Take Me Apart (Vitale Brothers Book 1)

“Let’s go, people!” Sergeant White’s voice broke over the radio. “We need to get into position and fast before the Vitales realize what we’re up to.”

My chest squeezed so tight I briefly wondered if I should stop and go straight to the hospital. I tugged my bulletproof vest away from my body and groaned. Stupid thing feels like it’s suffocating me.

“Stop fidgeting,” Rourke muttered.

“Can’t.” I squirmed in my seat.

It was almost time to leave the car, and then the action would start. This was that exact moment that I loved on rollercoasters, that second when the platform shifted, and there was no going back. The truth was that hundreds of feet up in the air, it got my dick so hard I could burst. But now? I shivered. Cold sweat trickled down my back, and I was pretty sure my balls had jumped up inside my body.

“Are you good or not?” Rourke snapped.

His eyebrows pinched together and his mouth turned down into a deep frown, bordering on a scowl.

“Let me get ready my way, and you get ready your way, okay?” I snapped. “What does it matter to you if I can’t sit still?”

Rourke’s eyes narrowed. “Is there a problem?”

My life is the problem. I wanted to tell him to leave it the fuck alone, but I was done talking. Any second now, we’d be raiding one of the Vitales biggest warehouses. It was the kind of betrayal there was no coming back from. When Enzo found out, we wouldn’t be fucking in dark alleys. I’d be dead.

Shadows walked back and forth around the warehouse. There were guards all over. No doubt there were more inside. Every second that ticked by made the hair on my arms raise. I adjusted my vest again, mapping out every scenario that could possibly happen.

I shifted in my seat, and I caught Rourke glaring at me. Fuck, something bit him on the ass. To be fair the entire precinct was up in arms after hearing and seeing what had happened to former officer Chandler. My stomach twisted in knots just thinking about it. I’d prided myself on having a strong stomach, but I’d tossed up my entire breakfast after seeing the pictures of his mutilated body.

“What are you going through, Caster?” Rourke asked.

I pressed the back of my hand over my mouth, forcing myself to swallow back the bile. “Nothing. Just remembered the stuff with Aaron Chandler.”

Rourke stiffened, and his mouth dipped further in a frown. “A good man tortured like that. Only a monster could do it.” He ground his teeth as he stared intently at the warehouse. “Fucking Vitales.”

At the mention of them, my heart skipped a beat. Enzo. “We don’t know it was them.” Even as I said it, a part of me knew that was false. It could have very well been Enzo who did it. “He was a dirty cop. I hardly think he qualifies as a good man.”

Rourke scoffed and slapped the steering wheel. “Are you sticking up for them now? Do you need to stay back?”

I shook my head.

“Caster, you need to be on the good side. I can’t have a partner who doesn’t have my back.”

He’s right. What the hell am I even thinking? I nodded. “I got your back, Rouke.”

We stared at each other for another minute before the same old smile appeared on Rouke’s face. It was jarring how quickly his facial expressions had changed. “Good, it’s you and me.” He touched my arm, but it felt off, that same icy feeling permeating my veins.

I nodded, giving the only reaction I could before turning back and watching the warehouse. Buzzing came from Rouke’s side, but I knew it wasn’t the chief calling or Sarge. They would use the radios for that. I forced myself to relax.

“We should move,” Rourke muttered.

I turned to stare at him. “What are you talking about?”

“Everyone else is out front. There’s only us and two other guys back here because all the action is going to be up there. Come on, if we get in there we can clear shit out and rub it in their faces.”

I blinked at Rourke like he’d lost it. “We barely know how many men are in there. Ten, twenty? But there could be more. We’re going to take them all on?”

Rourke gazed at the building. “No. We’re going in from the back. They won’t even know we’re there. Let’s go in, start clearing them out, and Sarge will have the rest join us any minute now. But if they get in there and we’ve already started, guess who ends up looking like big damn heroes? Us.”

“Or,” I said. “We both lose our jobs. And if the chief is really off, he finds some charge to stick to us so we sit in jail for a while thinking about how fucking stupid we were.”

“I thought you wanted to be a detective?” he asked. “Aren’t you ready to finally shove it in everyone’s face and get there? The chief will promote you so quick your head will spin if you take down the Vitales.”

“They’re probably not even here,” I said, my pulse racing at the thought of finally reaching my dream. It was so close I could taste it.

“But if they are and you arrest them…” Rourke trailed off.

