Falling Deep Into You Trilogy Box Set

by Terra Kelly

  He gasped. “Z.” Then he snuggled up closer to her body. “You okay?”

  She leaned her head against him. “Yeah, I think.” They both just stayed in that position trying to find comfort in each other.

  A door opened and the sound of metal sliding across metal let her know she had been in a van. Her body lurched forward by strong arms digging into her flesh. She winced at the pain and let out a small cry.

  The voice she knew too well, Mr. Chanceston, growled next to her ear, “Shut up, bitch.”

  She moved her head away from the man. “What do you want from us?” Letizia still could not recall the day her parents were killed. “I don’t know anything!”

  Mr. Chanceston let out a maniacal laugh. “That’s what they all try to say. Sorry honey, you won’t get out of this that easy.”

  Letizia tried to hold back her tears, but the man was scaring her too much. “Where’s Ali?”

  She needed to know the truth, needed to remember something from her past. She squeezed her eyes shut and let her mind rewind back as far as it would allow. Just like every other time when she would hit play again she was running around her new bedroom in St. Cloud. Dammit.

  He smirked and pushed her forward. “Don’t you worry about her, she’s probably visiting your parents by now.”

  Letizia sucked in a breath. “Oh God, no.” How was this fair? She had lost her parents and now her aunt. If she made it out alive, what would she have to live for now? Cristiano. Yes. She had to fight for him.

  Just then an eerie feeling shot up her spine and warm air was softly blowing over the back of her neck. “Well, well, who do we have here? Nice to meet Lando’s long lost daughter. I’m Giano, but I’m sure you remember me, right?” Why did that voice sound so familiar?

  The man walked around her, and his eyes went wide. “Fuck. You do look just like your mom.”

  Letizia didn’t know the man staring at her…or did she? His voice was sending chills up and down her spine. She must’ve met him somewhere, but where? She stayed silent, afraid to speak.

  Giano moved his face closer to hers. “What, the cat got your tongue?”

  She let out a whimper. “What do you want from us?” Letizia didn’t recognize him, but she sure as hell knew that voice. She tried to think back, but came up blank again.

  He let out a maniacal laugh. “What do I want?” Then he looked at his buddies. “What do I want, boys?”

  Mr. Chanceston stepped forward and laughed. “I think my boss wants you to fess up, bitch.”

  Giano made a sound of disapproval. “Now, now, Dego, let’s keep the name calling for later.”

  Letizia looked between the two men. “Dego?” So, who was this guy really and why had he acted like a teacher at Cristiano’s school?

  Dego nodded. “Yeah, Mr. Chanceston was happy to let me borrow his name for a while.” Then Giano’s men all laughed.

  Letizia knew if she made it out of this mess alive, she would need to find a way to hide for good. She shook her head while desperately trying to remember her life before St. Cloud. There had to be a memory tucked away ready to be revealed. Maybe she needed something to trigger the thought.

  Suddenly the man now known as Dego yanked her out of her reverie. “Come on, we have a perfect way to jog your memory.”

  He then pushed Letizia forward causing her to stumble. When she caught her footing her eyes locked onto a two-story mansion hidden by several trees. The home had wrought iron fence surrounding the property and two dogs were on leashes several feet away. She instinctively stepped back when she noticed them and backed into Dego. He growled in her ear and pushed her forward once again. She moved, and with each step her body felt heavier as if there had been a fifty-pound bag of flour attached to her back. She knew the situation had been grave and dammit she needed to remember something from her time in Canada.

  There was a child’s cry and Letizia turned to see Cristiano topple over. His head was bent, and his hands were resting in the dirt with rocks pressing into his skin. “I want my mom.”

  The man in charge of Cristiano just laughed and rubbed his fists over his eyes, pretending to cry. “Awww, the boy wants his mommy.”

  Letizia didn’t care what happened to her, so she pulled out of Dego’s embrace and crouched down next to Cristiano. “Cris, I need you to do what they say, okay? I’ll figure this out, I promise,” she whispered as she reached to grab his hand and help him up. “Come on, it’ll be okay.”

