Deadly Ties

by Kate Allenton

  West sat up on the bed and grabbed his phone. He’d sent many texts last night to some old friends that had more reach than he did. He’d called in favors to get details on Thomas and his last assignment. He glanced at the screen. No messages.

  That was par for the course lately. Everything they needed was just out of reach.

  West slid out of bed, took a shower, and got dressed for the day before he headed downstairs in search of Cree. He had a good idea where to find her. The smell of freshly brewed coffee drifted through the house along with the scent of freshly baked bread. He turned into the kitchen and paused.

  “You aren’t Cree.”

  Veronica poured a cup of coffee and handed it to West, along with a biscuit from the plate. “She hasn’t come out of that room all morning. I figured if we didn’t want to starve, someone needed to cook.”

  “That was nice.”

  Veronica rolled her eyes. “More like self-preservation. It was either cook or starve.”

  “You’ll have to give her a little leeway. She isn’t always like this. She’s just worried.”

  “It doesn’t matter. In two more months, I’ll be eighteen and gone.”

  He stared a little surprised by her adamant determination. “What are your plans? Where are you going to go?”

  She shrugged. “I’ll get a job. Start over somewhere. Maybe open my own business doing readings. I’m good at that. Seeing ghosts.”

  West slowly nodded and took a bit of the biscuit she’d given him. “Maybe you should consider going into business with Cree and Charlotte. These are really good.”

  “I only cooked because I had to,” Veronica said. “When Grams got sick, I had to take care of her. We didn’t have anyone else.”

  “I’m sorry,” West said.

  “Yeah. Me too.” Veronica walked out of the kitchen.

  West walked through the house, sipping his coffee, and found Cree in the picture room. She stood motionless staring at a photo. She hadn’t even heard him come in.

  “How long have you been in here?” West asked, walking up beside her and holding the remainder of his biscuit to her mouth.

  She chewed it and swallowed. “I’ve been in here since I woke up. That was really good. Did you bake?”

  “Nope. That was all Veronica.”

  “I have got to tell that girl to stay out of my kitchen.” Cree shook her head and rested her palm on her hip.

  “She didn’t want to starve. Go easy on her. So have you figured out what he was working on?”

  “Not yet, but Faraday was here this morning.”

  “From Florida?”

  “Not that one, the dead one.”

  “Oh…did Thomas happen to tell you who killed him?”

  “No.” She sighed. “He just keeps pointing to the red strings.”

  “Well, I hope he at least gave you the combination to his safe.”

  Cree’s eyes widened, and she held out her hand where numbers were written in pen. “He did give us that.”

  “Great. I should go try and open it,” West said, turning to leave the room to grab a pen from the kitchen. Cree followed behind him.

  “You know what I don’t get.”

  “What’s that, luv?” West asked, pouring her a cup of coffee and handing her a biscuit before he started searching through drawers for a pen.

  “Moreno. Before it made sense, sort of. Thomas and Moreno were both bad guys. Bad guys hang out together or at least know about each other, but if Thomas was CIA, it throws my theory off-kilter. I need to find out what Moreno knows.”

  “No. Absolutely not. You need to stay away from him,” West argued.

  “He won’t hurt me,” Cree said, taking a bite of her biscuit. “He likes me. I helped save him from jail time.”

  “He’s a mob boss, Cree. What do you think you’re going to do, just stroll up to his house and ring the bell?”

  The doorbell rang, and she smiled. “I’m not going to him, silly. He’s coming here.”

  “Damn it, Cree. I don’t even have my gun,” West said, jogging out of the kitchen.

  “You won’t need it,” she hollered up the stairs as she reached for the door.

  West grabbed his gun and shoved it into the back of his jeans and jogged back downstairs to find Cree pouring two cups of coffee in the kitchen. Moreno was standing with another younger man. One West hadn’t seen.

  “There you are. West, you know Moreno, and this is his nephew, Dante.”

  “You brought your nephew?” West asked.

  “He wanted to meet Cree. You got a problem with that?” Moreno’s tone lowered turning confrontational. Was the mobster looking for a fight?

  “Of course he doesn’t,” Cree answered before West could. “Why don’t we go sit on the front porch so we can talk?”

  “Sure.” Moreno took a sip of his coffee, watching West over the rim before he turned around and walked out.

  “Be nice. He has answers I want,” Cree whispered before following behind Moreno.

  This was not West’s idea of a controlled meeting. When bad guys like Moreno were involved, they were slippery, and often, getting answers meant doling out some violence.

  West followed behind them and took a seat on the railing to keep Moreno in his sight and to give himself easy access to the gun stuffed beneath his shirt.

  “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”

  Moreno glanced at them both before letting his gaze settle on Cree. “I can’t say I’m surprised you called. You want to know about Thomas Faraday, don’t you?”

  “My dad?” his nephew asked. “What about him? Do you know who killed him?”

  Cree leaned forward, cupping the coffee. “Your dad?”

  “Thomas and my sister, Grace, had this thing,” Moreno answered.

