(Sorry about the delay. Away for a while and not able to keep up with writing. Hope you'll forgive me. You may wanna hold you breath. Some more chapters to come, but they aren't ready yet. Thanks a million for visiting this story and being so patient. Love. Lyxie)

18

The day after was just an ordinary day in the life of Ricardo Mendoza. Yet he still resented Tessa's rejection. The fact that she had been seen in a police office with the two new so-called Burnett and Collins had made him boil inside. Yet he had managed to contain his fury until he knew exactly what role Tessa was playing in this scenario.

He had tried to seduce her. He had failed. Since day one. He would find a way to break her, or get rid of her, together with his uncle. It was just a matter of time now. His revenge for all these years of denial was finally at hand.

He had entrusted Matt with another mission. Find everything he could about the detectives and possibly what kind of information they had managed to squeeze out of Tessa. Though 'squeeze' did not seem to be the proper term, as she had been described to be rather comfortable when speaking to them at Metro.

After he had lunch with his uncle and casually discussed about the new deal they were about to conclude with Mr Burnett and his partner Mr Collins, he had met Matt in the park, close to the duck pond. He sat at the other end of the bank where Matt had been waiting for him.

Matt had thought about the brunet guy all night and finally had made up his mind explaining his findings to Rico.

Matt Perkins was the son of Marjorie Perkins and James Connelly. His father had been one of the best cops in the area until he was shot during a police raid which had also cost the live of his partner. Matt was often playing in the streets with young boys of his age and many times, they were witnessing older boys brawls. One day, the fight was a bit harder than usual and Matt, hidden behind the bannister of his building, across the street, saw a boy who was about two or three years older than he was, involved in a fight with three boys. The curly-haired one was fighting like a bull and somehow managed to stun one of them, control the other one while the third one had preferred to run away. Sitting on the stomach of the one he had under control, he lifted his head, looking if anyone else wanted to try and pick a quarrel with him. That's when the little Matt saw the eyes, these indigo shining blue eyes. He had heard a woman's voice calling him back home. That's when the memory of the particular name clicked in. DAVID STARSKY! He thought the name didn't sound neither Italian nor Irish, as the majority of the families around the block were from these two origins.

Today, he just hoped that Detective Starsky had not recognized him so far. Actually, he was pretty sure of it, as they never had any contact back in New York. They were playing in different gangs, sharing different parts of the streets, dealing with different tough bigger boys.

As a kid, Matt had always admired his father more than anyone else. A couple of years after his death, his mother had decided to leave the Big Apple and go to live with her sister in Miami. It did not take long for Matt to make a decision about his future and he soon told his mother he wanted to register at the Police Academy to walk in the footsteps of his father. She had tried with all the energy she had left to convince him otherwise but he was as stubborn as his old man had been. But this stubborness was to do a disservice to him as he turned out to be one of the most disruptive recruits of the Academy. After only a year and a half of training, he had been expulsed and had ended up as a security agent, pacing for hours in supermarkets.

But this line of job was obviously not satisfying. After his duty hours, he started to spend most of his free time with a former young offender who had grown into regular crooks. One night, one very rare occasion when he had been alone, he was having a drink at a bar where the clientele were mainly a special kind of businessmen. He had wanted to apply at the place as a bouncer but his application had been turned down. Before leaving, he had wished to grant himself one last good stuff to forget about his disappointment. That when he saw Rico.

Somehow, he found the nerve to approach the man and, abruptly, propose his services as a body guard. Ricardo Mendoza had first tried to push him back. But Matt Perkins – he had decided to go by his mother's name at that time – forced the security perimeter a couple of times, because he had sensed this was an opportunity for him to be part of something big, something strong. Maybe he could climb in the hierarchy, even if that hierarchy was searched by the guys from the Miami Metro Dade Police Vice Department. His stubborness this time served him well and when Ricardo entrusted him with a "special" mission involving killing someone, Matt had gained Rico's entire trust by accomplishing the mission without neither hesitation nor question.

When El Fuerte had decided later on to move the family to Bay City, Matt had been part of the convoy. And now, after all these years, he was almost face to face with the feisty little boy from New York. He wondered whether Rico would ask him to take care of the brunet detective – and his Collins partner – at one point. He felt it would not bother him, after all, after what he had done for the Fuentes family, he had crossed the line long ago. He did not mind, not anymore.

He was sure now was the right time to tell Rico about his findings.

When he explained where he had first met Detective Starsky and the kinda temper he already displayed when he was just a kid, Rico smiled and spoke in a very relaxed voice, as if no stress was chewing him inside.

"It's high time I put an end to this masquerade. When my uncle has decided upon a date for the deal, this is gonna be the last time Burnett and Collins are gonna see the light of day. And after that I'm gonna take care of Tessie."

