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We never spoke of our childhood.
And I’d never brought it up again, even when the questions inside burned to be answered.
“Just laying-low,” I said with a smirk, and a small chuckle escaped through Lucca’s lips.
“Good, keep it that way. Now, get out of here. The grown-ups need to talk.” Lucca’s eyes were laced in humor, while his face remained passive.
“Bacha ma culo!” Kiss my ass, I joked in Italian and stood. I wasn’t as fluent as the rest, but there wasn’t an Italian curse word I didn’t know. Lucca shook his head.
“Ilias.” Lucca stopped me from opening the door, and I turned to face him. He stayed quiet, and looked over to Arlo. Whatever they silently shared made his lips twist before he shook his head. “Never mind. Just let me know if you hear anything out of the ordinary.”
“Always.”
“One last thing.” His face hardened. “Don’t ignore my calls.”
With a nod, I placed my cap back on as he dismissed me.
When I slammed my car door shut, I realized I’d taken longer than I planned. Once I was outside the gates, I floored the gas pedal, making my way back into the busy city.
Five
Ilias
Every day for the past week I’d been bored out of my mind. Sitting inside my car for hours was not what I had in mind when Chief Pierce had signed me up for this assignment. I still didn’t understand how a twenty-six-year-old with no experience in this field was appointed with such a task.
The first day I’d driven around the perimeter, learning as much as possible about the neighbors, searching through our database, and memorizing exit points of the house and where they led to.
I had two hours left until the next private guard, or officer shift, started. I’d never seen him in our precinct, and I didn’t care to ask which county he was from. Although, I knew it was him by the description the chief had given me.
The small two-story brick home was always quiet, the windows covered by blinds that never moved, and no one ever left. If I hadn’t known any better, I would’ve thought the house was empty.
I popped the local news from my phone in between glances to the house, but quickly, the news had my undivided attention.
“Over thirty arrested in massive Florida drug bust after months of investigation,” read the headline. “Six-point-three millions worth of cannabis seized by the DEA and FBI.”
My heart stopped when I recognized one of the DEA agents in the picture. Viktor.
Sliding my finger on the screen, I called him. The phone rang and rang, and with each second that passed by, my leg bounced until I heard my brother's voice.
“I guess you just saw it?”
I ignored his question. “Your fucking face is nice and clear even with your fucking DEA hat on!”
“I am DEA, Ilias. Just like you are a police officer.”
And it was a dangerous game we played.
“Can’t say much, just know it was all set. Everything is fine, right how it was supposed to go.”
So, it was planned?
“Not his?” I asked, referring to Lucca.
Viktor had the sense to laugh, “Oh, brat.”
“Don’t brother me, Viktor!”
He continued to chuckle, but it settled. “If you would’ve kept reading, you would’ve been able to put the pieces together. You know, the headline and subline don’t give as much information as it would the rest of the article.”
