Chapter Twenty-Four
Dominic
When I was in the Academy and we learned about undercover work, I remember thinking how cool it was and that the detectives who came in to talk to us were the biggest badasses.
That morning, I was fucking scared for my life and wished nothing more than to be riding with Bradford, listening to him talk about Lila. Hell, I wouldn’t even mind hearing Krasinski whining about his love life.
They picked me up well before dawn in a Suburban with black-tinted windows. At a rest stop along the Thruway we switched vehicles to a white, unmarked box truck.
“Just letting you know to keep to or just under the limit. This time of morning the troopers are out looking for speeders. You don’t wanna get stopped.”
“In the back,” the driver growled, and I climbed in with two others.
We were greeted by another guy, a big bastard dressed in all black with tattoos on his face, neck, and covering his hands.
These were the scariest bunch of fuckers I’d ever been in contact with.
Guns were at their waists, and a few AR-15s lay at their feet.
Surrounding us were boxes—I knew from my discussions with Delvecchio and Nolan that they contained fentanyl, molly, and benzos, alongside crank, cocaine, and heroin.
The boxes were marked as paper goods. It made me sick to my stomach.
I shivered, the cold sweat on my body not helped by the chill of the morning air. One of the men snickered.
“Cold, little man? Or are you scared?”
“Fuck off,” I snarled, knowing if I showed any weakness, they’d bully me the entire day. Show no fear was what I remembered from my training.
The ride was uneventful, and we drove through the bumpy streets of the Bronx. We pulled into a warehouse, and the horn beeped once. My heart pounded so fucking hard, I thought it might explode.
“Out.” One of them motioned with his gun.
It was dark inside, and I flipped up my sunglasses.
Embedded in the frame was a hidden camera and GPS, which McGill and his cronies were monitoring.
In addition, I had magnetic studs in my ears, which also contained listening devices and a necklace with a flat disc, which also hid a tiny camera and a GPS.
“Phones,” a disembodied voice rang out, but I didn’t need to see him to know it was my father. He appeared from the bowels of the warehouse, and I met his cold gaze. I dug my phone out of my pocket, and it was grabbed by one of the goons at his side.
“He turned off location sharing like he was told.”
“You think I wanna get caught? You high, old man?”
His eyes narrowed, and he nodded. My arms were grabbed from both sides, and his bodyguard delivered a swift punch to my stomach that knocked the air from my lungs.
“You speak to me with respect, punk.” Breathing hard, I nodded, and they released me. “Open it up and let me see.”
The big dude with the tats lifted the rear door of the truck, and my father and his two men climbed in. They went through each box methodically. Hours ticked by.
“How much longer? Jesus,” I muttered, and one of the guys I drove up with glared.
“You got a date, pretty boy?”
I kept my mouth shut after that.
Bright sun hit the tiny, high windows, but they were so grimy, the light barely made it through.
The space was crammed full of tires and salvaged auto parts, the air heavy with the smell of grease and rusted metal.
My stomach bubbled with nausea. I hadn’t managed to swallow more than half a cup of coffee that morning.
Finally, they climbed out, and my father stood in front of me. “Look at you. I know you always thought you were better than me, but you’re no different now, are you?”
I didn’t answer him, staring straight ahead.
“You poisoned your mother against me. We could’ve worked things out if you hadn’t encouraged her. And now?” He peered into my face. “You’re just another dirty cop. A loser.” His lips drew back in a snarl. “Answer me.”
“What do you want me to say?”
I wanted to tell him he was delusional if he still believed that, but he was too deep in his obsession to believe me. I was glad she was far away from his evil and he couldn’t hurt her anymore.
“You think you’re gonna make this one little dump, and I’m gonna hand you the keys to my city? You’re fucking crazy.”
I got angry. “I did my part. Exactly as you asked. You gonna stiff me?”
His smile was pure evil. “Me? No, that would be unfair and ungentlemanly. But you need to learn respect, which you seem to be sorely lacking. So let this be your first warning. The next time, you speak only if you’re spoken to, and even then, all I want to hear is yes, sir, no, sir. Understood?”
“Yeah. Are we done?”
He worked his jaw, and I turned to walk to the truck.
I never even saw who hit me from behind, but as I lay on the dirty floor of the warehouse, getting kicked and punched, I saw my father standing on the sidelines, watching. I was hauled to my feet and slammed repeatedly in the head with guns and fists.
“Enough,” my father called out. “We don’t want broken bones. He needs to be able to make another run. If he still wants to, that is, after getting pussy-whipped.” He leaned in close. “If you even think of reporting this, I will make sure no one finds your body. Got that?”
