"Oh c.r.a.p! What do I do? Help me!" Sheer fright was the only way to describe the look on Caroline"s face.
Rheyna shook her head, refusing to take the pole. "You can do it ... wait ... wait..." Rheyna watched as the bobber went down again. "Now, jerk it!" she yelled.
Caroline did just as Rheyna said, and jerked the pole with everything she had. Rheyna wasn"t prepared for what happened next. The line and the bobber, with a bluegill fish attached to it, shot out of the water like a slingshot, heading straight for them. They ducked just in time as the bobber, line, fish, and all sailed over their heads and landed on the ground behind them.
Rheyna fell to the ground. She was laughing so hard, she was crying. "I think you ripped its lips off," she managed to say while holding her stomach. She could hear the fish flopping around on the ground. She looked at Caroline. Her face was ashen white-ghost-like.
"It has lips?" Caroline asked seriously and then she lost it. She fell to the ground in a fit of laughter.
"Not anymore," Rheyna said, between laughing and wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Stop laughing at me and help it, please," Caroline said as she tried to get herself under control.
Rheyna struggled to her feet. "Okay, okay," she said as she walked over to where the fish lay flopping. She was still laughing as she gently removed the hook from the bluegill"s mouth.
Caroline came over and stood beside her. With Caroline"s hand in hers, they walked down to the edge of the water. Rheyna knelt down and gently put the fish in the water and watched the traumatized little guy swim away.
Caroline ran her fingers through her hair. "I need a drink," she said.
Rheyna didn"t know who was in worse shape, Caroline, or the fish. Caroline fell on the blanket in an unceremonious heap and grabbed the bottle of wine. She poured herself a very large gla.s.s and then poured another for Rheyna.
"Are you hungry?" Rheyna asked, and opened the basket. Caroline set her gla.s.s of wine down, reached up, and grabbed Rheyna"s hand.
"I thought you"d never ask," she said huskily, pulling Rheyna down on the blanket next to her.
Big Tony looked at Sonny. "What time did he say he"d be here?"
Sonny glanced at his watch. "Should be anytime now. He was having lunch at Pal Joey"s with Henry."
Big Tony wiped his handkerchief across his forehead. "d.a.m.n, it"s hot out here," he said as he watched the pool boy methodically run the skimmer across the water and scoop out several leaves. His thoughts turned back to his problem at hand. He had come too far and had paid dearly to get where he was. He"d be d.a.m.ned if he was going to sit back and let some FBI d.y.k.e ruin it.
Who the h.e.l.l did she think she was? Didn"t she know who he was and what he was capable of? Scala found out, as did all the others who had crossed him. If she didn"t know, she would real soon. He thought about Caroline and shook his head. How was she ever going to find a husband when she spent all of her time with a d.y.k.e? He had several men to choose from in the family that would make fine son-in-laws, but none ever seemed to be good enough. He shook his head again in disgust. Nah, she couldn"t be, he said to himself as he tried to shake the images from his mind.
Jay Farino walked over to the table, snapping him out of his thoughts. He pulled out a chair and sat down next to Sonny. Big Tony drained the last remnants of scotch in his gla.s.s.
He pushed the folder over to Jay. "I want to send a message and I don"t care about the details, just take care of it," he said.
Jay opened the folder. He looked at the photo of Rheyna and then tucked it inside his jacket pocket. He stood and left without saying a word. He didn"t need to. He knew what his role was in the family. He was the end-all and eventually, everything ended with him. He smiled as he thought about his newest a.s.signment and how much fun he was going to have with this one.
Caroline helped Rheyna load her bags into her Jeep. The weekend had flown by too fast, and Rheyna didn"t want to leave. Caroline wrapped her arms around Rheyna"s waist. "I don"t want to leave. Can"t we stay here forever?" Caroline asked, resting her forehead against Rheyna"s chest.
Rheyna tilted her head back and gently kissed her on the mouth. "We have a whole lifetime, sweetheart." Rheyna said the words, wanting to believe that it would somehow be possible.
"When can I see you again?" Caroline asked, squeezing Rheyna"s waist tighter.
