Seduced By The Badge

“Shouldn’t you be home or something? You look like the curfew type.”

Danni shrugged, a slight grin on her face. “My cousin’s a stripper and she works late.”

Ginny laughed. “I bet your old people don’t know that!”

“My parents think she’s going to school. I don’t tell and she lets me do what I want to do.”

The bathroom door suddenly swung open, one of the other young women in Ginny’s party of friends searching her out.

“Pie said to move your ass. He’s ready to go.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Danni asked.

Ginny nodded as she dropped a tube of bright red lipstick back into her purse and snapped the latch closed. She pushed her way past Danni. She paused at the door, turning back to face the woman. “Thanks,” she said, “maybe I’ll see you around,” and then she turned, exiting the room.

Danni suddenly realized she’d been holding her breath and her knees were shaking. She inhaled and leaned back against the tiled wall to stall the rush of adrenaline that had moved her to follow behind the girl.

Despite the occasional infraction, some of which had gotten her a solid slap on the wrist, Danni was good at what she did. But it had taken every ounce of fortitude she possessed not to throw herself across the room to slap the taste out of Pie’s mouth for putting his hands on Ginny. It infuriated her that no one else had stepped up to defend the young woman. Knowing Pius was possibly the ring leader behind everything that had happened to her sister and the women who’d lost their lives only further fueled her wrath. But blowing her cover before she could prove his guilt wouldn’t have served any of them well.

She moved to the sink and stuck her hands beneath a flow of warm water, splashing her face before reaching for a brown paper towel. When she’d counted to one hundred, she made her way back outside.

Ginger and her friends were gone. There was no one else left in the coffee shop, and Carlo was busing the last table. He smiled as she moved to grab her coat.

“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to stay past closing. I’ll get right out of your way.”

“It’s not a problem. Do you have a way home? Because I can give you a ride.”

She nodded. “I’m good.”

“It was sweet of you to check on Ginny. She’s a nice girl. Unfortunately, my brother isn’t a very nice guy.”

Danni’s eyes widened in surprise. “That was your brother?”

Carlo nodded. “Technically, my half-brother. Pie and I have the same mother, different fathers.”

“Pie?”

“One of his many nicknames.”

“Why Pie?”

“Because he eats it all the time. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, if he could. Preferably apple, although he’s been known to devour a good chocolate pie by his lonesome!”

She laughed. “Do you have one?”

The slightest smile lifted his mouth. “Don’t we all?”

Danni shrugged, her shoulders lifting ever so slightly “Does Pie always beat up on his girlfriends?” she questioned, more emphasis on that nickname than she would have liked.

“Like I said, he’s not a very nice guy.”

“Ginny said she works for him.”

The man took a deep breath, wiping down the table before turning his attention back to her. He shifted the conversation. “I need to lock up. If you don’t need help getting home, then I need to throw you out. Sorry.”

Danni pulled her coat on, shoving her hands deep into her pockets. “Thanks again for everything,” she said.

“I hope to see you again, Danni. And next time bring that cousin of yours. I’d like to meet her.”

Danni nodded. “You never did tell me what your nickname was.”

He laughed heartily. “It’s Carlo!”

As he locked the door behind her, Danni pulled her coat tight to ward off the Chicago wind. She would definitely be back, she thought. Her new friend didn’t need to worry about that at all.

* * *

The next morning Danni couldn’t miss that Detective Armstrong Black wasn’t happy with her. Although he hadn’t, she could tell that he had wanted to yell when she’d told him of her late-night visit to the coffee shop. Instead, he had bitten back the snarky condemnation, storming out of the conference room to distance himself from her. When she’d shown up for her shift, she’d been anxious to recap her evening and her experience in the coffee shop. She’d spent most of the night believing that she had made a significant stride in their case in getting a step closer to Pius, but clearly her new partner hadn’t agreed. In fact, he was clearly pissed, she thought as she watched him storm through the space barking orders at other officers. It was a good thing she hadn’t shared her intentions to go back again, alone, she mused. Not that she cared whether he liked the idea or not, because Danni was doing it, with or without his permission.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Armstrong moved back into the room, his gaze meeting hers evenly. His jaw was still tight, and his body was tense. He closed the door behind himself, then sauntered to the other side of the room, his arms crossed over his broad chest.

“What if something had happened, Detective? You didn’t have any backup.” His tone was brusque.

