Chapter Twenty-One
Dom remained standing beneath the shower’s hot pounding spray. He’d finished rinsing five minutes ago but couldn’t bring himself to shut off the water. It had been five hours since he’d left Daisy’s apartment.
He knew damn well she was too pig-headed and strong-willed to heed his warning about staying away from the hotel, so the first thing he’d done was to call Gray and have him station two uniforms outside her building, one in the front and one in the back, with orders to prevent her from leaving under any circumstances. He’d waited down the block until they’d arrived. That had given him peace of mind for her immediate safety, but he couldn’t stop replaying their last conversation over and over in his head.
He smacked both hands against the shower wall, welcoming the pain that shot up his arms to his shoulders.
I deserve it.
When he’d left Daisy’s place, her eyes had been lifeless. It was as if something inside her had died. He’d done that to her. He had used her, and so had Jack. The ironic thing was that he suspected Jack really was in love with her. Hell, he knew he was, and he’d totally fucked things up.
I’ve lost her.
Now he had to accept that he’d blown the best thing that could have happened to him. With a vicious twist, he cranked off the water and toweled himself dry. Naked, he padded into his bedroom and grabbed a pair of jeans, a black knit shirt, and a black Polar Fleece vest. The clock on his nightstand said it was after nine. Since the Pyramid didn’t know the Piazza’s grand reopening was about to be canceled, he’d still meet Jack at the hotel as planned at eleven. That way he could maintain his cover.
His cell phone rang, and he picked it up from the dresser. Not unexpectedly, it was Gray, probably phoning to confirm the event was canceled.
“I got bad news,” Gray said as soon as he answered. “Shane won’t cancel.”
“Why the fuck not?” Dom dropped his clothes on the bed. “Does this asshole have a death wish? And how can he justify putting everyone else in the hotel at risk?”
“Apparently,” Gray said in a tone broadcasting obvious disgust, “Shane is such a megalomaniac, nothing short of an apocalypse will convince him to cancel. Like you said, this hotel is his baby, the culmination of his life’s work. He actually believes his own hotel security team can handle any threat.”
“This isn’t just any threat.” He cradled the phone between his chin and shoulder and pulled on his jeans. “Those bozos have no idea what they’ll be up against. Did the PC tell Shane the hit’s revenge for him mowing down the head assassin’s only son?”
“He did, but it didn’t change Shane’s answer. He told the PC that except for the mayor’s security detail, no one with a weapon gets inside the hotel. The only assistance he accepted is an old photo of Marsden the PC sent over so his detail can be on the lookout for him.”
“This is bullshit.” Dom began pacing the length of his bedroom. “Can’t the commissioner order the event shut down?”
“It’s private property,” Gray countered.
“Somehow we need to find those guns. Were you able to re-interview Valenzuela?”
“Twenty minutes ago. He confirmed that he was called by someone who threatened to out him if he didn’t allow one crate inside the hotel without searching it.”
“And did he?”
“Yesterday.”
“Shit.” He shoved his hand through his hair. “With that statement and mine you have more than enough probable cause for a warrant.”
“No can do, partner. I already asked. The commissioner wants this to play out.”
“Play out?” He uttered a few choice expletives. “That hotel will be jammed with innocent people. Soft targets with no way to defend themselves.”
“The only target we know of is Shane, and he’s been warned. The PC is also notifying the mayor, but the mayor’s as much of a press-hound as Shane is and still plans to attend unless we have more.” Gray let out a loud breath. “Do you have any reason to believe that this is an all-out massacre?”
“No.” He sat on the bed and grabbed his boots. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “This is a credible threat, and you know as well as I do that Shane’s security team will be a bunch of inexperienced cop wannabees. They’ll be more of a liability than an asset.”
“Copy that,” Gray said. “But the way the commissioner sees this, we’ll never have the opportunity to take down the Pyramid’s leader again. He’s convinced that if we cut off the organization’s head, we put an end to them.”
“And if we stop now, we’ve got nothing.” He rolled his eyes to the ceiling. He understood the commissioner’s logic, but if anything went wrong others could be hurt or killed in the crossfire.
“Right now the only charge we can make stick,” Gray continued, “is on Jack for unlawful possession of those weapons we caught him with at the warehouse. He’d serve a few years at most.”
“And the Pyramid will still be in business.” He mentally reviewed everything else he’d learned, knowing it was futile. They had no proof Smith had brought guns inside the hotel. They were assuming they were in the uninspected crate, but no one had actually laid eyes on them. Worse, they didn’t even know Smith’s real name. He could be anyone.
He shook his head in disbelief. “We can’t prove a single overt act.” A necessary element of a conspiracy to commit murder charge. “We’ve got nothing on Smith and nothing on Marsden.”
“Unless we let this play out,” Gray said. “But we’ve got another potential problem. Customs just notified me Jimmy Gonzalez left the Bahamas and hopped a plane to New York. Even though he was red-flagged in the system, somehow he managed to slip through Customs at JFK. I’m on my way to look for him.”
“For fuck’s sake.” The phone vibrated with an incoming text. “Hold on.” He looked at the screen.
Room 225. Noon.
“I’m meeting Jack in Room 225 at noon.” Hopefully, Marsden would be there.
“I don’t like this,” Gray growled. “Fuck orders. If I can’t officially get a plainclothes team inside I’ll fly solo. You need backup.”
For once, he didn’t disagree. “Thanks, buddy.”
“One more thing.” Dom heard a car engine start. “The commissioner gave me a message. He said to tell you he has faith in you.”
“No pressure.” Dom snorted.
“You tell Daisy yet?”
“Yeah, everything.” He massaged the back of his neck.
“I take it didn’t go well,” Gray said.
“Understatement. Gotta go.”
“Ten-four, partner.”
He ended the call, then finished dressing and headed for his closet. The small safe tucked in the corner housed a number of handguns, some registered, some not. He punched in the code and cranked open the door. After grabbing an unregistered .40 caliber Smith and Wesson he rammed in a fully loaded magazine and racked in a round. As an afterthought, he reached for a spare detective shield and stuffed it into his pocket.
He slammed the safe door shut, feeling a growing sense of urgency. Never in a million years did he think he’d have to live through the same hell again. But as he grabbed his keys and bolted out the front door, he knew in his gut that his worst fear was about to play out.
Damn, but he should have gotten her out of this sooner. Now the woman he loved was right in the middle of a shitstorm that was spinning totally out of control.