by Soraya Naomi
He’s quick to defend himself as we stride toward the exit of the warehouse. “His stepbrother, the guy who dissolved Charity Events. I did look into him, and we both agreed that I didn’t find anything of significance warranting us to dig deeper.”
“How could we have missed this?”
“You were also busy drinking the first week after she ended the relationship,” he counters heatedly. “Don’t start blaming me. I agree that I fucked up, but so did you. We haven’t exactly been on top of our game lately.”
I sigh in frustration as we cross the threshold because he makes a good point. “Damian, you can clean,” I command as we pass him. “Maybe Ashton Banks is the guy I saw at Club 7 with that silver cross pendant?”
“Could be.” Adriano fishes out his pack of smokes, and with his teeth, he pulls one cigarette out to light it.
“If he’s a member of that depraved fight club, then I’m very worried about how far he’d go to get his revenge,” I muse aloud. “Every soldier must focus on finding Ashton, except the two teams looking for Collopy. Any update on her?”
Blowing the smoke out of his nose, he shakes his head and clicks on his key to unlock the doors of his convertible.
After we settle into the car, I start making calls to track down Ashton. Then I send a picture of Ashton to the doctor so that he can keep an eye out for him at the hospital as Adriano hits the gas to rush us back to the Loop because we have to attend that gala before I can visit Fallon.
***
I loosen the tie of my tux while making my way to my bedroom so that I can change and finally head over to the hospital when one of my disposable phones on the nightstand rings. In the rush to get to the gala, I forgot both disposable phones. I usually have at least one with me.
“Yes,” I answer.
“Fallon is in police custody,” Doc informs me.
Dread immediately fills my entire body. “Since when?”
I grab the other phone, and I see twenty missed calls and many messages. One of them notifying me that Collopy is dead and Fallon has been arrested.
“I’m not sure, maybe an hour ago. I had already released her so that you could take her without having to wait for the paperwork, but apparently, a detective has arrested her. Your soldier has been trying to contact you.”
“Yeah, I saw. I’ll call you later.” I hang up to contact Salvatore while images of Fallon alone in a cold cell feed my fury. “Fallon Michaels has been arrested for the murder of Kelli Ann Collopy. How quickly can you get her out?”
Salvatore’s disturbingly silent before he replies, “I’m not sure I can now. I’ll have to look into it.”
“Use any means necessary because I swear to god, Salvatore, I’ll go crazy if she has to spend a night in jail.” I’m unable to control the tremble of my hands. “We discovered it’s been Ashton Banks trying to avenge his brother’s death by fucking with Fallon’s life.”
A door shuts on his end. “I’m getting in the car now, and I have a feeling you won’t be able to stay away, but it’s better that you’re not seen with her at the police station.”
“There’s no fucking way I’m not coming too. You get her out of there, or I’ll break her out myself!” I bellow, absolutely furious that I wasn’t informed sooner – even though it was my fault that I left the phone at home. They should’ve contacted me on my smartphone! I run to the elevator without bothering to change.
CHAPTER 18
Fallon
Where the hell is Luca?
Dabbing my face with the tissue, I listen to Wade trying to break me down even more while we’re inside the interrogation room. The rush of anxiety shoves my physical pain away for a moment.
“Who attacked you?” He returns to his seat opposite me and peruses me with perceptive eyes. “Do you even know what’s going on?”
To avoid his stare, I keep swiping my cheeks but don’t speak. Should I stick to Luca’s story about some random attacker at my house? Or should I confess it was Collopy?
“Have you heard of the Chicago Syndicate? It’s the Chicagoan Cosa Nostra.” Wade twists his mug on the table and leans back. “Are you part of the Syndicate?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I clear my throat.
Disappointment is aimed my way. “Kelli was killed last night, and you end up in the hospital with obvious fight wounds. Did you have a fight with Kelli and kill her?”
“No. I was found unconscious in my apartment and then woke up in the hospital. When would I have killed her?”
