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Hip on the desk, Gabe waited. Connie Lopez, the office administrative assistant, put the final touches to her paperwork. He didn’t much care what it was, but he hoped she hurried. He’d been wanting to ask her out for the last couple of months.
Every time he tried the station was full of people. He didn’t especially want an audience. Today the two were alone, he’d come in during the lunch hour to talk to the Cap and of course he wasn’t there yet, but Connie was.
“Okay, done.” Connie smiled as she looked up at him.
He forgot for a moment what he was going to say. She had the most incredible eyes. When she tilted her head in question, he realized he was just staring.
Swallowing he trudged on. “Would you like to go have dinner Saturday night?” There it was out, now he’d see if her sidelong glances meant something or if she just thought he was weird.
“Well, I usually go have dinner on Saturday.” She grinned at him. “Sometimes I go to my kitchen, sometimes I go to my mom’s, and I sometimes even go to a restaurant. Did you mean do I want to go out with you?”
“Smart ass,” he blurted. Oh God, had he just said that? He was so out of the dating scene.
He pivoted toward the Cap’s office. A throaty laugh stopped him and he glanced back.
“I think I’d like to see you on Saturday, what time?”
He fully turned back. Was she joking? She looked sincere. Okay then. “I’ll pick you up at seven. I’ll need your address.”
Connie bent her head and wrote something on a paper, then held it out. He took it with a muttered ‘see ya’ and almost ran from her desk. He hadn’t felt like this for a long time. Not since he’d purposely walked away from the woman he still loved.
Jessica Beckett.
Ten minutes later, Gabe was still waiting. He thumbed through an old manual. The thing was dusty as hell, why the Cap thought he needed them when he never read them was beyond him. Finally tossing it aside, he stood and walked to the window. New York, what a place. Why would anyone want to live anywhere else?
The city had a pulse all its own. The excitement, the fast pace, it all led to adventure. If he’d gone anywhere else in the department he’d have been bored within days. Here, there were cases you could sink your teeth into.
“Anything interesting other than the view of the building across the street?” Gabe turned to see Abe walk to his desk, sit in his chair and thumb through the hundreds of files.
“Nope. Just watching the city.”
Gabe went back to the chair he’d vacated. He passed the time studying the Cap while the man tried to find a wayward folder. Though the desk was a mess, Gabe knew there was some type of organization to it all.
“Okay, here we go.” Abe held the file up and grinned. Flipped it opened and looked at Gabe. “Packer sent up the forensics report.”
“Lola’s pretty thorough. Did she find anything?”
“Nothing we didn’t already figure out. If we didn’t have an eyewitness, we wouldn’t have any evidence that it was the mysterious Batt. We got a lucky break. Now we just need to catch the bastard, and keep the witness safe until trial. Pretty tall order.” He took a deep breath and tossed the file over to Gabe.
“Well Gabriel, have you heard from Beckett?”
Gabe gritted his teeth, he hated to be called by his full name, but for some reason the Cap thought he needed to use it. “Yes, I got a call earlier. When did they sweep your office? Maybe we should go across to Starbucks.”
“You just want an excuse to expense that yuppie coffee.” Gabe watched as the Cap got up, walked around the desk and sat on the edge, he held his Styrofoam coffee cup up. “Besides, I have my cup. Relax, they swept the office last night and it was clean.”
“Great.” Gabe turned in his chair, reached back, with the tip of his finger and flip of his hand he closed the door for privacy. “Tyler said Sally Dane gave him the keys to their cabin in the Catskill Mountains.”
“Brennan’s wife?”
“Yes, she wants Batt behind bars. She told him that she’d do anything to help us catch the bastard.”
The Cap raised his cup to his lips and sipped. He tapped his foot on the floor, and then commented. “I hope they aren’t up there too long. The sooner we find Batt the sooner we can go to trial. I always hate it when we have to put innocent lives on hold. They are the ones punished, not the bad guys.”
“Yeah, well, Ms. Cavanaugh’s a redhead. I think there may be other problems if they’re isolated for too long.”
Abe raised a brow as if waiting for more explanation. Gabe decided he’d said enough and kept the rest of his thoughts to himself. Tyler was a top agent, he wouldn’t let something like attraction distract him.
*****
Flames snapped in the grate, welcoming her home. Even in July it was a tradition to have a fire in the grate. Even if it meant turning the air conditioner on super high.
Her papa sat, as always, with his autocratic Italian nose in his newspaper. Tonight, however, the moment she entered the room he tossed it aside and stood.
Holding out his huge arms, he said, “My little Rose.”
Rosa DeLuca stepped into her papa’s arms. She felt warm and loved there. She knew all about her father, Antonio DeLuca. And she felt special. Even her mother, the Sainted Rosalee, whom she was named after, didn’t know. His wife only knew him as Jamison Hancock.
Rosa knew it as his boring side. There was no adventure being a Hancock. Big deal.
