by Lisa Daniels
Was it a neighbor’s phone? he wondered, but there was no way the walls were so thin in the unit. There was a cell there, he knew it. He just had to find it.
With a slight sense of guilt, Luca pulled open the dresser drawers and riffled through the cupboards of the nightstand.
Everything here is new, he realized idly as he searched under the bed, silently urging the phone to chime again so he could make out from where it had come. A knot formed in his gut but he continued his search, a renewed determination overtaking him.
He pulled up the mattress and between the box spring and the bed sat an old-style burner phone lying on the plastic covering separating the set.
Luca reached for it, swallowing the slight shame he was feeling as he peered down at the screen. The first text read:
You’re sleeping with Gallo!
The time sent was ten minutes earlier and Luca’s head grew warm as he thought about the “super” he had let get away.
He knows who I am. Why does he care who Teresa is sleeping with unless he has some vested interest in her himself?
His guilt was overcome by anger again and he sat perfectly still on the bed, weighing his next move.
She’s banging the super. She has to be. That’s what all this means. That’s why she has a separate phone…
The phone dinged again as he tried to make sense of what he had learned that day.
Angela, you better have a report for me tomorrow or you’re off the case. Don’t even think about ignoring me.
It took a full minute for Luca to absorb the words on the screen, even though he knew exactly what they meant. He had been tricked, not in the way he’d originally believed, but in a far more dangerous sense.
Dark spots flashed before his eyes and for a sickening moment, he thought he was going to pass out.
He tried to deny what was staring him in the face.
He wanted to look away.
But the truth was difficult to ignore.
She’s not sleeping with anyone but me. Teresa Milano is a cop and now we’re both dead because of it.
Chapter Twelve
Tentatively Reunited
“I can’t believe this,” Tanya muttered, glaring at Angela as she drove toward Fort Lauderdale. “You really don’t look like the type.”
“I’m really not the type,” Angela sighed, raising her pistol at the bartender. “These are exigent circumstances.”
Tanya ’s mouth parted slightly, the words hitting her with a shock.
“You’re a cop!” she gasped, her foot falling hard on the brake of her car. “Oh Jesus Christ—”
“Keep driving,” Angela growled. “I don’t have time for this right now.”
Tanya’s mouth formed a thin line but she obliged, racing her Miata out of Miami.
If this is a trap, Angela thought, this won’t end well for any of us.
But she had a feeling that Tanya had told her the absolute truth about what had happened to her cousin. There was no reason for the bartender to supply her with the random information, especially since Tanya didn’t appear to know Mara’s real name. The idea that it was a setup slipped further and further from her mind.
Could this just be a matter of Val wanting to escape her life with the FBI and live with her lover?
The idea filled her with happiness and homicide simultaneously.
On one hand, she was thrilled to learn her cousin was alive. That meant that her Aunt Stella would have the closure she needed and she would be able to see her daughter again. On the other, Angela had risked so much to learn the truth.
If she’s alive, I can just walk away from this, tell Duggan I want out and no one has to be the wiser. Then, Luca and I can continue with our lives… right?
Angela admitted she hadn’t hashed out all the details, but she knew she was not willing to give up whatever she had found with him. She would be a fool to think that her actions that night wouldn’t have repercussions, that she could just waltz back into her life as Teresa Milano and pretend she hadn’t held Tanya at gunpoint. Tanya would rat her out the first second she got.
But then again, I could rat her out too. I could blackmail her with hiding a federal agent.
The aftermath was already giving her a headache and it hadn’t even started yet. Angela forced the future from her mind. Immediately, her concern was seeing Val. From there, other decisions could be made.
After what had happened with August, Angela had made sure that a firearm was always within reach. She’d learned a dozen places to hide her weapon, just in case she needed it. She was grateful she had it on her that night. She hadn’t wanted to shift in front of Tanya, but without the gun, she would have had no choice.
In her haste to leave with Tanya, Ang had left her cell at La Perla. She hoped that Luca hadn’t been trying to reach her.
In the morning, everything will be different, she thought, but in a good or bad way, she wasn’t sure.
I have no idea what is waiting for me.
“What the hell is this all about?” Tanya growled, shooting her another sidelong look. “Are you, like, a jilted lover or something? You’re going all Fatal Attraction on her?”
“Stop talking, Tanya. You sound like an idiot,” Angela sighed but she felt bad knowing that the blonde had no idea what was happening. She didn’t want to enlighten her, not yet. After she saw Val, she would have a better handle on what to say to explain this away.
She and I are both in the dark right now. Or else she has me in a very delicate position. Who knows? But I’m not telling her anything until I know what’s fact and what’s fiction.
“What are you going to do to her?” Tanya asked after a long silence. “If you hurt her, Teresa, I will spend my life searching for you…”
Angela scoffed.
“You don’t even know who she is,” she snapped, eyeing the blonde warily, but she didn’t elaborate further.
If Val faked her own death to start anew, me showing up will ruin whatever future she has with Tanya. Tanya won’t forgive her after all this time, will she?
Angela wondered if she was thinking about Tanya or about Luca.
