Weston (15 page)

She’d pay anything to have her mother at her side right now. She curved her body against Tony, letting him hold her. Even when she’d worked undercover for Darrell, she’d never been so scared. Without her mom…God, she couldn’t even think about that outcome.

Kage turned around. “Got a hit. Marcelli’s at the old Sears building a block from the wharf. Two men and a woman have been spotted with him.”

Yes.
Excitement fueled her forward. She had no say in Tony and Kage going with her, nor did she want to stop long enough to argue with them. The sooner they reached Gino, the faster she could get her mom and keep her safe.

“Wait.” Kage stepped in front of Rocki, blocking her from leaving the house.

Her whole body flinched. “What?”

Kage motioned for Tony to come to him, and his gaze softened while he took a deep breath. “There have been reports of gunfire.”

She pressed against Tony’s arm around her waist, reeling from the news. This was all her fault.

R
ocki pressed her back flat to the tin siding of the abandoned Sears building. An old warehouse, two stories tall and long abandoned in the industrial part of town, the building provided minimal coverage with one entrance door facing the street, one exit door at the back of the building, and four delivery doors that were useless to them. She raised the pistol to her chest and gazed at Tony opposite her beside the closed door. She was in no shape to be the first one to kick her way inside the building.

She’d practiced, planned, and gone through every possible scenario that could happen today on the ride over. Her hands shook, despite going through every step of calming herself that she’d learned while on the job. Nothing worked to push the fact that it was her mom inside, and her life was in danger.

The woman who’d raised her singlehandedly and gave her confidence to dream, wish, and not take life too seriously was in the hands of a killer. Her mom had showed her how to keep going and to ignore those who told her that becoming a police detective was impossible for a woman. Mom had supported her when she’d entered the academy, despite her fear that something could happen to her in the line of duty. She readjusted her grip on the gun. Until she saw with her own eyes that Mary was all right, she couldn’t trust herself to stay focused on the situation.

Tony motioned from his position on the other side of the entrance. She nodded, but instead of kicking in the door, he stayed in position and studied her.

“Don’t go there,” he whispered. “Stick with the plan. Get your head straight.”

“I know what I’m doing, Weston,” she hissed.

He smiled that lopsided grin she loved. “That’s my girl. On the count of three.”

As instructed, she held up three fingers, two fingers, and then one finger. Tony stepped away from the building and in seconds, he barged forward. She followed Tony as he broke through the door with his shoulder.

They separated, with her going to the right, Tony to the left. She held the gun in front of her, scouring the area.

An old warehouse, barren except for wooden crates left behind years ago, most of them busted by vandals, that dotted the concrete floor. The high windows, covered in dust and grime, blocked the brightest light and she blinked to accustom herself to the dim lighting. She moved forward, scanning the large room.

Toward the west end of the opened floor building, a motorized cart blocked her view. She sidestepped into position, clearing the structure, and spotted her nightmare. She bit off her gasp, steeling herself. Tony moved in front of her the second her gaze landed on her mom.

Around his arm, she viewed Mary sitting on a chair, hands tied behind her, and her mouth moving in surprise at seeing Rocki. Through the rush of her pulse pounding in her ears, she heard her mother speak but couldn’t decipher the words. She pushed away the panic and pulled every bit of strength from her resolve. She’d handled situations worse than this before. She knew what to do.

Rocki moved to the left of Tony, staying behind him to make herself less of a target but allowing both of them to have clear shots in case she needed to shoot her way out. She ignored her mom’s rustling and concentrated on Marcelli.

Marcelli stood ten feet away from her mother, leaning against a crate, his arms folded and acting as if they’d run into each other at the mall instead of an abandoned warehouse after having just kidnapped her mother. She clenched her teeth together, disgusted and sickened by the truth. Until now, she’d hoped Gino had a fricking good reason to turn his back on the department. What she saw on his face and in the situation told her things were worse than all the proof she had on the detective.

He was a sick bastard who would kill without any thought, and cocky enough to throw the truth in her face and take her down with him.

“It took you an hour longer to find me than I thought it would, Bangli. I taught you better than that.” Marcelli tilted his head, letting his hands fall to his sides.

She took in the other two men in the area. Their profiles unfamiliar, she gave them the once-over. Both of them right-handed, and holding a pistol aimed at her and Tony, finger on the trigger. A bulkiness on their right ankles confirmed they were each packing more than one weapon. These guys weren’t messing around.