I would get my wish. My mind tried to conjure up images of slapping handcuffs on Enzo’s wrists. None of them would go down easy, but I didn’t need all three brothers. Just one. Besides, Enzo was the one who had threatened to kill me if he saw me again, not the other way around. If he really gave a damn, he wouldn’t say crazy shit like that.

“Are we going? Or not?” Rourke snapped.

“Fine,” I shot back without thinking. “Okay, fine. Let’s do it.”

Rourke was out of the car before I could even finish my sentence. I was right after him. The moment my feet hit the pavement, a chill fell over me. Am I making a mistake?

“Let’s take this backdoor. No one’s around. Hurry up,” Rourke hissed.

I didn’t have time to think. Instead, I moved. We slipped through a gate. The guards that had been there before were nowhere in sight. My gaze swept over the area. It was like they’d disappeared.

“Where is everyone?” I whispered.

“Doesn’t matter,” Rourke muttered. “Keep going.”

Tingling spread through my chest as every step we took brought us closer to the warehouse entrances. Cold dread settled in the pit of my stomach. When we reached the door, I drew my gun and stood on the other side. Rourke looked at me, held up three fingers and started counting down.

Three… two… one…

We moved in unison, pushing into the warehouse. As soon as we did, the fear and worry fell away. This was the part of the job I loved; the adrenaline. It ramped up, and I was ready to go, focused. I could take on anything.

“Get on the ground!” Rourke yelled. “Police, do it!”

To my surprise, some of them listened to him. They laid down, dropping their guns as their eyes darted around like caged animals. Is this supposed to be so easy?

“Caster, you paying attention?” Rourke asked.

“I’m right here.”

“Then move. We need to get through these guys, and there’s an office on the other end. Let’s go!”

I moved along with him, something nagging in the back of my brain. We zip-tied the wrists and ankles of those on the ground and kept moving. Gunshots rang out, piercing the quietness around us. Rourke and I split apart, taking cover as the gunshots intensified along with yelling.

“I think they know we’re here,” Rourke said, a glint in his eye. “Keep pushing!”

“Wait,” I said, shaking my head. “Shouldn’t we wait for backup? Where is everyone?”

“Fuck that, we’re already here. If we turn around, someone else gets all the glory.”

I frowned. “Since when do you give a fuck about glory?”

“Come on!”

Groaning, I turned off of the pillar and squeezed off a few quick shots. A man yelled as he went down. I moved around, pushing forward.

There was no going back now. However, that didn’t mean I wasn’t praying that the Vitales weren’t here. More than likely, they were at home. Or off terrorizing someone else. What were the odds that any of them would be here?

“The longer we take,” Rourke yelled over the roar of gunfire and yelling. “The greater the chance the Vitales slip away.”

I froze. Rourke dropped a man like it was nothing, and I watched as a slow smile appeared on his face. Is he enjoying this? Something tugged at me. It was like he knew the Vitales would be here, but how could he know?

“Tex, pay attention!”

I tuned back into things and ducked in time to avoid a bullet. If we were going to get out alive, I had to stay focused.

“Get on the ground!” Rourke yelled.

Some men dropped, but others? They didn’t give a damn. Instead of listening, they tried to put a bullet in our brains. I glanced around, but there was no backup. Does Sarge even know we’re in here? The warehouse was huge. What if they didn’t know we were inside?

“Enough!” A voice cut through the chaos. “Are we done shooting? Can we talk?”

I froze. That was a voice I would know anywhere. Benito. I glanced around and saw him standing there, staring in our direction.

“We already know there are cars out front, but it’ll be a while before they get in. That door is reinforced, and it’s going to take more than a ram to get through it. So, we can talk, or we can go back to shooting at each other.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Rourke answered. “Get on the ground, lay on your stomach, and get cuffed. I’ve seen enough contraband around here to put all of you away for a long ass time, so do it!”

“I don’t get on my belly for anyone,” Benito shot back.

“Yeah, I think I’m good on that,” Giancarlo chimed in, a grin on his lips. “The only way I’m getting on the ground is if I’m getting fucked.”

I glanced over at them. My eyes landed on Enzo. He was silent, his eyes darting around in the dimness of the warehouse. Is he looking for me?

“I’m not going to tell you again to get down on the ground!” Rourke yelled. “Last chance!”

“Or what?” Benito chuckled. “You shoot me?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely.”

