Love Lost (2 page)

“My sweet Selene.  I don’t like being insulted.  You know what I’m capable of, or have you forgotten?”

“No, Lucio.  I’ll never be able to forget what you did.”

“Well
, it seems as though you have forgotten who you belong to.  I will remind you of that very soon.  Tell your friend, Daphne I said hello.”

The line went dead and she slammed the phone down.  She was shaking uncontrollably and on the verge of tears.  She needed to get a grip and compose herself. Selene grabbed the file she kept hidden away.  It was a file on a case she was working on since she had started her law career.  She kept every piece of evidence on the one man she vowed to bring down.  He was the reason she became a lawyer.  It contained almost enough information to put him away for the rest of his life.  All she needed was to talk to her source one more time to try to convince her to testify, or all of her hard work will have been for nothing.  She picked up the phone and dialed the number.  There was no answer so she left a message and then hung up.  She started to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she pushed it away as nerves from talking to Lucio.  As she returned to work on her open cases, her mind started to drift to Jason and his gorgeous body. 

Lucio placed the phone on his desk, and drummed his perfectly manicured fingers on it.  Selene had left him and the longer she stayed away, the worse he was going to make her pay.  He stood from his desk and walked over to the glass window.  In his club, his girls were dancing and twisting their bodies on poles for the men drooling over them. 
His girls.  
They belonged to him, but not like Selene.  She was different.  She was his from the moment he laid eyes on her.  Every man wanted her, but she’d come to him.  He had protected her, and she idolized him. Or so he thought.   He woke up one day to find her missing and he went ape-shit!  Angrily, he pushed the memories away.  He needed to forget about his anger for her or put it to some use. 

Lucio leaned in toward the glass window frame, his muscles flexed tensely under the force.  He smiled when he saw one of his new girls talking to the bartender.

He grabbed his cell and called him. 

“Rick, send Carina upstairs.”

He hung up as Rick looked up at him from the bar.  He nodded and spoke to Carina, who glanced up at him like she just won the lottery.  She climbed the stairs seductively, but she looked more drunk than sexy.

She walked in the door, and shut it behind her.

“You needed me, Lucio?”                                                                                          

Her eyes drifted over him, obviously tallying up his
worth with every designer brand she saw on him.  From his shoes to his hair, he only wore the best.  Money was never an issue for him.  If he wanted it, he got it.  One way or another. 

He stalked
toward her and she pressed herself against the door.  A small moan escaped her mouth as he placed his hands on the door, pinning her between them.  Carina leaned in and touched him, bringing her hands around his waist.

“WOW.  Your body feels hard.  You must work out a lot.”

He rolled his eyes at her pickup attempts. She leaned in to kiss him and he allowed it.  She moaned into his mouth and he ran his hands slowly down her side before working his way up again.  She wasn’t curvy like Selene, but she would do.  His hand went to her throat and he squeezed.

“I can’t breathe,
Baby,” she gasped.

Lucio sneered and whispered in her ear.

“Who said I wanted you to?”

It was at that moment he saw the fear in her eyes.  He hiked up her dress with his free hand and she tried to scream. 

“My office is soundproof, sweet girl.  Now I’m going to show you what happens when you leave me.  You will never leave me again, Selene.
Never.
”  

Carina screamed right before she blacked out completely.

As Jason walked into the police precinct, there was already someone waiting for him in his office.

“Good Morning, Captain Kayhill.  What can I do for you?”

“Morning, Detective.   Close the door, if you don’t mind.” 

Jason closed the door behind him, wondering why the sudden need for privacy.  The Captain had worked with his father for many years.  Jason knew that he was never one to hide anything from anyone, especially not the men and women he worked with. 
Secrets lead to mistrust among colleagues
, he always said.

“Jason, I have a case I want you to take over, but my friendship with your father is making me re-think putting you on it.” 

Jason frowned.  
What did his father have to do with this?
  

“Sir, to be honest, my father did his job and he did it well when he was on the force.  I would like to do my job while I’m here, but I need the opportunity to show you what I’m capable of.  I can’t do that if you won’t let me do my job.” 

