Chapter 32
MIA
“Thanks for meeting me,” I say, looking over my shoulder for the hundredth time this afternoon.
Keith smiles, setting a fresh cup of coffee down in front of me.
I picked a spot that Keith and I frequented normally on the job. It was a few blocks away from the precinct and beat the crappy breakroom sludge any day. Familiar enough not to raise any flags. Public enough that no one should try anything.
“What the hell is going on, Mia?” he asks, following my line of sight and rescanning all the areas I just checked.
I lift the cup to my lips, giving myself time to think of a good answer. Except, nothing can justify lying to one of the only people in my life I’ve trusted since leaving my family all those years ago.
“It’s a long story and I really hope what I’m about to tell you doesn’t make you hate me,” I sigh, setting the cup down and placing my hands in my lap.
And then I spend the next twenty minutes telling him everything, right down to the real reason I was so invested in our latest homicide and why it got me suspended.
“He was your brother?” Keith says, slumping back in his chair. “Holy fuck, Mia, that’s—I don’t even know what to say about that.”
I nod, feeling the reality of the last few weeks sink in.
Everything was happening so fast that I never really stopped to mourn Vince’s death. I was too focused on catching his killer. But if I’m being honest, this investigation is the only thing keeping me from falling down a dark hole of all the things I will never get to reconcile now that he’s gone.
“I’m sorry I lied to you about dropping the case, but I was worried about putting you in danger,” I say, feeling like a complete hypocrite after my spat with Leo. “Now I realize that I shouldn’t have made that decision for you.”
Keith crosses his arms, his eyes going blank, completely blocking me from any emotion he may be experiencing. Every second that passes by without him saying anything makes me wonder if I’m about to lose him too.
Suddenly, I can’t take it anymore. I lean forward and say, “Please say something, Keith.”
“You lied to me for weeks,” he says.
“I know and—”
“And dragged me into a homicide that we were explicitly told to let go.”
“I know.”
“Jesus, Mia.” He exhales hard, dragging a hand over his face. “Do you have any idea how bad this could’ve gotten?”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t,” he says, his voice sharpening.
“You’re my partner and I love you. If something happened to you because of this, that would destroy me.
More importantly, if something happened to me and you knew you could’ve prevented it?
” He shakes his head, disappointment lining his eyes.
“You never would’ve dug yourself out of that hole. ”
I swallow hard, rubbing my hands together. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”
“I know,” he says, his voice cracking, “and that’s what pisses me off the most.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, bracing my hands against the table and pushing myself to my feet. “This was a mistake. I’m going to—”
“Mia, sit down.”
I freeze, thrown off by the authority in his words. And then I nod and slowly lower myself back into my chair.
Keith shuts his eyes and releases a frustrated breath before resting his elbows on the table. And then he just looks at me, inhaling hard through his nose while considering what to say next.
“Just because I’m pissed at you doesn’t mean I’m done,” he says like he’s answering his own question. “I know you didn’t just bring me here to confess and apologize. And because I’d rather not see you end up dead or in jail, I’m going to help you.”
My shoulders sag from relief. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he mutters, tilting his head to the side. “What do you need?”
I do another scan, making note of everyone who’s recently entered the small café. Once I confirm that there’s no one suspicious, I turn my computer screen toward Keith.
He quirks a brow before grabbing my laptop and pulling it closer to him. “Who’s Marco Bellini?”
With my access to the station’s databases being restricted, I wasn’t able to look up Marco Bellini’s record. Luckily, there were a few articles about him online. Nothing useful, but it confirms that the man existed and he wasn’t exactly an upstanding citizen.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” I explain. “I found his fingerprints on a matchbook I picked up where the vict—my brother was murdered before his body was moved. I wasn’t sure if it was anything, but now there are too many coincidences to ignore.”
And now Leo’s fellow councilman is in the mix somehow—strangely connected with one of the men that tried to jump Alice.
“This says he’s been dead for almost twenty years. That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know,” I say, feeling winded from sharing everything. “Which is why I need your help. I’m stumped and you’re the only person who can help get me out of my own head.”
He tilts his chin down, locking in on the screen in front of him. “I don’t think I’m equipped to be hunting down ghosts.”
