She lifts it to admire. “It’s beautiful. Where did you get it?”
“A place I visited once. A woman gave it to me to thank me for saving her husband. She said it would bring warriors, knights you could say, on white elephants to protect me from all evil. I liked it so much I had a replica tattooed to my chest.”
She leans forward, tracing the image. “Oh yeah, you have so many tattoos it kind of gets lost in them, like a hidden treasure.” She smiles.
I lean in, kissing her face and down her neck. “And now you have a treasure, to bring me back to you, to protect you in reality and in your dreams.”
“To be my white knight on a white elephant. I never knew I needed one, but I am not opposed to the idea as long as it is you,” I hear her whisper as I take hold of her hands and fall back into bed with her.
Chapter 15
Dace
“So your trip was successful?” Ettore asks me.
“Yeah, he was up there the whole time, and Antony and I were able to listen in on his every conversation. He’s not that smart or very organized, Ettore. Why are we so concerned with this family?”
“Why indeed?” Michael asks. “We need to let this go. Once I move into office, I will have the power to go after him properly, leaving you to focus on business.”
“Shut up, Michael. I am going after him. He may not be well organized now, but that is no reason to sit back and wait for him to get organized,” Ettore fires back.
“No. No you won’t. You will allow your brother to finish his campaign and then we will reevaluate our competition and discuss as a family. We have put a damper on his plans to attack Michael; I doubt he has much power to do so before the election,” My father says with a finality.
“That’s the wrong decision. If we wait, it may be too late. It will be too hard to take care of him and his cronies,” Ettore stresses, standing up instantly to my father.
Michael gets in between them. “Back off Ettore. The decision has been made. We discussed it and checked it out as you wanted, and there is still nothing to worry about, especially now that Dace and Antony have put a stop to the leak,” Michael says, pushing back on Ettore’s chest. “You even had Antony follow his wife. You think I wouldn’t find out about that? Stop being so paranoid and listen to reason.” I look over towards Antony who seems to feel as uncomfortable as I do. “And why Antony? Why not Dace? You afraid Dace would end up fucking her? Give away your precious secrets in the heat of passion?” Michael laughs, but it doesn’t seem like a laughable moment to the rest of us. “Hell, maybe he would impregnate her and we could infiltrate the enemy from the inside out.”
“I want to go after him now when he least expects it—before he becomes more powerful than he already is. Before he has a chance to become a friend to another enemy,” Ettore fights back.
“Antony and Dace, step outside and wait,” my father demands. We get up instantly and rush out the door.
Antony and I sit outside until Michael walks out. “Don’t worry about it guys. We fight like this all the time. Ettore will get over it like he always does. He’s just being stubbornly overprotective of us all right now.” He smiles his typical without-a-care-in-the-world smile. “Hey, could you guys do me a favor and see to this group that has been causing some major issues for Ettore? I feel I need to give him a peace offering. They are a part of the Robiks crew, not much to worry about, but Ettore seems to think they are aligning with the Aksakovs. So to prevent that, let’s blow their cover and lead the police to them. No one wants to deal with a group who has the cops all over them. Here’s the address.” Michael hands me the address, and Antony and I take off out the door as quickly as we can. The sooner we get out of here, the less brotherly drama we have to deal with.
“Okay, all I need to do is go in and mess with their alarm system so the police can get in undetected and catch them before they can get rid of the evidence. You stay here and wait for me to let you know where to pick me up. I’ll be in and out in no time,” I tell Antony, leaving out the one other thing Michael called and asked me to do so as not to worry him.
“Be careful. I know you have done this a thousand times, but I have a bad feeling about this,” Antony says. I nod and get out of the car with the same bad feeling. Listen to your gut, Peter would say. It is nothing for me to sneak in and mess with the alarm system; I am in and finished in no time.
It’s that extra part of the job Michael requested late that bothers me, “Download all their information so we know their contacts.”
“Why is this even important, Michael?” I asked.
“To see who of the Aksakovs they are meeting with, of course.”
“I doubt they would keep that on their system, Michael.”
“Maybe not, but look anyway. It can’t hurt, can it?”
“I guess not.”
I gave in knowing I can get the information easily, but now, I am regretting agreeing to it. I have to get to a whole other room in order to access it all. Once there, I run into a couple of guards and put them down for the time being, giving me only seconds to get what I need. Their system is antiquated and easy to deal with but also slow as hell.
“Dace, the cops just drove by. You need to get out of there now,” Antony texts me.
“Fuck, they’re early.” I get what I need and jump up, searching for the way out. I locate the back stairs and run up to the roof, quickly vaulting to the roof of the building next door. Running for the roof top hatch, I snatch it open and climb through. The building is dead silent. I make it to the last door and wait, listening. The cops are everywhere, and I have to wonder how many are smart enough to come to this building too. I ease open the door and step through. Someone is here. I know it.
I spin around, pulling my gun on them as they put theirs in my face. My heart beats rapidly, and still, I breathe out slowly, blowing her blond tresses from her eyes. “Austin?”