His captain smiled. 

“I knew you would say that.  I know you’ve started to look into some unsolved cases that your father worked on before he retired.” 

“Captain, I didn’t mean to-”

“Jason, I am not here because of that.  We all try to take a second look at unsolved cases. It’s part of the job.  It also shows me how dedicated you are.  Have these cases pointed you
toward any suspects?” 

“All the victims from the few cases that I have looked into have all been tied to a few clubs downtown.  I believe they’re all owned by the same person.” 

The Captain rubbed his forehead before speaking, as though he was trying to get rid of a headache.   “Well, this specific….person, for lack of a better word, is part of one of the biggest crime families in Brazil.  They are nothing like what I have seen before.  His name is Lucio Cardoso.  Have you heard of him?”

Jason shook his head no.  The name didn’t ring any bells for him.

The Captain stood up from his seat and walked over to the small closet in the corner of the room.  He removed a file from the filing cabinet and placed it on his desk in front of Jason.  He opened the file and there was a picture of a man with a tribal tattoo on his neck.  “This is a surveillance photo of him.  He is the owner of several strip joints, but he is mostly attached to one in particular called the Pink Bunny.  The clubs are just fronts for his real business.  This is where we think the operation is being handled.  We have reason to believe that Lucio is trafficking underage children and selling them on the black market to the highest bidder.  His biggest customers are known pedophiles.”

Jason made a fist.  “How are we allowing this to happen?  Can’t we get the pedophiles to turn on him?” 

“We have tried everything in our power to catch this monster, but he seems to be covering up his tracks fairly well.  We think he may have someone on the force on his payroll, which is why no one can know you are working on this case.”

Jason let the information sink in.  The Captain continued before he could say anything. 

“I was thinking of sending someone undercover on his team.  He is looking for a replacement for one of the men that ran the Pink Bunny.  I was thinking that with your street cred and the fact that he has never met you before, you would be the perfect fit.  What do you think?”

Jason closed the file.

“How would this work?” 

The Captain started to fill him in on the details.

“Well, I was thinking of having you review the file and get acquainted with the case and how the family operates.  One of Lucio’s men is leaving for Brazil in a few months so he will be looking for a replacement soon to fill in that gap.  That is our opportunity to get you in there.  Jason, this will be difficult.  You will have to be ready to witness, if not participate, in a lot of things that you may not be comfortable with.”

Jason looked up
toward his Captain.  “What do you mean?”

The Captain opened the file and removed the pictures in the envelope enclosed. Jason turned pale at what he saw.  The pictures of Lucio’s victims were difficult to look at.  They were all tortured and beaten, their life tragically cut short.  Jason felt the anger and disgust building up inside of him. He was dying to get his hands on this man and teach him a lesson.  Men like Lucio made Jason’s blood boil.  It was times like these that made Jason want to ignore his badge and take things into his own hands. 

The Captain looked at Jason and placed a hand on his shoulder.  “Are you alright?”

Jason stood up from his chair and answered, “I’ll be fine as soon as this bastard is behind bars.”

The Captain agreed to include Jason on any new information involving this case, and Jason left his office to cool off.  As he drove around, his mind drifted to Selene and he picked up his phone to call her.

“Barkowitz LLP.  How may I help you?”

“May I speak with Selene Mendez?” 

After a brief pause, a soft voice came on.

“Selene speaking.”

“Hi, Selene.  It’s Jason.”

“Jason?  How did you get my number?”

“I am a detective, remember?  I have my ways.”  

She laughed, which caused him to smile.

“I just wanted to say that I enjoyed having coffee together, and on my shirt.”

Selene laughed again and said, “I’m glad I amuse you.  Maybe I’ll see you there again tomorrow.”

Jason grinned
. “Maybe you will. Have a nice day at work, Selene.”

