RIZZOLI & ISLES

I Win

InkWheels

Title: I Win

Author: InkWheels

Fandom: Rizzoli & Isles

Pairing: Jane/Maura

Rating: R

Summary: Sequel to “Out of Control” – that’s all I’m sayin’.

I Win

InkWheels

Chapter 1

I’m not good with taking orders from people, nevermind a physical therapist who I swear is one wave short of a shipwreck in thinking that downing aloe vera juice is going help heal me even faster. Not to mention the “bed rest” he’s recommended.

I don’t have time to lie down and watch the soaps all day, I’ve got murders to solve, reports to write and an asshole to track down; the one who blew a hole right through me for some reason and turned my annoyance knob up to eleven.

Don’t get me wrong, I love all the attention Maura’s been giving me; meals in bed, massages and a little innocent making out here and there, but I’ve reached my breaking point. I need to go back to work.

I’m going back to work.

Does my mother know? Of course not. The less she knows the better; that’s my general rule of thumb when it comes to her. She’ll find out soon enough; most likely from Frankie. I’ll deal with the fall out when the time comes but for now I could care less.

As I pull into the lot at the station, I’m torn between being scared and being excited. Scared because this whole ordeal has no doubt freaked me out and stirred up old feelings but also excited because I love chasing bad guys; especially those that have chosen to fuck with me. And shooting me in my home, point blank when I’m unarmed definitely falls into the category of fucking with me.

I walk into the squad room and the room ignites into a sea of warm wishes, pats on the back, handshakes, hugs and even a few snide comments from the usual douche bags that live in the peanut gallery; namely Detective Crowe.

I got to my desk and Korsak crept over in my peripheral vision.

“What are you doing?” he asked, arms folded across his chest. I swear, the stance looked just like my father.

“Working. What are you doing?” I answered in my usual Monday morning sarcastic kind of way.

“You’re not supposed to be back for another week.”

“Please, a week. What’s a week? I’m ready to come back now. I’m bored to tears.” I sat down and started absently shuffling papers. I realized I should stop because I wasn’t sure what I was shuffling and going any further would probably screw up my chances of ever making heads or tails of what they were.

“Rizzoli? What are you doing here?” Frost asked as he came up behind me, coffee in–hand.

“Not you too?”

He shrugged. “What?”

“Look, I’ve got shit to do and would love to get to it before Crowe decides to make another wisecrack about me staying home where I belong.” I turned towards Frost. “Any chance you can score me one of those?” I asked, pointing at his coffee cup.

“Sure.” He smiled at me. “It’s nice to have you back.”

“Thanks, Barry.”

I like Frost. I know Korsak can’t stand him and the other guys make fun of him every time he tosses his cookies at a crime scene, but he’s a decent guy. The kind of guy you can trust for life. That’s the kind of partner you want by your side out there; or in here.

Korsak took a seat in the chair next to my desk. “Jane, seriously, what are you doing?”

“Trying to find this bastard that nearly killed me.” I didn’t look at him when I said it, just ran through the list of phone messages that were left on my desk; most of which could be tossed.

“And you couldn’t wait one more week like you’re supposed to?”

“Nope.”

Still flipping through them.

I can feel him staring at me and it was starting to get awkward.

“Okay then. When you’re doubled over by the end of the day, don’t come crying to me.” He got up and walked away.

“I won’t,” I said, still not looking at him.

I looked up just as Maura began walking towards me.

Crap.

“Jane? Wha–what are you doing here?”

Yeeeeah. I didn’t tell her I was coming back either.

“I decided to come back today. Kind of a last minute decision.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” The expression on her face won the title of “hurt.”

“I’m sorry. It’s not like I was trying to keep anything from you. I really only decided late last night.”

That was a liiiiitle bit of a lie.

“Well, it’s nice to have you back and I’m sure you’re anxious to get back to work so I’ll leave you be. You want to grab lunch this afternoon?”

A smile grew on my face. “Sure.”

“Then I will see you later.” She tossed me a wink before walking away.

Damn. A woman that was beautiful, smart, and wasn’t going to argue with me. Jackpot!

Chapter 2

My head was pounding by the time lunch rolled around so I was looking forward to getting away from my desk.

I met Maura at a small little Italian place. Their meatball subs, of all things, were like heaven on a roll and my empty stomach was ready and willing for it.