"I have to take care of a few things when I get back and then I would like to sit down with you sometime tomorrow and talk." Rheyna kissed the top of her head. "I have some things I need to tell you," she said hesitantly.
Caroline must have sensed something in Rheyna"s voice. She leaned back to look at her. "Oh no, don"t tell me you"re married."
Rheyna shook her head.
"You have a string of girlfriends?"
Rheyna laughed and hugged her tightly. "No, baby, nothing like that." Rheyna wished it were that simple. She looked into Caroline"s eyes and saw the concern.
"You"re starting to worry me," Caroline said half-smiling.
Rheyna cupped Caroline"s face between her hands. "Please trust me and know that I love you more than anything in this world," she said, meaning every word.
"I love you, too," she said, and kissed Rheyna softly.
It was hard to say goodbye, and it took everything Rheyna had to get in her Jeep without Caroline at her side. She watched Caroline"s taillights disappear and then backed the Jeep out of the driveway. She put it in drive and headed back toward Half Moon Bay. Her emotions were a mess, and she tried to sort them out as she drove home. Home-what a funny thought.
She hadn"t felt at home anywhere in a long, long time, but she felt at home with Caroline. She thought about what she would say to her and knew that whatever she said, it wouldn"t be the total truth. Caroline didn"t really know anything about her, and everything she did know was a lie. h.e.l.l, she didn"t even know Rheyna"s real name. She was worried about how Caroline would react when she learned the truth, how she would feel about the true reason for Rheyna being in her life, and how none of this had happened by chance, except for Rheyna falling in love with her-the one thing Rheyna hadn"t planned.
Her stomach did a flip-flop, and she realized she was terrified. She was terrified that Caroline would hate her, hate her for what she had done to her family. She would rather face ten Castrucci"s than deal with the look of disappointment on Caroline"s face that was sure to come when she learned the whole truth. Rheyna slapped a CD in and headed for the highway.
Jay Farino shoved Henry, nearly knocking him off the step. "Why don"t you watch what the h.e.l.l you"re doing?" he hissed through clenched teeth.
"Jeez, I"m sorry. It"s just that I can"t see a d.a.m.n thing," Henry said as reached his hand out to regain his balance.
"Here, hold this," Farino snapped, and shoved the penlight at Henry.
Henry took the flashlight and held it in place while Farino picked the front door lock. "Where are those fancy night goggles of yours that you seem to be so proud of?" Farino asked as the tumbler clicked into place.
"I left aem home."
"Figures," Farino said as he flung the front door open and stepped through the doorway of Rheyna"s house. He reached back and jerked Henry through the doorway by his arm. "Come on, we don"t have much time."
"I don"t understand why we"re here, anyway. We have all the information we need," Henry said, stumbling around in the dark.
Farino s.n.a.t.c.hed Henry up by the front of his jacket, jerking so hard, Henry left his feet. He pulled Henry so that their chests were practically touching. "Are you questioning my judgment?" he asked.
"No, no, it"s just that it doesn"t make sense why we would risk getting caught," Henry stammered.
Farino let go of Henry"s shirt and pushed him away. "I decide what we do and don"t do. Capische?"
"Fine, fine. What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to stand there and keep your freaking mouth shut. Do you think you can do that?"
Before Henry could answer, a low growl came from somewhere across the room. Henry aimed his flashlight in the direction of the growl. Annie was standing near the patio door, baring her teeth at them. Henry pulled his gun out of his waistband and aimed it at her.
Farino grabbed him by the wrist. "What the f.u.c.k do you think you"re doing?" he asked.
"What"ya mean? I"m gonna shoot it."
"Like h.e.l.l you are."
"Why do you care?" Henry asked, not understanding Farino"s sudden affection for the dog. Farino didn"t care about anything, especially a mangy mutt.
"Because the d.a.m.n dog didn"t do anything wrong!" he yelled. "You wait right here and don"t move until I come back, and if you hurt the dog, I"ll kill you myself."
"All right, just hurry up and do what you came here to do." Henry stood there, not daring to move as Farino made his way down the hallway.
After a few minutes, Farino reappeared. "Okay, let"s get the h.e.l.l out of here," he said.
