He jogged up the stairs to the top floor, through the stairwell reeking of piss and cigarettes. Graffiti graced the walls, showing anti-Semitic slurs and racial insults to be the artists’ number one choice of subject. A junkie sat curled up in the corner of the second landing, smelling even worse than the building. Sully stepped over him as he approached the third floor.
Banging on the door to apartment 305, Sully waited for Raina to answer. He banged again and heard her shuffling behind the door.
The door opened, and Raina snarled, "Whattaya want?" before she saw who it was. She was only in her early fifties, but she looked much older.
"Just checking on my favorite person," Sully said, with no emotion in his voice.
Raina opened the door and stepped back, allowing him in as she laughed, the sound husky and mucous-filled from too many cigarettes. The laughing turned into a coughing fit, and Sully perched himself on a straight back chair in the middle of the room and waited for it to die down.
Once she'd finished coughing, she lit a cigarette and sat down, leaning heavily against the stained couch. "I'm sure this ain't a social visit."
Sully shook his head and took out the wad of hundred dollar bills. "I need some information."
Raina chuckled, her wiry gray hair bouncing on her head as she did. "Of course you do." She took the money and shoved it down her shirt, inside her bra. Accepting the money meant that she was agreeing to give him the information, but she'd make him work for it. She always did.
"How's that sister of yours?" she asked, and Sully caught a spark of genuine interest in her eyes.
"Married and pregnant."
"Oh, yeah? You didn't kill the guy?" Her question sent her into another laughing-turned-coughing fit.
"Since he was my best friend, I let it slide." He quirked a brow. "Plus, she's happy."
"Jane would want that," Raina said softly. It was as close as she would get to saying that she herself was also pleased to hear that Isabel was happy.
"What about you? Got your eye on someone?"
It was one thing to share news about Isabel, but something else entirely to share his own personal desires and wishes. "I need information, Raina."
She sighed and put out her cigarette. "I’m assuming this has to do with the new mob boss in town from Atlanta. He's a nasty piece of work."
Sully perked up at the information. "Yeah? How's he different from any other low-life thug around here?"
Raina's eyes turned serious, haunted. "No soul. The stuff he does…" She shivered. "He's the stuff that nightmares are made of. Do yourself a favor. Stay out of this." The last line was delivered on a cough. Sully wondered if she'd seen a doctor about that. Probably not. Doctors were a luxury that people on this side of town couldn't afford. He figured emphysema was the cause of all her coughing.
"I can't. He's a piece of the puzzle that I need to solve in order to keep my team, my friends, and my family safe."
She sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that. What do you want to know?"
"There's a meeting tonight. Some club in D-town. A politician, Garmoni, and several other leaders will be there. I need the name of the club and the passcode."
Raina pulled the money out of her bra and thrust it back at him.
"Sorry. Can't help with that."
Sully refused to take the cash. He'd leave it with her whether she answered his questions or not. They both knew that. Her gesture was a pretense that allowed her some semblance of pride. Not to mention, he wasn't touching it after she'd stuffed it in her bra.
"Raina, Garmoni has my friend's kid. A little boy. About four years old. This politician? He wants to kill me, my family, and my entire team. I have to get to the bottom of this."
Raina put the cash back inside her bra.
"I heard about the kid. Rumor has it that it's Garmoni's son."
Sully nodded. "A son he didn't know about, or at least that's what the mother thought. She found out she was pregnant after one of her hospital stays, courtesy of Garmoni himself. When she tried to escape, he almost killed her and the baby."
Raina stood and started to pace, lighting up another cigarette. "I don't know anything about the meeting tonight. My guess is that it's at the Blue Note. Jazz club in D-town. Don't know the password."
She stopped pacing and turned to face him.
"I've heard of four different residences here. All are heavily armed. Word on the street is that he moves the kid every few hours in armored cars. There's a nanny that's working for him. Heard the kid doesn't talk. At all."
Sully would need to ask Maggie about Brady's ability to speak. His guess was that this silence was in direct relation to Brady's kidnapping, and not something that had existed beforehand.
