by Karen Renee
BY THE TIME THE POLICE left Mom’s, my head was throbbing as I sat at the kitchen table. Tanya pushed into the house after the ambulance left, but I had no idea where Jared and Marcus were. The police insisted she leave, but Mom wouldn’t hear of it, calling her family. Which, when I thought about it, she really was part of our family. No sooner had the officers left than Tommy Debenedetti walked in, like he owned the place.
I rolled my eyes when he entered the kitchen, but his gaze was set on Mom. She shot daggers at him with her eyes.
“You! Send your right hand to watch over us, and he lets that bastard in my house. What the hell!”
His lips formed a flat line on his face before he said, “Jason will be dealt with, Penelope.”
The sinister tone of his voice made chills race down my spine.
“I should say so,” Mom muttered.
I glared at him. “Why are you here? Just to tell us your man will be ‘dealt with?’”
He shook his head. “No. I came to make sure you were both all right, and to offer my apologies. I had no idea Jason was making moves like that.”
I held a hand up and waved it at him. “I don’t care about the politics of crime, man. Thanks for watching the house, I think. But really, now that Trey’s been arrested, we should be fine.”
“Don’t be too sure about that, mamita,” Clint said from behind Tommy.
He stood in a pair of satiny-looking black track pants and a shiny crimson moisture wicking t-shirt. Only his left arm in a navy-blue sling indicated he’d been injured. My breath hitched at his male beauty, and I sent yet another prayer of thanks heavenward that he was still alive.
Tommy shifted, and Clint sat down next to me.
“Why do you say that, Ramsey?” Tommy asked.
He gave Tommy an unhappy look. “Seems the only money Garrity paid was to your man. The money for the hit and abduction hasn’t been traced. How Carlos was tied up in this shit still hasn’t been determined, and frankly, I know he’s the key.”
Tommy and Clint stared at each other.
“Do you think this is the O.K. Corral? It is not! One of y’all needs to say something,” Tanya declared.
Clint gave her his side-eye, then focused on Tommy. “Be nice to talk to Jason. Find out if he was recruiting, as well as working for more capital to oust you.”
Mom tapped the glass table with her fingernail. “Why would his right hand know about the money for the abduction?”
Clint looked at Mom. “He and Jason show up here and know someone wants Raegan dead. Knows she was taken but it was botched because ‘payment’ wasn’t received.” He glanced at Tommy for a moment. “I don’t know about you, Penny, but I don’t tell people when I don’t get paid for something. So, how would Tommy boy know payment wasn’t received?”
“People do talk, Clint,” Mom said, but her voice held a blend of disappointment and sadness.
Clint nodded at Mom, then looked at Tommy. “Except Jason fucked up when he shot Carlos. He told Rae her hit had become a bounty. It hadn’t. Why the hell he told her that, I don’t know but there’s enough fishy shit surrounding him that we need to talk to him.”
Tommy sighed. “Fine. You can question him in—”
“Now,” Clint interrupted. “He’s at your warehouse, and Paul Otero is ready to talk to him right now.”
Tommy squinted at Clint. “Now who’s keepin’ tabs?”
Clint turned his head a fraction. “Don’t matter. I want to know if the cash can be traced back to Angela Nailer. If that money didn’t come from Garrity, she’s the only other possibility. And hear this, she needs to go down for this shit. You need Paul’s number?”
Tommy shook his head, turned around, and left.
“Mm. I’ll never cross you, Clint,” Tanya muttered under her breath.
I tried to hold it back but snorted with a chuckle.
Clint
AS MUCH AS TANYA ANNOYED me, I couldn’t deny hearing Raegan snort was worth it. The light in Penny’s eyes from Raegan’s humor didn’t hurt either.
Debenedetti left, and I pulled my cell off my holster to call Paul.
“Clint,” he answered.
“Debenedetti just left. Should be in contact soon.”
“Good. Sullivan will let you know when there’s an update.”
He hung up and I put my phone back on my hip.