He opens a yellow file. “Her time of death is difficult to precisely determine because of the state of her body, but the timeframe from the pathologist does make it possible for her to have been killed before you were taken to the hospital.”
How’s that possible? She must’ve been killed immediately after leaving my apartment then. When did she leave my apartment? Right after I hit the table? “What do you mean, the state of her body?”
“She was pulled from the river, but the pathologist did find a small fragment of your DNA under her nails. You don’t have an alibi during the timeframe of her death. I have to ask these questions, even though I’m fairly certain you didn’t kill her, but her closest colleagues will be on top of this case.”
The way he’s studying me is unsettling.
“And it’s unknown how many officers are being paid off by the Syndicate, but I think Collopy was working for them. And maybe she betrayed them.”
My body is beginning to protest, and oh dear god, my nose is throbbing violently now. “Don’t I get a lawyer? A phone call? What are you going to do, Wade?”
His lips thin in frustration. “Yes, in a minute. I need a chance to talk to you alone first – before someone less trustworthy from the department can question you. What am I missing here, Fallon? You have no prior criminal record, but suddenly, your name pops up everywhere in murder cases. I’ve asked you before if you’re part of the Syndicate, but that also doesn’t make sense.”
I decide it’s time to shut my mouth again while I try to figure out whom to call. My father? No, I don’t want him involved. I’ll call Luca; he’ll come through. He wouldn’t have helped me this morning if there weren’t still some feelings left. His protectiveness was palpable.
Wade’s phone interrupts, and he swipes his screen with his forefinger. “Fuck!” He stands up. “I’ll be right back.”
“I want my phone call,” I quickly state.
“You’ll get it when I get back.” He steps out, visibly upset.
Can he even do that? Don’t I have a right to that call immediately?
Leaning forward, I place my elbows on the old, damaged wooden table and drop my head into my hands. Everything is happening so fast that my brain is still trying to catch up, and my distress is reaching its maximum level while I wonder what’s keeping Luca.
Please don’t let me down and come soon, Luca.
After a few minutes, I hear the latch of the door click, so I crane my neck and am met with someone other than Wade. I frown, then recognition dawns on me – I’m looking at Alex’s brother, Ashton Banks, the guy who shut down Charity Events.
What the hell is he doing here?
He closes the door quietly and paces to me in two measured steps, towering over me next to my chair. His eyes are blazing with malicious intent, sending terror waves to my stomach.
“Wade—” I try to scream.
But Ashton’s fingers tangle in my hair, tugging my head back as I gasp in pain, and he covers my mouth with one hand.
“You’re a cop killer, or so they think,” he whispers casually in my ear. “They were more than happy to grant me five minutes alone to rough you up so they don’t have to get their hands dirty.”
He jerks me up, pulls my arms back, and locks my wrists with metal cuffs.
“Wh-What do you want?” I breathe through my pain while struggling in his hold as he harshly bends me facedown over the table with his hand on my neck. I have no idea why he�
��s doing this to me.
“Because I’ll be damned if you get away with killing my brother. You’re a fucking nobody!” he whisper-shouts and covers my body with his from behind.
The weight of him against my back has me immobilized as his breathing becomes louder. Cupping my neck, he pulls back slightly and fumbles with his dress slacks.
“I didn’t...” My cheek is pressed against the cold surface. “No!”
“Shut the fuck up.” He puts extra pressure on my neck, causing the side of my nose to connect with the table, which sends shooting pains through me that blacken my eyesight.
“I want to give you something to remember while you’re rotting away in prison, bitch. And I happen to have a weak spot for struggling females, so please keep fighting. You’ve already got me rock-hard.” His fingers dig into my ass cheeks, and he slithers my sweatpants down, taking my panties with them.
I struggle uselessly to get free, but with my hands cuffed and my already injured body, he overpowers me easily.
“NOOO... Stop!” I scream, and he shoves a white cloth into my mouth, which I try to spit out with my tongue.
