Looking at them closely as I past, I could tell that these paintings easily cost more than my paycheck, and I took another hard swallow. Carina continued to hold my hand as she walked down the small hallway to the living room. She pulled me over to the couch and took a seat. I fought the urge to pace the room as we waited.