If he ever finds out who I am, he’ll never forgive me. Hell, he might even kill me himself and I won’t blame him if he does. Could I make him understand that I did it for my cousin and I had no interest in any of his work? Would he believe that?
She shoved the idea out of her head.
“Luca cares about you,” Tanya said as if reading her thoughts. “And you’re going to break his heart.”
“Like Mara did?” Angela quipped cruelly.
It shut Tanya up for a few more minutes, giving Angela more time to her own thoughts.
He never has to know. In a few minutes, I will be free of Duggan and whatever half-assed undercover operation this is. I came to find out the truth about Val and I will either know for sure or be dead. In either circumstance, I am done and Luca doesn’t need to know.
She didn’t remind herself that Tanya would know.
Tanya pulled the car into a gated community and Angela sat forward with excitement.
“She’s here?” she breathed, feeling anticipation creep up her spine.
“I guess you’ll see, won’t you?” the bartender retorted. “I can’t believe how wrong I was about you. You really had us all fooled.”
“You’d be surprised how right you were,” Angela replied quietly.
Tanya didn’t respond except to snort. The car stopped at an A-frame two-storey house halfway inside the complex.
“You first,” Angela instructed, waving the firearm at Tanya, a flash of shame coloring her cheeks.
This girl was kind to you. She tried to protect you when August came after you and now you have a gun pointed on her.
Angela reasoned it was for the greater good.
When she understands why I had to do this, she’ll be okay. Hell, we might even be friends one day.
The raven-haired beauty almost rolled her eyes at her own unbel
ievable thought. Her romantic ideas were getting old and she didn’t like them in the least.
Tanya unlocked the door and pushed inside.
Before she could even flick on the interior lights, the blonde’s voice shot out through the house.
“Mara, run! She’s got a gun!”
Angela groaned aloud and shoved the barrel into Tanya ’s shoulder blades as a scuffle of movement aroused her attention from the second floor.
“Why did you do that?” Angela growled, shaking her head as she stepped further into the house.
“Tanya, what the hell—?”
Val appeared on the top landing, her own hands ready to pull the trigger on a black Beretta as she pointed it at them.
“Put it down!” Angela ordered, her voice trying not to crack under the extreme pressure she was feeling. “It’s me. Put it down now!”
She prayed her cousin would recognize her in the dim light.
Val released a low gasp and lowered her weapon, falling back against the wall in shock.
“You do know her?” Tanya demanded. “What the hell is going on here? Why is this crazy bitch kidnapping me?”
The cousins eyed one another nervously.
“She’s my cousin,” Val sighed, shuffling forward. “Ang—”
“And can you come and give your cousin Teresa a big hug?” Angela interjected loudly, shooting Val a warning look. “It’s good to see you, Mara. I’m glad to see you’re alive.”
Val’s face seemed to pale more but she cautiously moved toward the staircase, her hand on the railing.
“How did you find me?” she whispered as she neared Angela, embracing her tightly.
A small sob escaped her lips as Angela realized how much stress she had been carrying with her since starting the operation.
“It’s a long story,” she replied gruffly. “Can we talk somewhere alone?”
Val drew back and stared at her with haunted eyes.
“Are you alone?” she asked, looking at Tanya, and both women nodded.
“I’m alone,” Angela assured her. “I swear.”
Val exhaled deeply and nodded, grabbing her cousin by the arm.
“Oh, hell no!” Tanya snapped. “You think I’m just going to let you two go pow-wow somewhere when I’ve just been held at gunpoint? No way!”
“Babe, you need to let me talk to my cousin for a few minutes,” Val insisted. “It’s important.”
“She’s a cop! Did you know that?”
Angela lowered her head, biting on her lower lip.
“I know,” Val whispered.
“You know? You could have mentioned that your cop cousin would come looking for you one day!”
“Tanya…”
“Mara, don’t!” Angela cried, realizing that Val was about to spill the entire truth to her lover. “It’s fine. You don’t need to—”
“It’s gone on long enough and I know now that he’s going to keep looking for me. There was no escape from him. I knew this day was coming. And now it’s here.”
“Who? Luca?” Tanya asked, her face fraught with confusion, but Angela was no more enlightened.
Val turned and met her cousin’s eyes, shaking her head sadly.
“No, babe. Not Luca. Terry Duggan.”
A cold chill swept through Angela’s body, the heaviness of Val’s tone piercing her dramatically.
“Who the hell is Terry Duggan?” Tanya wanted to know.
Oh God… what have I done? Angela thought, her heart pounding wildly in her chest.
“He was my boss…” Val took a deep breath inward and stared directly at Tanya. “He was my superior at the FBI.”
~ ~ ~
“She could be calling DiMarco right now!” Angela grumbled, pacing around the room, but Val waved her hand dismissively.
“She’s not calling DiMarco,” she retorted. “If she did, she’d be turning herself in and a lesbian at the center of operations is not going to look good for the Menottis. No, she’s just off cooling down. Trust me. I know Tanya.”