“Hey.” I kissed the top of her head and then slid into the booth.

“How’s your first day back?”

“Ugh. I’ve been knee–deep in mugshots all morning trying to see if one of them triggers at least something.” I squeezed the bridge of my nose.

“No luck, huh?”

“Nothing. It’s like saying Casper The Friendly Ghost shot me. It’s just so frustrating because I’ve been over and over it since it happened. I guess just because I’m on the clock now doesn’t mean it’s going to magically make him appear.”

She patted my hand. I love those “little things” she does to comfort me. She knows exactly where the line is drawn for me in terms of too much.

I finished up lunch and returned back to the station to find a large bouquet of red roses sitting on my desk. Naturally, there was another round of comments being thrown my way as I looked them over.

My immediate thought was Maura, but given she knew “the line” I dismissed her as the sender.

Opening up the card it read:

“Welcome back, Jane.”

No name.

Grant? Maybe he didn’t sign it in order to save himself from being harassed by every guy on the force?

I chewed on my bottom lip as I started to get a weird feeling about them. Anyone that I know that would have sent these to me would have put there name or at least their initials.

I went out to the lobby to talk to Harriet our receptionist. Maybe she could shed some light on this.

“Hey Harriet. Do you know who delivered flowers to me?”

“I didn’t catch a company name, just a young man that said he had flowers for you.”

“What’d he look like?”

“Average height, short brown hair, probably only about twenty years old. Maybe younger.”

I glanced up at the cameras above the reception area. “Get someone to pull those tapes. I want to know who delivered these.”

“You got it.”

I marched back to my desk and called Maura; whispering in the phone so no one could overhear. “Did you send me roses?”

“Noooo. I wish I could but I don’t think work would be an appropriate place to do that.”

“I didn’t think you would either. I have a feeling they’re from my shooter.”

Just saying the words “my shooter” made my skin crawl.

“What?!?”

“This might be the lead I’m looking for because I’ve got nothing otherwise.”

I could hear her sigh on the other end. “Be careful, Jane, please. They’re keeping the detail outside your apartment, right?”

I rolled my eyes at the thought. “Yeah. They’re there until this guy’s caught.”

“Good.”

“I’ll see you later?”

“You bet.”

I hung up the phone and chewed on my thumbnail. Was I overreacting? Were these from someone I knew? I guess it’s better to overreact than not react at all.

Digging into my bottom drawer, I whipped out an evidence bag and dropped the roses, vase and all, into the bag, sealing it at the top.

“What are you doing, Rizzoli?” Frost asked from his desk.

“I don’t think these came from anyone I know. I’m bringing them down to the lab to see if they can pull some prints off them.” I didn’t wait for him to answer, frankly I didn’t care what he had to say about it.

Chapter 3

As I sifted through the footage from the surveillance cameras both inside the lobby and out front, my phone rang. “Rizzoli.”

“It’s Tommy. I pulled a few prints off the vase. They belong to a Christopher Young, seventeen years old with an address at 1495 Cross Street in Charlestown.”

I jotted the info down on a white napkin I got when I grabbed coffee on the way back from lunch with Maura. “Thanks Tommy.”

“Sure thing.”

I stood up and shrugged on my leather jacket. “You wanna take a ride?” I asked Frost who was trying to plow through a bunch of overdue reports.

“Definitely. I need a break, I’m going cross–eyed. Where to?”

“To visit the kid who delivered the flowers.” I started walking quickly, I noticed that I do that when I’m overflowing with determination or if I’m pissed off. In this case, I’m a little mixture of both.

“Kid?”

“Yep.”

We knocked on the door to the residence and a woman in her late 40’s answered the door. “Can I help you?”

I lifted up my badge and forced a smile onto my face. “Is Christopher home? We’d like to speak with him.”

The woman’s eyes lit up. “Wh–what did he do? You have the wrong kid. Christopher’s a good boy, never given me any trouble.”

I put my hand up in an effort to get her to shut the hell up. “We just want to talk to him and clear some things up. Is he home?”

She shook her head. “No. He said he was going into Boston with some friends and then to the skate park down the street.”

“Where is the park, ma’am?”

“Over on Green. They’re all good kids. I know sometimes those skater types get a bad rap because some of them are punks, but my son isn’t like them.”

“You’re welcome to come with us to talk to him if that will make you feel better,” Frost suggested.