“What are you doing here, Dace?” she asks with her gun still raised. I glance down at her badge, continuing to hold my gun on her.
“You’re a cop?”
“And you’re clearly a criminal.”
We pace around each other without blinking and without releasing our hold on our weapons. “Let me go, Austin.”
“No,” she says, beginning to shake with anger.
“Are you going to shoot me if I run?”
“Yes.”
“No you won’t.”
“You have your gun in my face. Are you going to shoot me to get away?” she asks as I feel a tug at my heart.
“No, now let me go.”
“Do you work for the Robiks? Are you one of their drug smugglers?”
“No. I have nothing to do with them, except my family wants them taken care of before they align themselves with an enemy of ours.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t know your family. They can’t be very big. Why worry about a family that is beyond their reach?”
“Because my family is beyond their reach.” I stare into her pained eyes and am crushed and angry all at the same time. Maybe I want to hurt her, make her feel the betrayal that I feel right now knowing that the woman I love … is a cop. She’s a fucking cop. How dare she hide that from me, knowing how I feel. I lean my head in. “I’m a Colletto, Austin. My name is actually Dace Colletto. Yes, I lied to you … too.” Her eyes widen, and the pain I inflicted on her becomes clear, but I feel no better about revealing my revengeful secret.
She shakes her head, still holding her gun on me. “No, you can’t be. There are only two brothers.”
“Antony and I are the ones that were thought dead. We were sent away when we were young.”
“Oh,” she says as if it is hard for her to admit it out loud.
“Let me go, Austin. You know damn well if you arrest me, I will be out before you know it. You won’t be able to hold me on anything.”
“Dace?” she says, and I think for a second that she is going to cry. Her expression is pained, but instead, she punches
me and knocks my gun away. She takes a step back and kicks me to the ground. I grab her leg and throw her down with me. “I can’t believe this!”
“Are you really trying to fight me right now, you crazy ass woman?”
“Damn right. I want nothing more than to hit you.” She swings her fist into my jaw, and I have to slam her against the wall to keep from receiving another blow.
“Stop and let me go before it’s too late,” I say, looking deep into her eyes and wishing like hell we were not who we are. “I never meant to hurt you, Austin. I …” I inhale deeply and shove her to the floor, grabbing my gun and reaching for the door. I want to leave without thinking, but instead, I glance back at her to see if she will follow me only to feel guilty for leaving her tangled in some decades old debris so I can get away. As I walk out, I hear another man and then another coming in, screaming and fighting with her. I stop, regretting what I am about to do already. “Fuck,” I huff, running back in and helping Austin battle a group that did the exact same thing I did to get away, and she is their last barrier. They don’t care whether she lives or dies, but I do. She has two on her with two more filing in to kill her, and I step in. I down two in an instant and pull one off of her and knock him out. She handles the other one with ease as several cops come busting through and throw me against a wall with the rest.
I am handcuffed and escorted out past her without either of us saying a word.
Michael actually shows up with Antony to get me out. I guess he is so sure of his prestige that he doesn’t believe a lawyer is necessary. Apparently, he is that important. Not only does he get me out, but they drop the charges.
I walk out to Antony’s semi-smile and Michael shaking his head. “I guess you’re not as good as you think you are.”
“Thanks for getting me out,” I say, ignoring his snide comment.
“I had to pull a lot of strings to get you out without suspicion being put on your shoulders too. You owe me big time,” Michael says, turning away and leading us further into the police station. “I need to talk to a few people before we go.”
We step into a room full of cops, and Michael stops to talk to one man dressed in a stiff, cheap suit. I wait impatiently as Antony sighs next to me. “Oh no. Now I know why you got caught.” I look up and see Austin walking towards us.
“Austin,” Michael says gleefully, surprisingly hugging her as if they are friends. “A big bust for you guys today, huh? I’m sorry my brother was caught up in the middle, but I promise he won’t be of any trouble again.”
“He was no problem. I was surprised to hear that you have … two other brothers, Michael,” Austin says, glancing our way.
“Yes, they only recently returned. We sent them away when they were young to protect them, but now they are big boys …” Michael wraps his arms around Antony and my shoulders and squeezes with a kiss to the sides of our heads, annoying the shit out of both of us. “They hate when I do that. These two aren’t much to look at now, but they were adorable when they were little.”
Antony looks at him with a scowl. “Excuse me? I am the best looking one in the family.”
Austin continues to stare at us in shock. “You really are related? You don’t look that much alike?”
“Do you think I would lie about being related to someone so ugly?” Michael laughs, not understanding the situation at all.
A man walks up on Austin and puts his arm around her shoulders, as if he has no boundaries with her, giving me a reason to look him over more closely. “Austin, we need your input on this … oh, hi Michael,” he says with a sigh. He clearly is not too fond of my brother.
“Hi, Aaron. Great to see you again. I really enjoyed our talk at dinner the other night. Please tell your father that, next time, we should all get together at my place.”
“Uh-huh, sure,” Aaron says with little enthusiasm.
“Oh, and these are my brothers, Antony and Dace,” Michael says, motioning to each of us. “Aaron is Austin’s twin brother, guys.”