  Then he spoke, and Letizia became unsure of her words. “Cris, don’t believe everything you hear, because everything will not be okay.” He chuckled as he walked toward the front door.

  The place seemed hidden, how would Finley find her now? Letizia felt alone as she carefully took each step. Her parents had known this man. Why would anyone want to be friends with a creature like Giano? He was a monster. When Alessandra had shared stories about her parents, they seemed full of life, happy. Definitely not anyone that would want to make friends with someone so evil. So, what was it? She couldn’t imagine how desperate they must’ve been. As she was pushed toward the house and down a set of stairs, she continued trying to find something in her memory bank that would give her all the answers.

  Finley was beside himself. “There’s video surveillance on the traffic lights, right? So, get the footage.” He rubbed his hands through his hair and hated the long curls. Heading into the bathroom he opened the cabinet below the sink and took out the case holding his razor. Sitting the bag down on the marble surface, he stopped and looked at himself in the mirror. What he saw looking back had been someone else altogether. It pissed him off. Grabbing the razor, he let his anger out with each stroke of the blade. When there was no more to cut, he dropped the razor in the sink, placed his hands on the cold surface and bent his head. He failed. He had let Letizia get taken. Alessandra’s blood was on his hands.

  Finley jumped at the light touch on his shoulder. Miles reassured, “Hey man, it’s just me. Decided it was time for a change, eh?”

  Finley rubbed his hands over the stubble. “Yeah, I guess.” He looked at himself in the mirror again and shook his head, “I may have gotten a little carried away.” It felt good having all that excess hair gone. He left everything in the sink and headed back into the living room with his team. The moment they all saw him they let out a whistle. Holding his hands up and shaking his head, he grinned. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t we have work to do? We’re not here to vote on how my hair looks.”

  Cooper stepped forward, placed several black and white images on the coffee table. “Here are images from the surveillance footage on the traffic cameras. You can see the two SUV’s out of place in several of the images.”

  Finley grabbed two of the photos, inspecting the vehicles more closely. “Can we get in closer for a clear shot of the license plate?” There were no images that revealed anyone outside of the SUV’s, but the vehicles stayed too close together in several of the images. It was obvious they were connected in some way. “We know Giano has multiple homes. Do we know the location of any of them yet?”

  Miles grabbed a sheet of paper from under the images, glancing his way, “We have eyes on two of Giano’s homes and potentially a third one.”

  Finley sighed. “Well, let’s pack up, looks like we are heading back home, boys.” They first had to figure out which home was in closest distance to St. Cloud. It seemed the most logical move for the mob boss.

  Letizia was fighting for air, her eyes closed, and she was trying to visualize the home where she grew up. In the few pictures her aunt would share the place seemed small but inviting. Suddenly she coughed up water, too scared to swallow. A soaked towel was removed from her face, and she was lurched forward to come face to face with Giano. She coughed up more water, trying to catch her breath, “I don’t understand. What do you expect me to remember?” Her throat felt raw from all the coughing.

  He growled in frustration. “You know what I want. Answers. Your father was one of my best men, then all
of a sudden he fucks up a job, and then somehow repeats the fuck up. Who does that? There’s money missing, and from what I heard he hired a guy to help him. Who’s the guy?” She wanted to laugh at the thought he expected her to have answers.

  She scowled, feeling confused. “I was four.” Letizia knew she was born in Canada and they had a pretty home there. Her aunt had been very smart to kept everything hidden that would reveal memories of her parents. If this asshole expected her to remember something that involved her parents, surely he was delusional. “I remember my time with my aunt. We played at her house a lot.”

  He grabbed Letizia’s hair and pulled her head back to face him. “Stop playing around and fucking think, bitch. You have one more chance to answer this question right.”

