by Katie Knight
“Everything okay?’ she called, her voice echoing through the empty room.
No answer.
Bending slightly, she peeked under the stall doors to look for Clara’s feet, but they weren’t there. Huh. That was odd. As she made her way down to the stall where her friend had gone, her pulse kicked higher. That strange tingle in her gut grew stronger too, the same tingle she’d had in the pawn shop that day. Intuition. Foreboding. Lila halted and glanced over into the mirror along the opposite wall and that’s when she spotted the shadow lunging toward her from behind.
Screaming, Lila backed up fast toward the opposite wall, spotting Clara’s crumpled form stuffed beneath the vanity behind her. Panicked, she crouched and shook her friend, checking for a pulse. Clara was still alive, but there was a tiny trickle of blood at her temple where the bastard had hit her.
Adrenaline buzzing through her system like angry hornets, she spun back fast to face her attacker. She hadn’t brought her purse with her, had no weapons to fend him off except her own body.
Shit. Just shit.
“What do you want?” she managed to get out, the words emerging shakier than she wanted.
“I want you dead, that’s what I fucking want. Trying to kill you has taken up too much of my time already and time is money.” He advanced closer, his bulky form looming over her like a phantom menace. He was dressed all in black again, though his face was uncovered tonight. Dom was just as ugly and intimidating as she remembered, all sinister gangster looks and wicked evil stares. “Get ready to meet your maker, bitch.”
He got his big hands around her throat before she could dodge out of the way. Lila struggled against him, clawing at his fingers, his wrists, his arms, anywhere she could reach, but to no avail. He only pressed harder, compressing her windpipe until her vision darkened near the edges as her oxygen supply dwindled. Images of Parker flashed through her head, of him growing up without her, of Preston having to take over as a single father. Preston.
As if conjured from her thoughts, his voice rang through the bathroom. “Lila? Everything okay in there?”
“Fuck!” Dom growled, squeezing her neck tighter still. The pressure in Lila’s head, coupled with her pounding pulse, grew nearly overwhelming her and unconsciousness beckoned. She opened her mouth to try to call to Preston, to try to scream, but nothing came out except gasps and wheezes.
“Die already, bitch!”
No. She didn’t want to die. She had too much to live for now.
“Lila?” Preston called through the door once more. “Answer me now or I’m coming in.”
Summoning what was left on her energy, Lila jammed her knee hard into Dom’s crotch, yielding her a nice grunt of pain from him and a momentary loosening of his grip. Using what precious time—and air—she had, Lila managed to yell, “Help!”
That was all it took.
Preston kicked the bathroom door in and charged inside, tackling Dom from the side and taking him down hard to the tile floor. Both men wrestled while Lila sucked in a few much-needed breaths. Her neck felt sore and stiff, but the only thing she cared about now was taking this asshole out and saving her son and the man she loved.
“Get something to secure him with!” Parker yelled between punches. “And call the cops!”
Acting on pure adrenaline, Lila raced out of the bathroom, ignoring the startled stares of the other patrons who were openly gawking through the bathroom door now at the fight taking place. She raced up to Tom. “I need rope or tape or whatever you have handy. Something strong enough to secure a person with. And Nancy, call the police. Now!”
“I don’t have any rope. Or tape. Used it all decorating this place,” Tom said, grabbing Lila’s arm and tugging her back toward the bathroom. “But I think these should work, at least until the cops get here.”
He yanked open a supply closet and pulled out a string of Christmas lights. “Darned things didn’t work anyway.”
“Thanks.” She ran back to the bathroom, prepared to jump on Dom too, if Preston required assistance, but he seemed to be doing fine on his own, slamming his fist into Dom’s side.
“And that’s for the broken ribs, asshole. Merry Christmas to you.”
Dom’s face was mashed into the tile floor, his curses and grunts muffled, as Preston sat on the bulky man’s back to hold him down, a knee in each of the thug’s shoulder blades as he restrained the guy’s hands behind his back. He looked up as Lila ran to his side. “Did you get something to tie him up?”
“There was no rope, but Tom said to use these.” She handed him the lights, then grinned. “Seems appropriate.”
