Indulgence (343 page)

“Mia doesn’t trust her anymore. Doesn’t consider her a
friend, either. Decided to screw the brother instead of doing her job, sir.
She’s more or less AWOL.”

“And you know this how?”

“I’ve stepped in to help clean this shit up. I’ve gotten
friendly with Mia Guzman and she’s been telling me things about Gina…kinky
things you wouldn’t want to know. Like how she wanted to do a threesome with
her and her brother. Can you believe that?”

Kozinski leaned back and took another sip of coffee.
Evaluation was always better than leaping to a response. The story didn’t add
up. And Kozinski knew that meant that part of the story was Sam’s and not
Gina’s.

“And if Mia were here, she’d tell me the same thing?”

“Of course not, sir. But I’m warning you, sir, things aren’t
what they seem. She’s not right in the head.”

Someone’s not right in the head, Sam. I think it’s you.

“Sam, I think this operation is nearly concluded for now.
We’re taking steps. In the meantime, why don’t you just stay away from Gina?
Take a couple of days off, and then we’ll talk, say, Tuesday or Wednesday.
You’ve been working hard, pushing this thing from the beginning, and I think
it’s time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.”

“No, sir, I want to see this thing through to the end.”

“You got a fishing cabin somewhere you can head to for a
couple of days?”

“Nope.”

“Take a day or two in Mexico, then. Just get out of town and
clear your head.”

Sam returned a murderous stare. He got the message. He was
being taken off the case. “You can’t do this to me, sir.”

“Sam, it’s already done. You’ve been part of what I hope
will be a very satisfactory operation. You and Gina did the dangerous part, the
cooking over the flame. We get to do the cleanup.”

“You’re making arrests?”

Kozinski decided not to tell him everything, so, he nodded.
“Yup. Starting Monday,” he lied. “Then you can come back Tuesday or Wednesday,
and we’ll start helping the DA put together their case against Carlos and all
those scumbags.”

Sam’s face clouded in darkness. “How? The bookkeeper’s
information helped you that much?”

“Yes. It was very helpful, Sam. That and the things Gina
gave us. I think we have enough to put these guys behind bars for a long time.
We’ll need your help doing that, with your snitches, of course.”

Kozinski could see the realization dawn on Sam that Gina had
somehow given the sergeant details contained in the recording Sam had erased.
And now the erasure was becoming a red flag.

Come on, Sam. Give it up.
He hoped the man could.
Then maybe all this could just go away.

Not that it was likely.

Armando parked in his garage. She waited while he came
around to her side of the Hummer before she emerged, opening the door further,
helping her with a firm hand in hers. The pink and black plastic bag containing
their sexual goodies made a rustling noise as she transferred it from the floor
to his other hand. He laced his fingers through hers while he led her to the
rear entrance of his bungalow, her overnight bag tossed over his shoulder. They
passed by a bright, azure blue pool and grounds meticulously maintained.

With gentle hands on her shoulders, he dropped her bag,
positioned her against the rear door and stood behind, pressing himself and his
arousal to the back of her legs, holding her still so he could rub himself
against her. He kissed the top of her spine and she began to see stars.
Everywhere he touched her she ached for more.

Stepping back, he unlocked the door and showed her inside
the kitchen area. She almost forgot her bag on the doorstep, but dumped it just
inside. They stood before each other, both of them breathing heavily. She took
stock of the man she was about to have sex with, knowing she would miss him
with all her heart afterwards if this was the last time.

Am I up for this?
She hoped to God her heart would
forgive her.

Armando stepped toward her, hands to her face, in a gentle
pull until their lips met. She felt savored.

“I’m going to take it real slow, okay?”

“Yes,” was all she could manage to say before his mouth
fully claimed hers.

He whispered in her ear, “Baby, I’m not going to do anything
you don’t want to do, okay?”

She nodded as he nuzzled her neck. “You tell me to stop, and
I’ll stop. Be honest with me. No more secrets, okay? If it doesn’t feel good,
you just say the word and we end it.”

