A Man of Honor (2 page)

Chapter Two

They sat and waited. The sweat broke out on Dominic’s brow as it always did when he had a fugitive cornered. He prayed they’d lose no one today. He and his team had been following Ty Forsberg for days, and he’d eluded them several times. He was brilliant. The house they sat down the block from was dark; there had been no movement inside since they got there.

The dark brown ranch sat in the middle of a good neighborhood on Long Island. The tip came from the family directly across from the house. She’d seen some pictures on the news; it had been Dominic’s idea to release photos of Ty. The guy changed the way he looked daily. It pissed Dominic off; he was playing a high priced cat and mouse game with them. Dominic was getting bored with the whole scenario. He wanted this motherfucker, and soon.

****

Ty Forsberg had escaped federal prison six weeks before. He was a brilliant mind and had planned a simple but efficient escape. His smart and sassy girlfriend, who was killed during the escape, had aided him. Unfortunately, her death was the diversion he needed to slip by the guards.   It was obviously his plan all along.

He had been contained in a minimum-security facility until Dominic began an in-depth background investigation. His past began to emerge and missing pieces began to fit together. Ty Forsberg, aka, Theodore Forelli, had been a hit man for the mob, a paid assassin. When certain members of a crime family wanted no connection to a kill, they’d farmed out a hit. Dominic, shook his head, they considered themselves sly by doing this, hoping to throw the authorities off. But Dominic had relocated a few
gumbas
and in the process learned how some crime families operated. Hence, the murders he was responsible for were carried out execution style as all gangland hits were, but Ty had carried his death machine a little further. He’d become a certified serial killer now that he was on the run, again thinking to outsmart the law.

Once Dominic began revealing his past, it was decided to move him to a more secure facility. The authorities continued to delve further into his past. Because of his good behavior, Ty wasn’t heavily trussed or shackled as he was brought out to the transport. Should have been a routine trip the maximum-security facility, instead it went awry, just as Forsberg and his girlfriend had planned. He’d told her exactly what to buy and what he wanted done.  She obeyed him to the tee and wound up unknowingly poisoning herself and causing havoc at the facility.

He promised her marriage and a name change as soon as they were clear of anyone pursuing them. He told her they’d go to Canada and start all over again. He told her that he loved her. Of course they were all lies. She was the unfortunate pawn in his game. The authorities should have second-guessed him.

****

Dominic despised Ty and wanted to bring him to justice. He wanted to see the piece of shit dead. Poor Justina Hansen, his dead
girlfriend
, was now stiff at the morgue. She was no sterling upstanding citizen; she was a heroin addict and had a record as long as his arm, but dying the way she did infuriated him. The coroner’s report was an eye opener. Dominic requested him and a few other agents, the only ones with access to it.

Shit bags like Ty Forsberg swarmed like cockroaches. They were like an infestation to the human race and elimination would be advantageous to all.  He had voiced his opinion hundreds of times, but he followed the letter of the law because that’s what he also believed. He sipped his cold coffee.

“He’s supposed to be in that house,” said Jeff Whitmore sitting back in his seat, lowering the long-range binoculars. “From what the neighbor said, he’d been busy all day yesterday in the garage. She said the house had been vacant for months, caught up in probate, so she was surprised when she saw the lights on inside a few nights ago.” Whitmore sipped his can of Coke. “Then she saw the ten o’clock news and the photos of him with the warning that he was armed and dangerous. She recognized him from the photo of him with the sunglasses and the long dark hair. She then told her husband that it was the man across the street. He told her she was a drama queen.”

Dominic settled back in his seat. “It seems she called us anyway.” He squinted and rubbed his leg then rested his back on the seat.

“Yeah, she did. Sometimes an observant civilian is all we need. So far, we’ve seen nothing. I hate this shit the waiting. This fucking job is far from glamorous,” Whitmore hissed.

Whitmore leaned back in the front seat. “The woes of a U.S. Marshal: cold coffee and hamburgers. Why can’t they come out with surveillance foods? You know, with their own little heaters attached. Would make a million.”

He didn’t mean to tune them out; he just did as he thought of a more pleasant subject. Shauna. He’d rather be back with her, fucking his brains out. Christ, he remembered the first time they spent the day in bed together. She was insatiable. That day also told him a great deal about himself and his desires. She opened up a completely new world to him. The candle wax blew him away. He thought she had lost her fucking mind.

