Hiding

by N. M. Catalano

“Yes, did you know them?”

  “I knew them. Anybody who was affiliated with the streets knew those cocksuckers.”

  This is all too much. Too many coincidences. Too many things starting to wrap together.

  “How did you find out they were looking for you?”

  The anger from the morning I left New York washes over me. Just like that day.

  “The morning Rafi was killed I went to talk to a cop, my friends brother. When I left and was heading home, my mom called me. She’d said one of the members had just left our apartment. She told me not to come home, that there was a ticket waiting for me at Port Authority. I got on the next bus.” I shrug my shoulders. “Here I am.”

  The end of the first part of my life in a fucking nutshell.

  His hand slides down my arm and he feeds his fingers between mine, then pulls me closer.

  “Did she say what they wanted?”

  I shake my head as I fight the tears, “No, just that they were looking for me.”

  I miss her so much. And I’m so worried about her.

  He takes me in his arms again. “The cop. Did you trust him?”

  “Yes,” I whisper into his chest.

  A tear I’ve been trying to hold back escapes and slips down my cheek.

  “What was his name?

  “Danny O’Sullivan from Brooklyn.”

  I tell him everything, all the details come pouring from me, my soul purging itself of the burden I’ve been carrying all these months. I don’t know if I can stop now that I’ve begun.

  It’s such a relief.

  “Tell me what the guys looked like who came in here today?”

  I begin to tremble with the memory, how they talked to me, how he looked at me, the feeling of his filthy hand holding me.

  “Hey,” Rico rubs my arms, “It’s okay. Tell me”

  “The one who did all the talking, he was fairly tall, dressed like a street thug in expensive clothes, and he had a teardrop tattoo under the corner of his right eye.”

  His hands stop.

  That’s not a good sign.

  “You know him, don’t you, Rico?”

  I know he does, I can tell by the way he reacted.

  “There’s a million guys like that,” he murmurs, hiding the truth from me.

  That makes me angry.

  I tear away from him.

  “How can you expect me to be honest with you if you’re not honest with me,” I throw at him.

  “Maria,” he sighs. “I might have seen him, yes. I don’t know him, though.”

  “You know about him.”

  He knows him, I KNOW he does!

  “I might. I can’t say much more than that, I’m a cop.” I can see the frustration etched deeply in his expression. “What I do know is I want you to call me immediately if he comes in here again.”

  That’s the best he can do.

  I have to accept that.

  “Alright.”

  “I’m going to call Officer O’Sullivan and find out what’s going on up there. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

  He gives me a comforting smile as he wraps his arms around me again, holding me tight.

  I hate that I need this.

  “Don’t worry, Maria, everything will be alright.” Pulling back, he clasps my face in both his hands and peers into my eyes. “Nothing is going to happen to you. I promise.”

  And I know.

  He’d do anything to keep that promise.

  My eyes slowly close. Can this all almost be over, can I finally have my life back, where I don’t have to hide and constantly be afraid, afraid that the future I’ve been running from has finally found me?

  “Thank you.” I whisper.

  His voice rumbles through his chest pressed against me, “I’m going to pick you up tonight, kitten. Make sure you’re here. Don’t hesitate to call me before that if you need me. No matter what.”

  A tremor of foreboding ripples through me, slashing through Rico’s embrace, and the security of his promise.

  RICO

  CHAPTER 11

  Danny O’Sullivan, I find out, is the newest family member in a long line of Irish police officers. And appears to be a straight cop.

  That piece of information gives me a lot of relief.

  His partner, on the other hand, not so much. From the little I dug up, O’Sullivan’s partner, Officer Michaels, is an arrogant prick that seems to think he’s God’s gift to the world.

  I have to be careful. If I dig too much for intel on a brother on the force, especially a cop that might have questionable affiliations, I might shut every door available to me with inside information. No cop wants to be investigated as a crooked cop, especially if they are. They’d eliminate any threat without so much as blinking.

  I have to play nice with the force.

  The boys on the street are another story.

  I obtain O’Sullivan’s cell phone number by calling in a few favors and get him on the phone.

  “Officer O’Sullivan, we don’t know each other. I’m Detective Rico Santiago, originally from New Jersey, I’m now in North Carolina. I want to speak with you about a case you may be working on.”

  I’m outside in my car. This call is of a more personal nature, and unless it turns out to be directly related to the case I’m working, it’s best to handle it privately.

  My methods are already considered rogue. I don’t need to give anyone any more reasons to give me grief.

  If they think what they see is a little vigilante, they haven’t seen shit.

  “Certainly Detective, what can I do for you?” The young cop sounds a little taken by surprise that a detective from North Carolina is calling him.

  That’s exactly what I wanted.

  I’d hoped if I caught him off-guard, he’d spill everything he knows without me having to go through the proper channels and following procedure.

  “I understand Maria Reyes came to see you a few months back.” I throw the line out and hope he takes the whole damn thing and runs with it.

  “Yes, she did,” he answers quickly. “I took her statement the morning Raphael Diaz was murdered. She wanted to give her testimony as to what she and Diaz saw, hoping that would lead to the apprehension of his murderers.” He hesitates, “Is she a friend of yours?”