"You know the addresses?"
Raina sighed. "Yep. I'll write them down. As usual, you didn't get this from me." She started writing on an old napkin. "The schedule is unpredictable. Sometimes they move him in the middle of the night, and sometimes early in the morning, or at lunch. Finding which house he's in won't be easy. And if you make an attempt and fail, I'd assume you won't get a second try. This guy doesn't mess around."
Raina handed him the dirty napkin with four street addresses listed in her chicken-scratch scrawl.
"Thanks, Raina."
"Don't mention it." She threw her head back with more of that wet, hacking laughter. "And I do mean that literally."
Sully left Raina's apartment and drove around for a couple of hours, looking for some of his other regulars. The day was cold and rainy, and it looked like most of the riffraff had found shelter instead of loitering on the streets. Not good for gathering information. He hoped that Lucas had had better luck.
As if on command, his phone pinged with a message from Zach.
Lucas back. Has info. Meeting in 15.
Sully turned his Jeep around and headed for the warehouse. He made it back in record time, grateful that the traffic in the city was light today. He walked into the conference room just as Zach, Lucas, and Maggie were sitting down.
Since when had his team started to include her in operations meetings?
Since she'd burrowed her way under their skin, just like she had his.
As Sully sat down, Lucas started talking, not waiting for an invitation to begin.
"Blue Note. Tonight at nine. Password is anarchy." Lucas quirked a brow. "I know, subtlety isn't their forte."
"Tell me about the Blue Note," Sully said, looking from Lucas to Zach for information. To his surprise, it was Maggie who answered.
"The Blue Note is a speakeasy. Password-protected. It's a throwback to the twenties, and most of the patrons dress accordingly."
"You mean fedoras and fringe and the whole nine yards?" Sully asked.
"Pretty much. It's in a terrible part of town, but is known to be a place where politicians and businessmen go to let their hair down. I've even heard rumors that a few A-list Hollywood stars have been seen there."
"How do you know all this?" he asked.
"The diner. People come in. They talk. I listen." She shrugged.
Sully looked at Zach and Lucas for confirmation.
"Don't look at me," Zach said. "She knows way more about this place than I do. I did manage to scope out a few pictures of the inside. It's all pretty hush-hush, but, as usual, I have my ways." He waggled his eyebrows.
Turning the computer around, he showed the pictures to the team. Sully took in the brick walls, painted black, and the fluorescent-lit blue music note that hung on the wall over the doors. There was a small stage, where the band would set up, as well as a grand piano in the corner. There looked to be only about ten tables in the restaurant.
"The size is going to make blending in virtually impossible," Sully said. "I'm not sure we can remain undetected."
Maggie shook her head. "Most nights, it's standing room only. They pack them in like sardines. Since it's password-protected and secretive, the fire marshal and police don't always know what's going on."
All three men looked at her with their mouths hanging open.
"What? I pay attention. Sue me."
Sully would rather kiss her, but he wasn't going to say that out loud—or act on it, for that matter. But damn, she was sexy as hell.
"Mags, I'll have Izz work on a disguise for you. Hair, makeup, clothes. She'll know what to do. Either of you guys have a fedora I can borrow?" Sully hated himself even as he asked.
Both men snickered, and Sully wanted to punch them both but decided against it. He'd be laughing at their sorry asses, too, if the shoe were on the other foot.
"That would be a big fat no. I'll have one of the contractors pick one up and drop it off."
"Fine," Sully said, standing. "Zach, call Gabriel and Ethan, and tell them what's going on. I want Ethan with eyes on the entrance, and the rest of you guys close by, when we go in."
"Roger that," Zach answered.
Sully put his hand on the small of Maggie's back, feeling the electricity flow up his arm from just touching her. She shivered, and a smile tugged at his lips.
She felt it, too.
Chapter 12
Sully stopped at her door, and Maggie reached for the knob. Sully spun her around and leaned in, his arm above her head on the door casing. His nearness caused her breath to quicken and her heart to flutter.