“Yeah, it does, doesn’t it?” He grinned and twined the wire around Dom’s wrists before knotting it tight then using the same string of lights to retrain Dom’s ankles too, effectively hog- tying the man. Once he was finished, Preston slumped back on the floor, breathing hard. “Congrats on making Santa’s naughty list for sure, dude.”
Twenty-Four
The next morning Preston headed into town to the police station to talk to Detective Morrison. He was glad they’d finally caught the guy who’d been stalking Lila, not so happy about the fact that basically he’d had to do it all himself, with help from his CO, rather than being able to leave it up to the authorities.
He parked in front of the non-descript municipal building and walked into the lobby of the station. He’d expected the place to be deserted except for the local cops who’d drawn the short straw and were forced to work the holiday, but instead several people awaited him. Morrison, a couple of uniform officers, and a guy in a suit clutching a briefcase in his hand.
“Detective,” Preston said, walking over to the guy. “A gift card is fine.”
“Excuse me?” Morrison gave him a confused stare.
“In case you wanted to buy me something as thanks for doing your job for you,” he said, doing his best to keep the anger from his tone and failing miserably, if the flat look the detective gave him was any indication. “At least that asshole is behind bars.”
“For now,” the guy in the suit said. He held out his hand to Preston, his perfect white smile and emotionless dark eyes giving him a strong resemblance to a shark. “Oliver Tobias. District Attorney for this area.”
“Right.” Preston shook the guy’s hand. A lawyer. He should’ve known. “And I hope you’re not planning to let Dom go, especially since it took a lot of hard work for me to catch him. I’ve got the broken ribs to prove it.”
“No,” Tobias said, setting his briefcase atop the reception desk and opening it to pull out a thick file. “We’re not going to let him go. But perhaps we will offer him a plea deal. Depends on how willing he is to cooperate with us to catch the bigger fish in his pond.”
Preston clenched his fists at his sides to keep from punching the wall. The last thing he wanted was Dom to walk out of here a free man, regardless of whether he snitched on his friends. Still, as the attorney laid out the paperwork from the file, he couldn’t say he wasn’t intrigued by the information presented.
“We’ve been after the Capaldi crime family for years,” the DA said. “But haven’t had an in to get the evidence we need to convict. Your capture of Dominic Perretti may be the break we need.”
“Really?” Preston frowned. “The guy’s strong and well-trained, but he’s muscle—nothing more. I don’t think he’s some mafia big wig.”
“No. But from what Detective Morrison has told me, Dom was hired personally by Anthony Capaldi. Granted, Anthony is not in the family’s top leadership either, but he’s been around a long time and knows a lot of secrets. If we can get Dom to flip on Anthony, maybe Anthony will flip to save his own skin. The rest should fall like dominoes after that.”
“You think he’ll just agree?” Preston was sceptical, to say the least. He wasn’t an expert on the mafia, but he’d seen the movies and TV shows and thing never turned out well for snitches. “I don’t know.”
“Me neither,” Tobias said, flashing him that co
ld grin again. “But I’m about to find out. I’m going in to talk with Dom now. You’re welcome to watch from the next room, if you’d like.”
He followed Detective Morrison into a small, dark observation room adjacent to theirs and stood before the one-way mirror. Preston saw Dominic Perretti sitting alone at a bare metal table. The orange jail jumpsuit he was sporting did little for his appearance, but Preston didn’t think guy had ever looked better. In the corner of the room stood one of the uniformed officers from out front and across the table from Perretti sat an empty chair. Dom had his hands clasped atop the table, the chain connecting his handcuffs clanging against the edge of the surface.
About thirty seconds later, the DA entered, giving a nod of acknowledgment to the cop in the corner before taking a seat at the table. He didn’t so much as glance at Dom, putting on a show of being totally relaxed. Preston had to give the guy bonus points for bullshit. Based on what he’d told Preston in the lobby, they wanted to bring the Capaldi family down badly, but right now Tobias could’ve been sitting at the beach for all the anxiety he showed.
