Chapter Twenty
Jake showed up at Farber’s office fifteen minutes before his appointment. The men tailing him waited in the parking garage below.
The receptionist looked up from her desk. “Hello, Mr. Morris. Come with me, please. We need to get you an employee badge.”
He followed the woman down a long hall that held offices on either side. She stopped outside one that had the name “Ashton Reynolds” on the nameplate. She pointed to the man seated at his desk, deep into work. “What do you think? Does he look enough like you?”
Jake leaned his head inside the door. The guy had similar coloring, was about the same age, but skinnier. “Yep. Close enough.”
The receptionist walked in and held out a hand toward Ashton. “You drew the short stick. Credentials, please.”
He glanced up, gave Jake the once over from head to toe, and then tugged his wallet from his suit pants. He slipped out his driver’s license and then unclipped his employee badge from the suit coat hanging on the back of his chair. He handed them over and said, “For the record, I’m not in favor of this plan. And he’s taller than me.”
The receptionist accepted the IDs. “Farber’s orders. Take it up with him. I’m just the messenger.” She turned and shoved the plastic-coated paperwork in Jake’s direction. “Let’s go.”
Jake studied Ashton’s personal data for a moment, then clipped the badge onto his sports coat jacket. As he followed the woman back to the lobby, he slid Ashton’s license into his wallet.
She said, “Have a seat. Mr. Farber will be right out. Memorize Ashton’s age, height, and address while you wait. Just in case they ask at the prison.”
“Already done.” Jake sat on the couch and blew out a long breath. The rest of his life rode on the outcome of his meeting with Luca. He couldn’t screw it up. Then he’d have to convince Gabby to take him back.
If only she’d hear him out. She’d made a deal with her father to save his life, but the terms weren’t acceptable. Never seeing her again wasn’t an option. So he’d negotiate with the devil.
Seemed his strict code of right and wrong, a coping mechanism from his childhood according to the department shrink, wasn’t a crutch he needed anymore. But he needed Gabby.
Farber rushed into the lobby, briefcase in hand. “Let’s go, Morris.”
Jake stood and followed behind the lawyer. He was talking to someone on his phone through an earpiece. Farber continued the conversation as they slid into the back of a black Town Car and headed for the downtown prison where Luca was being held. Jake glanced over his shoulder. Moretti’s men were just behind.
As their driver negotiated the traffic, Jake wrestled with his growing anxiety. Tangling with an armed junkie high on meth might be easier than convincing Gabby’s father to give his daughter permission to be with a cop.
He’d vowed he’d never again beg for affection like he’d done with his parents. But then he’d met Gabby. He’d do anything to get her back. Even beg and cajole a mobster.
Facing Moretti with confidence, showing no weakness or fear, would be what a man like him would respect. And expect of the man he’d allow his daughter to be with.
As they pulled up to the front of the facility, Jake’s heartbeat thudded in his ears. Ignoring his conscience screaming at him for using a fake ID, he followed Farber inside.
Farber said, “I do all the talking. You’re my paralegal.” He slapped his briefcase into Jake’s arms and then went first through the metal detector.
“Got it.”
At the main desk, a bored-looking guard said, “Name?”
Farber tossed his license on the desk and then held out a hand for Ashton’s ID. The guard glanced at Farber, then Jake, then back at both licenses in his hand.
When a badge, along with the license, slid his way across the desk, he nodded in thanks and quickly clipped on his visitor name tag.
It shouldn’t have been that easy, and by the lack of concern on Farber’s part, it probably wasn’t the first time that had happened.
A guard led them into a small interrogation room. “I’ll get the prisoner for you.”
Jake pulled out a chair and sat. “I need to talk to Moretti alone.”
“Not happening.” Farber settled in the plastic chair beside Jake.
Then he’d have to speak in code. That wasn’t going to make things any easier.
The familiar rattle of chains preceded Moretti. The door swung open, and the guard guided Gabby’s father to a chair across the table before he locked him to it. Moretti’s eyes never left Jake’s as he lifted his shackled hands toward the guard. “Can we take care of these?”
