My lips pressed together hard and my nostrils flared, as I swallowed the large knot that had formed in my throat and left out a deep, yet non-cleansing breath.
“My apologies, gentlemen, you have to understand that this has come as a complete and utter shock to me.” I tried to appear composed, although I was anything but. I needed to know what the charges were, so that I could straighten out the confusion and get home to my family.
We sat down at the table and the one detective showed me the warrant that they received to enforce my arrest. Victor and I both couldn't believe what we were reading. I was being arrested for kidnapping Rain.
Victor and I both looked at each other in shock before we addressed the detectives.
Victor spoke first. “With all due respect, gentlemen, there has to be some mistake. Rain Medici is my daughter and Mr. Kane’s wife. She is at this very moment safely at home in New Jersey with their newborn twins, I can assure you she hasn’t been kidnapped.”
“Mr. Medici, we realize that this situation is extremely uncomfortable for you, but…”
I cut the detective off at his apparent asinine statement. “For him? You're worried about him? What about me? You're accusing me of kidnapping my wife? You must be fucking insane? What evidence could you possibly have that my wife is missing and that I am behind it. It better be good, because you will never make these charges stick. And when this is all cleared up, I intend on suing you and the entire police department for false arrest!” I roared at the gall of these men. They detained me for kidnapping my wife, when a simple phone call to my home would have cleared up the situation immediately.
“Mr. Kane, this has nothing to do with your wife at present. This is about an incident that occurred a year ago and was brought our attention this week. You, sir, kidnapped Ms. Rain Medici on Labor Day weekend and held her against her will at your home in New Jersey. We are working with authorities in both states based on the charges against you. As I stated before, we are from the Special Victims’ Unit. Upon your arrest this evening, your license to practice law both here in NewYork and internationally will be suspended until further notice.”
Fuck. How did they find out? We told no one, expect close family.
Keep calm, Kane. You can’t give them any reaction that would confirm what they have just stated.
I grinned and shook my head, as to appear amused by their statement. “You must be joking. I’m Rain’s husband. Don’t you see how absurd all of this is?” I oddly chuckled in disgust at what was happening.
There was no way in hell I could let them know how sick and disturbed I felt by the idea that they possibly had evidence that could connect me to Rain’s abduction last year.
The truth was that I did in fact kidnap Rain, but in the end that beautiful girl saved me and stole my heart. I never wanted it back. I needed Rain. I loved her with all of the good that was in me. I knew that. I worried everyday that I would wake up and my life with Rain would have been only a dream that I made up, but it wasn’t. It was real and it was mine.
I never in a million years would have thought the kidnapping itself could have the power to tear us apart. Let’s face it, it’s not like Rain brought these charges against me. Like I said, no one but close family knew the story.
Yet there was one member of the family or should I say family friend that knew what happened between Rain and myself. He had been acting very strange in the past few months and he had knowledge of the kidnapping from the very beginning.
Michael Conte.
That prick did this. I just knew it and I intended to take care of him once I was able to get away from these imbeciles. My thoughts and theory were interrupted, as Victor asked for more information on the situation.
“Gentlemen, again, I can assure you that my daughter is fine and I can also assure you that if she had been kidnapped by Dominick, he would not be standing here nor would he be breathing today.” Both men smirked at my father-in-law’s statement, which was clearly an amazing acting job on his part, because I did kidnap his daughter and I am certainly still alive and breathing.
“We understand that, Mr. Medici, but we have our orders. We apologize, Mr. Kane, but you're going to have to come with us now.”
For the first time in a long time I didn’t know what to do or how to react. I had to leave. I had no say, no control. For the first time in my adult life, I felt vulnerable. I didn’t know where to turn, so I looked to Victor.
He came to face me and placed his hands on my shoulders, as only a father would do. He briefly closed his eyes and when he opened them, he nodded.
“Go, I’m right behind you. I’ll handle everything. You’ll be home before you know it.” He firmly, but quietly stated.
“Please call Rain for me. I know she’ll be worried.”
“Mr. Kane, once we get to the precinct you can call your wife and let her know where you are and why you're being detained.”
I huffed with disdain. After everything they just revealed, they were going to let me speak to the person that they felt I victimized. Something was off. This entire arrest was completely ludicrous.
The only ray of hope was that once Victor had gotten a hold of Rain and explained to her what I was being accused of, she undoubtedly would get to the city to help get the charges dropped against me or at the very least bail me out.
The detectives weren’t complete incompetents. They didn’t restrain me. They asked me to come along quietly as to not draw any public attention. At first, I thought about creating a scene, but then I realized everything that was at stake here, my life with Rain and the twins. And of course, my career, which in the end meant nothing without my family.
The truth was that the firm didn’t need any more negative publicity and I needed to protect my family as best as I could under the circumstances. If I had made a commotion, then they would have restrained me and I had no doubt the media would have taken the opportunity to eat this up.