A gush of uncontrollable tears leaves my eyes while his ragged, foul-smelling coffee breath is hot on my neck, and he kicks my feet apart, nudging my entrance to violate me.
I let go of the last ember of hope as this vile man pushes himself into me, tearing me in half when my body rejects his invasion, and I drop my eyelids from the horror. The sensation alone is horrendously agonizing enough, and I don’t want to see any of him while he abuses me.
“If you fight it, it will only hurt more.” And I hear him spitting, then wetness covers my core as he pulls back slightly and forces himself in more. I hear a sick smile through his grunting. “Nice and tight, just a tad too dry.”
The table rattles and my shirt hikes up as my body is pushed up and down. My teeth dig into the cloth as I desperately try to escape in my mind, but the misery is too much. The revulsion of what he’s doing to me sends cramps and sickness to my stomach. I heave, but thankfully nothing comes out or else I’d be forced to swallow my own vomit with the fabric crammed in my dry mouth. A cold rush of air hits my exposed, burning bottom, and my arms fall beside my limp body when he releases the cuffs after he’s finished. Seconds, minutes, hours, nothing has meaning in this moment when all I want to do is escape.
Is this my life? Then I’d rather die.
Time is blurred, but eventually, the door creaks open, and I’m still in the same half-naked position because it’s too painful to move.
“Oh my god!” Wade pulls up my pants, careful not to touch my skin.
I didn’t even notice Ashton leaving. Wade helps me up slowly and removes the cloth from my mouth.
“What happened? Who did this?” Concern laces his tone as he gives me a once-over and holds me up by my arms as my legs sway. He adjusts my shirt, giving me back some of my stripped dignity.
“Help me...Get me out of here,” I plead in a small voice.
We lock eyes. Mine are teeming in tears, and his are filled with compassion and bewilderment.
“Who did it?” he insists, harsher now.
“Alex’s brother.”
His brows furrow in shock. “Not one of the police officers?”
I shake my head in denial.
“Fuck this shit! The message I got was a decoy. Someone, probably one of the cops, must’ve arranged to get him alone with you. Nobody can be trusted in this fucked-up precinct.” He pauses to rub his neck and stares at me before adding, “I’m giving you an alibi and getting you out of here. We’re going to the hospital. Wait here; I’ll be back in a minute.”
Extreme panic torments my state of mind. “No, no! Don’t leave me.” I clutch the front of his shirt because I can’t risk being alone here again.
“Okay. Uhm...We leave through the back. Can you walk?”
I nod, and he allows me to lean against him as we step out through the back exit of the dark precinct without running into anyone.
When we reach his car, he helps me into the passenger seat, and we drive to the hospital in silence.
I’m dirty. I’m numb. Even my tears have stopped flowing.
CHAPTER 19
Luca
I sit in my car, twirling my phone in my hand, as I watch Salvatore enter the precinct from across the street.
Hurry up!
Anxious prickles run up my spine while I wait for answers, but to my surprise, Salvatore walks back out within five minutes, so I jump out and meet him halfway.
“And?’ I bark, not hiding my discontent.
He stops in front of me with obvious irritation carved into his features. “She’s gone.”
“What?!” I step forward as a vehicle honks and rushes by me on the road.
Salvatore fishes his phone from the inner pocket of his beige jacket. “Something’s wrong. No detectives were there, just a receptionist who told me that Fallon Michaels wasn’t brought in for questioning.”
“Come può essere andata? Che cazzo sta succedendo qui?” How can she be gone? What the fuck is going on here?
He brings his phone to his ear but continues to talk to me, “I don’t know.” Salvatore holds up his finger. “Doc, was Fallon taken in by a cop?”
“Put him on speaker,” I insist, and he does.
The doctor answers, “I didn’t see it, but your soldier said she was cuffed by a detective.”
The doctor did tell me that earlier.
