"Richard, losing track of Jasmine and McKenzie is not just a blunder, it's a betrayal. Do you comprehend the severity of the situation? This is your last chance, and I won't let your failures tarnish my reputation."
Seething with rage, Richard glared across the desk at his boss, Mr. Anderson.
It wasn't his fault that those hounds pounced on them.
"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have known where McKenzie was in the first place! Shouldn't I get some credit for that?" Richard tried to keep the irritation out of his voice.
Mr. Anderson slammed his clenched fist against the desk and roared, "No, Richard, you don't! Being a detective means getting the job done, and in this case, by any means necessary!"
"Every one of our boys is under investigation for covering up for Matteo. The feds are breathing down my neck, Richard. The only thing that will make the investigation go away is turning McKenzie in, alive! You have to fix it, this is our only way out!"
When Richard had called Dwayne a few days ago he was fishing for information, trying to see if McKenzie had reached out to him, but she hadn't. Nobody knew where she was. And if he didn't find her soon, he was screwed, big time!
Richard leaned forward. "Dwayne told me he's got a tech guy. Maybe we can rope him in to help track down McKenzie."
Mr. Anderson nodded. "Fine, make it happen." He tapped his pen on his desk, "Has Dwayne spilt the beans on the hideout for this Yellows guy? If we snag him, we might buy ourselves enough time to throw a wrench in the investigation. He's not Alejandro, but he might be good enough to finally nail that son of a bitch."
Richard shook his head. "Seeing that McKenzie is no longer hiding out with him, he just might."
Mr. Anderson leaned back in his chair. "As soon as you get that information from him, hand it over to me so I can pass it to the feds." He added, "And keep your boys looking for her. She couldn't have just disappeared into thin air, especially with an injured toddler. Knock on some doors if you have to and forge some search warrants if needed."
Richard nodded again, pushing back his chair as he rose to leave the office.
"And, Richard, time is a damn luxury we don't have. You've served us well but make no mistake, if you can't find them, you'll take the fall solo. You'll be tossed aside like yesterday's garbage."
Mr. Anderson gave Richard a dismissive wave. Without a word, Richard stormed out of the office and a few minutes later climbed into his car. He turned on the ignition and leaned his head against the leather seat trying not to let this situation get the best of him.
He had yet to inform Mr. Anderson about the ambush in the warehouse. The assailant, a blurry figure with a distinct long ponytail and a mean left hook.
Who the fuck was he?
McKenzie having another ally in her corner created an additional obstacle Richard would need to eliminate to get the job done.
Richard's phone buzzed, and he muttered a curse under his breath. Matteo.
"Yes, Boss."
"I need you in my office, now," Matteo's voice barked through the phone then hung up.
Twenty minutes later, Richard walked into Matteo's office. He was greeted with a punch to his face that made him stagger backwards.
"Where are the Lopez brothers?" Matteo's voice was laced with fury.
"They're dead!" Richard rubbed his jaw, the taste of blood in his mouth.
He scanned Matteo's office. His eyes fell on Crackers, Matteo's executioner, with a baseball bat on his shoulder and an evil smirk plastered on his scarred face. Crackers was a mean motherfucker, six-foot-seven, all muscle. Rumour has it that he got the scars that disfigured his face because he was tortured by terrorists overseas.
Matteo tossed two pictures at Richard's feet. When he picked them up, his blood ran cold. Milo and Pedro Lopez stared back at him.
Shit!
Matteo had ordered their execution, three years ago. But that night, he picked up a distress call over his radio and recognized the address as Olivia's.
Richard had shot the brothers and instructed his men to dispose of the bodies since he was unable to stay until the job was completed. Then, he went to Olivia's house and killed her husband.
"This can't be!" Richard fought to shake off the fear that tightened its grip on him. "Ricky and Fang were with me that night."
Matteo erupted in a furious yell, pointing across the room. "You mean that Ricky and Fang?"
Richard followed Matteo's finger to where Ricky and Fang lay lifeless, almost unrecognizable.
"Milo and Pedro disguised themselves as my workers and called the fucking police from the shipping dock! They're the reason the law's on my ass."
Actually, I'm the reason the law is on your ass, Pedro and Milo just happened to be in the shipping dock at the same time.
Fuck!
But why the hell had Milo and Pedro been there? What the fuck happened that night after he left, and why were they back?