by Kelsey Hodge
“Time to go,” I repeat, and he reluctantly places his boxes next to mine. For the final time for a long time, we embrace and kiss. Then he turns and walks back inside the building.
A few minutes later, Frank pulls up in front and gets out. “I hope you know what you’re doing!” he says. I can tell he isn’t happy that he’s picking me up. He pops the trunk of the car all the same and places the boxes inside before opening the rear passenger door. I look up to the window belonging to our apartment and even though I can’t see him, Wyatt will be watching me. I mouth, ‘I love you,’ before I climb into the car and signal to Frank that I’m ready to go. I never once look back.
Chapter 26 - Wyatt
One Month later
Sitting at my desk, I can’t believe it’s been a month. Four long weeks since I saw the black car pull away with Lorenzo in the back. I haven’t seen him once. I couldn’t face watching him and not being able to get close to him, so Liam checks in, but we’ve decided to only do it at certain times, to minimize any chance of getting caught by Lorenzo. So far, the information from Lorenzo has been minimal, quite basic, and not a lot of help with the investigation. I knew it would take time for Lorenzo’s dad to trust him again, but I hoped there would have been some improvement by now. To take my mind off everything, I send my daily text to Liam.
>How is he?
It’s the same text I send every morning and every evening. It’s all that matters to me, and I usually get the same reply from him. Right on cue, I get his response.
>He’s okay.
When he had first left, I hated those two words. Now, every time I see them, I feel better. They mean that he’s still alive. Nothing terrible has happened, but the feeling isn’t long lived. Within a few hours, my concern is back, and I’m waiting on the next text. It has become my daily routine and the thing I live for. I’m placing my cell back on my desk when the captain comes over.
“Detective Johnson, where’s Smith?” he asks.
“Out checking the source, making sure everything is okay. Should be back in fifteen minutes.”
“Has he been able to supply any useful intel yet?” We’ve been trying to be honest with updates to the captain, but we’ve had little to tell him.
“Not yet, sir. Think the family is taking longer to trust him than we initially thought.”
“When trust has been lost, it can take some time for it to be rebuilt. We need to make sure they remain safe. It will come in eventually. When Smith comes back, come see me in my office.” With that, he walks away, leaving me thinking. What the hell is that about? Fifteen minutes later almost to the second, Liam saunters into the office and sits opposite me.
“You do know that you’ll have to check on him at some point,” he says to me, and I shoot him a look. He tells this to me daily. In my heart of hearts, I know he’s right, but now, I can’t face it, so he gets my standard answer. “I know, but what happens if I don’t like what I see? Walking away would kill me.”
“Wyatt, it’s been a month, and by the looks of things, it’s not going to end anytime soon. So, suck it up, tomorrow we’ll both check on him.” The look he gives me, I know not to argue with him. I quickly change the subject before he adds any more
“Captain wanted to see us when you got back,” I tell him.
“About what?”
“Didn’t say, but since you’re back, we better get our asses moving and go see him.”
We make our way to the captain’s office in silence. We’re both thinking about scenarios that would warrant a meeting with the captain. I’m coming up blank and by the look of confusion on Liam’s face, he’s in the same position. I knock on the door and wait for the instruction to come in, which happens almost instantly.
“Take a seat,” he says, pointing to the chairs opposite him. I shoot Liam a look, and his face expresses the same dread.
“I called you in because I received some information that could be linked to your case. It looks like a fresh batch of heroin has come into the city. A dealer was arrested a few days ago, and we got him before he could meet his buyer, so we’re able to test it.”
“Do you think it’s linked to Alfredo and the drugs he brings in?” Liam asks.
“It had a lot of the same markers, but there were also some differing ones. According to forensics, that can happen when they’ve added another ingredient, trying to mask the origin.”
“Do you think he’s aware of the investigation?” I ask. If that’s the case, the moment this meeting is done, I’ll get Lorenzo. I remember where I am in time to hear his answer.
“No. Forensics said that they could be testing out a new drug, so this makes this shipment extremely dangerous. We aren’t sure what the effects could be.”
“Shit, that isn’t good,” Liam states. That’s the understatement of the century.
“We need to try to increase efforts on this case. Is there any way to contact your source and see if there’s a way we can move things along?” the captain says.
“Do you think our source knew about this shipment and didn’t tell us?” Liam asks, and I must stop myself from glaring at him. He can’t think Lorenzo knows about this shipment and didn’t tell us, but that one question has planted a seed of doubt in my head.
“Honestly,” the captain starts, “I don’t know. The information he gave you before he went back was beneficial. Since then…” He doesn’t finish the sentence, leaving it to hang in the air between us.
“We’ll get in contact with the source and see if he can shed any light on the shipment,” I say. I now need peace of mind that he wasn’t aware. On the flip side, what the fuck do I do if I find out he knew and kept that information to himself?
“Good,” he says with finality. “That’s all,” and he waves his hand towards the door, letting us know this conversation is over. Both Liam and I leave, but my head is all over the place now. Liam will sense it, so when we get back to our desks, he says, “Let’s get out of here,” I’m not surprised. He knows I’ll need to voice everything that’s going on, and that isn’t something we can do in the office.
