Love Lost (17 page)

Lucio sat in the interrogation room, shackled to the table in front of a glass mirror. 

“Let’s get this over with, Detective Straiz.  Come ask me how Selene begged me for her life.”

The door burst open and Jason walked toward him in anger.  Lucio laughed as he was lifted to his feet. 

“Don’t you fucking talk about her!”

“Oh. Did I touch a nerve?  Next time, don’t touch what’s mine!”

Lucio was dropped into a chair by the man who arrested him, pulling Jason off of him at the same time.  The detective agreed to stay calm and situated himself in a corner where he could watch from a safe distance.

“I’m going to conduct this interview.  Since you know my brother, Jason, let me introduce myself. I’m Jesse.”

Lucio looked at the shield on his chest and laughed.  “Oh, are we keeping this in the family?  How cute!”  His eyes locked on Jason’s. 

Jesse slammed his fist on the table to get his attention.  “Don’t look at him.  Look at me.  You want to explain why you had a bomb in your club?”

Lucio rolled his eyes as Jesse started talking.  “Let’s get to the questions you want answered.  What did I do to Selene?  Isn’t that what you want to know, Detective?”

Jason clenched his teeth and Lucio sneered at him.  Jesse leaned in.  “Do you want to tell us what you did?  It seems like you have something you want to get off your chest.”

“I think your brother would not be too comfortable with that, Officer.”

“Tell me what you did to her.  The look on your face tells me you enjoyed it very much.”

“She was surprised when I grabbed her, and drugged her.  It was the only way I could keep her quiet.”

Jason made a fist as Lucio lifted his hands. “I touched her all over.  Even as I ripped her teeth out-”

As Jason stepped an inch closer to Lucio, the captain came in with someone in tow. 

“Stop the interrogation.  This is Mr. Cardoso’s lawyer.”

“He never asked for one.”

Lucio laughed.  “I don’t have to ask for anything.  I always get what I want.”

Jason was enraged.  “No, Lucio. You don’t always get what you want.  Selene wanted me and she chose me.  You couldn’t have her so you killed her!”

Lucio stood up and slammed his fists on the table.

“Take these cuffs off of me.”

Jason laughed.  “You’re not serious? You’re going to jail, Lucio.”

“Actually he’s not.”

Everyone turned to face Lucio’s lawyer.  Lucio smiled, knowing what his lawyer was going to say.

“Lucio has diplomatic immunity and reserves the right to use it, which he is invoking now.”

“Immunity? From who?”

Lucio’s lawyer looked at Jason.  “His father is a diplomat for the Brazilian consulate.  He has immunity along with anyone in his family unless his father waives it, which he is not going to do.  He will be returning to Brazil tonight, and I will be with him to ensure he boards the plane.”

Jason was furious and Lucio asked again.  “Take them off, Detective.”

The captain removed the cuffs and Lucio strolled past Jason, waving goodbye.

“It’s been nice, Detective, but it’s time to say goodbye.”

“It’s not over Lucio.  I will find a way to bring you back here and face your crimes.”

“It won’t ever happen, Detective.”

Lucio walked out of the precinct, ready to board his plane home.    

Jason watched as Lucio walked out of the precinct with his lawyer, dumbfounded at the events.  Julian approached him with news. 

“Jason, we need to talk.”

He pulled Jason into an empty interrogation room.  “Julian, we failed her.”

“No. We didn’t.  Someone called Lucio’s lawyer from this precinct before you guys even brought him in.  Captain Kayhill came in asking when Lucio was coming in.” 

Jason shrugged.  “Come on, Julian.  He probably heard it on the police radio that we caught him.”

“No, Jason.  He knew it before you even got to the club. He’s working with Lucio. That’s how Lucio managed to avoid jail time.  You said that someone here had to be feeding him information.  It explains how the informant was put into the system as belonging to Vin.  The lack of evidence at the crime scene.  Selene suspected a cop of being on the Lucio’s payroll.   It’s Kayhill, Jason.”

Jason left the room and walked straight into his captain’s office.  He was gone by the time they got there. 

“Where’d the Captain go?”  Jason asked the officers standing in the precinct.

One female officer pointed toward the back door.  “He just left.” 

Jason ran out the back door and pulled out his gun the minute he saw his captain.  “Stop!”

Kayhill stopped walking and dropped his bag.  “I guess you know.”

“I want to know why you put me on the case, Kayhill?  Was I meant to be your patsy?”

He turned slowly to face Jason.  “No.  I wanted you to put him away.  I didn’t mean for him to do any of this to you.”

“I have a hard time believing that.  What does Lucio have on you that made you turn dirty?”

Kayhill closed his eyes.  “He has my daughter and he said he would kill her if I didn’t help him.”

“Where is he keeping her?”

“I don’t know.  I was going to meet him so he could tell me.”

“If Lucio boards that plane, your daughter is as good as dead.  Tell us how to bring him back.”

Officers filled the parking lot as Jason stepped further toward Kayhill.  Kayhill reached for his pocket.

“Kayhill!  Don’t do that.  I don’t want to shoot you.”

