Hard to Stop (12 page)

She knocked on the door before they entered. "Mick, it's me, Gia. Are you in there?" Her breath caught in her chest as she waited for some word. Anything would work, but quietness surrounded her. Damn. She was hoping…but knew better. Nothing was ever that easy.

"Let's go inside and see if he's been here." Max led, the gun she'd overlooked earlier making its presence known once again. "Mick, we're trying to help you."

Gia couldn't decide if there was truth in his proclamation or a load of BS, but either way, she was happy he was there. Even to her, that concept seemed odd. He did serve a purpose though. She'd have to jump through numerous hoops and kowtow to the powers that be to get this far, and even then they might have refused to give in to her request or kept her out of the loop because of the family connection. For the time being, she'd accept his presence, as it was a means to an end and a necessary evil.

She shook her head. "He's not here. It doesn't look like anyone's been here."

"Maybe we should pay Gabriella a visit."

"Wait a minute. You didn't watch her break into my house. You were in my house when she broke in. You were inside when she took things out of Mick's room. What did she take? What else do you know?" She pushed him in the chest. She'd been taken to the limit today, and his nonsense wasn't helping.

He held up his hands. "You're right. But in the end, I gained important information. She stopped at a convenience store—I'm assuming to get him some food—and picked up some clothes for him that she threw into a bag."

"I'll wait for her after school."

He grasped her elbow. "Oh no you don't. I'm in on this too. I led you to where your brother was hiding. It's not my fault someone found him before us. Besides, I come in handy for a multitude of reasons."

"I don't—" Her phone rang before she could shut him down. If anybody talked to Gabriella, she would—on her own. She alone would figure out what had happened over the last twelve hours. He had no place in it. Not on her watch.

"Detective Collini." She glared at him as she answered the phone.

"Hey, Gia. It's Dave. I want to give you a heads-up. They're headed over to talk to Mick about that Joey kid's murder. They found the murder weapon, and it looks like Mick's prints are on it. Dumb and Dumber are on their way over to your house now."

She sucked in a breath. Her fingers trembled even as she fought for control. But the concept of regulating her emotions seemed elusive. She had to have heard that wrong. No way. This whole thing was headed downhill at lightning speed.

"What in the hell is going on?" Max took one look at her and knew something had happened.

"I need to get home." She mumbled as she race-walked away.

"I'll come with you. I know you're Ms. Tough Chick, but you don't look so tough right now." In fact, she looked perilously close to some kind of breakdown. Going without sleep, getting stitches, losing blood, not finding her brother—all were taking their toll on her.

She straightened her shoulders as they approached her home. An unmarked squad car pulled to the curb. "They're here already," she whispered.

"Who?"

"Dumb and Dumber. They've come to arrest my brother for Joey's murder."

"I'll stick around and run interference for you."

"I'm a big girl. I can handle those two morons." Her eyes shifted toward his but quickly shifted away.

"I'll stick around all the same. If nothing else, I'll be a witness and swear they got their broken arms from a fall down the front steps."

A laugh burst through her lips. "You got my back, huh?" She eyed him. "That makes me think you want something in return."

He shrugged. "Anything's possible."

"Detective Collini, we're here to talk to your brother," the smaller one of the two said.

"He's not home."

The taller one smirked. "When do you expect him? School should be out by now. Oh, that's right—we called and found out he hasn't been to school. Do you know anything about that?"

She folded her arms across her chest. "They must have been mistaken."

"Oh yeah, that happens all the time, doesn't it?" They were doing a tag-team approach, so the smaller one spoke this time.

"Poor kid didn't stand a chance with a piss-poor mother like you."

Max grabbed her arm as she started to move toward them. He didn't know if this was how they always operated, but it was clear their intent was to bait her into doing something stupid.

She blew out a breath and shook off Max's hand. "I said he's not here, and he isn't. That's all I've got to say."

"We've got a warrant for his arrest." The larger one spoke again. Based on the vibe Max was getting, that guy might be the Dumber part of the equation.

"I'm sure you do, since you like to fabricate evidence. Now get back in your car and get a search warrant. But that won't help you, because he's still not here."

"You probably put him on a plane to Italy," Dumb said. "Isn't that where you're from? You do that, and you could be charged with harboring a fugitive. You could lose your job and end up in jail."

She clapped her hands. "Congratulations. You've managed to remember a small part of the criminal statutes. Much better than your usual fumbling around."

"You won't be so high and mighty when you're both behind bars."

She shooed them away with a flick of her wrist. "You go on now. I'm sure the ladies at the strip club are waiting for you."

Max was surprised the two went back into their vehicle and pulled away. On the way, they mumbled something about coming back later, but she didn't seem to take their threat seriously.

"I've never met them before, but it seems like the Dumb and Dumber label fits them perfectly."

"Thanks for sticking around. I needed you to keep me from going all Sarah Connor from the
Terminator
movies on them."

He laughed. "I might have paid good money to see that, but landing in jail wouldn't be good for finding your brother."

"They'll leave me alone for a couple of days. Maybe I can find Mick by then and straighten this whole thing out." She avoided looking at him. "Or maybe we should concentrate on keeping you safe. Are you sure you don't want me to call in some protection?"

"Trying to get rid of me, Detective?"

"Not at all. It's been a long day, and I think it would be good if you didn't stay at your place. Things are heating up, and I don't want to get called in on a homicide investigation involving you."

"I assure you, if that happens, I won't be the victim."

"Don't you think you're a little overconfident?"

"I've learned there is no such thing. I'm confident but realistic at the same time. I know when to back off and when to put on the pressure. Nothing wrong with that. It's saved me more times than I can say, but it also means things can get hairy a time or two along the way."

"Well, Mr. Fancy Pants, if you want to hang with the big boys, you'd better lose a bit of the machismo."

