Deep Dark (The DeLuca Family Book 3)

by Amy Reece

  Mac came in and flopped next to her. She handed him the wine and wondered what to say, if anything.

  “So, that was an interesting dinner,” he said and tossed back half the wine in his glass.

  “A slight understatement, but yes.” She sipped from her own glass, watching him over the rim. “Are you glad your dad wants to move here?”

  He smiled and set his glass on the table. “Yeah, for sure. He’s the only family I have.”

  “Hey.” She reached for his hand. “You have Janey and me.”

  He raised her hand to his lips. “You’re right. I meant my extended family. I don’t have any grandparents left and my dad was an only, like me.”

  “What about your mother? Was she an only child?”

  He shook his head. “She had a brother, but they weren’t close. I haven’t seen my Uncle Darren for over twenty years.”

  “That’s kind of sad. My mother’s parents live overseas, so I understand. Well, except for the large quantity of siblings I have.”

  “Yeah, there is that.”

  They sat quietly for several moments until Izzy couldn’t stand it. “Mac, how do you feel about marriage?” At his shocked look, she rushed to continue. “I mean in general, you know? Are you opposed to it?”

  “No. Not at all.”

  “Oh. Good. I mean, well, I wondered if maybe, sometime in the future, of course, if maybe you might want to…” She allowed the words to fade, horrified by what she’d been about to ask. She grabbed her wine and chugged the remainder.

  “If I might want to what?” He looked decidedly amused now.

  She stood, flustered and embarrassed. “Nothing. I should check on Janey.”

  He grabbed her hand and pulled her back down beside him. “She’s fine. If I might want to what?”

  She gulped, took a huge breath and blurted, “Marry me?”

  He grinned. “Why, Izzy, are you proposing?”

  She wondered if her face was as red as she thought it might be. Sweat beaded on her forehead and upper lip as she looked anywhere but at him. “No, of course not. I mean, if you…well, not that you…shit.”

  He grinned again and leaned in to kiss her quickly. “You are adorable. Hold that thought, love. I’ll be right back.” He disappeared down the hall and jogged back less than a minute later. He tugged her to her feet and into the center of the room. Then to her amazement, he knelt on the carpet in front of her, a small blue velvet box in his outstretched hand. He opened it to reveal a gorgeous diamond and sapphire ring, sparkling at her as it caught the light from the table lamp. “Isabelle DeLuca, I love you more than life itself. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  She let out a soft cry and placed a trembling hand over her lips. “Yes. Yes, I will.” She felt tears leak from her eyes and slip down her cheeks as he wrestled the ring from its moorings and slipped it on her finger. It fit perfectly, and she thought he must have snuck a ring from her jewelry box for size comparison. “Mac, it’s beautiful. I love you.” She stroked his wonderful face, biting her lip, unable to believe this was happening. It was as if she wished it into being.

  He stood and pulled her into his arms. “I was planning to wait until I could plan a really special evening, but, well…” He shrugged and smiled crookedly.

  “No. This is perfect.” She stared at the ring, laughter bubbling from deep inside. “I’m so happy.”

  “Me too.” He kissed her, long and deep. “Are you mad I didn’t let you finish proposing to me?”

  She hid her face against his shoulder. “Not at all. Oh my God, I did, didn’t I?” She felt his body shake with laughter.

  “You did, and don’t think I’ll ever let you forget it. It’s going to make a great story to tell our grandchildren.” He pulled back and tilted her chin up. “Thank you, Izzy. You’ve made me so incredibly happy.”

  “This hardly seems real, Mac. We’re engaged.” She stared at the ring, loving the way it looked on her finger. “You’re going to be my husband.”

  “And you’re going to be my wife.” He tugged her hand as he returned to the couch and pulled her onto his lap. “I want you to have the wedding of your dreams, Iz, but please don’t make me wait too long. I’m ready to be a family.”

  “We already are a family.” She kissed him and was distracted by his wonderfully scratchy jaw, as she ran her lips across his warm skin. “But we don’t have to wait. I don’t want a big wedding. I’d like to have my family there, but I’ve never wanted all the pomp and circumstance.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel like you’re missing out.”