Penny looked between Raegan and Tanya. “How is that a conversation? He said nothing, right? I had my hearing aids out earlier, but I know they’re working.” She glared at me, “What was the point of that?”
I shook my head. “Penny, believe me, information was exchanged. Better to keep it short, so Paul can stay focused.”
Tanya pushed her chair back. “Well, since Clint’s here, you gals don’t need me anymore, and I’ve got to relieve my mother-in-law since Marcus is teething and it’s nearly dinner-time.”
My head cocked at her words. “How did you get your mother-in-law to come by so quick anyway?”
Her chin tiled down, and her eyes narrowed. “I had invited her over last night because I thought Penny would be hanging around, but when someone sent Raegan home with a bodyguard –who turned out to be lousy, just to say– that plan was botched. But Mary loves spending time with the boys, so when I heard the gunshot and sirens, I made my way over here.”
Rae narrowed her eyes at Tanya. “You were trying to set up a Mom-date weren’t you? Or, rather, a Grandma-date?”
Tanya closed her eyes and exhaled sharply. “Not exactly. Mary needs friends, and I thought Penny might like her. I don’t know. But, it’s a moot point now. I’ll see you in the morning Penny. Jared knows today’s Thursday and he didn’t get to go to the park, so we’re doing it tomorrow.”
RAEGAN PACKED UP THE Chinese take-out containers while Penny loaded silverware into the dishwasher. “Thanks for not making any comments about me being the warden, Mom.”
Penny straightened and grinned. “No, that would’ve been rude. After all, you said it, a celebratory dinner certainly was in order after shooting someone. Bonus, now I know they deliver.”
“Oh, hell,” Rae muttered.
I chuckled and immediately stiffened. “Ladies, do not make me laugh.”
“Take a pain pill and it won’t bother you, tough-guy,” Penny chided.
“Gotta be able to drive, Penny.”
She wagged a finger at me. “Oh, hell no. The two of you are both staying here tonight. I don’t give a flying fig if it bothers you. Finding my girl on the ground with that weasel ex of hers and a gunshot going off. Nope. You’re both here. Period.”
I held my hands up. “You got it, boss-lady.”
Her eyes widened. “Now, don’t get smart with me.”
I grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”
She turned to her walker and went to the living room.
Rae sat down. “If the bed here—”
“You heard your mother. And it isn’t much for her to ask for. Besides, I gotta sleep propped up so my wound is above my heart, so it won’t matter where I sleep. It isn’t going to be very comfortable because it’ll be so awkward.”
Her head wobbled for a moment. “You could sleep in the recliner. Not that I want you to, but if it helps...”
I smiled. “I’ll keep it in mind, and if I’m too restless, I’ll do that.”
Her eyes roved my face for a while, so I filled the silence. “You mind if I get a phone number from your phone?”
She squinted at me for the briefest moment before her face fell with realization. “You want Angela’s number?”
I nodded. “Yeah, but I’m gonna call her from a phone with a four-oh-seven area code.”
Leaning forward, she pulled her phone from her back pocket and put it on the table.
“Thank you, honey.”
She stood up. “Well, I definitely need a shower. You all right?”
I grabbed her phone, stood, and pushed my chair in. “I’m fine, honey. Go. Wash the day away. I hesitate to say this becau
se I’ll only half-way mean it, but I’m glad you didn’t kill Garrity.”
A quizzical look took over her face. “Really?”
I nodded somberly. “Yeah. It’s not easy to take a life, and while you would’ve been justified, I would hate for you to have that weighing on your mind.”
She stared at me while that sank in, and I added, “Would be even harder since you had been married to the fucker.”
Her chin dipped down in a slight nod. “You’re right. I hadn’t even thought about that. Hell, part of me wished I had taken him out, but I keep pushing that thought away.”
With my good arm, I reached out and cupped her cheek. “It’s okay to have those thoughts, too. But, focus on this: what’s done is done. It sounds trite, but the fact is you can’t change what happened or what didn’t happen.”
