Busting In (Busted Series Book 1)

by Vanessa M. Knight

  “What are you having?” Enzo asked her as he looked over the menu.

  She tried to find something she might eat, but this was way above her pay grade. Carpaccio, tonno vitellato, and ostriche…oh my. The only word that she somewhat recognized was ostriche and she had no desire to eat that. Why did rich people eat weird foods? “What do you recommend?” Not the ostriche. Please not the ostrich.

  “Do you like pasta or meat or both?”

  “Both.”

  “Try the culatello risotto. Culatello is an Italian ham. Creamy texture. Unique taste.”

  “Sounds delicious.” She put the menu down and smiled. “I’ll have that.” She loved ham—to the disappointment of her mother. Jessi’s love of meat was just one more thing her mother could meditate on.

  Enzo smiled back and buried his head in his own menu.

  This place was amazing.

  It was dark outside, but the street lights and the lights from the stores gave an almost daylight glow to the packages floating along the street as shoppers wandered up and down Michigan Avenue.

  The waiter came by and took their order and filled their wine glasses. Everything about this place was beautiful, and the smells made her salivary glands gush in anticipation.

  Her phone buzzed a rock beat in her pocket. She pulled out the annoyance and stared at the screen. Speaking of Namaste—or lack thereof. Her mother’s picture taunted her as the Clash asked if she should stay or she should go. Stay, please.

  She hit the button to ignore and stuffed it back in her pocket.

  “Do you need to take that?” Enzo looked so adorable sitting across from her. His dark blue suit brought out the sparkle in his brown eyes. The sparkle? Ugh. She was turning into a chick who thought words like sparkle.

  “No.” She didn’t want to hear her mother’s voice and get an earful of life coach mumbo-jumbo.

  “So, what’s your favorite color?”

  “Going straight for the small talk.” She couldn’t help but smile. It was sweet he’d want to know something so mundane. “I’m going with black. You?”

  “Green. Always has been. When I was a kid I wanted to be Oscar the Grouch, because he had cool fur.”

  “You must have a huge thing for Gamora, then.”

  “Guardians of the Galaxy, huh? She’s okay. But you should have seen me go crazy watching The Wizard of Oz.”

  “Elphaba.”

  “Yeah.” He smiled and took a sip of wine. “My favorite band is Green Day. I even saw them in concert last year at Wrigley.”

  Green Day. Her favorite. “Oh my god. I was there. Cool in a pink tutu was hilarious.” Jessi couldn’t help but laugh with Enzo, and then it slowly trailed off. That night had been a good night—until it hadn’t been.

  “Where’d you go?” Enzo’s voice was soft. “You were laughing and then you weren’t.”

  She’d gone somewhere all right. Back to that night. Back to the concert that blew her breath away and then the words that had blown her life away. I don’t love you.

  “My fiancé broke off our engagement that night.”

  “That must have hurt.” His hand found hers across the table.

  “Yes and no. It could’ve been worse.” She ran a finger of her free hand along the rim of her wineglass. “I’d come home early because I wanted to tell him all about the concert. I felt bad that he couldn’t go. He had to work.” She put the word into the air quotes it deserved. “He was in bed with one of the yoga instructors from the spa where my mom worked.” One of the many reasons she had no desire to work the front desk there or spend any amount of time there. Even if that’s where her mom found her life’s calling to be a life coach.

  His eyebrows arched, and he stared at her for a second. “How could it have been worse?” He sounded genuinely confused, and a little bit angry.

  Which was nice, really, but she’d gotten over confusion and anger long before this. “He could have said he wanted to stay with me. He could have asked me to forgive him. I probably would have. I would have married his lying, cheating ass and gone on to be miserable.” She would probably be divorced by now. He didn’t have a committed bone in his body. He liked to give his bone to too many women for that. The yoga instructor had known Jessi was engaged to him. She didn’t seem to care, and even laughed when Jessi caught them.

  “That’s a mature attitude.”

  “It didn’t start that way. It’s taken a while to get there. But we weren’t right for each other.” She felt the smile that crawled across her face all the way to her bones. “And anyway, three months later the naked homewrecker found him in bed with a nail technician from the suburbs.”