“I’ll call you later,” Salvatore informs him. “She must’ve been here, but it hasn’t been registered. Or he didn’t bring her in, which worries me even more. Was it Wade who arrested her?”
“How the fuck am I supposed to know?!” I shout as frustration builds, and I plow both hands through my hair, tugging the strands. “She’s a suspect in a cop murder case; do you realize how dangerous it is that we’ve lost her?”
“Of course I do, Luca. Calmare.” Calm down. “We’ll find her.”
“I have a feeling she was brought in...This doesn’t make any sense.” Groaning, I return to my car.
“Wait! You’re upset; ride with me,” he advises.
“No.” I don’t even look back as I cross the street to my vehicle. “I need my own car, and if we split up, we can find her sooner. You check this area and keep me posted every second.”
Growling in annoyance, I yank open the door and connect my phone to the car charger before I race through the darkened streets of the Loop while calling her phone incessantly, but no answer.
The most likely scenario is that Wade arrested her, but he’s a clean cop, so where did he take her? What could he have done with her? Unease turns my stomach as another scenario enters my mind. What if one of Collopy’s other colleagues has her? Cops hate cop killers more than anything, and these cops don’t live by innocent until proven guilty. They’ve already condemned her.
Adriano’s incoming call rings in my car.
“I’m going to the hospital,” I say without further explanation because I know Salvatore must’ve told Adriano what’s going on.
“I’ll go to her house, or is David still there?” he asks.
My hands are starting to moisten in rage. “Go there. David was off duty because that fucking soldier was keeping guard! I hope to find something at the hospital, but...I don’t think I will.”
“Be careful; don’t do anything rash in anger.”
That’s easier said than done.
***
“Did the soldier give you his description, Doc?” I demand to know as I stride into his immaculate office in the hospital that reeks of disinfectant.
He looks up from his computer screen. “Marine cut, dark blond, maybe brown, hair, around thirty.”
“Probably Wade.” I pass his desk to gaze out the window. “Did you check the room? Is her bag gone? Did she leave anything?”
He swivels in his chair. “Bag is gone; she didn’t leave anything behind.”
Pinching the bridge of my n
ose, I turn to face him. “Then she has her phone. Why isn’t she answering? I’m so out of my element that I don’t even know where to begin to look for her. It fucking sucks to be trailing behind the facts, and I hate how this entire situation is spinning out of control.”
In a compassionate tone, he inquires, “Who is she to you?”
I blow out a puff of air. “She’s my ex. But...she’s still everything to me, even after months apart. I can’t help coming to her rescue when she needs me. I don’t know what I’ll do if anything happens to her.”
My phone rings, and as soon as I answer, Adriano reports, “She’s home with Wade; they just arrived.”
Relief fills me, followed by confusion. “Is she okay?”
“I don’t think so. He’s escorting her inside the building.”
“I’m coming now.”
***
I finally shed my tux jacket after I park behind Adriano’s vehicle across the street from Fallon’s apartment building. As I get out of the car and make my way toward Adriano, I notice that the lights are on in her bedroom.
“Wade’s still inside with her?” I ask Adriano.
He nods slowly. “He was very...How do I say this?”
“Spit it out.” I’m already annoyed about this entire night.
“Very sweet,” Adriano explains carefully.
“What the fuck does that mean?” But I realize what he means, and I nearly snarl at him in rage.
“I want to know what the hell’s going on inside that apartment.” Marching to the entrance, I realize that I can’t use my key – the key I still have because I never gave it back to her – so I push the button next to her name and wait. Patience is not one of my virtues.
“Yes,” Wade answers.
“It’s Luca. I want to see Fallon.”
“She’s not up for company. Can she call you tomorrow?”
“No, I’m not leaving until I speak to her. Remind her that I didn’t send her away when she came to me, so she can return the favor now.”
“Hold on.”
What the hell? Are they best friends now? What’s she doing in there with Wade, and why is he so protective of her?