Henry followed him to the door, careful not to take his eyes off Annie, who was slowly inching closer. Farino took a piece of paper from his pocket, dropped it on the floor, and then shut the door behind them.
Before Rheyna knew it, she was turning onto Ramada. Except for the car she just pa.s.sed, traffic had been relatively scarce.
She opened the front door, and Annie immediately greeted her by jumping up on the front of her legs with enough force to knock her down to the ground. There was not a spot on Rheyna"s face that Annie"s tongue didn"t touch. Rheyna grabbed her and kissed the top of her nose. "Hi, sweetie, did you miss me?" Annie answered by soundly throwing her body up against Rheyna"s chest. She refused to let Rheyna up until she had given her a proper greeting, along with rubbings.
Rheyna finally got off the floor and flicked on the light switch. She tossed her bag on the couch and walked over to the counter. The answering machine light blinked rapidly. She pushed the b.u.t.ton and smiled when she heard Caroline"s voice.
"I miss you already. Is it tomorrow yet? I"ll be counting down the hours. I love you, baby."
She is positively glowing, Terasa thought as Caroline practically floated into the sitting room. She bent to give Terasa a kiss on the cheek.
"How was your weekend, honey?" Terasa asked.
Caroline smiled from ear to ear. "I had the best time of my life and I learned to fish."
"You fish?"
Caroline laughed at her mother"s expression. Caroline spread her arms out as wide as they would go. "I caught a fish this big," she said, bringing her arms in until her hands were five inches apart.
Terasa laughed at Caroline"s theatrics. Terasa had no idea what had transpired over the weekend, but it was obvious that whatever it was, it had made her daughter very happy and that was all that mattered to her.
Rheyna grabbed her bag off the couch, headed toward the laundry room, and stopped when something by the front door caught her eye. She walked over and picked up the white paper lying on the floor. The house had been dark when she first got home, and she had missed seeing it. She opened it and felt her heart catch in her throat as she read the words. She read it again to be sure. "I know who you are, Special Agent Sorento. Meet me tonight at 11:00 p.m. outside the Lexington Club on 19TH street. Don"t be late!" It had been typed in bold letters.
She went directly to her bedroom with Annie on her heels and grabbed the 9mm from her nightstand. She slapped the clip in and slid a bullet into the chamber. She did a quick search of each room and the closets. She came to an abrupt stop when she flipped on the light switch in the bathroom. Written in red lipstick across the mirror were the words: "A dead lesbian is the best lesbian."
Think, think, she told herself as Annie followed her to the kitchen. Her adrenaline was in overdrive. She tucked the gun into the back of her waistband and tried to slow her breathing down. She looked down at Annie"s happy face and said a silent prayer, thanking G.o.d for keeping her safe. By the placement of the note and writing on the bathroom mirror, someone had been inside her house, and that p.i.s.sed her off. If they had hurt Annie, she didn"t know what she would have done. Yes, I do, she thought. I would have killed Castrucci and anyone else responsible.
The realization and the gravity of her situation slowly begun to sink in. It had to be the mole inside the bureau. He or she was the only one who knew who Rheyna was. Someone inside the bureau was a rat and that rat had betrayed her and the Pandora"s Box team. She also knew in her gut that it was not Artie. She had a big, big problem and right now, that problem was putting her life in grave danger.
In the surveillance room across town, Laura rummaged through the stacks of paper in her briefcase. She muttered under her breath and finally produced her cell phone. She flipped it open and frowned.
"d.a.m.n it, my cell"s dead again. I swear I need a new freaking battery."
Stevens looked up from his paper as she dumped everything out of her purse onto the table. Her charger was nowhere to be found. She grabbed her car keys out of the pile.
"I"ll be right back. I must have left my charger in the car again."
Rheyna glanced up at the clock and grabbed her jacket off the chair. Annie walked up and shyly nudged her leg. "I"ll be back later, girl. I promise," she said as she knelt down to give Annie a hug.
She grabbed her keys and left the house. She did a quick scan around the yard and then climbed into her Jeep.
