Taking Care of the Target

by Cindi Madsen

  “Right back at you. It’s the least I could do, really,” she said. But she planned to do a lot more, starting with making sure the guy who’d come after her family spent the rest of his life behind bars.

  ***

  Vince looked at Cassie, she looked back at him, and then he took her hand as they entered the courtroom to await the verdict.

  He’d been so proud as she gave her testimony—the nurses had marked him as discharged against medical advice when he left the hospital a day and a half after being shot, but there was no way he was going to miss her testifying against Carlo. Her bruised nose, slightly blackened eyes, and cut lip earned a lot of wide-eyed looks and even a few gasps from the jury. Yet she’d still looked beautiful as ever as she answered both lawyers’ questions, no fear.

  Of course Uffizi tried to argue her injuries would unfairly persuade the jury, but the judge had shut that down. Then the asshole tried to make it sound like she was infatuated with Vince and was lying for him.

  She responded by telling him exactly how many times Vince had saved her from Carlo’s attempts on her life, including their run-in with Jack “Jackhammer” Mangano. The defense still tried to present their case after that, but it was like trying to diffuse a bomb after it went off. Anyway, that was how it looked to Vince, and he hoped the jury felt the same way.

  In a few minutes they’d know.

  “Ready?” he asked Cassie, sliding his fingers between hers.

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  For weeks they’d lived in limbo, sleeping with guns by their beds, always waiting for someone to come after them. His right arm was still in a sling, and his shoulder ached plenty but got better every day. Cassie’s face had fully healed, and she’d gone back to wearing her glasses more often than not.

  As tough as she’d been through the process, it had still beaten her up pretty badly. She experienced bouts of guilt over what happened to Tom Duffy and Deputy Florez, along with occasional nightmares that involved the murder she’d witnessed and the night with Jackhammer.

  Vince’s guilt mostly came from pulling her into his messy life, but his love for her eclipsed it. He decided instead of letting regret fill him, he would do whatever it took to be worthy of her choosing him.

  Bobby sat on Vince’s other side. “They’ll see it,” he said, and Cassie and Vince both nodded, because no one wanted to think about what would happen if they didn’t.

  The courtroom was twice as full today, reporters and people from the community out to see how the trial that’d made their lives hell turned out. Then of course there were the usual suspects—Carlo’s family, friends, and associates, who took turns glaring at him, Bobby, and Cassie.

  Everyone stood as the jury entered, and Vince’s gut went to churning. The judge instructed everyone to have a seat. He said he understood they’d reached a verdict, and the jury replied that they had.

  Carlo stood.

  Cassie gripped Vince’s hand until circulation to his fingers cut off, but he let her hold on as tight as she damn well pleased.

  “On the count of first degree murder in the case of Eduardo Alvarez, how does the jury find the defendant?”

  The jury spokesperson started to answer, but had to clear his throat. Someone retrieved a glass of water, and he took a big gulp. The whole thing seemed to go in slow motion, and Vince had to refrain himself from yelling, “Just tell us already!”

  The man cleared his throat again. “Guilty.”

  The audience gasped, some relief, some shock, and Cassie turned and hugged him. He held on to her as a sensation he hadn’t felt in a long time went through his chest. Hope. Genuine, honest-to-God hope.

  We’ve actually got a shot at starting over. They would still have to be careful, because there’d be people who took over here and associates in New York who’d be happy to get their hands on them, but it just got that much harder for Carlo to do it.

  The jury also came back with a guilty verdict for conspiracy to commit murder and the counts of racketeering and extortion. The judge checked it was their true verdicts and set a date for sentencing.

  The courtroom started to clear, and Vince, Bobby, and Cassie stood to leave. Carlo called Vince’s name.

  He froze for a moment before turning around. He wasn’t afraid—his uncle could say whatever he wanted. Too much had happened for him to feel guilty about turning him in anymore.

  “I took you in like you were my own,” Carlo said. “I asked you to be my right-hand man. I would’ve given you whatever you wanted. Things could’ve gone so differently.”

  “You wanted to control me. To force me into a life I never wanted. But I could’ve let it go if you would’ve just let Cassie live and left my brother alone. We all make decisions we have to live with. I’ll live just fine with mine.”

  A tiny bit of the anger drained out of Carlo’s expression. Nothing to make Vince feel like they’d resolved their issues or they were even close to cool, but more like a glimmer of understanding.

  Then the bailiff came to take Carlo away to his new home. Allegra called after him, her cries turning to wails, and Vince’s focus returned to getting Bobby and Cassie out of here so they could leave this place and this life in the rearview mirror for good.

