Taylor blew across the mug.
Ian.
What was she going to tell him?
He already knew she was in some sort of trouble. He’d hit the nail on the head there. She couldn’t lie and make him believe something different, not since she’d admitted as much to him. She’d need to point him at another version of the truth. Just for now. Just until she could get away. Where, she still didn’t know. She was out money and resources, but she’d figure something out. She had to.
Maybe when she left, she could drop the files off at the bar where they’d met. Trinity Hall. She’d once hoped the files would keep her safe, that she could use the evidence against her family to buy herself a new future, but that didn’t seem to be the case. And why would it? Julia had always been hungry for power. She’d scared Mom into running away, right into death’s embrace.
The family had flourished more than before these last couple of years. More than Taylor had realized until it was too late.
She was playing with fire.
The question wasn’t if she died, but when?
Taylor didn’t trust the FBI. At least not with her life, and not anyone with an Italian name or ties to New York. But Maybe Ian would know someone. A different person, some other office, who could take the files and do something with them. It’d been decades since the big cases against the families, but something could still happen. They didn’t enjoy the same kind of freedom that they had in the seventies or eighties, but they still had power. They still had reach and connections.
Which was why she needed to ensure her statements and the evidence wound up in the right hands.
Of anyone she’d met on this journey, Ian was the one to trust. He might not be a cop, but he had the spirit of one. She was willing to bet he knew people, and if he didn’t, someone he knew would. Hopefully, the financial information would land in the lap of someone who had the ability and muscle to change things.
Speak of the devil.
Ian rounded the corner and stopped in the doorway. The shadows made his eyes burn too bright. He looked more like himself in boots, jeans, a T-shirt, and leather jacket, anyway.
“Ian!” Stacey sprinted across the room, launching herself at him.
Taylor wished things were as simple as Stacey claimed. She wished Ian could take her problems away. That he could change things. But no one could work miracles like that. This was the real world, not a fairy tale.
Ian scooped Stacey up for a big hug. He muttered things that inspired the little girl to giggle and laugh. Taylor wished she could give Stacey a better life. When she’d fled here, she’d had a stupid, naïve hope she could do just that. That she could hide, pretend to be someone else, and raise the sister she’d never known so that she might have the chance to be free that Taylor hadn’t. But once more, she’d been proven wrong.
Stacey would never know they were sisters. Half-sisters, but sisters none the less.
“Why don’t you go get dressed and give me a minute to talk to Taylor?” Ian set Stacey down and smoothed her hair down.
Great. Just what she needed.
A grilling by Ian.
Stacey scampered off to her room, leaving Ian and Taylor staring at each other.
“How pissed is George?” She sipped the tea, grateful it had cooled enough to be drinkable.
“What happened down there?” Ian crossed the room, but stopped a couple feet from her.
“I got up, like normal, went downstairs. The trash was full, so I took it out. The puppies were loose, and somehow they’d knocked the garbage over, so I started picking things up and looking for puppies.” She stared at the floor, remembering the first glimpse of those boots she’d seen. “I was over by George’s car when I realized I wasn’t alone. Someone was on the other side of the car. I tried to pretend I hadn’t seen them, but I guess I’m not that good of an actress. I ran for the door, but the guy caught me.”
“Did you recognize him?”
“It was too dark. The security light was on, so I didn’t think to turn the overheads on.”
“Taylor?” Ian crossed those final feet between them and took her hand, kneeling in front of her. “Anythin’ about him at all stick out?”
“No.”
“Someone jacked with the security cameras. They were on a loop for who knows how long. Josh and his guys insist we’re makin’ it up, that I strangled you. The security company says no one has tampered with their equipment. I need somethin’ to go on.”
“Josh will always cover his ass first, and George probably doesn’t want to admit there’s a problem or even the most remote chance he might be a target.”
“I’m goin’ to try to get the security company to come out today to do a full system’s check of things, but George is pushin’ back. He’s pissed. At you. At me. I don’t know what to do. It’s like he doesn’t believe the sky is blue.”
Taylor nodded and sighed. She’d had a few moments butting head with George about things that were so painfully obvious to her, and yet he still refused to see them. Granted, she was the same way, so it was clearly a family trait.
“I want to get you out of here. Today. Now.”
“And do what?” The fantasy of escaping with Ian was destroyed by the fact that she’d already tried that once with her ex-husband. No one could magic her away. If she went with Ian, she put him in danger.
“And figure out what’s going on.” Ian leaned closer, staring deep into her eyes. “I know about your family.”
A dozen questions bubbled up inside of her, but to give voice to even one would be admitting the truth. If she gave credence to any of his suspicions, Ian would dig in. He’d insist on protecting her, as he’d tried to do at every turn since coming to work for George. And then he’d die. When they came to kill her, they might not be happy to simply put her out of their misery. Which was why she had to go. To get out of here. So that when this was over, when she was dead—she was the only one dead.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Somehow, she managed to keep her voice even, no wavering.