  “I’m sure. How about a month? We can surely put something nice together by then.”

  “I can wait a month. I’d like to make sure my dad can be there.” He groaned as she caught his earlobe between her teeth.

  “Of course. Mac, I can hardly wait to tell everyone, but tomorrow. Right now I need you.” She kissed him, then rested her forehead against his. “Please.”

  He said nothing, but gently pushed her off his lap as he stood and took her hand to lead her to their bedroom.

  ***

  Mac

  He woke minutes before his alarm and reached to turn it off so it wouldn’t wake Izzy. He turned to look at his fiancée and saw that Janey had crawled into bed beside her mother sometime during the night. Izzy’s arm was around the small girl and both were still asleep. He smiled at the sight and eased out of the bed, hoping to not disturb them. He pulled the comforter up to cover Izzy’s arm and found a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie before he went to the kitchen to make coffee. It was chilly in the house and he wasn’t surprised to feel a bitter wind when he went outside to fetch the newspaper. Albuquerque winters were nothing compared to the Midwest, but when the wind blew hard through the canyon, it was miserable. He shut the door against the icy blast and turned the heat up a couple degrees. He wanted Janey to be warm when she got up. He was pouring his first cup of coffee when he felt slim arms curl around him from behind. He thrilled at the sight of the sparkling diamond ring he’d placed on her finger the night before. He reached for another mug and poured her a cup before turning in her embrace.

  “Did Janey have a nightmare?”

  “Mmm-hmm.” She sipped the coffee and nodded. “She came in about three a.m.”

  “I didn’t even hear her.”

  She smiled and kissed him softly. “Neither did I. She was really quiet.”

  “I think we should tell her first. She should be the first one to know about our engagement.”

  “Yeah. Then you should call your dad. I hope you can get hold of him before his plane leaves.”

  “Me too. How do you want to tell your family? All together? One at a time?” He set his coffee down and looped his arms around her waist. He brushed her dark hair, messy from sleep, behind her ear and drank in the beauty of her face. She had beautiful skin, creamy and free of makeup, with the slightest hint of freckles across her nose.

  “Hmm, I’m not sure. Let me think about it today. It would be more expedient to tell them all together, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep it to myself very long. Hugh and Chris are out of town until Sunday, but they’ll be back in time for dinner at my parents’ house. Maybe that would be the best time to make our announcement.”

  “Okay, sounds like a plan. What’s on your schedule today?”

  She grimaced. “I’ve got a luncheon downtown for the mayor. I’m filling in for Hugh and he owes me big.”

  He chuckled. “Not your kind of thing, huh?”

  “Nope. Pretentious people, rubbery chicken, and boring speeches isn’t my idea of a fun afternoon. How about you? Anything interesting on your agenda?”

  “Nah. We have a corporate training and then a whole afternoon of paperwork. Not very glamorous, huh?”

  “I have a feeling it’s a lot more glamorous than my job. I sit in front a computer and run spreadsheets all day.” She turned as she heard Janey’s slippered feet padding down the hallway.
“Good morning, sweetie.”

  Janey mumbled something unintelligible and sat at the kitchen table, Sophie cuddled in her arms. Her brown hair was a rat’s nest of tangles and her eyes drooped sleepily.

  “Hey, munchkin.” Mac knelt in front of her. “You had a bad dream last night?”

  She nodded sleepily.

  “You want to tell me about it?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t ’member.”

  Izzy set a glass of orange juice in front of her and kissed the top of her head.

  “Did Grandpa Dave go on the airplane yet?” Her lip trembled as she spoke and Mac realized how much his daughter would miss her grandfather.

  “I’m not sure. You want to call him and say goodbye?”

  Janey’s eyes lit up as she nodded. “Can we?”

  “Of course, but your mom and I have something to tell you first, okay?”

  She looked between the two adults warily. “What?”

  He couldn’t keep a grin at bay as he stood and reached his hand toward Izzy. “Well, last night after you went to bed, your mom asked me to marry her. Ow!” He rubbed his arm where Izzy had planted her fist.