  The U.S. Marshals who’d been their constant shadows ushered them out of the courtroom and toward the back exit. Cassie laced her fingers with Vince’s and squeezed his hand. “This is going to be the start of our lucky streak, I can feel it.”

  Vince smiled down at her. “My lucky streak started the day you walked into Rossi’s.”

  “Are you sure you’re not thinking of unlucky? Since then I’ve been hit by a truck and lost my memory, we’ve been shot at several times, you’ve been hit once, and I don’t even want to think about the stab wound.”

  “Yeah, but I got the girl, my brother cleaned up his act”—he shot a grin at Bobby and he returned it—“and I get to start over in a new place like I always wanted.”

  They climbed into the back of a black car with heavily tinted windows, and Cassie tucked up her knee as she turned to face him. “Okay, but let’s start a new lucky streak, where everything goes well and no one attempts to kill us.”

  Vince wrapped his hand around her thigh, glad she’d worn a skirt today, and rubbed his thumb across her soft skin. “Oh, come on. We’ve still got to have a little excitement now and then.”

  Cassie leaned in and brushed her lips across his before kissing him square on the mouth. “Well, that’s what I’m keeping you around for.”

  Epilogue

  Cassie stared out the window and watched the ocean waves in the distance. The lack of a true autumn in Oceanside, California made her wonder about settling there at first, but then she fell in love with the ocean. Calm or crashing waves. Early morning or when the sun set and melted into the water.

  She’d also fallen in love with the small restaurant she, Vince, and Bobby were renovating. The guys were handy when it came to knocking down and building things, wiring, and general repair, and she was good at saying “there”, “not there”, and picking out appliances and paint colors.

  At first she worried that since she hadn’t gone through culinary school yet, she’d be lost trying to work the kitchen of a restaurant. But they’d hired another chef, and she was going to learn from her and take classes on the side. Right now the focus was building a new home base.

  The U.S. Marshals recommended cutting ties with every acquaintance; they told them the people who did things their way had a one-hundred percent chance of not being found. But about a week after buying the restaurant and renting a cute little house, Cassie told Vince she wanted to make a quick trip to Tulsa.

  He didn’t bat an eye or tell her it was a bad idea, just went right to making the arrangements.

  Last Sunday night, as they’d pulled up next to the familiar barrage of vehicles parked in front of the Hurst’s house, excitement had tingled through every inch of her body. Cassie rang the doorbell while Vince and Bobb
y stood behind her, no idea what they were in for, regardless of her attempts to prepare them.

  Maude screamed right in Cassie’s face and then nearly knocked her over with a hug, telling her she hadn’t stopped worrying since she left. Then she’d turned on Vince and yelled at him, and Cassie had to quickly clear up the assumption about his being married and having kids.

  Maude took them inside, and Cassie did another round of hugs and introductions. She told them what she could, skimping on the exact details.

  Vince thanked them for taking care of her when he couldn’t, and Maude insisted they stay for dinner. When Vince mentioned that Cassie put on quite a show while she cooked, everyone ended up crowded into the kitchen as she and Maude moved around the counter and stove, and Maude even got in on the juggling act. One can had ended up dented beyond the can opener’s abilities, but Cassie laughed so hard she got a stitch in her side.

  Deanne and Bobby had flirted the whole time, Cassie and Owen had a nice chat that Vince tried to remain neutral about—he’d even growled that he “trusted her judgment” before giving them ten whole feet of space. The entire night would go down as one of the best nights of her life.

  Of course it made Cassie want to break the rules and say, “Hey, y’all stop by our new place if you’re ever in California.” But in the end, she didn’t want to risk the lives of people she cared about. Despite how crazy hard it’d been to say goodbye all over again, the closure was good for her.

  The door to the restaurant banged open, and Bobby came in, phone to his ear. “Okay, I’ll get her and be there in about ten.” He hung up and looked at her. “I’ve been instructed to take you home.”

  Cassie lowered her eyebrows. “You boys have been acting weird all day. What’s going on?”

  “I just follow the orders, ma’am,” Bobby said, saluting her, and she laughed. They climbed into Bobby’s truck, and a short drive later, he pulled up to the three-bedroom rancher that was now home. She expected him to turn off the truck and come in, but he kept the engine running. “I’ve got a meeting to get to,” he explained.

  “Later, then.” Cassie walked up the sidewalk, no idea what to expect. Just before she stepped inside, she took a deep breath of the ocean breeze. Yeah. This place was perfect.

  The door swung open, and Vince leaned against the doorframe. Speaking of perfect…

  “I’ve got a surprise,” he said. “Close your eyes.”

