“This is Victoria Holland, my cousin. Better known as Tori. She’s also with the US Marshals. She just transferred back to the East Coast. Some people catch a plane. Tori bought a boat.”
His cousin. Dani relaxed a fraction and held out a hand. Tori shook it and gave her a sweet smile. “Come on aboard.”
“This belongs to you?”
“Sure does.”
Simon hopped on deck and looked at Dani, a question in his eyes. She held up a finger and he fidgeted.
Tori caught the unspoken exchange. “He can look around all he wants. It’s pretty kidproof.”
Simon signed, “You live here?”
Tori signed back, “Yes. This is my home.”
Simon’s left brow rose and his eyes lit up. Adam smiled. “Another reason she might come in handy.”
“Cool,” Simon said. “Can I raid your refrigerator?”
Tori giggled. “Of course.”
Simon grinned. “I’m going to like this place.”
“But won’t we be putting you out by staying here?” Dani asked, shooting her son a warning frown.
“Not at all. I’m not here much thanks to work. And even if I was here, I have four bedrooms.” She waved them in. “Come on. Let’s go inside and get out of the cold.” Tori opened the sliding glass doors off the deck, and Dani followed her into a spacious living area with an L-shaped leather sofa. “We’ll keep the curtains closed over the doors so no one can see in.”
Just beyond the living area was an open-concept kitchen. The bar-height table was built into the wall and sported four high-backed bar stools. Above the table, a large flat-screen TV hung on the wall.
Simon’s head swiveled on his neck as he took it all in.
“It’s lovely,” Dani said.
“Thanks,” Tori smiled and moved to close the curtains. “I got a sweet deal on it from a friend who was having some financial problems and needed out from under it. I needed a place to live, so …” She pointed at a doorway. “If you keep going through here, there’re the stairs to the next level, a bedroom on the right and a bathroom on the left.” A short hallway connected everything with the outside once again. “The master is upstairs, and down below are two more bedrooms. Take whichever rooms you like.”
Simon thundered down the steps and Dani let him go. He must have been paying more attention than she thought and been reading lips. She looked at Tori. “I’ll take the bedroom downstairs near Simon. Unless we need to share one?”
“Nope, you can have your own.” She gave her cousin a light punch on the arm. “Guess that leaves you with the bedroom off the kitchen.”
“That’s the one I wanted anyway.”
“Kinda figured that.” Tori smiled. “Y’all make yourselves at home.”
“I think my son already has,” Dani muttered with an exasperated roll of her eyes.
Tori laughed and Dani decided she liked this woman.
Adam tossed his bag onto the bed and looked around. Small, compact, and perfect for his needs, the bedroom was tastefully decorated in golds and browns. All Adam really cared about was the fact that the bed was comfortable and the bathroom was across the narrow hall.
And he was right next to the entrance to the boat and whoever boarded would have to go through him to get to the occupants below. He’d make sure the other end of the craft was secured. And with the sliding glass doors, a broom handle would take care of that. Someone might get on the boat, but they wouldn’t get in without him knowing about it.
Not the best circumstances, he thought, but they had to work with what they had. And he knew they weren’t followed.
The boat rocked with a barely noticeable sway and he hoped the slight movement didn’t bother Dani or Simon. Adam loved it and always enjoyed visiting Tori when he could. They’d had great fun as kids. Family reunions at the lake had birthed their love for all things water.
“Hey, cuz.”
He turned to see Tori in the doorway. “Hey.”
“Sarah told me about your mom.”
A pang hit him. “Yeah.”
“She’s having surgery on Thursday afternoon.”
His head snapped up. “I didn’t know.”
“Sarah just called me.”
Concerned, he frowned. “On a secure line, I hope.”
“Of course.”
Adam sighed. “I knew she was diagnosed, but Sarah didn’t mention the surgery.”
“I don’t know why she didn’t mention it. I suppose you may still get a call from her.”
“Yeah.” He wondered if she really would call or if his mother would have gone through surgery without him ever knowing. “Thanks for telling me.”
“Of course.” She paused. “So. What are you going to do?” she finally asked.
Conflicted, he didn’t answer right away. He unzipped his bag then stopped. “I don’t know. I suppose it would depend on if she even wants me there.”
“She wants you there, Adam, but would understand if you couldn’t be.”
“And yet Sarah hasn’t called me.” He sighed. “And she probably won’t.” He shrugged. “Maybe this will all be finished by the time she has the surgery and it won’t be an issue.”
“And if it’s not finished?”
“Then I’ll have to figure something out. I want to be there for her, but my parents still haven’t forgiven me for my part in bringing down your father.”
“Actually, I think they have.”
He snorted. “If they have, they haven’t shared that with me.” He narrowed his eyes. “So how did you manage to get out of going to that stuffy dinner the other night?”
“I pretended I didn’t get the text. Or the email. Or the voice mail.”
“That’s just not right.”
She grimaced. “No, but it worked.”
Adam opened a drawer. “Did you ever wonder how we ended up in a family of politicians?”
“Of course.” She shrugged. “I guess God put us here for a reason. We just have to figure out what that is and work with it.”
