30. Henry
30
HENRY
M y knuckles are white as I grip the steering wheel and push the accelerator to the floor. The landscape blurs past my window as I race toward the location Peter gave me. My heart pounds like a jackhammer in my chest. I’ve never been so scared in my life. Not for me. For Lana.
With one hand, I fumble for my phone, nearly dropping it in my haste. I punch in the number for my sergeant, praying he picks up quickly.
"This is Detective Lutz," I bark as soon as the line connects. “Detective Peter Hartley has abducted Lana D'Amato and appears to be unstable and dangerous."
“What?” He probably wonders if this is a prank call.
I give him the address where I'm headed. "Send backup immediately. Hartley is likely with at least two other cops, Johnson and Rogers." I chastise myself for not seeing all this sooner. The signs of Peter’s obsession were there, but I didn't want to see them.
I press harder on the gas, my car lurching forward, faster. Hang on, Lana.
“Hartley has arrested a D’Amato and you want me to?—”
“Not arrested. Kidnapped. He’s going to kill her. I suspect he was behind Lazaro D’Amato's disappearance.”
There is a pause. "Let him have her. The family is made up of nothing but crooks. Peter's doing us a favor. If it means looking the other way one time, so be it."
The world as I know it tilts on its axis. My faith in the system I've dedicated my life to shatters in an instant. How can he say that? How can he condone this?
“Sir, this is not how law enforcement works. There is zero evidence that Lana D’Amato has committed a crime.”
“I like you, Henry. You’re a good cop. But you’re fucking na?ve if you think any D’Amato is innocent of a crime. Sometimes, the rules need to be bent to keep our community safe.”
Who is going to keep it safe from cops? I think but don’t ask. I’m too stunned. The law I've sworn to uphold, the justice I've fought for… it's all a lie. What have I been fighting for all these years? How many times have I unknowingly been part of something unjust, thinking I was on the right side?
My heart jackhammers, not just with fear for Lana, but with the terrifying realization that I'm on my own. The backup I counted on to save her is gone. I'm the only thing standing between Lana and a group of corrupt cops who've decided she's expendable.
I hang up the call, slamming my hand against the steering wheel. How will I save Lana? If it was just Peter, my chances would be good that I could overtake him. But I have no doubt he has help. I imagine Johnson and Rogers are there. Maybe there are more men with him willing to “bend” the law.
I rack my brain to figure out who I can call for help. I remember Elio has cops in his pocket. They were the officers who killed Mrs. D’Amato’s first husband in a domestic dispute. Surely, they’d be willing to help save Elio’s sister, assuming they believed my story. I strain to remember their names and what station they were from, but my memory fails me.
Fuck!
I try to clear my mind and remember any details that might help. But the more I push, the more elusive the information becomes. It's like trying to grasp smoke. The harder I try, the faster it slips away.
I'm running out of time, and I know it. My failure to protect Lana feels like lead weight on my chest. I can’t breathe.
My phone rings, and I snatch it up, heart leaping with hope. "Lana?"
"Ah… no. It’s Piper D’Amato. You gave me your card and told me to call if I heard anything.”
Please, please let her have heard from Lana . Lana is smart and brave. Maybe she escaped.
“Yes. Have you heard from Lana?”
“Elio and Matteo are fine. Apparently, their phones were off. But Lana isn’t back?—”
“Is Elio there?” I wouldn’t normally ask a mobster for help, but right now, Elio is the only other person besides me who is willing and capable to take on Peter and his goons.
“Yes. Is something wrong with Lana?”
“Can I speak to him?”
She hesitates. “I don’t know that he’ll be willing to speak to a cop?—”
“It’s life or death. Lana is in danger.”
I can hear talking in the background. Piper telling Elio I’m on the phone and Elio’s skepticism of me.
"What do you want, Lutz?" Elio's gruff voice comes through, tense and suspicious.
"Lana's in danger."
"What game are you playing?” he snarls. "Is this some kind of trap?"
I suppose I don’t blame him for this hostility and distrust. After all, cops have kidnapped his sister. Very likely, they killed his brother.
But he’s Lana’s best hope, so I press on. “No game. No trap. Your sister’s been taken by corrupt cops.”
“How can I know you’re not setting me up?”
“Lana is missing,” Piper says to him. “She left to go help Matteo… or that’s what she was told.”
“What?” Elio asks her.
I’m approaching Peter’s lair and don’t have a lot of time for explanations.
“Mr. D’Amato?—”
"Start talking, Detective. And if I smell even a hint of bullshit, I'll?—"
"I don't have time for threats," I cut him off. "Every second we waste arguing is another second Lana's in danger. Are you going to help me save her or not?"
“Why would a cop give a shit about my sister?” Elio demands.
“She loves him,” Piper says.
“What?”
I’m thinking the same thing. Lana loves me? Did she tell Piper that?
“She didn’t want me to say anything, but she and the detective have been seeing each other,” Piper explains.
“Who told you that? Him? It’s bullshit.”
Fucking hell, I don’t have time for this.
“She told me, Elio. She wants to tell you as well but knows you won’t take it well.”
I want to feel good about what I'm hearing, but it only makes the situation more desperate. If Piper is right, Lana loves me and wants Elio's okay to be with me.
“Listen,” I bark into the phone. “We don’t have time for this. Lana is in danger. She’s the target of a cop who likely killed your brother. I’ll explain everything and endure whatever torture you want to inflict on me, but only after we save Lana.”
"How do you know this?" He sounds less confrontive, like he’s beginning to believe me.
"I've been investigating Lazaro's disappearance. Are you going to help or not? We don't have much time."
There's a moment of tense silence. I can almost hear the gears turning in Elio's head as he processes this information.
"Why should I trust you?" he finally asks, his tone still wary but less hostile.
"Because I love your sister," I admit, the words tumbling out before I can stop them. It feels like something I should tell her first, but right now, I need him to buy into what I’m telling him. “She’s in danger and I need your help to save her.”
"Where are you now?"
I give him the location, relief washing over me. "I'm nearly there."
“Matteo. Get the car,” Elio commands. Then to me, he asks, “How many men have her?”
“Probably three. Maybe more. I’m not sure.”
“You need to stall them, Lutz. I’m on my way, but it’s a good twenty-five minutes’ drive.”
“I will. Hurry.”
I hang up as I pull into a gravel lot in front of a dilapidated building. I check my gun, making sure it’s loaded. I want to barge in, gun blazing, but I can’t risk Lana getting caught in the crossfire. No. I need to wait for help. While I do, I'll check out the surroundings. Figure out where Peter is keeping Lana.
I step out of the car. The cool night air hits me, doing little to calm my nerves. As I near the entrance, a heart-stopping scream pierces the night air. Lana's scream. My blood runs cold, and for a moment, I'm frozen in place. The sound of her pain, her terror, is like a physical blow.
I reach for the door handle, praying it's unlocked. I open the door to hear Lana’s muffled cry from inside. I realize that I can't wait. I need to find Peter and play a dangerous game. One in which he sees me as an ally, not a foe.
I step into the building. I hear laughing from below me. A basement. I seek out the stairs and head down, praying I can pull this off.
This isn’t my first entry into a dangerous situation. But it is the first time in which I feel like my fate is on the line. I’m not afraid to die. What scares me more is failing Lana.