TWELVE SHARP REVERSED

I don't own any of the main characters; they are part of JE's Stephanie Plum Novels.

A special thanks to Becky for her valuable insight and unselfish offering to Beta for me! You rock! I appreciate the clerical error repairs and your willingness to share the strong character understanding you pose with me.

Mel, what can I say the challenge you presented of reversing 'Twelve Sharp' ignited a spark I couldn't refuse to follow. So going with your idea here's what I've produced so far.

Hope everyone's having a terrific week!

CHAPTER 1

Joe's POV

Stumbling down the stairs, I heard the pounding on the front door and the constant ringing of the front door bell as if a finger lingered on the buzzer. I swung it open so hard it banged off the wall and came swinging back at me. I had to hold out my arm and fist to fend it off from hitting Bob.

"Jesus, Terry! It's fucking 3AM! What the hell are you doing here?" Bob scampered back up the stairs, which is exactly what I had half a mind to do after throwing Terry back out on the street.

"Joey, I desperately need your help!"

"With your family's connections I'm failing to see why." Yawning I stared at her and noticed her red blotchy face.

"My son's been kidnapped," she managed to get out as she side stepped around me.

I staggered back from her proclamation of a child. Too stunned to invite her in.

"Your what? I must still be half asleep. Did you say your son?" I looked at her in amazement, taking in her tight-fitting pinstriped pencil skirt suit, which didn't lend itself to give any indication she had ever been with child. Her form remained as it always had, in perfect shape.

"My son."

"Since when?"

"The summer after graduation, after you left for the Navy."

A thousand questions began spinning in my head as I moved toward the couch with Terry at my heels. Do I dare ask the question of whether I'm the father or not? Terry and I had had casual sex numerous times throughout high school including our senior year, but I was sure we used protection. Besides, we were never a seriously exclusive couple, at least not that I recall.

"He's not a Morelli, Joey," Terry said through constant tears streaming down her cheeks as she held out the picture in her clenched fist. I'm sure the bewildered look that crossed my face produced her quick response to my fatherhood fears. Not that I'm against having children. I just always thought it would be with Stephanie.

I've never seen Terry as distraught as she appeared here now in front of me. I took hold of the picture and noticed a handsome dark curly-haired boy with brown eyes and a lopsided smile. This boy could very well have been a Morelli but it was difficult to know for sure due to the mutilation of the picture, probably from being balled up abundant of times.

Tony's son, Anthony Jr. came quickly to mind as the smile was awfully similar. But I took Terry at her word of him NOT being a Morelli.

"Shit! What's Vito doing?"

"He-he has reached out to all the Mob Bosses. Joey, I'm not listed on my son's birth certificate as his mother."

Springing up off the couch, I stared in disbelieve and added a bit too roughly, "Why the hell not?" I couldn't understand why any adult would want to deny being a parent. It's such an honor to have God gift you with a little person who's part of your lineage.

I grabbed Terry and picked her up as she began falling in a heap on the floor. I took her upstairs to my room and laid her on the bed. She was crying so fiercely I began to realize the depth of emotional pain this strong independent woman was experiencing.

Holding my forearms in her hands while still bawling, Terry said, "Joey, my life isn't c-cut out for full time motherhood."

Knowing her mob lifestyle, I knew this was true. "Terry, you could be if you chose to."

"Now is not the time for a sermon on parenthood from you. Will you agree to help me?"

"Terry, who's the boy's father?"

"I don't believe he or anyone related to him is involved with the kidnapping. I need you to solicit aid from your FBI contacts."

"I can do that but I need more information to go on."

"I want this to be kept low-key."

"I still need to know who father is to exclude him as a suspect."

"Nicholas Diapoli."

"Diapoli, as in Captain of the football team?" I sat at the edge of the bed and slowly removed my arms from Terry's hands. I put my hand on her shoulder and gently moved the pillow so I was looking into Terry's eyes which were completely red and puffy from her crying jags.

"Yes."

"What in hell were you thinking when you got involved with that jerk?"

"I hadn't planned on falling in love with him."

Her admittance of being 'in love' was eye opening. I thought for a moment of how I fell hard for Stephanie Plum back when she was only 16 and I could fully understand the reality of the comment from a logical point of view. "What's your son's name?"

"Anthony Vito Grizz—Gigliardi."

"When was the last time you had contact with Diapoli?"

"The weekend prior to his being shipped out for his deployment with the Air Force."

"I take it he knows about the boy?" I couldn't refer to the boy by his Christian name, not because I was cold-hearted but as a cop I just needed to keep my personal feelings as removed from the case as possible to investigate objectively.

"He did," she said as a wave of sorrow crossed her eyes.

My cop intuition was on high alert and I caught the past tense. "Why not now?"

"Nicholas was killed when his F16 was shot down over Iraq."

