Sly: Jagged Edge Series #4

by A. L Long

  “Bishop, would you please show Ms. Jennings to her room?” Carlos asked with authority.

  “Very well, sir,” he paused. “This way, Ms. Jennings.” The tall skinny gentleman, who had to be at least sixty, motioned to me as he stepped to the side.

  Following him up the staircase, I took in my surroundings. As much as I hated Carlos, I had to admit he had good taste in mansions. The man in front of me, which I assumed was the butler, walked down a hallway and then turned to his right and opened a door. He reached inside the doorway and turned on the lights. When I got inside the room, I couldn’t believe what I saw. It was the biggest bedroom I had ever seen. It was decorated in deep purple and black. Amazed by the room, I barely heard the butler leave.

  Checking it out, I opened the first door that I saw, which ended up being the closet. My bedroom in my new apartment could have fit inside the large room. Not only was the size unbelievable, it had been filled with clothing that I would never wear or even have the need to wear. Whereas I was more of a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, the closet was filled with dresses, gowns, and pantsuits.

  Having seen enough of the closet, I stumbled to the next door, which turned out to be the bathroom. Once again, it was huge. There was not only a large shower that could easily fit four people inside, there was also a mammoth-sized tub that someone could get swallowed up in. Everything about this house was over the top. It was way more than I could handle.

  Pulling me from my thoughts, there was a light knock on the door. Leaving the bathroom, I walked over to the door to find that the maid who was in the entrance earlier was standing outside holding some towels in her arms.

  Stepping aside to let her in, her soft voice said, “Mr. Giordano thought you might want to freshen up before dinner. I brought you some fresh towels.”

  I was just about to take them from her when she spoke again. “I will draw you a bath, Miss.”

  Letting her do what she felt was necessary, I waited for her to finish as I listened to the water running in the bathroom. Pacing was the only thing I could do while I tried to think of what I was going to do. The first thing I needed to do was try to find a way to get in touch with Sly. This was going to take some doing, since there was no phone in the room and I couldn’t just ask for one.

  The maid appeared again and was about to assist me in getting ready for my bath by helping me undress. Never in my life have I ever let another woman undress me, and there was no way I was going to start now even if she was the maid. “I’ll get undressed myself,” I said sharply.

  “Very well, my name is Agnes, please let me know if you need anything else. There is an intercom here…” she pointed out as she walked over to the wall by the door. “Just press the button and I will be up straight away.”

  I waited until ‘Agnes’ left the room before I began stripping my clothes off. When I went into the bathroom, not only were the towels she brought in laying on the counter, there was also a robe, a pair of peach lace panties with a matching bra, and a set of silk pajamas. “Yep, I really need to get out of here,” I said to myself as I dipped my foot in the water to make sure it wasn’t too hot.

  Sitting in the comfort of the hot water and the fluffy bubbles, my body finally began to relax. I don’t know if it was the warmth of the water or the sweet scent of cherry blossoms that had my tension easing. Closing my eyes, I tried to picture how this whole thing with Carlos was going to play out. He still hadn’t told me what he wanted from me, and more than that, I still didn’t how he managed to get me out of the police station so quickly.

  It was then that the memory of the video entered my mind, I had no idea how he did it, but I knew that if I didn’t do as he asked, he was going to use the video against me. It would be his leverage to keep me with him forever. I was never going to be able to break away from him. Realizing what my fate was going to be, the tears began to swell in my eyes. If only Sly was here. He would know how to help me get out of this. Even though I was with him just this morning, I missed him so much.

  The water was getting cold, which signaled that it was time to get out. I could have stayed in the water forever if it meant that I could avoid having dinner with Carlos. I really didn’t even have an appetite. The only thing I wanted to do was make a plan on how I was going to get in touch with Sly.

  Pulling on the lacy panties and then the matching bra, it didn’t surprise me that they fit perfectly. The silk pajamas that Agnes left for me also fit like they were made for me. I slid on the robe and slipped on the matching heeled slippers with a silky bow at the toe, and headed down to the main area of the house. I wasn’t sure where dinner was going to be served, but I was pretty sure I would be running into someone that could show me the way. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door to the bedroom and headed into what was going to be my destiny.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Sly

  I was so happy that Peter was able to get in touch with some people he knew to get Nikki out of jail. I knew that the charges against her were nothing more than a way to get to her. Aside from my father’s part in her arrest, I was certain that Carlos, no doubt, had his hand in this as well. I just couldn’t figure out how Angelo found us.

  Walking to the parking garage and seeing my Jeep good as new reminded me Peter really knew how to take care of his own. I needed to make sure the favor was returned.

  Driving to the police station, all I could think about was how frightened Nikki must have been spending the night in jail. Sure, she could put on a tough act, but I knew her well enough to know that she was falling apart inside.