Her senses were on high alert, and the adrenaline was flowing. She figured it would take about thirty to thirty-five minutes to drive down to the Lexington Club. Unless she wanted to get her a.s.s chewed off by Laura, she was not about to make the same mistake she did with Baysh.o.r.e. She picked her cell up off the seat and hit speed dial. She placed it on speaker and waited for Laura to answer. Oh no, not again, she thought, feeling her heart sink when Laura"s voice mail picked up.
"Laura, it"s me. I wanted to let you and Edwards know that my cover"s been blown. I"m on my way to the Lexington Club over on 19th; meet me there as soon as you get this message."
She hung up and turned off the exit that would take her downtown through the Mission District. It was an area she new fairly well. She was grateful that one of the first things she did when she arrived in Half Moon Bay was to check out the bar scene on the internet.
The person or persons who left the note knew she was FBI, and it was obvious that they also knew she was a lesbian. She figured that was why they had chosen The Lexington Club as a place to meet.
She continually checked her mirror out of habit as she turned up and down the streets. She turned onto Lexington and saw the bar up on the corner. She made a right on 19th, and to her dismay, the one-way street was lined with cars on both sides. It was also pitch black, making it all-too-easy for an ambush. The lack of street lamps was not a good thing around a Lesbian bar.
She continued to drive, checking for anything that might seem out of place and then circled back around the block. She finally saw a spot on the right side next to an alley about a half block down from the bar.
She turned the engine off and sat in total darkness for several minutes while she allowed her eyes to adjust. She checked her mirrors and opened the driver"s door. She heard a click and instantly knew what it was and then she felt the muzzle ram against her temple. She started to reach for her gun.
"Don"t even think about it, b.i.t.c.h, unless you want your f.u.c.king brains all over the car," Farino growled into her ear. He was so close; she could smell the alcohol on his breath. He reached in and jerked her out of the car. She then realized he was not alone. Henry Venutti was with him.
This was bad, real bad. Farino reached inside her jacket and pulled her gun from inside her waistband. He handed the gun to Henry. Without warning, he whirled around and hit her in the face with his fist. She heard, and then felt her jaw crack. She choked, and then spit out a mouthful of blood. She involuntary groaned as Henry and Farino grabbed her by the arms and slammed her against the side of the Jeep.
"I oughta slit your f.u.c.king throat right now, you queer b.i.t.c.h," Farino whispered in her ear. He leaned back and then she felt his fist slam into her face repeatedly. She lost count after the fifth blow. She glanced down at her chest and felt a sticky wetness.
Farino jerked her head back and hit her again with enough force to knock her backward. She was vaguely aware of the arms that grabbed her by the shoulders. She felt her body flip over and then felt the hood of the Jeep beneath her hands and face. She was blacking out, starting to lose consciousness as her body"s defense mechanisms started kicking in. She tried to fight, but was powerless against the men"s strength.
Farino leaned over her shoulder. She could feel his warm breath on her skin. "Big Tony sent me to teach you a nice, permanent lesson, c.u.n.t, but I have my own for you, first," he whispered in her ear.
She heard the blade of a knife snap open and felt Farino pull at her jeans. With a flick of his wrist, he cut the material away from her skin. She heard the sound of his zipper and opened her mouth. Please, no, her mind screamed, but no words came out. She knew what was coming and then everything went black.
Farino laughed sinisterly as he pulled down his pants. He was thoroughly enjoying this a.s.signment. It sure beat the h.e.l.l out of just putting a slug in some poor, defenseless schmuck. "Ah, s.h.i.t," he said, the sound of voices causing him to stop what he was doing.
Two women had come out of the bar up on the corner. They were having an animated conversation, their laughter cut through the quiet night as they stepped off the curb. The women crossed the street. They were walking straight toward the men. With less than fifty-feet to go, they were silent. They were looking straight at Farino, Henry, and Rheyna.
"Hey, what are you guys doing?" the shorter of the two women yelled.
As Farino stopped to zip his pants, Rheyna"s body slid to the ground. He knelt down beside her and with pure hatred, plunged the knife blade into her chest. He looked down at the lifeless body lying at his feet and pulled a marble from his pocket. With an evil grin, he wiped off his prints and tossed it on her chest. He grabbed his gun off the hood of the car and turned to Henry. "Let"s get outta here."