I wasn't sure if I wanted to do this.
My mind told me this wasn't the best idea but my heart told different.
I had to do it. It was the only want out.
A long breath of fresh air filled my lungs as I unconsciously held it in, letting it out when I was about to get in the building.
The hooded sweater I wore blurted my identity, no one was surely going to recognize me.
I hoped so.
My fingers trembled while gripping on the handle.
'I have to do this.' I kept on chanting in my mind.
"I have to report a crime." I muttered to the officer behind the desk.
"What for?" She questioned, looking at me while patiently waiting for a reply.
I have to do this.
"For murder."
My fingers slid on the hooded material and threw it down my head. Her eyes immediately widened as her lips flew open for a yell.
"It's her! It's Darcy Hills!"
In a flash eyes darted our way.
"Calm down!" I tried to beg but to no avail.
Officers gathered round me, one pinning me on the desk.
"If you can just let me explain.... it was all Rico Rodriguez." I uttered through the aching pain I felt in my jaw.
"Your partner right?" The officer spat out.
"Fuck! Just let me explain..."
"Darcy...Let her go." A voice echoed from behind and in a flash the man let loose.
"Diego?"
I was stunned to see him here. From all the people I expected it wasn't him.
His head made a certain movement that I was sure was walk with me, so I did as he proceeded his movements.
"What are you doing here?" I scanned him, puzzled to why he was in one of their outfits.
"I work here."
Figured.
"I've been for a while now, I'm quite an important person in the force at the moment." He continued.
He led us into this room where other officers gathered, making me feel highly anxious.
"Darcy Hills." Diego motioned and they all stared at me with uncertainty.
"She has things to explain and I think we should let her." He said, probably to answer their thoughts to why I'm not behind bars already.
Some dark skinned man stood from his spot, walking towards us but before he could, Diego walked out and I gladly followed.
We went into a small room, a cold metal table right at the middle and a couple of matching chairs with it.
"Talk." The man ordered, after placing a recorder in between us.
"It was Rico Rodriguez. Everything was him." I started, making sure at the end of our discussion Rico was sure to be arrested.
The man stood up and left the door for some reason, leaving me with Diego.
"Who's that?" He questioned after pushing a button on the recorder.
"The man that punched you when you barged in my house a couple weeks back."
He gave a silent hum at my response.
"You have to be brutally honest in this, every word you say can and would be used against you." He informed, resuming the recorder.
The man then dashed in with a folder in his hand, slamming it in front of me.
"Describe the person." He ordered.
"Rico is this tall man, probably six foot three. Buzz cut, this tattoo on his neck... brown eyes."
"This?" The cover to the file was thrown open and a not so clear picture of Rico was presented. His face in view and nothing else. His figure next to a car, obviously about getting in.
I slowly nodded.
"A couple of... complaints had been reported about him. His last record was early last year and since then we've not heard anything new from him apart from now." He informed and I'm glad I'm not the first person reporting a case on his name.
"Do you know why we stopped his last investigation?" He questioned and I skeptically shook my head.
"Because Rico Rodriguez was found dead. His body stabbed twenty times and dumped in front of this very station."
What the hell is he saying?
"Rico Rodriguez is alive. He's not dead..." I stated, trying my best to get him convinced.
"The pictures we have were the exact same with the body's face. The DNA samples that most people brought, everything was a match... apart from his finger prints. His entire hand was butchered, we couldn't get those." He mentioned with certainty.
"Doesn't that sound suspicious? Everything about him is a mystery..." I stated, getting more and more confused by the second.
"The woman that reported his last crime confessed to be his killer it a few days later, saying she wanted the job done since the department took a hell of time to get through with it." He informed and I scoffed.
"She was clearly threatened. You don't understand the things that Rico is capable of." My mind was in knots.
"During their attempt to arrest her, she slid out a pistol from one of the cops and committed suicide... there wasn't any further investigation on the issue." He acted like he didn't regard any of my statements. My words just flew past him.
"All these are adding up. He faked his own death and threatened her to cover up and due to that she was devastated and killed herself. It's pure logic."
"Darcy Hills, there is no logical way that Rico Rodriguez is still alive. If you're not ready to say the truth then admit it and face the consequences for your actions." He said in a threatening tone.
"That's not possible. Rico killed my father, Rico was who ordered people to get me out of jail, Rico kidnapped I and my family then shipped us to a whole different country for God knows what...Rico ruined my Life. You can't fucking tell me he isn't alive." I was clearly loosing it.
The man was about to speak but Diego tapped his arm.
"I knew Darcy Hills before now. I came to her place one day and saw him. I saw Rico Rodriguez, the same man on that picture. It wasn't last year or two years back, it was earlier this year. I guarantee you, Rico Rodriguez is still alive."
I managed to let out a gush of air at Diego's statement.
Fuck, finally!
—————
"More of this would be looked into, for now Darcy Hills has to be supervised. There would be more interrogations and more answers to everything." The man dropped a file on the desk.
"This surely has to be looked into Micheal. If what she claims is the truth... then we have to find him." The man behind the desk responded. He looked of higher rank and authority.
"We would continue this tomorrow, but you have to stay in sight. If you end up missing, or rather dead, this investigation is long gone." Micheal stated as soon as he came out the room.
"I suggest you stay with Diego. Since you both had some sort of relationship it wouldn't be hard for you to live together, now would it?" He questioned and Diego shook his head.
"Great."
He left.
"I have to go back to my family, I can't certainly stay with you." I uttered to Diego.
"If you want to gain their trust and mine then you have to." He mentioned and walked away, entering into a spacey office.