I stared at Rourke. “We need to back down until the others get through.”

“Fuck that,” he sneered. “I’m sick of these pathetic, criminal assholes getting away with shit. We take them down, and we get the fuck out of here.”

“Rourke.”

“Don’t be a pussy, Tex,” he hissed at me. “Who gives a fuck if a couple of scumbag mobsters die?”

I care! I fucking care!

No matter how badly I wanted to be detective, I wasn’t willing to murder them just because of who they were. It didn’t feel right.

“We’re doing this right,” I snapped. “Arrest them.”

“Do they look like they want to be arrested?” he shot back. “These fuckers will put us in the ground!”

“What the hell Rourke? This wasn’t the plan.”

Rourke rolled his eyes. “Stay there and piss your pants, Caster. I’m taking these monsters down.” He shook his head. “Thought you were going to be better than your old man.”

“Fuck you,” I growled.

If Rourke wasn’t going to listen to reason, I had to take care of it myself. The Vitale brothers were criminals, but they were still human. Whatever had gotten into Rourke had made him crazy. He was so eager to kill, and I had never seen that side of him before.

“Put the weapons down,” I called as I stepped out of cover. “Enzo, get them to listen. I don’t want this to end badly.”

Enzo’s dark eyes focused on me. “Tex.”

“Yeah,” I said. “It’s me. Don’t do this. I don’t want to be the reason you die.”

The moment the words left my lips, I felt lighter. What I’d said was a truth that I had buried deep inside of myself for what felt like centuries. I couldn’t be the reason Enzo died. No matter what he and his family had done, I wouldn’t be the person who killed him.

“He’s slaughtered more people than you know,” Rourke spat. “Who gives a fuck if he dies?”

“I do,” I said. “This isn’t how we do this, Rourke.”

“He’s a fucking parasite! Just because you fucked him doesn’t mean he’ll hesitate to kill you.”

My stomach tightened. I kept my hand wrapped around my gun as my heart plummeted to my stomach. I knew who Enzo was. But there were still some things I didn’t want to believe.

Enzo scoffed. “Me? Why don’t you tell Tex who’s been stealing our products and selling them? Or who’s been orchestrating turning our men to his side?”

I glanced at Rourke. “What is he talking about?”

“I don’t know,” my partner bit back. “He’s pulling stuff out of his ass.”

“No,” Enzo said, shaking his head. “You know me, Tex. I take my time and calculate everything. Rourke has been dipping his fingers into our business and profiting. Didn’t you find it odd you reached us so quickly? We knew there were more rats.” Enzo’s gaze flickered to Rourke. “Just like I’m sure one of those rats tipped him off that we were here tonight. He’s a part of this.”

I stared at Rourke as my body went cold. “Tell me he’s lying.”

“Come on,” Rourke growled. “They’re doing this to get into our heads. It’s a game so they can kill us.”

I frowned. “If they wanted us dead, we would have been already.” I lowered my gun. “What the hell are we doing here?”

Rourke stared at me. His eyes searched mine, but I had no idea what he was looking for. I hoped he would turn around, and I would follow him. We could forget about what we were doing, what was going on, and go back to the way things were. However, deep down I knew the truth. There was no going back.

Rourke’s gaze darkened when I didn’t say anything. “Fuck this. If you can’t do it, you can join them.”

What? Before I could question my partner, my friend, someone I trusted, Rourke’s fingers curled around my collar, and he yanked me back. The gun slipped from my hand and clanged to the floor as I was dragged closer to him. He moved us from behind the small shelter. My blood rushed as I was faced with not one but three guns trained on me.

Scratch that, four. The warm press of Rourke’s gun tapped my temple as he shielded his body with mine.

“Don’t shoot,” Enzo said. His voice cutting through the fog of confusion taking up residence in my brain.

Rourke laughed. “Shit, you know I thought you’d been pulling my leg that you were fucking this low life.”

Benito and Giancarlo kept their guns aimed our way. I hadn’t been this close to death in a long fucking time.

“Put the guns down now, or I’ll blow your fuck toy’s brains out.” His hot breath fanned against my ear, and he lowered his voice so that I was the only one to hear him. “Don’t worry. No one at the precinct will know you spread your legs for a bunch of monsters. You’ll die a hero instead of the failure you really are,” he spat. “Let’s be honest, the only reason the chief gave you this fucking task force in the first place is because you’re daddy’s special boy. It’s bullshit,” he spat. “I’ve worked my ass off for years, and you waltz in, some pathetic drug addict and get all the praise because of who your father is. I’m fucking sick of it.”

