Again, I pulled her against me and buried my face in her neck, kissing her soft skin. Relief had never felt so good, so liberating.
“It’s over, princess,” I murmured.
“Why am I not surprised to find you here where all the shit is going down?”
I looked up to see Anderson standing by the sliding door with his hands on his hips.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked, surprised to see him.
He walked closer and glanced at Lorenzo. “I had a friend call in a favor.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You? You’re—”
He nodded. “Yes. I’ve been working with the Valentis for twenty years.”
“Which is why you were so sure they weren’t behind the drugs and kidnappings,” I said with my arm still tightly wrapped around Karina’s waist.
Anderson stepped in next to Lorenzo. “This man gave me what our legal system couldn’t. Justice.”
Holy shit, my head was spinning. “What are you talking about?”
“Twenty years ago, my sister’s seven-year-old daughter went missing. Her body was found a few days later in a dumpster. There was no evidence of what happened to her, or who did it, until an anonymous tip came through that little Alison had been seen at the house of a local police officer.” Anderson pulled his hand through his hair, his cheeks pale. “Naturally, the investigation went nowhere. The precinct didn’t need that kind of scandal. After months of pleas, and numerous attempts to have this man at least questioned, I had no choice but to ask for help.” He swallowed hard. “I had no choice but to ask the Valenti family for help. Lorenzo agreed to investigate. And as it turned out, the anonymous tip was right, only everyone refused to believe it. No one wanted to believe a cop, sworn to uphold the law and to make the residents of Boston feel safe, was actually a child murderer. Unable to live with the thought of knowing this man would never pay for his crime, I asked the Valentis to give Alison the justice she deserved by making this man pay with his life. And in turn, I would be in their debt until my last breath.” He turned toward Lorenzo. “A debt I would gladly pay over, and over, and over again.”
I always knew demons haunted Anderson; I just never knew how strong those demons were. But now, I did.
“You see, Stone. No one is perfect, but some bad guys are worth more free than behind bars.” He turned toward Enzio’s lifeless body, and the priest crouched and shaking. “I’ll take care of this.”
Karina ran toward her dad and jumped into his arms. “I love you, Daddy.”
“And I love you too,bambina.”
My head was still spinning. Anderson has been working for the Valentis all this time?Motherfucker.
“Detective Stone.”
“Yeah.” I shook my head and looked at none other than the big chief himself, Lorenzo.
“Thank you for helping my sons find my daughter.”
“Oh, um…Dante was the one who figured it out.”
Dante came up from behind and slapped me on the shoulder. “Nah, don’t pass the credit, man. If you hadn’t come to warn us in the first place, we wouldn’t have been able to stop this.”
Lorenzo extended his hand, and I took it. “I am in your debt, Detective. If you ever need the debt repaid, you know where to find me.”
I glanced at Karina, who was silently standing next to her dad. The poor woman looked like she had been through hell. All I wanted to do was take her home, wrap my arms around her, and hold her for as long as she would allow me.
“Mr. Valenti,” I started, but Karina stepped up.
“Dad—”
Lorenzo held up his hand. “I know what you want to tell me.” He glanced at Antonio, and I knew the little snitch told Daddy Dearest everything. Not that I was complaining. The man arrived here just in time.
“Karina,” Lorenzo said, “I can’t condone it. You know our rules.”
My heart twisted inside my chest, and it felt like I was about to choke on my own goddamn stomach.
But then Karina did the unexpected. She stepped away from her dad’s side to mine, took my hand, and fixed her gaze on his.