—————-
"...I'll be back as soon as the everything is settled. I can't let any of you get into more issues because of this."
I had to explain to Ace and Rowan before they run round the town just searching for me.
"Just be safe, okay?" Rowan begged and I gave him a guaranteed hum.
"How are they?" Diego questioned as soon as I lended him back the phone.
"Better... Coal would die to see you again." I mentioned and he chuckled.
The atmosphere was awkwardly silent, none of us having a clue of what to do now.
"I have to apologize..." He started of with and I raised a brow, genuinely confused.
"About Stephanie."
"Oh. Where is she anyways?" I questioned, slightly concerned.
"We broke up. I broke up with her... something I wanted to do all along but just didn't know how to. She was a thorn in my flesh, I wouldn't lie."
"She was that bad and yet you still had to lead her on and embarrass both yourself and her at the restaurant that day." I stated.
"But it's fine." I informed because of how short of words he looked.
"I truly liked you, I just didn't know how to leave her and get with you." He mentioned and I scoffed.
"So you decided to play with both our emotions?" I questioned and he was silent yet again.
"I genuinely don't care about this right now. I have a psychopath in search of me at the moment. Find a way of rescuing me from this and I might just forgive you." I mentioned with a counterfeit grin and left in an instant.
***
"Talk." Micheal ordered, starting the recorder yet again.
I told them everything, but certainly blurting out some actions that would put my or Ace's name in the mud.
Ace was forced to join the three goons to steal from Rico.
I was told to lie about Christopher's death so Steve wouldn't go to jail, and oblivious to me Rico wanted Steve free just so he could easily end his life.
Christopher's death has been for self defense and nothing more.
Steve physically abusing Stella till it got to her death which Rico found about and ended Steve's life for her.
He loved his mother, so he hated to see someone else's maltreated.
Luis who had killed Issabella was killed by Rico so there wasn't any point in trying to switch his story.
Rico shipping I, Pedro, Zane, Luis and my siblings all the way to Italy and all of us apart from Luis found our way back.
"...Then I came to the station."
That ended my summarization.
"Quite a story." Micheal muttered.
"So trust me when I say Rico is still alive." I stated and he gave a reassuring hum.
"I still wouldn't believe it till I get to see him myself. You have to meet him again..."
"What?" I immediately interrupted, knowing fully well I can't. Rico might just end me if we ever meet again.
"We would be around, we just want him in one place. Think you can do that for us?"
I nodded.
I wasn't certain if I could do the task, but if this was the only thing they needed to trust everything I said then I have to try everything and anything to get Rico to them.
——————
It was a mindless idea to think that he would answer any of my calls. He wasn't that dumb to fall for that.
I had to find him myself.
"Is this the place?" Diego questioned and I confirmed.
My eyes scanned the entire space.
It was quiet, empty and clearly unknown... as usual.
"It's locked." My statement because of the door that I continuously tugged but unfortunately didn't budge.
Diego got to it and with a couple of hits got the locks broken.
It was empty.
"He's quick with his movements, I can give him that." Diego mentioned.
My ideas were getting less and less more useful. This entire space was our meeting point. The spot where all this begun.
My mind quickly went to the empty spot where Ace laid a long time ago, the thought of almost loosing him rushing round my mind.
My memories became fresh.
I started to recall Rico and I having a talk at what used to be a bar space.
When I first held a gun, at the edge of killing a man.
All the memories flushed in but I didn't want them to... I want nothing but to forget about all of this.
A sudden tone startled me, both Diego and I jerking in our positions.
It was my phone and I was more shocked to see who was calling than the noise it made.
Rico.
"He's calling..." I rushed to inform Diego and he shook his head. "Don't pick up."
We silently watched as the call went off and immediately begun all over again.
"I think we should..." I slid the call to answer it and a series of breaths were heard.
"Princess..." His voice echoed round the room.
"You haven't changed a thing." He continued and my expression became more puzzled.
"Rico..." "Huh?"
I called out and he sounded innocently.
"Stop this... let's talk this through, person to person." I said, not knowing what to else to possibly say.
"Would now be a right time?" The question took me by surprise.
"Looking at the dress you have on, I'm certain you wore that for me. Glad you remember you look breathtaking in red."
I looked down at my outfit... he knew what I had on.
My eyes darted all around.
Fuck.
How didn't we see the this earlier.
"A camera is at the corner of the room. He can see us, we have to go. Now." I muttered to Diego and immediately I heard a gasp left his lips.
"Stop. Stop... don't do this. Please."
I pleaded to Rico as TY gripped Diego's neck with a pistol next to his head.
Rico casually walked towards me.
"You killed my fucking best man, and now my sister is taking treatments."
"All these weren't needed princess... either way, I forgive you." His finger slid on my hair and tucked a loose piece behind my ear.
A scoff left his lips as he glanced at Diego.
"I remember you..." He mentioned while snapping his fingers, clearly trying to recall something.
"Ah. You're still with him?... he's your knight in shining amour, correct?" He asked with a chuckle.
His palm slid to Diego's back pocket, pulling out the pistol.
"You wanted to use this on me?" He asked with a grin, dangling it in front of Diego.
"Do what you want, just don't kill him." Rico walked out and a shot was marked on Diego's side.
"See you soon princess."
With that he left with his guard who tossed Diego's body at the side.
Diego's groans filling the air as my finger trialed his side and coating my fingers with blood.
"M...michael, please... Diego." I blabbed to Micheal who didn't know what to say on the call.
"Calm down and talk..."
"Diego got shot." I managed to say, pushing out the built up tension in my throat.
Thanks for reading. ❤️