Into the Dark (The Cincinnati Series Book 5) (Cincinnati 5)

by Karen Rose

  ‘Could he be disguised?’ Stone asked. ‘It’d be easy enough to wear a wig to cover his bald head.’

  Diesel shrugged. ‘Maybe,’ he said, and ran a hand over his own scalp, where stubble had begun to grow. He needed to shave it soon. ‘But nobody fits his body type. It’s more likely that Scott King is a fake name.’

  ‘But surely he’d have to undergo a background check to be a security guard in a casino,’ Stone said, frowning. ‘What with all that money lying around.’

  Diesel gave him a sharp look. ‘I know how to do my job, Montgomery.’

  Stone’s cheeks flushed. ‘Don’t call me that.’

  Diesel rolled his eyes, because Montgomery was Stone’s real first name. ‘You can call me Elvis in public and you get mad when I call you Montgomery? At least I have the courtesy to do it when we’re alone.’

  Stone tried to glare, but had to laugh. ‘You caught that, huh?’

  ‘I’m not deaf.’ But he stumbled over the word as soon as it left his mouth, because Dani was deaf, half deaf anyway. And Greg and Michael were completely deaf, yet they managed to pick up what was being said and done around them. Using the word as he had seemed . . . wrong. ‘I heard you,’ he corrected himself.

  Stone’s brows lifted. ‘Somebody is becoming politically correct.’

  ‘It’s not being PC. It’s being respectful,’ Diesel insisted, ignoring Stone’s knowing smirk. ‘You’re probably right about the background check, though. If he got the job in security and the job is legit, there should be something on him – a DMV photo, an apartment rental contract, or something. I’m expanding the search region to the tri-state area and I’ll go national if I have to, but that takes more time.’ He typed in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and security. And frowned again.

  Stone leaned forward in the chair. ‘What?’

  ‘This.’ He enlarged the screen and turned it so that Stone could see. ‘A guy named Scott King, age thirty-two, went missing from his job as a security guard in a nursing home.’

  Stone’s eyes lit up. He lived for the hunt. ‘In Indianapolis. He went missing a year ago. How long has this King guy been with the casino?’

  Diesel did another search. ‘Here’s a forum that rates casinos.’ He scanned the entries until he came to one that mentioned King. ‘One casino guest had an altercation with a “big bald guy” named King who had him thrown out for “winning too much”.’

  Stone huffed. ‘Counting cards, he means. Which shouldn’t be against the rules. If you can count ’em, then more power to you.’

  Diesel rolled his eyes. ‘You only say that because you can count cards.’

  ‘Not anymore.’ Stone gave his best choirboy face. ‘I’ve reformed.’

  Meaning that Delores had asked him to stop. The woman had Stone wrapped around her finger without ever raising her voice.

  Vicious jealousy ripped through Diesel’s gut, startling him. No. This isn’t me. I’m happy for them. He just wanted the same thing.

  ‘Maybe it’s time for you to move on, D,’ Stone murmured.

  Diesel’s gaze shot up to Stone’s, found it filled with compassion and hurt on his behalf. ‘What? Move on to what?’ he demanded, feigning cluelessness. Better to pretend than to take the pity. I hate pity.

  Stone sighed. ‘Fine. It’s just that the look on your face just now . . .’ He shook his head. ‘Never mind. When was that complaint filed by the card counter?’

  Diesel returned his focus to the laptop screen, grateful for the reprieve. Because Stone was right. Maybe it was time to move on. ‘A year ago, which fits the time frame of the real security guard’s disappearance. There are similar complaints on here, but all are newer.’

  ‘Will you go to Indy to check out the missing nursing home guard, to see if the riverboat’s big bald security guy stole his identity?’ Stone asked.

  Diesel opened his mouth to say yes, but remembered Michael and Joshua. He’d promised to keep them safe and he couldn’t do that from Indianapolis. He couldn’t do that from his house, for that matter.

  ‘No. I’ll go back to Dani’s until the kids are safe. I promised them.’

  Stone nodded, understanding. ‘I figured as much. If you send me the info, I’ll go. Delores might like a little road trip.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Diesel said, his throat suddenly thick. ‘I’m grateful.’

  Stone’s smile was sad. ‘You know I’d do anything for you, Elvis.’