Her hand covered mine as she turned her lips to kiss my palm. “Thank you, Clint. I don’t know what I would ever do without you.”
I smiled. “Well, you’re damn sure not going to find out anytime soon, comprende?”
She nodded before she lifted up on her toes to kiss me. Then she whispered, “Comprende.”
WHEN I HEARD THE SHOWER start, I dialed Angela’s number from my cell.
She answered before I even heard it ring. “Who’s this?”
“This is your only shot at help, Angela Nailer.”
“Fuck you.”
I spoke over her.
“Trey Garrity’s been shot, arrested, and is in the hospital. He’s going to point every bit of this conspiracy at you. So, if ‘fuck you’ is your response, then you’re gonna be fucked.”
“You’re full of shit, and I don’t even know who you are.”
I grinned. “I’m the man who told you Raegan would call you back. We haven’t met, but I know you’re a grade-A cunt, and if you think I’m not telling you the truth, I’ll hang up.”
“I don’t believe you about Trey.”
“All right. Suit yourself. But Orange County Sheriff’s Department will be in touch, I’m sure. Just a matter of how long Garrity’s in surgery.”
“How could he be shot? He didn’t have a gun.”
“Raegan had to defend herself. Best time I ever spent was teaching her how to shoot.”
“Whatever.”
I sensed she was ready to hang up. “Detectives can’t trace the money for Rae’s abduction and the botched hit which took out Bronwyn. Garrity’s on the hook for paying off Jason Lightner, but he’ll want to avoid a murder rap. Open your eyes. If you used his money to pay for that contract, you need to lawyer up, Nailer.”
After a long moment, she sighed. “Why are you telling me all this?”
I debated telling her anything.
“Because, Garrity should be charged for Bronwyn’s murder. So, should you –and you will– but bottom line, I know he’s a slippery fucker, and he shouldn’t get off easy.”
“I didn’t kill the sister. Carlos did.”
Fuck.
I should have set this up to record, but that wouldn’t be admissible in court – not that that was my problem.
Still. Authorities needed to hear this from her.
“Pretty sure his story will say otherwise,” I lied.
“He’s dead, asshole. I may not know that Trey’s been shot, but Jason gave me an update.”
I suppressed my grin. “Speaking of Jason, has he been hard to get a hold of this evening?”
She didn’t respond.
“Yeah, he’ll be in custody soon, too. Once my boss is done with him.”
“Your boss?”
“Yeah. Rae didn’t tell you? I’m a private detective, we’re cooperating on this case. Time to figure your shit out. Because, my guess, you’ll get a visit any time now from NYPD.”
My phone beeped twice indicating the call had either been dropped or she hung up.
I called Paul and relayed my conversation with Angela.
“Good. And at least you didn’t completely jump the gun. Detective Gaspar called the NYPD ninety minutes ago, so she’ll be taken in soon.”
“Did he tell you how Carlos factored into this? Not to speak ill of the dead, but he couldn’t hold a steady job because he couldn’t find his way out of paper bag with a map.”
Paul made a strange humming noise. “Yeah. Seems Jason saw Carlos beat the shit out of a known member of the Bloods. It was impressive and he recruited Carlos. Information Angela gave Jason was that Raegan would be in town on Tuesday, and that she regularly took Xanax, which is a type of benzodiazepine, just like Valium. So, crushing a high dosage of Valium into a glass of wine would knock her out while she took a bath, and not come back as a red flag on any blood or urine tests.”
My brows knit together, and I remembered how Carlos kept looking at Raegan during dinner on Monday. “Carlos hadn’t ever met Raegan, let alone Bronwyn.”
“Exactly how the mistaken identity happened. He watched the house. Saw a woman in her thirties go into the house carrying a large bag –you mentioned Bronwyn worked at a gym; I’m guessing it was a gym bag– he made assumptions. He broke into the house at the side door, saw the glass of wine, slipped the drugs into it. Hid in the laundry room when Bronwyn came back to get the glass.”
I shook my head. “You’re shitting me? Why wouldn’t Wynnie have taken the glass straight to the bathroom with her?”