Her grandfather was a wealthy businessman, and very respected in the community. Her mother volunteered for all the bleeding heart charities, and Rosa’s papa couldn’t be more proud. That’s why he’d married Rosalee. She’d come from money and the Hampton's, and gave him respectability.
Rosa shook her head. She was her papa’s daughter. She craved the excitement of the illegal trade industry. A smile spread through her, what a bonus to have it going on right under the Fed’s noses. Most of all she loved working among the enemy.
“Papa, how are you?” Rosa took the seat across from his at the warm fire.
“I’m good. Now tell me you have something for me?” A hint of the boyish charm he’d used to capture her mother’s heart shown through as he eagerly leaned forward.
“Of course Papa. What did you expect?”
“Well, Daughter, don’t keep me in suspense.”
“What have you found out?” The rich baritone voice shivered down her spine.
Rosa turned to look at the cold blue eyes of her papa’s right-hand man, Battista Salinger. The only person who frightened her. How do you explain to your papa that his most trusted friend and servant was the one person that scared the shit out of you?
“Well, Little Rose, we’re waiting.” A hint of impatience laced her papa’s words.
“Beckett has taken the woman to a cabin in the Catskill Mountains.” Rosa stood, walked to the fireplace and pretended to look down into the flames.
She couldn’t look into those dead eyes of Batt, as her papa insisted she call him. He had no conscience, she didn’t think he had a soul either. Her biggest fear was that her papa would insist they marry. Papa had been hinting that it was time for her to settle down and give him some grandbabinos to fuss over.
The touch on her shoulder singed through the light top and burned her shoulder. It was Batt’s touch. There was no need to turn.
“I asked if you had an idea of the location.”
“I’m sorry I must have been woolgathering.” Rosa still refused to turn.
Fingers tightened around her shoulder trying to force her. She didn’t want to upset Papa, and the bastard knew that. Defiantly she turned to glare into the two holes in his head that most people called eyes.
“I only know who owns the cabin. The widow, Sally Dane.” The words forced through her clenched teeth with a hiss.
“So he thinks he is safe there?”
Rosa wished she could wipe the smirk off his face. Batt thought he was omniscient. If he was, then there wouldn’t have been a witness.
“We wouldn’t be looking for him if you’d been more careful.”
The fingers tightened again. He was a cruel man and usually a very careful man. As much as she hated to admit it, there must have been a good reason for what had happened.
“He doesn’t need to explain, Rosa.” Her papa always took Batt’s side and it irritated the hell out of her. “Batt, do you have a way to find the address of the cabin?”
Batt finally let go of her shoulder, walked to the chair and sat. He looked at her and raised a brow, then turned back to her papa.
“I have my contacts. I’ll know by tomorrow morning,” he said with utter confidence.
Like nails on a chalkboard, a shiver down Rosa’s spine. Even though the heat caused the sweat to roll down her back, she turned toward the fire in disgust.
“Rosa, you told me last night the captain was to have his office swept for little bugs. Don’t tell me they invited you to the meeting.” Her papa actually giggled at this. She knew he loved the idea of her being at the department right under everyone’s nose.
“Yes, he did. And no, I did not receive an invitation to the meeting between Abe and Gabe. Sounds like a pair doesn’t it?” She laughed and turned to her papa. “There will be no little bugs found either.”
Her big burly father actually rubbed his hands together in glee. “So tell me, how did you do it?”
“I had an extra coffee cup, Styrofoam of course, sitting on my desk, knowing Captain Abe would be coming by any moment. When he did I offered it to him.” She waited for that to sink in. At her papa’s blank look and Batt’s raised eyebrow, she continued, “It was on the bottom. There was a little rim and it fit underneath, no one the wiser. When he was done it went in the garbage with the rest of the trash.”
“You better hope no one spots it,” Batt warned, as if he hated relinquishing the spotlight to her.
“The cleaning people should be taking out the trash as we speak. Garbage day is tomorrow, it will be at the dump soon after pickup. As I said, no one the wiser.” Rosa finally walked across the room to sit on the loveseat. As much as she loved the dancing flames, she couldn’t take the heat any more.
*****
“Good job.” Antonio DeLuca looked at his daughter with pride. “You are my daughter.”
He had hoped for a son, but his Little Rose was all the son he needed. She’d slipped right into the organization, craved the same things he did. His wife, the good woman that she was, couldn’t give him any more children. But she kept up the illusion of respectability.
He didn’t have any doubts that if Rosalee found out his real identity she’d run straight to her father, Shaun Kincaid. He, of course, would turn Antonio into the authorities with glee. Antonio had a suspicion his father-in-law had an idea about who he was, but couldn’t prove it.
He loved Rosalee, but she didn’t give him the excitement he craved. He was very discreet with his mistresses; he didn’t even think Rosa knew.