“I am perfectly capable of handling myself.”

“I didn’t say you weren’t.”

“It’s what you’re implying.”

“I wasn’t implying anything. I said it wasn’t a smart move, and it wasn’t.”

“I saw an opportunity and I took it. And granted, it wasn’t the brightest thing for me to do but you would have done the same thing if the shoe had been on the other foot.”

“You don’t know that.”

Her brow lifted slightly. “You’re saying you would have waited and come back to coordinate with everyone and hope that when you went back, the door would still have been open? Because I might not know you that well, Detective, but I know enough to bet that you will always do whatever it takes to get your bad guy. Whatever it takes!”

Armstrong paused, a moment of hesitation that neither denied nor endorsed her statement. She was right, but he didn’t need to admit to it. “I’m saying that these lone-wolf antics of yours will get people hurt and that’s not what we’re here for. I told you not to go to the coffee shop and you ignored a direct order.”

Danni took a breath and held it, reflecting on his comments. She nodded her head slowly. “I’m sorry, but hopefully, it will help us find our killer and shut down this trafficking ring.”

There was a moment’s pause as he seemed to ponder her statement. When he finally responded, he surprised her. “You might be right.”

“Excuse me?” Her eyes widened.

He gave her a look that moved her to smile ever so slightly. “You got your foot in the door. We should take full advantage of that. But we need to be smart, so I can’t have you going off half-cocked on your own.”

“So, you’re going to let me go undercover?”

“I’m going to let this play out and see where it takes us.”

Danni grinned. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. There are rules, and you will follow them. Is that understood?”

“What kind of rules?”

“For one, I need to know where you are at all times. And you’re going to wear a wire.”

“No wire.”

“Then I’m shutting you down now.”

“No wire!” Her voice was raised, her hands clutching the line of her hips. “If I can get in I won’t risk blowing my cover.”

“I wasn’t asking you nicely, Detective.”

“And I meant what I said,” Danni countered.

* * *

Armstrong sighed, a deep gust of air that hinted at his wanting to rage back at her. It suddenly felt like they’d come to an impasse. He knew he needed to shift the conversation before spewing something they would both regret. He gestured for her to take a seat as he moved to the chair on the other side of the table. He slid two manila folders across the polished wood toward her.

“What’s this?” she asked as she opened one folder and found nothing inside.

“It’s the file we don’t have on Paul Balducci. Everything prior to his eighteenth birthday is sealed. We can’t get our hands on it. Not even the petty, juvenile stuff, like shoplifting, or vandalism, that we know about. The other is his father’s file. And make no mistakes, Leonard Balduccci was a career criminal.”

Danni flipped quickly through the documents inside, one piece of paper grabbing her attention. She read it once and then a second time before lifting her eyes to his. “You killed his father?”

“Ten years ago. Junior would have been a kid. Barely out of grade school. His father was running the family business. He and his crew were hijacking trailer shipments and sending the cargo overseas. We caught them after they took down a truck full of TVs and electronics. The security guard was able to signal the alarm before they killed him. There was a shootout at the docks, and Senior took a bullet. It was one of my first cases and the first time I ever had to discharge my weapon. He died three days later.”

Armstrong’s gaze suddenly shifted into thought. Despite his best efforts, he often thought about the night he’d killed Leonard Balducci. Taking fire, he’d had no other option but to shoot back. His bullet had hit its target. He’d been blessed that those meant for him had missed. The shooting had almost derailed his career in law enforcement. He’d been grounded, confined to a desk and the shuffling of papers. There had been months of scrutiny from Internal Affairs and strangers who knew nothing of him. The media had questioned his integrity and others had a field day, calling him a monster. He’d felt boxed in and had been ready to give it all up. Despite everyone’s assurances that it hadn’t been his fault, the guilt he still carried was immense.

“I’m sorry,” Danni said softly.

Armstrong shrugged. “It didn’t have to end that way, but we weren’t given a lot of choices.”

Danni nodded. “So how would you like me to play this?”

“Trust your instincts. You got yourself further than I would have anticipated, so play it how you think best. When you’re undercover I can only support you from a distance. Although Pius would have been a kid and might not know who I am, the family definitely knows me, so the best I’m going to be able to do is my good-cop or my bad-cop routine, if needed.”

“I think I made a connection with the girl Ginny. And then there’s his brother.”

“Pius’s brother?”

