Chapter Twenty #10
“Lany has worked on several of my cases before. Nothing like this, though. He usually just looks over case files for me and gives me his opinion. He asked to be paid in cupcakes.”
“Instead of ordering them, you should ask our cook, Mrs. Martinez, to bake some for you,” I said. “Lany loves her cupcakes.”
Crenshaw smiled. “I'll do that.”
“Sir,” Brant said as he appeared in the entryway. “Mr. Castellano has arrived.”
Oh, this should be fun.
“Let him know we have guests and then let him in if he chooses to stay.”
Brant gave a curt nod. “Yes, sir.”
I glanced at Detective Sparks and Agent Crenshaw. “Before Vinnie comes in, I want to warn you not to start anything. He is a guest in my home, just as you are.”
“He's a mob boss,” the detective protested.
“Former mob boss, and he has never been found guilty of anything,” Jerry retorted.
“We have a very clear understanding with Mr. Castellano. If we find him guilty of something, we will toss him in jail. Until that time, he is innocent until proven guilty.” Jerry quickly raised his hand when the detective started to speak.
“And, yes, IAB is fully aware of our association with him. They are not happy with it, but we have broken no laws.”
“But—”
Before the detective could say more, Vinnie stepped into the living room. His eyes immediately went to Lany and me. “How is he?”
“A little banged up. Skip is here now. He'll be giving him a full check-up in a few minutes. He just had to make a call first.”
Vinnie glanced at the others in the room before walking to me. He grabbed a USB drive out of his pocket and held it out to me. “I spoke with Carlos and the others. This is everything they could give me on that drug house. Carlos said he would call if he found more.”
“Thank you, Vinnie,” I said as I took the USB drive. “This will be a big help. Lany has already chosen the office wall for the storyboard.”
“Is it okay to talk here?” Vinnie asked as he glanced at the others.
“About this case, yes.” I waved my hand to the two men Vinnie didn't know.
“This is Detective Sparks out of the East County Precinct where Lany was being held.
He's in charge of the drug house case. And this is Supervisory Special Agent Dan Crenshaw of the DEA, who seems to be investigating the drug house case.”
Vinnie's face twisted in a grimace. “He never should have been in that house, Salvador.”
“Preaching to the choir here, Vinnie. I was in the dark about all of this until Clarke called me to tell me Lany was missing. That being said, it should be noted that Lany took out his tracker and didn't tell anyone what he was doing.”
Vinnie's jaw dropped. “He took out his tracker?”
I nodded. “I'm going to get Skip to put it back when he checks Lany over.” No one but me and Skip needed to know I'd be adding a couple more trackers.
“Why would he do that?”
That's what I'd like to know.
“How about you ask Lany that when he wakes up.” Maybe if he heard it from someone other than me, he'd realize how important that tracker was and how stupid it was to remove it.
“I'll do that,” Vinnie replied. “I also want to ask him why he was in that drug house.”
“My understanding was that he was working undercover for the DEA,” I stated. “We don't know all the particulars of what he was doing because the agent in charge of the case was murdered in his home three days ago after being tortured.”
“From what Carlos told me, Viggo Marcus runs drugs in that area. He's ruthless, Sal. He has no mercy when it comes to people betraying him or trying to scam him. If he finds out who Lany really is, he'll be out for blood.”
“Brant!” I instantly called out.
“Sir?” the man asked when he appeared a moment later, almost as if he had been standing outside the entrance just waiting for my call.
“Put the estate on lockdown.”
Lany's mess had just gotten worse.
Chapter Nine
Lany
I blinked several times when I realized I was watching the ceiling go by. I was being carried somewhere. When a door opened and I was carried into a room, I groaned, recognizing the ceiling overhead. I'd been here and stared at that ceiling often enough to know every square inch.
“Hey, Skip,” I called out before I even saw the guy.
“Hi, Lany.”
I turned my head to see my doctor already gloved up. “So, what's on the menu today?”
“X-rays, possibly stitches, and a new tracker.” Skip wagged his eyebrows at me. “Oh, and pictures. You get to model your ribcage for me.”
Yeah, I knew about those.
“How many trackers am I getting?”
Skip snorted. “I swore not to tell.”
I knew there'd be more than one.
“So, tell me how you got your injuries.”
As Skip worked on me, I went over how I'd gotten each of my injuries. I didn't leave anything out, not even the fact that I had been knocked unconscious at one point. There was no point in hiding it from Skip. He'd figure it out anyway.
“Any nausea?” Skip asked.
“No.”
“Double vision?”
I shook my head.
