The car's dashboard cast an eerie glow on Richard's face as he navigated his unmarked car, through the streets as the distant city lights flickered like stars in the murky sky.
When he entered Inglewood Community Hospital about two weeks ago responding to a botched kidnapping he never expected to be caught between the feds, Alejandro Mandero and Matteo Leone!
FUCK!
Matteo Leone was the man who groomed him into who he was today. After his mother died, when he was fourteen, his father turned to alcohol. Richard felt like he lost both his parents. It wasn't easy. It took a toll on him as a teenager because when his father drank he took his anger out on him. Luckily, never his younger sister, Leslie.
Because of his father's drinking problem, there was never much money to go around in the house. He needed money to take care of himself and Leslie and needed it fast. So after school, he became an errand boy for Matteo.
It was Matteo who encouraged him to take his education seriously, for without it he wouldn't have much power in the real world. Once he graduated, he joined the police force and worked his way up to the rank of detective.
Because of his position, he was able to cover up a lot of Matteo's boys' messes. He may have grown up but he remained Matteo's errand boy. He was in so deep with Matteo that the only way for him to get out was for Matteo to die. Because, even in prison, Matteo would be able to get him.
He wanted out, needed out from Matteo's clutches so he could live his life without looking over his shoulder, without someone threatening his family.
His girlfriend, Hannah, and her three kids are a decoy. He needed Matteo to believe they were his weaknesses, not his sister whom he sent abroad, far away from Matteo's clutches.
He knew it was a fucked up move but he didn't reach this far in life to only reach this far! Staying two steps ahead of Matteo has kept him and his sister alive. Now, he needed to ensure that Dwayne never found out how close he was to Matteo.
As he turned into Baldwin Park, his thoughts lingered on the phone conversation he had with Dwayne earlier.
"Matteo has Olivia," Dwayne growled
"What do you mean he has her?"
"That son of a bitch has my sister! We're running out of time!"
As Richard thought about it now he never asked Dwayne who he got his information about Olivia from.
"You can't let Matteo know Olivia is your sister," Richard warned.
"What if he already knows and that's why he has her?" Dwayne asked, concerned.
"Dwayne, we don't know that. If a man like Matteo wanted leverage on you he would've made it known that he has Olivia. He hasn't done that, so we have to assume he doesn't know. Which means the next time you see him to discuss his case you have to keep your cool," Richard tried to assure him.
"I can't lose her, Richard, not after how we left things the last time I saw her…" Dwayne's voice trailed off.
Richard knew exactly how Dwayne felt because if his sister's life was in danger he'd move heaven and earth to bring her back safely.
That's why placing Olivia in Matteo's grasp was the perfect motivation Dwayne needed, to help Richard get rid of Matteo, for good.
He'd continue to pull Dwayne's strings and ensure that Dwayne would pull the trigger to end Matteo's life and not him.
For tonight, he had to put Matteo and Dwayne at the back of his mind, and focus on the task at hand, retrieve McKenzie and Jasmine safely.
He had gotten a call from a guy named Eddie about McKenzie's meeting with this mystery person to save Jasmine. Eddie also informed him he was the one who patched him through to Dwayne when Dwayne was in the bunker.
Even though the feds wanted McKenzie he knew that if he gave McKenzie over to his superiors he'd get the promotion of police corporal that he'd been eyeing for the past year.
He didn't tell Dwayne about the call. He knew once his superiors got a hold of McKenzie they'd never hear from her again, and Dwayne could finally move on with his life.
He'd make up some story about McKenzie being in the witness protection programme to keep her safe from Alejandro.
Just then Richard received a call, from an unknown number. The voice on the other end was cold and threatening.
"You better have her in sight, Detective. Don't mess this up, or you'll be the fall guy."
The ominous words fuelled Richard's determination to get this done as quickly as possible. The fact that he was Dwayne's friend in high school made it easier for McKenzie to trust him, and that's what he needed from her the most, her trust.
He parked his car in the shadows, the engine humming softly, the warehouse lay ahead. It wasn't long before McKenzie appeared in exactly what Eddie described her to be in.
Discreetly, Richard watched McKenzie's every step as she approached the entrance of the dimly lit warehouse, adjusting her hat and pulling her coat tighter around her.
As soon as she entered, Richard, gun in hand, followed McKenzie into the warehouse.
Inside the warehouse, he watched as she crept through the darkened corridors, and when he saw her freeze and hold her hand on her chest his anxiety intensified.
Richard inched closer and squinted. He watched as a cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows with a toddler in their arms, face hidden in the shadows.
"Jasmine," Richard mumbled to himself somewhat relieved.
Richard's eyes lingered on the cast on Jasmine's leg. Shit, Jasmine was injured? He had heard about the bloody war at the safe house but nobody told him the child was injured.
Why do you care? She's just a means to an end for you, isn't she?
He watched as the person handed Jasmine over to McKenzie but he was more surprised when she embraced the person.
"What the fuck!" Richard whispered trying to process what he just observed.
Who the fuck was that?
His trained instincts told him something wasn't right, and suspicion clawed at the edges of his mind.
He strained to hear the muffled voices, to discern the words exchanged but he couldn't hear the dialogue that unfolded.
Was McKenzie orchestrating this entire affair to entangle Dwayne in her dangerous web? To use him somehow?
The possibilities raced through his mind like a tempest. Could this be something he could use to turn Dwayne against McKenzie? He needed to play his cards right to get the results he wanted.
Richard watched as the mystery person handed McKenzie a small duffle bag that she slung on her shoulder before one last embrace. The person disappeared into the shadows as McKenzie retraced her steps, with Jasmine in hand, to the entrance of the warehouse.
Everything in him wanted to follow this mystery person to find out who it was but he needed to secure McKenzie and Jasmine, so he made his way outside.