She pulled away, holding his head between her palms. The
little crescent-shaped scar under one eye and the pulsing vein in his
beautifully tanned forehead reminded her of how fragile life was. How she
needed to seize the moment and take what she could. She gently leaned against
the solid wall that was his chest, filled the space between her legs with the
bulge in his pants, traced his lips with her thumbs and knew, without a shadow
of a doubt, that she could give this man everything.

“I trust you,” she whispered.

“And I trust you,” he repeated.

She had to look away. But damn if he didn’t tilt her chin up
towards the ceiling, “Hey, like I said, we’ll take it slow,” he murmured
against her neck.

She whimpered inside. He obviously thought it was her fears
about the sexual play she was hiding from.

Armando’s cell phone rang. “Damn.” He examined the screen
and swore in Spanish. “It’s Mia.”

Gina could hear Mia’s frantic voice on the other end of the
line. Then the unmistakable sounds of Carlos’s clipped Spanish.

“You fucking hurt her and you’re a dead man,” Armando
screamed into the phone as he stepped back from Gina. He paced across the
kitchen, giving orders in Spanish, swearing and tugging at his hair with his
left hand.

“I don’t care anything about that. You don’t lay a hand on
her, hear me?”

The line went dead. Armando looked like he was going to
throw the phone at the wall, but thought better of it. Gina could see there was
a deadly cat and mouse game going on.

“Tell me,” she begged. “I might be able to help.”

“No. You don’t want me involved in your stuff. You can’t get
involved in this.”

“Armando, I’m—” she almost told him. “I’m so sorry, but you
need to call the cops. They need to get involved right away. I have connections
who might be willing to help.”

Armando looked at her as if she had three green heads.
“Cops? Thought you didn’t like cops.”

The phone rang again before she could answer. He listened
and then searched the kitchen for a tablet and pencil. He wrote down an
address. Without looking up at her, he added, “I’ll be there in a half hour to
forty minutes.”

He stood up straight and eyed her. “I guess our little party
will have to wait.” His expression was flat and intent. He was not the same sex
machine she had held in her arms just a few minutes before. His focus was on a
mission, and she could see there wasn’t anything she could do to deflect him.

Gina realized that was what was different about the two of
them. He had a mission in life. Nothing in the world would keep him from
achieving it.

And she? She had a vision of a life that could have been. If
she’d not been a cop. If she’d never lied to him about the reasons for her
involvement with his sister. If she’d only had the strength to just stay away
in the first place. Because, unlike him, she lived in a fantasy world, playing
a part, acting tougher than she really was, pretending she was whole enough to
be loved fully.

And he was the real deal.

“I’m going to take you back to your place, and then I’m
going to be gone for a while. I’m not sure when I’ll be back.” He handed her
the bag she had so quickly packed and had expected to use tonight.

“Don’t do this, Armando,” she said as she slung the bag over
her shoulder.

“You think I can just sit back and let them take Mia?”

“It’s a trap.”

“I know it’s a fuckin’ trap, Gina. I’m not a
kindergartener.” His irritation sent a spear through her chest. “I gotta get
out of here.”

“I can stay here, wait for you.”

“No baby,” at last he softened. “I can’t have you here
alone. God knows what’s going to go down, and I got stuff here you don’t want
to know about. Besides, I’m not allowed.”

He raced down the hallway to the back bedroom.
His
room. He spoke to someone on the phone, then heard doors opening and knew the
unmistakable sounds of equipment being stowed in zipped duty bags. The familiar
mechanical clicks and noises she’d heard during her training told her he was
loading up ammunition, checking gear created to cause deadly harm. And he was
comfortable with it.

She looked down at the little bag of goodies and at thought
about their precious night of lovemaking now lost. She set them on the kitchen
table and waited by the back door. Armando rounded the corner, his shoulders
filled with straps from three large black nylon bags. Without saying a word he
opened the back door and allowed her to walk through first, then locked it
behind them.