  “Karma.”

  She tried to tone down her smile. “Karma is a bitch.” So did finding out the guy you cheated with is a jackass and cheats on you. Yeah, that smile wasn’t going anywhere. “My mother put a curse on him, though.”

  “A curse.” Enzo’s mouth quirked.

  “She learned all kinds of interesting spells during her witchcraft phase.”

  “Witchcraft? What does your dad think about that?”

  “He’s been remarried for twenty years, so he doesn’t really care.”

  “Do you see him?”

  “Not really.” She took a long pull of her wine. Talking about her father was way outside her comfort zone.

  Enzo slid a finger along the skin of her wrist. Soft and gentle. “That must be hard. My parents retired to Florida a few years ago. Between visiting my brother in Italy and their new place, I never see them, either.”

  “My dad’s a surgeon over on the North Side. He just never had time for his old family once he got the new one.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Actually, it’s okay. My mom has been more than enough parent for any kid. I’ve been lucky.” She did appreciate everything her mother did—even though half the time she wanted to run in the other direction.

  But her father leaving was probably for the best, too. From what she remembered, he was very controlling. He wanted a kept woman and her mother wasn’t the type to be kept. It was one of the reason he left. Which was ironic since her mother made a hobby out of trying to control Jessi’s life.

  The daughter didn’t fall far from the tree.

  The waiter stopped by the table. First he set Enzo’s gnocchi in front of him, followed by her risotto. A tiny pile of rice occupied the center of the plate, in a pool of white sauce. Curls of Italian ham were spun around the edge and intermixed in the dish. Green leaves stuck out from under the pile. It was beautiful. It was art.

  Jessi inhaled appreciatively. “I’m afraid to eat it. It’s so pretty.”

  Enzo speared a gnocchi and held it up to her. “If you think it looks good, try taking a bite.” He waved the fork like a mother playing airplane with a toddler.

  The food smelled so good and the dumpling stuck to the tines looked so tasty. She opened her lips and Enzo slid the fork into her mouth. Warm gooey potato. Delicious. There was a weird musky taste. Different, but good. “What is in this? It tastes amazing.”

  “White truffle.”

  She eyed the gnocchi. “Like…chocolate?”

  He shook his head, smiling. “No, they’re a fungus.”

  “Like a mushroom?” Crap. She generally didn’t have to think about her allergy. The fast food restaurants she usually haunted didn’t generally include fungus.

  “Yes.”

  “Oh.” She took a deep drink of wine. Did wine help wash away fungus? It might not do that, but it would make her drunk enough to not care. “I’m allergic to mushrooms.”

  “To truffles?”

  “I’m not sure.” She didn’t feel anything yet, but give it time. And it didn’t matter. It was done.

  “There’s not much in the dish, and even less in the bite you took.” He put his fork down. “But do we need to get you to the hospital? Do you have an epi-pen?”

  “It’s not that intense. I’ll just pay for it later.” She was truly hoping he didn�
��t want her to elaborate. She shouldn’t have brought this up at all.

  The smell of cheese and rice floated to her nose. Her dinner was sitting on the table, getting cold. It still looked pretty, but it also looked like the perfect thing to soak up the fungus in her stomach.

  She pulled out her phone and took a quick picture. “It’s a shame to waste something so pretty.” Then she dipped her fork in and had one of the best meals she’d had in months.

  Dinner was amazing. Great conversation. Great food. Great eye candy. Jessi stood next to the valet stand and pressed a hand to her softly rumbling stomach. Fungus. It was going to be making a second appearance soon if she didn’t hurry. Why did something so good have to hurt so bad?

  Enzo’s arm wrapped around her middle from behind before another rumble could take hold. “So, I was thinking we could go back to my place and work off some of the food we just ate.”

  The thought of how they’d work off the food was so tempting. She didn’t want to cut this weekend short. It had been the most perfect weekend of her life—well, if you ignored the whole gun/ kidnapping thing.

