by L. A. Fiore
“I’ve missed you,” she whispered.
“I missed you more.”
Mom released me and I reached for Mrs. Cooke’s hands. “Oh Mrs. Cooke. I’ve missed you. How are you with being back here?”
“I’m good, dear. The memories bring a smile not pain.”
“I’m so happy to hear that.”
Anton and Cam came strolling outside. “Finally,” Cam said as his arms went tight around me. “How you doing, sis?”
“Better now.”
“You must be tired,” Anton said as I moved into him and kissed his cheek. “I’m happy you’re home. I missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too, Anton.”
“There are refreshments inside,” Mrs. Cooke announced.
“Thanks for letting us stay here.”
“Nonsense. It’s a big, drafty place that has gone too long without having life in its halls.”
Razor, Mic and Damian joined us and I knew this because my mom made a sound in the back of her throat, which had me wondering about her own personal hottie. “Where’s yoga man?”
“Inside helping the girls with dinner. Who is this?” Mom asked, but she was already offering her hand to Razor.
“My mom, Rosalie, and Miranda Cooke, this is Razor and Mic.”
“Just delighted to make your acquaintance.” Mom was batting her lashes, but it looked like she had something in her eye. Confirmed when Razor asked, “What’s wrong with your eye?”
Mom gasped, Mrs. Cooke looked flabbergasted and I roared with laughter. It was good to be home.
My smile was so big my face hurt when we stepped into the kitchen to see my two besties making dinner. As soon as they saw me they dropped what they were doing, screamed and ran to me. We hugged, jumped up and down and spoke in a language no one but us understood. And then they pulled me from the kitchen. “We’ll bring her back,” Kimber shouted from over her shoulder as Ryder dragged me upstairs.
“We have so much to catch you up on,” Ryder said as she dropped on the bed. The room was amazing, spacious with antique furniture, muted-gold papered walls and a fireplace.
I stood in the middle of the room and spun in a circle. “I can’t believe she let this sit vacant for so long.”
“I know. The place is amazing.”
I dropped down on the bed too. “How were things here? Any trouble?”
“No. None. We heard about Guy, we can’t really believe it.”
My happy glow soured. “I can’t talk about that right now. How’s Mom?”
“She doesn’t know.”
“That’s probably for the best because she would absolutely hunt him down.”
“That’s what your brother is afraid of,” Ryder said.
“So what’s up with Damian?” Kimber asked.
“It’s a long story, but he wants a lifetime with me.”
They both squealed so loud I was sure they heard it down the block. “Oh my God. He said that?” Ryder gushed.
“Yeah. It’s still there, what pulled at us when we were younger, but it’s so much more now.”
“I love that something good came out of all this shit.” Ryder was right about that.
I wanted to tell them about Amelia and the friends I had made, but I was exhausted and that was a conversation that would take hours, so I moved the subject off me. “How’s Derrick?”
Ryder released a breath, Kimber’s expression turned sad. “We split up.”
“Why?”
“It just wasn’t working.”
“Bullshit,” Ryder shouted and since she was sitting right next to me my ear was now ringing.
“What’s bullshit?”
Ryder pointed accusingly at Kimber. “They were working just fine until this one got cold feet.”
Kimber was studying the lines in the comforter. “Kimber?”
“I like…okay I love him. That scares the shit out of me, so I ended it.”
“You fell in love for the first time in your life so you broke it off with the man.”
“Yes. Coward.” This was clearly an argument these two had been having for a while.
“Sticks and stones,” Kimber said then stuck out her tongue.
“And how did Derrick take the breakup?”
“He hasn’t.”
Remembering the man in question, yeah he didn’t seem the type to give up if he wanted something. “He’ll break you down, particularly since you want to be broken down.”
“I know.”
Ryder jumped from the bed. “We should join the others because dinner is almost ready.”
Before we went to dinner, the guys and I sat in the library as they once again briefed me on what to expect.
“Once you know the restaurant, my team will setup the surveillance. You will not be alone with him. Silas will drive you and my men will be posing as waiters. You’ll be covered every second.”
“I’ll be fine.”
I had never seen Damian like this. And I appreciated that I’d be feeling the same had the roles been reversed, but Guy wasn’t getting away with this.
Cam reached for my hand. “I get what you’re feeling. We all are, but control your temper until we have him. He wants something from you so make him feel comfortable to ask for it. Anything he says could help us with nailing him. We only need one thread and his shit will unravel.”
“I got this.”
They all looked grim, but it was Anton who said, “We know you do.”
Cam then did the weirdest thing. He stared at Damian then me and back again.
“You and her finally got it together?” he asked.
Damian didn’t even blink. “Yes.”
“What are your intentions?”
“Are you serious, Cam? Ignore him, Damian. My brother’s a moron.”
“I’m not kidding. What are your intentions?” Cam demanded.
I rolled my eyes because honestly. “You’re being an idiot, Cam.”
“Damian?” I knew that tone of Cam’s and couldn’t believe he was actually being serious.