  After talking to Peter, we both decided it would be better if we met at the station. I couldn’t have agreed more with him, seeing as how all I wanted to do when I got Nikki home was to devour every inch of her body. Pulling up to the station, I could see that Peter was waiting outside below the steps leading into the 66th precinct. There were a few police officers standing outside as well. My guess was that they were getting ready to go out on patrol. Crossing the street, I walked over to where Peter was standing. I got evil stares from the police officers, who were probably wondering what my business was at the police station.

  Walking up the steps, we entered the precinct, where we were met by an officer that was standing behind the main counter. Peter walked up the counter and waited patiently until the officer finally acknowledged that he was there.

  “Can I help you with something?” the officer asked, looking first at Peter, and then at me.

  “You’re holding a Ms. Nikki Jennings. She is supposed to be arraigned at noon. Can you let us know where the arraignment is being held?” Peter asked.

  “Let me see,” the officer paused as he looked up her name on his computer. “Looks like the charges against Ms. Jennings have been dropped. She was released yesterday afternoon.”

  I looked over to Peter, thinking that he knew something about this, but seeing the look on his face, he was just as surprised as I was. As we walked from the station, we held in our thoughts until we got outside.

  “What the fuck, Peter?” I asked, confused as hell.

  “You got me, bro. I have no idea what just happened,” he replied.

  “There is only one person I can think of that would have a hand in this: Carlos Giordano.”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more.” Peter confessed. “We just need to figure out where he might have taken her.”

  I got in my Jeep while Peter got in his Camaro and headed back to the shop to do some more digging on Carlos Giordano. I knew of one person that could help us out. As much as I hated asking anything of him, I knew he would be the one person that would be able to help.

  Driving back to the shop, I pulled the one number I thought I would never need to contact. “Gus, I need your help.”

  ~****~

  I pulled up to the shop shortly after Peter, knowing my father would be arriving shortly. It gave me just enough time to fill Peter in on our surprise guest. Opening the door, Mike, Lou, and Ash we
re sitting on the couch shooting the shit, while Ryan was leaning against the wall talking on his cell. Peter was already in his office getting started on finding out more information on Carlos Giordano. Pulling up a chair in front of his desk, I leaned forward and ran my hands through my hair, knowing what I was about to tell him was going to blow his mind.

  “My father, Gus Capelli, is going to help us out with this situation with Carlos Giordano.” There was no way I was going to beat around the bush.

  “Why would you think he would be able to help us, Sly?” he questioned.

  “Because he works for Angelo Conti.”

  “Are you fucking serious, bro? Angelo Conti?”

  “Yeah.”

  As Peter and I were talking, Ash stepped into the office and announced that my father had arrived. Staring at the door, I watched Ash leave and within minutes my father appeared. I couldn’t think of two words to say to him, but I knew that I needed him more than ever. Taking a seat beside me, I introduced him to Peter. “Peter, this is my father, Gus Capelli.”

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Capelli,” Peter greeted him, holding his hand out.

  My father held out his hand and said, “Please call me Gus. All my friends do.”

  I was about to tell him that Peter was never going to be his friend, especially after I told him the full story about my dad, which I knew would be coming up as soon as he left. Looking over to my father, I asked him with reservation. “Do you know where Carlos Giordano would take Nikki?”

  “What is this about, son?” Gus said, accusingly, like I had done something.

  “You are acting like this is about me. This is about Nikki and the shit life she has because of that lowlife son-of-a-bitch.”

  “Does this have to do with her mom and dad being murdered?” he asked.

  “This has to do with the fact that you basically threw her under the bus and now there’s the possibility that Carlos might be holding this over her as some sort of payment for something that she had no control over,” I retorted.

  “I told you I didn’t know Nikki was the same girl from all those years ago. I was just doing what I was told. If you want to blame someone, blame Angelo Conti, he was the one who wanted to get even with Carlos.”

  An hour later, the truth about what really happened ten years ago finally came out, down to the last detail. There was even proof as to what really happened, and it seemed that Carlos had the only evidence proving that Mandy’s death was a complete accident. Even though I would never be able to forgive my father for the life he chose to live, at least he was willing to share the information he had on Carlos to put him behind bars for life and set Nikki free from his control, once and for all. The only problem was getting our hands on it.

  By the time my father left, we had a pretty good idea where Carlos might have taken Nikki. My father knew Carlos’ estate like the back of his hand, having been assigned to him so many years ago. Getting to Nikki was going to be like breaking into Fort Knox the way my father had explained the security that he had. I knew that I needed to get her out of there, and where there was a will, there was a way. I just needed to find it.

