Falling Deep Into You Trilogy Box Set

by Terra Kelly

  Miles turned his head to the side. “I don’t think so.”

  He stood there motionless for a moment. “Did Erickson and Ella just get away? Is that possible?”

  “Anything’s possible with this family.”

  “Fuck.” Ricky placed his hand on the officer’s shoulder. “Hey, can you get the floor plans for this place? We need to find out where all the secret hiding places are located.”

  “Yes, sir,” the young officer said, running back down the steps two at a time.

  “There’s no way they escaped unnoticed.” Ricky walked into Giano’s office and looked at all sides of the fireplace. “Maybe there is a latch for a secret compartment.”

  “I’m still confused about Ella,” Miles said, helping to look for a special latch. “I saw her body fall.”

  “We didn’t see where the bullet came in from. It could’ve been planned to fake her death.”

  “We need to make sure those bodies are really Giano and Dego.” Miles stepped away from the fireplace. “I need some good news in all this mess.”

  “Hey, what’s that?” Ricky pointed in the corner behind the desk. “Could it be?” He slid his hand along the wood surface and felt a difference in the edges. “I think this could be the secret door.”

  Miles ran over to help him look for the latch that would open the hidden door.

  “When this is all over, I want to go on a trip to an exotic island,” Ricky teased. “Maybe a deserted island, and there is an endless amount of food for everyone who visits.”

  “A deserted island does sound nice. Can we make sure it’s warm enough so we only have to wear swimsuits?”

  “Warm, with our ladies, and no Giano bullshit.” Ricky realized that thought was almost in their grasp finally. “Here.” He pushed back a small ceramic statue on the shelf, and the door opened. “We need to find them,” Ricky said, pushing the secret compartment back and walking down the hallway with his gun pointed in front of him. He stopped before rounding the corner.

  Thirty-Three

  “Ella, can you walk?” Erickson was holding her up and walking carefully down a set of stairs.

  “I’m trying,” Ella whispered, wrapping her arm tighter around Erickson’s neck. “Where’s Daddy?”

  “He didn’t make it.”

  She hiccupped and tried to hold back the tears. “Where are we?”

  “This was the secret door Giano had in his office. I took a chance.”

  Ella rested her head on his shoulder. “We can’t stay in the hidden room for long. What are you planning to do?”

  “There was a passageway your dad told me about once. It was supposed to lead to the garage.” Erickson pulled her closer to his body. “If we can get there, we may be able to grab a car and leave.”

  He stopped walking, and sat Ella down on a ledge. “Let me see your gunshot wound.” He moved away her hair and noticed a large gash. “You lucked out. That bullet just whizzed by you and left a deep cut. It may need stitches.” Erickson cupped his hands around her face. “I don’t know all that just happened back there, but I do know I will not let anything else happen to you.”

  She reached up and squeezed his hands. “Baby, you can’t make that promise.”

  “Yes, I can and I will.” He helped Ella to her feet. “Come on, we need to find that secret passageway to the garage.”

  “Hey, what was Daddy talking about back there? Did you know Ricky when you were a kid?”

  Erickson scowled. “No, that’s impossible.”

  “Is it? Your family was killed, right?”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “Daddy took you in just like he did with me.”

  He thought about what she was saying. “Why would he want to take us in, though? I don’t understand.”

  “He created the perfect family.” Ella stopped and leaned her back up against the wall.

  “Perfect?”

  “Well, his perfect family.”

  Erickson leaned against the wall next to her. “Where should we go now?”

  “I’ve had a lot of fun here in the states.”

  “Yeah, maybe we should explore it a little more.”

  Ella pushed him down to the sitting position and straddled his legs. “We could find new puppies.” She brushed a finger down the center of his chest. “Then we both can play together.”

  He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “You would let me play, too?”

  “Well, it would be more fun, and we wouldn’t have to worry about how rough we get.”

  “No boundaries?”

  “None.”

  Thirty-Four

  “What the—” Ricky stopped running. “We’re going around in circles.”

  “Is that possible?”

  He pointed at a mark on the wall. “I put that there.” He shook his head. “Fuck. Well, they’re long gone by now.”

  “Let’s go talk to one of the officers,” Miles said, turning around. “We’re missing something here, but I don’t see any other secret passageway.”

  Ricky stepped out of the room and was greeted by two officers. “Did you see any special area on the floor plan for a secret passageway?”

  The one officer rolled out the floor plan on the desk. “There are a couple areas that could be. It’s hard to know exactly.”

  “We need to head back to Toronto tonight,” Miles said, pulling out his phone. “I’ll call Cooper and let him know we’re on the way back.”

  “Where’s your commanding officer?” Ricky asked, heading to the door.

  “Here,” an older man said, walking up the stairs. “What’s up?”

  “Erickson and Ella escaped,” Ricky said. “If you go through the secret door we found, it just takes you around in circles. We’re missing something, but we couldn’t find another area where a door would be hidden.”

  “Let us search for it and see what we can come up with.”

  “Even if they’re gone, maybe they left behind some clues.”

  “It could take a few days to comb the area, but we will contact you with whatever we find.”