“You have a warrant out for your arrest,” she said. “Everyone in the state is looking for you.”

“Doesn’t matter. Thanks to you, my name means nothing anymore. You’ve succeeded in killing off Detective Gino Marcelli and making him disappear all by yourself. Unfortunately, I fear you’ve brought more trouble down on your own head. Without me, the case remains open. You’ll never make top detective…such a shame. All that work for nothing.” Marcelli pushed away from the crate and walked toward her mom. “Once we’re done here, I’ll be long gone and you’ll be busy cleaning up the mess you created, or not.”

Anger rose to the surface, and she forced herself not to show him how much his closeness to her mother bothered her. “And you decided for shits and giggles to kidnap my mom? What’s that about?”

Marcelli sighed and swung around to face her. “Insurance, of course. You’ll get your mom back when I’m out of the country. It all depends on what you decide to do, Bangli.”

“You know I can’t let that happen.” She stepped forward, not taking her aim off Gino. “I won’t let you take her from me, and I’m not letting you slip away.”

His men moved forward, arms raised, weapons pointed at her. She ignored them and stopped five feet away from Gino. “I’m not playing your game. If you wanted freedom, you would’ve taken the first flight out of town the moment you got word that you screwed your own ass by playing both sides.”

Gino laughed. The sound, victorious and confident, pissed her off. “Maybe you did learn something working under me.”

She widened her stance and waited. Having partnered with Gino many times in the past, taken his tutelage, and mastered his negotiation skills, she knew he wasn’t finished. The big finale was coming.

He had a different game plan. One she never suspected. He was out for revenge.

She assumed he’d try to upset her or get her riled, so she lost her head. But he’d shown his real reason why she was standing here talking with him. He wanted her to know what he’d done and throw it in her face. He was proud of going this long without anyone catching on, but he underestimated her. She glanced at Gino’s hand. Sure enough, his finger went to war, trying to rub the prints off his thumb.

“Mom?” She remained looking at Gino. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, honey,” Mary said. “Thank you for coming for me. I don’t know what we’re doing here, but after the way that man pushed me in the car, I knew it had to do with you. I thought your troubles were over.”

“Not yet.” She paused. “I have a few more things to handle, and then I’ll be done.”

“Good.” Her mom’s exhale came out harsh and fast, and Rocki knew her mother understood what was happening. “I took pictures in Hawaii on my phone. I had the loveliest time. The weather was fantastic, and I even lay out on the beach and got a little color on my face. See?”

Rocki wanted to roll her eyes. Only her mom would bring up her getaway-to-stay-safe as a distraction for Rocki.

“That’s great. As soon as we’re done here, I’ll look at your pictures.” She moved closer to Tony. “How are you doing, Weston?”

“I’d be better if there weren’t three guns aimed at you,” he mumbled. “I think it’s time to bring this meeting to a close.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” She walked purposely to Gino. “Call off your thugs.”

“Not happening,” Gino said. “Bring the evidence you have against me, and I’ll let your mom go.”

“That’s it?” She laughed. “Oh, come on,
Detective
Marcelli. I’m sure you have men inside the department who’ve already retrieved the package out of the evidence room.”

He glared but remained silent.

Bingo.

She’d covered her tracks making sure to double record the evidence, and Marcelli must have found out his moles were unable to attain the proof. She let herself smile. With what the police department held as evidence, he’d be doing life in prison for what he’d done.

She walked around him, taking her time, pretending to think over her next move when really she was checking him out for a weapon. After making a complete circle, she yawned loudly, irritating him more as she continued her inspection. On her second trip around Marcelli, she swung her leg behind his knees, sending him careening toward the concrete floor.

She wasted no time. In two moves, she had his pistol removed from his ankle holster and her gun jabbed into the back of his head. “Tony?”

“Covered.” Tony concentrated on the two men in the room.

From her spot beside Gino, she looked across the area. Marcelli’s thugs, distracted by a woman taking down their boss, kept their attention on her and off Tony. “You’ve got five seconds to hit the door, or you’ll be arrested along with
Mr.
Marcelli.”

The men snapped out of their shock, and raised their pistols. Shots rang out.

She scrambled a few feet and dove for her mom, colliding with the chair and dragging Mary down underneath her body, shielding her from getting shot. With her gun hand, she shot the closest man and took him down with a bullet to his shooting arm. His pistol flew to the floor ten feet behind him.