“Well, I don't think you have a concussion, but I wouldn't mind keeping an eye on you for a while.”
“What about my ribs?” If those were fractured or broken, it would be a long time before I could get loved up on by my Italian stallion, and I was kind of hoping to get laid tonight. It had been almost two weeks.
“X-rays show that they are not broken, but I suspect you're going to be painted black and blue for a while. I'll wrap your ribs with an Ace bandage for the next couple of days to take some of the pressure off.”
I groaned, watching my wish for sex fly out the window.
“Your cheek is going to be a little harder to deal with. It's not broken or fractured either, but the swelling is not going to go down any time soon. You're going to have raccoon eyes by morning.”
“I'll call my mother and ask her to keep the kids for a few more days.” There was no way I wanted my kids to see me all bruised up.
“Okay, close your eyes. Time for your tracker.”
I closed my eyes and waited for Skip to get to work. When nothing happened, I opened them again and glanced at the man. “Skip?”
Skip glanced up from the chart he was working on. “Hey, how was the nap?”
Nap?
“I fell asleep?” It felt as if I'd only had my eyes closed for a few seconds.
Skip smiled. “Just as soon as you closed your eyes.” He walked over to the side of the exam bed. “You've been out for about an hour, Lany. Have you not been getting any rest?”
“Not really,” I admitted. “Sal has been gone, and I've been living in some craptastic shoebox apartment down on the west side for the last ten days. I never sleep well unless Sal is in bed with me.”
I think it was a safety thing. I never felt truly safe unless I knew he was there to protect me.
Maybe I needed to think about that.
“Where's Sal?”
“I believe he is in his office with the others.”
“Can I go?”
Skip nodded. “You can go, but nothing strenuous, okay?”
I doubted I'd get to do anything strenuous anyway. Sal was going to have me on a very short leash until he got over me disappearing like I had.
It would be a while.
I sat up and then swung my legs over the side of the exam bed and then, to my embarrassment, had to slide down until my feet hit the floor.
I hated being short.
Unless I was plastered against Sal and then I was the perfect height.
“Thanks, Skip,” I said as I headed for the door.
“I'm getting a chef for my yacht, Lany,” Skip said without looking up from the chart. “He doesn't need to work full time, so keep the injuries to a minimum if you can.”
I let out a snort because that was funny. “Doubt that's going to happen.”
Not in this lifetime.
“Try, Lany.”
I always tried. It just never seemed to work out for me.
As soon as I stepped out the door, Marcus and Dmitri were at my side. I wanted to groan when I saw Marcus's narrowed eyes, but I couldn't. I was fully in the wrong this time, and I knew it.
“Sorry, Marcus,” I said in a low tone filled with guilt. “I won't do it again.”
“I understand why you do what you do, Lany,” Marcus stated. “I just need you to take me with you when you go on your little adventures. I can't keep you safe if I don't know where you are.”
Sal had said the same thing.
Maybe I needed to listen this time.
“The next time I need to go undercover I'll take you along as my pool boy or something.”
Marcus cocked an eyebrow.
I groaned as I dropped my head back on my shoulders and stared up at the ceiling. “I promise, Marcus. I won't go anywhere without you and Dmitri again.”
“Make sure you keep that promise, Lany.”
I sighed heavily and lowered my head. “I will.”
“Sal and the others are waiting for you.”
I started walking, unsure of what sort of reception I was going to get when I got to Sal's office. If I had been asleep for an hour, a lot could have happened. In my life, things were either incredibly slow or going at light speed. I never really knew which until it happened.
When I stepped into Sal's office, I was a little surprised at what I was seeing. For one, Vinnie, Supervisory Special Agent Dan Crenshaw, and my Uncle Jerry were sitting in the chairs by the window talking together.
That was a scary sight if I'd ever seen one.
Sal was at the wall with Detective Sparks, both men placing photographs on the wall with thumbtacks. Sam and David were stringing yarn between the pictures Sal and Detective Sparks were putting up. Lyn and Joe were at the computer at Sal's desk with Clarke and Burk standing behind them.
I was stilled wigged out by the three men by the window.
“Hey, caro, how are you?”
I groaned as I walked into Sal's waiting arms. “A little achy, a little sore, and a little tired, but mostly hungry.”
Sal hugged me gently and placed a kiss on the top of my head. “Mrs. Martinez is cooking up a feast for everyone right now. Agent Crenshaw convinced her to make you cupcakes.”
Oh, cupcakes.
I perked right up. “I guess that means I'm working the DEA case now, too?”
Sal glanced at the wall. “I think it's all the same case, Lany.”
Was it?