Heart Lies & Alibis (38 page)

I watched as Malachy turned towards Declan, Malachy's face a sheet of pure fury now. "Yeah, you think so Mikey? Let's go then. I'm tired of hearing your mouth and your bullshit threats." He turned to the nearest thug standing behind Mikey. "Cut him loose. Now. We will settle this shit once and for all." He rolled his sleeves up and prepared for battle. I knew if this fight began, the outcome would be grim

Ortiz and Amberly sat watching the situation unfold. They displayed little outward fear as to what may or may not happen in the next few moments. I pushed myself to a sitting position but the pain of what I suspected were some cracked ribs did not allow me to stand all the way up quite yet. "Declan, don't do this, please." I moaned, my voice barely audible in the room. But Declan was too far gone in a spiral of anger and hate to hear me. He raged against the ropes and his face was almost unrecognizable under the mask of anger he wore.

His voice was cold and savage when he spoke. "Yeah, we'll see just how tough you are when you aren't beating the hell out of a woman, you cowardly piece of shit. You better hope you kill me first because I won't hesitate to kill you if I get the chance." Declan hurled the words at Malachy while he slammed against his ropes a third time. My breath caught in my throat for a minute. I had never seen him so out of control.

The bodyguard Malachy had barked the order at looked to Ortiz first for approval before cutting the ropes. Ortiz shrugged and gave a brief nod, a sadistic smile pulling the corners of his mouth up while he watched. I could see Amberly looked a bit nervous at what was about to happen but also exhilarated in anticipation of the violence she would see. She was far more cold-blooded than I could have ever imagined.

Time stood still for a moment while everyone watched to see what happened next. The large man sliced through the ropes holding Declan to the chair and stepped out of the way. In spite of his wounds, Declan sprang from his restraints like a tiger, stalking across the room to where Malachy stood prepared for the oncoming attack.

Declan didn't even pause before swinging when he got close enough and somehow connecting with Malachy's jaw on the first try. Malachy's head slammed back and Declan was on him again before he could respond, delivering another slam to other side of his face. Now Malachy was in it too. He lunged at Declan, body slamming him to the nearest wall, while delivering a rapid fire of kidney punches. Declan groaned from the shots but kept standing.

I could see Declan wince in pain from each strike from Malachy but he never faltered, delivering another uppercut to Malachy's face and causing him to stumble back a bit with blood dripping from his split lip. The stagger allowed Declan to push off the wall and spring again, attacking Malachy mid body and sending both men crashing onto the coffee table with the wood exploding into a spray of splinters on impact.

Once Declan had Malachy pinned to the ground, he began raining a non-stop bombardment of punches onto his face and upper body. I could see Malachy's blood flinging on droplets of spittle and in pools on his cheeks, the groans of pain from Malachy and grunts of exertion from Declan filling the room. I pushed myself to my feet, finally, the pain from the kick still making breathing shallow and slow and movement excruciating. I knew I had to stop Declan before he killed Malachy. I leaned heavily against the wall and pleaded with Declan again.

"Declan, please, don't kill him." I screamed with all the energy I could gather. "Declan stop!" He didn't even pause in his attack. His face was set in a mask of fury and his eyes were so bright with righteous anger I could see them flash from across the room.

At my last plea, I saw Ortiz nod to his men giving a silent order to pull Declan to his feet and off of Malachy. They stepped forward and each grabbed an arm, yanking Declan back and slamming him against the wall. He stood, held in place by Ortiz's men, panting from his anger and the exertion of the beating he had delivered. Malachy was still on the floor but eventually pushed himself to a standing position. He spit a stream of blood in the corner before he spoke. "You know I promised the old man I would bring you back alive so he could exact the revenge on you that you deserve but I think I may just have to tell him there was a little accident and he'll get you slightly more dead instead."

Malachy advanced on Declan but slowly this time as he was still nursing the vicious beating he had just endured. He extracted his switch blade from his pocket as he approached, flicking it open with the slightest twist of his wrist. He reached Declan, pressing the blade against his throat with their faces mere inches apart.