Antonio glanced at his daughter again, he was glad his daughter took after him. He turned his head slightly and watched the play of emotions that crossed Batt’s face. Usually it was completely blank of any expression. The way he looked at Rosa told Antonio he wanted her. What great grandchildren they’d have if Rosa and Batt were married.
Alas, his Little Rose didn’t feel the same. He didn’t need to be told. The look of loathing on her face whenever the man was around was enough proof. He sighed. He wouldn’t force her.
“What are you thinking, Papa?” Rosa startled him with her question. He hadn’t realized he was staring.
“Just about the future.”
He watched her give a quick glance to Batt, her eyebrows puckered. He hadn’t fooled her with his wishes. He sighed again. It was time to change the subject.
Grimacing from the shrill ring of the phone and the interruption, he barked, “Yes?” Though the call had come through on his private line, he never answered with his name.
After slight pause on the other end, “Tinsdale here.”
“Good, I’ve been waiting for your call. What do you have for me?” DeLuca noticed Batt and his Rosa both listened intently. Knowing he’d been waiting to hear about the news from San Francisco.
“The shipment here in San Fran is ready to sail. Are there any last minute instructions?”
Knowing no matter how cautious, speaking on a phone line was not always secure. He chose his words carefully. “Make sure the cargo is well taken care of and keep your eyes open.”
“It will be done Sir,” Tinsdale promised.
“Let me know once it arrives at the destination. Is the Hancock satellite office up and running at the pier?”
“Yes, we still need an office assistant who will travel back and forth to the island office. Oh, and I guess the payroll manager was moved to another position. We’ll need a new person for that too.”
Too close to a subject he didn’t want to discuss on an open line. “Send me a full report, special currier, first thing tomorrow with details.” DeLuca didn’t wait for an answer before he replaced the receiver.
“Good news I take it?” Batt asked.
“The shipment has left San Francisco. Now where were we? What are your plans when you find the location?”
Remembering his thoughts before the call had interrupted. He turned to study his friend. Batt had been there for him whenever he needed. He’d make a fine son-in-law, but it wasn’t meant to be.
“I plan to take care of the loose end.” No emotion reflected in his voice.
Antonio knew how his hired gun worked. He never let anything get personal. All were nameless. It was all a game to him, his victims were pawns in a game of chess. The only time he had ever seen an expression cross Batt’s face was for his Little Rose. Knowing how she felt, sometimes brought fear to Antonio’s heart that Batt would force something. He shrugged, his friend would never do that to him. But the idea still hounded his thoughts.
“Papa, I need to get home. I have an assignment tomorrow.”
He watched as his daughter walked to the door, then pause. She was waiting for him to bite. She knew him well. The assignment had something to do with him, she had that teasing twinkle in her eye.
“And?”
“Georgie made a mistake. You know the exports we’re sending to the island?”
He nodded and waited for her to go on. Georgie was a loose cannon; it was time to take care of him. His glance sliced to Batt and there was the briefest motion of his head to indicate he understood.
“He was at some local dive down at the dock and let it slip to an undercover about what was in the shipment. I’m to cozy up with Georgie. You know his penchant for underage hookers and all. Anyway, I’m to find out when it’s supposed to depart, and more details.”
“Splendid. Why are you being sent out on the assignment?”
“I volunteered. And since everyone else was busy, Captain Rothschild took me up on my offer.”
“Well, I know you’ll take care of it.” Antonio stood and walked to his daughter. Kissed the top of her head, held the door open, and she left.
After he settled back into his comfortable chair, he turned to Batt. “I still wonder what I did to deserve such a child.”
“Tony, you have the devil’s own luck.” Batt helped himself to some amber liquid. Antonio guessed it was from his private stock of scotch, though there was plenty less expensive to choose from.
“Rosa will lead the feds on a merry chase over the shipment. I sometimes wish I could watch,” Antonio said, then sighed. “But I’ll just have to get my enjoyment when she reports back to us.”
“Rosa is quite a woman. When are you going to let me court her?” The old-fashioned comment caught Antonio off guard. He’d certainly guessed the man’s feelings for his daughter, but this was the first he’d voiced them.
He considered Batt for a long moment, trying to decide how to answer. He pulled himself up out of his comfortable chair so he could pour himself a drink. He wished more than anything he could tell Batt what he wanted to hear.
“Rosa is a grown woman. And a very beautiful one at that.” Antonio let a grin slip out to cushion the rest. “But she will make up her mind of who she wants to court.”
Batt sat his glass on the bar, turned to stare at the flames. Antonio didn’t think he was going to answer. But then the man walked to the door, opened it, and glanced back.
“Then I’ll just have to see what I can do to persuade her to court me.”
The snap of the door sent shivers down his spine. An overwhelming sense of dread settled over him causing him to suck in his breath. He slammed back the rest of the scotch in his glass and made his way to his chair. All of a sudden, he wasn’t so sure he wanted Batt as a son-in-law.