The guard shook his head. “Got it direct from upstairs. Shackles the whole time, or you can go back to your cell.”
Farber said, “We’re his legal team. Give us a break, pal.”
“Nope.” The guard shut the door, but then his face appeared in the observation glass. They weren’t letting Moretti out of their sight. Smart.
Gabby’s father was a tall, fit man, in his early sixties, with a white mane of hair. Gabby had his eyes. But not the hardness Moretti’s carried.
Moretti laid his cuffed hands on the table. “What do you want to say to me, cop?”
Jake cleared the trepidation from his throat and leaned forward. Might as well cut to the chase. “Benji plans to disappear.”
Moretti’s eyes shifted to Farber. “Go take a phone call in the hallway.”
“What?” Farber’s forehead crumpled. “We don’t know what this guy—”
“Do it.” After the door closed behind the lawyer, Moretti shifted his focus back to Jake. “If it weren’t for Benji, you’d be dead. I still haven’t made up my mind what to do with you, long term. Don’t piss me off by lying to me.”
Jake held up his palms. “She told me she needs to disappear. For good. She wants a life. I can give her one.”
“She’s not going anywhere. Especially with you.” Moretti’s eyes narrowed. “You told her what she wanted to hear. Used her to get to me. Now leave her alone, Morris. Or I will kill you. Am I clear?”
Being told he’d be killed should have scared the crap out of him. Instead, it made him more determined. “She’s smarter than you give her credit for. She slipped past your goons once. She’ll do it again. Especially if you stay locked up. Next time, she might not be so lucky to meet someone like me. She’s an innocent. Easy to take advantage of.”
“Yeah. You got what you wanted out of her.” Moretti looked away for the first time. “It makes me want to kill you with my bare hands.”
He truly cared for his daughter. It was a weakness Jake would keep poking at. “You’re right. I helped catch a wanted criminal. Doing my job. But I didn’t count on falling in love with her in the process. She’s the most incredible person I’ve ever met. She deserves the life you stole from her.” He laid on the parental guilt.
Moretti’s eyes snapped back to meet Jake’s, glaring with hate. “Garza took that life away. Now his father knows what it’s like to lose a child.”
“You’re going to lose another soon if you don’t listen.” Jake stood and pushed his chair in. “Go ahead and kill me if that’s what you want. If I can’t be with her, what do I care?” Jake took a gamble and started walking for the door. It was an interrogation technique that rarely failed, but Gabby’s father wasn’t a petty criminal.
Jake’s fingers had wrapped around the handle when Moretti barked, “Sit down. I’m not done with you, cop!”
Thank God.
Jake slowly turned and walked back to his chair but didn’t sit. He stood with his arms crossed, waiting for Moretti to speak.
After a full-blown staring match, Moretti finally looked down at his clenched fists. “You don’t love her. You’ve known her less than two weeks.”
Jake smiled. Now they were getting somewhere. “I hear it was love at first sight when you met your wife. A guy knows when a guy knows, right?”
“That was different. Don’t make me kill you and break her heart all over again. Go back to New Mexico. Stay out of her life.”
“What life? You mean the one where she’s a prisoner in her own home? Can’t go shopping by herself? Can’t have friends? Much less find a husband who’d dare to marry her once he found out about you. She’ll never have what she wants, what she deserves, if you don’t let her. Doesn’t her happiness count for anything?”
“Of course it counts!” Moretti slammed his hands on the table. “But her safety has to come first.”
Jake glanced at the observation window. Now the guard had been joined by Farber. Jake pulled out the chair next to Gabby’s father and sat. “I can give her both. Away from here. Where no one knows her. In New Mexico.”
Moretti shook his head. “If Garza realizes who she is, you won’t be able to keep her safe. As it is, she’s going to have to quit her job. Change her name. Move again. It’s all being worked out.”
“She can move with me. Take my last name, if she wants. Garza would never believe you’d let her marry a cop. It’d be good cover.”
“It’s not enough!” Moretti tried to stand, but he was shackled to the table. He defiantly dropped back into his chair. “I can’t risk her life.”
