Twisted Desire (30 page)

Her hands framed my face, bringing my forehead to hers. “I love you so much, Tag,”
she breathed. “So much.”

We didn’t talk anymore after that.

Chapter 29

I stood out on the massive porch in the back area of the compound. Beautiful and colorful flowers, from roses to hydrangeas, surrounded me with their scent filling the air with the ocean breeze. My shirt flapped in that breeze, giving me a chill, but I ignored it.

It was time.

Penny was slowly getting stronger, but wouldn’t fully recover until I got her home, that much I knew. For someone who spewed such hatred at her, Roman was sure having a hard time recovering from Kimberly’s decision to blow her head off. No one but Theo had seen or talked to him since everything happened. Oh, and his doctor, who up until yesterday, had him under heavy sedation at Roman’s own request.

Theo came to me an hour ago and told me everything was all set. We’d take care of business here, then board the airplane that was already waiting at the airport. Penny would have to leave everything behind, except her sketches. I’d made sure to pack them in my bag. I knew she wouldn’t mind ditching her stuff, seeing as it was all bought and paid for by a monster that’d had some sick fantasy about her, kidnapped her, wanting her for himself.
 

“Dude?”

I turned my head and saw Theo step out of the shadows. “Yeah?”

“Everything’s set. The men are stationed and on guard. Penny is in your room, a guard outside your door and the french doors. You told her to stay put, right?”

I nodded. “Yes. She has no desire to leave our room after what happened.”

“Good. Let’s do this.”

I pulled the gun from the waistband of my jeans and turned to follow Theo in the house. His own gun was in his hand, ready to aim at any moment. I felt my body tense, the adrenaline start to pump, ready for anything and everything. The house was eerily quiet as we stalked down the hall, as if preparing itself for what was to come.

Thoughts of my sweet girl kept me going, knowing that her nightmare was almost over. Once I completed this last assignment, she was going home, and I was going with her. I’d finally be done with Roman and his cartel, hopefully having a break before deciding what to do about my future. The only thing I was sure of was her, of being with Penny. She was finally going home to a father who never botched up a drug deal, to a father and family who were going insane with worry about her, until I made a phone call to Raul a few hours ago.

We got further down the hall, to the room at the end where Kimberly offed herself and where a TV was blaring. Ever since Roman had awakened and gotten out of bed, that was where he’d been. A fitting place to be for what was about to happen.

We reached the door and Theo paused, turning to face me. “I think it’s better if you go in first. After all, this is your baby, right?”

I nodded and stepped in front of him, pressing my shoulder to the door. Years and years of hard work were finally coming to an end. My time being undercover in Roman’s cartel was about to pay off.

I felt Theo’s hand on my shoulder. “Dude, be ready for anything, and know I’ve got your back. He’s completely lost it. I’m sure us announcing that we’re DEA agents will make him lose his shit even more.”

He was right. Roman had definitely shown a decline in his mental health the past few weeks, and especially after Kimberly. Once we barged in and arrested him, who knows what would happen.
 

“Well, whatever happens,”
I started to respond. “The end result will be Roman Vitale in handcuffs. The sick bastard is going down, right now.”

We nodded at each other, then I quickly opened the door, both of us stalking inside. Roman was sitting on the same sofa, his normally perfectly styled hair completely messy and sticking out everywhere. It didn’t faze him that he was no longer alone in the room. He didn’t turn around to see who was there, didn’t move a muscle.

“Roman?”
I spoke out.

Nothing.

Looking at Theo, I tried again as I walked closer to him. “Roman? Look at me.”

He glanced over, then back to the TV. I stalked over to it and turned it off, turning to face him. Theo was on the other side of Roman, who didn’t seem to notice. He started to sit up, his upper lip forming into a snarl.

“Turn that back on,”
he growled, his ice-blue eyes shooting daggers at me.

“I think turning the TV off is the least of your problems,”
I replied, raising my hand to show him the gun. His eyes showed confusion for a second, then went blank.
 

“What are you doing, Tag?”
he asked, sitting back and folding his arms over his chest. The red velvet robe he wore shifted a little, exposing a royal blue pajama top.
I guess that’s what he’ll be wearing when he gets his mug shot taken.

“I’m placing you under arrest,”
I replied in a stern tone. I reached into my back pocket, pulling out my badge and stepping closer so he could see it.

His eyes bulged, and sweat started to form at his brow. “What the hell?”
he roared, suddenly jerking up. “Is this a damn joke?”
He looked at me, then at Theo, as if we’d suddenly bust into laughter and say “Just kidding.”

Theo stepped closer to him, flashing him his badge as well. “I’m afraid not, Roman,”
he told him. “This is very real. We’re DEA, and like he said, you’re under arrest.”

Roman looked like a deer caught in the headlights for just one second before suddenly bolting off the couch, standing between us. We both took a step toward him when he reached into the pocket of his robe and brandished a gun at us.
 

“Well, isn’t this interesting,”
he commented, looking back and forth at us. “My two most trusted men have betrayed me.”
 

I rolled my eyes and started for him, not worried in the least he was holding a gun on me. Before I’d taken two steps, though, his eyes turned to slits and his lip was back to a snarl. “One more step, son, and it’s your head that gets blown off this time.”