Tony clipped the other guy in the thigh, but he remained on his feet. She saw the injured man move and yelled, but the guy scrambled to the gun and got off one more shot. She jerked her gaze to Tony and watched him fall to his knees. Rocki screamed louder, turning to pick off the man, but the scumbag made it to the door and ran out of sight.

Pushing to her feet, she hurried to Tony. He groaned. Her gaze went to his front and relief swept through her. She sat on her ankles. “Oh, thank God.”

“Honey?” her mom said.

“Hang on, Mom.” She grasped Tony’s shirt and pulled each side, popping buttons. The mark on his bulletproof vest was a welcoming sight. She met his eyes. “You’re okay.”

“No shit.” He chuckled, wincing. “Nothing like setting me up to be your distraction, sweetheart. We need to talk about your leadership skills and who calls the shots.”

“Rocki?” her mom called again.

“Yeah?” She dragged her gaze off Tony and turned to her mom. Bile rose in her throat. “Frick.”

“First rule of combat, Bangli: do not take your eyes off the suspect.” Gino motioned with his pistol for her to stand.

“After all you’ve done, you deserve to spend time in prison.” She raised her hands to her sides, and Gino motioned for her to drop the weapon. She laid the gun on the ground, and stepped away from Tony. “We both know what the men in there will do to you when they discover you’re a cop. I’m thinking you deserve everything you’ll get. I thought you were one of us, Marcelli. One of the good guys. But you had us all fooled, didn’t you?”

“Not happening. I won’t be locked up.” Marcelli motioned her away from Tony. “Now, you’ve bought yourself a ticket out of the country. You and your mom are going to take a trip with me.”

Tony grunted, coughing hard enough to send him back to the floor. She hesitated. He’d have a bruised sternum tomorrow, but once his breath returned and the pain subsided, he’d be okay. She helped her mom out of the chair.

“Honey, can you unwrap my wrist?” Her mom lifted one of her shoulders. “I can’t feel a thing in my fingers.”

Rocki glared at Gino. “Can I at least rub her hands?”

The trauma her mom continued to go through would take longer to heal than the bruises from having her hands tied behind her back. She lifted her chin. “She’s not used to being tied up or seeing her daughter shot at…The least you can do is let me make her more comfortable. She’s my mother, dammit.”

Gino glanced at Tony on the floor. “Whatever. Make sure you keep her walking toward the door. I’m running out of time. We’re leaving.”

With her mom leading the way, she followed behind her and almost choked when she saw the reason why her mom wanted the rope off her wrists. Her mom held a pistol behind her back in her tied hands. She glanced behind her at Gino. He jabbed her in the shoulder with the end of his gun, but hadn’t noticed what Mary was holding. Rocki stumbled forward, overexaggerating the push, and took the pistol from her mom.

In one move, she whirled around and aimed the gun at Gino’s chest. “Don’t move, you bastard.”

He cocked his head, and kept his own gun pointed at her. “Looks like a standoff, Bangli.”

Another pistol cocked and Tony popped up behind Gino’s shoulder. “Let’s even the odds. You see, you fucked with my girl, so I don’t think I’ll wait to see who takes the first shot, because as far as I can see, just your aiming at Rocki is enough for me to kill you. Not to mention kidnapping my girl’s mother.”

“Shit.” Marcelli closed his eyes and lowered the pistol.

Mary nudged her shoulder. “Tony really is sexy, isn’t he? Did you hear how he stood up for you…his woman?”

Rocki stepped forward and removed Gino’s weapon. As Tony handcuffed Gino, she undid the rope binding her mom’s arms.

“How in the world did you end up with a gun when your hands were tied?” Rocki asked.

“Well, when Tony got shot—by the way, I’m glad he was wearing one of those vests—the man who ran out dropped his gun. I got up from the chair, sat down on the floor, rolled over to the gun, and picked it up.” Her mom smiled.

“Seriously?” Rocki shook her head. “How did you stand back up and get in the chair without using your hands?”

“Ever since you had me take that self-defense class, I decided I live a pretty sedentary life. I thought I’d change things up and be more active…daring, in the hopes of making myself more agile and limber. So I’ve been watching YYY DVDs.”

Rocki coughed to cover her laugh. “Please don’t tell me you meant a triple X DVD.”

“Well, that wouldn’t make sense when it’s called
You, Yoga, and Your Health
. Apparently, it’s working, don’t you think?” Her mom rubbed her hands together.

Rocki crushed Mary to her chest. “I love you, Mom.”