“You have the address where Finley and Zia are located, right?” Miles handed Ricky a small bag.

“Yeah. What’s this?” He held it up to inspect each side.

“Open it.”

Ricky unzipped the bag. “Wait a minute.” He held up a badge. “I can’t carry this with me.”

“It’s not permanent, but you can’t carry a concealed weapon on the plane without a badge.” Miles handed him a holster with a gun. “You need to check in at security before you do anything. They know you’re coming.”

“I don’t understand?”

“We can’t send you into danger unarmed.”

“I can grab a piece when I get to Florida.”

“Ricky, we need you legal, too.”

He knew Miles was right. It was just odd carrying a badge again after all these years. Turning it over in his hand, he thought about the last time he had to go undercover. Promises were made then, and every one of them were broken, too. He had to ensure this case saw a different outcome.

“Here, give this to Vikki.”

Miles held it up. “What’s this?”

“Don’t ask. Just give it to her, okay?”

He had a ring from his grandmother; it was a beautiful black hills gold Claddagh. For several months now, he knew Vikki had been watching him, but for some reason he was too afraid to reciprocate the feelings. Maybe not afraid, but he didn’t want his life to be like his parents.

As he watched Miles put the ring in the breast pocket of his jacket, he realized using his past as an indicator for his future was a dick move. Vikki was not his parents. He never planned to be even a fraction of what his parents were in their relationship.

“Tell her to wear it on her right ring finger with the heart facing inward.”

“That’s pretty specific?”

“Yeah, well, it’s pretty important, too.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll make sure she gets the ring and the mile-long instructions.”

Ricky shook his head and walked into the airport. His flight left in two hours, but going to security and talking to them would easily take an hour.

One of the security cops tried to give him a hard time, but when they called Cooper, the asshole immediately signed a few documents that allowed him to carry the concealed weapon.

As he waited to board, he rifled through the stacks of images compiled by the task force. Several of the images dated back to the time when he was still on the force. Miles had let him know a lot had happened since he worked with the team. The Nesta mob was bigger. The pull they had in the city was deeper. If they really planned to bring the mob down, they had to find a way in and prepare for dirty work in the process.

Ricky knew his position could become deep. He made a promise to himself, and secretly to Vikki, it would not take years to bring the fuckers down. If he had a choice, he wanted this over in just months.

* * *

“Thank you for flying with us today. I hope you had an enjoyable flight?” a twenty-something flight attendant said as Ricky exited the plane.

He just nodded and slung his duffle bag over his shoulder.

Baggage claim was all the way on the other side of the airport, but thank fuck it was directly next to the car rental building. He spent about thirty minutes filling out the paperwork and getting the cheapest car available. It only needed to take him from point A to point B, nothing fancy.

He used his phone GPS to get him to Finley and Letizia’s place. The cabin ended up being about forty-five minutes from the airport. About a quarter mile away from the destination, he noticed a man with binoculars sitting on the hood of his car. He had on jeans and a button-down shirt. What felt off was the car he was resting on; it was a black sedan with tinted windows. What was it with black Sedan’s lately?

Something felt off.

He never slowed down as he drove past the guy. Instead he continued driving and parked in an empty spot directly in front of the cottage. Grabbing his phone from the center console, he sent a text message to Miles. “Something is off. Be ready for a message.”

Miles responded immediately. “Fuck. Keep me posted.”

Ricky put his phone in his back pocket and glanced around. Still in his car, he turned toward the guy who’d been about quarter mile back, and saw the car but not the guy. Well, things just got interesting.

Finley and Letizia’s cottage was set back away from the road with several trees lining the property. There was a baby blue 1975 Ford Bronco in the driveway. As he walked by the vehicle, he noticed the keys in the ignition. So basically they had no clue someone was watching them.

He knocked and then checked to see if the guy was back on the roof of his car. He wasn’t.

“Ricky?”

He turned at the voice and noticed Finley standing about six feet away. The guy seemed completely relaxed, with swimming trunks on and holding a beer in one hand. “Hey, man. Look at you, living the life.”

Finley stepped forward, and they slapped their hands together. “Should I be worried?”

“Let’s get inside and talk.”

Ricky followed behind Finley. “Zia and Cris are in town getting some groceries. Want a drink?”

He turned his head to the side. “Wait, you let them go into town alone?”

“We’ve been here for almost two months, and we have not seen anyone.”

Ricky felt confused now. “What about the guy just a quarter mile away with his binoculars? You haven’t noticed him?”

Finley stopped what he was doing. “Who?”

“Have you gone soft down here?”

“Fuck you. What are you talking about?”

Just then Ricky’s phone rang. “Hey.”

“There is a guy that seems out of place,” Miles said. “Does Finley know how long he has been there?”

Ricky laughed. “This one’s for you.” He handed his phone to Finley.

Finley scowled. “Yeah?”

He listened as Finley said, “Fuck you” one too many times and then handed the phone back.

“Where’s this guy?”

Ricky stepped outside and stayed behind a tree to keep out of view. He pointed to the black Sedan. “He was on top of that car.”

“Shit. Zia and Cris are due home any minute.

“You sure about that?”

Finley pulled his phone out and waited for Zia to answer, but she never picked up.