Chapter Twenty #3
“Oh, I know,” Lyn replied. “Clarke and I have argued about that more than once. He doesn't seem to understand that while Lany causes trouble, his heart is always in the right place.”
“He also doesn't seem to understand that punishing Lany is my responsibility, not his.” And I had some pretty imaginative ways of doing it.
“Lany is a full-grown adult. He may not always act like it, but it's still a fact of life. Just because Clarke may not like something Lany does doesn't mean Lany is wrong in doing it.”
“How long is he on the couch?” I asked.
“Until Lany is home and forgives his stupid ass.”
Ouch. That could be awhile.
“Okay, I'm pulling up to the airport. I'll call you as soon as I land.”
“I will find him, Sal.”
If anyone could, it would be Lyn.
I hung up with Lyn and waited for the taxi to come to a stop before paying the guy and climbing out.
It took a little longer than I would have liked to get through security because I had a weapon on me.
Luckily, being a SWAT officer, I was able to take my gun with me as long as it was locked up.
I wasn't about to pack it in my suitcase. Who knows what would happen to it.
Once I was through the security gate, I made my way down to correct terminal for my plane and then found myself a seat so I could wait for my flight to be called. I set my bag down between my feet and then pulled out my cell phone and dialed the next person on my list.
“Jerry.”
“I was just getting ready to call you, Sal.”
“Oh?”
“I swear to god, Sal, I will find him.”
“I'm wondering how he got lost in the first place.”
“You and me both.”
I could hear the frustration in Jerry's voice and knew he was just as worried about his nephew as I was. The man might be the police commissioner of our fair city, but that didn't mean spit when Lany was involved.
“Do you even know what he was doing at that drug house?” Jerry asked.
“I didn't even know he was at that drug house until Clarke called an hour ago to tell me Lany was missing. I thought he was at home with the kids, only to find out he has been gone for days.”
“You didn't know?”
“No, I didn't.” And I would be having words with the people I left in charge of his protection when I got home. There was a growing list of people I needed to set straight about keeping Lany safe, and that list was getting longer by the minute.
“How could you not know?”
“Lany called to check in with me every day, Jerry, just like he always does, and he didn't say word one about not being home. No one from the house called me either.”
“Why wouldn't they call you?”
“I don't know, but they are the next ones on my list to talk to.”
Again, that list was growing.
“I'll let you go then,” Jerry said. “I've got some more phone calls to make.”
“I'll call when I land, Jerry.”
“Sounds good.”
I hung up, but before dialing the next moron on my list, I took a deep breath. I was going to need it. I had gone to the conference knowing that I had left Lany in the capable hands of the one man totally dedicated to seeing to his safety. I was not pleased that Marcus had let me down.
“Marcus,” I said as soon as he answered the phone.
The man's sigh was deep. “Sal.”
“Why is my husband missing when I left him with you?”
“Because he thinks he's invincible!” Marcus shouted. There was pure frustration in his loud tone. “He thinks he's freaking Superman, and he refuses to listen to anyone that thinks differently when you're not here.”
Superman?
I groaned and dropped my head back on my seat. “What is he up to now?”
There had been more than one fiasco that started with Lany wanting to do the right thing and ended with him being injured or kidnapped or something just as horrible.
“I don't know,” Marcus said in a lower tone. “He wouldn't give me the specifics. He said he couldn't. He said it was need-to-know and that I didn't need to know.”
“Why didn't you call me when he left?”
That's what I really wanted to know.
I could hear Marcus inhale sharply.
“I wanted to, Sal, but you know Lany.”
Unfortunately, I did.
“He called and checked in with me every day, and he sounded fine. He gave me an emergency number to call in case he didn't check in, but...”
“But what?” I sat up straight. “Why haven't you called it?”
“I did,” Marcus admitted. “It's been disconnected.”
“Okay, look, the tracking chip we put in him says he's at home. I need you to search for it. Lyn needs to know if Lany took the chip out or if it’s malfunctioning. If he took it out, I'd search our bathroom.”
“You think he took the chip out?”
“Yes,” I huffed. That was exactly what I thought.
I was going to strangle Lany when I got my hands on him.
Chapter Three
Lany
I winced as I gingerly dabbed at the cut on the corner of my lip with a wet paper towel. I swear to god, if I ever got my hands on Clarke, I was going to hand him his head. And then I was going to hold him while Lyn and Sal did the same thing.
I had to get out of here first.