The inviting pool and yard looked out of place now. Today
someone was in danger. The seedy underbelly of what was a picture-perfect
Hollywood scene was creeping in and infecting the day.

He checked the length of the driveway first before crossing
it to open up the back of his Hummer. He began stowing the bags and rearranging
things while Gina let herself into the passenger side and waited. Soon Armando
joined her and abruptly sped backwards out of the driveway onto the street.

This would have been a good time to tell him, she thought.
But it might cloud his focus. She doubted he’d do anything stupid, not that
having a truck illegally full of God knows what wasn’t already stupid. She
couldn’t have stopped him. But she could make the call and have him arrested.
And then he’d hate her even more and just go about doing whatever he had set
out to do in the first place. And double that if anything happened to Mia.

She knew that coordinating a rescue would take time, time
they did not have. Armando just might have a better chance of pulling it off.
She hated to admit it, but she had more faith in his abilities than those of
her own department. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. But the reality of it
was, she did trust him more than she trusted the men and women in the
Department.

“You didn’t hear or see anything. If stuff happens, you
weren’t here, Gina.”

There he was again, worrying about her, what impact this
would have on her.

“So, where are they holding her?” She thought maybe she
might get lucky.

“I don’t know, some boat.”

“That would be Carlos’s yacht. Not a very safe place,
Armando.”

“You know about his boat?”

“I’ve been on it,” Gina said and immediately saw the sadness
in his eyes.

“More secrets, Gina? What else aren’t you telling me?”

“Don’t do this, Armando. I think it’s a sting. I think the
cops are onto him. I don’t want you caught in the crossfire.”

“I’m not afraid of crossfire. Hell, I’m prepared for that.
I’m gonna have help. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let someone else rescue
my sister and botch it up.”

“Please slow down for a second or two; I’ll tell you
something about all of this. Just calm down.”

“Baby, later. Then you can explain everything to me. And
this time, Gina, I want the full truth. No bullshit. You’re somehow involved.
Are the cops looking for you too?”

“Yes.” She had to lie.

“You know anything about Mia being taken?”

“Absolutely no, Armando. I would never be involved in that.”
She tried to place a hand on his shoulder, was going to move it up to his
cheek. Armando angrily brushed her away.

“You were the decoy,” he said bitterly “They sent you to
distract me so I’d take my eye off the ball. All this talk about Sam and an
insurance company and shit. You’re probably working for Sam.”

“No Armando. Please, believe me. I’m a—”

Armando’s phone chirped before she could finish. He started
swearing in Spanish as he swerved to avoid crashing into traffic and jumped up
on the curb taking a right turn. He stayed on the phone, shouting instructions
in Spanish, but they made it back to her place in record time anyway. She
barely had a chance to say her goodbyes before he streamed out of the parking
lot and went barreling down the street. Standing in the late afternoon sun with
her bag still slung over her shoulder, loneliness descended all around her.
Perhaps this would be the last time she’d see him alive.

And she hadn’t even told him the truth. She hoped the God
Mrs. Guzman prayed to be listening.

Bring him back safe, sir. He’s the real deal.

Sam had spent the entire afternoon thinking about what it
would feel like to have Gina all to himself again. He watched some of his home
movies taken from the very bed he was lying on. The CDs, along with this bed
and the building were the only things he got from his divorce. He’d lost the
house and everything else, not that any of it had any meaning to him.

He fingered the pillow he’d used to prop up her little ass
so he could kiss it, ram himself so tight up her little sex that she groaned.
He told himself it was pleasure, but this was the last one, the time when she
insisted she be let go. He told her he’d be gentle, that this would be a
goodbye fuck, and she acquiesced. But then he got rough again. He couldn’t help
it. And in the end, she just lay there and let him finish. She couldn’t stop
crying afterwards. She wouldn’t let him take her home. He knew he’d lost her
that night.

He studied the sheet-rocked walls of the rundown, abandoned
duplex he called home. He’d purchased it in foreclosure a year ago when he and
Gina were dating. He’d wanted some special renovations, but they broke up
before he could take her there.