“Where are you going?” he asked as she got up from the bed. Her red hair was a mess, falling in disarray on her shoulders, giving her that just fucked look. She didn’t bother to put on a robe, just sauntered across the room naked, giving Dominic a feast for the eyes. Her skin was the color of peaches and cream. He always thought redheads were freckled. She didn’t have even one. Her skin was smooth and perfect. When she returned, she had a candle and a book of matches in her hand. “Have you ever done wax play?”

“You’re kidding, right?” he answered her, sitting up, concerned. What the hell was she talking about?

She lit a match then the candle. She was careful when she crawled back onto the bed. Not a drip escaped the rim where the wax had melted.

“Watch,” she said and began to tip the candle over the skin of her thigh. He wanted to stop her but instinct told him she would be all right.  Her quick intake of breath intrigued him.  “You must hold the candle far enough away from my skin so as not to burn me. Here, give me you hand,” she said, taking his hand, holding the candle up, and turning his palm over. She let the wax drip carefully onto the back of his hand where there was far less hair. He looked up at her and grinned. The sensation was wild; hot yet not burning.

“Now you do it,” she instructed, handing him the lit candle. “On my back and over the cheeks of my ass. It feels so decadent. Hold the candle like this,” she said, instructing him once more. He tipped it slightly and held it approximately three to four inches from her skin. He let the drips escape the rim of the candle, down onto her skin.  She gasped. He watched the design the wax created. He shivered. His fingers then went down to her ass, and he touched the wax. He loved the feel of it on her skin.

“I’ve heard of this and wondered why people would even venture to try something so dangerous.” He let the wax drip again.

“Mmm, there is little danger if done correctly and not in haste. You’re a natural, Dominic.”

“Am I?” he whispered, watching the design he’d made on her lower back. “How do we remove this?” he asked, rolling a finger through the crack of her ass.

“A hot shower should do the trick.”

“Together?”

“Of course. Don’t tell me you’ve never taken a shower with a woman?”

“Honestly, only once, on my honeymoon. Since then the shower has been off limits.”

“Oh, the things I am going to show you,” she purred as he continued to drip the wax on her. Her image faded from view. He opened his eyes and focused.

“Shit,” he murmured. He must have fallen asleep. “Anything new?” he asked Whitmore.

“Nothing. Where did you drift off to?”

“Sorry, sometimes when I think too hard, I zone out. I wasn’t snoring was I?” Dominic was annoyed with himself. He could stay awake for over seventy hours if he had to, but if he thought too hard, he drifted off. Not to sleep but in a zone where he couldn’t hear anything around him, nor could he reply if anyone tried to talk to him.

“No, no snoring. In fact, I’m not sure you were even sleeping. Weird, bro, very weird.” Whitmore sat back in his seat and closed his eyes. “Okay, my turn for a little power nap. Nothing has moved in hours.”

“Go ahead. I had mine.” Dominic gave a small chuckle. It was unlike him to zone out like that, but this stakeout was wearing them all down. Ty Forsberg wasn’t in that house. They were wasting their time. He was sure the bastard got away. He took out his phone and began to check his messages and texts. Nothing new. Shauna had been warned not to leave him any texts, not while he was on duty and on a stakeout. For once, she had listened.

He had to clear his mind of her. The here and now was what mattered. He needed to think what Ty’s next move would be. He was sure it would be devastating. Men like Ty Forsberg always murdered for shock value. The victim’s lives weren’t important.

He found sociopaths were fascinating people, and their lack of compassion and disregard for life puzzling. He leaned back in the seat and tried to stretch out his long legs. “Christ,” he murmured. “This bastard better show his face soon. I’m getting a little fed up with this car shit.”

Whitmore answered groggily, “About time, Dom. When you get fed up, things start to roll.”

Chapter Three

He’ll admit that since he was kid he wanted to be a cop. Why? Who the fuck knows? Maybe he thought he could save the world. Dominic’s brain worked in a rather mysterious way. He believed in justice. He believed in respect. He also believed in a code of honor. Unfortunately, every woman he’d ever been with had told him he was no white knight, not even close. Therefore, what was he setting out to prove?

He was born to an Italian mother and father, right off the boat from Italy, literally. She gave birth one hour after landing in New York Harbor. His luck to be born on American soil, a U.S. citizen from the get go.  He grew up in the depths of Hell’s Kitchen. His father was a baker and was lucky to get a job uptown in a large bakery. But Hell’s Kitchen was where they settled and made friends. It was also, where he learned to fight. To survive, growing up, Dominic became very adept at protecting himself.