“Merry Christmas, Mr. Perretti,” Tobias said at last. He’d slowly gotten out all of his files and papers and arranged them in neat stacks atop the table in front of him. When he did look up at Dom, his smile was chilly enough to cause frostbite. “I do hope this won’t take long. I have holiday plans with my family later, so let’s hope we can wrap this up quickly.”
Dom snorted and sat back, dropping his shackled hands into his lap. “Fuck you and your plans.”
The DA sighed and shook his head. “That’s a very bah-humbug sort of attitude on a day all about giving, Mr. Perretti. And here I was hoping you might give me a gift. Give yourself one too, while you’re at it.”
Dom sneered and grabbed his crotch. “Got your gift right here.”
“Hmm.” Tobias kept his gaze fixed on the papers he was shuffling. “Well, if you aren’t feeling generous at the moment, then let’s start by discussing the charges being levelled against you today.”
The DA’s tone was as icy as the roads outside. “You’ve got a rap sheet a mile long. Everything from racketeering and theft to embezzling and assault. Quite a varied career you’ve built for yourself since your unfortunate departure from the military. Thank you for your service, by the way.” At Dom’s middle finger salute, the DA raised a brow. “Nice. Look, Mr. Perretti, I know you were hired by Anthony Capaldi to stalk Miss Holden and her child, and to harm her. The only thing I’m not sure about is why. You tell me about it and about everything else you know about Anthony Capaldi and his family and I may be able to cut you a deal. Instead of twenty to thirty years in prison for repeated murder attempts, I could perhaps cut it down to ten with the possibility of parole.”
“I ain’t telling you shit. I ain’t no rat,” Dom said, shifting in his seat, the metal creaking under his bulk. “I want an attorney.”
“Hmm.” The DA exhaled slow and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms. “And I’d like to get all of this over with and get home to my kids on Christmas. I’d also like to sleep better at night knowing ruthless killers like the Capaldi family are off the streets. Now, I understand you don’t want the family to think you’ve betrayed them. I get it. After all, the last guy who talked ended up in the Pacific with a bullet in the brain. But I’m afraid it’s a bit late for that.” The DA grinned and sat forward, all sleek predator now. “See, I may have accidentally mentioned to my friend at the newspaper that I was coming here today to speak with an informant about Anthony Capaldi. Granted, I didn’t give your name, but under the circumstances, I don’t think it will take them long to figure out who it is. Now ask yourself, Mr. Peretti, do you think you’d be safer spending the next decade behind bars in a maximum-security prison in solitary confinement, or left to fend for yourself against one of the most powerful crime families on the West Coast—after they think you’ve betrayed them? Go ahead. Think about it. Take your time. I’ll wait.”
The longer the time stretched out between them, the more uncomfortable Dom looked. Through the glass, Preston could see a sheen of sweat had broken out on the larger man’s forehead and upper lip, and he kept fidgeting in his seat as he stared at the stacks of papers in front of the lawyers. Finally, glowering darkly, he said, “What do you want from me?”
The DA blinked at him a long moment, then held up a digital recorder and put it in the centre of the table. “Tell me what Anthony Capaldi hired you to do.”
A muscle ticked in Dom’s cheek and his lips compressed to a thin white line as he stared back at the attorney across from him, as if weighing his options once more. Then he said, “I want your word, on tape, that your offer stands. Ten years. That’s it.”
“Fine, Mr. Perretti,” the DA said. “You tell me what you know about Anthony Capaldi and the rest of his family and I’ll uphold my offer of ten years in prison. Provided you cooperate with us completely.”
Dom bared his teeth. “I’ll tell you what I know.”
“And you’ll agree to help us catch Anthony Capaldi.”
“Wait a minute.” Dom tried to stand up, but the uniformed officer moved closer with his hand on his weapon holstered at his waist. The larger man slumped back into his seat. “Catch him how?”
“Tell me what his plans for you were, then we’ll decide.”
After a muttered curse, Dom took a deep breath. “He wanted the kid.”
Preston’s heart dropped to his toes. Yeah, he’d already known that was the reason, but hearing Perretti state it so boldly made him want to throttle the guy.
“Miss Holden’s son?” the DA asked.