  She did as instructed and then he guided her into the house, cupping his hands over her glasses and walking her in the direction of the living room. “Hmm. I expected the bedroom,” she said.

  His warm breath hit her neck, sending a pleasant chill down her spine. “I’ll give you something else in there later, I promise.” He pulled her to a stop. “Ready?”

  “I think so?”

  He dropped his hands, and there, a few feet in front of her, was her hot pink couch with her mom’s quilt draped across one corner. She blinked, thinking it had to be a mirage. Tears sprang to her eyes, and warmth radiated through her chest. She walked over and ran her hand across the familiar cushions, then picked up the quilt and hugged it to her.

  She spun to Vince. “How?”

  “Agent McVee. Guess there are some good pigs out there,” he said with a smile. “With Carlo’s other men officially going away for ten to twenty, I caught him just before his retirement party. He put everything under a fake name, and then I had to drive to LA to get it. Just to be safe.”

  Vince came over and rubbed his hand up and down her back. “I want to start over with you, but I also wanted you to have the stuff you cared about from your past.”

  She set down the quilt, wrapped her arms around Vince, and kissed him, throwing everything she had into it. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

  He boosted her into his arms, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Lips never breaking contact, he walked them backward to the couch. She thought he’d sit down, but then he shifted her onto a hip, one hand still firmly planted on her butt.

  “Also, I should probably let you know that you and I are getting married.” He dug into his pocket, pulled out a box, and flipped it open, revealing a diamond ring.

  “Oh? I have no say in the matter?”

  “Nope. But if you want a different ring, let me know. I’ll also let you pick the date.”

  “How generous,” she said, and then she pressed her lips to his.

  “Is that a yes?” he asked.

  “Apparently, you don’t need it.” She brushed her fingers across his jaw and kissed him again. “But it’s a definite yes.”

  Acknowledgements

  This book has been through many different versions, but was always one that wouldn’t let me go. I’m so glad that it’s finally going to be out in the world for people to read, even if it also makes my stomach churn a little. LOL. Big thanks to these awesome people who helped me make it shine: Molly Lee, Evangeline Denmark, Ashlee Cowles, Brandy Vallance, & Bob Spiller. You guys are all so smart and lovely, and working with you has made me a better writer—hugs!

  Thanks to Cassie Mae for the mad copyediting and formatting skills, and for just being an all around awesome friend. Thanks to Allie from Makeready Designs for my awesome cover. I’m always so impressed with what you send back after my rambling emails of madness.

  Huge thanks to Laurie English for help with the information about trials, witness lists and testimonies, and how the DA’s office works, and thanks to Lisa Harmsen for getting me in touch with her when I put out the call for help with my research. While I tried to be as true to life as possible, I’ve taken some liberties with legal system’s time line for the sake of the story.

  Huge thanks to Linda Russell from Sassy Savvy Fabulous for publicity help, keeping track of my crazy schedule, and for dropping notes to just check in. I’m so glad I met you!

  Rebecca Yarros and Gina Maxwell, thanks for keeping me sane and keeping me going while writing and editing and just all the things. I heart you guys so much!

  Shout out to all of the awesome bloggers and readers who review and share my books. You are so appreciated! Shout out to the people in my Facebook group, Cindi Madsen’s Corner. If you want to join us, we have a ton of fun, and you get first peek at what’s going on with my writing.

  And of course, as usual, big thanks to my family who are not only supportive, but are some of the coolest, most fun people I know.

  Thank you to my readers, for reading, for reviewing, for your awesome messages that always come right when I need them. You all seriously rock! XOXO

  About the Author

  Cindi Madsen is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and young adult novels. She sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting, revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a pretty new pair, especially if they’re sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music and dancing and wishes summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most definitely NOT all year long) with her husband and three children.

  You can visit Cindi at: www.cindimadsen.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter to get all the up-to-date information on her books.

  Follow her on Twitter @cindimadsen.

  Also by Cindi Madsen

  the Hope Springs series

  Second Chance Ranch

  Crazy for the Competition

  The Bad Boy’s Baby

  the Accidentally in Love series

  Falling for Her Fiancé

  Act Like You Love Me

  Resisting the Hero

  An Officer and a Rebel

  for adult readers

  Cinderella Screwed Me Over

  Just Jilted

  12 Steps to Mr. Right

  for new adult readers

  Getting Lucky Number Seven

  Anatomy of a Player

  Crazy Pucking Love


  for teen readers

  All the Broken Pieces

  Losing Romeo

  The Cipher series

  Demons of the Sun