Girls and sex were never a priority. Surviving was. He was smart and wanted out of The Kitchen, so he worked hard studying. Academically, he didn’t fit in, but it didn’t matter. He played what sports he could, and the girls flocked around him. His first girlfriend was Tess Everett. Saying she was popular was an understatement. Tess wanted out of The Kitchen too, and Dominic surmised he was her ticket.

“Dominic,” A light, sexy, female voice called to him from one of the school lockers he’d just passed. “Dominic,” she yelled. “Are you deaf?”

He heard her, but he wasn’t in the mood for any of her shit today. She satisfied many of his needs sexually but mentally, she drove him crazy.

“For shit’s sake, Tess, what the hell do you want!” he said as he stopped, turned around, and began walking over to her.

She stood, showing off a great pair of legs and one of the tightest skirts he’d ever seen. “Dominic, I need your help,” she purred.

Mick O’Malley walked over to him. Dominic stopped. “You’re one lucky bastard. She’s the hottest thing in here. Maybe she’ll give you some head under the staircase. I hear she’s really great at sucking a cock.” Mick was sixteen and a good friend but a complete asshole. Tess now stood at her locker, tapping her foot.  The look on her face told me she was annoyed watching me talk with Mick. “Look, bud, let me see what she wants. And where the hell do you come up with your information anyway? Christ, you’re a horny asshole. Maybe you should go jack off in the bathroom,” Dominic said, watching Tess.

“Great idea, and that hot piece of ass you get to stick your cock in will be the image I keep in my head,” Mick said, punching him in the arm.

“Christ, get the fuck away from me,” Dominic said, pushing at his friend. Mick took off down the hall. Dominic sauntered over to Tess, leaned on the lockers, and looked down at her. He had her by at least five inches. She looked up at him.

“Why do you hang out with him? He’s such a jerk,” she said.

“Because he has a heart of gold and would do anything for me. He’s not a bad guy. He’s just like the rest of us, wanting to get the hell out of this place.”

“Well, the only way he’s going to do that is to at least pass one test. He’s a complete fool. He’s in my trig class. The teacher throws him out every day. Why does he even bother to go to class?”

“Tess. I doubt you called me over to talk about Mick. What’s so important
?”

“Tonight my mother won’t be home. She’s going to Atlantic City with some of her friends. She hasn’t got money so I can get a damn new dress for our trip to the city to see Les Misérables, but she has money to gamble away. She’ll be staying overnight. I hate staying by myself. Will you stay with me? I’ll make it worth your while,” she said, running her tongue over her lower lip.

She was a junior, and he was in his senior year. His time in The Kitchen was running out.  He’d already been accepted to Pace, and he was getting shit from his father daily. But Dominic was grown and his own man. He did what he pleased and when it pleased him. He welcomed her invitation.

“Sure, Tess. What time tonight?”

“She’s leaving right after she gets off from her job. How about seven? I’ll have dinner made for the both of us.”

He bent and kissed her on the lips. “Sounds like a plan. See you then.”

She grabbed at the collar of his shirt. “Make sure you bring some condoms. I have a feeling we’ll be doing some naughty playing.”

Oh, they would be. “Oh, are we? You know I’ll have plenty.”

“You’re like a bull in heat, Dominic, once you get started. And tonight we are going to rev up our engines, baby.”

He smiled, turned, and walked away from her. He could feel her eyes still on him, watching him as he walked away from her and melded into the crowd of kids. The whole fucking school watched him. Why wouldn’t they? He was captain of their football team, basketball team, and baseball team. It was sad how many kids didn’t take advantage of the little bit the school had to offer. It could be their way out of Hell’s Kitchen, but it seemed some people never wanted to leave.

That all happened years ago and as he came back to the present, he wondered if he would have changed anything, even meeting his wife. Some disasters were meant to happen.

He’d met Elaine Hampton at the end of his first year of college and after breaking up with Tess. He should have known then, hooking up with the bitch would almost ruin him. He dated Tess for a few months after he entered Pace, but she only thought about the here and now. She couldn’t wrap her head around the future, at least not too far into it. As soon as she graduated from high school she wanted out of The Kitchen, but he had four years until he could think of anything else, especially a permanent relationship.

He worked hard in school to get decent grades. An education was their ticket out. He had a four-year scholarship, and Elaine had a guilty father who was willing to pay for her education. After dating during the first year of college, they lost touch. Dominic rarely thought of her. He should have known then, but the first semester of his second year in Pace, she contacted him. He was hesitant about meeting her, but she was looking better than ever. Their relationship changed quickly and once they were reunited, they wasted no time and were fucking like rabbits.