And also her warning bells to go off.
He leaned in closer, his mouth hovering inches away from hers. She knew something was off, but she’d be damned if she could help herself from closing her eyes and slanting her head in his direction.
"Stay," he said.
Maggie's eyes popped open as she searched his face for his meaning. Stay. A simple word with so many meanings.
"Wh-what?" she asked.
"Tonight. Stay here. Stay safe. Don't come with me," he pleaded, his hand moving from the door casing above her to the side of her face. He leaned in as if to kiss her, but she slapped his hand away.
"Is this your idea of a joke?" she asked, her voice ratcheting up a few decibels.
Sully's eyes looked worried, and he took a tiny step back.
"No?" The word came out as more of a question than a declaration.
"You're seriously going to use the chemistry between us to try and manipulate me into staying?" Her voice was reaching the screeching level at this point, and Sully looked awkward as he looked around for anyone that could hear him.
"Of course not. I just thought—"
Maggie pushed him. He was big enough and strong enough that the push normally wouldn't make him budge, but he obliged by taking a couple steps back.
"Listen here, bud." Maggie poked his chest as she advanced on him, backing him up towards the other side of the wall. "I will not be manipulated into staying when I feel strongly about going."
Sully's hands went up in defense as his back hit the wall. His mouth opened to protest, but she kept going, her finger still poking his chest.
"I will not allow you to use my feelings against me."
"I wasn't—"
"And"—she spoke over him—"the next time you kiss me, it better be because you want to, and not because you're trying to get me to bend to your will. Is that clear?"
Sully had the good grace to look sheepish, his head bowing in defeat.
"Crystal."
"Good."
Maggie whirled around to open her door, when Sully grabbed her arm and spun her into his arms. His mouth crashed down on hers, the kiss hot, sweet, and demanding. He wasn't asking permission. There was nothing tentative in his exploration of her mouth. His hands were everywhere. His lips were everywhere. And when he finished, he leaned his forehead against hers.
"See you tonight," he said softly and turned down the hall towards his room.
Maggie's back hit the door to her room, and she struggled to get breath back into her lungs. A smile spread across her face.
Manipulation, she wouldn't stand for.
Seduction, she could certainly get behind.
Isabel's footsteps broke her Sully-induced haze.
"Ugh, did my brother just rock your world or something?" Isabel asked, her nose crinkling up in a way that made her look completely adorable.
"Or something."
"Is he being an ass?" she asked, a smile on her lips.
"When is he not being an ass?" Maggie answered, with a smile of her own.
"True. You ready to rock his world tonight?"
"Um, what?"
"Your outfit, your hair, your body?"
"Oh, right. Yes. Let's make me look like a vixen right out of a 1920s movie."
* * * *
Thirty minutes later, Maggie was sitting at Isabel's vanity, in Isabel’s old room that was now hers. Her hair was pinned up on her head to keep it out of the way for the wig, and Isabel was rifling through her old closet.
"I left most of the costume-type outfits here. I should have something that will work, but I may have to see if one of the other girls can do a quick alteration on it. I'm taller than you, and we don't want your hemline to be below your knees."
"Below the knee is a quite respectable hemline," Maggie teased.
"Sure, for a funeral. But to gain my brother's attention and drive him crazy all night? I'm thinking upper thigh."
"My job tonight is not to drive Sully crazy."
"No, but it will be an added bonus." Isabel giggled.
"Mid-thigh," Maggie countered.
"Done." Isabel winked just as someone knocked on the door.
"Come in," Maggie called before she remembered that she was sitting on the small stool in nothing but her robe.
Ella peeked her head around the corner. "Mind if we come in?" she asked, opening the door. Scarlett was behind her, and she looked…green.
"Scar? What the hell?" Maggie jumped up and ran towards her, leading her to her bed.
"Morning sickness, my ass," she said. "I've lost five pounds and can't stop throwing up. All I want to do is sleep. When I sleep, I don't puke."