"Do what you want, tough guy, but you better kill me this time because like I told you before if I get loose, I won't hesitate to kill you." Declan's words were measured and cold and I felt them like a knife twisting in my gut. I knew he meant every word of his threat and what the consequences of those actions would be. Was this how things were going to end for Declan and I?

Chapter 22

Before either threat could be acted upon, Ortiz's men who had been guarding the yard burst through the front door into the room. Their sudden appearance drew everyone's immediate attention. They were not alone. I watched in horror as they shoved Detective Perretti to the carpet, her hands bound behind her back with duct tape. Her face was a sea of bruises and cuts but her eyes were as angry and defiant as I had ever seen them. How the hell had this happened?

"Fucking assholes," she spat as she rolled to a sitting position, her outburst earning her a swift kick to the side by one of the yard guys who brought her in. She doubled over, gasping for breath, and grunting from the pain. This time she remained prone for a longer time. I knew from my own pain how bad she had to be hurting and in spite of our previous issues, I hoped she would be okay and we would all get out of this situation alive.

Ortiz looked from the detective to his men, patiently waiting for an explanation as to why she was suddenly in his midst. Malachy was not as patient waiting for an answer.

"Who the fuck is this and what is she doing here?" His eyes blazed as he waited for an answer.

Ortiz's men ignored his question because all of their attention directed at their boss who was momentarily shaken by the newest interruption. But just at he had on every occasion before, his demeanor immediately returned to mild amusement. "Luis, who have you brought to join our little party?" His voice was calm but I could tell he was not the least bit happy with this new turn of events.

"She's a cop, El Jefe. Houston PD homicide is what her badge said. I found her sneaking around the edge of the property. I'm sure she has a partner but I didn't find them yet. She won't say why she is here either." He watched his boss for further instructions.

Ortiz turned his glare at Perretti, who sat leaning against the wall. She was hurt but she still radiated an aura of anger I had to respect. That woman was a force to be reckoned with for sure. "Let me guess. You have traveled all this way to retrieve Mrs. McCallister. I do wonder exactly how you knew where to find her, Detective. Perhaps you could enlighten me." His words were a statement that demanded an answer.

Perretti tried to push herself to her knees but her pain visible in each movement and she slumped back against the wall, her breaths shallow and strained before she answered him. She coughed and her voice was weak and cracking when she spoke. "We followed your dumbass girlfriend over there, Mr. Ortiz. You really should have trained her better in the best way to avoid being tailed by the cops." Perretti coughed again and the movement took her breath away. When she recovered, she sat gasping, glaring from Ortiz back to Amberly.

Amberly's face drained of color as she sucked in her breath in shock before turning open mouthed and wide eyed to stare from Perretti to Ortiz, who looked far from happy about this news. Amberly didn't speak but her body said she was beyond scared of what Ortiz would do. I shuddered a bit thinking about how violent a man he must really be.

Ortiz gave Amberly one final dead look before turning back to Perretti. "Is that so? How very interesting. Perhaps you are correct, Detective, she made need some lessons in how not to bring the police to my door in the future." I saw Amberly drop every ounce of her tough, steely facade and reflexively grab at her stomach. Ortiz was a punisher in every sense of the word and I saw the fear fill her face, I knew she had been on the receiving end of his punishment far too many times. For a moment I felt nothing but pity for her. She was nothing but a young girl caught in a violent world of drugs, money and powerful men. She had made many mistakes but even she didn't deserve this.

"Alas, you are here all the same and so you must be dealt with accordingly at this point as this situation is becoming far more complicated than I had intended or desired. I believe the time has come for Mr. Lynch and I to part company with our respective bounties before that becomes an impossible reality." He lifted a hand to one of the men that stood to his side, a gesture well-known to the man as he immediately deposited a pistol in Ortiz's grip.