I twisted in Rourke’s grasp as his words hit me in the chest like a sledgehammer. What friendship I thought we had never existed, did it? My brain suddenly clicked, and I realized why I’d felt that nagging feeling this whole time. Rourke knew where everyone was. He’d known the layout of this place. Rourke had been here who knew how many times.

“You’re doing this because you’re jealous?” I scoffed. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Shut up,” Rourke snapped, his hold tightening. “You don’t know what it’s like trying to work your way up from nothing. They handed you this job, the best assignments like it was nothing. Fuck you and your asshole father.”

Enzo lowered his gun and stepped forward.

“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded. “Enzo, move!”

He didn’t say a word. Everything moved at a snail’s pace, and I was left helpless as I watched. Rourke leveled his gun, squeezed the trigger and horror shot through my veins. I stared, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, as the bullet tore through Enzo’s body. He wheeled back, his eyes opening to the size of saucers.

My ears rang, and I heard nothing else as Rourke’s finger curved around the trigger. Heart racing, I threw myself on him. We went down in a heap, a ball of flailing limbs and pounding fists. My knuckles split on one of his teeth, blood gushing onto his face. Everything was a blur around me as my instincts took over, and I fought with Rourke. My back hit the unforgiving ground. Pain rattled up and down my spine, but I continued to swing. My limbs grew heavy as Rourke’s hands wrapped around my throat and squeezed. Air became scarce, and spots danced in my vision.

 “Get off him!”

I blinked as a blur shot past me and tackled Rourke to the ground. My throat ached, raw and throbbing as I choked and tried to drag air into my lungs. I looked up and watched as Enzo and Giancarlo stomped on Rourke’s head. My partner tried to reach for his gun, only for Benito to crush that hand beneath his shoes.

“Tex,” Rourke called out.

I stared at the man I’d spent so much time with. How many nights had we sat together at some dingy bar, destressing after the horrors of work? How many times had we called each other late at night just to vent? How many beers had we shared, cups of coffee, fucked up home life stories? And he was willing to kill me.

My body stayed glued to the spot as they turned him into something that didn’t even resemble a human being anymore. I couldn’t turn away, no matter how much my brain screamed for me to do just that.

Enzo grunted, his knees hitting the ground. That shook me from my stupor. I was up on my feet and over to him before I could think about what I was doing. There was blood on his once-clean shirt, and his eyes were unfocused.

Boom!

“Shit, they’re trying to get through,” Giancarlo muttered. “You okay, Enzo?”

I crouched down and brought Enzo to his feet, using my shoulder to support him. “I’ve got him. How do we get out of here?”

“You disappear, and they’re going to have some questions for you, kid,” Benito said.

“I don’t give a fuck! I’m not leaving him,” I snapped. “Enzo isn’t looking good and he’s losing blood. We need to get out of here. Now.”

Don’t ask me to lose anyone else tonight. I can’t.

“Follow me,” Benito said. “Move fast. Help him, Gin.”

Together with Giancarlo, we moved Enzo through the warehouse. Benito moved one of the huge boxes and pointed at a trapdoor in the floor.

“Go. They’ll lead us outside.”

Nodding, I moved out of the way as they wrestled with the heavy door. My eyes went to Rourke. He stayed on the ground, a crumpled, bloody mess. All of his limbs were at odd angles. The whites of his eyes stood stark against all the blood, staring up at the ceiling.

My stomach turned. He’d been close to killing me, and I still couldn’t hate him. Why? I wanted to shake him and ask why the fuck he’d betray me like this. Had it always been there, his hate? Or did it develop slowly when I wasn’t looking? My throat clogged, but there were no tears. I recognized the shock that had settled over me, turning me cold. Later, I knew there was a floodgate waiting. One that would break as I mourned the man I thought I knew.

“Tex.”

My attention snapped back to Enzo. His eyes were glazed, and he looked pale, like he was going to pass out. I couldn’t even tell where the blood was coming from. My heart sped up, everything else forgotten except for him.

“I’m right here. Enzo, I’ve got you.”

He held onto me as we descended the stairs. Above, I could hear the voice of my Sargeant. However, I wasn’t going to turn back. I’d made my decision.

Enzo was the most important thing in my life. I only wanted to focus on him.