True Blue Son (The Syndicate-Born Trilogy Book 3)
Page 14
“What’s that?”
“A 911 call came in last night from Elliana Forester’s residence. It seems the husband came home to his house looking like the set of Helter Skelter. No one can get ahold of her. The husband is being held in custody until we can get any information. Do you know anything about this?”
“What? No! She’s been at St. Rita’s hospital with me for the last two days.”
“Is she hurt?” To his credit he really did seem concerned about Ellie.
“No, no, nothing like that. A mutual friend had a heart attack.”
“A friend? Is this a male friend? The guy you were so tore up about?”
“Yes, that’s him.” Mari let out a slow breath. “Look, Quinn, the other night was a mistake. I was upset and drunk and wasn’t thinking clearly. You’re a nice guy and I didn’t mean to lead you on in anyway. I care about Emmanuel and want to make it work with him.”
“I don’t know why you have to be like this, Mari,” he said.
“Like what?”
“Act like you’re interested, string me along and then leave me hanging.”
“Look, I said I was sorry, and I really don’t want to get into this with you. What’s the other thing you need to talk to me about?”
A long pause fell between them, and she checked to make sure Quinn hadn’t hung up the call. The awkwardness of the situation gnawed at her.
After a few more agonizing moments, Quinn cleared his throat and spoke up again. “Your inquiry into MacAvoy came back to the precinct, and they gave it to me since you’re on vacation or whatever with this man of yours.”
“What did they say?”
Another long pause fell between them, and Mari pushed down the frustration. “Just tell me already, Quinn.”
“He’s had a heart attack and his implant shows he’s still in the hospital. The report shows he had an angioplasty yesterday and is recovering. His docs are saying he can go back home tomorrow.”
After a long pause, she cleared her throat and said, “Okay. I-ah... I’ll have Ellie call Chris right away. Thanks for letting me know.”
“Whatever. Enjoy your vacation.” The resounding click of the line disconnecting made her chest tighten and her face feel flush.
She took the elevator back up to the cardiac care unit where Ellie stood at the nurse’s station.
“Where’s Manny?” A well of panic rose up inside of Mari. “Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. They just took him back for some tests.” Her friend’s easy smile fell as she turned to really look at Mari. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Ellie, you need to call Chris right away.”
“What, why? Oh shit, he came home....”
“There’s more. Apparently someone’s been hurt at your house. There’s blood all over the place.”
Ellie’s face paled and her shoulders curved in. “I’ve gotta go.”
Mari paused in the hall and watched her friend disappear around the corner. A part of her was curious about what had happened at Ellie’s, but she was much more concerned with Charles. Could the two be connected?
Just then an orderly wheeled Manny back towards his room. He sat up in the wheelchair with his reading glasses perched on the end of his nose, busy talking on his phone. “I love you too, babe. I promise I’ll let you know what the doctors say. Okay... love you. Bye.” He looked up and smiled when he saw Mari standing outside his door.
She followed them into the room and watched as the orderly helped him back into the bed and then left.
“I finally got ahold of Morgan. She’s in some African city I’ve never heard of, but apparently they have more reliable internet.”
Mari crossed the room and kissed him. The monitors attached to his heart blipped and beeped.
He broke the kiss and looked her in the eyes. “What’s wrong?” He stowed the phone in the tabletop drawer and pulled her arm until she sat down beside him on the edge of the bed. “Not that I mind you coming in here just to make out with me.”
She laughed and stroked his cheek. His lips brushed her hand, and the hair on her arm stood on end. “I love you, Manny. I should have told you a long time ago.”
He blinked back at her in surprise, and then glanced away. “So, I guess you heard about Jason and Sally—”
“Yes, I heard, but—”
“It’s okay. You don’t owe me anything, Marianna.”
His use of her full name made her stomach drop and her skin prickle. “No, wait... before you say anything else, I meant what I said. And I’m not saying it because you’re lying here on this bed or because some ex got married.” She took a deep breath and righted his glasses. “I’m telling you because it’s true and I’m tired of fighting it.”