“Well, half-brother. His name is Carlo. He said they have the same mother but different fathers. He runs the coffee shop. I didn’t even notice the family resemblance until he said something, it’s so slight.”

Armstrong’s brow creased as he seemed to search for something in his memory. He reached for the file, flipping through it briefly before slapping it back against the table. “From everything I know, Paul was an only child. He doesn’t have any siblings.”

“Not according to Carlo. He also said something about a sister. Allegedly, she was a runaway.”

He gestured back toward the file folder. “Find out what you can about him. And before you leave, head upstairs to the tech guys.”

“The tech guys?”

“I’m putting in a request for that surveillance wire. They’ll get you hooked up.”

Danni laughed. “I told you I’m not wearing a damn wire, and I mean that.”

“Don’t try me, Detective,” Armstrong said, amusement dancing in his eyes as he stood and moved back out the door. “I’ve been a very nice guy up till now!”

* * *

Armstrong watched her as she made herself comfortable with the other members of the task force. Danni had a relaxed disposition, and people were at ease with her. For most of the morning she’d been researching the files to ensure she was up-to-date with the investigations, asking pertinent questions when needed. She seemed to enjoy engaging each person individually, her dry humor winning her a number of fans. Her likability factor was extraordinary, and he instinctively understood how she managed to integrate herself into other people’s spaces so effortlessly. She was a force to be reckoned with, a quiet storm that seemed to sneak up unnoticed before raging gallantly and then dissipating like a sweet summer rain.

He rocked back in his seat, the front legs of the wooden chair he sat in rising off the vinyl-tiled floor. His hands were folded together in his lap. His expression was reflective as he sat in quiet deliberation. The faintest smile ever pulled at his lips. She amused him as much as she infuriated him, digging her heels in when she wanted to prove a point. She challenged his intellect and seemed comfortable with testing his authority; doing her job as she ignored protocol. And she made him smile. She was not the detective he had expected, but she was one his intuition told him he was going to enjoy working with immensely.

Sitting forward in the chair, he called for her, his deep baritone voice bellowing through the space. “Detective Winstead!”

From where he sat he saw her toss him a look, her gaze narrowing. She shifted her eyes back to the conversation she was in the middle of, seeming to ignore him. He glanced to his wristwatch, taking mental notes as he continued to observe her. After six minutes passed, he debated whether to call out a second time, and then she turned, sauntering easily in his direction.

“Yes, sir?” she said as she moved into the conference room to stand before him. Her arms were crossed over her chest. “You called?” Her expression was nonchalant, barely curious. Her lips were pursed ever so slightly, and her eyes were focused on him intently. She gave him reason to pause as he stared back, suddenly wondering what it might be like to kiss the soft curve of her bottom lip.

He shook the thought away, ignoring the sensation that suddenly swept through his southern quadrant. “Is there a reason you haven’t been upstairs yet, Detective?”

“Yes, sir, there is.”

His brow shifted upward, his expression questioning.

Danni continued. “I am not wearing a wire. I won’t risk blowing my cover before I figure out if I can even infiltrate Pius’s crew. You need to trust me on this one. Sir.”

There was a moment of hesitation as they continued to stare at each other. Armstrong finally nodded. As he did, he pushed a small white box across the table in her direction and gestured for her to take it.

Danni’s eyes shifted from his face to the box and back. “What’s this?” she questioned as she took the container and lifted the lid. Inside lay a silver cross embedded with marcasite jewels and an inlay of red coral. It was about the size of a small plum and fit nicely in the palm of her hand. An extended length of silver chain was threaded through the charm’s silver loop. She lifted her eyes a second time, curiosity seeping past her lashes.

“My extremely savvy tech guys call it wearable technology. If you find yourself in a situation, you push the large jewel in the center to trigger the alarm. The device then starts recording audio and calls your emergency contacts to let them know your location. The team and I are your emergency contacts. It’s also waterproof, so once you put it on you don’t need to take it off. And if you activate the sensor by accident, you just deactivate it with your smartphone.”

Danni turned the piece of jewelry from one side to the other, eyeing the details.

He continued. “The tech guys...upstairs...can explain it to you in greater detail. Go up and talk to them,” he said, his tone commanding. “Now, wear the damn wire! And the next time I give you an order, either follow it, or take your ass back to Atlanta. Is that understood?”

Danni nodded. “Yes, sir!”

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