She laughed. “Do you have one?”
The slightest smile lifted his mouth. “Don’t we all?”
Danni shrugged, her shoulders lifting ever so slightly “Does Pie always beat up on his girlfriends?” she questioned, more emphasis on that nickname than she would have liked.
“Like I said, he’s not a very nice guy.”
“Ginny said she works for him.”
The man took a deep breath, wiping down the table before turning his attention back to her. He shifted the conversation. “I need to lock up. If you don’t need help getting home, then I need to throw you out. Sorry.”
Danni pulled her coat on, shoving her hands deep into her pockets. “Thanks again for everything,” she said.
“I hope to see you again, Danni. And next time bring that cousin of yours. I’d like to meet her.”
Danni nodded. “You never did tell me what your nickname was.”
He laughed heartily. “It’s Carlo!”
As he locked the door behind her, Danni pulled her coat tight to ward off the Chicago wind. She would definitely be back, she thought. Her new friend didn’t need to worry about that at all.
* * *
The next morning Danni couldn’t miss that Detective Armstrong Black wasn’t happy with her. Although he hadn’t, she could tell that he had wanted to yell when she’d told him of her late-night visit to the coffee shop. Instead, he had bitten back the snarky condemnation, storming out of the conference room to distance himself from her. When she’d shown up for her shift, she’d been anxious to recap her evening and her experience in the coffee shop. She’d spent most of the night believing that she had made a significant stride in their case in getting a step closer to Pius, but clearly her new partner hadn’t agreed. In fact, he was clearly pissed, she thought as she watched him storm through the space barking orders at other officers. It was a good thing she hadn’t shared her intentions to go back again, alone, she mused. Not that she cared whether he liked the idea or not, because Danni was doing it, with or without his permission.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Armstrong moved back into the room, his gaze meeting hers evenly. His jaw was still tight, and his body was tense. He closed the door behind himself, then sauntered to the other side of the room, his arms crossed over his broad chest.
“What if something had happened, Detective? You didn’t have any backup.” His tone was brusque.
“I am perfectly capable of handling myself.”
“I didn’t say you weren’t.”
“It’s what you’re implying.”
“I wasn’t implying anything. I said it wasn’t a smart move, and it wasn’t.”
“I saw an opportunity and I took it. And granted, it wasn’t the brightest thing for me to do but you would have done the same thing if the shoe had been on the other foot.”
“You don’t know that.”
Her brow lifted slightly. “You’re saying you would have waited and come back to coordinate with everyone and hope that when you went back, the door would still have been open? Because I might not know you that well, Detective, but I know enough to bet that you will always do whatever it takes to get your bad guy. Whatever it takes!”
Armstrong paused, a moment of hesitation that neither denied nor endorsed her statement. She was right, but he didn’t need to admit to it. “I’m saying that these lone-wolf antics of yours will get people hurt and that’s not what we’re here for. I told you not to go to the coffee shop and you ignored a direct order.”
Danni took a breath and held it, reflecting on his comments. She nodded her head slowly. “I’m sorry, but hopefully, it will help us find our killer and shut down this trafficking ring.”
There was a moment’s pause as he seemed to ponder her statement. When he finally responded, he surprised her. “You might be right.”
“Excuse me?” Her eyes widened.
He gave her a look that moved her to smile ever so slightly. “You got your foot in the door. We should take full advantage of that. But we need to be smart, so I can’t have you going off half-cocked on your own.”
“So, you’re going to let me go undercover?”
“I’m going to let this play out and see where it takes us.”
Danni grinned. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. There are rules, and you will follow them. Is that understood?”
“What kind of rules?”
“For one, I need to know where you are at all times. And you’re going to wear a wire.”
“No wire.”
“Then I’m shutting you down now.”
“No wire!” Her voice was raised, her hands clutching the line of her hips. “If I can get in I won’t risk blowing my cover.”
“I wasn’t asking you nicely, Detective.”
“And I meant what I said,” Danni countered.
* * *
Armstrong sighed, a deep gust of air that hinted at his wanting to rage back at her. It suddenly felt like they’d come to an impasse. He knew he needed to shift the conversation before spewing something they would both regret. He gestured for her to take a seat as he moved to the chair on the other side of the table. He slid two manila folders across the polished wood toward her.
“What’s this?” she asked as she opened one folder and found nothing inside.
“It’s the file we don’t have on Paul Balducci. Everything prior to his eighteenth birthday is sealed. We can’t get our hands on it. Not even the petty, juvenile stuff, like shoplifting, or vandalism, that we know about. The other is his father’s file. And make no mistakes, Leonard Balduccci was a career criminal.”
Danni flipped quickly through the documents inside, one piece of paper grabbing her attention. She read it once and then a second time before lifting her eyes to his. “You killed his father?”
“Ten years ago. Junior would have been a kid. Barely out of grade school. His father was running the family business. He and his crew were hijacking trailer shipments and sending the cargo overseas. We caught them after they took down a truck full of TVs and electronics. The security guard was able to signal the alarm before they killed him. There was a shootout at the docks, and Senior took a bullet. It was one of my first cases and the first time I ever had to discharge my weapon. He died three days later.”
Armstrong’s gaze suddenly shifted into thought. Despite his best efforts, he often thought about the night he’d killed Leonard Balducci. Taking fire, he’d had no other option but to shoot back. His bullet had hit its target. He’d been blessed that those meant for him had missed. The shooting had almost derailed his career in law enforcement. He’d been grounded, confined to a desk and the shuffling of papers. There had been months of scrutiny from Internal Affairs and strangers who knew nothing of him. The media had questioned his integrity and others had a field day, calling him a monster. He’d felt boxed in and had been ready to give it all up. Despite everyone’s assurances that it hadn’t been his fault, the guilt he still carried was immense.
“I’m sorry,” Danni said softly.
Armstrong shrugged. “It didn’t have to end that way, but we weren’t given a lot of choices.”
Danni nodded. “So how would you like me to play this?”
“Trust your instincts. You got yourself