“God damn it, Taylor.”
Ian pushed to his feet and paced the play room.
He could be angry at her all he liked, so long as he stayed alive.
There were other women in this world who needed to be rescued, who needed a prince. That girl was not her.
Ciro tapped out a text, his blood boiling. He’d kill Angelo before this job was over, just to be rid of him.
Haven’t heard from you in a few days. Everything OK?
Ciro hit send on Vito’s phone and turned toward Angelo.
He’d already downed most of a bottle of vodka since coming back from the recon mission this morning.
What the hell had he been thinking?
If he was going to kill Taylor he needed to get the job done and stop fucking around.
Julia wasn’t going to like this.
The phone vibrated, stealing Ciro’s attention.
Hey. Thanks for checking up on me. Been better for sure. U?
He had to chuckle at that. Taylor had spunk, that was for sure. She could have made something of herself, if she’d only tried. Such a disgrace to her family.
“Change of plans.” Ciro crossed to the kitchen counter and pulled the vodka out of Angelo’s hands.
“What?”
“We’re going to off Taylor proper like tonight, then burn the place. Happy?”
“Finally!”
13.
Ian stared at George glaring at him and didn’t back down.
Everyone was trying to cover their ass and ignoring the truth.
George’s security system had been hacked. The company that provided the system didn’t want to admit their system could be hacked, which would uncover a problem with their service. Josh’s team didn’t want to admit they’d been sleeping on the job and let this happen. George...well, he wanted something and Ian had no idea what it was, but it wasn’t to keep his home and family safe. George was a liar
and a crook, that much was clear from just the things Ian had uncovered.
“In almost two weeks you’ve found nothing,” George finally said. “I hired you to do a job you haven’t done.”
“No, you hired me as a security consultant. I’ve done my job, pointing out the shortcomings in your security and all of the dangers to you and your family. Every person you’ve got working under this roof is a threat. Now, which of them sent you the threats? I don’t know.” Ian shrugged. “From the looks of things, I’d say it was a scare tactic. Nothing that’s going to impact your housing deal, except to distract you into doing something else. Otherwise, why would they have stopped?”
“This is pointless. Tomorrow’s the end of your contract, you should just pack up and leave now.”
“All due respect, you paid me for a term and I’m going to stick it out.”
“Fine. Whatever. Get out of my sight.” George threw his pen down on the desk.
Ian was all too happy to oblige. He wasn’t staying for any honorable reasons. Hell, if he could convince Taylor to leave with him, he’d pick up and split now, but she wasn’t having it. He needed to get through to her.
He took the stairs two at a time.
The last he’d seen of Taylor and Stacey, they’d been making noise about a post-lunch nap. With any luck, Stacey would be down and Taylor free.
He checked the play room first.
Empty.
Stacey’s bedroom door was shut and the Nap Time sign hung from the hook.
That was good. Now he just had to hope that Taylor wasn’t napping with Stacey.
He tapped on the door.
“Come in.”
Ian stepped through and quickly shut the door.
Taylor’s room was at the front of the house. It was smaller than most of the others and didn’t have its own bathroom. All the blinds and drapes were drawn, leaving the space in a near twilight feel. She sat on the edge of her bed, shoulders hunched.
“How you feelin’?” He knelt by her knee, peering up at her face.
“Okay.”
Her voice sounded rough, worn, ragged and likely would for a few days until the damage to her throat healed.
She was a damn good actress. He’d expected a flicker of surprise, some sign of panic, when he’d told her earlier he knew about her family, but—nothing. Not even an eyelash flutter. But he was still right.
“Taylor, was that man after you?” He studied her face, looking for something, anything.
“I don’t know.” She glanced away.
“You think he was, though.”
“I told you, I don’t know.” She wrapped her arms around herself.
“Damnit, Taylor, I want to help you.” He pried her hands from her sides, holding them between his. “I know your last name isn’t Carter. It’s Cartwright. And before that it was Lucchese.”
She hissed as though he’d burned her and yanked her hands from his.
“Stop.”
“Taylor?” He reached for her, trying to make her understand he was on her side. “Taylor—”
“Just—stop.” She pushed at his shoulders, shoving him back onto his heels. “Stop.”
She glanced at the door, as though someone might come bursting through at any moment.
“What is it? Are you afraid of George?”
“No.”
“The man this mornin’?”
“Ian, stop. You’re making things worse.”
“How am I makin’ it worse? You almost died.” He pushed up and sat next to her. “You were Taylor Lucchese, daughter of a Colombo capo, but you’re tryin’ to be someone else now. Why? What happened, Taylor?”
“You wouldn’t understand.” She pushed to her feet and began pacing.
“Try me.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because.”
“That’s not a reason.”
She pivoted to face him and stopped. If looks could kill, he’d be in the ninth circle of hell already. She made a frustrated sound in the back of her throat, practically a growl, and shoved her hair over her shoulder.