“Jason called it a stroke of dumb luck for Carlos. The wine was on ice, so my hunch is that she wanted to give the wine time to chill before taking it back to the bathroom.”
“Jesus,” I hissed. “Rae mentioned she and her mom don’t put the wine in the fridge because they can just as easily pour it over ice.”
“I would say they need to stop that practice, but there shouldn’t be anyone else trying to kill them again.”
I growled, but cut it short.
He chuckled. “Sorry. Things are a little fresh. Anyway, Carlos waited until he figured she’d be asleep, then he pushed her under the water until she had no pulse.”
I closed my eyes while pain built in my chest. With a deep breath, I beat it back.
“Thanks for clearing that up for me, boss.”
“No problem. I’ll let Gaspar know what you told me regarding Nailer.”
“Good,” I murmured.
“Take care of that arm. Need you back. I forgot how much I hate training field operatives, so get better.”
Chapter 28
Best Plan I’ve Heard All Day
Raegan
“NO COMMENT,” I CLIPPED out before I stabbed my finger at the red ‘end call’ icon on my phone.
Clint gave me a hard look. “Turn the phone off, Raegan, and you won’t have to field those asinine calls.”
I returned his hard look with one of my own. “I would, Clint, but I was supposed to hear back about doing a job from Orlando.”
His lips formed a flat line as he shook his head. “Fine. Then don’t answer calls from the Orlando area, hotshot.”
My eyes rolled to the ceiling and back. “I haven’t been. Those were calls from New York City local television stations. Seems a conspiracy to commit murder is a huge headline.”
Clint shoveled another bite of cheese grits into his mouth, but Mom pursed her lips at me while she thought about things.
“How about you call them?” she asked.
I gave her a small smile. “That’s not how it works, Mom.”
When my cell rang again, Clint’s good arm shot out to grab it, and I swatted his hand out of the way. The number had a New York area code, but it looked familiar. “Raegan Connelly.”
“Raegan, it’s Sandra Baltus from HR at Eastern, Sharpe, and Prescott.”
“Good morning, Sandra, how are you?”
“I’m well. The executive directors met and have decided the position in the creative department for which you interviewed can be done from our Orlando regional office. If you’re still interested, we’re offering you the position. Ordinarily, we would expect you to begin working for us wit
hin two weeks. However, I understand there is some news swirling around you currently, so we are willing to be flexible on a start date. That being said, I still need to know when you can start?”
I did some mental math. Then I remembered I had to go to New York to move my things. “I know you would like me to begin sooner rather than later, but I will also be moving my belongs in the next couple of weeks. Will the first of November work?”
There was a pause and I thought I might have pushed my luck too far. Then she said, “That should be fine, but I’ll verify with Raymond, the executive director you will report to. If it’s possible, when you’re in the city, would you mind coming by the office?”
“Absolutely. That won’t be a problem.”
“Good. Let us know when that will be, and welcome aboard, Raegan.”
When I put the phone down, Clint smiled. “You got the job and it’s here in town?”
I nodded while Mom said, “Congratulations!”
Quick as lightning, he snatched my phone away and turned it off. “Now we can have some peace and quiet.”
The doorbell rang, making Mom and I both laugh.
“Nope. That’s Tanya and her boys,” Mom said.
Clint groaned and I patted his arm. “It’s all right. She’s taking Mom to the park with her and the boys.”
A devious look hit his eyes. “So we actually will have some peace and quiet.”
Mom stood up. “Excuse you! I’m not the one with a phone ringing off the hook.”
I went to answer the door and stopped short when I saw a large, somehow familiar, man. “Are you expecting anyone, Clint?”
Turning to go back to the kitchen, I jumped since Clint stood right behind me.
He shook his head. “That’s Gaspar. Better let him in.”
DETECTIVE GASPAR PICKED up the coffee I had set in front of him when he finished telling us everything he had learned. He swallowed a sip, nodded his head toward Clint, saying, “And I’m sure he told you about Angela Nailer.”