He took a deep, shaky breath. “I want to believe you....”
She kissed his scratchy cheek. “Then I guess I’ll just have to keep saying it until you start believing.”
Manny reached up and cupped her face with his hands, and brought her lips down to his.
“Knock, knock.”
Mari jumped off the bed.
A nurse glared at them with her arms crossed. “All right, love birds, that’s enough.”
Mari stood, not taking her eyes away from Manny’s while the nurse quickly checked his vitals.
“Mr. Richards, I know I don’t have to remind you that you’ve just had a heart attack and a stroke and that you need your heart to rest.” She gave Mari a quick glance. “Which means no more hanky-panky.”
Manny’s cheeks colored and he shot a furtive glance Mari’s way. “Yes ma’am.”
“Mmm hmm... just behave yourselves so you can go home soon and enjoy each other in the comfort of your own bedroom.”
He suppressed a laugh. “Yes ma’am.”
The nurse walked out and Manny burst out laughing. Tears streamed down his cheeks. After a moment, the laughter died down and stillness filled the air. All the mirth had left him, and he glanced up at Mari with a seriousness that took her aback. “I think you know how I feel. I can wait until you’re sure. I don’t want to push you into anything you aren’t ready for. I can understand if you don’t want to commit to being with a crotchety old man.”
Her cheeks got hot and she looked away. “I know.”
Manny laughed even harder and put her hand on his chest.
“All right, Emmanuel. You’re gonna get us in more trouble,” she said, trying to suppress her own laughter. “How did Morgan take the news?”
She stretched out on the window seat on the other side of the room, not trusting herself to sit beside him—especially with the way he was looking at her just now.
A slow smile spread across his face and he brought his reading glasses to rest atop his head. “Not well.” A nervous laughed erupted from him. “I had to talk her out of getting on the next plane.”
Mari brought up her knees up to her chest. “She just lost her mom last year. Makes sense that she’d be worried about losing you, too.” She finger-combed her hair, feeding it back into her bun. “I know I was.”
His smile melted away. “I know, babe. I’m sorry I made you worry.”
She bit her lip hard to keep from crying. “Don’t do it again, okay?”
“Yes ma’am.”
***
Abandoned Warehouse
Richmond, Virginia
June 29, 2026
8:00 AM
~~~
Scott perched on the end of the chair with his leather belt clenched between his teeth. He wove the leather around his arm, tied it off, reached for the needle, and stabbed it into his arm. The two men, whom he presumed worked for Charles, had managed to shoot a hunk of lead into him, taking a chunk of flesh from him. But his carefully thought out escape plan had worked. The men didn’t know about the side door, which Scott had managed to get to. He outran the men down the street, where he had an automatic car waiting for him.
His wound throbbed, and he needed to clean it to prevent infection. He upended th
e bag beside him and the contents spilled out. It hurt to move his arm, but he fought through the pain to open the bag of cotton balls and bottle of alcohol. He dabbed around the hole and applied a pressure bandage.
Thankfully, the drugs worked quickly. The word junky flashed through his mind, but he pushed it aside. He needed to keep it together if he wanted to come out of this on top.
He took his time making sure the entire surface was scrubbed clean. Charles and his friends would pay for this. After he was done with them, there would be nothing left.
Chapter 11
St. Rita’s Hospital
Danville, Virginia
June 29, 2026
8:00 AM
~~~
Mari blinked awake and sat up. She must have been more tired than she’d realized.
She looked over to see Manny fast asleep, glasses askew on top of his head. She stood up, careful not to wake him, and removed the glasses. Her heart swelled as she watched him sleep.
To think I almost lost you.
She brushed his lips with a light kiss and he awoke, startling her.
“Mmm... hey, babe.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to kiss her again.
She waggled her finger at him. “Emmanuel, you naughty dog. You’re going to get that nurse back here to yell at us.”
