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I'm glad he has something for me. I've been waiting for what feels like weeks to figure out exactly what evidence they have against me. The cop who was killed, a man named Daniel Leonard, was a senior officer on the force. He’d been investigating the family for years. In fact, his professional career was dedicated to us. He was a threat to us, but I was never afraid of him. We have enough men on the inside that we can get out of anything with ease. I didn’t have any reason to harm him. Yet, supposedly my DNA was found at the crime scene alongside wool fibers from a coat I own.
I know I was set up, but finding out who did it and why is my top priority. I hope Mike has some of those answers for me.
When I get to the restaurant, he isn’t anywhere in sight. It isn’t unusual for him to be late since he gets held up at the office quite often. Because of Mike’s line of work, the risk of him being found out is high. That’s why I pay him well and make sure he’s taken care of. However, I’m hardwired to not fully trust anyone.
My Uncle Gio has been working for decades and is an intimidating man to look at. I always bring him along to check for wires and make sure Mike doesn’t step out of line.
We order some food and wait for Mike to arrive. After about fifteen minutes, he shows up.
I offer him a menu before he takes his seat, but he shakes his head and slides into the booth across from me.
“I can’t stay long,” he says. “Wife’s waiting for me at home.”
Mike opens his bag, pulls out a manila envelope, and slides it across the table to me. I wrinkle my brow at it. He never mentioned anything about giving me something over the phone.
“I overheard some of the guys from VICE talking about an undercover operation,” he begins, speaking very fast. “They didn’t say much about it. It was all pretty hush-hush. There have been internal investigations in the force for a while, and they don’t know who to trust. But they trusted me and here we are. They have someone working inside the casino.”
I don’t say anything right away. Instead, I open the envelope to see who it is. The contents are neatly organized, put together with a small paperclip in the corner. At the very top of the file is a picture of a woman I instantly recognize as Daniella.
6
DANIELLA
Iwalk in the door to my apartment and pull up my phone to see who just called me.
During the car ride back to my apartment, it was hard to focus on anything other than what just happened. The severity of the risk I'm taking is clearer to me now than it's ever been. Yes, I feel safe around Dominic even though he's the leader of the DeLuca family. But that's one person, and I can't count on him always being around me. I'm spending my days surrounded by other criminals, and that's scary.
My sergeant sent me a text message asking me to stop by the station when I was done working, but I responded by telling him that I couldn't. Instead of going tonight, I plan on going in early to talk to him. With everything I've been through this afternoon, I just want to be alone and unwind.
I run a nice warm bath for myself, adding in some of the bubbles that my cousin gifted me for my birthday last year. I don't normally have the time to relax like this, but I need it today. The water cradles me as I slide inside of it, and without thinking, I close my eyes.
My mind subconsciously carries me back to Dominic. I'm with him in the elevator again. This time, it breaks down. I start frantically pressing all of the buttons, trying to get the elevator working. There's this tension in the air, and I can't tell if I'm nervous about Dominic because of who he is or how he makes me feel. When I realize there isn't going to be anything to help the situation, I turn around and see Dominic staring at me.
Without saying anything, he takes a step forward and holds my chin between his thumb and index finger, tilting it up to face him. His lips fall on mine and every cell in my body is hot. My stomach tingles and I feel sensations that I normally don't between my legs.
His hands fall on my body, lingering for a moment at the bottom of my shirt, silently asking me for permission to explore further. I nod at him, giving him the go-ahead to touch me. All I want is for him to touch me. Dominic's big, strong hands slowly climb up my body. The anticipation is in my throat as I wait for him to touch the sensitive skin of my breasts.
Before he gets there, I open my eyes.
The excitement lingers between my legs, and I feel ashamed. Of all the men I could be attracted to, it had to be Dominic DeLuca. Even though I question myself about it, I wish I stayed asleep a little bit longer. Nothing could ever happen between us in the real world, so what's the harm in letting myself have what I want in my dreams?
My fingers are all pruney and the water is starting to get cold, so I climb out of the tub and towel off before making my way to bed. There's a part of me that wishes the dream I had in the tub will find me again.
* * *
My shiftat the casino starts at 10:00 in the morning, so I need to be at the station long before then. Working this undercover job is going to be exhausting, but if it's what I have to do to prove to these other officers that I am capable of great things, so be it.
I let myself into Sergeant Tully’s office to wait for him, expecting him to arrive pretty early. Time passes and I stare at the clock behind his desk, waiting for him to show up. Eventually, when I only have 30 minutes to talk to him before I have to leave for my fake job, he shows up.
“How the hell did you wind up working for Dominic?” he asks me after he settles in.
“I’m honestly not sure,” I say, shrugging my shoulders. Tully looks at me and raises his eyebrows, pointing to my clothes with his eyes. The guys at the station aren't used to seeing me out of uniform. That's part of the reason I love wearing the uniform, it hides my body. I don't get as much reaction from men as I do out of the uniform. My office clothes are well-fitting, but they're not too revealing. “So he might be attracted to me. If it’ll help me get close enough to get the info we need, I’m fine with it.”
“I don't like this,” Tully says with a long sigh. “Your father would kill me if he knew I was letting you do this. He knew how dangerous the DeLucas were.”
“Well, he’s not here to stop me,” I quickly reply. I'm doing this to try to live up to my father's name. I can't risk being taken off this job. I don't want to be shelved and put on a boring, safe beat just because people are afraid of what my father would think if he was alive. “I’m not leaving. So you should stop worrying and just tell me what to do now that the plan has changed.”
He sighs and nods his head, leaning back in his chair and reluctantly agreeing with me. Everything I've heard about my father has been positive. Everybody always tells me that he was ambitious and ruthless when it came to getting what he needed in a case. They joked about him and said that he was like a bloodhound when it came to a case. I can only hope Tully sees some of that in me.