  ~****~

  Peter and I decided that we needed to see for ourselves this fortress that my father described. Deciding to take Peter’s Camaro, we drove to the address that my father gave us, which was located just outside the city where all the upscale estates were located. I knew this area well enough to know there was one reason why people live this far out of the city. It was the privacy, and the fact that the majority of them were affiliated with the Mob in some form or another.

  Peter parked just outside the gate of the mansion and cut the engine. It was dark enough outside that we could check out the estate without being noticed. We just needed to stay clear of the cameras that were positioned just outside the gate. Exiting the car, we crossed the street to see if there was anything we could determine once we got closer. Peter suggested that we walk around to the side of the brick wall to get a better look at what we would be up against once we were able to get past the walls.

  With the brick wall surrounding the mansion, it didn’t offer an easy entrance to the other side. Improvising, I crossed my hands and signaled for Peter to allow me to hoist him up to the top edge of the wall. As he stepped on my hand, he steadied his body by placing his hands on the wall, while I lifted him higher. Needing more height, Peter gestured to me with a thumbs up letting me know that he needed to get higher.

  I don’t know what he thought I could do, but I did my best to reposition my hand so that I could push him higher, at least high enough that he could look over the wall. Waiting for what seemed like forever, Peter finally whispered, “Fuck, bro. This is going to take some planning.”

  I had no idea what he was looking at, but I was pretty sure it was bad. “What do you see?”

  “It’s not good, that’s for sure,” he confessed.

  Lowering him back down, we headed back to the car. I needed to know what he saw. There was no way we were going to leave until he told me. I needed to know what the hell I was up against.

  Closing the door and heading away from the estate, I couldn’t wait one more second, “So how bad is it?” I asked.

  “Bad, Sly. Really bad,” Peter confessed.

  The more Peter told me about what he saw, I was beginning to think that we weren’t going to be able to get inside. He pointed out that not only was there a guard at each entrance that he could see, the grounds were covered in motion sensors. The only way he knew this was by the dogs that were being led around the grounds by more guards, who were setting them off. There was no way we would be able to get inside without setting them off, unless we were invisible.

  The only thing I could think of was how fucked we were, but more importantly, how screwed Nikki would be if we couldn’t get her out of there. Once again, I thought to myself, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

  When we got back to the shop, we called all the guys together and began working on a plan to get inside the estate. My dad wasn’t lying when he said that Carlos’ estate was more secure than Fort Knox. There had to be a way that we could get inside. Nothing was inaccessible, at least where Jagged Edge Security is concerned, that is. We had tackled much harder places to gain access to.

  Once everyone arrived, Peter began explaining to them what we were up against. I could see by the looks on their faces, they weren’t too confident that this was going to be a successful mission. I knew they all had their doubts, but there was no way I was going to leave Nikki in the hands of Carlos Giordano.

  “Guys, do you remember why we agreed to work for Jagged Edge? We have always stuck together and have never let each other down, no matter how difficult or dangerous the task. We are talking about the life of a person that needs to be saved. Carlos Giordano has got to be stopped. If we don’t stop him, who knows who his next victim will be when he is done with Nikki. Do you get me?” I pleaded with them.

  As they looked over to each other and then to me, Ash stood and commanded, “Sly’s right, you guys. We have never said no to a mission just because we felt it was impossible. We have always made the impossible, possible. This is who we are.”

  I watched as the guys listened to Ash. Most all of them shaking their heads in agreement. I knew that they would never let me down. Through and through, we were brothers, and brothers look out for each other no matter what the circumstances, but most of all, no matter what the danger.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Nikki

  I was so glad that I got through dinner with no sight of Carlos. The last thing I wanted to do was have any kind of conversation with the man like we were family. Finishing my last bite, I heard some voices coming from the other room. One of them I recognized right away as Carlos’. Just the thought of him being here made my stomach turn. Feeling like I was about to lose everything I ate, I rushed to the door leading to the kitchen, hoping that I wouldn’t end up spilling my guts on the marble floor.

>   There were only two servants in the massive kitchen. The only thing I cared about was finding the sink. It didn’t even matter that the two women were staring at me like I had grown a set of horns. With little time left, I spotted the sink and went over to it as quickly as I could. Bending over the stainless steel basin, I let the gates open. With the amount of noise I was making, I was positive that it could be heard from the dining room just through the door.

  When I spilled everything I could, I turned on the faucet and cupped my hands under the cool water. Splashing it on my face, I heard one of the women say to the other, “I didn’t think that the duck was dry.”

  If they only knew that it wasn’t the meal that had my stomach doing cartwheels, it was the fact that Carlos was home and I couldn’t stand to be near him. Grabbing the towel that one of the woman handed me, I dried off my face and said, “Thank you.”