“Y-yes, sir.”
I passed out.
I awoke on the floor of the truck. Blood crusted my hair, and every bone ached.
“You awake, pretty boy?” Big Dude kicked me with his booted foot. “Your daddy gave us your take, but we’re taking a cut because we had to play doctor for you. Can’t have you messing up the truck with all your blood.”
I grunted. “So kind of you.”
“You think you’re funny?” He took his weapon and smashed me over the head with it. My ears rang, and fresh blood dripped down my face. “I don’t like wiseasses.”
I closed my eyes. They must’ve thought I’d fainted again because they felt free to talk, so I listened.
“You know he’s Starr’s son.” Big Dude crunched on something.
“Yeah.” One of the other guys laughed. “Weird, huh? Guess they ain’t close.”
“Ya think? I don’t know why the bosses want another guy in on the action.”
“ ’Cause he’s a cop, dickhead. Now they’ve got him on tape doing this shit. They own his ass. And when Starr sets him up to get caught, everyone else in Green Haven will too. He’ll be the cellblock bitch.”
They snickered while I struggled not to get sick.
“I dunno. I think it’s personal. Starr’s still hung up on his ex-wife—you heard the man. This is payback somehow.”
Was that true? Knowing my father, it would be the perfect revenge against me. My head hurt.
Finally, we slowed and stopped, and I got kicked and slapped in the face.
“Wake up, pretty boy. Time to switch.”
I struggled to my feet and managed to stumble out of the truck. Head spinning and nauseated, I fell into the Suburban. Forty-five minutes later, I was pulled from the car, dragged up the path to my house, and thrown onto the porch. The last thing I remembered was the sound of the car driving away.
I came to with Emmy holding me, and I started to shake.
“Emmy? Help me,” I moaned.
There was a commotion, and someone else was there, but my vision blurred and I lost consciousness. The next time I awoke, I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Bright,” I mumbled. “Too bright.”
Emmy jumped up from the chair and grabbed my hand. “Dom? Can you hear me?”
I tried to nod, but the movement sent a fresh wave of pain through my head, and I groaned. “Yeah. But I think I’m gonna be sick.”
“I’ve got a basin right here.”
“You let me do that, Deputy.” A nurse came in and helped me.
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” Embarrassed, I kept apologizing.
“Don’t you worry.”
“How long was I out?”
“About an hour,” Emmy answered. “That gave them a chance to sew up your scalp and clean your face.” His voice caught. “They needed you to wake up so they can take you for X-rays and check for internal injuries.”
“Hey, hey,” I soothed. “I’m gonna be okay. They just kicked the crap out of me to teach me a lesson.”
He rested his forehead on his hands. “God…what you had to go through. I saw you lying on the ground, and I thought you were dead. I was so scared.”
I reached out and smoothed his wavy hair. “It’s gonna take a lot more than a couple of goons with shitkicker boots to keep me down.” My voice wobbled. “But I’m glad you’re here.”
He lifted his head, and his face was streaked with tears. “Me too.”
McGill approached. “Incoming,” I murmured, and Emmy turned away, grabbing a few tissues to wipe away the wetness. I shifted in the bed and grunted from the various aches and pains that had settled in my body. “Nice to see you could make it.”
“They wanted to teach you a lesson in respect by beating you.”
“Guess so.” I shrugged. “It’s the way of the street. They were careful not to break any bones. And that’s my father. Respect through fear and force.”
“So you have enough to get him, right?” Emmy asked with an anxiety-riddled voice.
I met McGill’s eyes, already knowing the answer.
“No. We don’t. We must make sure Starr believes Dominic is all in. Returning after a beating like this will go a long way. Rest up, Dominic, and when he contacts you, we’ll be in touch.”
Unable to nod, I raised a hand in acknowledgment. Emmy waited until he left the room to voice his displeasure.
“What the fuck? They’re gonna wait for you to get brain damage from a bad blow to the head or maybe killed? This is bullshit.”
I understood his frustration. “It’ll be all right. I know what to expect now.”
“Are you kidding me?” he sputtered.
“I can prepare now that I’ve seen what they want.
But I didn’t come this far to quit. It was weird, though.
He brought up my mother yet again, insisting I turned her against him.
In his sick and twisted mind, I wonder if all this is just revenge because I stood up to him and encouraged her to divorce him. ”
“I don’t think you can ever know what’s in your father’s devious mind. He’s not only a criminal, but he might be insane.”