“Me? I was just lying her taking a little nap when you attacked me with those beautiful lips of yours.” He tugged her again—he meant business. “Besides, who cares about what that nasty Nurse Ratchet has to say. Let her yell.” He brushed his lips against hers in a tender kiss. “Kissing you is worth it.”
“Get well and you can have all the heart-stopping kisses you want.”
An orderly came by with dinner on trays and placed one down on the bed table. Manny grimaced. “Leave it to MacAvoy to skimp on the food. If he ever had to stay here, you can bet they wouldn’t serve him this slop. At least there’s Jell-O.”
Mari remembered what Quinn had said about Charles being in the hospital. If that were true, where was he? Only one way to find out. She gave Manny a quick kiss on the cheek, making his face pink and eliciting a small smile. “I’ll be right back.”
“Hurry back.”
She gave him a wink and ducked out of the room.
The nurse at the front desk looked nice enough, but Mari reached into her purse and pulled out her badge to seal the deal. “Excuse me, ma’am, I was wondering if you might be able to help me.”
The nurse didn’t blink an eye. “Of course. What can I help you with?”
Mari smiled. “I need to know if Charles MacAvoy is here in the hospital.”
The nurse looked up his name and, sure enough, he had come into the hospital with cardiac arrest and was currently receiving treatment. The story Quinn told her all seemed to check out. If it was all kosher and on the up and up, then why did she have this sinking feeling in her gut?
She walked slowly back to Manny’s room and caught her lover’s inquisitive gaze.
Manny paused in eating his Jell-O. “Mmm... I know that look. I thought you were supposed to be on vacation? Not that taking care of a convalescing old man is a day at the beach—”
“You’re not an old man,” she said with a small smile.
“We’ll talk about that when you’re sixty.”
She smirked. “Will you even still be around then?”
“Funny, babe. Funny. Now, what’s got you all worked up?”
“Did you know Charles is here? They said he had a heart attack or something.”
A strained silence fell between them as Manny looked down at his hands, avoiding her probing gaze.
“Manny—”
“Babe, let it go.”
Seriously, more secrets. What else isn’t he telling me?
It was bad enough that he’d lied to her all this time about his involvement in that Ride bitch faking her death. Now he seemed to be involved somehow in this newest incident with Charles.
“Emmanuel—”
“Don’t ask me anything, Mari, please.”
“I knew I shouldn’t trust you,” she mumbled under her breath.
She stormed out of the hospital room, determined to get to the bottom of these secrets.
***
Church Hill Neighborhood
Richmond, Virginia
June 29, 2026
8:00 AM
~~~
The police had roped off Ellie’s back entryway and were still walking around her yard collecting evidence when the automated car pulled up to the curb. She jumped out and ran towards her husband, whose haggard features spoke of a year’s worth of aging in only a few days.
“Baby!” Chris kicked off the back wall of their house and ran towards her. He grasped hold of her in a big bear hug as if his life depended on it.
Her breaths came in short gasps as his hold on her tightened. “I’m here, Chrissy. I’m okay.”
Chris’s chest heaved as he clutched her to him. His hot, insistent mouth connected with her ear, neck, and, at last, her mouth.
He kissed her with such intensity that she felt she might melt into him. She heard the snickering of the police officers, men and woman she worked with every day, but she didn’t care. Instead, she kissed him back and held him tight.
When one of the officers tapped Chris on the shoulder, he still didn’t break the kiss or his hold on her.
“Chris....” She pushed his chest to get him to stop. The intense look in his eyes frightened and thrilled her, but now was not the time.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” the officer said. “Sir, your alibi checks out so you’re being cleared. Ms. Forester, I’m glad to see that you are actually alive and well. You gave us all a good scare. The Department sent around the collection box and we got ya guys a suite at the St. James Motel for tonight. We’ll have a uniformed officer outside your door all night as well, for protection. Someone was hurt in your home, and until we find out who and why, we need to keep you all safe.”
“Thank you so much.” Ellie lightly touched the officer’s arm in appreciation.