The chrome of the pistol caught the sunshine spilling in the window behind where Ortiz sat, drawing my immediate attention and holding it hostage. I knew he was vicious and violent but was he really this psychotic? Could he really be thinking of killing a police officer? Oh my god, I hoped not.

Ortiz scowled at Amberly in complete silence before finally handing the gun across to her. She hesitated a moment before reaching out and taking the weapon from him. Her arm dipped from the unexpected weight of the pistol but she recovered quickly. She looked scared and uncertain while she awaited his instructions. The room was silent as the rest of us waited to hear them as well.

A cold smile filled Ortiz's face and I watched Amberly blink rapidly while she listened to him. Her eyes were wide and brimming with tears but she never looked away. "You created this problem, my darling, by your own incompetence and in spite of all my training. Your lack of experience in this type of situation is not an excuse for your indiscretions. But, lucky for you, your mistake can be easily remedied with one simple gesture." He looked from Amberly to Perretti and back again. His message was clear to anyone watching. He wanted Amberly to shoot Perretti. My mouth dropped open in shock.

Amberly was shaking and her voice was cracking when she tried to speak. "I ca-a-a-n't shoot a cop, Emil. Please don't make me do this. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I will do whatever I can to fix this but if I shoot a cop, my life is over." Her face drained of all color. Ortiz didn't respond, he just watched her, his command silent and unyielding. He didn't care what could happen to her. She had failed him and now she would pay the price for her mistake. Realizing the futility of further argument with him, Amberly stopped talking. She swallowed hard and blinked back her tears again before she pushed up from the chair and stood on unsteady legs for a moment. Then she turned and walked towards where Perretti sat leaning against the wall. She stopped a few feet away and the two women locked eyes. The tension in the room was suffocating.

Something in me broke while I watched them. I knew I couldn't let this happen. I had to do something, say something because this was absolute madness. "Amberly, don't do this, please. If you kill a cop your life will be over just like you said. They will hunt you down and do whatever it takes to bring you in. You have to know that. He doesn't care what happens to you. Can't you see that? So you don't need to do what he wants. Please." As I pleaded. her eyes met mine and she paused briefly. I shook my head. The dead look she returned told me she was already gone and nothing I could say would change what she was about to do.

Her voice was a mere whisper in the room. "What do you think Emil will do to me if I don't do this?" I looked from her to Ortiz. I knew exactly what he would do to her. Oh god, where was Davis and the back up? I looked at Perretti and for the first time since I met her, she looked scared. Would the backup get here in time to save her?

Amberly turned back to where Perretti sat on the floor. They stared at each other again, Amberly terrified and trembling while Perretti found the strength to still appear defiant and pissed off. I could see she wasn't going to let them see her cower no matter what they did that much was certain. She was one hell of a woman for sure. I looked between the two women as silence again crushed the room.

The standoff felt like it lasted a lifetime but in reality was mere minutes before Amberly pulled the trigger. The heavy pistol's kickback knocked her off her balance and she stumbled back, barely able to catch herself from sprawling on the floor. The bullet slammed into Perretti, hitting her in the right shoulder. Tears streamed down Amberly's face now and she was shaking so hard now she could barely hold the gun. Perretti spun slightly from the shot, falling heavily against the wall as the blood bloomed immediately across her white shirt where the bullet had entered her body. She grunted in pain but remained conscious.

Perretti managed to look up through glassy eyes and snarl, "You might have gotten the nerve up to shoot me, you rotten little shit, but you're no killer. You're just a puppet, and," she drew in a slow breath coping with the shock and pain," when I come to I'm gonna set things straight." And with that she exhaled loudly, slid to the floor, chin on chest, and passed out.

Amberly stood staring at her for a few moments, the gun dangling from her hand and the shock of the moment rendering her speechless again. I looked at Ortiz, finding a satisfied smirk filling his face. The coldness of the man had no limit. But he wasn't fully satisfied yet. "Now you must finish the job, Amberly." He had to be kidding. But he wasn't.