“Fine. What do you think you know about me? Go on. Spill.” She crossed her arms over her chest, chin thrust forward.
Ian could see where Stacey had learned to be stubborn.
“I don’t know everythin’. That’s why I’m askin’ you to tell me the truth.”
“But you clearly have your mind made up about how things are, so humor me. Tell me your version.”
“Fine. It’s just guesswork.” He leaned forward, planting his elbows on his knees. “Residential records put your mum and da at different addresses when you were younger. I’m guessin’ they didn’t get on well. When you were old enough to go to school, your mum sent you away. First to a suburban boarding school, then to an up-state one, which got you farther away. With the distance, you would have been insulated from your father’s lifestyle. Since his peers didn’t make a habit of sendin’ their kids away, I’m guessin’ this was an anomaly, your mum’s attempt to get you out of that lifestyle. How am I doin’ so far?”
Taylor was pacing again, not looking at him.
“Keep going,” she said.
“Okay, well, from different accounts, it appears that Julia took up with your da when you were—what? Ten? She was his kept woman for a couple of years, until your mum passed.”
“Say it.” Taylor stopped with her back toward him.
“Say what?”
“Say what really happened.”
“I don’t know.”
“But you’re telling the story here, so what’s your take on it?” She turned her head just a bit, glancing over her shoulder at him.
“I think your mum trusted the wrong people, and it got her killed. Then Julia moves in, becomes your stepmum, and things change. Before Julia, your da was a footnote in other investigations. He wasn’t anyone they were really lookin’ into. But after Julia?” He shook his head. “She was the one pushin’ him, wasn’t she?”
“She is a greedy woman. They suited each other.” Taylor turned, her gaze on the floor. “So, what about me? What’s the rest of my story?”
“I’m still not quite sure. There’s not a lot about you. After you finished boarding school you—what? Came home? Got married? I know you went to school, got divorced your sophomore year. It looks like you graduated and settled down for a nice, quiet life. So, what happened? What brought you all the way across the country?”
Taylor’s shoulders slumped. She looked...tired. Worn out.
“How’d I do?” he asked. There were still secrets he didn’t know, facts that were a mystery, but he felt like he had a good handle on the framework.
Taylor was a woman who forged her own path. She didn’t let others do it for her.
“You got the highlights right.” She sank down next to him on the bed. “I always thought Mom was killed. Going to the feds like she did was...that wasn’t normal for her. She’d sort of given up her dream of getting out and settled into being this quiet road bump. She wouldn’t help things along, but she’d trip people up. And she was so smooth about it, no one ever noticed.”
“I spoke to a guy who has the non-redacted file. He agrees with my theory, that it was an inside job or somethin’.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me.” She smiled, but there was no joy in it. “Don’t trust anyone with an Italian name. Cosa Nostra is everywhere.”
Those two words made him cold. Cosa Nostra wasn’t just in America. The mafia was one of the oldest, largest crime organizations in the world.
“That’s what we call the mafia,’” she said quietly.
“I know that.”
“Those of us who have been in it or were born into it. I didn’t really get a choice.” She sighed and leaned against his shoulder. “If you care about me at all, you won’t breathe my name outside these walls. It’ll put you at risk, Ian.”
“What about you?”
“Don’t worry about me.”
; “Someone went to a lot of effort to get to you this morning.”
“We don’t know that.”
“Then why can’t you look me in the face and say that?” He ducked his head, but she still avoided his gaze. “I know you’re involved, but I haven’t figured out how.”
“Stop asking questions.”
“You’re in danger. I won’t stop. Tell me what happened, what’s goin’ on?”
“I can’t.” She turned her face into his shoulder, hiding her eyes from him.
Ian pulled her in tight, wrapping his arms around her. He wanted to shake some sense into her. Didn’t she know that keeping secrets meant the bad guys won? She could trust him.
“If you’re running, why’d you come here?” He could think of a dozen other places to go.
“I thought I’d be safe here.”
Ian couldn’t understand what about being under George’s roof might keep her safe, and she wasn’t telling him.
“Leave. Right now. Let me take you somewhere.”
“No, I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because then other people will be in danger. If I can just keep my head down, I’ll be okay.”
“Taylor, worst case scenario, someone hacked a sophisticated security system, just to get to you. They risked comin’ into a well-guarded house to find you. I don’t think you’re safe here.”
“I can’t leave.”
“Why not? Explain it to me.”
“Because they’re everywhere. If I go with you, and they decide you’re a threat, they’ll kill you. Your whole family. Your friends. Just to prove a point. You’re right about Julia, she’s bloodthirsty and greedy. Worse than my dad ever was.”
“Why is she after you?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“But she is after you, and if she’s gone this far, she’ll try again.”
Taylor squeezed her eyes shut, but tears still leaked out the sides.
“I don’t know what to do.”
“Let me help you.” He tucked her hair behind her ear, everything in him wishing for that one thing. Trust. For her to finally, truly trust him.
Alpha Prince (Twisted Royals, #1) Page 12