Kayhill stared at Jason with empty eyes.  “I can’t go to jail, Straiz.  Please bring my daughter back to her mother.”  He pulled a gun from his pocket and turned it toward Jason, as Jason shot him in the chest.   A moment later, a few officers approached Kayhill, weapons drawn and one of them bent down to check his vitals.  He looked at Jason and shook his head.

“Dam
n it!!!”  He holstered his gun as Julian approached him. 

“He gave you no choice, Jason.” 

Jesse came running out of the station.  “You guys need to see this.”

Jesse sat in front of the computer as his brothers crowded around him.  “We just received this email and it’s meant for you, Jason.”

Jason raised his eyebrows.  “Me?  Who sent it?”

The video loaded and Jesse hit play.  Vin’s bruised face popped up.  “Vin!”  Jason exclaimed at seeing his missing friend’s face. 

“Hopefully, Jason, you’ll see this and get to Lucio in time.  After I left your mother’s house, Lucio kidnapped me.  He knows Selene and he has some crazy obsession with her.  I think he is planning on doing something with her. I’m alive for now, and I will try to send messages when I can.  I have...”  Vin paused and Jason feared the worst, but the look on Vin’s face was not one of fear but something Jason couldn’t quite figure out.  “I have a friend here who I can trust and is the one helping me send these messages.  Lucio’s men are talking about him coming here and he is bringing someone with him.   I have to go, but I just wanted to let you know I’m ok.  I will try to send you another message when I can.”

The video ended and Jason looked at Julian.  “Lucio is on his way to Brazil, so that means Vin is in Brazil.” 

Julian leaned on the desk and covered his mouth. Jason stared at the computer screen. “Yeah, and there is nothing we can do about it.”

    Jason sat on Selene’s grave and watched the sun set.  He visited her every day and left her a single red rose every time.  He talked to her like he would if she was in his arms.  It had been a year since Lucio left the country.  Vin sent several video messages keeping Jesse in the loop on what was going on
, but there was very little he could do.   Lucio’s immunity kept him from being extradited back to the states to be charged for his crimes and going into the country to get Vin was a death sentence for anyone involved.

“The tattoo is finally healing nicely.  Reminds me of you every time I look at it.”  Jason touched the rose tattoo on his arm.  A cross necklace encircled it to represent Selene being with her mother.  “I miss you every day
, Sel.  I hope it gets easier one day, but I’m scared that it’ll mean that I’ll forget you.”  A soft breeze grazed his face and he smiled.  “I’ll always love you, Selene.  Forever.”

Jason walked out of the cemetery and drove home.  He walked in to find his brothers sitting at the table with a woman that looked extremely nervous.  “What’s going on here?”

Jason was shocked to see Vin walk into the kitchen from the bathroom with a little girl, her hand tightly gripped around his.

“Vin?!”

Jason hugged his friend, the little girl still holding Vin’s hand.

“How did you get here?”

“We chartered a small plane and flew here.”

Vin walked over to the woman sitting at the table.  “This is Vivianna.  She helped me come back here with Sofia.  Sofia’s mother, Mimi, was Selene’s informant.”

Jesse looked at the little girl and asked,

“Hey, you want to help me make a milkshake.” 

Sofia looked at Vin.  “He can’t read the buttons so he needs help.  Go on.” 

Sofia laughed and ran toward the counter with Jesse. 

Vin looked at Jason.   “There’s something I need to tell you.” 

Jason sat at the table and Vin joined him and Julian. 

“Jason, I don’t know how to say this, but you’re brothers told me you were at Selene’s grave.”

“Yeah.  Lucio murdered her.”

Vin and Vivianna looked at each other before Vin turned back to Jason. 

“Jason, when Lucio came back to Brazil, he wasn’t alone.”

“His lawyer went with him, right?” 

Julian looked visibly angry and Jason was starting to get annoyed. 

“Ok. Spit it out, Vin!  I’m a little exhausted and talking about Lucio is not on the top of my list right now.”

Vin reached in to his pocket and pulled out his phone.  He flipped through the photos and handed the phone to Jason.  Jason looked at the photo and almost fell out of his chair.  

“Selene is alive, Jason, and she is with Lucio.”

   She put on her shirt to hide the scars and pulled it over her pants.  The necklace went on her neck next and she touched the cross to linger on the rose.  She missed him desperately and a little coo pulled her from her thoughts. 

After a short walk to the crib, the beautiful baby boy was in her arms once more.  Her little miracle was here and she would protect him now that his father was gone.  She rocked the baby until he fell asleep and placed him back in his crib. 

Lucio came in and wrapped his arms around her.  She froze.  He kissed the back of her head and she wanted to wash her head with acid to remove his touch.

“I finally have my family home.  We will never be apart again.”

His hands went to her stomach as he whispered in her ear.  “Maybe we can try for another baby.  Angel needs a brother or sister to look after.”

Selene couldn’t speak.  Lucio tightened his grip.  “I wouldn’t want Angel to be alone, Selene.  Who knows what may happen to such a small child.”

She turned to face him.  “Don’t.  We can try for a child.  Just leave my son alone.”

“Our son, Selene.”

She smiled weakly, not knowing if she would ever escape Lucio again.  As he left the room, Selene crumpled to the floor.  She
was never going to escape Lucio, and now her son was at his mercy.