Angela didn’t miss the affectionate tone to Val’s voice but it was hard to appreciate under the circumstances. She wasn’t sure she shared Val’s confidences but she could do little else than accept her cousin’s assurances.
She did all this for love, Ang thought, the mixture of emotions making her dizzy. The absolute fool. What the hell was she thinking?
“You’ve lied to her for five years, three of which you have been living with her,” Angela reminded her. “That can’t be easy to forgive.”
“She is pissed,” Valentina agreed. “But she’s not stupid. And she does love me.”
Inadvertently, Angela thought of Luca. The parallels between what she had done and what Val had were not lost on her.
Tanya will tell him the truth about me. There will be a mob hit on me after I leave here. I have to get out of Miami. There is no future with Luca as Teresa Milano or anyone else for that matter.
Angela was consumed by a physical sense of loss which almost brought her to her knees. She had lost Luca after barely finding him and the feeling was too much to bear.
My protector, my lover, my friend… he’s going to see me as someone who betrayed him. Unless I get to him first and try to explain…
She wondered in what world he would ever forgive her. What could she possibly say to make any of it right?
“You’re sure that Duggan doesn’t know you’re here?” Valentina asked for the third time. “How long have you been under?”
“Only a few weeks, Val. The only reason I’m under is to find you.”
She scoffed, her mouth firming into a frown as she turned away.
“You aren’t the first who has come looking. I can’t believe he’d stoop to recruiting my family. Christ, Ang, you were supposed to be back in California, working for the police department. How did you ever let yourself get roped into this?”
“He wants to know what happened to you!” Angela snapped, shaking her dark hair in disbelief. “How could you just up and disappear without a word to anyone? What about your mom? Your partner?”
Val whirled and looked at Angela as if she had spontaneously sprouted another head.
“Are you kidding?” she gasped. “You’re asking me why?”
Angela stared at her blankly, her own anger mounting at the dubious expression on Val’s face.
“Because you’re in love?” she snapped. “You let your mother think you’re dead because you’d rather she didn’t find out you’re a lesbian? That’s cruel and if you can’t see that, you’re not the same woman I thought you were.”
“You can’t be that naïve, Ang.”
Valentina inhaled shakily while Angela waited, wondering what she was missing.
There has to be more to the story than this. She couldn’t be so cold and cut off the world like that because she wanted to live in sin with Tanya.
Val exhaled, shaking her head in stunned disbelief.
“You really don’t know, do you?” she clucked, a moan of despair escaping her lips.
“Know what?” Angela demanded impatiently. “Tell me.”
Val exhaled in a whoosh of breath.
“Duggan set me up to be killed during my undercover sting with the Menottis. He had arranged to come intercept a shipment, cash in, and kill the witnesses under the guise of ‘policing’. That was the raid which he told everyone I died in. Every other agent and soldier was killed during that sting. I was supposed to be among them.”
“But you weren’t there. That was just the story he used. He told me.”
“Yes,” Valentina whispered. “I was there and I saw what he did. I knew I had to get out of there. Tanya and I had been carrying on for a few months by that point and I told her I just wanted to get away from Luca, but he learned I was cheating on him before I could make my break. I had to get away before Duggan sent someone in to finish me off.”
Angela’s jaw dropped in shock.
“Are you saying that Duggan is looking f
or you to kill you?”
“Yes,” Valentina sighed. “And you have to get as far away from him as possible now. You’ll just be a loose end for him to tie up, Ang. There have been others who have come close to finding me and they just ‘disappear’. You won’t be far behind.”
A feeling of sick seized Angela’s stomach.
I really stepped in it. I thought I was protecting Val and instead, I put an even bigger target on her head.
“I’ll get you some money,” Valentina said. “And I can see about a passport—”
“No,” Angela said firmly. “I’m not running away from Duggan.”
Her cousin’s eyes widened in shock.
“You don’t get it, do you? There is no taking on Duggan. You are nobody. He’s better connected than some of the people in the mob.”
She peered at Val, wondering when her cousin had become so scared, so meek. Duggan had created a fear in her that hadn’t existed before.
“Are you sure that Tanya won’t rat us out?” Angela asked slowly, a plan beginning to form in her mind.
“She won’t,” Val said confidently. “But that doesn’t mean you’re safe from Duggan.”
“I can handle myself against him,” she told her cousin softly, knowing that there would only be one way to deal with Duggan when he came for them.
“Ang! What are you going to do?!” Val cried but Angela had already spun toward the door.
“I’ve got this,” she said, her heart hammering as the details began to solidify in her head.
I need to get back to Luca and explain everything to him. He will help me and together we can get Duggan. That rogue agent is nothing against two dragons.
“Ang!”
Angela turned back and offered Val a weak smile.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Angela told her cousin. “Your secret is safe with me, but I gotta tell you, your mother is devastated without you.”
Guilt shone in Val’s eyes and she bowed her head, nodding.
“If I can take Duggan out of the equation, I’ll reach out to her.”
“You promise?”
Val nodded, visibly swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat.”
“Good luck with everything, cousin. I hope to see you soon.”