I glared at him, wondering why he was trying to be so damn accommodating. For all this woman knew, her kid is out selling drugs and getting high every afternoon. It’s always the ones that think their kids are angels that have kids that are the total opposite.

“I…I don’t want to embarrass him in front of his friends. I mean, how would you like it if your mother showed up with the police?”

I thought about it and heard her loud and clear. “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.” I gave her a smile that was half genuine, half just because. “In case we can’t find him at the park, please have him contact us.” I handed her a card and thanked her for her time.

The park was full of kids. I guess it’s good that these kids have a place to go to, rather than hanging around the streets spray painting walls or smashing windows with rocks. Still, I can’t help but feel like it’s just disguised as a breeding ground for obnoxious pricks that will grow up to think nothing of knocking over a liquor store or getting off on beating the shit out of homeless people.

A little kid, maybe no more than twelve was sitting on a large rock trying to fix his board. “Hi. Do you happen to know Christopher Young?”

He looked up at us, his eyes squinting from the sunlight blasting from behind us. “He’s over there,” flipping his head towards the area where the bulk of the kids were.

“Wanna narrow it down for us?” I asked, flashing my badge just to be an asshole.

“Brown hoodie and black pants.”

Is it wrong that I wanted to slap the piss out of this little kid who could have cared less that two cops were here looking for one of his friends. I admit that I wanted him to be even a little bit afraid just so I could feel like I was the adult and he’s the child.

We walked over towards the fence and saw Christopher riding his skateboard back and forth, flipping it with his feet and falling on his ass.

I walked inside the gate and motioned for him to come over. He looked at his friends, shrugged, and kept on skating.

Frost laughed at the frustration that was clearly brewing within me.

Not helping.

“Hey! Christopher Young,” I yelled to him as I walked towards the group of boys. “Get off the board and get over here.”

That’s when it started.

Some of the older boys began whistling and cat calling, one going so far as to approach me and look me straight up and down as if I were on sale.

“Beat it, kid.”

“Oh I’d love for you to beat it for me,” he teased; his buddies laughing over the comment.

I moved my jacket back, exposing my gun and held up my badge. “I highly suggest you take a hike or I’ll find something to bust you on.”

Christopher watched what was unfolding and was smart enough to come over so I didn’t have to go get him and put him in some sort of headlock. My ribs were aching and I had one nerve left so it all worked out for me.

“What’s going on?”

“Did you deliver flowers to someone at the Boston Police Department this afternoon?”

The look on his face indicated that he wanted so desperately to say no but the glimmer of fear in his eye got the better of him. “Yeah. Why?”

“Who asked you to deliver them?”

“Some dude.”

“Does this DUDE have a name?”

“I didn’t get one. He came up to me on the street, asked me to deliver the flowers. Said they were for his girlfriend and that they’d had a fight so he couldn’t do it himself. Gave me a hundred bucks.”

“What’d he look like?”

“I dunno, dark hair, not real tall.”

“That’s the description of half the men in Boston. What’d he have on?”

“Black jacket, jeans, nothing crazy. He had a tattoo on his neck but I couldn’t see what it was. Looked like writing.”

“I already gave your mom my card but…”

“You told my mom!”

“I went to your house first so yeah, deal with it.”

“Oh man.” He ran his fingers through his hair.

I handed him a card. “If you think of anything else or if he tries to contact you I want you to call me immediately, okay?”

“Okay,” he said as he tucked the card in his back pocket. “So am I in trouble?” he asked softly so his friends wouldn’t overhear.

“No. This guy’s done something pretty bad and I need to find him.” I wanted to elaborate, spill my guts and tell him that the asshole came to my apartment and tried to take me out with a single shot to the chest, but I left it at that.

Chapter 4

The description Christopher gave me played over and over in my head as I sat on my couch sipping a beer.

I flashed back to that night when I opened the door and he was standing there; a chill running down my spine.

“Who the hell are you?” I asked out loud, as if someone could magically answer it for me.

I flipped through my case file and read through the pizza delivery guy’s statement for the hundredth time; reading how he was attacked from behind, tasered and thrown behind the dumpster behind my apartment building.

They interviewed all of my neighbors and no one saw or heard a thing up until the time of the gunshot. The surveillance tapes from the lobby were useless because he hid his face well; as if he were robbing a bank.

We got pizza pretty late that night; later than usual, so there wasn’t anyone in the hallways that might have seen him. Even if they did, they wouldn’t have seen much, really.

