by Stormy Glenn
“So, do we watch for ambulances today?”
I shot the man a dark glare.
Clarke chuckled as he started the car up. “I’m just saying.”
“Lany is going to meet us at the courthouse so we can have lunch together.”
“Oh, nice. Where are you going to go?”
“Well, the Thai restaurant is out.” You couldn’t pay me enough to step in that place. The food was great; the people were wonderful. It was the memories of watching my Lany with a gun pointed at him and blood on his shirt that I couldn’t handle.
“How’s that hermetically sealed room coming along?”
“I’m meeting with the builder next week,” I replied without missing a beat. I would have loved it if that had been true. Sometimes, even a keeper needed a little extra help.
“Can you imagine what your life is going to be like when the twins became teenagers?”
Clarke might be laughing, but I was giving serious thought to that sealed room.
“Just get me to the courthouse.” I needed to find some aspirin.
By the time we pulled into the parking garage for the courthouse, my headache had subsided enough for me not to groan as I climbed out of the car. District Attorney Banks was waiting for me when we reached his office on the third floor.
“Are you ready for today?” the man asked.
“The case is pretty cut and dry, isn’t it?” I still didn’t understand why I was having to testify.
“For the most part,” the man replied as he gathered up some files off his desk and put them in his briefcase. “The defendant swears he was minding his own business when you broke into his house and he only fought back to defend his family.”
“Bullshit.”
The DA glanced me, lifting his eyebrow. “I hope you have a better way of phrasing that. Judge Crowley doesn’t like swearing in his courtroom.”
I shrugged. I knew how to speak properly just as much as anyone else. Even if I hadn’t, I’d spent enough time with Cynthia Harris to know when to speak and when not to. She had a mean smack upside the back of the head.
“Well, there’s enough evidence to sink this guy if we can get around the tale his attorney is going to try to spin for the jury.”
“What about his wife?” I asked. “Is she going to testify?”
The DA shook his head. “She’s terrified of him. So is the kid. I have both of them in protective custody right now until this is over.”
Probably wasn’t a bad idea.
“Did you get the videos recordings from Officer Philips? They should show without a doubt that this guy is as guilty as sin.”
The District Attorney Banks froze. “What recordings?”
“The body cam recordings.”
Duh.
The man’s eyes widened. “You have body cam recordings of the incident?”
I frowned. “Of course we do.”
We were required to. How did the district attorney not know this?
“These recordings will show the whole incident?”
“From the time we enter the building until the scene is secured and turned over to the incident commander.”
“You all wear them?”
“Of course.”
“Can you get me those recordings?”
I lifted my brow. “Do you have an email?”
“Yes.” The man grabbed a piece of paper and wrote his email down before handing it to me.
I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Lyn. “Hey, I need you to email me the body cam videos for that bust I’m testifying on to the District Attorney.” I rattled off the DA’s email address.
“Yes, sir.”
“Do it now, Lyn.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Thank you, Lyn.”
“You’re welcome, sir.”
God, I wished he would stop calling me sir.
I closed my phone and slid it back into my pocket. “He should have it to you in a minute.”
“If these pan out, I’ll have to show them to the defense.”
“I understand. There are a few things on them that might need to be blacked out for security reasons, but nothing major, and certainly nothing during entry into the building or securing the scene.”
“If we could go over them together, you can point out what needs to be deleted and what we can keep.”
“I can actually have Lyn provide you with an edited version if need be.”
“I’ll need to talk to the judge first. We’re required to provide full disclosure on evidence. I’m not sure what the procedure is on editing evidence.”
“I understand that, but some of that stuff is restricted to my SWAT team only. The police commissioner isn’t even privy to it.” He would be if he asked. I had no problem sharing with Jerry. “Maybe if I spoke to the commissioner and the judge together, showed them what needs to be retracted.”
“I’ll call the judge now,” the DA said as he reached for his phone. “We’re going to have to get a continuance if this pans out.”
Porca troia.
“If we’re lucky,” the guy continued as if he didn’t know he was making my stomach knot, “this will seal the lid on Jose Juarez and he’ll take a plea deal.”
I was a SWAT officer, not a witness for the prosecution. I hated the idea of testifying. I’d be thrilled if the guy took a plea deal.
I considered calling Lany and canceling our lunch. It looked as if my day had just gotten a lot longer, and a lot lonelier.
Chapter Six
Lany
I couldn’t prevent my sad little sigh as I replaced the phone in its cradle. Sal had to cancel our lunch. I understood why once he explained it, but I had so been looking forward to having lunch with my husband.
“Problems?” Marcus asked.
“Sal had to cancel our lunch.”
“He not going to be done in court by noon?”
I shook my head. “I guess they are going to try and get another continuance. Apparently, the DA didn’t know they wore body cams when they went on missions. Once he found out, he of course wanted them, but Sal wants to meet with Uncle Jerry and the judge before those tapes go public. Apparently, there’s some stuff on the tapes that could endanger the team if it got out.”