“There are more of you?” he asks, clearly irritated by the idea. “Oh wonderful. Austin, can you help me or are you too busy flirting?” Aaron asks while I catch Antony looking him over with interest. I give him an evil glare, and the asshole shrugs.
“I’m not flirting,” she snaps at him. “And I will be there in a second.” Aaron walks off with a slight nod to each of us.
“You can flirt with me anytime you want, Austin.” Michael flashes his political white teeth at her. I stare at him in disbelief. Oh my God. This is not happening.
“Thanks, but um …” She looks my way and sighs. “I have to go. See you later.”
“Count on it,” Michael says as she walks away. “That woman, boys, is going to be the next Mrs. Colletto if I have anything to say about it.”
“You want to marry her?!” I yell at him. Antony stands behind him, shaking his head frantically and motioning for me to calm down. “I mean she’s a cop.”
“I know, and her father’s the chief of police.” Oh this is just getting worse and worse. “Don’t worry little brother, I know what I am doing. Their family has been leaders in law enforcement for generations and probably one of the most respected families in the city. What better way to clean our family’s reputation than to join with that of a long-adored family of the city? Not to mention, the chief’s daughter is the epitome of a politician’s wife. Smart, beautiful, and damn the things I would do to see her naked. Hell, the things I have thought about doing to her naked.”
“Wow, well that is way more than I wanted to know,” Antony says, stepping in front of me, shaking his head with a dramatic laugh.
Michael laughs, “I get it. You are not interested in women, but I am sure Dace agrees with me. You think she’s hot, don’t you Dace?”
I open my mouth to talk, but nothing will come out.
“Him? Hell no, she’s too clean for him. You know Dace. He likes them rough and dirty,” Antony says, causing Michael to laugh harder and me to sigh with relief.
The moment I shut the door behind me, I breathe a little freer. This is unbelievable. She lied to me. Successfully lied to … me! And I fucking believed her! And my brother! Of all people, my brother is chasing after her. My brother—the guy who never gave up on us, who held me to his chest, and was the only one that could calm me after our mother’s death. He said he wished he could have been the one to have killed that guy instead of me and put all my pain on his shoulders. Argghhhh! I slam my fist through a wall as Antony comes in.
“Oh good, you’ve calm down,” he says sarcastically.
“You! This is your fault.” He points to himself in shock. “Don’t act like you’re innocent. You introduced me to her. If not for you, I would be fine. I thought you checked them out before you got too involved?”
“I did. Well, I checked him out. Good news. Preston isn’t a cop.” I stare holes through him. “Yep, he’s a hotel manager. A nice one.”
“Oh yeah? Which one?”
“Huh?” he says, clearly not knowing.
“Unbelievable, Antony!”
“I know, I’m sorry. You know me, though. I meet someone, I get so excited I don’t think about much else. Besides, I wasn’t ever planning on dating her.” I crash into a chair, fisting my hair. “What are you going to do? And damn Michael is in love with your girl— that’s fucked up.”
“She’s not my girl. Not anymore anyway.”
“You’re going to break up with her?”
I look up at him in disbelief. “Antony? Really?”
“Well you just seem to really be … falling in love.”
“Doesn’t matter what my feelings are. I’ll get over it. What I won’t get over is her being a cop.”
“Okay… if you say so.”
“Yes, I say so. When I set my mind to something, then that’s what will happen. All I have to do is break the habit.”
It’s been a week since I found out about Austin, and she has been blowing up my phone ever since. She is
even trying to chase me down at home and everywhere else. I had to literally run out of our building this morning to get away from her. I think I am going to have to move. Damn.
“Mr. Colletto, where do you want me to be?” Tyson, one of Ettore’s best men, asks me.
“Go in to use the bathroom and then wait for me there.”
“How are you going to get in?”
“Don’t worry about me. I always find a way.” I smile. I send him on his way and then enter through a locked alleyway door with my lock breaker. Making my way skillfully through the long corridors, I find Tyson and lead him to the back room where their safe room is. A keypad lock? They are just making this too easy for me. In no time I am in, and while Tyson goes through their security and sets up the bugs I created, I go through their computer systems and download everything they have and transfer it to Ettore. Stealing from the criminals never bothers me.
“Okay… we have two minutes to get out of here. Are you about done?” I ask Tyson.
“I am …now.”
“Alright, let’s get out of here.” We step out of the room, and I lead him back “Leave me and step back into the restroom where you came from; wait less than a minute and leave, quickly. You understand?” He nods, and I think we are free and clear, so I leave him to escape out the alleyway door again. I get back out onto the street, look behind me, and see him being chased. Motherfucker. I quickly take out my phone and call Antony. “He’s coming your way. Be prepared to go and fast; he’s being followed.”
I hang up and begin walking the opposite direction, expecting to meet them a few blocks down, only I find Austin driving around, apparently searching for me. Damn, she tracked me. I really should have left my phone at home. “Ah damn.” I walk by, keeping my head down, but I don’t get far before she is chasing after me.