Chapter 23

Harrison

This was such a fucking bad idea.

I don’t know why I let Tony Dellucci, of all people, talk me into this. I was in a small shed that was behind the Dellucci’s house. There was a small wooden table and chair that I was able to sit at and a tiny window I was able to see out of. As Carina was getting dressed that evening, I gave her a surveillance earpiece that I had used for my undercover operations in the past.

“You keep this part in your ear,” I said. “And I will be able to hear everything that you say, and everything around you.” She smiled, but I could see that her smile was not reaching her eyes. She was nervous. I pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

“It’s going to be alright, Carina.”

“I know,” she said with a slight shake in her breath. “This is just why I have always asked to remain out of the family business. I’m too high strung to deal with all of this stress. I was much happier with the wool covered over my eyes.”

“I know you were. But we are here now. And we have to follow along with your father’s plan to get us out of this mess.” I leaned down and gently kissed her forehead. She moved her body closer to mine. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the clock on the wall of her old childhood bedroom. I arrived with her earlier to set everything up.

“It’s time for you to get downstairs,” I said. She nodded her head, and wrapped her arms tighter around me. “I will be right out in the shed the entire time, and I will be able to hear everything, so the second that I believe you are in danger, I will come in.”

She looked up to my face and smiled. “Thank you, Harrison. For everything.”

I leaned down and pulled her lips to mine. Her arms rushed up to around my neck and I felt my pants thicken slightly. Now was not the time to get all hot and bothered. I reluctantly broke our kiss and smiled at her. As soon as she left her room I used the back stairs of the house to get down and out to the shed.

The sound of a car engine pulled me from my thoughts. It was time to get my shit in gear and be prepared if something happened. From the shed, I could just see the driveway in front of the house. A forgettable sedan pulled up, and I knew immediately that it was Ronald. The undercover unit always gave us simple under the radar cars like that one.

“He’s just pulled up,” I said out loud. My ear piece was special one that we could communicate through without a microphone. I heard Carina laugh nervously through my earpiece.

“Baby everything will be fine,” I said.

“I sure hope so.”

The car’s headlights turned off and I saw Ronald’s recognizable frame. That mother fucker had no idea what is he is walking into. I heard Carina start to breathe heavily.

“Just breathe baby,” I said as calmly as I could.

“Father, this is Ronald Peters,” I heard Nico say.

“Nice, to meet you Ronald,” Tony said. I heard footsteps and I guess that they were walking into the dining room. I heard the noises of chairs moving and people sitting down.

“Ronald, this is my wife, Maria,” Tony said. “My son Luca, and my daughter Carina.”

“Nice to meet you all,” Ronald said. In the dining room chairs screeched against the wood again as they all sat back down. The clatter of dishes sounded as the food was served.

“So,” Ronald said. “What exactly did you want to discuss with me this evening?”

I could hear Tony clear his throat loudly. I bit down on my jaw. I was fucking stupid for not putting up cameras in there to see what was happening. I peered out the window of the shed. Luckily the dining room they were in was near the back of the house, and had a window. If I needed to, I could sneak out of the shed and make it to the nearby window.

“We just wanted to get to know you a little bit more, Ronald,” Tony said. “I always like to know who we really are dealing with.” I could tell by the tone of his voice, that he was glaring at Ronald. Tony let out a slight chuckle which I hope meant that Ronald was now struggling against his glare.

“Well, there’s not much to know,” Ronald said. “I’m just new in town and looking for more business opportunities.”

“Carina, why don’t you and your mother help get the next course ready in the kitchen?” Tony said. I heard the chairs slide back as Carina and Maria left the dining room. Shit, I wouldn’t be able to hear things clearly in the dining room, without her in it. Did Tony fucking do that on purpose? I looked outside the shed’s window and I spotted Nico jump up from the table quickly. Shit.

I jumped up from the chair, knocking it back behind me. I opened up the door to the shed and kept my body low to the ground as I snuck over to the window to get a better look of what was going on in the dining room.

“Carina,” I whispered. “What the hell is going on?”

As I got to the window, I heard a loud crash and all of my training instincts kicked in. I immediately grabbed my gun from my holster, cocked it and held it at the ready in case I needed it.

“Carina?” I whispered again. I pushed my body up against the house and was about to peer into the window when I heard her voice.

“I- I’m fine,” she finally whispered back. “I’m back upstairs in my room.” I let out a breath that I did not realize I was holding.