Marcus’s eyebrows went shooting up. “Illegal stuff?”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course not. Stuff like the hand signals Sal uses to communicate with his team members. If the bad guys knew what those hand signals were, it could give them an edge.”
“Yeah, I could see that.”
“You were in the service. You know there are things that develop between team members that have to stay between team members. Hell, I don’t even know what those signals are and I’m married to the team leader.”
“It is true,” Marcus said. “Men in the field have to be able to rely on each other, but they also need to be able to communicate with each other without the enemy knowing. Hand signals are often used in high-intensity situations.
High-intensity situations. I almost laughed. That pretty much described my entire life.
“How’s the head?”
I reached up and gently touched the back of my head. I was so glad they had only shaved a small section of my hair when they stitched me up. I would have been pissed if they had shaved my entire head. Sal loved to run his fingers through my hair. I loved when Sal grabbed a handful when he forgot to be gentle with me. It usually meant I was going to have a really good time.
“It’s still a little tender, but the doctor said it probably would be for a while.”
“When do the stitches come out?”
“Next week.” I couldn’t wait. They were starting to itch.
My shoulders slumped as I glanced around the empty penthouse. Sal was at work, and the girls and Jenna were staying with my parents for a couple of days. Sal wanted to make sure I was a hundred percent before they came home. Eddie was at class and Lyn was at work.
And I was bored.
“You want
to go for coffee?”
Marcus raised an eyebrow. He did that a lot. “Can you have caffeine?”
I sighed. “No.”
“Then no. Sal would hand me my ass.”
My shoulders slumped.
“But we could take Sal some lunch.”
“He’s working.”
“The man still has to eat.”
I perked up. “We could get a sub platter from Mario’s, then everyone could have something.”
“There you go.”
“You get the car keys. I’ll call Mario.”
Marcus grinned as he got up and walked away. I quickly dialed Mario’s Italian Bistro and ordered two sandwich platters to go and one veggie sub for me. His daughter Maria took the order and said she would have everything ready when we got there.
I met Marcus by the door.
The man chuckled when he looked at me.
“What?” I asked.
“You planning on going to the courthouse in your pajamas and bunny slippers?”
My face flushed with heat as I glanced down. “Well, I always did want to start a fashion trend.”
“Go change, squirt.”
I didn’t take offense at Marcus’s words. I was just glad the man was comfortable enough with me to joke around. It had taken awhile. Considering the first time we met I was involved with an “alleged” mobster, Marcus had been a bit cautious.
I quickly changed into street clothes, including a jacket ‘cause it was damn cold outside, and then met Marcus by the door. “Better?” I asked as I twirled in a circle.
“Better.”
When we got downstairs, company was waiting for us.
“Gino?” I hadn’t seen Sal’s cousin in months. “What are you doing here? I thought you were touring Europe.”
Just after we adopted the girls, Gino had taken off on some grand tour of all the design capitals all over Europe. He hadn’t even been there for the party we had thrown celebrating our adoption of the girls.
“Yes, I was, but that ended.”
I waited for the man to say something more, but he didn’t. And the way he said it made me wonder what exactly had ended. “Is everything okay?”
Gino smiled, but it was a thin-lipped smile, not the usual happy one I expected from him. There was a spark missing from the usually exuberant man’s brown eyes. What had happened to him while he was gone?
“I’m okay. I just wanted to talk to Sal. Is he around?”
“He’s down at the courthouse working on some old case. We’re actually headed there now if you want to tag along. We need make a quick stop at Mario’s to pick up some sandwich platters, but—”
“Mario’s?”
I nodded.
“I’m in.”
“Good.” I looped my arm through Gino’s and started walking toward the front door with him. “Do you remember Marcus, my bodyguard?”
Gino blinked at me, his long eyelashes fluttering. “You have a bodyguard?”
“Yeah, cool, huh?”
Gino turned and gave Marcus the once over. “If they look as good as him, I could see the draw.”
I giggled. Marcus was an attractive man, but he was nothing compared to my Sal.
No one compared to my Sal.
“So, how was Europe?” I asked after we got settled in the car.
“Europe was…enlightening.”
“Enlightening?” That was the word he used to describe a trip around the world? “Do you have pictures?”
“Some.” Gino wiggled his dark eyebrows. “Want to see them?”
“Yes.” I had never had a strong desire to travel to Europe. My life was an adventure enough here at home. I didn’t need to go somewhere else to experience it, but I could easily live vicariously through someone else.
I spent the rest of the ride going through Gino’s pictures with him, oohing and ahhing over the handsome men he had been pictured with in cities all over Europe. Some of the sites he had in the background were ones I had seen in magazines and television. I could only imagine going to places like that.
It was pretty cool.
“Maybe, one of these days after the twins are a bit older, we’ll take a trip like that.”
“Or maybe not.” Gino chuckled. “The trip I took is not for the faint of heart.”