  “Yes, she is. And did it?” I ask.

  He lets out a heavy sigh, he’s probably a little relieved. “No, not yet, but I’m still working on it.”

  Go easy Rico, don’t push him, I remind myself.

  “Are there any prime suspects in the case?”

  Another sigh, “As far as I’m concerned, yes. The area where they both lived has a very high population of gang members, Los Muertos. I’ve brought a couple of suspects in, but without her here to identify any of them, they all walk. The area’s not in my jurisdiction, so I’m not getting any help. I’m doing it as a favor to her because she was a friend of my sisters.” I can hear his frustration.

  I know it well.

  “Do you know of any threats made on Ms. Reyes?”

  I know I can find out a more accurate answer to this question with my personal connections than he can. I can’t risk it though. I can’t afford for anyone else to get hurt. Jesús is still in the hospital, and if a cop from North Carolina starts asking around about Maria Reyes, it’ll only draw their attention down here. I still need to know what the police are aware of.

  He pauses. “Officially, Detective?”

  My gut twists. “Both, on and off the record, O’Sullivan.”

  “No one is talking to me officially. But word on the street is there’s a price on her head.”

  There’s the goddam bomb.

  She’s in danger. The worst kind.

  First Jesús, now Maria.

  This is just too much to be a coincidence.

  There are no coincidences, only a matter of circumstances all lining up at exactly the right time in the right place.

  Ivan “The Terrible” showing up he
re is no coincidence either.

  Fury is boiling inside me.

  Guilt and pain are crushing me. I’ve brought misery on the family again. Jesús is in a coma because of me. Now I find out Los Muertos, those same fucking pigs that murdered Isabelle, have a price on Maria’s head.

  The biggest advantage I have is I’m aware of this information. They sent me a message with the attack on Jesús, they obviously know I have a name and a face, Ivan’s, because Carlos and Jesús were asking around for me on the identity of the man in the picture I’d sent. What I don’t know is how Ivan ties in with Los Muertos, or with Maria, if at all.

  I’d bet my ass it’s everything.

  No coincidences.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see Scott Edwards pull into the precinct parking lot, my buddy from the gym, and our new DEA agent, from the Drug Enforcement Administration.

  “Officer O’Sullivan, thank you for your time, I’ll be in touch,” Scott enters the building as I get out of my car.

  “I hope so. And please tell Maria I hope she’s well.”

  My heart constricts. I’m going to keep her that way. “I will, good bye.”

  I shove the phone in my pocket as I follow Scott to the captain’s office, adrenaline coursing through my body.

  I want to take all these motherfuckers down.

  I close the door as I step in and Scott and the captain shake hands.

  “You ready to bust some lowlifes?” I ask standing inside the door.

  Scott turns to face me with a huge grin on his face.

  “When I first laid eyes on you, Rico, I was sure it was going to be you I’d be bringing down one day,” he laughs.

  “I told you I was the best detective you’ll ever have, didn’t I, Cap?” I say to my boss as I shake my friends hand.

  The captain shakes his head. “I’m glad you two know each other. Now if we’ve finished with the little tea party, let’s get to work.”

  Scott and I settle into the chairs across from the captain as he pushes a folder across the desk to Scott. I know what’s in it. It’s full of the pictures I took and the identities I’ve been able to gather so far. It contains all the major players in the surge of heroin activity we’ve had, along with locations, and victims. I’ve got a diagram of hierarchy with blow-ups on a wall by my desk, where Scott will be stationed and where he’s going to start a task force.

  “These are all the people you need to know, Edwards.” The captain flips open the file and lays a finger on the top photo. “This guy is new. Santiago,” his eyes shift to me, “somehow has gotten a name for him, although he doesn’t show up anywhere.”

  Scott looks over at me and grins. “I knew I liked you, despite everything.”

  I laugh at him. He doesn’t know any details about me, about my history with the gang and my life pre-law enforcement, nobody does except the boys back home, and now Maria, but I’m sure he’s a good cop. A good cop has good instincts.

  “Yeah, well, what can I say,” I shrug my shoulders. Then I get serious. “The guy’s name is Ivan Rodriguez, better known as ‘Ivan The Terrible’. He was a renegade, a bad guy for hire, and his specialty work was done with a machete. Apparently he liked to leave a lasting impression.”

  I want to tear this guy apart. He’s the worst kind of evil, no soul, no sense of right or wrong. Death. Destruction. Power. That’s what he wants.

  “Jesus Christ,” Scott grimaces. “And he’s here? We’re sure of it?”

  “I took that picture of him. He got off the bus from the farm with the illegals. He’s here, he just hasn’t made his presence known yet, at least not in the way he’s gotten his reputation. Apparently he must be keeping a low profile. Maybe he’s preparing for something. What, we don’t know.”

  “Do you think he’s in charge of the heroin ring?” Scott questions.

  I shake my head side to side. “Maybe, maybe not. No one has pointed him out.”

  “What do you think?” Scott looks at me intently.