“Ok good,” I whispered. “Stay out of the dining room.” I peered into the window. Shit. Nico was standing over Ronald at the table. His head was pressed down into his plate of food, and Nico’s strong hand was holding his head down with the other pointing a gun to the back of his head. I moved my eyes and Luca was standing across from Ronald with his gun pointed at him as well. I leaned closer to the window to see if I could hear what was going on. The words were muffled but I could somewhat hear what they were saying.

“Now Ronald, why don’t we try this again,” Tony said. “Tell me who you are working for, and you will be free to go.”

“I-I’m not working with anyone!” Ronald yelled into his salad plate. Nico pushed the gun harder to the back of the head. I gripped my gun tighter. Fuck, I hated Ronald. But that didn’t mean I wanted to see his head splattered across their dining table. There would be no way I could clean up that mess if that happened. But I couldn’t barge in their either.

Tony stood up and started to pace in the front of the room. “Now, now, Ronald. We both know that is not true.” Ronald struggled slightly underneath Nico’s hand.

“Talk mother fucker,” Nico ground out.

“O- ok ok. I’m not here on business,” Ronald said. Nico loosened his grip and moved Ronald so he was now sitting up. His gun was still pressed firmed to the back of his head. Luca moved his aim to Ronald’s chest.

“Raise your hands,” Luca said.

Ronald slowly raised his hands. Nico with his gun still on the back of Ronald’s head, reached down and grabbed Ronald’s gun out the of the holster in his suit jacket. He flung it on the table towards where Tony’s seat was, completely out of Ronald’s reach. Tony turned around and faced Ronald. He placed his hands on the table as he leaned forward.

“I will say this one more time, and if you don’t give us the answer we want to hear, we will have to go ahead and take care of Cynthia and her two beautiful kids.”

Fear crossed Ronald’s face. I quickly racked my brain and tried to think of who the hell Cynthia was. Ronald wasn’t married so it couldn’t have been his wife.

“H-h-how do you know about my sister?” Ronald asked with a shaky voice. Tony let out a loud laugh.

“You really thought we were stupid, didn’t you? We have our ways of knowing these things Ronald.”

“Please don’t hurt her,” Ronald begged. “She has nothing to do with this, and I will tell you whatever you want.” I lowered my head. Fuck Ronald. I knew he was a cocky son of a bitch, which I always figured was a front, but I didn’t realize he would have been so easy to break. I bet O’Malley didn’t know this either.

“We won’t hurt her, if you talk,” Nico said as he pushed the gun harder into his head.

“I’m a cop!” Ronald yelled. “I’m working with the Chicago Police Department. We have been investigating your family for some time, and I was sent in to find out some information.” Tony stood up from his leaning position and smiled.

“Now, there, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Tony asked. Ronald quickly shook his head. Tony looked at Nico and nodded. Nico loosened his grip and stood back from Ronald, but kept his gun aimed directly at his head.

Tony walked over to Luca and stood right in front of Ronald across the table. “Here is what is going to happen. You are going to leave. You are going to tell your Captain that you were unable to find any evidence at this meeting. That is was just dinner with my lovely family. After that you will tell him that you are finished with this case as you had a job offer in New York.”

“But,” Ronald said, and Tony quickly cut him off.

“Believe it or not Ronald, I have formed some pretty powerful connections over the years. There is a nice cushy desk job waiting for you at the NYPD. Take it and all of this goes away. Cynthia and the kids will stay safe, and you will walk out of here alive.”

Ronald’s face turned completely white. “And if I don’t take it?”

Nico pushed his gun to the back of Ronald’s head as Tony leaned over the table.

“If you don’t take it, then you will have your sister’s blood on your hands.” Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. A picture of a house was on the screen.

“You see this? You recognize that house?” Tony asked.

Ronald shook his head quickly.

“That man right there is one of my associates. I am supposed to call him momentarily to let him know what to do. If I do not call him by 9:00,” Tony looked down at his watch. “Which is in five minutes. He will take care of Cynthia and her beautiful family.”

“Alright, I’ll take it!” Ronald yelled. “Please just don’t hurt Cynthia.” Tony nodded and picked up his phone.

“Ok Marco, you can leave her house now. But stay close by just in case.” Tony hung up the phone and placed it on the table. Nico grabbed Ronald by his shirt and pulled him out of the dining room. I quickly ran from my spot next to the window and through the back entrance to the kitchen. As I entered the house, I could hear Nico and the shuffling of feet near the main entrance. I peeked around the hallway to get a better view.

“We’ll keep tabs on you Ronald,” Nico said. “So, don’t fuck this up,” and he shoved him out of the house and closed the door.