Here I was, staring at Ava’s father in the coffee shop across the street from where Alfred was living. He knew it, and I knew it.
“I’m tired of waiting for our system to catch up.” He took a sip of his coffee and stared straight ahead, not making any eye contact.
“Don’t do anything foolish, Captain,” I whispered.
“Not on my worst day.” He tipped his head toward me. “And certainly not on my best.”
“I want to see it with my own eyes. I want to make sure this man goes down and can never hurt my daughter or anyone else again.”
“That will only add an unnecessary complication,” I told him.
“I see it as necessary. I need to be able to look in my daughter’s eyes and tell her it’s over.”
I drew in a deep breath and glanced at Peter and T.J., who were both watching us intently.
“Fine, but I’m going in now.”
“Good. I’ve been tired of waiting here all morning.”
My eyes narrowed on him. “How’d you know I’d come here?”
“I haven’t been in police work for four decades without picking up a couple of things along the way. It’s just that sticking inside the lines makes it more difficult to respond as quickly as some situations warrant.”
“Enough said.” I nodded.
“I assumed it would be.”
Ava’s father followed me outside, and my team began putting our plan in motion. My team would knock on the front door while Ava’s father and I entered through the back.
We both hopped over the four-foot chain-link fence and made our way quickly to the home. We snaked along the side of the house. The structure itself was barely standing. How a developer didn’t snatch this up, I didn’t know. We reached the back door, and I looked at Ava’s dad. The same hunger to end this was threaded through his expression as mine. I glanced at my watch. Thirty seconds, and my team would provide the distraction, but they knew to leave it to me. I needed to do this, get some kind of satisfaction for the sacrifice I was making.
The moment I heard the knock on the front door, I busted in the back door and saw Alfred facing the opposite direction.
I drew my weapon and took aim at Alfred as the curl of his lips revealed the monster he really was.
“Don’t shoot,” Alfred feigned innocence. “I can’t help myself. It’s not my fault.”
I moved my aim from his chest to middle of his forehead.
“Don’t,” Ava’s father hissed. “I know my daughter, and she’d never be able to forgive you.”
Anger spiked through me. I didn’t come here so the Captain could make an arrest.
“I know,” I said.
But before I could wrap my head around what was going on, Ava’s father pulled out his weapon and pulled the trigger.
Alfred fell to the ground, blood immediately pooling around his body.
My pulse was pounding as I watched the nightmare finally come to an end. I stepped forward and a figure jumped out of the shadows.
A deafening bang blasted into the air, the bullet hitting Ava’s father in the chest, but not before he got another shot off at the woman who pulled the trigger.
Numbness spread through my entire body.
“I couldn’t let you do it,” Ava’s father told me before falling to his knees. “She loves you too much. I couldn’t let this monster get in the way of the only man she’s ever loved. Take good care of her.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ava
The hospital room was ice-cold, and if it weren’t for Blake, I’d never have made it through everything. After my dad had been stabilized, he’d gone through a very intricate surgery to remove as many of the bullet fragments as possible so they didn’t lodge themselves into my father’s heart muscle.
I was still in shock from everything. I’d gotten the call while I was at work that my father had been shot.
I never expected it to be in Washington D.C., and I certainly hadn’t expected the call to be from Blake.
It was a miracle my father survived. It was also a blessing that Blake was with him. I didn’t think anyone would work so hard to make sure he survived as Blake would.
I reached out for my dad’s hand and squeezed it. He was heavily medicated, and I wasn’t sure how much of anything he’d remember, and maybe that was a good thing.
“He’s a tough old bastard,” Blake whispered, and my father’s eyes fluttered open.
“Who are you calling old?” My dad’s voice was hoarse and he began coughing.
A nurse rushed in, and I could tell Blake felt awful.
One of the many things I loved about Blake.
A mobster with a heart of gold.
“Your father needs his rest. Maybe you should go get some dinner downstairs in the cafeteria,” the nurse told me, and I nodded in agreement.
“Hogwash.” My dad’s breathing quickened. “My daughter and future son-in-law aren’t going anywhere. They owe me.”
The nurse’s eyes snapped to mine and she hid a smile.
“Okay, Captain Dalton.” The nurse gave us a wink and exited the room.
“I wanted to retire anyway,” my dad said, laughing as he attempted to push himself up in the hospital bed. “But not because I was getting old.”
“Whoa there, Captain,” Blake said. “We don’t need you getting lightheaded and falling out of bed.”
“Says the man who looked like a deer in headlights this morning.” My dad gave a sardonic grin.
“Not even. I was a man of action. All action. I got you here, didn’t I?” Blake looked to be truly enjoying this banter.
“After I pulled the trigger.” My dad’s grin only grew. “Twice.”
“It took two bullets to bring down Alfred?” I whispered. My father was an excellent shot, so that surprised me.