As we left the airport for the precinct in the city, Victor reiterated again that he would take care of this, as well as call Rain so she could meet us here. I knew it was late and he would not be able to use the car service to bring Rain to me. My only hope was that Conte was back at the house and sober, after an evening with my brother. He perhaps could drive Rain back to the city.
Now I had to wait. This wasn’t easy, I despised waiting for anything, but this time the choice wasn't mine.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Homecoming
Rain
It was about 1:30am when I woke to the sound of my phone on the nightstand. Before I answered it, I turned to see that Dominick’s side of the bed was still vacant. This made me think that my late night or should I say early morning caller was more than likely my husband and that he wanted to let me know he was running behind schedule.
When I looked down at the phone I noticed it wasn't Dominick, but my dad. That could have only meant one thing, something not so good happened.
“Dad, is everything okay?” I said, as I greeted him.
“No, Rain, everything is not okay. Are you fully awake? Can we talk?” He sounded hesitant, but he definitely had something important to discuss with me.
Normally, I wouldn’t be this uneasy, but given the time, I knew something was very wrong and I also knew it concerned Dominick.
“Dad, can you just tell me what’s going on? Where’s Dominick? Why hasn’t he called me? Is he hurt? Please, dad, just tell me?” I appeared to be rambling, but my dad didn’t comment on my behavior. He explained what had transpired when both he and Dominick arrived at the airport terminal.
“Rain, Dominick has been arrested.”
“Arrested, what the hell is going on? What did he do?” I was utterly confused.
My dad was awkwardly silent.
“Dad, come on, what did Dominick do to get arrested?”
“He kidnapped you.”
“What?”
His words stopped my beating heart.
“You heard me, sweetie.
He was detained and then arrested for kidnapping you last summer.”
“But Dad, no one knew about the kidnapping. I mean I didn’t even tell you in the beginning.”I stated, as I tried to figure out in my head how this could have happened.
“Well, right now is not the time to figure out who could have done this. Right now I need a call for action on your part. Are you awake enough to drive?”
“I am now.”
“Good, now I need for you to get up here and bail Dominick out.”
“Bail him out? What do you mean bail him out?”
“Rain, you've been the daughter of a lawyer for a long time now, you know exactly what I mean.”
“I’m not going to bail him out?” I professed, because my intention was entirely different, than what my dad had planned for me to do.
“Listen, sweetie, you know that I was never a fan of you marrying Dominick Kane for an endless list of reasons, not the least of which was the unconventional way you both met, but you are married now. It seems to me that you are very much in love and happy with him, so why would you not want to bail him out of jail?”
I chuckled, although it wasn’t exactly the appropriate time to do so; it was an appropriate response to my dad’s question.
“Dad, it’s not that I won’t bail him out if that’s my only option, but my intention is to go to the precinct and get the charges dropped. I didn’t agree to them in the first place. I’m not the one who accused him of kidnapping me. I’m no lawyer, but how can they hold him when there isn’t any victim for the crime he is being accused of?”
“Unfortunately, if someone else accuses a person of a crime other than the victim, the police can take it upon themselves to investigate the accusation and if they feel that it does hold some sort of validity, then the state can override the victim and charge the perpetrator for the said crime.”
“That’s unbelievable!”
“I know, honey, but that’s the law. Especially, in special victims’ crimes such as rape, kidnapping, abuse, etc. Many of those victims are too afraid to come forward, so these laws are there to protect the innocent. I will tell you though that unless the evidence that they have against Dominick is rock solid, he will more than likely beat the charges. Especially, since there is no victim in the case and you, yourself are not accusing Dominick of any of this. Plus, you are his wife.”
“Let’s hope that’s the case. Anyway, I’m wasting precious time and I need to get to him. Let me just get dressed and let Anna and Joseph know what’s going on, so that they can watch the twins until we can get back down here.”
“Rain, please be careful when you drive up here tonight, I mean this morning. I’ll let Dominick know that you are on your way.”
“Thanks, dad.” We hung up, but not before he told me where Dominick was and gave me a briefing on how I should play this out when I got up there.
I washed up and dressed quickly. Then I checked on the twins, before I woke up Anna and Joseph to tell them what had happened and where I was going. They promised to text me and keep me informed about the twins and I promised to keep them posted about Dominick and when he would be released.
I searched the house for the keys to the CTS, but I couldn't find them. I took the Hummer instead.
It was dead quiet, as I drove out onto the main road that led to the causeway, which led me to the Garden State Parkway. I should be at the precinct in about two hours or so. I decided to stop at the first rest stop and get a huge cup of hot coffee. This would ensure that I stayed awake for the trip north. I didn’t want to tell anyone that I really hadn’t had any sleep tonight. Some of my insomnia was due to my edginess of Dominick’s return home and the talk we planned on having, but mainly it was due to the fact that when Tommy and Daniel came back to the house from a night of bar hoping, they were anything but quiet and they woke the twins. I did try to get them back to sleep, but for some reason tonight it was nearly impossible. Perhaps our babies’ sleeping patterns were beginning to change.
