“Thanks. I’ll see you later.” She leaned in and kissed me.
At first, it didn’t even register. Kissing her goodbye felt natural at this point. But then a heavy feeling washed over me. What if one of Vince’s guys had eyes on us? What if that simple gesture got me killed and ruined her life because she’d have to carry the burden forever?
We needed to be smarter. I’d have to remind Juliette about that when she got back.
I returned to the driver’s seat and scanned the street. Everything ahead looked clear. But when I checked the rearview mirror, I froze. The black sedan with tinted windows was now parked four cars back. Had it been there when we pulled up and I’d missed it? Or had it crept to the curb while I was busy kissing Juliette goodbye?
Suddenly on high alert, I adjusted the mirror, my eyes darting all over the cars behind me. Which was probably why I didn’t notice the figure closing in on the passenger side.
The door yanked open, and before I could react, someone slipped into the seat beside me.
I didn’t even get a chance to breathe a sigh of relief once I saw it wasn’t Vince or any of his men. Because it was someone worse.
My boss.
Captain Dana Rourke.
“What thefuckdo you think you’re doing?” she yelled.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuuuck!I played dumb. Stupid move, considering I knew her well enough to know it’d only piss her off more. “What are you talking about? I’m parked here because Juliette’s inside.”
“I’m talking aboutkissing the suspect’s daughter! What the fuck’s going on, Callahan? You trying to blow our entire sting operation because you need to get your dick wet?”
The shock of having my NYPD captain slide into the car started to fade, just enough for me to realize something else. A cop being here in my car was more dangerous than kissing Vince’s daughter. I glanced toward the building Juliette had gone into, then scanned the street and sidewalks all around me. “Meblow it? Juliette could see you. Or worse, Vince’s guys could be lurking around.”
“It’s not my first day on the job, Callahan,” she snapped. “I know what I’m doing. I have four of LA’s finest in cars keeping an eye on the area to make sure it’s secure.”
I raked a hand through my hair. “What are you doing here?”
“First, you answermyquestions. Are you fucking that mob princess?”
My teeth clenched, and I lied right through them. Who wasn’t I lying to at this point? My mother, Juliette, now my damn boss. I shook my head. “She kissed me the other night. I pulled away, of course, but then I noticed she got a lot more talkative after. So I’ve been letting her think there’s a chance something could happen between us. I won’t allow it to go any further.”
My captain side-eyed me. “I better not find out you’re full of shit and have put this entire undercoveroperation at risk when I went to bat for you. If you fuck this up, I’ll personally make sure you can’t even get a job working security at Target.”
I swallowed. “Understood.”
“It damn well better be,” she grumbled.
“What’s going on, Cap? Are you here just to check on me?”
“No. I need to give you some intel, and I need you to get some for me. There’s a sit-down happening with all five families. We need to know where it’s happening.”
“How do you know about the sit-down but not the location?”
“Because everyone’s talking in code on the fed wire taps. The meeting is going down at some place they’re calling the rooster—wherever the hell that is. A big rodeo is expected—all the bosses and all the captains from each of the five families, including Salvatore Termini.”
“Uncle Sal is coming back to the US?”
“That’s what we’re hearing. No one is allowed to miss. The chief doesn’t want to disrupt our undercover operation, so we’re planning to let the get-together happen. But he wants to scoop up Termini before he slips back out of the country. So we needyouto tell us where the meeting is going to be.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “I don’t know if I can get that kind of intel now. I’m not around Vince anymore. I’m limited to watching his daughter, and she’s not involved in the business at all.”
Captain Rourke opened the passenger door. “I don’t care what you have to do to get it. Fuck it out of that girl, if you have to. But the chief wants it, and I want to be the one to give it to him.” She climbed out of the car and reached into her back pocket, tossing a cell phoneon the front seat. “Text me the details when you have them—and make it soon.”
“I thought it was too dangerous for me to have a cell while I’m undercover? What if one of Vince’s guys decides to pat me down?”
“Don’t keep it on you. Stick it under the mattress while you’re banging the princess.” She slammed the car door without another word, not even agoodbyeorgood luck. And God knows, I needed all the luck I could get to save my ass now.
