Chapter 28
“Let’s go, people!” Sergeant White’s voice broke over the radio. “We need to get into position and fast before the Vitales realize what we’re up to.”
My chest squeezed so tight I briefly wondered if I should stop and go straight to the hospital. I tugged my bulletproof vest away from my body and groaned. Stupid thing feels like it’s suffocating me.
“Stop fidgeting,” Rourke muttered.
“Can’t.” I squirmed in my seat.
It was almost time to leave the car, and then the action would start.
This was that exact moment that I loved on rollercoasters, that second when the platform shifted, and there was no going back.
The truth was that hundreds of feet up in the air, it got my dick so hard I could burst. But now?
I shivered. Cold sweat trickled down my back, and I was pretty sure my balls had jumped up inside my body.
“Are you good or not?” Rourke snapped.
His eyebrows pinched together and his mouth turned down into a deep frown, bordering on a scowl.
“Let me get ready my way, and you get ready your way, okay?” I snapped. “What does it matter to you if I can’t sit still?”
Rourke’s eyes narrowed. “Is there a problem?”
My life is the problem. I wanted to tell him to leave it the fuck alone, but I was done talking. Any second now, we’d be raiding one of the Vitales biggest warehouses. It was the kind of betrayal there was no coming back from. When Enzo found out, we wouldn’t be fucking in dark alleys. I’d be dead.
Shadows walked back and forth around the warehouse. There were guards all over. No doubt there were more inside. Every second that ticked by made the hair on my arms raise. I adjusted my vest again, mapping out every scenario that could possibly happen.
I shifted in my seat, and I caught Rourke glaring at me.
Fuck, something bit him on the ass. To be fair the entire precinct was up in arms after hearing and seeing what had happened to former officer Chandler.
My stomach twisted in knots just thinking about it.
I’d prided myself on having a strong stomach, but I’d tossed up my entire breakfast after seeing the pictures of his mutilated body.
“What are you going through, Caster?” Rourke asked.
I pressed the back of my hand over my mouth, forcing myself to swallow back the bile. “Nothing. Just remembered the stuff with Aaron Chandler.”
Rourke stiffened, and his mouth dipped further in a frown. “A good man tortured like that. Only a monster could do it.” He ground his teeth as he stared intently at the warehouse. “Fucking Vitales.”
At the mention of them, my heart skipped a beat. Enzo. “We don’t know it was them.” Even as I said it, a part of me knew that was false. It could have very well been Enzo who did it. “He was a dirty cop. I hardly think he qualifies as a good man.”
Rourke scoffed and slapped the steering wheel. “Are you sticking up for them now? Do you need to stay back?”
I shook my head.
“Caster, you need to be on the good side. I can’t have a partner who doesn’t have my back.”
He’s right. What the hell am I even thinking? I nodded. “I got your back, Rouke.”
We stared at each other for another minute before the same old smile appeared on Rouke’s face. It was jarring how quickly his facial expressions had changed. “Good, it’s you and me.” He touched my arm, but it felt off, that same icy feeling permeating my veins.
I nodded, giving the only reaction I could before turning back and watching the warehouse. Buzzing came from Rouke’s side, but I knew it wasn’t the chief calling or Sarge. They would use the radios for that. I forced myself to relax.
“We should move,” Rourke muttered.
I turned to stare at him. “What are you talking about?”
“Everyone else is out front. There’s only us and two other guys back here because all the action is going to be up there. Come on, if we get in there we can clear shit out and rub it in their faces.”
I blinked at Rourke like he’d lost it. “We barely know how many men are in there. Ten, twenty? But there could be more. We’re going to take them all on?”
Rourke gazed at the building. “No. We’re going in from the back. They won’t even know we’re there. Let’s go in, start clearing them out, and Sarge will have the rest join us any minute now. But if they get in there and we’ve already started, guess who ends up looking like big damn heroes? Us.”
“Or,” I said. “We both lose our jobs. And if the chief is really off, he finds some charge to stick to us so we sit in jail for a while thinking about how fucking stupid we were.”
“I thought you wanted to be a detective?” he asked. “Aren’t you ready to finally shove it in everyone’s face and get there? The chief will promote you so quick your head will spin if you take down the Vitales.”
“They’re probably not even here,” I said, my pulse racing at the thought of finally reaching my dream. It was so close I could taste it.
“But if they are and you arrest them…” Rourke trailed off.
I would get my wish. My mind tried to conjure up images of slapping handcuffs on Enzo’s wrists.