I ran my fingers through my hair; frustrated. My ribs were killing me, more than I cared to admit, so I downed a couple of Tylenol PM’s in hopes of taking the edge off and knocking me out so I could get a full night’s sleep for once.

There’s no doubt I’ve been pushing myself lately, but I just want to catch this son–of–a–bitch. Is that too much to ask?

My phone rang to Maura’s ringtone. “Hey you.”

“Hey yourself. You wanna come over?”

“Wish you’d called a few minutes ago. I just took some PM’s so rather than risk landing in a ditch somewhere on the way to your place, I think I’m just going to conk out here in a bit.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.”

She knew the tone of my voice and when I was lying. Damn her.

“You sure? Come on.”

I rolled my eyes; I couldn’t help it. “So my ribs hurt a little bit, that’s all. It’s nothing.”

“Jane, you need to slow down. Why isn’t someone else handling this case for you.”

For some reason, and no it’s not PMS, that comment hit me like a bat to the skull. “What?”

“This is stressful enough for you as it is, they should have Korsak or someone running leads on this.”

My voice left me for a moment, which is rare. “Are you for real? Maura, do I need to remind you that some guy tried to kill me? Do you not think that I want to find him since the whole month while I was out of commission not one person could come up with a lead?”

“I…”

“Try having someone put a bullet in your chest and see how fast your tune changes and how much you want to hunt the fucker down and put a gun to his head, making him plead for his life and apologize until you don’t want to hear it anymore.”

“Jane.”

“I’m working this case even if they were to take me off of it. I’m close, I can smell it. And when I get a hold of this bastard…”

“Jane! Jane, stop!”

The sound of her voice snapped me out of my rant and that’s when I realized I was sweating.

Shit.

Look what this is doing to me. Again.

“Jane, I’m not saying that you can’t handle it, I’m just saying that you’re still healing physically and emotionally and maybe you should slow down and get some help on this one.”

Shutting my eyes, I could feel myself coming down from the adrenaline rush. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you. I’m…I’m just frustrated.”

“So he’s the one that sent you the flowers, huh.”

“Yeah. Had some kid deliver them.”

“What did the card say?”

Crap. Why’d she have to ask that. I really hoped she wouldn’t ask that.

“It said welcome back, Jane.”

“So he’s watching you.”

I nodded but then realized a nod means nothing over the phone. “Looks like it.”

I braced myself for it. The speech about moving somewhere; going into hiding until THEY catch him.

She sighed on the other end of the phone. “Maybe you should let them put you into protective custody for a while…”

There it is.

“…until he’s caught. What if he comes after you again? Or worse, what if he comes back to finish you off?”

“I want him to come after me again. Then I’ll know exactly who HE is.”

“You’re not thinking clearly, Jane. What are you going to do, stand out in front of your apartment building yelling ‘here I am, come get me!’?”

“Look, I’m getting tired I should probably get to bed before I fall asleep on you. I’ll call you later.” I know it was rude but I hung up before she could answer.

I tossed the phone onto the coffee table and sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly; my ribs now protesting even more. I just don’t want to hear it. Everyone thinks they know better. Everyone thinks you should pass things off on other people when you’re scared.

I’m scared. Yeah, I’m scared, but I’m not going to tuck my tail between my legs and hide. I faced Hoyt and it took everything within me to sit there and listen to him and look at his evil face and not breakdown. If I did he’d have won. Same with this case. I’m going to bust this guy and win. I won once by not dying like he wanted me to but I’m going to win again by nailing his sorry ass to the wall.

Chapter 5

It would be pointless to visit the tattoo shops in the area that had done writing on guys’ necks because it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Plus, who’s to say that it was done here in Massachusetts.

I must have looked through what felt like tens of thousands of mugshots, picking out the ones with neck tattoos. Most were still in jail and the rest just didn’t feel like they were him. Call it a gut instinct.

I sipped my coffee and picked up the folded newspaper I had on the corner of my desk andI skimmed through the first few pages. Then I landed upon a story that irked me.

“Women’s Name To Live On” read the headline. It went on to talk about a park being dedicated to Ramona Ortiz. “Give me a God damn break,” I huffed.

“What’s the matter?” Frost asked.

“Remember the Ortiz case from last year. The girl who was high as a kite and walked into the 7–11 and killed the store clerk for a lousy fifty two dollars.”