He stared at her. “Since when did you care what God thought?”
“Since I almost died about three months ago,” she said softly. “It sort of changes your perspective on things. Like where you’ll spend eternity.”
He blinked. “You almost died?”
She shrugged again. “Long story. I’ll tell you about it sometime when we have more time.” She glanced at her watch. “Bypass Sarah and call your mom.”
Adam nodded and she turned away. Still thinking about the conversation, he pulled out the bag that contained the contents of the safe and walked into the kitchen to spread the items on the table.
In all the craziness, they still hadn’t had time to fully analyze everything. He planned to get that done today. And of course, David and Summer were working behind the scenes trying to find who Kurt might have hired to kill Dani.
So far they must have come up empty, as he hadn’t had a text or call yet. He returned to his bedroom to finish unpacking. He set his Glock on the bed and stacked his three shirts and two pairs of jeans on the dresser.
A high-pitched whistle behind him made Adam pause. He glanced up in the mirror then turned, catching Simon’s eye. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Simon eyed the weapon on the bed. Adam tapped his ear like he’d seen Dani do. Simon reached up and pressed his mold tighter into his ear and the whistling stopped. Adam picked up the gun. “Your dad ever show you how this works?”
“No sir.”
“You want to know?”
A hesitant nod accompanied an excited gleam in the boy’s eyes. Along with a touch of fear. Simon firmed his jaw and the fear faded. “Yes, I want to know.”
“Go ask your mom if it’s all right,” Adam said.
Simon’s shoulders drooped. “She’ll say it’s too dangerous.”
Adam gave a thoughtful nod. “Guns can be dangerous. But they can be used for protection too. You just have to know how to handle them and treat them with respect
.”
Simon bit his lip. “I don’t think my dad was very respectful of his gun.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I saw him hold it to my mom’s head one time and—” he gulped and looked away. Then squared his shoulders and looked Adam in the eye. “I read his lips. He told her if she ever tried to leave him again, he’d—”
Adam’s heart threatened to beat out of his chest as fury swelled inside him. But he kept his expression neutral, his face relaxed. “He’d kill her?”
Simon shook his head. “No. Me. He’d kill me and make her watch.”
20
Dani placed a hand over her racing heart and clenched her teeth against the violence racing through her. Not at Adam or Simon but at Kurt. She remembered the day Kurt had held his weapon against her head and threatened to kill Simon should she take it upon herself to try to leave again.
She hadn’t known Simon had witnessed the event.
Oh my baby boy …
She stepped into the doorway. Adam’s eyes met hers and she knew he knew she’d heard every word. She tapped Simon’s shoulder. “Adam can show you how the gun works, but you can’t ever touch it unless he gives you permission.”
Simon blinked and Dani bit her lip on a smile. Poor thing, she’d shocked him with her easy acquiescence. He gave a slow nod. “Okay. I can promise that.”
Dani met Adam’s gaze. “I don’t expect you to …” She wasn’t sure what she was trying to say, but Adam seemed to understand.
“No worries. I’d love to spend some time with him.”
Dani relaxed. “All right then.” Having a positive male influence would do wonders for Simon. Learning how to properly handle a weapon would be good for him too. Kurt had instilled such terror with his gun, having Simon develop a healthy respect would at least allow him to conquer one fear. It would be a start.
She returned to the kitchen to find Tori at the sink. “Want some help?”
“Sure.” Tori handed her the knife and picked up the remote to power on the flat-screen television on the wall. The news played quietly in the background while Dani helped chop vegetables for the evening meal. “Have you always wanted to work for the marshals?”
Tori glanced at her and ran the water to wash away the remains of the food. “Not always.”
“So how did you wind up doing it?”
“My family’s always been in politics. My dad was a judge and had several death threats over the life of his career. We had marshals in our home more than once.” She rinsed her hands and dried them, the look on her face thoughtful. And a bit sad. “My dad was a dirty judge,” she admitted softly.
Dani felt her brows raise. “What?”
“He was on the take from an organized crime family, the Raimondis. Adam helped put the family out of commission and uncovered my father’s dirty deeds, so to speak.”
Dani gaped. “I’m so sorry.”
Tori shrugged. “I am too. It’s been a year and it feels like a lifetime.”
“Poor Adam.”
“He was devastated. My father set him up. With his position as a US Marshal, he had access to a lot of inside info. My dad used him, used his loyalty to the family to convince him that he should get information. Adam went along with it for a while until he realized what he was doing was putting the very people he was guarding in danger. Adam would never have jeopardized his career if he’d known my father was one of the bad guys. He thought he was just helping out his uncle, a man who’d put a ton of criminals behind bars. He never realized Dad was using him as a patsy.”
“Wow.”
“Adam was almost killed. My father put a hit on him. His own nephew.” She shook her head and blinked back the tears that had surfaced.
Dani didn’t know what to do.
Tori sniffed and gave a small laugh. “I guess you didn’t need to know all that.”
“No, it’s fine. Adam said he’d tell me the story, he just hasn’t had a chance to do it yet.” She studied her new friend. “And besides, I think you needed to tell me.”