There was a huge story there and I was curious as to what it was, but Gino didn’t seem to want to talk about it and I had to respect that. I had things I didn’t want to talk about too, at least not to anyone except Sal.
I told Sal everything.
“You want to come up with me?” I asked when I went to get out of the car and Gino didn’t move.
“Maybe I should just stay here.”
“Nonsense. I’m sure Sal would love to see you even if it was just for a few minutes.”
Gino looked hesitant.
I rolled my eyes as I reached back into the car for him, pulling him out by his arm. “Come on. Lunch and a sexy Italian are waiting on us.”
“My cousin is not sexy,” Gino insisted.
“Wanna bet?” I wiggled my eyebrows until Gino laughed. I grabbed the stack of sandwich platters and handed them to Gino.
“What am I supposed to do with these?”
I nodded toward the elevator before pulling my cell phone out and holding it up. “Sal’s upstairs somewhere, but I have no idea where. I need to call him and find out.”
“Oh.”
I smiled as I dialed Sal’s phone.
“Hey, Lany,” the man in question said when he answered my call. “I really don’t have time to talk right now. Can I call you later?”
“I’m in the parking garage downstairs. I brought sandwich platters from Mario’s.”
“You’re in the parking garage of the courthouse?”
“Yeah. Marcus and Gino are with me.”
Sal’s heavy sigh came through the phone lines quite clearly. “I’m on the third floor in the district attorney’s office. You come straight up the elevator to this office. Do not go anywhere else, not even to the bathroom. Do you understand?”
I grinned. “I’ll be right up.”
“You’d better have Marcus with you when you come up, or I’m going to put you over my lap and paddle your ass in front of everyone, and you won’t enjoy it, Lany.”
I frowned at Sal’s harsh tone. “Maybe I should go home?”
“It’s too late for that, Lany. Just make sure you have Marcus with you. I mean it.”
“I will.”
“Okay, then I’ll see you upstairs.”
I was really rethinking this little trip as I turned my cell phone off and slid it back into my pocket. Sal didn’t sound happy to see me. I smiled weakly when Gino and Marcus both looked at me sharply. “He’s…uh…he’s up on the third floor.”
There didn’t seem to be a lot to say after that. I walked with Gino to the elevators, Marcus following behind us. Once we reached the third floor of the courthouse, I searched the directory for the room number for the district attorney’s office, and then headed down the hall to the left.
“Lancaster Delvecchio?”
I paused and looked at the man who spoke. I hadn’t really been paying a whole lot of attention, my mind on trying to figure out why Sal had sounded so upset. “Yes?”
“I’m Officer Johnson. I’m here to take you to Lt. Delvecchio. If you’ll just come with me…”
I stared at the man. I wasn’t a cop’s spouse for nothing. “Can I see some ID?”
“Oh yes, of course.” I knew this was going to go south the second the guy started patting himself down. He flashed me a cheeky smile. “I think I left it at my desk.”
“Then no.” I started walking again.
“Mr. Delvecchio, I must insist—”
I waved my hand at the guy and kept walking. There was no way in hell I was going anywhere with anyone who didn’t have identification. Besides, Sal had said to come straight to the DA’s office.
Do not pass go.
Do not c
ollect two hundred dollars.
“Mr. Delvecchio, you need to come with me.”
I started to shake my head when someone shouted my name. I smiled when I looked toward the end of the corridor and saw Sal headed toward me. The frown slid from my face when I saw the anger on his.
Wow, maybe he really didn’t want to have lunch.
“Run, Lany!”
What?
“Run now,” Sal shouted as he gestured with his hand. “Run to me!”
I wasn’t stupid. If Sal said run, I did, just as fast as my feet could carry me.
“Down!”
I dropped, sliding the rest of the way across the polished floor right into Sal’s legs. I kept my head down as I crawled around Sal. I knew that was the right decision when I heard several gunshots.
The implications of the situation didn’t hit me until Sal grabbed me and yanked me into his arms. I started to shake, fear rushing through me like a mudslide, wiping away everything else in its path. “S-Sal?”
The man’s arms tightened around me. “I have you, caro.”
“What just happened?”
“There was a problem with the case.”
I glanced back down the corridor to where a group of police officers surrounded a bleeding man on the floor. It was the same man who had tried to get me to go with him. I couldn’t tell if he was alive or dead, and I wasn’t sure I cared.
“Yeah, I’d say so.”
“Where’s Marcus, Lany?”
“Mar—” I glanced around, not spotting either men. “Gino and Marcus were right behind me.”
Where the hell were they?
“Clarke, go find them.”
“Oh, hey, Clarke,” I said as the man passed me. I hadn’t even seen him.
He nodded. “Lany.”
I waited until Clarke walked away before dropping my head to the center of Sal’s chest. “I swear I didn’t mean for this to happen, Sal. I just wanted to have lunch with you.”
“I know, caro.” Sal’s large hand slid through my hair before coming to rest on the back of my neck. “This situation was in play before you even got here.”
I snapped my head back. Fast. “I didn’t do this?”
