A Perfect SEAL

by Jess Bentley

  My stomach drops. The man never shows his face, and without a direct ID, it’s going to take me forever to find some trace of him in the apartment. I don’t know what I’m going to do, when suddenly I notice, the man reaches into his pocket to take out his cell phone. I turn up the volume as high as it will go, and can just make out his gruff and miserable voice.

  “…in the lobby… Nah, she’s out like a light. Should I bring her to the house?... No, you’re right. Stupid idea. The warehouse by the dock?... You got it… No problem, Mr. Cannizzo.”

  I slam my fist down on the bed. “That fucking son of a bitch!” I scream out loud just for the satisfaction. But I know I don’t have time to be pissed right now. I need to figure out where they took Arie. I use my access to the public records research database I have through work, and find that Sonny Cannizzo owns a warehouse, but the address has been deleted as a matter of public record. Cannizzo probably paid off a politician to get the information removed. I know that I should call the police, the FBI… get hostage negotiators involved, people who aren’t personally invested in the outcome of whatever happens next.

  But all I want to do is put my hands around that man’s throat and squeeze. So, if I want to have the satisfaction of making the man pay for hurting Arie, I’m going to have to take care of this myself. And there is only one man who can help me.

  I fish Roger Bailey’s card out of my pocket and make the call.

  I can hear Bailey swipe everything off his desk in anger, and something glass shatter on the floor.

  “Are you kidding me? She had twenty-four hours! That son-of-a-bitch. Wait… How do you know about her and me? Did she tell you?”

  I grumble. “Yes, she told me. And we don’t have time to talk about this now, Bailey. I need your help. Cannizzo had her taken to a ‘warehouse by a dock.’ But the city records have been redacted, and I don’t have time to go through my usual channels. I thought you might know something I don’t.”

  Bailey shuffles around some papers and I hear the sound of keyboard clicking. “This is going to take me a minute, Cochran. I’m not some mob lawyer who represents made men. I just happen to know people who know people who work for people like that. I need to see if my contact in Mexico is… Wait. Hold on.”

  He puts me on hold, and I think I’m going to put my fist through the wall. Every minute that ticks by is a minute Arie thinks I’m not coming for her, and it’s making me sick. Just went I think I might lose my mind with worry, Bailey comes back.

  “All right, my guy in Mexico was awake. He said the warehouse in Brooklyn. I’m texting you the address now. But listen, Cochran… Be careful. Sonny Cannizzo is a dipshit, but his son Angel is a monster. He’ll shoot you down as soon as look at you. So, don’t make the mistake of thinking he will show you any respect, or decency.”

  I thank him and hang up. Then I take a deep breath and prepare for whatever is about to happen. And then I get my weapons.

  I drive to the docks in Brooklyn, and park as close to the warehouse as can without running the risk of being detected by Cannizzo or any of his goons. I’m in my tactical gear, which I haven’t so much as looked at since I got hurt, and the pants feel tight against the wounded muscle in my leg. My knife is strapped to hip, and I have my gun in my hands, as I inch my way around corners, until I’m standing outside the door that leads into the Cannizzo warehouse.

  It’s completely unmarked, and anyone walking by would probably assume it was abandoned. But through a dirty window, I can just make out the telltale signs of life inside. A gently glowing light is illuminating a hallway in the distance, and I can see a shadow moving back and forth under the light. I know I can’t just walk through the front door, so I have to find a different way in. And considering the building seems to have a limited number of entrances, I’m not sure how I am going to get inside.

  With steps as light as I can manage, I weave my way around the warehouse, until I come upon a slightly ajar window facing the water. The problem is, the window is over the water, so I will have to shimmy along the edge of building and hope my leg can hold me. I use the edge just over top of the water to keep myself up, then tip-toe slowly across, until I’m able to hang off the window ledge.

