Maggie Lee (Book 11): The Hitwoman Hires a Manny

by Lynn, JB

  “Because you manage that so well?” he teased.

  I couldn’t help but smile back. Having someone to talk to eased my sense of loneliness a little, but I still wanted to be able to talk to my pets.

  But that wasn’t happening soon.

  “Larry left this for you.” He handed me an envelope.

  “Larry?”

  “Marshal Griswald.”

  “You’re on a first name basis now?”

  Angel shrugged his massive shoulders. “We bonded over your aunt’s leftover chicken. He made me promise that only you would see the contents of that.”

  He nodded toward the envelope.

  Sliding my finger beneath the flap, I broke the seal and pulled out a piece of paper. It said, “If you still want that history lesson.”

  My breath caught. Griswald was going to put me in touch with my father. I’d get a chance to get some answers about Kevin Belgard.

  My excitement was tempered by the fact that the date and time he’d written meant that I’d have to wait three weeks for the meeting.

  But maybe that was just as well since for the next couple of weeks, we all struggled a bit with the new routine.

  My days were filled with caring for Katie and my two jobs. I ended up taking more shifts at The Corset since Templeton wasn’t around as much to help out Loretta, and I began to attend real estate school, since Lani required all of her employees to pass the NJ real estate exam.

  Between all of us and Aunt Susan’s color-coded master calendar, we managed to get Katie to most of her doctor appointments and therapy visits, but every once in a while, there was a glitch.

  That’s what I assumed had happened one Wednesday afternoon when I went to get Katie to bring her to an occupational therapy session and didn’t find her in her room.

  I went to examine the calendar that hung on the fridge in the kitchen, to try to figure out who had her and where they were, and found Angel leaning against the counter, drinking a tall glass of milk.

  “Seen the kid?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Not for a while.” He glanced at the calendar. “She should be here.”

  A shiver of apprehension skittered down my spine. “She’s not in her room.”

  “Katie?” Angel bellowed loudly enough to be heard through the entire house.

  She didn’t answer.

  But the dog began to bark at the door leading from the basement to the kitchen. No doubt she was hungry.

  “Not now, DeeDee,” I told her. Ever since I hadn’t been able to understand her, she’d been misbehaving.

  “It’s not hide-and-seek time,” Angel yelled, running out of the room to search for the little girl.

  I followed closely behind. “Katie? Where are you, baby girl?”

  The dog kept barking in the basement.

  Angel and I searched the main level of the house, but Katie was nowhere to be found. He even went out on the front porch while I went back through the kitchen to make sure she wasn’t in the backyard.

  On the way, I banged on the door in an attempt to quiet the dog, who was still barking. “If you don’t stop,” I threatened, “you’re not getting any dinner.” That stopped her for as long as it took me to get outside, but I heard her start up again.

  “Katie?” I called, not bothering to hide the panic in my tone as I imagined the worst.

  What if she’d been taken like Darlene? What if she never came back?

  I glanced at the fence and to the house that loomed behind it. What if Belgard had Katie?

  Refusing to let my terror overwhelm me, I headed back inside, tripping over Piss, who’d somehow escaped the basement.

  “Watch out,” I gasped, trying to remain upright.

  She meowed at me.

  “Not now. I’ve got to find Katie.”

  Angel rushed in. The fear on his face scared me more than my own. “Where could she have gone?”

  The dog barked and the cat hissed.

  “Shut up!” I screamed. “Both of you, just shut up.”

  That’s when the cat took a swipe at me. Claws extended, she cut at the slice of skin between the hem of my jeans and the top of my sock. She was vicious, drawing blood.

  “Ow!” I screamed in pain and enraged. “You little…” I trailed off and looked at her sitting on the floor, staring at me with her one good eye, and suddenly I realized that even though I couldn’t hear them, the animals were trying to communicate with me.

  “Where is she?” I whispered to the cat.

  She leapt to the basement door and scratched at it.

  When I opened the door, DeeDee didn’t barrel out like usual, instead, she grabbed my wrist with her mouth and tugged me down the stairs.

  “Katie?” I called.

  Halfway down the flight, I saw her, lying motionless on the floor.

  “No!” I screamed, leaping over the dog to get to my niece. “Katie!”

  Behind me, Angel’s footsteps thundered down the stairs. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know.”

  The dog barked. The cat meowed.

  This time I paid attention.

  “What happened?” I asked the animals as Angel felt for Katie’s pulse.

  Both animals raced off to the other side of the room. I followed.

  “Where are you going?” Angel called.

  I didn’t answer, I was too busy.