Once in the car, Liam asks, “Where do you want to go?”
“Let’s go back to my place,” I say, and Liam doesn’t say anything else, just puts the car into drive and makes his way out of the parking lot into traffic. We don’t talk on the journey, both of us thinking about what the captain told us. Before I know it, we’re pulling on to our street. For once, we’re fortunate to find a parking spot down from the apartment’s front door, and I can’t wait to get inside. It has been a long afternoon. The moment I open the door a few minutes later, I heave a sigh of relief, heading straight for the kitchen to get Liam and me a couple of beers, I think we’ll need them.
While I’ve been getting the beer, Liam goes into the living area, sitting in a chair, looking at me. I walk over to him and hand him his beer, which he takes with a grateful nod, twists the cap, and takes a long swig. I go over to the couch, and once sitting, I do the same, enjoying the feel of the cold liquid as it travels down my throat. Then I voice the question that has been on repeat since being in the captain’s office, “Do you think Lorenzo knew about the shipment?”
“No, I don’t. Wait! You think he did?” Liam says to me, and the look of dismay on his face can’t be missed. I shrug my shoulders at him. “Are you fucking insane?”
“What if it was all a front? What if Lorenzo was never planning to give any information once he went back? What if when his dad invited him back, he saw it as a chance to get back in and by telling us he would give us information, we would let him go? I even gave him back his gun, the one piece of evidence we could use against him.” I say.
“What the fuck, Wyatt? Seriously? What. The. Fuck! Where the hell is this bullshit coming from? If Lorenzo knew about the shipment, he would have told us. We need to know why he isn’t able to supply us with more.” I can tell he’s pissed that I’ve said that, but I need to get it out into the open
“How com
e you’re so sure?” I ask.
“Three things: one, he would have never told us about his activities if he was hoping to go back; two, he hated the idea of going back, and yet he still did; three, that man loves you with every fiber of his being. You must look at him to know that. So, wherever this idea came from, forget it… now!”
I stop and think about his words and everything that has happened. I feel very foolish that I even thought for a second that Lorenzo was some type of conman. “You’re right. I’m getting frustrated,” I say.
“Me too, but we must have faith that Lorenzo will get us answers.” He pauses for a second. “I bet these doubts are linked to the fact you haven’t seen him.” As I open my mouth to argue, he says, “No arguments. Tomorrow morning, I’ll get you at eight.” I have no option but to agree, so I nod.
I’m about to ask Liam if he wants to stay for food when there’s a knock at the front door. Getting up, I make my way to the door and look through the security peephole to see Marco on the other side. Panic instantly fills my veins, and I open the door for him to come in. The moment he’s safely inside, and the door is closed, I ask, “Is everything okay? Has something happened?”
“What? No ‘Hello Marco. How are you, Marco? Good to see you, Marco,’” he says to me, knowing full well that seeing him here out of the blue would put the fear of God in me. He eases the tension instantly.
“Hi. It’s good to see you. How are you doing?”
He looks at me and smiles. “Dick.”
Liam has witnessed the whole conversation, and I see the laughter behind his eyes.
“Marco, how the hell did you get in my building?”
He at least has the decency to look a little embarrassed. “I buzzed one of your neighbors and pretended to be you.”
“I can’t believe that fucking worked,” I say.
“I went for one of the lower-level apartment and prayed you weren’t friends with the entire place. I lucked out.”
“But why?” I ask, “I would have buzzed you in.”
“Why not? Wanted to see if I could, and the surprise on your face when you opened the door was worth it.”
“Why are you here, Marco?” I ask.
“I wanted to give you an update in person. Lorenzo is worried you might start to doubt him.” Liam cannot help but snicker at the comment and shoot me a look that thankfully Marco misses.
“You better take a seat then. Want a beer?”
“Beer would be cool, thanks.”
As I head to the kitchen to get a beer, I cannot help but feel guilty about my lack of faith in Lorenzo. While in the fridge, I decide to get fresh ones for Liam and me too. When I walk back into the room, Liam and Marco seem to be animatedly talking about something but stop the moment I come in, and I make a mental note to ask Liam what’s going on there. I hand a beer to Liam and Marco, who has taken a seat on the couch nearest to Liam. I take my seat back on the other end and swap out my beers, finishing the original one.
“Marco, how is he?” I ask him, and there’s no mistaking who I mean.
“He’s okay, but he’s getting frustrated. He hoped to get more information than he is. Dad has been a complete dick, even in front of me. Things seem to get better but only when he agrees to go on some dates,” he says, looking at me. “Before you have a heart attack, he went out with someone who he knows is gay. They’re doing it to keep their families off their backs. He wanted me to tell you this in case someone spotted him.”
When I hear that he has been going on dates, even if fake ones, I expect to feel jealous. What I feel is pride; he’s appeasing his dad and helping another person at the same time.
“There’s one more thing he wanted me to say. Have faith in him. He’s trying his best to come back to you, but it will take longer than he thought.”
“We kinda guessed that something must have been going on with the family, but it’s good to have it confirmed,” I say to Marco. “I was about to invite Liam to stay for food. Want to join us? Was thinking of getting a pizza.”