“Cam, cut the shit.” I was getting pissed now.
Damian’s focus shifted from Cam to me. The hard lines smoothed out and warmth moved into his gaze. “To offer her a blanket and my body when she watches a scary movie. To hold her hair when she is sick and to supply the water when she drinks. To keep the house stocked with cookie ingredients and working fire extinguishers. To make her eggs and bacon and two cups of black coffee with two sugars every morning. To fall asleep next to her every night and to wake to her beautiful face every morning. To plant my babies in her, to build a life and family with her, to grow old with her…watching as life etches itself on her face. My intention, Cam, is to spend the rest of my life with her.”
No words would come after that breathtaking vow, so instead I stood and walked on unsteady legs to the man I loved and buried my face in his chest.
“Fucking finally,” Cam said after a few minutes.
I had just climbed into bed when Damian entered. I hadn’t stopped playing his vow over and over again in my head. For a man who conserved words, he sure as hell could string some really fucking great ones together. Still I teased him. “Did you and Cam agree on my dowry?”
“He loves you.”
“I know that. I love him, doesn’t mean he wasn’t being an idiot.”
“Concern for his sister does not make him an idiot.”
I was reminded of Amelia and how Damian wouldn’t ever get to have that with her, so I changed the subject.
“Mrs. Cooke is very forward thinking with her room assignments.”
That earned me a look from over his shoulder. A shoulder that was now bare since the man was undressing for bed. I suddenly felt overdressed in my nightshirt.
I waited for him to finish preparing for bed because that included getting naked. Yes, the man slept in the nude. I had said once I didn’t walk in the light. I would like to retract that statement.
He climbed into bed and pulled me
under him, his hands brushing my hair from my face. “Follow the plan.”
“I will.”
“Don’t take any chances.”
“I won’t.”
“And if you feel uncomfortable, drop your napkin.”
I ran my hand down his face, brushed his lips with my fingers. “You will be right there. I’ll be fine.”
“I want a lifetime, Thea.”
“We’ll start with that.”
And then he kissed me.
It was weird being home, but I had missed it. I had called Uncle Guy as soon as I got home and scheduled the dinner. The man would make an incredible actor because he sounded so happy to hear from me, so familial and yet the bastard killed my dad. We were meeting in two days, Damian was even now wiring the restaurant and setting up the surveillance, drilling the teams. While he was busy doing that, I went about business as usual and spent yesterday cleaning the apartment and stocking my fridge. While cleaning the dreaded bathroom, I snapped the chain of the necklace Dad had given me. I almost lost my key down the toilet. I would have to replace the chain, but in the meantime I hung it on a shorter one because not wearing it wasn’t an option.
After I got organized, I decided to hunt some zombies to brush up on my shooting skills. I wouldn’t be packing, obviously, but I still liked the idea of practice and it was while I killed the undead that my cell rang. Uncle Tim’s name popped up on the screen. I paused my game and reached for it.
“Hey, Uncle Tim. How are you?”
“I should be asking you that. I wondered why I hadn’t heard from you and then I saw the breaking news. That’s an incredible collar for your brother.”
“And justice for Dad.”
He was silent for a minute. “Absolutely.”
“How are you? How’s the Senate race?”
“Busy, lots of schmoozing, but early polling is looking favorable.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you. Would you be free to join me for lunch?”
“I’d love to. Why don’t you come here and I’ll make us something.”
“I’d like that.”
“See you around one.”
“I’ll be there.”
“How good is this intel?”
“It’s solid. Someone is following our digital footsteps. The team was able to reverse the search to pinpoint the IP address of the computer.”
“And it was last active?”
“About a half an hour ago.”
I swerved to miss taking off a car door then laid on the horn. Dumb fuck.
“You might want to switch to decaf.”
I wasn’t in the mood for Razor’s shit. Thea was fucking bait and I didn’t have her back. Cam was right. I was too invested. The guys on her were top rate. I had picked them out personally and still it fucking grated.
“She’ll be fine. Your woman is a bit cutthroat. Seriously, man, you let her slip through your fingers and I’m snatching her up.”
“Never going to fucking happen.” I never had a home. I had one now.
“You’re smarter than you look.”
I jerked my head to him to see the fucker grinning. “Seriously, I’m happy for you. If I found me a woman like Thea, someone who actually tolerated my bullshit, I’d hold on and never let go.”
Family, fucking hell I had one all along. “Talk to me about what the team found?”
“They’re mirroring our search, it’s like they’re giving us a virtual middle finger, like they want us to find them.”
“Or it’s a trap.”
“Or a call for help,” he added.
“We’ll know soon enough. We’re here.”
“What’s the play?” Razor asked.
I didn’t answer because my focus was on the man stepping from the shadows. “Fuck me.”
“Who the hell is that?”
Guy Hartnett peered into the car. “Took you long enough.”
The baked potato soup I whipped up had turned out perfectly. We were sitting in my kitchen. I had made sandwiches and soup. Uncle Tim wasn’t eating, but he was nursing three fingers of scotch. Unusual for him, but he was running a Senate campaign. That had to be stressful.