  “She did? Did you say yes?” Janey’s eyes were wide as she stared from her mother to Mac.

  “Absolutely.” He grinned and put his arm around Izzy. “I gave her this ring.” He took Izzy’s hand and displayed the engagement ring to Janey.

  “Wow, it’s so pretty! So, now can I have a little brother?”

  Mac laughed and glanced at Izzy, who was rolling her eyes. “Slow down, Princess. Your mom and I just got engaged. We need a little time before we start talking about babies. But I promise we’ll talk about it, okay?”

  “Okay. Will you make pancakes?”

  Mac shook his head in wonder at the way his daughter could change subjects so quickly. “Sure. Pancakes it is.”

  ***

  Darius shuffled into their cubicle and stopped short at the sight of the paper bag on his desk. “Einstein’s Bagels? Sweet!” He dug into the bag, pulling out a green chile cheese bagel and taking a huge bite. “What’s the occasion?” His words were muffled by the food in his mouth.

  “Bagels need no occasion, but I figured they’d be nice on a Friday morning.” He waited for Darius to take another gigantic bite. “Oh, and I got engaged last night.”

  Darius’ jaw dropped, a disgusting mass of half-chewed bagel in his gaping mouth. “No shit?”

  “No shit.” He wondered if his grin was as goofy as he feared. He’d called his dad right after they’d told Janey and had to listen to his insufferable gloating. He’d been happy to hand the phone off to Janey once he’d assured David they would let him know the date as soon as it was official.

  Darius swallowed and wiped his hands on a paper napkin. “Congrats, man! That’s awesome! When’s the big day? I assume I’m invited?”

  “You’re my best man, so you better be there. We’re thinking sometime next month.”

  Darius grinned. “You’re not wasting any time, huh? What, are you afraid she’ll change her mind if you give her too long?”

  “Something like that. Eat up. We need to head out for the training.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Give me a minute.”

  Their active shooter training at the community college went well, mainly because Cara had helped them revise their presentation to make it more engaging—or at least not as deadly dull. They’d made their PowerPoint much more interactive and even gave out small candy prizes for correct answers. Mac saw only two people on their phones, and no one fell asleep, which was a new record for them. Both were in an upbeat mood as they packed their equipment.

  “Let’s stop at Mario’s for lunch,” Darius said as he slid the projector into the black case. “I’m starving.”

  “No arguments from me. Hang on.” He fished his cell phone out of his pocket. “This is MacNeil.”

  “Mac, it’s Finn. Can you and Darius get down here to our precinct?”

  “Uh, sure. We’re on our way to lunch right now, but we can swing by on our way back to the office.”

  “You can eat later. Come now. Gina finally broke and it’s urgent. How long will it take you to get here?”

  “Ten minutes.” He clicked off and shoved his phone back in his pocket. “That was Finn. He needs us at the precinct now.”

  “But…shit. Fine.” He sighed deeply. “I had my heart set on a calzone.”

  “Don’t be a baby, Dar. We can eat later.” He shouldered his computer bag and grabbed one of the boxes. “Let’s go.”

  ***

  Finn was waiting impatiently at his desk. Mac remembered Izzy telling him Chris was in Santa Fe with Hugh for the weekend. “We finally got some intel from Gina.” He directed their attention to his computer screen and clicked the ‘play’ icon. “I’ve cued it to the relevant part.” He stood back to let them watch.

  They saw Gina and Finn in an interrogation room, Gina’s attorney at her side. The man spoke, reading from a prepared statement. He made it clear that Gina was willing to trade information about upcoming threats from the Southwest Anti-Poverty League in exchange for the charges of attempted murder being dropped. Finn said he could make no promises, but would see what he could do if the information was good. Mac clenched his fists when he thought about the woman who had hurt Izzy getting off with a lighter sentence, but he knew it was how the game was played.

  “What have you got, Gina?” Finn asked. “You dragged us all down here, so spill.”