I watch him hesitate for some reason before saying, “Yeah, that would be cool.”
We spend a delightful evening together, drinking, eating, and watching some action movie. Spending time with Marco is good too. Since meeting, we’ve only seen each other a handful of times with Lorenzo. He’s a good guy and is hilarious. It’s good to forget about everything for a few hours. The moment they leave, and I’m on my own, my thoughts soon drift to Lorenzo. I steel myself for that first look at him tomorrow.
At eight o’clock the following morning, the security buzzer goes off, and I pick up the handset and push the button to allow entry without even talking to the person on the other end. I know it’s Liam. I open the door slightly and finish getting ready. I carefully dress this morning, going with light-blue jeans, white t-shirt, and a biker jacket, with of course my biker boots. When Liam comes into the apartment, he’s wearing virtually the same exact outfit, but he has on a black t-shirt and the hugest fucking grin on his face.
“You look like the cat that got the cream,” I say to him but smile. I haven’t seen him look that happy in a long time.
“It’s nothing,” he replies. If I’m not mistaken, a slight blush touches his cheeks. “Just had a good morning. You ready to go?”
“Yeah, let me grab my keys.” I pick them up from the kitchen table, putting them in my pocket. We decide to walk to the shop, as we aren’t sure the route Lorenzo takes to work. We don’t want him to spot the car. This is Liam’s typical routine.
“Where do you watch him from?” I ask. Liam points to a shop directly across from Lorenzo’s.
“I told the shop owner I’m a PI and was hired to make sure that Lorenzo isn’t cheating, and the woman bought it. She even defended him. I go to a shadowed second-floor window, so even if he looked up, it would be difficult to see me.”
We both walk into the shop, and Liam instantly states, “Morning Mrs. Jones, okay for me to go up? Have a newbie with me today, if that’s okay.” I raise my eyebrow.
“Of course, but as I told you, that’s a nice young man. You won’t find anything on him.” Liam’s right; this lady does have a soft spot for Lorenzo.
We make our way upstairs and get into position to watch for Lorenzo. I spot him before Liam does, and he looks far from okay. He’s walking slower than usual, and he’s slightly hunched over. Even from this distance, he radiates sadness as he opens his shop and changes the sign to open.
“I thought you said he was okay?” I demand, looking at Liam.
I don’t wait for him to answer me. I fly down the stairs, out the shop, and cross the road to Lorenzo. With every step I take, my brain tells me to stop and turn back but today, my heart wins, telling me he needs me. His back is to me as I enter the shop as he reaches for his apron. He’s so deep in thought, he doesn’t hear the bell on the shop door. He freezes when he hears me say, “Lorenzo.”
Chapter 27 - Lorenzo
I hadn’t thought I would hear that voice for a long time, but when I do, I literally freeze. As I’m picking up my apron from the hook, and only for a second, my heart fills with happiness. I run into his arms and kiss those lips that have been in my dreams almost every night since I left, but my brain catches up to reality. My happiness soon changes to fear, which unfortunately manifests itself as anger.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I snap at him.
“I had to see you,” he replies like this is the most straightforward answer.
“You had to see me!!!” I reply sarcastically. “What if someone sees you?”
“No one knows who I am, and if I don’t come any closer, it will look like I’m any other customer. I need to make sure I leave with some flowers.”
I want to be angry with him so badly right now, but it’s so good to see him. I’ve missed him so much, and he looks as good as I remember. It has only been a month, but it feels so much longer than that. When I came up with this plan, I didn’t think it would be this diffic
ult to be away from him. I foolishly thought because this is only temporary that it wouldn’t feel so real, but I was very, very wrong. For the last month, I’ve honestly felt heartbroken, and nothing has felt right with the world. Now he’s standing in front of me, and this feels almost worse because he’s in touching distance, and I can’t do anything.
“You should have stayed away. I told you to make no contact,” I say to him, trying my best to keep all emotion out of my voice.
“I was, but I couldn’t take it anymore. So, I thought I would quickly check on you. I would see if you were okay and leave, but when I saw you walking down the street, you looked so sad. I knew I couldn’t leave.” He takes a step towards me and even though I’m behind the counter, I take a step back, and the action isn’t lost on him. He moves back. “Do you still have the cell phone I got you?”
“Yes.” Why is he asking me that? When I left, I considered leaving it at the apartment but took it with me. I leave it in the shop, so there’s no chance of it being discovered at home Since Dad seems to be happy not using my shop for his business, there’s no chance of it being discovered here. “Why?” I finally ask.
“Just keep it close. Now, if you can make me up some flowers, I’ll leave.”
I finish putting my apron on; it’s been in my hand during this entire conversation. I should have put this on a lot sooner. Pretending to write something in my order book, so it looks like we’re discussing his order, I walk around the counter and choose a random selection of flowers and throw together a bouquet and hand them to him. He shifts position to block me from any outside prying eyes and pulls out his wallet to make it look like he’s paying.
“I’ve missed you so much,” he whispers. With that, he walks out of the shop. I want to move to see what direction he heads, but I wouldn’t do that if he were a typical customer.