"What do you want me to do?" Matt asked impatiently, ready for action.

"Wait for my signal. There will be much to do in a short time. So you'd better stick close to me and watch my back."

"Sure."

"My uncle is supposed to fix a date for the transaction and call these guys tomorrow. When he has proposed a location, they will certainly arrange for police back up and try to set us up. I'll convince my dear uncle to change the location at the last minute. This will give us all freedom to pick up a secure isolated area where to leave the bodies afterwards."

"Why not the old printing house? You know, the one we passed by a couple of weeks ago, just outside the east side."

Rico looked at Matt and for a moment granted him a look as he had been listening to the most clever speech. Matt was usually the silent type, and when he spoke, he would not leave the impression of being some real smart guy. This time tough, he managed to surprise his boss.

"Excellent idea, Matt. Why don't you go on reconnaissance and check safety exits for when all is over?"

"Okay." Once again, Matt had returned to his simplistic speech mode.

"In the meantime, I'll pay another visit to our darling Tessie and try to find what game she plays with us."

"Don't go too far." Matt calmy said.

Rico stared in astonishment at Matt.

"What do you mean?"

"She is Mr Fuentes's protégée."

"So what? Do you think I give a damn at this point? She's been mocking me all along. It's time for her to understand where lies her interest."

"What if..." Matt started, then paused. Some unbelievable thought had crossed his mind, but he did not dare to say it out loud.

Rico's harsh tone invited him to go on.

"What if WHAT?"

"What if she is a cop too?" Matt whispered.

Rico almost choked hearing what his faithful and devoted bodyguard had just uttered.

"You're kidding," his tone was a bit hilarious. "Tessie? A cop? Have you given her a good look? She is too gorgeous to be a cop and … Well, she really sounds like a pro singer. I don't think she could be..."

Rico stopped, frowned while he tried nevertheless to consider the idea Matt could be right about this. He briefly shook his head, as if he wanted to shake the idea off.

"Anyway, it does not change my plan regarding our next transaction. If she is indeed undercover, she has been brilliant about it, and she will deserve my special attention."

His tone was now deadly ironic. He stood up, looked at the few birds elegantly swimming on the water, clenched his teeth and turned to Matt one last time.

"Do what you have to do. We'll meet at the Rose."

He turned his toes without waiting for a response from his henchman.

The blow on the door startled Tessa more than a gunshot, as she had been lost in her thoughts after Rico's visit and tried to regain some calm.

Hoping it was not him again, she headed for the door and as soon as she unbolted the lock, she hardly had time to step back in order to avoid to be hit by the door. Rico made an aggressive entrance and brutally slammed the door behind him.

Tessa's look turned a bit terrified. She had never seen him like this. He obviously was extremely angry, his face a bit red and his eyes half-closed, as if evaluating the prey in front of him. Right now, she felt like a prey. She stepped back, still facing him and thought of getting closer to the place she had hidden her gun. She suddenly felt the situation would turn critical. To hell with my cover, if he touches me again, I'll have to...

She did not have time to finish her thought. She saw a brief flash of light and felt a burning sensation on her cheek. The strong blow made her loose her balance and she fell on the couch. It was fortunate Rico's eyes were just that, a mad look, for if they had been able to shoot, she would be dead already.

"WHY?" she managed to say out loud, while stroking her bruised face. She felt something liquid on her hand and understood, as she tasted it, it was blood from her lip.

"You have to ask? Why do you reject the nephew while you play whore with him? He's just an old man. What's you interest?" Rico shouted, leaning over her shivering body.

He paused. Then spoke again, this time in a sugary and threatening tone.

"Unless there is something you've been hiding."

He was expecting her to crack up at this rate, but she kept stroking her cheek in silence, her tears freely gliding down her cheeks.

He grabbed her by an arm and forced her to stand up. His grip was painful but she did not show. She was waiting, expecting the next hit. Rico's face was close to hers, his lips almost on hers. She thought he would force her into another foul kiss, but instead, he stepped back a little and hit her again, harder this time. Her lower lip started to bleed some more. He pushed her hard away from him and she fell on the couch again. She had not said a word. The only thing she could think of was the gun. She would not have time to reach for it and defend herself. She tried to contain her tears but the pain was too acute. She could taste the blood in her mouth mixed with a salty taste. Her hand was all wet with tears and blood.

Rico was standing in front of her, perfectly still, with his feet firmly planted on the ground.

"See ya."

He turned and headed for the door. Before leaving for good, he gave one last nasty look at the young woman.

"Try to guess who's in charge from now on. And you'll have to behave accordingly. So long!"

The door slammed with a sinister bang which finally triggered a reaction in Tessa. She bursted out sobbing.

S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~ S*H ~