“I get that. But if you’d asked, instead of assuming you know what’s best for her, you’d know she’s unhappy. She’s got to be scared witless to do it, but she’s still going to disappear. Then what kind of risk will she be taking? Isn’t it better to know she’ll be with someone who’ll do everything in his power to keep her safe? Because he loves her. Wants to make her happy. And who wants a family as much as she does?”
Moretti growled as he dropped his head into his hands.
Time to pull out his biggest weapon. “I made a phone call last night. Annalisa Botelli offered to let me build a house for us on her estate. She has better security than the president. And she offered me the job of being in charge of her protection. All I need is your blessing to ask Gabby to marry me.”
That got Moretti’s attention. He sat up and leaned closer. “She’d have the same protection as Annalisa?”
“Yeah. More if necessary.”
Moretti closed his eyes. “Suzy tells me Gabby is madder than hell at what you did. What makes you think she wants anything to do with you?”
Moretti was finally showing signs of cracking. “She asked you not to kill me. That has to count for something. And you and I both know what really happened in that park. If you’ll help me talk to her, I think she’ll be able to forgive me in time. I’m told I can be very charming, when I put my mind to it.”
He slowly opened his eyes. “Charm doesn’t work on me.” He clenched his jaw. “If you pass muster with Suzy, I might consider your request. I’ll tell her to expect you for dinner. Now you can leave.”
He’d take the deal.
He wanted to ask how Moretti was going to communicate with Suzy but resisted. Better to quit while he was ahead. He stood to leave but stopped and held his hand out. “Thank you. You won’t regret it.”
“You hurt her, and you won’t live long enough to regret it. And I’m not shaking a cop’s hand. Get out!”
Jake hightailed it out the door before Moretti changed his mind. Farber stood in the hall next to the guard, red in the face. “What the hell did you do to him in there? He’s clearly agitated. Now I’ve got to go calm him down. Get your own ride back.”
“I’d prefer that. See you around, Farber.” Jake slipped Ashton’s ID into Farber’s suit pocket and then smiled all the way to the guard’s desk. He returned his visitor badge and said, “Have a nice day.”
The guard grunted in return.
Jake pulled his phone out and dialed Dani’s number. When she answered, he said, “So where does Aunt Suzy live? I’m invited for dinner.”
“You did it?” Her squeal nearly busted his eardrum. “I knew you’d pull it off. Nice work.”
He walked down the front steps. “It’s not a done deal. I have to get past Aunt Suzy.”
“And then convince Gabby to take you back.”
“Yeah.” He worried it’d be too little too late. And that he’d messed up the best thing that had ever happened to him. “Not sure how to do the convincing part.”
“By using your words to express how you feel. Gabby needs to hear how much you love her. And why she should forgive you.”
He stopped in his tracks and cringed. “You know I hate talking about that stuff.”
“Time to grow a pair, pal. Let me find the address. I wrote it down by my bed.”
Jake started walking again toward Moretti’s men parked at the curb. The passenger window slowly whirled down, so Jake plastered on a smile and leaned his head inside. “Hey there. Moretti said to give me a lift back to the lawyer’s office so I can get my car.”
The one guy looked at the other, who shrugged. “Fine. Get in, Morris.”
“Thanks.” Jake settled in the back of the mobsters’ car. Just one more thing he’d never dreamed he do only a few weeks ago.
Dani came back on the line and recited the address in Virginia. Then she added, “Just don’t use any of the words you used on me while we were married, and you’ll be fine.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He repeated the address twice in his mind to memorize it.
“It means find new words that actually mean something. She won’t settle for your go-to line of ‘I’m sorry, babe. Won’t happen again.’”
He had other lines. A lot of other lines.
But they probably weren’t the answer. Time to give up lines and go with the scary, sincere thoughts. “Fine. I’ll think of new words. Thanks for the address.”
“Yep. Good luck.” She disconnected.
He was going to need all the luck he could get. After he got past the daunting roadblock of her father and aunt, maybe it’d prove to Gabby that he’d do anything to have her back. Hopefully, she’d hear the truth in his words when he told her he loved her and how badly he needed her in his life.