  DeeDee and Piss led me to God.

  The lizard was jumping up and down on top of a small velvet bag. An empty velvet bag.

  God pantomimed an eating motion.

  “She ate it?” I asked.

  DeeDee barked. Piss meowed.

  And I yelled. “Check her airway. I think she’s choked on something.”

  By the time I got back to Katie, Angel had picked her up, pressed her back to his chest and was thrusting upward, performing the Heimlich Maneuver.

  Sure enough, a sparkly item popped out of her mouth and she began to gasp for breath.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Piss pick it up in her mouth and hurry away before Angel got a good look at what the child had choked on.

  I could have kissed the cat, knowing that she was protecting me. After all, that little jewel-covered cupcake figurine had been given to me by the mother of one of my assassination targets, Wayne Krout.

  “Easy sweetheart,” I soothed, taking Katie’s face in my hands. “Just breathe. Breathe.”

  When she’d caught her breath a little, she puffed, “I thought it would be sweet, like the other ones.”

  Instead of responding to that, I said, “What were you doing down here? You know you’re not allowed.”

  “But I wanted to pet the kitty cat.”

  I looked for Piss, but she’d disappeared.

  “The kitty doesn’t like to have people pet her,” I said gently.

  “She does too. Sometimes, when I can’t sleep, but everyone else is, she comes to visit me,” Katie revealed. “I pet her until I can fall asleep.”

  As though to confirm the little girl’s story, Piss emerged from her hiding space, walked over, and rubbed her head against Katie’s hand.

  The act of love brought tears to my eyes. “I thought you weren’t a kid cat.”

  “I’m a cat kid,” Katie assured me. “I love all the animals.”

  “And they love you,” Angel said gruffly. “Otherwise they wouldn’t have tried so hard to help you.”

  “Save you,” I corrected, reaching out to rub the spot behind the cat’s ears.

  DeeDee, not wanting to be left out of the action, pushed her way between us.

  Angel laughed and patted her side, while Katie petted both her furry friends.

  “So,” Angel said after a moment. “You talk to your animals and you believe Armani can predict the future.”

  “Most people talk to their pets.” I glanced over in God’s direction and extended my hand palm side up. He scampered over and climbed onboard, scampering straight up my arm to perch on my shoulder. “As for
Armani, a version of what she says often comes true.”

  “Tell me about the drowning prediction,” he prompted.

  I looked at him closely. “Why? Are you thinking of trying out her matchmaking service?”

  “Humor me.”

  I shrugged. “She says that you-know-who will drown in the ocean.”

  “Who?” Katie asked.

  I sighed. “You.”

  “I drowned,” she declared.

  “No honey, you choked,” I corrected gently.

  “Wait for it…” Angel interjected mysteriously.

  “I drowned,” Katie insisted.

  “You can’t drown on dry land, silly,” I told her.

  “Wait for it…” Angel intoned again.

  “But we’re in the middle of the ocean.” Katie pointed to the wall behind me. “The mermaids were watching me and everything.”

  I turned slowly to face the wall my mother had painted, the walls that displayed different scenes of the sea.

  I turned slowly to face the wall my mother had painted, the walls that displayed different scenes of the sea.

  “If Armani saw that,” Angel suggested carefully, “I would imagine that imagining someone choking, while in the water would translate to drowning.”

  A chill raced down my spine and I suddenly felt sick. “I should have paid closer attention.”

  Jack had warned me about Rivgali. Armani had warned me about the sea. The animals had warned me that Katie was in trouble. What other warnings hadn’t I paid attention to?

  I knew the answer immediately.

  Belgard.

  I hung my head and sucked in a deep breath as a wave of panic threatened to drown me.

  “Hey,” Angel soothed, reaching out a hand and tilting my chin back. “She’s okay. She’s going to be just fine.”

  I nodded, unable to explain what I was really upset about.

  DeeDee began to bark excitedly.

  “Don’t cry, Aunt Maggie,” Katie begged. “Don’t be sad.”

  Blinking away my tears, I smiled at her weakly. “I’m not sad,” I said, hoping my assurance would calm the dog too. “I was just thinking about how grateful I am that Angel was here.”

  DeeDee spun in a circle barking.

  “Hush,” I reprimanded. “Everything’s okay.”

  The dog kept barking.

  “Easy girl,” Angel said, trying to soothe her.

  Sliding my gaze over to him, I murmured a heartfelt, “Thank you. If you hadn’t been here…”

  He shook his head. “You do realize that if Susan caught you saying that she’d never let you hear the end of it,” he teased.

