Chapter 8

Rico, Gina, Trudy and Maria stayed behind at the barge to wait for Sonny. Harvey, Evan and Bryn went to work on finding Enrique. They put out a BOLO and it wasn't' long before he was spotted and brought into the SIU.

Nash answered his phone on the first ring.

"He's here." Was all Bryn said.

Nash hung up the phone. "Enrique is at the SIU."

Sonny nodded, turned and started to the stairs.

"You're leaving?" Cassidy asked.

Sonny looked at his niece. "Not California. I'm just going back to the SIU."

"You're going to come back here, right?" Cassidy asked.

Sonny shook his head. "I don't know, Cassidy. This is…I've got a lot to think about."

Cassidy hugged him. "You've got to stay."

Sonny grinned and hugged her back. He didn't know what to say.

"I've got my friends back at the barge. I…I need to go back and talk to them." Sonny told her.

"The two pretty dark-haired ladies?" Cassidy asked, remembered the women from her visit earlier in the day. "Wait! Did they see Dad and think that he was you?"

Sonny nodded. "Pretty much."

"What happened?" Nick asked.

"My friend, Gina, I called her. She was supposed to call me…." Sonny shook his head. "It's a long story, suffice to say an old boyfriend wouldn't leave her alone. Anyway, I called her…she said that there was somebody here I needed to meet. But, she wouldn't tell me anything else." Sonny paused. "A few hours later, I showed up and…."

"You came all the way from Florida?" Nick asked, surprised.

Sonny nodded. "I've known Gina for a long time. I trust her judgement. So, I got on a plane."

"You met by accident?" Nick shook his head. "That's…!"

"You can't leave your family." Cassidy said. "You just found us. Or, we just found you…whatever! But...!"

"Cassidy, that' not…I'm not going anywhere." Sonny said, pulling her into a hug. "I'll have to go back to home sometime. But, it won't be today."

That seemed to reassure Cassidy and she broke the hug. She wiped her eyes. "Can you stay and eat with us before you leave?"

Sonny looked at Nash and Nick. They both nodded.

Sonny nodded.

Cassidy grinned and jumped into action. "Grandpa makes the best soup and grilled cheese." She said as she filled a bowl with soup and pulled a grilled cheese sandwich out of the warm oven. She put both on a large plate and sat it on the table. She added crackers and a spoon. She fixed her father's and grandfather's plates and put them on the table also. Then she fixed her own plate and sat down.

Sonny looked up to see the three of them just staring at him.

Cassidy reached across the table and touched Sonny's arm. "It's just…it's gonna take some getting used to."

Sonny nodded and chuckled. "For the both of us."

"Can you come back to the barge with us?" Sonny asked both Cassidy and Nick. "I want to introduce you to my friends…my family. They…we've gotten very close."

Cassidy nodded. "I call Daddy's partner, Uncle Joe."

Sonny nodded. "I would love for them to meet you."

Cassidy looked at her dad, so did Nick. Nash nodded.

"As soon as we finish eating, we'll head back." Nash stated.

"Enrique deserves to sit and stew for a while." Sonny said as he sat down to eat. "Wait, maybe tomorrow would be better. I…we can…I don't know how things are going to go with…." Sonny said to his brother.

Nash nodded. "Yeah, tomorrow would be better." He explained to Nick and Cassidy. "We don't know how this interrogation is going to go."

They both nodded. Nick and Cassidy both knew that suspects were unpredictable and that things could get dangerous very quickly.

Evan and Harvey brought Enrique Cortez to the barge. They sat him down at the interrogation table.

"What? Enrique asked. "Why am I here? All I did was come to California on vacation. When did that become illegal?"

Nobody would answer his question. And he had not seen Gina. He honestly didn't know why he had been picked up by the police.

"Stalking is a crime, Cortez." Bryn replied.

"Who am I stalking?" Cortez asked, very smug.

Nobody spoke, until Gina came over to the table and sat down.

"I told you it was over." Gina said.

"Nobody breaks up with me!" Enrique hissed. "I am the one who…."

"You followed me from Florida!" Gina replied.

"You owe me an explanation. Enrique said.

"You're controlling and possessive." Gina said. "And I'm nobody's property."

Enrique stood up and started around the table.

Harvey stepped in between Gina and Enrique just as Sonny showed up.

"I warned you, Cortez!" Sonny said as he neared the table.

Enrique was surprised to see Sonny. But, he got over his surprise quickly. "I came to California on vacation." He snapped back as he sat down. "The last I heard that is not illegal."

"But, stalking is!" Sonny said. "And California has the strictest stalking laws in the United States. Serious fines, jail time." Sonny said as he put both palms on the table and leaned closer to Enrique.

Enrique pulled back in his chair. "No…woman is going to tell me…."

"Her name is Gina." Sonny growled back at him. "Gina! And she's not a piece of property! She is a human being!"

"Nobody leaves me." Enrique shot back.

Enrique Cortez, you are a steaming sack of shit!" Sonny said leaning in closer to him. "You reek! I'm surprised she stayed with you as long as she did."

"You can't…!" Enrique said, standing up again. "You can't do anything to me. You're not a cop anymore." He said, smugly.

The SIU were standing, observing, enjoying the show. Ready to jump in, if needed.

Sonny grinned. But, it was not a happy grin. "Which means…if I come over this table and choked you out. The worst thing that will happen to me is an assault and battery charge."

Enrique stared at him for a moment.

"It'd be well worth it." Sonny stated.

"I'll sue you! I'll sue this place. I'll…!" Enrique started.

"I've read your criminal record." Sonny reminded him. "They would laugh you out of the court room." He paused. "But, good luck with that." He said, straightening back up.

"You can't…." Enrique said.

"You have NO idea what I can and cannot do!" Sonny told him. "I still have lots of connections with Vice. A word from me and the vice squad will be watching you so closely, they will know how you fix your eggs in the morning."

Cortez sank back into his chair. He had dealt with vice before. It had not been a pleasant experience.

"So, this is how things are going to go." Sonny told Enrique. "You are going to hop a plane to Florida…today! You're going to stop coming to the day care. You're going to stop calling Gina. You are going to stop following Gina. You are going to stop harassing her customers. Because, if you don't, Rico and I will come back to Miami. And, you are going to be our one and ONLY case the whole time we're there." Sonny threatened. "I could stay for a day, a week, or maybe even a month, Cortez. I will dig into your life, Enrique. And you know how good I am at that. I'll find out things about you that you don't even know." Sonny paused. "And I have a feeling, just a feeling. That there may be a few things that you wouldn't want me to know."

Enrique looked sufficiently scared.

Sonny nodded and leaned in close again. "Just as I thought. And just so you know…" his voice took on an edge again. "…we've have two 'come-to-Jesus' meetings. There won't be a third!"

"You can't threaten…!"

Sonny stood up. "I don't threaten. I make promises." He explained. "And, I don't break my promises.

TBC