“Didn’t she commit suicide in jail about a month ago.”

“Well, you’ll be happy to hear that they’re dedicating a park to her this afternoon because she was such a ‘great kid who was dealt a bad hand in life.’ Ugh. This kinda shit makes me sick. It’s like rewarding bad behavior.” I looked at the photo of her, growing more and more nauseated with each passing moment.

“Think they’ll name a park after us when we’re gone?”

I chuckled at that one. “I highly doubt it. I’d be lucky if they named a Port–O–Potty after me at this rate.” I folded the paper back up, tossing it back where I’d originally had it. “I know this is stupid but part of me wants to go to it and see what they have to say.”

Frost’s head snapped up so fast I thought it might fall off. “No way.”

“Oh come on.”

“Have you completely lost your mind?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“If you go down there it’ll be like you’re taunting them.”

“Exactly,” I said with a devilish grin.

“Count me out. You can hang your damn self.”

“Fine. Then I’ll go by myself. And when you ask me about it I’m not going to tell you anything.”

Frost started to fake cry.

I tossed a pencil at him and we both had a good laugh over it.

As funny as it was, I was also serious. I was going.

I pulled into the small parking lot next to the park and surveyed the area to see how many people had showed.

It killed me that there was a hefty amount of people in attendance. Just goes to show that money buys everything, even a so–called park; no matter if you’re a murderer, rapist or child molester.

The “park” looked like a small lot of land that someone in the community, and most likely friends of the family, owned and transformed into a park. A few trips to Home Depot and Toys ’R Us and you’ve got yourself a park; just add water.

“I should have brought my barf bag,” I mumbled to Korsak whom I talked into coming with me.

“Let’s just get this over with. And if anyone asks, I was never with you.”

I got out of the car, shutting it behind me. “Geez, what’s with all the Debbie Downers?”

We walked towards the small dedication ceremony that was already underway and stood on the outskirts of the crowd.

A huge portrait of Ramona was hanging by the podium as someone was delivering the dedication speech.

“Ramona loved this neighborhood and it’s a tragedy that her life was cut so short.”

“She committed suicide, you loser,” I thought to myself.

“She always enjoyed giving back to the community whenever possible and could always be found making meals for the elderly during the holidays.”

“Stop it, my heart is bleeding for this poor lost soul,” my sarcastic thoughts said. “Gimmie a freaking break.”

“We are gathered here today to allow her name to carry on and continue to give back for generations to come. Thank you.”

Applause broke out in the crowd and I seriously almost pulled a Frost and threw up on my shoes. I refused to play along and clap. Instead, I kept my hands folded over my chest; the classic “I don’t believe your bullshit” pose.

“Why are we even here?” Korsak whispered to me.

“Observing.”

“This is such a girl thing, I swear.”

“Excuse you.”

“What are you doing here?” Ramona’s father’s voice called out in our direction.

I turned my head and saw him approaching with a young man in tow. “Just paying our respects, sir.”

“Haven’t you done enough to our family Detective Rizzoli?”

He looked like he was going to run up and punch me in the face, and he probably would have if one of his sons hadn’t grabbed his flailing arm.

“Dad. Go back over there with mom and Gina.” He pushed the older man slightly, getting him to turn back.

When the son turned his head I thought my stomach had just dropped onto my feet. I almost looked down to make sure it hadn’t but my eyes couldn’t tear away from it…the tattoo on the side of his neck; in writing. I nudged Korsak but it meant nothing to him at the moment because it’s not like I could start pointing like a little kid would do when they’ve seen something and they’re blatantly obvious about it.

“My father’s right, you shouldn’t be here.”

“I just wanted to pay my respects because I wasn’t able to attend the funeral.”

“Why is that?” The smugness in his voice drove through me as if he’d shot me with another one of his coward bullets.

“Where were you on the night of March 18th around 9:30?”

“Excuse me?”

I could see the lightbulb go off in Korsak’s head as he finally caught up.

“You heard her.”

He licked his lips. “Home with my mother.”

“Then she could back up your story if I go talk to her right now?”

I went to move and he took a step sideways to block my path. “I told you, you shouldn’t be here, detective.” His voice was cold yet flat and demanding. I’d rattled him.

Korsak touched my arm, indicating that we should leave. He was right. We needed a game plan and starting this with all these people around; most likely all carrying, would be a big mistake.