  Diesel swallowed hard, because the name hadn’t been a taunt that time. ‘Thanks, Montgomery.’ He cleared his throat. ‘While you’re doing that, I’ll be trying to break into the casino’s server. I want a home address for big bald “Scott King”.’

  ‘Will you do that here?’

  Diesel hesitated. ‘Who’s still at Dani’s house?’

  Stone did a quick text. Then smiled before he looked up. It was an expression that none of them had ever seen on his face before he met Delores. She made him truly happy.

  Diesel waited for the jealousy, but it didn’t come. Instead, there was a loneliness so intense that he had to fight not to press his hand to his heart. Because it hurt more than it had when he’d taken the bullet aimed at Marcus in Iraq all those years ago. And that bullet had nearly killed him.

  Some days he’d wished it had. Today . . . He closed his eyes when they stung. Today is not one of those days, he told himself fiercely. It’s not.

  ‘Diesel?’ Stone asked softly.

  Diesel forced his eyes to open, silently cursing when the tears that stung his eyes trickled down his face. ‘I’m okay.’

  Stone pursed his lips. ‘No, you’re not, but you will be. Delores says that everyone is still there – Kate, Decker, Marcus, Scarlett, and Faith. They’re watching The Avengers. Kate’s pick.’

  Diesel had to smile at that. ‘Of course it was.’ Kate was the ultimate Avengers fan. Then he frowned. ‘Wait. That’s not appropriate for a five-year-old.’

  Stone typed out another text and smiled again at the response. ‘Delores says that Joshua was tucked into bed before they started the movie. They watched Tangled with him before supper. Take a look.’ He slid his phone across the desk.

  Diesel sucked in a sharp breath at the photo that Delores had texted. Dani’s living room was full of people, on sofas and the floor. Dani sat next to Greg, his arm around her shoulders and her head on his. Michael sat at her feet, his back against the sofa, Hawkeye in his lap. Unable to stop himself, Diesel zoomed in on her face and released the breath he held in a slow shudder.

  ‘She’s been crying,’ he whispered. Her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen.

  ‘Yeah.’ Stone sighed. ‘That happened as I was leaving.’

  Diesel jerked his gaze up. ‘What?’

  ‘She was upset. I could hear it through the storm door when Marcus was updating me on the casino situation. I texted Delores before I drove away to make sure everything was okay. She said that Joshua asked if they could get a dog for him, because Hawkeye was Michael’s dog. Michael told him no, that they were only temporary. The kid looked like a kicked puppy and it ripped Dani up.’

  Temporary. God. Diesel rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand. New tears threatened, but he’d be damned before he let any more fall in front of Stone. He did not want his friend’s pity. ‘But she must have dealt with it.’

  Stone shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I left when the waterworks started. Dani’s tears triggered Scarlett’s, and she blamed her hormones.’ He faked a full-body shudder. ‘I took my cue to exit stage right.’ Then he met Diesel’s eyes directly. ‘You’ll have to ask Dani if she dealt with it.’

  ‘Right.’ Diesel busied himself, using his mouse to cut, paste, and send Stone all the information he’d found on the real Scott King. ‘You’ve got all you need to go to Indy. Thanks again.’

  Stone stood, grabbing back his phone, which Diesel hadn’t been a
ware he was still holding in his clenched fist. Diesel almost asked him to send him the photo of Dani, but he managed to tamp down the urge.

  ‘I’ll let you know what I find,’ Stone promised. ‘How much longer will you be here?’

  ‘I’m going to try to get into the casino’s server from here. My Internet connection is better than hers.’

  ‘Of course,’ Stone said wryly. ‘So . . . how much longer will you be here?’

  ‘I’ll give it three hours. If I haven’t been successful, I’ll come back.’

  ‘All right. We’ll make sure she’s covered until you get back.’ Stone looked like he wanted to say more, but turned for the door. ‘Talk to you soon.’

  The front door closed and the house was silent. Stifling. Oppressive.

  Diesel wanted the barking of a dog, the happy squealing of a little boy, the victorious cry of a teenager when he beat Diesel on the Xbox. He wanted the cozy house with its warm kitchen where chili bubbled on the stove and the kettle whistled.