I paused, not wiling to test him. Looking at Theo behind him, he nodded, letting me know he had my back. Lifting my gun, I showed Roman he wasn’t the only one who was armed.

“Looks like we’ve found ourselves with a problem,”
I told him. “You have a gun, I have a gun, neither one of us willing to set them down. I suggest you do, though, and surrender because you’re finished, Roman.”

He raised his gun higher, aiming right at my heart. “Oh no, I’m afraid you’re wrong, you fool. I’ve only just begun. You think I never knew about your little relationship with Penny, but I did. I’m not a stupid man, Tag. Unfortunately, Jamille decided to kill herself, which interfered with my plan.”
Tears started to well in his eyes at the mention of Kimberly/Jamille, and he swiped at them with the hand holding the gun.
 

“Jamille,”
he whispered, seeming to get distracted with thinking of her. He really had lost his marbles.
 

I took advantage of the moment and advanced, Theo approaching from the other side.
 

“STOP!”
Roman roared, raising the gun at me. I froze, not saying a word. Theo stopped too, looking at me. I shook my head, silently telling him to hold on a minute.

“I’ve loved Penny Santoro since she was a child, a beautiful child,”
he started, making my stomach start to churn. “Her father and I had been business associates, which I’m sure you’ve figured out, and he would bring her along sometimes to different meetings and events. I loved how you just bought my story that he stole a shipment from me, that that was why I took her. He never did that, you imbecile. He’s never been a drug lord, just a hugely successful businessman. We used to talk about going in on projects together. When he’d bring his family along to different sites once in a while, Penny always stood out to me. Her beautiful hair, her beautiful eyes, the way she would say ‘Mr. Vitale.’ She was a beautiful child,”
he told us, suddenly looking off in the distance, like he was in some daze. The guy was repeating himself now, over and over. Even the way he was explaining things to us showed me how bad his mind was slipping. I knew I could have taken him down right then, but the sick part of me wanted to hear what he had to say. I shook my head at Theo again, mouthing “hold on.”
He shook his head back but didn’t make a move.

“She never knew me well and had obviously forgotten me altogether by the time I had her kidnapped a few months ago. Oh, the plans I had for us, boys, she would have loved them. I was going to treat her like a queen. I’ve been so overjoyed she was finally an adult, finally of age to spend her life with me. And we would be, had I not made one fatal mistake.”
He stopped then, his eyes coming back into focus as he looked at me. Those same eyes stared at me with such hatred.

He took one step toward me. “That fatal mistake was assigning you to watch her, Tag. You, one of my most trusted men. You, who always did everything I asked. YOU!”
he shouted, waving his gun in my face. “You weren’t supposed to fall in love with her, you idiot! She’s mine, she’s always been mine, and now you think you’re going to arrest me? Ha, you are the fool. You and Theo both will be leaving here in body bags while I take Ms. Santoro to Majorca and make sweet love to her every single day.”
 

He took another step toward me and spat in my face, making me lose the little control I had. I raised my hands and lunged for him, taking him off guard. Both of our guns fell to the floor, mine because my hands went around his throat, and his because he wasn’t expecting it. I took him down to the ground and pressed my hands even harder against his throat, making him gurgle.
 

“Tag!”
Theo shouted, running behind me and trying to lift me off him.
 

“Back off, man,”
I shouted, not even turning my head to face him. “BACK OFF!”
I shouted again when he hadn’t. “Let me take care of him!”

Surprised when I felt Theo release my shoulders, I continued to squeeze the disgusting life out of Roman. His hands were struggling at his sides, his body trying to turn away from me. He continued to gurgle, his eyes bulging and turning red.
 

When I realized I was killing him, my senses came back to me, and I released his neck. He gasped for breath over and over. When I moved off of him, he turned to his side, wheezing in fresh air.
 

“You disgust me,”
I told him in a low but angry tone. “You will never have her, do you understand me? You will find yourself rotting in a small prison cell for the rest of your life. You’re lucky I didn’t kill you, although you’ll be wishing I had soon enough.”

When he’d finally caught his breath, he sat up. Theo came behind him, put his hands under his armpits, and helped lift him up. Just as I was starting to stand as well, I heard it.
 

The kick.

The grunt.

Theo falling to his knees.

It was all over before it started. In my stupid lapse in judgment when I’d dropped my gun, I didn’t have it on me when Roman Vitale reached his first. Realizing what he was intending, I hurled my body toward him in hopes of preventing it.

I didn’t.

The bullet pierced my ribs, sending me to the floor. Another bullet slammed into my leg. He wasn’t stopping.

I managed to roll over before the next bullet hit me. The pain was excruciating, my vision flashing, but I forced myself to crawl behind the sofa. Blood was seeping out of the wounds in my chest and leg, dripping onto the carpet and making me feel woozy and faint.
 

Shit!

I heard chaos on the other side of the sofa. Theo’s shouts and Roman’s cursing, then a thud. Darkness was coming over me, but I fought it, fought it hard. I bit my lower lip, thinking about my querida as the faint words of Theo placing Roman under arrest and the click of handcuffs sounded around me. Knowing Roman was no longer a threat, I gave in, and I succumbed to the darkness that I couldn’t fight anymore.

Chapter 30