  “Gentlemen,” I look back and forth between the two of them. “If this guy took himself off as a free agent, it’s for something big. He’s made a name for himself, even the bad guys are scared shitless of him. Whatever he’s doing here, it’s a hell of a lot more than peddling a few bags of heroin.”

  Maria can’t know any of this. If that was Ivan who was in her restaurant, it’ll give me some place to keep an eye on him and whoever he’s hanging around with. If she finds out there’s a price on her head, of how much danger she’s really in, I have no idea what she’s capable of.

  The last thing I want is to draw attention to her and her whereabouts.

  And I definitely don’t want her running.

  I think about Jesús. Whoever made the hit on him was only playing. If they wanted to kill him, he’d be dead.

  That was only the first move in this game he’s started. They’ve named me a player, except I don’t know what the game is, or how it’s played. There aren’t any rules. The prize is life or death.

  All my street instincts are tearing through me, shredding and destroying.

  If this is going down, I’m not taking him as the detective. I might as well hand in my badge now.

  It’s going to be brutal.

  If he’s here for Maria or me, I’ll find out. It’ll be the last thing he’ll fucking do.

  But tonight, tonight she’s mine.

  Maria

  CHAPTER 12

  What is it they say? Life puts you exactly where you need to be exactly when you need to be there?

  Is that why I somehow landed up here? To meet Rico? Was my life turned upside down, a man, a really good man, murdered, and I had to go on the run and into hiding?

  I can’t understand any of this, I can’t begin to justify why Rafi was murdered. I just can’t. I loved him. I still do.

  But I can’t deny that for the first time since the day Rafi died, I’m happy when I’m with Rico. I was in a constant state of agony, an endless painful death. Now I feel alive again. Guilty, but alive. Being with him, like now, in his home, I feel more than that, I feel hopeful.

  And safe.

  Rico is not entirely the good guy.

  There’s a darkness in Rico. A danger that vibrates within him.

  His confession painted a picture of it.

  It should have scared me, sent me running. He was the guy I was afraid he’d be.

  The kind of people I’ve been hiding from.

  He’s the villain, the man who kills without remorse.

  Still does.

  The difference between him and the other bad guys? His victims are the bad guys.

  Is there a difference?

  Yes.

  Without a doubt.

  Is he worse?

  I’m not sure.

  The only thing I am sure of is that he’s my bad guy. The only one who could destroy the bad guys for me.

  That’s the only thing that matters.

  I’d felt it earlier after the thug came in the restaurant. When Rico’d promised me he wouldn’t let anything happen to me, I knew if anyone could keep that promise, it’s him. He’s the only one capable of it.

  It allowed me some sense of comfort, a sliver of peace.

  I’ve been waiting to find out how the call went with Officer O’Sullivan.

  Replacing my desire to know is my need.

  For him.

  Whatever is between us, whatever was born from that first searing look that connected us overrides everything else. It springs to life every time we’re together.

  Like now.

  Sitting here with him,

  The way Rico’s looking at me from across the room, like he’s starving and I’m the only thing he craves, the only thing he wants and needs, makes me feel invincible.

  That does something to a woman. Something primitive.

  But there’s something swirling within his eyes, a hint of the darkness inside him.

  It doesn’t frighten me.

  That is
my protector.

  I can feel it’s power, it’s strength.

  It’s seducing me, calling me.

  Making promises to me.

  “How are you, kitten?” Rico asks me. It’s heavy and husky.

  It stirs every single desire inside me.

  I smile at him. “I’m hungry.”

  An eyebrow rises as his jaw tenses and eyes flash.

  “Are you?” he grins.

  “Uhuh. Didn’t you promise me you had things you wanted me to taste?” I ask quietly.

  My heart is pounding with anticipation. I can’t believe I’m being so brazen, so uninhibited. He does this to me, he’s awakened some animal within me that I never knew existed.

  His darkness awakening his lover.

  I want everything he has to offer.

  I want it all.

  Rico’s expression is intense, and it makes me tremble.

  “What are you hungry for?” he asks roughly.

  He takes a step toward me.

  I take one too.

  A hint of a grin ghosts on his face. I smirk back.

  “I want…hot.” I take another step toward him. “I want wild.” He gets closer, his body rigid and ready to attack.

  Our mouths connect fiercely, tasting, taking, feasting. There’s nothing slow and seductive about it. It’s a battle, we’re enflamed, two beasts joining together and ravaging everything in our wake. Our touch is hostile, our kisses a combat for control. I take a handful of his hair with a forceful fist, he grabs my chin with a vicelike grip, assaulting my mouth with his tongue and teeth, consuming me in his ferocity.

  He immobilizes me, regardless of how hard I fight back. I have to take his onslaught. It’s fierce. It’s commanding.

  It’s everything I’m yearning for.

  “I’m glad, kitten, because I’m going to take you. Hard. And rough.” His breath is warm against my mouth, his tongue wet as it glides along my lips.

  My loins clench as I envision Rico bending me over on all fours, my hair twisted around his hand as he pounds into me, fucking me with all that constrained fury I feel coming off him in waves.

  This man is dynamite and I can’t wait for him to explode.

  I reach down and grip the hard bulge in his pants and squeeze.