  I chuckled. “You’re right about that.” Impulsively I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

  Then the storm cellar door opened.

  Startled, I looked over as DeeDee charged the stairs. “Careful!” I warned, afraid it was Belgard.

  But the Doberman had nothing to be frightened of.

  Patrick Mulligan jogged down the stairs, coming to an abrupt stop when he spotted the three people sitting on the floor watching him.

  His expression darkened when he spotted Angel, still cradling Katie in his lap.

  “What the hell?” Angel shoved Katie into my arms and leapt to his feet thinking Patrick was an intruder or worse.

  Startled, Katie began to cry.

  “Stop!” I stumbled to my feet, thrown off balance by Katie’s weight, throwing myself between the two men. I balanced Katie on one hip and pressed my free palm against Angel’s solid chest. “He’s a friend.”

  Angel glared at the other man. “And he just waltzes in?”

  “The dog was barking. I was worried something might be wrong,” Patrick replied smoothly.

  It was easy to see how he’d juggled two families for so many years. The man was an accomplished liar. That frightened me a little.

  I frowned at the dog, who blinked at me innocently, and I realized that her barking had been her way of announcing Patrick’s arrival.

  “Detective Patrick Mulligan,” the redhead explained, extending his hand to the man who looked like he was ready to rip his head off.

  “He’s got a soft spot for DeeDee,” I told Angel.

  “For the dog?” Angel mocked, taking a step backward so that my hand fell from his chest to my side.

  I nodded, hating that even though what I was saying was the truth, I was using it to deceive Angel. “Remember I told you about the boyfriend who tried to kill me? DeeDee protected me. She was badly hurt and the detective rushed her to the vet. Saved her life.”

  Angel’s gaze flicked from the dog who sat at Patrick’s side, to the redhead’s face.

  “I shouldn’t have burst in like that,” Patrick apologized. “It’s just that I heard DeeDee and worried something was wrong.” Then he fixed his attention on Katie, who was still crying softly, and smiled warmly. He waved at her. “Hi there.”

  “Hi,” she replied tentatively as I wiped the tears from her face.

  “Are you Katie?”

  She nodded shyly.

  “I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Patrick. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m very sorry.”

  His apology was so gentle and genuine that I sensed Angel relax, even as my insides turned to mush.

  He raised his green gaze to meet mine. “Sorry to have startled all of you.”

  “It’s been a rough time,” I explained softly. “Katie just had a choking scare.”

  “Which reminds me,” Angel said, taking Katie from my arms. “Someone should probably have some ice cream to make her throat feel better.”

  He carried her toward the stairs that led to the kitchen.

  “I didn’t catch your name,” Patrick called after him.

  I shot him a warning look. He knew damn well who Angel was.

  Angel looked back. “Is that an official inquiry, Detective Mulligan?”

  Patrick shook his head. “I’m not working. Just wanted to visit the dog.”

  Angel tipped his head to the side and I could tell he didn’t believe Patrick, but all he said was, “Angel. I’m the manny.”

  With that, he carried Katie upstairs, closing the door behind them.

  Patrick and I stared at each other for a long, silent moment.

  His green eyes were molten with something I couldn’t quite identify.

  “Probably not the best idea for you to just walk in,” I quipped weakly.

  Pinning me with his gaze, he closed the space between us, before I could utter a warning that someone could walk in at any time.

  His lips captured mine, our tongues tangled, and I forgot that there were other people in the world. We drank from each other greedily as my blood heated and my body screamed for more.

  I tried to slip my hand beneath his shirt needing to feel his skin against mine, but he gently pushed me away, removed his mouth from mine, and walked out without a word.

  But first he pressed a folded piece of paper into my palm.

  I watched him go, fighting the urge to call him back. It was too dangerous for us to be seen together. It always had been. I wondered if it always would be.

  Once he was gone, I walked over to the couch and sank down onto it. Immediately the dog and cat flanked me on either side, offering support. Even though I could no longer hear them, their loyalty was unwavering.

  I glanced over at God, who was pacing, no doubt frustrated he wasn’t part of what was going on.

  Before I could unfold the paper, the door to the kitchen flew open.

  I looked up at the top of the stairs and found Armani staring at me wild-eyed. “Chica!”

  “What’s up?”

  “You need to go see the shaman.”

  “No,” I answered automatically.

  She blinked, looking confused that someone had actually not obeyed her wacky command. “No?”

  “No. I’ve got a lot on my mind. I can’t take on one more thing.”

  She glanced behind her to make sure no one else was
listening and then whispered, “But how else will you be able to talk to the animals?”