I scoff, throwing my head back and letting it rest there for a second. The tiled ceiling seems to spin in place the more I rack my brain over this puzzle.
I lift my head, looking at Keith again. “Let’s table it then. Would you be able to look into someone else for me? And it’s going to need to be discreet. This person has some pull inside the NYPD.”
A shiver zips up my spine thinking about my brief interaction with Adrian yesterday. I knew something was off about him even before I saw the man with the broken arm.
“I’ll do what I can,” he shrugs, his gaze still trained on the screen. He moves his hands to the keyboard and starts typing something I can’t see. “What’s the name?”
“Adrian Moretti.”
Keith’s fingers freeze over the keyboard.
“Adrian Moretti? You’re joking.”
“You know him?” I ask.
“Not exactly a nobody. Besides, you should know him too. He works with your new boytoy.”
I ignore the dig even though I don’t love how irritated it makes me. “Right,” I say, unclenching my jaw. “It’s hard to explain, but something is off about him. We need to be careful.”
I want to say you need to be careful because I’m way past the point of no return. With a bright red target on my back, there’s no going back until all of this is over. That’s if there’s still a job for me to go back to.
“I’m aware,” Keith says, reaching forward and closing the lid of my laptop.
“I’m going to ask one more time, Mia. Is all this worth it?
I know he was your brother and I can’t imagine the kind of hell you’ve been through these last few weeks, but if you drop this and walk away now, you can go off the grid for a while and get your life back. ”
Air deflates from my chest, mimicking the emptiness I’ve spent so long trying to ignore. But with everything that’s happened, I can’t—I won’t go back to the life I was living.
No matter how much I fight it, I want all the things that I fought so hard to forget. Something I’ll never get the chance to have with Vince, but I do with Dante and Alice—and my future nephew or niece.
And maybe even Leo…eventually.
“This is something I have to do, Keith,” I say, my voice small and tired.
Before Keith can respond, something bright catches my eye, pulling my attention to the street outside. At first, everything looks normal for a weekday afternoon, but right as I’m about to turn my head, I see it. A black Escalade.
I probably wouldn’t have looked twice if it wasn’t for Leo’s accident yesterday.
“We should go,” I say, starting to gather my things.
Keith follows my line of vision before turning back to me with his forehead creased. “Why? What did you see?”
“I can’t explain right now, but we need to be more careful,” I say, sliding my laptop into my bag and taking out a piece of scrap paper. “I had to get rid of my other phone, but here’s the number to the burner I’ve been using. Call me when you find something.”
Keith takes the paper blindly, with his eyes stuck to the side of my face, quietly analyzing.
I try to keep still. Pretend like I’m not on edge every second of every day. But it’s useless because the second my hand shakes even slightly, he sees through it.
“Is someone following you?” he asks, his voice low enough that I have to try and read his lips.
“Maybe. I’m not really sure,” I answer honestly. “It’s complicated, Keith. I don’t know who I can trust right now.”
I quickly sling my bag over my shoulder and rise from my seat. I turn toward the window to make sure I know where the vehicle is when I exit, but it’s gone.
Heat floods my body, and any sound happening around me is swallowed up by the ringing noise assaulting my eardrums. I need to get out of here.
Keith steps into my path before I can follow through.
“Don’t do anything until I look into this, okay?”
I respond with a weak laugh, but something tells me he doesn’t find it amusing. “I’m serious, Mia.”
I force out a puff of hot air and lower my chin. “Fine.”
I attempt to make a clean exit again, but he grabs my arm, pulling me back. “If you think you’re in danger, call me. You understand?”
Every emotion imaginable circles inside my brain trying to take hold, but I still manage a tight nod.
We exchange one last knowing glance—a look we’ve exchanged multiple times in the line of duty. One that acknowledges the situation, but also the fact that we’ll be there for each other no matter what.
And then I pull away, opting for the back exit rather than the front, just to be safe.
When I get into the alleyway, I stand there stuck for a moment.
Not sure whether to go back to Dante’s or break my own rule and go running back to Leo.
Either way, I know that Escalade is following me…waiting for me to make the wrong move.