“Don’t leave town.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Guilty people do strange things like that,” I said, getting up in his face.

Korsak tugged on my arm. “Easy, Rizzoli. Let’s go.” He turned me around, even took the keys from me and drove us back to the station. Probably a good idea since I might have got us in a wreck I was so mad.

Chapter 6

When we got back to the station, the adrenaline pumping through my veins was so intense it gave me a headache. I sat down and put my head in my hands.

“You okay, Rizzoli?” Korsak asked as he came over and patted my shoulder.

“What happened?” Frost asked.

“I think we just found her shooter. Ramona’s brother. He matches the description that the kid gave us, plus he’s got a tattoo written on the side of his neck.

I got up from my desk and walked downstairs to the coroner’s office. I peeked through the glass door and found Maura in there alone. Well, with a dead body but…yeah…alone.

I sheepishly walked in. We hadn’t spoken since our fight over the phone.

“Hi,” she said, as if nothing had happened.

“You mind if I come in?”

“Not at all, what’s up?”

That’s when the flood gates opened and the dam that held back all the tears I hadn’t shed over this case burst into a thousand pieces and I started sobbing. Sobbing like a baby.

“Jane?”

I heard the snap of her latex gloves coming off and her arms were around me in an instant.

“What happened?” she asked in a soft voice by my ear.

“I found him.”

“The man that tried to kill you?”

“Yes.”

“W–well then these are happy tears?”

“Yes and no,” I blubbered as I pulled away from her. “I know I’ve thought about finding him but when it actually happened I just wasn’t prepared for it.”

She rubbed my back to soothe me. “It’s about time you let it out.”

I laughed as I blew my nose on a sheet of rough paper towel. “I know. I had no idea right now would be when it would happen.”

“It’s okay. You’re okay.”

I nodded as I wiped my eyes. “I am but I will officially be once I have him in custody.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “You mean you haven’t arrested him yet?”

“No. It’s a long story.” I tossed the snotty paper towel in the trash can. “Lets have dinner tonight and I’ll tell you all about it.”

“Okay. Chinese sound good?”

“Perfect.” I turned to leave but turned back again. “Thanks for letting me have my breakdown.”

“Anytime,” she said with a smile.

When I got back upstairs the squad room was buzzing with the latest news.

In the short time that I had disappeared, Korsak and Frost had actually partnered up to get the dirt on Ramona’s brother.

Korsak handed me a print out of his mugshot. “Raul Ortiz. Arrested for assault and battery, larceny, grand theft auto, dealing…the list goes on and on.”

“Well, now he’s going down for attempted murder of a police officer,” I said as I looked at the black and white photo.

“What’s the plan?” Frost asked as he took a seat on the corner of my desk.

“I think we should talk to his mother, check out his story but I have a feeling his mother is going to tell us whatever we want to hear.” Korsak played with his tie; something he did when he was nervous.

“We have to though. This has to be by the book or he’s gonna walk,” I reminded them.

The Lieutenant suddenly appeared by my desk. Apparently I was so lost in thought I didn’t hear or see him coming.

“Rizzoli, I’m sending you to a safe house until this blows over.”

“Lieutenant, with all due respect I don’t feel like I should run from him. If anything I need to draw him out so we can nail him.”

“No way.”

“Please. I don’t care if you litter my entire street with cops, I need to do this to put an end to it once and for all. I’m sick of having a detail outside of my apartment. I feel like I’m eight and still have a babysitter.”

He put his hands on his hips.

“Look, let us figure this out and then we’ll run it by you. If you think it’s too risky then I’ll go, but I at least want a crack at it.”

He contemplated for a few seconds. “Fine. Let me know as soon as you have something and you’ll have whoever you need.”

“Thank you, sir.”

He walked away and Korsak took a seat on the other side of my desk. “He’s not going to go for anything we run by him.”

“I know. That’s why we’re not going to tell him.”

Frost and Korsak looked at one another and shook their heads.

Chapter 7

I was exhausted and my wounds were throbbing. Probably because I’d spent the day on my feet and now I was paying the price.

Korsak and Frost thought it best to interview Mrs. Ortiz so they went off on their way while I stayed for a little while longer trying to figure out an air–tight way of bagging him. I didn’t want us to screw this up.