My dad looked liked I’d committed a cardinal sin. “Two shots. Two perps.”
“Alfred was with a woman. After Alfred went down, she came out of nowhere and tried to shoot, but your dad was too fast for her.”
I wasn’t completely sure that my dad was the person who fired one, let alone both shots, but Blake was adamant that my father managed it all while he stood on the sidelines.
Blake’s phone buzzed, and he grabbed it. “Check this out.” I expected him to show me, but he showed my father a text.
“No kidding.” My dad whistled, looking at me. “You’ve certainly chosen a system to work in that needs fixing.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, taking the phone from my dad.
“That woman with Alfred was a former nurse-turned-fan. She’d been in contact with him for quite sometime, it sounds like, according to her family.”
“Wow.” I shook my head.
Blake patted my dad’s shoulder, and I watched my dad wrap his hand around Blake’s. I never in a million years guessed this was where I’d be standing today, but here I was, and I wouldn’t ask for anything more.
I knew Blake Volkov was different. He was the man of my dreams come to life, only he made my dreams come true. An overwhelming sense of freedom wrapped around me as I saw the two men I loved more than life itself, from very different worlds, come together for me.
Blake glanced over his shoulder, and our eyes connected immediately as he motioned for me to come over.
“I know there’s been a lot of hurdles to get where we are,” Blake began and drew in a deep breath. “But I think the biggest one has yet to come.”
“What’s that?” my dad asked.
“Meeting Mama V for Christmas.” Blake pressed his lips together and my dad chuckled.
“The woman herself.” My dad smiled at me and nodded. “I think that sounds like a delightful way to spend the holidays. How about you, honey?”
“Do you think you’ll be up for it?” I asked.
“I’ll be retired and won’t have to give conflicts a second thought. Perfect timing, really, to meet the woman responsible for . . .” My dad’s smile grew. “So much.”
Blake turned around and looked at me. “Should be an interesting Christmas.”
“Very.” I smiled, looping my arms around Blake’s neck. “Thank you for giving me the best Christmas present ever.”
Blake smiled and shook his head. “That was all your father.”
“No, I mean you.” I stood on my toes and kissed Blake.
His mouth parted and my entire world fell away.
Until my dad cleared his throat and Blake started laughing.
“My dad would’ve been the same with Vera.”
“Dads can’t be helped.”
“Hey now.” My dad chuckled as the nurse wheeled in dinner. “Great.”
“Maybe we should sneak out and grab something?” I asked Blake. He looked immediately at my father, who nodded in agreement.
“Okay. We’ll be right back.” I leaned in and gave my dad a kiss, but he grabbed my wrist and leaned up. “He’s a keeper, honey.”
“I know.” I smiled and turned to see Blake waiting for me.
We walked out of the hospital and found a place not far away to grab some dinner.
The diner was packed, but it made talking easier since no one would hear us anyway.
“Are you serious about dinner at your mom’s?” I asked, leaning into the booth.
“Yeah. Why? Are you scared to meet her?” Blake’s eyes twinkled with mischief
“Not even.” I rolled my eyes. “I just didn’t think you liked that place much.”
“Something tells me with you there, it will make all the difference.”
My heart filled with all the joy it could hold as I looked into the eyes of the man I loved so deeply. It didn’t matter what people wanted to call the Volkov Brothers. There was heart and soul to these men that was untouchable. They loved fiercely and protected their loved ones even more.
“I love you, Blake Volkov.”
“I love you more, Dr. Dalton.” He reached over the table and grabbed my hand. “I hope to spend the rest of my days with you.”
“Play your cards right and you just might,” I teased.
“I hope so.” Blake smiled and my entire world lit up.
“Thank you for breaking down the walls I didn’t even know I had.”
“My pleasure.” He winked, and I laughed so hard it hurt.
“You are a serial winker,” I teased.
“Only for you, baby. Because I love you.”
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Chapter One
Avery
I never imagined I’d be a cop, not while growing up, anyway. I never dreamed I’d call New York City home. Yet, both happened before I turned thirty.
In hindsight, moving across the country was a way to run far away from my past, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized there was no running from the things that made me who I was. It didn’t matter if I was in Idaho or New York, I still carried all the same burdens day in and day out, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to rid myself of them.
I’d wanted to get lost in the chaos of the city and let my problems absorb into hers.
Initially, my plan had worked.
The heartbeat of the city became my own, and I was able to fall into the city’s rhythm, pretending that this new life had nothing to do with my old one. But the deeper I became invested in the problems of New York, the more I recognized the same patterns from my old life emerging.
Between towering buildings, the seedy, harsh underbelly of the city beckons from the shadows, lurks around every corner, and calls out to anyone who will listen.
I always seem to be that someone.
Maybe that was why I became a police officer. I thought I’d be able to protect those who couldn’t see the ugliness of the world.