  He wanted Dani’s house. He wanted Dani.

  His phone dinged with a text from Stone. The photo of Dani’s living room.

  Talk to her was the texted message.

  Diesel had to close his eyes. ‘I did,’ he said to the empty room. She doesn’t want to want me. He’d meant what he’d told Stone earlier – it was Dani’s right not to want him. He wasn’t going to push. Not anymore. If she changed her mind, the ball would be in her court.

  With a harsh sigh, he turned to his computer and began organizing his cyber attack on Lady of the River’s network.

  ‘Scott King,’ he muttered aloud. ‘I’m coming for you. You have a lot of explaining to do.’

  Fifteen

  Cincinnati, Ohio

  Sunday, 17 March, 11.30 P.M.

  ‘Okay, lights out,’ Dani told Michael when The Avengers’ final credits rolled. ‘You have to get back on a schedule. You won’t be out of school forever.’

  Michael stood up from where he’d been lounging on the floor. ‘Is Coach back?’

  Dani shook her head. ‘Not yet.’ She still hoped Diesel would come back, but that hope was starting to falter.

  You could call him and ask him.

  I could. I could also remove my own appendix. It would be equally painful. The look on Diesel’s face as he’d left still haunted her.

  Temporary.

  She forced a smile for Michael. ‘But don’t worry. We’ll be safe. One of these guys will stay until Coach gets back.’

  ‘And I’m staying over for a few days,’ Greg signed, offering Michael his fist, which Michael bumped. ‘I’ll take the couch in the basement. I have to go to school tomorrow, but I’ll get your homework and help you get caught up.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Michael gave the waiting group a melancholy wave, then signed, ‘Thank you to you all too. Nice meeting you.’

  Dani voiced his words for the others, then followed Michael and Hawkeye upstairs. ‘Let me check your stitches,’ she signed without voicing.

  Michael inclined his head obligingly. The sutures were dry, the wound healing nicely. She tapped his shoulder, indicating he should look up.

  ‘You’re looking good,’ she told him, still not voicing, because his injuries were private. ‘How is the other thing?’

  Michael looked away before dragging his gaze back, his face aflame. ‘Better. No more blood.’

  ‘Good. Don’t forget to take the laxative pills. They’ll help.’

  Michael’s quick eye-roll spoke volumes. ‘Okay. Fine.’

  She gave him a smile. ‘Don’t stay up reading too long, okay?’

  He smiled back, shyly. ‘I won’t. Thank you,’ he added in a burst of sign.

  She tilted her head. ‘For what?’

  He gestured around him. ‘All this. Getting your friends to watch over us. Not hating me because of what I said to Joshua.’

  She sighed. ‘Well, you told him the truth. I am temporary emergency housing. But you guys are in a unique position. I’m hoping you can stay the max time, which is thirty days.’ And then? We’ll see. But she wasn’t promising anything until she had hard facts. There was no way she’d further disappoint these kids.

  His smile was wobbly. ‘Better than nothing. Good night.’

  Dani watched him go, then descended the stairs with a sigh, only to be met by the sudden barking of seven dogs at a knock on the front door. The dogs were quickly hushed by their owners, and Marcus gently pushed her aside when she started for the door.

  She glared at him. ‘I would have checked who it was first.’

  ‘He promised Diesel he’d keep you safe,’ Scarlett murmured as she made her way back into the living room. She’d raced for the half-bath as soon as the movie had finished, bemoaning her constant need to pee. ‘Marcus won’t break a promise to anyone, especially to Diesel.’

  Marcus, Stone, and Diesel were a tightly knit group, Dani thought, grateful that Diesel had a strong support system. He was likely going to need it. She still hadn’t figured out what she’d say to him when he came back.

  If he came back.

  It wasn’t the security she was worried about. She had no doubt that any one of her gun-toting friends or family would stay with her until everything was safe.

  Or maybe she should request a safe house for the boys. Part of her rebelled at the notion. This house was set up for Michael. And it was Dani’s home. It had taken her a long time to fix it the way she wanted it. She’d have to wait and see what happened. Her friends wouldn’t be able to stay with her forever.

  Of course, if the boys’ mother came after Joshua, Dani wouldn’t need assistance from anyone. She’d knock the woman on her skinny ass before she got close to the little boy. She looked down, unsurprised to see that she’d clenched her fist.