  It was the way he said ‘chance’ that put an image in her mind, and now she knew what she had forgotten so long ago. Her eyes could see a woman’s face ashen and looking toward her own. When she tried to reach out and touch the face, there was a metal grate separating them. She could see red liquid pooling around the woman’s head and knew what this memory had to be. She sucked in a breath. “My mom.”

  Letizia noticed Giano look around and then ask in a harsh tone. “What?”

  She squeezed her eyes shut trying to rid herself of the horrific memory. “My mom. You killed her, right?” She knew this thought would not help her. If anything, it would put her right alongside her parents.

  He let go of Letizia’s hair and her head hit the hard surface of the table. “So, you do remember.” He pulled a knife from the holster around his waist and placed it against her neck. “Keep talking.”

  There was a soft whimper that sounded from a few feet away. “Z, no, please.”

  Zia was careful in her movements but looked toward Cristiano. Calmly she said, “Cris, it’s okay. Just look away.”

  The room erupted in laughter, and Giano shook his head. “So many promises and all of them will be broken. Is that what you want, Letizia? To lie to a child?”

  Letizia let her mind scramble, then she realized what had to be done. “Wait, what if I can find the answer you’re looking for?” Her aunt had indicated that the little red box was the only thing she saved from her past, but what if that was a lie? Wouldn’t you want to keep some evidence just in case the monster came back?

  Giano stepped back from Letizia dropping the knife to his side and let out a sigh. “I’m listening.”

  She knew she was grasping at straws but she had to fight, if not for her, then for Cristiano. “Let me go through our belongings, maybe my aunt buried the secrets,” she pleaded. There were boxes in the attic they had not touched in years. Maybe one of them held the answers they were looking for.

  She noticed Giano look around and then walking over to Cris. She watched as the monster grabbed her brother and hissed out, “He will be the ransom.” He pulled Cristiano up by his neck. “Dego and Paul will take you to the house. If you try anything funny, they will shoot to kill, and Cristiano becomes my youngest employee.” He pulled Cris to his side and softly chuckled, “Sound good, kid?”

  Letizia noticed the tears running down her brother’s innocent face. “Zia, just do it. There has to be something there, right?” Cris said with a shaky voice.

  She struggled to get the word out, but finally agreed. “Fine.” She sat up on the table, looking defiant. “But you have to ensure no harm will come to him for now.” She was praying there were answers at the house. Something. Anything.

  Finley was sitting in the back of the van holding a Colt CAR-15 Commando rifle with both hands. He had enough ammo in his pockets to light up New York City. They had found the location of one of Giano’s homes. It was about six hours away. A few of the team members had grabbed a chopper and were almost to the location.

  A call was coming over the intercom, the voice on the other end quickly stated, “All band members left walking, head back to the angel’s den.”

  The van halted in the middle of the dead end two-lane road, and Finley noticed Miles turn toward him looking confused. “Call the guys now. What the fuck is going on?”

  Cooper was on the phone before Miles could finish the sentence. All the men in the van could hear him agreeing to something. “Uh huh, yeah, okay.” He closed the phone and looked at Miles. “Turn her around, and fast.”

  Finley turned his head to the side looking perturbed. “Cooper, what the fuck is happening?”

  Cooper turned in his seat and sighed. “Campbell confirmed an SUV leaving the premise when they arrived. They are tailing them now.”

  Finley scowled feeling more lost by the second. “Are they in the chopper still?” There was no way to stay incognito in an aircraft of any kind.

  Cooper glanced at Finley and shook his head. “No, they are in an unmarked vehicle I had waiting for them when they landed.”

  Finley knew they had about three hours left to get to Thunder Bay, Ontario, which put the team ahead of Letizia. The house in St. Cloud had to be Zia’s destination. Where else would they be heading if they had to look for something? The guys needed to get back to the property, find places to hide out, and Finley planned to set up traps in a few areas. They would have a three-hour advantage. This was the break they needed…he hoped. It was time to save the girl.