  I use all of my upper body strength to pull myself up, and look inside. The room is dark, with only the faintest trace of light from outside creeping in. But it’s just enough for me to make out Arie’s back. She is tied to a chair, arms and legs, but I can see she has been working to get free, because one of her hands has almost come loose from the zip-tie. I’m thrilled she’s still alive, I know that Cannizzo and his man won’t let her stay that way for long. As quietly as I can, I push the window open just enough so I can roll inside. But I miscalculate the shittiness of the building, and the window squeaks a lot more loudly than I would like.

  When I land on the floor, Arie’s head spins around.

  “Who is there? Who the hell is that?”

  I rush up behind her in a squat run and whisper in here, “Hell of a tight spot you’ve gotten yourself in here, Arie Blanchard. How were you planning to get out of this one?”

  Arie lets out a long, exhausted sigh. “Pierce! Thank goodness! How did you find me? How did you… you know what. Never mind. You can tell me later. Get me out of here. Cannizzo is gone for the time being, but that shithead Danny is just outside the door and I don’t think he will take too kindly to finding you here.”

  “Don’t you worry about that,” I say as I take out my knife and cut her wrists free. She groans as she pulls her hands around front and inspects the damage, then tries to stretch out some of the pain. “I’m more than going to get you out of here. I’m going to make that man pay for what he did to you.”

  I’m just about to cut away the ties holding her ankles to the chair when the locks on the door start clicking. Arie turns to me, panicked.

  “Hide. If he finds you as soon as he gets in here…”

  I make a face at her. “Arie, I’m a SEAL,” I hiss. “You think some mob schmuck is going to get the drop on me?”

  “He has a gun, you idiot. And trust me when I say he’s faster than you expect him to be. Please, just hide!”

  I dive for the darkest corner of the room where I can blend in, and hopefully, get the drop on this douchebag. I watch as he walks inside, with an arrogant stroll that just pisses me off more. He walks up to Arie, and gets way too close for my comfort.

  “Well, Miss Blanchard. It looks like the boss is on his wake back. And when he gets here, he said I can do whatever I want to you.”

  That’s all it takes. All of my training tells me to wait until he’s totally vulnerable, but hearing him threaten Arie like that, my Arie… It’s too much. I slide up behind him and before he even has time to realize that I’m there, my knife is at his throat. He sucks in a deep breath, but doesn’t dare speak, so I do the talking for him.

  “Listen. And listen closely. You have precisely two ways out of this. One is in a body bag. The other is in a police car. But in one of those options, you are alive. So, I’d think about this carefully if I were you. Either you call your boss and tell him to meet you exactly where I say, then you trade places with Arie and sit still like a good boy until the cops come for you…”

  Danny snorts. “Or what?”

  “Or I let you go and you find out all the ways the Navy taught me to make a man’s dying moments the most miserable of his life.”

  He doesn’t answer for longer than is probably appropriate given his options. Finally, he shrugs his shoulders a little in what feels like an attempt to get me to loosen my grip. I don’t.

  “And where exactly am I telling the boss to meet you?” he asks sarcastically.

  “The coffee shop on Avenue A and Second in an hour. Tell him Arie is secure, but you need to talk him about something important. And if he doesn’t meet you, it could mean trouble for the whole Cannizzo family. Got it?”

  Danny squirms, and grumbles. “Fuck, man. I got. But you have to let me have
a hand or I can’t make the call, ya know?”

  I give him enough leeway to get his phone from his picket, and he makes the call. I search both voices for any sign that they are betraying a code, but I don’t pick up on anything. So, when he hangs up, I take a couple of zip-ties out of his jacket pocket, and start by tying his wrists together. I pull the plastic tie a lot tighter than it needs to be, but I don’t really care if his hands fall off from blood loss. He would deserve it. Then I cut Arie’s legs loose from the chair, and the minute she’s free, she stands up, jumps up and down a few times, walks over to where Danny is standing…

  And kicks him square in the balls.

  He goes down like a ton of bricks.

  That’s my girl.