"Is there something they can give you?" Maggie asked. Scarlett looked terrible.
"I’m taking the over-the-counter stuff, but I've got a couple of weeks before it’s safe for me to take the more powerful drugs. You’d better believe I'll be there as soon as they say it's safe."
"I'm sorry," Maggie said, stroking her hair.
"It's worth it." She shrugged.
Maggie thought back to the time when she’d been pregnant with Brady. She hadn't felt sick, just a little nauseous over certain smells and foods. But she'd been lonely. It was hard to watch these women sharing something so wonderful with each other. All she'd had was her brother and sister-in-law.
It had taken several months for Will to warm up to the idea that his baby sister was pregnant with the baby of a mobster who beat her. But he had, and had later taken Brady and raised him as his own. Jenna had been sympathetic, but she'd also been trying to play mediator between Maggie and her husband.
Maggie pushed away the jealousy. She was so happy for Scarlett and hated to see her feeling so miserable. It was a shame that she couldn't feel great during such a wonderful time in her life.
"I found it!" Isabel yelled out from the back of the closet. "Scar, can you hem something really quick?"
Isabel brought out a pale peach, flapper-style dress. It was sleeveless and covered in lace, with gauzy layers underneath.
"Yeah, let me see it." Scarlett sat up on the bed, and Maggie could swear that she lost even more color from her face.
Maggie stood up, and Scarlett held it up to her. "How short do you want it?"
On Isabel, the dress probably fell right at her knees. For Maggie, the dress was almost to her ankles. "Yikes. A lot shorter than that. I was thinking that we'd want it to show some leg, even more than what was initially intended for the dress," Isabel chimed in.
Scarlett stepped back and eyed it. "I've got an idea. Put the dress on," she said to Maggie, who complied, undoing the robe and stepping into the dress. Ella zipped it up. It f
ell off her, looking as if she were wearing her mother's clothes, except for the bust area. Maggie was larger than Isabel there. It was the only place that fit.
"Hmm," Scarlett said. "Pins?"
Isabel handed her some pins, and Scarlett went to work. When she was done, she helped Maggie slip it off. "I should have it done in about half an hour. Ok if I cut it?" she asked Isabel.
"Don't ever see myself wearing that again," Isabel replied, laughing.
"Ella, do you still have wigs from your performing days?"
"Absolutely. I'm thinking red?"
Isabel nodded.
"Be right back."
Ella and Scarlett slipped out of the room, and Isabel took Maggie's hand and sat her down at the vanity. "Now for makeup."
Isabel began working on her face, and Maggie sat thinking about how strange her life had become.
Three months ago, she’d been living alone, working long hours at the diner, barely making over minimum wage some nights, and having few friends to write home about. Now, she was living in this compound with four other amazing women and their husbands, and a man that was making her heart feel again.
"What was Sully like as a child?"
Maggie knew the question revealed a lot more about her feelings for him than she'd confessed to. Isabel smirked knowingly.
"Well, he was about ten years older than me, so I was pretty young when he left home. But I'd say he was much the same as he is today. Quiet. Gruff sometimes. Loyal to a fault. And protective."
Something crossed her face when she said that last word. "What is it?" Maggie asked.
Isabel sighed. "What has Sully told you about our past?"
"Very little."
"Then I won't share it all. He should be the one to tell you everything, but Sully walked in on a man trying to rape me. He prevented it. Would have killed him if I hadn't pulled him off the guy. He's never forgiven himself for not being there."
"Why would he blame himself?"
Isabel stopped applying whatever eye makeup she had in her hand, and crossed her arms. "He wasn't there. He moved out and left me alone. He couldn't see into the future and determine what would happen." Isabel shrugged sadly. "None of those things were his fault. But it's not rational, his need to protect. It stems from other things. If The General hadn't made him go into the Marines, I don't know what would have happened to Sully. He needed the Marines as much as they needed him. And he became a damn fine soldier and leader. Although I think it took a little more of his soul."
Castle Investigations Box Set Page 108