  Enzo’s breath tickled along her hairline. She couldn’t believe she’d just met this man. He fit her. He was supportive and kind and sexy. It was like those Weird Science kids made him from a mold designed especially for her.

  Enzo’s SUV flew around the corner of the virtually empty street and pulled up to the curb. It was late and cold. The stores were closed. Most of the traffic was people heading to the many culinary experiences dotted along the Magnificent Mile.

  The valet jumped out and ran around to the passenger side, deftly accepting a tip from Enzo on the way. He opened the door, and Jessi walked over as a gust of heat hit her chest. Valets were awesome. Especially in the frigid Chicago winters that seemed to last forever. They started the car and got it all warm and toasty before you even stepped inside.

  Maybe the coffee shop should get a few valets. Then she wouldn’t have to deal with a cold car ever.

  “Ready?” Enzo asked as she slid in next to him.

  “Sure.” She clicked her seat belt as her stomach howled out a tune. After Enzo pulled out into traffic she added, “I should probably head home.”

  He looked over, concern written on his brow. “Are you sure?”

  Another howl. How could he not hear that? “Yes…”

  “No,” someone said from the back seat of the car. The barrel of a gun appeared between the seats, aimed at Jessi’s head. The tip banged the side of her skull. “Keep driving or she dies.”

  She could just make out the deputy mayor’s beady eyes in the glow washing the interior of the car from the streetlights. He leaned forward between the front seats.

  Enzo’s grip on the steering wheel appeared to tighten, but otherwise he seemed so calm. Jessi wanted to scream and jump out of the moving car. So what if it was doing forty-five down Grand Avenue? “Keep the gun off her,” Enzo said.

  “You think you can tell me what to do? I’m the one with the gun.” Richard Swift jabbed the barrel into her head. Stars blinded her as her head rocked to the side.

  Her eyes slid closed. Her stomach turned as it rumbled. She was barely keeping the contents inside, and that was the least of her problems. Her life, and the continuation of it, lay in this guy’s hands. And he seemed a little unhinged. She had a feeling they were going to end up at the cemetery again, and as promised it would end completely differently.

  “Where is it?” Dick Swift yelled from the back.

  “Where is what?” Enzo kept driving, but he was no longer heading toward Humboldt Park. He had veered north, probably toward the police station. At least that’s where she’d head.

  “Don’t play games with me.”

  “You have a gun to her head. I’m not interested in any games.” Enzo’s knuckles turned an interesting shade of white as he gripped the wheel. “I need more information.”

  “The pages you took. You didn’t think I’d notice you stole from me?”

  “They were in the mayor’s desk.” Enzo turned to look at the jerk.

  “Watch the road. That wasn’t just the mayor’s desk. It was mine. The desk I use when I work at his house. The mayor’s personal desk is in the next room.”

  From the way Enzo’s face dropped, Jessi guessed that was a newsflash. Last night he’d been so sure that was the mayor’s office. Faulty information? Or had the informant known who the crook in the mayor’s organization truly was? It had led to the right data, according to Enzo. The data that was about to get them killed.

  “Answer me!” Crazy Dick slammed the butt of the gun into her shoulder.

  Pain swirled and spun down her arm, pulsing along her collarbone. It almost made her forget her stomach contents swelling inside her.

  Buuuurp.

  Almost.

  “I don’t have your paperwork on me,” Enzo told him. “It’s back at the house.”

  “Your house?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I guess I don’t need you two anymore.” Deputy Mayor Dick turned his head from side to side. He must have realized they were in a moving car. “Head east. We’re going to Oak Street Beach.”

  “The beach?” Enzo looked in the mirror, watching the Dick. If Jessi could turn her head without staring into a gun barrel she’d be watching the erratic and terrifying Deputy Mayor Dick, too.

  “Don’t you mean the cemetery?” Jessi didn’t know why she asked that. Maybe because she wanted Enzo to know what this guy was planning to do to them. Although he probably already knew.

  Dick laughed. “The cemetery was just a scare tactic. Too messy. The lake is better.”

  Enzo made a right, and now they were on their way to the beach. In April. So they could literally sleep with the fishes. Enzo turned onto Lake Shore Drive, where only a few cars dotted the road; for the most part the lanes were open.