Both finished out their four years, spending the summers together. He believed himself in love. They married right out of college. He entered the New York City Police Department, and she became an inner city teacher. They seemed to have it all until they started trying to have a baby. After a succession of miscarriages, his son was finally born. The marriage had begun to disintegrate by his son’s first birthday. Twenty years into the marriage, it was over.

Again, it was as if twenty years of his life had been vacuumed out of his timeline. There was a gap with nothing to fill it up or show for it. Once his divorce was final, he floated around in a daze for months, until he met Shauna. Life began to open up again.

****

Sometimes time stood still. When push came to shove, it was as if all things went in slow motion. That was how the whole scenario went down when they finally corned Ty Forsberg.

Dominic got tired of waiting. “This piece of shit will show his hand soon,” he said to his inspector.

“Glad to hear you say that. I’m getting tired of finding bodies,” Inspector David Williams said, loosening his tie and running a finger inside the neck of his shirt.

Forsberg had murdered three more people. He left all three victims with notes pinned to their heads. All three said the same thing.
You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man.
The cocky son of a bitch was making fun of them. It was a clue but not an obvious one. It wasn’t Ty’s usual MO, spewing riddles and fucking with them.

All of the victims were murdered in the same fashion with a bullet to the head, execution style. They had nothing in common except they were in Ty’s way at the time. The first victim was a gasoline attendant in Jersey. He shot him in the head when he was finished pumping gas, and had to pay. It was easier to kill him. The next victim owned a 7-Eleven. He hit that one at four a.m.  He waited for the owner to ring him up on the register and when payment was due, he shot him in the head. The last victim was a male prostitute who’d been shot in the back of the head. The poor bastard never saw it coming. Dominic read the autopsy report on that kill. He found what he was looking for and started connecting the dots.

As the day started, the headlines hit the local papers: Serial Killer At Large. In twenty-four hours, it would be nationwide news. Fuck, thought Dominic, this had to end. This guy was no serial killer, just an asshole trying to give them a run for their money, and he was succeeding. They had mapped his path, and now he was heading toward Nevada, to Vegas or Reno. Dominic was sure he’d make a stand there. A do or die one.

Dominic had studied his profile for hours. Ty Forsberg was a careful man. He’d stayed off the internet, Facebook, Twitter … all social media. Dominic thought perhaps he wasn’t too computer savvy.

When he was under lock and key he’d demanded to see the warden countless times. He ranted about being in prison, telling them all one thing that he was sure of; he was getting out, and he wasn’t going back.

Ty Forsberg was five feet eight inches tall, overweight, with a sallow complexion and dull eyes. He was no ladies’ man. There were reports of homosexual activities at the correctional facility where he was held. The sacrifice of the woman he had called his girlfriend may justify what Dominic was thinking. Ty was headed to Reno. That one small city housed more transgender men than anywhere else in the west. Besides the gamblers, it drew a very diverse clientele, including an array of doctors who specialized in sex change operations.

Ty wasn’t looking for a sex change. What he was looking for was a pro who’d never gone the whole nine yards; a so-called he-she. He wanted both worlds. His dead girlfriend turned out to be a man who hadn’t completed a sex change. Ty would find what he was looking for in Reno.

Dominic made as many notes as he could on his laptop and documented his theory. He was careful not to be overly confident or believe he’d cracked this case or the sadistic mind they were trying to hunt down. He had to act fast. Human lives were at stake. Sociopaths were dangerous criminals. The worst because at some point, even the life of the criminal becomes expendable.

****

He leaned back against his pillows. Shauna lay next to him, sound asleep. He had waited for her to finally fall asleep before he began his thesis and notes on Ty. She loved butting in and adding her two cents whenever he was working on a case. 

Dominic was exploring a side of himself that he’d thought dark and disturbing. The need had always been there, he had just never acted on it.  She had a way of relaxing him, letting him explore his dominant side.  Her submissive side was becoming more apparent.

His theory was, nothing lost but so much gained. They were two consenting adults, and everyone he knew had read that book, opening up the world of BDSM. Unfortunately, that world harbored darkness, and it was just a matter of time before they’d be running after a sick motherfucker pushing the limits there also.

He had to get his mind off the few hours they’d spent together before crashing, exhausted from their love play. Concentration came at a price. He pushed back at the pillows; damn that was one hell of an orgasm. His cock had never been so damn sated.  He closed his eyes and smiled as his mind ran over their decadent lovemaking. She had suggested playing a little bondage game; blindfolds and being tied up. Seemed harmless enough and it did pique his interest.

When she got to his apartment that night, she had a small bag with her. Nothing too kinky, just some wide black satin ribbon.