  Finley was positioned behind a small shed sitting about two feet away from the front porch. You could stay hidden by all the overgrown brush and branches sticking out in all directions. He had his Colt Commando aimed and ready to fire. These assholes wouldn’t get away this time; his team was set up around the perimeter ready for action. They all had mapped out what was to happen while traveling back to Letizia’s house. Cooper had encouraged them not to shoot to kill. They needed to find a way to bring down the Nesta family. Having some of Giano’s team in custody would only spark war but a war the task force was prepared to win.

  Just then he heard tires moving on a pebbled surface and a voice on the intercom whispered. “The band has arrived.”

  All Finley wanted to do was run and grab Letizia. Instead, he stayed in position, armed, and ready. How was it possible that one man could become so powerful? It blew his mind how dedicated the workers were for the mob. The things they would do, and for what? Money? Power? Or maybe fame? Whatever it was that motivated these assholes, Finley knew anyone that crossed their path had a death sentence tacked onto their forehead immediately.

  He shook his head at those thoughts, telling himself to keep his mind clear. Letizia was the priority now. Just then two men stepped out of the SUV. The one guy that Finley recognized walked to the back to open the hatch. The vehicle was positioned at an angle that made it hard to see who was in the trunk. The asshole reached forward and pulled out a woman. Letizia. Her arms were bound by a rope and duct tape was covering her mouth. The guy reached forward and ripped off the tape, causing Finley to wince. He could see tears running down Letizia’s face. Dammit, he wanted to hold her and make the pain disappear. Of course, the pain she had endured in her life would never disappear fully.

  The other associate walked up beside the asshole and nodded toward the house. “Dego, we need to get moving.”

  Dego. That was the confirmation they had searched for. They had Giano’s second-in-command in their sights. How was that for perfect timing?

  Finley pulled the gun up carefully and put Dego in his sight. The asshole looked at the associate and yelled, “What did we tell you about saying our names in public? I outta kill you right here.” He drew and pointed his gun at the guy’s head and pushed him toward the house. “Fucking move. We need to get the information this bitch claims they have hidden somewhere in this shit hole.”

  Finley noticed how Letizia scanned the property; he could tell her eyes were about to roam toward him. Since the assholes were bantering about nothing, he made a point to stand so she could see him. When she noticed him, she sucked in a breath, and squeezed her eyes shut. He knelt out of sight again because her reaction caught the men’s attention.

&nbs
p; Dego walked up closer to Letizia and pointed the gun under her chin and hissed. “What has you scared? Nobody’s here. Scream all you want; no one will ever hear you.”

  Finley let out a low growl and Cooper hushed him over the intercom. They all sat there waiting to see what would happen next, expecting the assholes to survey the property before heading in the house. Apparently, the mob boss had idiots working for him since it didn’t happen.

  Dego just shoved Letizia forward with the barrel of his gun. “Let’s go. We don’t have all day,” he sounded irritated.

  Finley noticed Letizia take one last look in his direction before entering the house. He wanted to nod to her, but the bushes prevented him from sending any signal her way. Quietly over the intercom. “Miles, you have eyes?”

  His partner was positioned up in a big oak tree with a sniper rifle. “Yup, it looks like they are heading upstairs, possibly the attic because they opened a door and are out of sight.”

  Cooper came on the intercom. “Okay, let’s get in position.”

  Finley knew his team was ready to strike at any moment. If Letizia was heading to the attic, was there more information available about her parents? From what Ali shared, the red box she gave Letizia was all she’d saved.

  Just then, Campbell sounded concerned on the other end of the intercom. “Hey, we need to act now. What if Letizia gives them the information they are looking for? She won’t be any good to them anymore. We need to be in the house and ready.”

  Why hadn’t Finley thought of that? Shit. He ignored the commands of his boss and started for the porch. “I’m going in,” he stated defiantly.

  Cooper almost screamed over the intercom. “Finley. I said, fucking halt.”

  Finley stopped almost to the top step. He pleaded, “She needs us now, not yesterday!” He knew he was letting his emotions speak for him, but Goddammit, he had feelings for this woman which never happened.