"Mr. Fancy Pants?" He chuckled.

"It seems fitting, since that's all you seem to wear." She chewed her lip, as if reluctant to continue her train of thought. "I can't help but wonder why."

"Why I always wear suits?"

"Yep. It seems like you might be trying to prove something." She shrugged, as if to lessen the harshness of her words.

"Wow, deep thoughts today, huh?" He made light of her observation, but he couldn't help but let it sink inside his head. Part of him had to wonder if she'd struck on something he hadn't considered before. "What's the plan for tomorrow?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you go to work, make more money than you could possibly need."

"That's the goal."

"Try not to get killed."

"I didn't know you cared." She gave him the finger and walked inside her house. "Did you just give me an obscene gesture?"

"Thought it might keep you from camping out on my doorstep again."

"I'm not that easily dissuaded."

"I kind of figured that." She gave him an exaggerated sigh. "You might as well come in and make sure no one takes some random potshots at you. I'd hate to think a stray bullet or two might break one of my windows."

"As long as you have your priorities straight." He ushered her inside with a hand at the small of her back. "You got some food while we discuss strategy?"

She turned, placed her hands on her hips, and glared. "You're pushing it." Her facial expression softened as she waved her hands in his direction. "I've got some leftover spaghetti and meatballs. It's not what you're used to at Fresco in Midtown, but I do okay. You're welcome to stay. I have plenty."

Max felt more comfortable than he'd imagined at her home. A little bit of that PIA attitude she had had softened. The same could probably be said for him as well. Maybe he should start thinking about her as Gianna and throw out all the police references floating around his head. She nuked a couple of plates in the microwave and motioned for him to sit at the table.

He didn't need to be asked twice and dug in as soon as he sat down. "This is great."

"Thanks." She poured them both wine, and they ate in relative silence before she stopped and glanced at her watch. "I'm going to call Gabriella's house and try to talk to her. I need to find out what she knows."

"Put it on speaker."

She looked like she was going to protest. Instead, she picked up her phone and punched in the number. "This is Gianna Collini, and I'd like to speak with Gabriella, please."

Whoever answered the phone handed it off to somebody else. "This is Frank, Gabriella's father. Thanks to your brother, Gabriella was sent to live with her aunt in California this afternoon."

"What do you mean?"

"Your brother caused all sorts of trouble for her, and I want to make sure she's safe." Max could almost picture the man as he spoke. Old-time Italian guy with a thick Brooklyn accent. More than likely he'd lived in the area his whole life.

"But I need to know if she knows where my brother is."

"And I'm telling you, my Gabby knows nothing." Without another word, he hung up.

She glanced at Max and winced. "That went well."

"Any other ideas for getting a lead?"

"Not that I can think of."

*   *   *

After leaving Gianna's last evening, Max had spent a restless night of sleep and had to drag himself to the office the following morning. Distraction didn't mix well with work productivity. Still, he'd resigned himself to stick it out and at least go through the motions, if for no other reason than to make the time pass more quickly.

Besides, Max felt confident after he'd managed to affix a tracker into Gianna's phone while she was busy preparing the food yesterday. The only viable lead he had was Mick, and sooner or later she'd get a bead on him as well.

It was clear Gianna didn't know exactly where her brother was, but she had an idea of whom she might contact to find out. Of course, that information didn't spill from her lips and probably wouldn't, so he didn't feel the least bit guilty about the tracker thing.

Contrary to his normal routine, he'd driven to work that morning. If he wanted to monitor her movements, he needed to have the flexibility of having his own wheels. Gianna's phone hadn't moved all day, and by five in the afternoon he'd started to get a little anxious.

An entire day of inactivity didn't jibe with what he'd learned about her. Even though the tracker Jennings had given him remained invisible to the naked eye once properly placed, he shouldn't assume she hadn't spotted it.

He had to consider the possibility and anticipate she'd found it. He headed to her place and spotted her car in front, like she hadn't left the house all day.

The entire day had been overcast, so even before dusk, darkness had already seeped in. He parked his car down the block and wandered close to her home.

It could have been him dead instead of Damon. In many ways, he'd have preferred that. Regardless of why they were after him, he should have been able to fight his own battles. Just like when he'd almost died while on that last mission. He knew he shouldn't have gone, let alone have brought Jake and Sabrina with him. But Petrovich had promised him their freedom if he'd do that one last job. And Max naïvely  believed. He should have known the man had an agenda all along. He never did anything out of the goodness of his heart. Taking them in when their parents died was only the beginning of what he had planned.

Many times Petrovich had said the three of them were the best operatives he had. Just by that alone, Max should have known Petrovich would never let them out from under his thumb. He'd rather kill them than let them work for someone else. That was because Goren knew all too well the target could be on his back. Now it seemed somebody was picking up where Petrovich left off, out for revenge.

Sabrina had been a target, then Jake, now him. He needed to put this whole thing to rest so they could all be safe and not have to look over their shoulders. The part that didn't make sense was that there were plenty of hired assassins who would get the job done quickly and efficiently without leaving a trail. He should know, since he'd been one.

So why hire incompetents to do the job? Were they sent to toy with him and make him suffer, not knowing when the end would come? But the forewarning also kept him on guard, making the kill more difficult to execute. Any run-of-the-mill guy might have hired bodyguards at this point. But not him. He had always been more of a take care of his own business type of guy.

Enough dwelling in the past. Gianna Collini and her brother were the key to figuring out what was going on, and he intended to put on the hard press until he got the answers he sought. He did the only thing he could, given the circumstances: called her cell phone.

Fancy pants
. Besides the fact it wasn't a very manly name, why did it bother him so much? And why the hell was she taking so long to answer her phone?

"Good evening, Detective. You've been quiet today. Have any new leads you want to share?"