He hung up the phone and the anger he was feeling before had disappeared as he drove back to work.  The day seemed to last forever.  Between his case load and all the information his Captain had given him on this new case, Jason’s mind was on overdrive.  He kept coming back to his encounter with Selene.  She was still on his mind as he walked in the door to his apartment after his shift.  He removed his vest and stripped down to nothing as he hopped in the shower.  The water felt soothing against his bare skin.  He placed his head against the cold
, hard tile and mentally prepared himself for the months ahead.  This was going to be the hardest assignment he would ever have to do, but in the end, it would save lives. That was all that mattered to him.

Selene locked up the office and walked up the flight of stairs to enter the apartment she and Daphne shared.  Daphne was making dinner and the aroma of food was in the air.

“Mmmmm smells good.”

Daphne laughed
. “Good. I’m making pasta primavera.”

Selene rubbed her stomach.  “Ok.  Let me change and then I’ll help.”

Their apartment was located above the office. Daphne wanted to live away from her parents, but her father did not want her living by herself. Selene needed a place to live after graduating college, so it all worked itself out.  Daphne was the queen of décor and liked to keep the apartment looking like it came out of the pages of ELLE Décor magazine. 

Selene walked into her room and set down her things.  She had a large pillar type bed with a canopy hanging over it.  She had loved this room the moment she laid eyes on it.  It had glass doors that led out to a large patio balcony and a very gorgeous view of Central Park. From time to time, Selene would just sit out there and curl up with a hot cup of coffee and relax.  After she changed into a pair of shorts and tank top, she walked into the dining room as Daphne was placing dinner on the table. 

“What’s bothering you?” Daphne asked, obviously knowing that something was distracted Selene.

Selene smiled weakly at Daphne, trying to decide whether or not to tell her. 

“Lucio called me today.”

Daphne looked up and glared.  “What did that bastard want?” 

Selene responded, “To tell me to go to dinner with him.”

“Tell him he can go f-“

“Daphne!”

“He’s a piece of shit who needs to be put in jail.  How he is getting away with it is beyond me.”  Daphne paused to study her friend’s face.  Selene was worried and scared.   “Have you talked to her yet?”

Selene reached over to get her phone and shook her head.

“She hasn’t called yet.  But she will.”

Daphne turned away and then asked, “Are you sure you can trust her?”

Selene glanced at her friend, who was full of genuine concern.

“Daphne, Mimi helped me see Lucio for what he really was.  I would still be with him if it wasn’t for her.  I know I can trust her.  She should have called by now.  I’m just-”

Daphne hugged her friend tightly.  

“Forget about Lucio for now.  Let’s relax and have dinner.  Hopefully, Mimi will call.”

Selene sat down and started to eat as Daphne poured herself a glass of wine.  She thought about possibly telling Jason about Lucio, but then changed her mind.  When she had enough to convict him and Mimi agreed to testify, she would tell him.  Hopefully, it would be soon.

              Lucio laid back on his sofa, and took a long puff from his cigar.  He’d removed his shirt after Carina had passed out.  He didn’t want to get any bloodstains on the expensive material.  Rick opened the door and saw the body on the floor.

             
“Is she dead?”

             
“No. Not yet.  I’m not done with her.   Get her cleaned up and bring her to my place.  I have plans for her.”

             
Rick swallowed hard and Lucio thought he saw pity when he gazed at Carina. Rick didn’t say anything else; he just picked Carina up and carried her out of the office.  The door closed behind them, and Lucio was alone again.

  He got up and walked over to a bookshelf behind his desk.  He clicked on one of the books and the bookshelf moved to the side.  He walked down a flight of stairs and into a private room.  There were glass containers everywhere with various creatures crawling inside.  All considered dangerous and deadly, just like him.  He always had a morbid fascination with all things poisonous, even as a child.
              He strolled to the last container, and smirked.  He found the perfect gift to send Selene.  

He was contemplating the perfect way to send Selene his gift when he arrived home.  He heard loud banging coming from his bedroom.  Lucio smiled.  He started to undress as he entered his bedroom.  Carina was tied to his bed and looked almost new with the exception of all the bruises he’d given her.  She whimpered when she saw him, pulling on the restraints.  He unbuttoned his pants and let them hang on his hips, revealing just a hint of his v cut.  She stared at him with a mixture of fear and lust.  Lucio chuckled.