  Ricky held out his hand. “Can you also let us know when the reports come back on the DNA results for the two bodies found up here?”

  “Yes, let’s hope they are Giano and Dego’s body. We all could use a break.”

  “Yeah, there are several of us back at the precinct that will be anxious to get back to normal.” Ricky rolled his eyes. “Whatever normal may be.” He headed down the several flights of stairs and out of the house. A man was struggling as an officer walked him to the squad car. The guy had short brown hair and was only wearing a pair of sweatpants. He increased his speed and made his way over to the car. “Hey, excuse me.”

  The officer turned around. “Yeah?”

  “Where did you find this guy?”

  “He was hiding in the garage.”

  Ricky bent down to be eye level. “Where’d your shirt go?”

  “What the fuck do you care?” the young guy said, turning his head away.

  “Did you happen to cross paths with Ella or Erickson?”

  “Who?”

  Ricky let out a frustrated laugh. “Who? You expect me to believe that line?”

  “Mister, I don’t expect you to believe anything I say and honestly, I don’t much care.”

  He stood back up. “Get him out of here.”

  “Who was he?” Miles stepped up beside him.

  “Some punk kid who I think was trying to cover for Ella and Erickson.”

  “How so?”

  “He was wearing two sizes too big sweatpants and nothing else. Plus, the officer found him in the garage.” Ricky stood there for a moment thinking about the property and how everything here was surrounded by a tall brick wall. If they escaped, maybe there was an underground tunnel. “Let’s go check out the garage.”

  Miles opened a cabinet that held all the keys and pointed to a missing set. Ricky wanted to scream. They did make it out of the compound aliv
e. He glanced over at all the cars, Giano had a sweet setup. It was a car collector’s dream.

  “Where, though? I mean, someone would’ve noticed them drive off.” Ricky leaned against a work bench. “Unless…”

  “Where did your mind go?” Miles asked.

  “Is there a list of all the cars he owns?”

  “I’m sure the technical analyst can dig deep and find out.”

  “Because if we find out which car, it could tell us how they managed to escape.”

  “What’s this?” Miles bent down and swiped his finger through the drop of blood. “She was shot; it must not be fatal.”

  “Let’s have that tested to see if it’s Ella’s blood.” Ricky threw his hands up. “We need to go through this place with a fine-tooth comb. We’re not seeing something important. I just can’t wrap my head around the missing piece.”

  Miles pointed his finger at Ricky. “Erickson.”

  “Yeah?”

  “If everyone knew him as a cop, he could put Ella in the back of a squad car and leave the same way we all are.”

  “Fuck. No one knew he was dirty.”

  “Exactly. It’s a perfect rouse.”

  “There’s security footage of the property, right?” They both headed to the front entrance where someone took shifts to watch who went in and out. Ricky tapped on the window with his knuckle. The small building was placed outside of the brick wall and was still standing after the blood bath that happened earlier. “Excuse me.”

  An older man opened the door. “How can I help you?”

  “You have recorded footage of everyone that enters or leaves the property, right?” Ricky asked, resting his hand on the door frame.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I need the footage from the last two hours.”

  “I’m sorry. Someone already asked for the tape.”

  Ricky scowled. “Someone asked for the tape?”

  “Yes, a cop.”

  “Are you sure he was a cop?”

  “He had a uniform on, sir.”

  Miles patted Ricky’s back. “We’ll find him.”

  He went to walk away but turned back. “Do you remember what he looked like?”

  “Young guy, short brown hair, real nice smile.”

  “Fuck,” he said, walking away. “The asshole outsmarted us.”

  “For now. He won’t get away with this act for long,” Miles said. “I just called the precinct and told them to put his face on the most-wanted list.”

  “Good. That nice smile won’t be winning him any awards anytime soon.” Ricky looked around. “Let’s get a ride to the airport. I need to see Vikki.” He stopped in his tracks. “Where is that missing car in the garage?”

  Thirty-Five

  “Damn it feels good to hold you,” Ricky said, spinning Vikki around in a circle.

  “You almost have that sexy beard back, too.” She giggled and combed her fingers through the thick curls.

  “Almost.” He leaned in and kissed her and then demanded more.

  Someone cleared their throat behind him. “There are rooms away from us for that,” Miles said, making a gagging sound.

  Preslie punched his arm. “Oh hush, you big baby.”

  “Yeah,” Vikki said, snuggling closer to Ricky’s side. “What she said.”

  Cooper walked into the room. “Well, looks like we are all free to leave soon.”

  “Did they get the results back on the two bodies?” Ricky asked, stepping closer to Cooper.

  “Giano and Dego. I’m not sure how you all did it, but you managed to kill the one and two in command.” Cooper shook his head. “The rest of the mob must be in an uproar.”

  “Maybe,” Miles said, sitting down at the conference table. “Giano may have planned it all this way.”

  “He planned to get killed?” Ricky asked, sounding confused.

  “Well, maybe not that part, but he found a way to put the spotlight on someone else.”

  “True.” Ricky spent the next hour detailing all that they had discovered about Erickson and Ella. “I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that Erickson was a dirty cop.”