“Yeah.” Dom shrugged. “He said he wanted to replace his son. I wasn’t gonna do it. I don’t know shit about kids. Never been around ‘em. But then he started throwing all this money at me and I changed my mind.”
Tobias looked up from the notes he was taking. “How much? A million?”
“More like five million. Way more money than I ever thought I’d see in this lifetime. I could retire on that and live on some island somewhere for eternity.”
“Right.” The DA glanced at the mirror that Preston was hiding behind, then continued scribbling on his paper. “So, Anthony Capaldi offered you five million dollars to kills Miss Holden and take her son?”
“That’s right. Well, I didn’t necessarily have to kill her, but I could tell there was no way she was letting that kid go without a fight. Even if I got him away from her, she’d kick up a fuss—get everyone looking for him, so yeah. Anyway, it wasn’t hard to track her. Follow her credit card trail. Got friends who can handle that for me. When I saw a reservation for the lodge, I knew that’s where I’d make my move. Remote location, she’d be isolated. Easy pickings. I rented a room at the motel in town and staked out her cabin.” He sat forward and rested his forearms on the table. “I laid low for a couple days, watching her and the kid, learning their routine, figuring out how to take her out. Would’ve had gotten it done too, except that asshole military boyfriend of hers moved in next door.”
A slow, satisfied grin spread over Preston’s face, knowing he’d foiled this asshole’s plans. That was quickly followed though, by the unsettling certainty that if he hadn’t decided to head to the lodge on his break, things could’ve turned out so horribly different. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer of thanks for luck or fate or whatever the hell had led him back to Lila and Parker and saved them all.
“With that guy around, I had to be cleverer.”
“Did you sabotage the ice rink?” the DA asked.
“Nah. That was just luck. I did try to push her off the ski lift though. Couldn’t pass up that opportunity. She was alone.” He sighed. “Didn’t work though. Went to the hospital afterward to try and finish the job, but her boyfriend showed up and caused a scene. Fucking boyfriend.”
“Okay then.” The DA sat back. “Does Anthony know you’ve failed?”
“He will, when you plaster that story all over the papers about how
I’ve been talking to you.” Dom smirked. “Smooth move, dumbass.”
Tobias gave an unpleasant chuckle. “But as of right now, he still thinks everything’s going to plan?”
Dom shrugged in response.
“Good. Then we still have a couple of hours to work with before the news breaks.” The DA pulled out his phone and left the room then returned a few minutes later. “Here’s what we’re going to do, Mr. Perretti. I’ve phoned my contacts at the FBI. They’ve got a vested interest in taking down Anthony Capaldi and his family. So, you’re going to call Mr. Capaldi and tell him you have Miss Holden’s son. Set up a meeting to hand over the child. Then we’re going to pick him up as well.”
“I ain’t doing that! I call him and get him caught, I’m a dead man,” Dom said, his face mottled with red and his voice angry. “Fuck that!”
“You don’t make this call, you’re a dead man anyway, Mr. Perretti, because I will personally make sure you get sent away for the rest of your life for your crimes, understand?” The DA leaned closer, shooting visual daggers at Dom. “I’ve got more than enough evidence to do it. Don’t push me. Full cooperation or no deal. What’s it going to be?”
A few tense minutes passed before Dom finally gave a curt nod. “Fine. But that’s it. One call.”
The DA took out Dom’s cell phone from his briefcase, dialled in Anthony Capaldi’s number then laid the device in the centre of the table and hit speakerphone. The older man answered on the second ring.
“Yes?”
“I got the kid,” Dom said, swallowing hard. “I’ll meet you today and drop him off.”
“I’ll need time,” Anthony Capaldi said. “There are preparations to be made and—”
The DA shook his head and Dom cringed. “No. Today. I ain’t no babysitter. Got no idea what to do with a kid. You either get him today or not at all.”
“Fine. Where are you?” Anthony said at last.
“Way up north.” Dom squinted down at the piece of paper the DA pushed his way. “I’ll meet you halfway. There’s a rest stop on Interstate 5, just outside Bakersfield. I’ll be there at two with the kid. Don’t be late.”