I couldn't believe I had been arrested. Granted, I had been inside a drug house when SWAT had busted in.
If it had been any SWAT unit other than Sal's, I would have been arrested right along with everyone else, but it hadn't been.
The moment I realized it was Sam kneeling on my back, I knew I was safe.
Sal's team would never let anything happen to me.
And yet, it had.
If Clarke had simply let me talk, none of this would have ever happened, but, no, he had to try and prove a point, and now I was locked up with bruised ribs, a swollen eye, a busted lip, and one hell of a knot on my head. I had no idea when I was ever going to get out of here or even if I would.
The scary part was the other inmates weren't the ones to rough me up. It had been the arresting officer. Apparently, I was a flight risk or some such shit. Not only had he manhandled me rather aggressively, but I had “tripped” while standing still.
At least, that was how he reported it to the booking officer.
It probably didn't help that I had refused to give them my name. They had taken my fingerprints so I am sure my name would come up eventually, but until then, I was keeping my mouth shut.
The officer on duty dropped a phone down in front of me. “Here's your one phone call.”
Okay, maybe I wasn't keeping my mouth shut, but I knew enough to know my phone call would be monitored and recorded, so I needed to seriously think about who I was going to call. I did not want to listen to Sal freak out while someone else was listening in.
Clarke was out. He was the bonehead that got me into this situation. I figured the rest of his team was out as well. They hadn't done anything to keep me from being handcuffed and tossed behind bars.
Oh, I knew who to call.
It was a little awkward picking up the phone since my hands were still handcuffed, but once I did, I dialed a number that I knew by heart and prayed the person on the other end would play along.
The officer that had given me the phone wasn't even trying to pretend that he wasn't listening in to my conversation.
He was standing right in front of me watching.
“Mr. Castellano, my name is Harris.” The name I had used undercover. “I hope you remember me. I'm distantly related to Isabella Vella. I know her two daughters, Bella and Rosa.”
“I remember you, Harris.”
Oh, thank god.
“I'm in a little bit of trouble.”
“You are,” Vinnie replied. “My phone has been ringing off the hook. People are looking for you.”
I winced at his words. “Yeah, I figured, but it wasn't my fault. SWAT raided the place before I could fix things, and then I was arrested. Now I'm behind bars, and I don't know who to call.”
“Has bail been set?” Vinnie asked.
“Not yet.”
“Very well,” Vinnie said. “Tell me where you are, and I will send my lawyer down to get you out.”
Yes! Yes! Yes!
“Hold on.” I pressed the phone receiver to my chest and looked up at the officer. “Which precinct is this?”
“East County Precinct.”
My eyebrows shot up. “East County?”
That was clear on the other side of the city from where I had been arrested. It wasn't even a city precinct, but a county sheriff's precinct. What in the hell was I doing here?
Oh, this was not good.
“Mr. Castellano, I'm at the East County Precinct.”
“The East County Precinct? What in the hell are you doing there?”
“I wondered the same thing, and I have no idea.”
“All right, I'll send my lawyer down to get you out, but you better be prepared. Your Italian stallion has been appraised of the situation and is currently on a flight back.”
I was so dead.
“Yeah, I figured.” On one hand, it was nice to know Sal was so dependable. I knew he would come running the moment he learned I was in trouble. One the other hand, I was in so much trouble.
“Are you safe, Harris?”
I glanced at the officer again. “Sort of.”
“That does not sound promising.”
“It's not.” I swallowed tightly. “The sooner you can get me out of here, the better.”
“A few hours at most, Harris.”
I prayed that he was right.
The officer held his hand out for the phone. “Time's up.”
“I need to go, Mr. Castellano. My time is up. I really appreciate your help.”
“Anytime, Harris. Just stay safe. I do not want to face your Italian if anything happens to you.”
“Yeah, me either.” In fact, I was dreading it. Not because Sal would be mad, but because he would be hurt. I had basically lied to him for the last ten days. He wasn't going to take that well. To be fair, I hadn't wanted to lie to him. I just hadn't wanted him to worry.
That had so backfired on me.
I hung up the phone, handed it to the officer, and then stood there like an idiot waiting for him to tell me what I was supposed to do next. It wasn't like I had a lot of experience being behind bars.
The officer grabbed me by the arm and started leading me down a hallway. Instead of taking me back to a cell, he led me to an interrogation room. I was pushed into a chair and my cuffs were attached to a metal bar bolted into the tabletop.