The drive had become hypnotizing, as well as boring. I lowered the windows in the Hummer to get as much air and wind as I could in the truck to stay awake. I knew that at some point I needed to pull over and rest a bit. I decided to go just a while longer before I pulled over to shut my eyes.
My decision to go further wasn’t a good one. I must have briefly dozed off and when I opened my eyes, I veered off the road a bit and felt the ripples of the safety bumps that lined the shoulder of the road.
They startled me and my reaction was to exaggerate the turn of my steering wheel to far to the left. The truck wildly flew up the hill that divided the northbound and southbound lanes.
I tried my best to get control of the vehicle, but instead I headed into a trench that was dug out of the grass area. The truck bounced and jerked violently before it landed on its side and slide to a jarring and abrupt halt.
I couldn’t move. My body began to feel the impact of the accident. Pain developed in my neck and radiated to the top of my skull. I felt sleepy. I closed my eyes to rest. I knew I needed to get to Dominick. I tried to fight it, but sleep won out, but not before I heard the distant sirens that were headed in my direction.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Who Saved Who?
Rain
I heard the voices of medical people as I woke. I was groggy, but focused enough to remember the accident and the fact that I needed to get to Dominick, so that I could get the charges dropped. Or at the very least bail him out.
I tried to get up, but just as I was about to put my feet on the floor, the ER nurse came in to stop me.
“Mrs. Kane, what are you doing? You have a mild concussion, you need to rest until your family gets here.”
“My family? Wait, I have a concussion and you let me sleep?”
“Yes, your husband called a few moments ago and said he was on his way. And yes, patients can sleep if the doctor determines, after examining them, that they are alert and know where they are and what’s happening to them. The doctor suspected that your fatigue was due more to lack of sleep and not the impact of the accident. Although until we heard from your family, we weren’t sure why you were bruised in various areas of your body that received little or no impact. ”
“I see. Well, I have Thalassemia, so bruising is something in my life that is unavoidable. You said my husband is on his way and my family also?” Other than my dad, I wondered who was coming with Dominick?
“Yes, he is. I don”t know all the details, but he stated that your father, your sister and your father-in-law was coming with him.
Raven? How did she get involved in all of this? I guess she was the only one who could drive here, with Anna having to care for the twins, and Tommy and Daniel busy sleeping off their night on the town. At this point, I took the nurse’s advice to lay back down until Dominick arrived. Especially, since I knew I needed my strength to deal with Mr. Kane’s unavoidable lecture.
It wasn’t long before I heard the voice of my frantic husband, as carried it down the hallway to my room. Not far behind the sound of Dominick Kane, was Dominick Kane himself.
He ran to my side and lifted me into his arms and cradled me, as he kissed my face.
“Baby, let me look at you? Are you okay? What were you thinking? You should have had Conte drive you?” His babbling made my head spin.
It was the one time that I had wished there was traffic on the Garden State Parkway, so I could have had more time to rest and build myself up for this.
“Dominick, I’m perfectly fine. I have a small bump on my head and a very mild concussion.” I stated, as I took hold of his hands and held them together with mine. I looked at him and he quieted. I closed my eyes and brought his fingers to my lips and gently kissed them, as I breathed in his familiar and comforting scent.
He observed me quietly and allowed me to continue.
“Are you okay? Does you being here, mean the charges were dropped? And why was Raven back in NY?” I wanted answers and I wanted th
em now.
He grinned.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I love you and because you're a demanding little thing, aren’t you?”
“Demanding, really? I’m demanding? Look whose talking.” I smiled back at him before I leaned forward to kiss his mouth. The mouth that I had waited to kiss all week. The mouth that should have been doing naughty things to my body, but instead was a comfort to me now.
He pulled back to speak to me. “Perhaps you're right, I am demanding, but you've been around me too long. You're running a close second, Angel.”
“I’ll never be around you long enough. Now tell me what happened.”
“We received a call from the New Jersey State Police that you had been in an accident and that you were here in the ER and that after the doctors were done examining you, you would be released to go. By the way, you need to follow up with Dr. Roth next week. Anyway, I didn’t know what to do. I needed you in New York, but you couldn’t be, due to your surprised incapacitation. Then your dad suggested that Raven come up and pretend to be you. I didn’t like leaving you here without a family member, but the nurse on the phone explained that you were fine and just needed a family member to take you home. We all decided it would be faster if Joseph drove Raven to the precinct and pretended to be you, get me released and then we all could come and get you.”
The Ties That Bind (Miss Taken Identity #3) Page 21