Tori shrugged. “Maybe. But I think it’s only fair you know what kind of family we are.”
Dani stared into Tori’s glistening eyes and thought about the man who’d risked his life to help her. Who continued to do his best to keep her and Simon safe. “You and your family are my heroes.”
THURSDAY
DECEMBER 11
Simon stood at the rail of the houseboat and stared out across the water. A frigid wind blew off the water, but he didn’t care. He pulled his hoodie tighter and studied the area around him.
A lone fisherman cast his line as the small dingy rocked beneath him. A motorboat zipped past and Simon felt the houseboat shift slightly as the waves hit against the sides.
He hadn’t been bored the past two days, that was for sure. Adam had kept him pretty busy. It was too cold to swim, of course, but he’d learned how to fish. Not only catch them, but clean and cook them too. He’d learned how to take Adam’s Glock apart and clean it and then put it back together. Maybe one day he’d even get to shoot it.
Simon had had more fun in the last couple of days than he’d had in his entire life. Even the threat of someone after them hadn’t kept him from enjoying himself. And his mother was losing that pinched look around her lips.
Two days had passed without another incident and he felt like he could almost breathe again. Like he had some time to figure out his feelings, process his thoughts. He’d spent a lot of time with Adam, unsure at first about the man, but Adam didn’t appear to be anything like his father.
Which made him like Adam. A lot. He wanted to trust him, but he kept waiting for the man to do something to show his true colors. His dad could be all nice and smiley, then lash out with a hard fist before you could blink. But it hadn’t happened with Adam. Yet.
Simon took in a deep breath, inhaling the smells around him. Someone was cooking steak. The scent made his stomach rumble. Boredom was beginning to officially set in, but he didn’t want to complain. He even missed school and his friends, especially Mitchell Lee. Blowing out a disgusted sigh, Simon pulled his Nintendo DS game from the back pocket of his jeans and turned it on.
Dani took a break from helping in the kitchen and watched her son hunch over the game. She monitored the games he played and refused to allow him to play the more violent ones. He was fine with that, thank goodness, preferring to solve mysteries and do puzzles.
Tori had arrived this morning with bags of groceries and a lot of chocolate. Dani liked her more and more each day.
“How’s he doing?” Adam asked.
She took the can of soda he offered. “He’s all right. I think he’s a little bored, but if it wasn’t for your care and attention, he’d be climbing the walls by now. As it is, he hasn’t played that game since we’ve been here.” She slid her eyes to him. “Which is a great thing in my book.”
Adam smiled. “He’s an awesome kid. You’ve done a good job in spite of what you’ve had to live with.”
“Thanks.” She sipped on the cola. “How much longer do we need to stay here?”
“Getting tired of us?”
“Not at all,” she protested, then relaxed when she caught the twinkle in his eye. “No, I’ve just got to figure out how to have a normal life with my son and get started on it as soon as possible.”
“That’s understandable, but we don’t want you leaving until we’ve figured out why someone broke into your home.”
She nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that.”
“Have you come up with any idea of who it might have been?”
“The only person I can think of is Stuart. He had the combination to the safe, the alarm code, but …” She shrugged. “Something bothers me about that.”
“What?”
“Stuart knew the safe was empty. I cleared it out the day Kurt died. Why would he go looking there?”
“It’s six months later. Maybe he figured you put everything back.”
�
��Hmm. Maybe. You’re probably right.” But she couldn’t help wondering if she’d missed something. “What have you guys been up to?”
“We finished going through the contents of the bag.”
Adam and David had been in the kitchen at the table working and muttering between themselves while Dani and Tori were cleaning up breakfast dishes. She thought that bag might have had something to do with all the discussing. “And?”
“There are a couple of interesting things in there. Starting with this.” He pulled his hand from his pocket and held up a small key.
“What’s it go to?”
“I don’t know. We were hoping you might have an idea.”
She held it in the palm of her hand and studied it. “It looks like a locker key or something. Maybe a key to a padlock.”
“Any thoughts on places where Kurt might have a locker?”
“Not really. He didn’t share that kind of thing with me.” She couldn’t help the bitterness that leaked out. Dani drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “He went to the gym a lot.”
“The one in his office building?”
“Yes. And he also used to go to the one at the country club occasionally.” She pursed her lips. “That was one place he didn’t mind me going.”
“Why not?”
“Because it was exercise, keeping my body in shape. He used to taunt me about getting fat. I finally pointed out that he wouldn’t let me do anything or go anywhere. If I did nothing but stay at home, then yes, I would probably get fat.”
“What a—”
“I know.”
“So he let you go to the gym?”
“The exclusive one with the country club and it had to be with a personal trainer. One that would report in to Kurt.” She appreciated the outrage she saw flickering in the depths of his eyes. She gave a small shrug. “Brianna was a good woman. She helped me work out my anger and frustration and even taught me a few self-defense moves during some kickboxing workouts.” Not that she’d ever dared use them on Kurt. He had the gun. “I don’t think she really liked him.”
“Then I think I like Brianna.” Adam took the key from her. “All right. I think we’ll see if this fits anything at the FBI office gym and then try the country club one.”
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