  Arie

  Pierce and I are standing in an empty office building across the street from the coffee shop where Danny told Cannizzo to meet him. As soon as we left Danny in the warehouse, moaning and crying like a baby, we went straight to the police station. It only took about two seconds for us to be ushered to the Major Crimes division, where a US District Attorney named Penny Elliot offered me total immunity if I testified against Angel for the kidnapping and assault. I was afraid at first, mostly that the Cannizzo’s would try and hurt me, or Chloe, or Pierce, but Miss Elliot assured me that I could return to New Zealand until the trial, so at least that made me feel safer.

  Now, we are waiting here to watch Angel get arrested.

  A handful of police officers and detectives surround us, and Penny Elliot stands by my side, with an earpiece planted firmly in her ear. She is dictating instructions to room full of men who are listening to her with rapt attention. I am kind of in awe of the power she commands; I’ve never seen a woman in control like that before. Even with her expensive business suit and shiny blonde hair and sky blue eyes that make her look like a model, there is something utterly authoritative about her. Everyone listens when she talks.

  “Holtz, Markum, make sure you have the exits covered. Daniels confirmed that Cannizzo’s car just arrived, and he’s approaching the coffee shop. I don’t want him to have the opportunity to bolt. And make sure every procedure is covered thoroughly. I refuse to let some scumbag lawyer get him off on a goddamn technicality.”

  I get the shivers listening to Penny talk. Pierce makes me feel safe as he puts his hand on the small of my back reassuringly, but I am convinced that Penny will keep us from harm in the long run. She seems thoroughly committed to taking Cannizzo down, and that makes me happier than anything that happened in the last month.

  Suddenly, the room goes deathly quiet.

  “Standby. Cannizzo is entering the coffee shop,” Penny says into her earpiece. Everything is silent for a moment, and then… All hell breaks loose. We can hear screaming and smashing and glass shattering from inside the shop, and Penny starts pacing. “Someone tell me what the hell is going on in there!”

  Seconds later, two detectives walk out of the shop, Angel Cannizzo in front of them in handcuffs. Penny rushes outside, and we follow behind her. She crosses the street and gets right in Angel’s face.

  “You’re going down, Cannizzo. You’re going to spend the rest of your life in federal prison, and I am going to make sure you never see the light of day, you piece of shit.”

  Cannizzo scowls and Penny watches with dancing eyes as the detectives roughly shove him into a squad car. I hurry over to Penny and grab her arm.

  “Is it over? Are we really safe?”

  Penny crosses her arms with a smile. “For now? You bet. We’ll still have to go to trial, which means you will have to come back to the states to testify. But with his father in jail for a while longer, and your rock-solid testimony against him, along with all of the new evidence we’re uncovering thanks to your… whatever your boyfriend said to Danny Lorenzo, well. These dirtbags are going to be locked up for a long time. We may get to stamp out the Cannizzo crime family yet. And it’s all thanks to you, Arie. Just do me a favor, huh?”

  “Yeah?” I respond, nervous she’s going to want me to confront Angel directly.

  “Stay away from the OTB,” Penny says with a wink. Then she clicks off in her expensive high heels, chasing after the detectives and barking orders at them like a drill sergeant. I can’t help but grin as Pierce walks up next to me.

  “Man, that woman is a bulldog. And not so hard on the eyes, either.”

  I slug him in the arm. “Hey! Just because she’s blonde and brilliant and powerful and…”

  Pierce sweeps me up in his arms, and gives me the sweetest, longest, most knee-buckling kiss I’ve ever experience in my entire life. When he pulls away, his eyes sparkle with the same old mischief that made me fall in love with him a thousand a years.

  “Don’t you worry, princess. I only have eyes for one beautiful, brilliant, powerful woman, and she’s got sexy black hair and she’s standing right in front of me.”

  Pierce pulls me back into a giant bear hug, and for the first time in a long time, I am purely and blissfully happy. Everything is right with the world…

  Part Four

  Arie

  Six Months Later

  I can’t believe the life I am living anymore. It feels like just yesterday that Chloe and I were crammed in a dumpy studio apartment in Alphabet City, and I was convinced that I was going to die, alone, without my baby by my side or anyone to care. Now? Now I’m living in Auckland in a gorgeous two-story penthouse with my little girl, our half-wolf/half-dog Daisy… and my husband.