“You look well, Thea. Your time away agreed with you.”
More than he would know. I moved past that and studied his beloved face. He looked older since the last time I saw him.
“You look tired.”
He lifted his glass and took a long sip. “I am. Campaigning is exhausting. It is definitely a younger man’s game, but I’ve wanted the Senate for so long. When we were kids, I remember your father and I talking about what we wanted to be when we grew up. He always wanted to be a cop, was such a firm believer in right and wrong, black and white. I often straddle the line, but not your dad…incorruptible. Cam’s the spitting image of him.”
My soup was forgotten listening to Uncle Tim because there was an odd note in his voice. “Cam is like Dad. I think we both are.”
“Yes of course.” He ran his finger over the rim of his glass. “Your key is lovely.”
Absently I touched it. “Thank you.”
“I don’t remember seeing that before.”
“It’s usually hidden under my clothes but I broke the chain.”
“Ah. So can you tell me where you’ve been?”
How much could I share with him without impacting the sting on Guy? “The case Cam just closed on the dirty cops was originally Dad’s case. There was a little trouble here for me connected to that case, enough that the men in my life wanted to ensconced me away somewhere safe.”
“Smart men.”
“Yeah. I’m proud of Cam. It wasn’t easy what he did, but it was the right thing. I just know that Dad is smiling down on him.”
“I’ve no doubt.” He put his glass down. “I’m going to need your necklace.”
So thrown from his odd request I said a bit bewildered. “What?”
“For almost three years I’ve been waiting, wondering. It’s nerve racking.”
The first pang of dread moved through me “Waited for what?”
“For my past to come back and haunt me.”
Ice formed in my blood, but as the pieces started falling into place ice turned to red-hot rage. I all but snarled at him. “You?”
“It’s hard defending criminals and sometimes it is even unethical, but to make a difference, to stand out, sometimes you have to do the unethical. Your dad never understood that.”
It was Uncle Tim, not Uncle Guy. My dad’s childhood friend was the one behind his death. I wanted to hurt him, rake my fingers down his face, but I held myself immobile. “Why did you do it?”
“It was his damn Boy Scout ways. He was digging and I encouraged him to stop, that no good could come from investigating his own. That it was career suicide, but he didn’t listen. So black and white your father.”
“Why did you really encourage him to back off?”
“Because if he dug deep enough he would have learned it wasn’t just cops on the take.”
The investigation into evidence tampering at the station, it had been Uncle Tim behind that. He didn’t have a magical acquittal rating. He had been cheating. And then a thought turned me cold. Mrs. Cooke’s attack. At my apartment that day, he had made a comment about my mail. I hadn’t thought anything of it at the time, seeing him flip through my mail, but he wanted access to my mail at her place. “You had Dobbs doing your dirty work…Mrs. Cooke’s attack and screwing with evidence. Did he also intimidate jurors at your command?”
“Cop logic runs in the family. Miguel is just a pawn. He is so hungry for money and power, he makes it all too easy for someone to pull his strings. Salvatore Federico realized that too, so he scratched my back and when I’m elected into the Senate, he will have a friend in Washington.”
“So you had Dad killed?”
“He should have left it alone. I think he suspected at the end, I could tell when we talked there was a remoteness to him.”
&nbs
p; “And this?” I asked as I palmed my key.
“There’s that lovely little box in your dad’s study. You remember it.”
His special box, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t made the connection. I’d seen him open it enough times through the years. “What’s he got on you?”
“I wasn’t sure he had anything on me, but when the case on Dobbs started heating up I didn’t want to take the chance. You were the executor of his will. If he left something, you would have found it.”
Which was why he had been interested in my mail and when that didn’t pan out. “You hired someone to come at me?”
“He would have been gentle unless you were uncooperative.”
Gentle? The man put a knife to my back.
“The cops never showed up at my door. I actually thought it was all over until I saw that key just now around your neck—a key to the box that he kept all his important things in. I’m guessing he sent that to you right before he died. I thought he was getting wise to me, now I’m sure of it.”
“You’re an unimaginable bastard.”
“And I’ll be the next Senator for the state of New York.”
Guy took us to the IA base operations located a few blocks from where we picked him up. Anton was going to flip the fuck out when he learned Federico had played him.
“How long have you been working in Internal Affairs?”
“Since Edward shared his suspicions with me. He hadn’t told me how deep into it he was, but after the shooting I contacted IA.”
“So you played dirty?”
“And left a few breadcrumbs for Cam to find. I needed an in to get closer to Dobbs, but Dobbs is too stupid to pull this off on his own. He’s motivated by greed, pure and simple, but he is not a logistical thinker, just the hired muscle. There’s another player and recently I got some insight from the most unlikely source.”
“We thought that player was you.”
“I know.”
“So who is this source?”
“Follow me.”
There was a room at the end of a short hall and sitting at the table was an older man who looked tired and scared. Chris McKay.