"I'm sorry for you and for the boy." I pulled her up and gave her a brotherly hug. "I'm here if you need to talk, you know this." I was treading lightly, knowing our history and how likely people tend to clutch to those close by when grieving.

"Thank you, Joey. I didn't know who to turn to." She leaned her head into my chest and cried hysterically.

"Shhhh, just let it out Terry."

"Anthony is such a good little boy, and I'll die if anything happens to him. I know I need to pull myself together if I'm going to be of any help in locating him and having him returned safely."

"Let us professionals handle it and you can concentrate on who may have known about him and who may need leverage over you." Pulling the blanket off the chair, I covered Terry as she was shaking uncontrollably.

I got up off the bed when I heard Terry say, "Joey, please don't leave me alone. I-I just need someone to be with me."

"I'm not leaving you, just relax. I'm reaching for my cell phone so I can contact an old Navy buddy who happens to be an FBI agent."

I had to ask, "Terry, who's the boy's adoptive parents?"

She winced at my question. I handed her a tissue. Wiping her nose and then grabbing another, she dabbed at her eyes and spoke softly, "Felicia and Kevin Gigliardi."

I now understood her earlier slip of the boy's name. "Are they in Trenton?" I needed to get as much information out of her as possible so I attempted to keep her talking. I don't handle weeping women well at all. Sure I had sisters, but mom or my older brothers Tony or Paul would console them.

"No, they're in New York. There's something you need to know. The Gigliardis are related to the Moretti family."

"Shit, with the feud between the Morettis and the Priscos we may need a task force for this search."

"At the time of the adoption I wasn't made aware of their family connection." Her tears had dwindled somewhat but she was shaking.

"It was their tactical diversion to avoid your awareness of possible circumstances exactly like this one. You would have protested the continuance of the agreement between all of you." I rubbed her arm for reassurance, thinking she should be with her family not here with me. But I wasn't about to turn my back on her, knowing I could do something to help.

"I was young then and thought I could handle my affairs."

"I'm surprised Vito permitted this as the boy's grandfather."

"I made him promise to stay out of it."

"You've always been persuasive where Vito's concerned. Still, I'm perplexed he accepted a relaxed position."

"After many screaming matches and tears, he finally understood that it was clearly my choice and I wasn't backing down."

"You're tough so I can imagine how serious he took you."

"I need my son found be-before something happens."

"Terry, we'll find him. Now please try to relax. You're going to need to pull yourself together if you're going to fill me in on all that you know so I have as much information to relay to the FBI as possible."

I pulled out my phone to call Stephanie as I knew she was caught up in surveillance to apprehend Angelo 'The Horn' Prisco who had become one of her FTAs. I cringed at the thought of another damn case overlapping with one of hers. Do I really want Stephanie involved with this at this point? No, besides there's no hard evidence linking the kidnapping to The Horn. I closed my phone and put it down so as to gather additional facts before contacting my Navy pal.

Reaching in the drawer for the small spiral notebook from my bedside table, I turned back to Terry to ask a few additional questions. She had fallen asleep so I covered her arms with the blanket off the chair. I crept quietly out of the room and turned off the light as I exited.

I made a pot of coffee since it appeared I wasn't about to get any additional sleep tonight. Sitting with a cup of hot black coffee in front of me, I dialed Vito Grizzoli. I wasn't anxious to speak with him but I knew I couldn't avoid conferring with him due to the sensitive dynamics of his family relation to the boy. Vito always thought Terry and I would end up together, married - well, that was until I became a cop. I had other ideas and new Terry wasn't compatible with me, nor did she ignite my being all the way to my soul like Stephanie manages too.

"Morelli, I take it Terry's been in contact with you?"

"She's here with me now. Vito, I need information I know you can and will provide to me."

"Easy how you confront me, Morelli."

"Vito, this situation is delicate enough without us both being bull headed and jockeying for position."

"For now I'll let it slide. Be gentle with her, Morelli. You two go way back but I know she never told you about the baby."

"Always am, Vito. I understood why she kept a tight rein on the knowledge of the baby. I'll use the resources at my disposable, but without much to go on I don't know what I'll be able to achieve tonight."

"What can I tell you, Morelli?"

The discussion between us lasted another 15 minutes and I learned there were no complications involved during the adoption. Vito also confirmed that Kevin Gigliardi hadn't been involved with his family's business until about a year ago when his financial company went belly-up. He's been running the family jewelry store in Berkeley Heights, over in Union County here in New Jersey. Seems the Moretti and Prisco bad blood is over extortion and murder implicating Angelo 'The Horn' Prisco. Vito didn't go into explicit details about the interworking of the killings but I knew I could access information through my FBI contacts, or - God, dare I say it? - through Manoso. At least the details Vito unleashed afforded enough groundwork to probe into the dealings of both families.

"Vito, Terry's informed me you've reached out to other family Mob Bosses, if you hear anything worth leading to bringing the boy home safely, you know what needs to be done. You call me." I wasn't leaving room for Vito to take matters into his own hands.