  My husband.

  My husband, Pierce.

  It still sounds so strange to say it out loud. Barely a day after Cannizzo was officially behind bars, James and Carol had invited all of us, Logan included, to join them at Martinelli’s to celebrate the end of my ordeal. We were drinking wine, eating their delicious pasta and chicken parmigiana, and talking about our upcoming move. Chloe was chewing happily on a breadstick, when suddenly she looked up at me and said,

  “Mama!”

  The entire table went silent. We all stared at her cheery little face, and her glowing, chubby cheeks, with our jaws agape.

  “Chloe! What did you say? Did you… did you say something?”

  She smiled and wrapped her fingers around my wrist. “Mama!” Then she pointed her chewed up breadstick at Pierce and said, “Daddy!”

  I don’t know why, maybe it was an overflow of all the emotion from the last week, but I burst into tears. Pierce pulled Chloe into his lap and showered her in kisses.

  “It’s not much, but it’s a start! I bet she’ll be talking up a storm before we know it,” he said with a laugh.

  “And you’ll be longing for the days when she didn’t speak at all,” James said with a sly grin. Carol gave him a smack on the arm, but everyone chuckled. I wiped the tears from my eyes as Pierce handed Chloe to his mom, then got up from the booth with a bit of a grunt. Ever since the incident at the warehouse, his leg had been a little stiffer than usual, so he’d been working out double-time to try and get back to his usual self. But he was still more sore than he cared to admit. Yet, he stood at the edge of the table, tall and handsome, and gave me his most dashing smile.

  “Arie, this seems like the perfect time to ask you something I’ve been meaning to for a while.”

  Pierce reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a little blue box, and my heart practically stopped as he got down on one knee. I couldn’t even utter a word, but Carol more than made up for it when she shrieked loud enough that several of the chefs and a few waiters came running over to see what commotion was. They immediately stopped in their tracks with giant smiles on their faces. I had a feeling they’d been privy to this scene many times before.

  However, when Pierce open the little blue box, it was my turn to make a scene. The ring was a huge pear-shaped diamond in a platinum setting. The entire band was encrusted with smaller diamonds, and even the main stone was surrounded by little sparkling stones. The lights from the candle hit the largest diamond and set off sparkles all over the wal
l like a prism, and Chloe exclaimed happily as she tried to grab at them. But I shook my head, terrified to so much as touch it.

  “Pierce… I can’t accept that. It’s too much. It’s too big. I can’t…”

  He got up from the floor and sat back down in the booth next to me, then slid the ring on my finger with a smile. “You deserve this, Arie. You deserve all of it and more. You deserve a thousand rings, you deserve every diamond in the world. And if you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life chasing them down for you. And for Chloe.”

  I started crying again and threw my arms around him. “Yes, of course yes. Forever, yes.”

  The rest of the night was spent talking about details for a wedding, and listening to Carol try to convince us again not to move to Auckland. But the first thing Pierce had done once we were sure that Cannizzo was firmly in prison was book our tickets back to New Zealand, so there was no question about us leaving. The only question left was whether we’re going to get married in Manhattan, or New Zealand.

  In the end, we decided to have the wedding in our new home. But not before I had to testify at the trial of Sebastian “Angel” Cannizzo.

  The pre-trial phase had moved a lot faster than Penny had anticipated. For a moment, she even thought Cannizzo might cut a deal, which would have prevented me from testifying at all. But then, Sonny Cannizzo died in his white collar prison, a sudden heart attack taking him out on the racquetball court, and Angel had decided that meant he needed to take over the Cannizzo crime family. And while it was possible for him to control things from jail, he made it perfectly clear that he didn’t intend to, and he started the process of doing everything in his power to get out of his charges.