  Enzo’s eyes sparkled as he turned to Jessi and gunned the accelerator. The seatbelts. They were wearing their seatbelts. Dick wasn’t.

  “Slow down!” Dick yelled as his head snapped back.

  “I’m keeping up with traffic.” Which wasn’t entirely untrue. There was one douchebag in a Porsche going about sixty-five. Enzo went faster.

  Eighty. Eighty-five. Enzo looked into her eyes. It was a comforting look—a look that said, I got this. It was a look that said that he’d keep her safe no matter what. He mouthed to Jessi, “hang on,” and slammed on the brakes. The seatbelt caught them. Dick barely managed to keep himself from landing in the front seat.

  Jessi tried to reach for the gun, but the belt was pasted against her body. She couldn’t turn or move toward him at all. This worked so much better in the movies. Dick would be a hood ornament already if they were on Law and Order.

  The look in Dick’s eyes said she was about to be a hood ornament. “Turn here.” He glared at Enzo.

  Enzo took the exit for Oak Street Beach and made a U-turn at Erie Street. They’d run out of time. They were at the beach.

  “Park here,” Dick barked. “And get out.”

  The street was empty. It was too dark and cold to take a walk down the shore in April at ten at night. Enzo rolled up to the curb and parked. He pulled the keys from the ignition.

  “Leave the keys.”

  Enzo stuck them back in and looked at Jessi. This was it. They were walking outside to their death. She felt like a dirge should play or something. He nodded to her and she opened the door.

  Stepping out, she took in the waves lapping at the shore. The breeze from the lake was crisp and brought the general smell of sand and water. Enzo walked around the car and grabbed her hand as Dick Swift stepped out of the backseat.

  “What are we going to do?” Jessi whispered to Enzo. She knew it was getting desperate. They couldn’t just let this guy kill them. They had to do something. Too bad she didn’t have a garter to open or a short skirt to distract the bad guy. A woman that needed the Heimlich maneuver would come in handy right about now.

&n
bsp; “When I say go, I want you to run. Don’t look back.”

  Jessi stared at him. They were making a run for it, but what about the gun?

  “Move to the water,” Deputy Mayor Dick ordered.

  The three of them walked across the sidewalk and onto the sand, Dick right on Jessi and Enzo’s heels. What was normally combed and flat beach was now filled with mini sand hills. Enzo kicked at them as he walked, sand flying forward. He kicked at a larger hill, snagging his foot and falling to his knees.

  “Get up.” Dick waved the gun.

  Enzo popped up from the ground with a handful of sand and yelled, “Run!”

  It all happened so fast. Too fast for Jessi to even think about the plan or to do what she was told. The sand flew in a clump from Enzo’s hand into Dick’s eyes. The gun flailed, and discharged toward the lake.

  Enzo tackled Dick, taking him down, wrestling to get a hand on the gun. Dick pushed on Enzo. Enzo landed on his side, so Dick jumped up and slammed Enzo to the ground. There was grunting and yelling and…

  Bang!

  The gun went off again. This time inches from Enzo’s head—but aimed at the empty lifeguard station

  Screw it. Jessi wasn’t going to run away and leave him here. What she needed was something to use on Dick. Like that piece of driftwood sticking out of the sand. She ran— sort of. More like she tried to run, but her stupid boots kept sinking. This would never happen on Law and Order.

  After what felt like forever, she made it to the wood. She yanked it free, and slapped it against her other hand. She didn’t want something that would fall apart at the first sign of impact. Sticking and sinking, she scrambled back to where the men were still rolling around. She used the wood as a crutch, helping her move faster.

  Somehow she made it there just as Enzo rolled onto his knees, the gun still locked in their hands. That wasn’t going to work. How was she going to hit Dick if he was on the ground? She needed him on top. Explaining that to Enzo right now was a problem, though.

  Then Dick kneed Enzo hard in the ribs, and Enzo fell to the sand with a humph. With the gun aimed at Enzo, Dick jerked upright, keeping the gun on a barely moving Enzo.