"Of course, and the same courtesy needs to be returned."

"Without a doubt, Vito."

"Morelli, I know we don't always see eye-to-eye, but I'm damn proud of you, son." Vito hung up before I could respond. After Vito's words penetrated into the core of my brain I took a moment to reflect, as his behavior toward me in the past had never indicated acceptance of my career choice. His words hit me like a sledgehammer to a watermelon, scattering my immediate thoughts.

Wrenching my brain back to the moment, I reached and hit the speed dial, knowing what I had to do next.

"Alessandro Carfano."

"Alessandro."

"Morelli, it's been a while. What's new in Trenton these days?"

Alessandro had his mother's English looks with a Brit accent and his father's Mediterranean dark skin. His piercing green-gray eyes drove the women to take a second look in his direction. His 6'2" muscular long-legged physique added to his 'studmuffin' style, which I was made well aware of during our stretch in the Navy by the attention he would receive from attractive females when we went ashore.

There's no one better to have your back than Alessandro during a shore patrol. He never backed down and took no shit regardless of your rank or what the situation might entail. I could always pack a punch and hold my own but it's good to know your battle buddy is as tough as you are under any circumstances.

"Kidnapping."

"I've just come from headquarters in Virginia and I hadn't received any FBI code for kidnapping. Are you certain?"

"It's being kept on the low-down. Could be mobbed related."

"How so?"

I gave Alessandro the rundown on the information I had accumulated in the short amount of time since Terry arrived at my door, including the boy's name, his adoptive parents and the related mob families as possible suspects. "Do you think you can search the FBI's database without alerting too many insiders?"

"I'll use my private secure laptop to run the search. This way I'm not connected to the FBI's servers and Uncle Sam won't be any the wiser until I need to involve my superiors."

"Good. The more cautious we are by being vigilant the fewer eyebrows we'll raise."

"Morelli, I can be in Trenton in 12 hours."

"I sure could use you as part of the task force."

"Is Manoso on the case as well?"

I cringed at hearing his name. "No. I doubt with your presence we'll need him involved." I didn't feel the need to explain my repulsion of the man, at least not until it was downright necessary.

"Call when you land. I'll pick you up."

"I'll grab a rental, but thanks."

"I'm offering my spare bedroom, that's the least I can do."

"I accept, plus it'll definitely simplify working the return of the child around the clock."

"Thanks, Alessandro. I appreciate your quick recognition in my needing your assistance."

"You'd do it for me, my brother."

"That's a fact."

I threw my cell phone on the table and got up for another cup of coffee when I heard the creaking of the stairs. I walked to the kitchen doorway, leaned my shoulder on the door jamb, crossing my feet at the ankle and looked at a bedraggled Terry before asking, "You feeling any better?"

"Look, I'm sorry I was such a basket case, Joey."

"No need for an apology."

"I need to go see Vito."

"I spoke to him. He's worried about you."

"I know. He prefers my tough-girl exterior. He's unsure how to handle me behaving as a damsel in distress. So not the normal me."

I chuckled. "He loves and cares about you and he'll do everything in his power to ensure the boy's safety."

"Doing what he does best, install the fear of God for messing with his only grandson."

"Except very few know of his relation to your son. One that I didn't even know existed."

"Listen Joey, I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. You had your reasons and I respect them. Let me fill you in on what has happened since you were sleeping." I explained who I'd contacted, where our next move would take us and how many people would be rounding out the task force. I had to call the Chief and obtain clearance before Alessandro arrived.

"I don't know what to say except thank you."

"Can I get you a cup of coffee or make you something to eat?"

"No, you've done enough. I'm going to get out of here and head home."

"Terry, I'm concerned. You're not in any condition to drive."

"I find myself saying it again how much I appreciate you taking this on knowing I haven't been the easiest person lately, but I'm fine. Stop worrying and do you cop thing."

I walked Terry to the door and stepped out onto the first step. She gave me a hug, a kiss on the cheek and promised to contact me later in the day.

Stephanie's POV

As I pulled up to the front of Morelli's house I saw Terry lean into Joe and place a kiss on his cheek as she pulled from his arms. Terry stepped down and walked toward her car. From the looks of things she appeared as if she was here all night.

I grabbed my keys out of the ignition and stomped up the stairs to confront Morelli. I wasn't wasting pressure time with niceties.

As I opened the door Bob came toward me and I guess he sensed my boiling anger as he turned and went back toward the kitchen where I could hear someone moving around.

"Morelli, what was Terry doing here? What the hell is going on?"

"Cupcake, just working a case." Joe met me at the doorway of the kitchen. As he reached me he twisted a curl around his finger. Leaning toward me he kissed me and I about lost my train of thought. Damn that man for being sexy and irresistible.

. "What kind of case?"

"The usual mob contaminated kind of case."

"Oh." Something was off I could sense it in the sound of Joe's voice.