None of them would go down easy, but I didn’t need all three brothers.
Just one. Besides, Enzo was the one who had threatened to kill me if he saw me again, not the other way around.
If he really gave a damn, he wouldn’t say crazy shit like that.
“Are we going? Or not?” Rourke snapped.
“Fine,” I shot back without thinking. “Okay, fine. Let’s do it.”
Rourke was out of the car before I could even finish my sentence. I was right after him. The moment my feet hit the pavement, a chill fell over me. Am I making a mistake?
“Let’s take this backdoor. No one’s around. Hurry up,” Rourke hissed.
I didn’t have time to think. Instead, I moved. We slipped through a gate. The guards that had been there before were nowhere in sight. My gaze swept over the area. It was like they’d disappeared.
“Where is everyone?” I whispered.
“Doesn’t matter,” Rourke muttered. “Keep going.”
Tingling spread through my chest as every step we took brought us closer to the warehouse entrances. Cold dread settled in the pit of my stomach. When we reached the door, I drew my gun and stood on the other side. Rourke looked at me, held up three fingers and started counting down.
Three… two… one…
We moved in unison, pushing into the warehouse. As soon as we did, the fear and worry fell away. This was the part of the job I loved; the adrenaline. It ramped up, and I was ready to go, focused. I could take on anything.
“Get on the ground!” Rourke yelled. “Police, do it!”
To my surprise, some of them listened to him. They laid down, dropping their guns as their eyes darted around like caged animals. Is this supposed to be so easy?
“Caster, you paying attention?” Rourke asked.
“I’m right here.”
“Then move. We need to get through these guys, and there’s an office on the other end. Let’s go!”
I moved along with him, something nagging in the back of my brain. We zip-tied the wrists and ankles of those on the ground and kept moving. Gunshots rang out, piercing the quietness around us. Rourke and I split apart, taking cover as the gunshots intensified along with yelling.
“I think they know we’re here,” Rourke said, a glint in his eye. “Keep pushing!”
“Wait,” I said, shaking my head. “Shouldn’t we wait for backup? Where is everyone?”
“Fuck that, we’re already here. If we turn around, someone else gets all the glory.”
I frowned. “Since when do you give a fuck about glory?”
“Come on!”
Groaning, I turned off of the pillar and squeezed off a few quick shots. A man yelled as he went down. I moved around, pushing forward.
There was no going back now. However, that didn’t mean I wasn’t praying that the Vitales weren’t here. More than likely, they were at home. Or off terrorizing someone else. What were the odds that any of them would be here?
“The longer we take,” Rourke yelled over the roar of gunfire and yelling. “The greater the chance the Vitales slip away.”
I froze. Rourke dropped a man like it was nothing, and I watched as a slow smile appeared on his face. Is he enjoying this? Something tugged at me. It was like he knew the Vitales would be here, but how could he know?
“Tex, pay attention!”
I tuned back into things and ducked in time to avoid a bullet. If we were going to get out alive, I had to stay focused.
“Get on the ground!” Rourke yelled.
Some men dropped, but others? They didn’t give a damn. Instead of listening, they tried to put a bullet in our brains. I glanced around, but there was no backup. Does Sarge even know we’re in here? The warehouse was huge. What if they didn’t know we were inside?
“Enough!” A voice cut through the chaos. “Are we done shooting? Can we talk?”
I froze. That was a voice I would know anywhere. Benito. I glanced around and saw him standing there, staring in our direction.
“We already know there are cars out front, but it’ll be a while before they get in. That door is reinforced, and it’s going to take more than a ram to get through it. So, we can talk, or we can go back to shooting at each other.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Rourke answered. “Get on the ground, lay on your stomach, and get cuffed. I’ve seen enough contraband around here to put all of you away for a long ass time, so do it!”
“I don’t get on my belly for anyone,” Benito shot back.
“Yeah, I think I’m good on that,” Giancarlo chimed in, a grin on his lips. “The only way I’m getting on the ground is if I’m getting fucked.”
I glanced over at them. My eyes landed on Enzo. He was silent, his eyes darting around in the dimness of the warehouse. Is he looking for me?
“I’m not going to tell you again to get down on the ground!” Rourke yelled. “Last chance!”
“Or what?” Benito chuckled. “You shoot me?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely.”
I stared at Rourke. “We need to back down until the others get through.”
“Fuck that,” he sneered. “I’m sick of these pathetic, criminal assholes getting away with shit. We take them down, and we get the fuck out of here.”
“Rourke.”