I let out a sigh and pushed through the double doors of the six-story brick precinct building I’d called home for the last four years. Uniformed officers stood on both sides of the lobby as I made my way to the stairs leading to the second floor.
Since NYPD shut down the Organized Crime Control Bureau a few months back, the change sent more control to each of the Boroughs. The result was a heavier focus on the uptick in gang activity and more inner-department cooperation.
The investigative powers shifted to each individual Patrol Borough, so now Narco, Gang, and Vice all reported into an Investigations Chief who then reports to the Chief of Detectives.
I saw the change as a way for more corruption to enter our system, but the reorganization was so new, it was too early to tell. To believe mafias weren’t as powerful as they once were could be a fatal mistake that would most definitely work on the side of the mob bosses and their never-ending thread of illegal activities.
The shrill sound of unanswered phones ringing accompanied me down the path beside the cubicles where busy detectives left messy desks and half-eaten breakfast items on their way out the door. By the time I reached the Lieutenant’s office, my palms were sweaty and I was a ball of nerves. I really didn’t know why he’d asked me to meet him. I knocked on the half-opened door, and the Lieutenant looked up at me, his eyes connecting with mine.
“Officer Avery.” He motioned me in. “Take a seat.”
I did as instructed and sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Thank you, sir.”
He nodded as if he agreed he did something to be thanked for.
“I got a call from Vice.” Lieutenant Jones’ hardened exterior was well-earned, and it certainly didn’t lessen the tension I was feeling. There were very few reasons to get called in, and generally, they weren’t good ones.
“Yes, sir.” I nodded.
He smoothed his grey mustache before moving his chair forward and eyeing me suspiciously. The closely cropped haircut and rather square jawline did little to soften his expression.
“All that press may have done you some good or it might have give you an early exit out of here.”
My pulse quickened. Over the summer, I’d gotten called in on a dive that received a lot of press, and I happened to be in the middle of it all, and not by choice. During a dive, I happened to be the diver who found the murder weapon from one of the most notorious murders the city had seen in recent times. It didn’t help that CNN happened to be onsite when I came out of the water with the weapon in hand.
I wasn’t a full-time member of NYPD’s scuba team, but the last two summers, I’d been assigned there during their busy months. It took a lot to be part of that team, and it was a close-knit group, but at the end of each summer, I went back to my patrol unit.
“I’m not sure I’m following you, sir.”
“Lieutenant Davis will be here shortly to fill you in. You caught her eye, and she would like us to temporarily assign you to Vice to work a case with her.” He let out a deep breath, but his expression didn’t change. “I don’t have to allow it if you don’t want me to.”
A pulse of adrenaline shot through me at the chance to work Vice, but I also understood what Jones was telling me. If I screwed up, there was nothing to protect me. I’d be out of a job. The safe thing would be stay where I was at and turn down the opportunity.
“I think the experience would be invaluable.”
He grunted and nodded. “I was afraid you’d say that.”
But I swore I saw a hint of a smile under his pursed lips and mustache.
His eyes flicked over my shoulder and I knew she must be here.
“Is now a good time?” The silkiness of her voice surprised me.
I stood up and turned around to see Lieutenant Davis. A navy blue pantsuit skimmed over her lean body and her dark hair fell past her shoulders. She reached out her hand to mine and gave me a strong handshake.
“Good to meet you, Officer Avery.” She gave a friendly smile, but I felt absolutely no warmth.
“Pleasure is mine.” I nodded and sat back down as she took a seat in the empty chair next to me.
“You received your degree in Sociology with a Criminology minor from Idaho State University and interned with the Bannock County Sheriff’s Department before coming to New York,” she recited and I nodded in agreement. “Where you’ve had an exemplary career—”
“Albeit a short one,” Lieutenant Jones added, and Davis quickly dismissed.
“As a member of the scuba team, you strayed from your assigned search area and found the murder weapon. You discovered the weapon in a section that a detective had already cleared.” She finally took a breath.
I didn’t like the connotation, the pitting of one detective against another. We were all here to do a good job and sometimes it takes more than one set of eyes on a scene.
“That is correct.”
“And why did you go where you’d already been told had been cleared?”
I really didn’t like her insinuation.
“My gut.”
“Exactly.” She pointed at me and nodded while my eyes skated to Jones, who looked about as annoyed as I felt. “I have a case where I think your expertise would be a perfect fit.”
Being that it was late November, I couldn’t imagine my expertise had to do with diving.
“How so?” Lieutenant Jones questioned.
Davis shook her head and looked at me. “Would you be willing to go undercover? The assignment could last as long as six months.”
“Six months?” Jones questioned in a near groan.
She continued to ignore him. “It would require all contact to be cut off with friends, family, associates, and the department during the duration of the assignment.”
Blake: A Romantic Suspense (V Mafia Series Book 1) Page 22