After about an hour, I glanced at my watch and remembered dinner plans with Maura who would be arriving at my house any minute with some yummy Chinese food from Dragon Fire.

I grabbed my jacket and dashed out the door.

Half way home I was stopped at a red light when I got a call from Korsak. “What’s up?”

“Rizzoli, where are you?” His voice was laced with panic.

“Almost home, why?”

“Listen, Raul is following you. I was wrong, his mother totally sang like a songbird.”

I almost dropped the phone when I heard what he said and immediately started looking in my rear view mirror to see who was behind me, but it was dark and I couldn’t see faces. “Great. I’m kind of a sitting duck now, aren’t I?”

The light turned green and I stomped on the gas. “Look, I’m gonna have to call you back. I’m hightailing it out of here. If he’s one of the cars behind me I’ll see if I can shake him.”

In order to focus, I hung up and tossed the phone onto the passenger’s seat.

Sure enough, I looked in my mirror to see a black Honda swerving in and out of traffic trying to catch up to me.

A quick tug of the wheel and I hooked a last minute left, nearly sending me into a tree, but I managed to get my car pointing in the right direction, zooming down the street at speeds that were well over fifty miles over the speed limit.

Our cat and mouse game of weaving in and out of traffic continued for a good ten minutes which must have infuriated him because the next thing I knew my back window was blown out by a bullet.

“Shit,” I cursed loudly. “And here I am without my vest on.”

My car sailed sideways as I jerked the wheel; forcing the tires to emit an ear–piercing screech. That’s when I took the opportunity to return fire but the bullets only pierced the hood; a wasted effort.

He fired again and again and I felt a stinging burn to my upper right arm as a bullet whizzed by and clipped me. Not enough to do damage, just enough to burn like hell.

In a way I’m glad he hit me because it just fueled my rage.

I tried again to get the car to drift sideways so I could take another shot, but this time when I did I quickly found out that he was closer than I thought. The front of his car plowed into the side of mine, sending me into a spin; flipping the car over a few times and then coming to a spark–skidding stop on the roof.

It took me a moment to get my bearings. Taking stock of my injuries would have to wait, I was in the middle of fighting for my life.

I unclipped my seatbelt, sending me down onto the roof; jarring my already injured ribs and tearing a gasp from my lungs as the pain intensified. Still, I tucked it away and scooted out the passenger’s side window.

A boot connected with my ribcage sending stars and all sorts of sparkly things swirling above my head. A wet crack sound echoed off the buildings lining the street. He really didn’t have to kick me that hard to make them break, given they had just been through enough trauma already.

“Did you like the flowers?” Raul taunted me, pointing his gun in my face like a wild man. “I have to admit, I thought for sure I’d killed you. Why didn’t you just die?”

I had to laugh, even though it hurt to do it. “You can’t kill me that easy, coward.”

That comment bought me a punch to the face which I really didn’t need.

My body twisted and flopped to the ground; my cheek taking in the coolness of the pavement. Part of me wanted to stay there because it hurt to much to move but the other part of me wanted to get up and rip his face off.

“You ruined my sister’s life sending her to jail. You ruined my parent’s lives too! My sister would be alive today if you hadn’t put her in jail!”

“She’s a freakin’ murderer!” I yelled at him; tired of all his whining.

My breath caught in my throat and I flinched as I heard his gun click, followed by another click.

No bullets. His gun was empty.

Wasting no time, I reached for my back up that was strapped to my ankle, aimed and fired; hitting him right in the chest where he hit me. He flew back, smacking his head on the pavement; the gun skidding across the street.

Like Hoyt, I wanted him to feel what it was like.

I wrapped my arm around my midsection as I somehow managed to get myself to my feet. Swaying a bit as my head was dizzy from everything that had just happened, I stood over him, watching him gasp for air as blood dribbled out of the corner of his mouth.

“It’s hard to breathe isn’t it? It gets worse. Then you’ll start choking on your own blood. Too bad you’re not lucky enough to have a medical examiner for a friend that knows what to do and could save your life.”

As I moved away from him, I heard sirens wailing in the distance; the sound growing louder and louder until several units arrived on the scene and illuminating the area with alternating flashes of red and blue.

Korsak and Frost pulled up not long after that but I don’t remember them coming over to me. I sank to the ground, leaning against my wrecked car; unable to stand a second longer. Despite the pain, relief washed over me. It was over and I win. Then I passed out.

~ ~ ~