  ‘Dad? Keith?’ Marcus’s curious voice cut through her thoughts. ‘Come on in.’

  Dani looked up to see Marcus opening the front door wide for Jeremy O’Bannion and his husband, Keith. For a moment she was startled that they’d dropped by so late, but then she remembered.

  Oh, right. Laurel. LJM Industries, the company that had bought the Brewers’ house. Jeremy was supposed to have asked his colleagues about her today.

  Both Jeremy and Keith kissed her cheek, and Keith held out a casserole dish. ‘We made a lasagna for you guys. I figured you’re not used to cooking for so many.’

  Dani took the dish, touched. ‘Thank you, Keith.’ She’d gotten to know the two men through Deacon and Faith, as Jeremy was Faith’s uncle. The couple hosted their circle of friends often, and Keith was a fabulous cook. ‘I’m sure Michael and Joshua will love it. Especially Michael. He’s missed a few meals.’ Because that mother of his hadn’t bought enough food for both boys. If her hands hadn’t been full of lasagna, they would clench into fists again.

  ‘It’s Diesel’s favorite,’ Keith explained.

  Of course it is. Diesel was part of Jeremy and Keith’s family through Marcus. The family Diesel had made. It made sense that they’d know all his favorite foods.

  She realized that he hadn’t talked about his family. And she hadn’t asked, even after he’d asked about hers. I’m selfish. God, he deserves better.

  Faith leaned over and sniffed at the dish. ‘Keith’s lasagna is the best.’ She hugged Jeremy. ‘Hey, Uncle Jeremy. You missed the movie. The Avengers.’

  He kissed her cheek as well, but didn’t return her smile. ‘Don’t close the door, Marcus. Troy’s right behind us.’

  ‘Okay,’ Marcus said, sounding surprised. A few seconds later, Special Agent Luther Troy entered, a big Tupperware bowl under one arm like a football. Kate’s partner at the FBI, Troy was closer to Jeremy’s age, and laughingly referred to himself as ‘Uncle Luther’ to the rest of them.

  ‘Dani,’ he said, giving her a one-armed hug. ‘The lasagna was part of my coo
king lesson today. I hope it’s good.’ He tapped the lid of the bowl. ‘I made cookies for the boys. I know you don’t keep a lot of sugar in the house.’

  Dani had gotten to know Troy as they were both frequent visitors to the O’Bannion house. Troy had an ulcer and had eaten a lot of bland foods until Keith started teaching him to cook flavorful meals that met his dietary requirements. Dani’s antiretroviral meds sometimes irritated her stomach, so she was thankful for the cooking tips as well.

  ‘I’m sure Michael will love it,’ she assured him. And given Michael’s rectal bleeding, Keith’s recipes might be easier for him to digest as well.

  Faith had been joined by Kate and both were giving Troy and Jeremy worried looks. ‘What’s going on here?’ Faith asked.

  ‘We asked Jeremy to do some research for us, Diesel and I,’ Dani said. She had no idea why Troy had joined them, but his presence made her worry escalate. ‘Have a seat. I’ll put this away, and—’

  ‘I’ll do it,’ Faith interrupted, grabbing the dish. ‘Just don’t start until I get back. I don’t want to miss anything important.’

  Dani winced. She wasn’t sure that Diesel would want everyone to know what he’d discovered, because they’d know that he— She stopped herself short. They all knew that he hacked. Every single person in the room had been the recipient of information that Diesel had gained through hacking.

  ‘That’s fine.’ She took a seat next to Greg, who was watching impatiently.

  ‘What’s happening?’ he signed. ‘Why are they here?’

  ‘Hi, Greg,’ Keith signed awkwardly as he sat next to her brother. ‘How’s everything?’

  Greg smiled at him. ‘Fine. And you?’

  Greg lived with Faith and Deacon, and often visited the O’Bannion house. Unfortunately, although both Jeremy and Keith were learning to sign, neither was very proficient. Keith tried hard, but claimed that his big hands were too clumsy.

  Which made Dani think of Diesel’s big hands that signed fluidly. And had held her so tenderly. Mentally she gave herself a hard shake. She was not going down that road to nowhere.