  “So impatient, Detective.” Gina made a clucking sound and examined her fingernails. “I could sure use a cup of coffee.”

  Finn stared at the woman for a moment, a slight smile hovering on his lips, but said nothing as he stood and left the room. He returned a few moments later with a steaming Styrofoam cup and set it in front of Gina, along with a handful of sweetener and creamer packets and a stirrer stick.

  Gina meticulously prepared her coffee, stirring it far longer than was necessary. She finally took a sip, grimaced, and set it down.

  Finn sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “I have a lot of other work to do, Gina. I don’t think you have anything new.” He stood. “I’ll have you taken back to your cell.”

  “Wait.” Gina glared at her lawyer, then turned back to Finn. “I know what the next target is.”

  Finn returned to his seat. “Okay. I’m waiting.”

  “It’s the governor. She’s the target.”

  “When? Is there a specific event?” Finn pulled a small notebook from his shirt pocket.

  “Maybe.”

  Finn smiled tightly and glanced up from his notebook. “I’m running out of patience, Gina.”

  Gina took another sip of her coffee. “That’s unfortunate.”

  Finn slammed the notebook shut and stood, striding to the door. “Forget it.” He opened the door and called to the guard standing outside.

  “It’s a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new gymnasium at a school,” Gina called.

  “What school?”

  “The Santa Fe School for the Blind.”

  Finn grabbed his cell phone and talked quietly for several moments before cursing and swinging back to the two people seated at the table. “Goddammit, Gina! That ribbon-cutting ceremony is today!”

  “Is it really? Huh.” She sipped her coffee, unconcerned.

  Finn stopped the video and addressed Mac. “I called you right afterward. I alerted our office in Santa Fe and the governor’s office, but I knew you’d want to know.”

  “Thanks,” Darius pulled out his phone and walked away. He returned a moment later. “We have a helicopter waiting on the helipad.”

  “Let’s go. We’ll keep you informed.” Mac led the way out of the office.

  Twenty minutes later they were en route to Santa Fe, onboard a Homeland Security helicopter. Within twenty-five minutes they were landing in a field adjacent to the School for the Blind. They flashed their identification and joined the ground team gathered near the entran
ce.

  “The governor is set to arrive in ten minutes. She refused to cancel the event.” The speaker was a state police captain who was clearly in charge. “We’ve set up a perimeter and have a team sweeping the school right now.” He continued to talk about the details, unrolling a set of building plans as he spoke.

  Mac and Darius had come solely to lend their support and provide backup if necessary, so they stood at the back of the group and listened. When the captain finished, Mac spoke up. “Captain, my partner and I did the initial threat assessment for the governor. Nothing about the Southwest Anti-Poverty League turned up. We’re here to help.”

  “Thanks. I’ll have you talk to the governor and her staff when they arrive. If you can get them to call it off at the last minute, it would be helpful.”

  “We’ll do our best.” He and Darius turned and jogged to the area set aside for the governor’s motorcade. Mac could feel his phone buzzing in his pocket, but declined the call when he saw it was Izzy. He knew she’d understand when he told her what he was in the middle of. Early on in their relationship he’d let her know he might occasionally have to ignore her calls if he was knee-deep in a case or situation. The governor’s black SUV turned in at that moment. His phone buzzed three more times as they greeted the governor’s team and he felt the first twinges of alarm. It wasn’t like her to keep calling. They weren’t successful in convincing the governor to cancel the event and had to settle for briefing her on the possible danger she faced during the ceremony. It was nearly fifteen minutes later when he was finally able to look at his phone again. The banner on his home screen indicated he had a voicemail. His gut clenched as he listened. He tapped the screen to call her back; no answer. Fuck. “Dar! We gotta go now! Izzy’s in trouble!” He didn’t wait for his partner as he ran full speed back to the helicopter.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Izzy

  She checked her watch as she hit ‘save’ on the spreadsheet. “Damn,” she muttered and grabbed her purse out of the bottom drawer. “Malva, I’ve got to run or I’m going to be late.” She pulled on her coat, trying to shut her office door at the same time.