  “Yeah and imagine how I feel hiring the asshole.” Cooper combed his hands through his hair. “I will have to put stricter rules on the application process. This can’t happen again.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Ricky said. “I have a feeling we’re not the only precinct that will be changing a lot of rules and regulations going forward. We had too many people on the inside that were helping Giano.”

  “The Denver police chief called and let me know there was not a missing car in the garage.” Cooper shook his head. “They found the missing keys that were pulled from the box in a grease drain under a car.”

  “Was the guy in the sweatpants helping Erickson and Ella?” Miles asked.

  “He’s an associate.” Cooper nodded. “But we can’t confirm if he helped them escape.”

  “And the footage was taken by the asshole, so there’s that.” Ricky rolled his eyes. “This whole case is exhausting. I may need a break, on a beach, with a sexy redhead.”

  “What if I told you a secret,” Johnny said, standing up from the couch.

  Cooper scowled. “Is it illegal?”

  Johnny sat back down. “Maybe.”

  “I need to go take a few files to archives.” Cooper didn’t look back; he just left.

  “So does that mean I can share the secret?” Johnny sounded confused.

  The door closed behind Cooper. “You can now.” Ricky laughed.

  “Well…” Johnny paused. “Well, um…about that money.”

  Ricky heard everyone in the room gasp. “Are we talking about that missing money Giano tried to kill Letizia for and then the rest of us?”

  “Yeah, that money.”

  “Is it close?”

  “No, it’s about a six-hour plane ride away.” Johnny cleared his throat. “And you could get that island vacation after all.”

  Ricky sat there for a moment, unsure how to process everything Johnny had just said. There was money, and it was still around. Giano had known someone had it.

  “Well, son of a bitch, are you serious,” he said, trying to hold in a laugh. “We all have been running from Giano because of this fucking money.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Is there enough money to make this trip worthwhile?”

  “Is two million enough?”

  “Holy shit,” Miles gasped. “Are you fucking serious?”

  “But the ledger stated less than five hundred thousand,” Letizia said, turning her head to the side.

  “Lando and I did everything wrong.”

  “Or you did everything right,” Vikki said, looking over at Letizia and Cristiano. “They are still alive.”

  “Well, I lost two dear friends over this shit,” Johnny said. “I still don’t know if going to Giano for help and extra work was even worth it.” He sat down on a chair and bowed his head. “Especially because we put you all in this mess.”

  “Hey,” Letizia touched his shoulder. “We have to go from here and now. If we sit and wonder and regret, it will get us nowhere.”

  “I have a wacky idea?” Ricky said, chuckling.

  “I’m afraid to ask.” Miles laughed.

  “We all take a trip together. Go find the money together.”

  Johnny lifted his head. “You all can have every last cent. It’s not mine to keep anymore.”

  “Let’s figure that out later.” Ricky squeezed his shoulder. “Letizia’s right. You need to move forward now. The past is the past. We can’t change it, and some good things came out of the mess.” He looked around the room. “I have my old job back. Met an amazing redhead.”

  “I met this killer chef while I was undercover in Minnesota,” Finley said, pulling Letizia closer.

  “I can’t say I met Preslie in this mess, but my crazy job did bring her my way.” Miles winked at Preslie.

  “And you reunited with your son.” Cristiano stepped forward. “I know
you regret what happened to Ella, but I don’t think she ever wanted our love.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I want a family. Well, the family I have left I want to enjoy.”

  Ricky walked over to the kid. “Hey, look around. Your family is huge.”

  “Do you think Ella will ever come around?” Johnny asked

  “No, I think we lost her several years ago. Giano and Erickson gave her a life she loved more.” Miles squeezed Preslie’s hand. “I guess it’s all about the choices we make, right?”

  “Yeah,” Johnny whispered. “I worry about the people in their path now.”

  Ricky knew he was right. Ella seemed angry from the moment he met her in Florida. Now her “Daddy” was dead, and she was on the run. He turned to Miles. “That reminds me, did you get a good look at Erickson when he came out of that room?”

  “You mean the marks on him?”

  “What marks?” Johnny asked.

  “There were burn marks, cuts, and God knows what else all over his upper torso.” Ricky shivered at the thought.

  “Yeah, and the sounds we heard when still on the main floor of the house were intense.” Miles shook his head.

  “Are we talking about what I think we’re talking about?” Johnny scowled.

  “Oh yeah, exactly that.” Ricky laughed. “I thought someone was being tortured.”

  “Well, he was,” Miles said.

  “But he liked it,” Vikki said. “So if they are both pissed…”

  “Someone else will get to experience that torture.” Ricky nodded. “Which is why we need to find them before that happens.”

  “I guarantee they are out of our jurisdiction by now, but we need to warn the authorities, though.” Miles walked over to his computer. “We added them to the most-wanted list, right?”

  “I called and let them know to add Erickson,” Ricky said. “We need to get Ella on the list a-s-a-p.”

  “So, are you sure we’re safe to go back to our normal lives?” Vikki said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “As much as I like this place, I need my own bed.”

  Ricky sat down next to her. “We’re safe. They’re long gone, trust me.”