“We always look out for our own, ma’am.”
“I packed up our stuff,” Chris said. “I didn’t want you to have to go into the house.”
Ellie gave her husband a wobbly smile and squeezed his arm. “Let’s go then.”
Three armed guards followed them with their police escort. Chris ignored the entourage and continued kissing her nearly the entire way there.
The men stood awkwardly with them in the long elevator ride up to their room. Chris reached underneath her thin t-shirt and grasped her breast.
“Chris!” She shoved again at his chest.
He wanted her now and wouldn’t be dissuaded to wait a moment longer. “These dudes gonna stand there and watch us all night?”
One of them smirked.
“Hell, no. They can protect us just fine outside of our room,” Ellie said.
An hour later, she lay entwined with her satiated, and snoring, husband. It had been a crazy couple of days, and she was glad to have him home; he always made everything better. She tried not to think about the blood spilt all over her kitchen floor, and who it might belong to. Had she been the intended target? What if she had gone home instead of staying the night at the hospital?
She pushed aside the pointless what ifs and settled into the crook of her husband’s arm, resting her head on his chest. The comforting sound of his heartbeat lulled her to sleep.
Chapter 12
MDNA Headquarters
Unknown Location
June 29, 2026
6:00 PM
~~~
After patching Charles up, one of the overly-caffeinated computer geeks showed Zane to his new MDNA-issued accommodations, which came furnished with a cot, pillow, blankets, and a well-thumbed-through copy of Jason’s book. While the guy didn’t lock the door behind him, Zane got the feeling that he was expected to stay there until called upon.
With nothing else
to do, he cracked open the book and quickly became engrossed. The true crime novel began with the origins of The Syndicate, or at least what Jason knew of it. Zane recognized some of the names of people that lived in his town and worked at his uncle’s shop. His mother came off as a hero, which bristled him. Sally Ann Ride, hero for hire.
Bullshit. Pure and utter bullshit.
Jason may have fallen for his mother’s story, but Zane knew the truth.
“Knock, knock.”
He looked up to see a young man, about his age, standing in his doorframe with a goofy smile on his face. His blonde curly hair stood out at all ends, and a pair of wire-rimmed glasses sat perched atop his nose. The button-down shirt he wore strained to cover his bulky frame, and his stained and wrinkled khaki pants looked like they might belong to a homeless man.
“Sorry to interrupt. I see you got the book I left you.” The man pushed his glasses back up the long slope of his nose.
Zane sat up and put the book down. “And you are?”
“I’m so sorry. Where’re my manners?” He wiped his palms on his khaki pants and jutted his right hand out in front of Zane. “Dr. Miles Jacobs. I’m the doctor that saved your mom’s life.”
He shook the man’s clammy palm, trying to hide his disgust.
“I’m a big fan.” Dr. Jacobs pointed to the book. “He dedicated it to her, ya know? Called her his muse. Did you see that part? I know some people skip past the dedications part. Did you?”
Zane held up his hand. “Wait a minute. Slow down there. You saved my mom’s life?”
Jacobs laughed and turned red. He wrung his hands a bit in front of himself before clasping them behind his back. “I’m sorry. I’m just so excited to finally meet you. I’ve been following your Nanobioresponder project for quite some time. Fascinating stuff, by the way. It’s an honor to finally meet you. I’m hoping our projects will benefit from each other.”
“Slow down, Dr. Jacobs.” Zane held up a hand to stop the doctor’s ramblings. “Start from the top. What did you do for my mother?”
“I’m the doctor who built her kidney.”
“Built?” Zane raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“Yes, your mother couldn’t receive a donor kidney because that requires going through channels that a woman who is legally dead can’t go through. Mr. MacAvoy read my journal article on a theoretical solution for kidney transplants, using 3D-printed matrix with proteoglycans attached in various places to cause differentiation of stem cells, then introducing kidney stem cells so they grow in place and differentiate into the various types of cells needed.” His words came out in an anxious jumble.