  “Call it was it was, Uncle,” Dante said. “They loved each other, and Dad came around when he could. He tried.”

  “Wait,” West said, rising from his perch. He folded his arms over his chest. “If Dante is Thomas’s kid, then that means…”

  “The John Faraday is his uncle,” Moreno acknowledged.

  “How come you’ve kept it a secret from John? I mean, I know you and my Faraday don’t get along, but he deserves to know he’s an uncle.”

  “There’s no love lost between the Faraday brothers. I think you know that,” Moreno answered. “I didn’t want that animosity put on the kid.”

  “That’s rich, coming from you,” West said.

  Cree narrowed her eyes, and before she could scold him, the door opened and Veronica walked out and down the steps.

  “Where are you going?”

  “For a walk,” she answered with a sigh. “Don’t worry. I can protect myself.”

  Cree rose. “Where to?”

  Veronica sighed and gestured over her shoulder. “I saw peach trees on the property. I thought I’d bake a pie since I have nothing else to do.”

  “West, maybe you should go with her,” Cree said.

  “And leave you here? Not a chance.”

  “I’ll go with her,” Dante said, rising from his seat, and he shot off the porch before Cree could object. The two were halfway down the drive by the time West returned his gaze to Moreno.

  “Don’t worry. He’s a good kid.”

  “So, he’s not like you?” West asked.

  “Listen here,” Moreno answered. “Say what you want about me, but disrespecting my family will get you hurt.”

  “Is that a threat?” West asked. The muscles in his arms flexed with the need to reach for his revolver.

  “It’s a—”

  “Okay, gentleman,” Cree interrupted before Moreno and West were about to take the gloves off. “Can we get back to the reason I asked you over?”

  “You had questions about what I delivered.”

  “One really,” she said. “I understand how you know Faraday now, but did you know he was CIA?”

  Moreno’s lips twisted at the corners. “Of course I did.”r />
  “I figured.” Cree smiled. “Not much gets by you.”

  “Do you have any idea who killed him?” West asked. “Or why the killer would be looking for our Faraday?”

  Moreno sat forward and clasped his fingers together. “Not yet, but I’ve got ears to the ground.” He glanced at both of them. “My sister came to me a week before Faraday died. She was concerned he was in trouble and every time she asked, he blew her off. It was nothing for him to go off without telling her where. She chalked it up to secrets of his jobs, but…”

  “You weren’t so understanding, were you?”

  Moreno’s lips twitched. “No, I wasn’t. Personally, I thought he might be seeing someone new, but I was wrong.”

  West raised his brow. “You know who pulled the trigger?”

  “Not a name,” he answered and pulled a photo out of his coat and handed it to Cree. “But the organization.”

  West moved to sit next to Cree, and she handed him the picture. It was a government license plate. “Who does it belong to?”

  “That vehicle is registered as one of ten in a fleet belonging to the CIA.”

  “An inside job?”

  “If you’re smart and want to stay alive, you’ll stop looking into his death,” Moreno suggested.

  “Not while the Faraday brother that I actually care about has his life on the line. So I can’t stop until I figure out what the hell is going on.”

  Moreno leaned forward and met her gaze. His eyes turned serious. “The CIA can make people disappear, Cree. You don’t want to screw with them.”

  Panic laced Cree’s face but only for a split second. She turned her gaze to West’s. “Will you go check on Veronica and Dante?”

  West glanced at them both, and Moreno sat back in his seat.

  “Please,” Cree begged.

  West took the gun out from beneath his shirt and set it on her lap. Without another word, he took off in a jog toward where the teens had vanished.

  Chapter 16

  I waited until West was out of earshot. “I’m not letting this go.”

  “I figured as much,” Moreno said. “You’re going to need more than your gun-toting boyfriend to keep you safe.”

  “Actually, I can take care of myself.”

  “If that were the case, you wouldn’t have needed your boyfriend’s gun. You’d have your own.”

  I pulled my gun from the leg holster beneath my jeans and dropped it on my lap before pulling out the knives from the holster beneath my shirt. “Like I said…I can protect myself.”

  “I guess you can,” Moreno said with a grin. “You saved my life once. Tell me what you need.”

  “Nothing right now. One day, though, I’m going to call in my favor from you, and I’ll expect for you to show up. No questions asked.”

  “Just point the direction of where you want the body buried.”

  My eyes widened. I wasn’t asking him to kill anyone. I kind of hoped we could avoid that this time. The CIA was no laughing matter. They had a limitless reach. I was in over my head, but that wasn’t going to stop me. I couldn’t let it.

  “No dead bodies.” At least I hoped.

  West, Veronica, and Dante headed down the drive. Each had an armful of peaches. Roni, for once, wore a smile instead of a scowl, her cheeks blushing pink.

  Dante wore a huge smile as he stared at her. Either they’d gotten into some type of mischief or they’d become fast friends.

  “We’re just going to put these in the kitchen,” Dante said.

  “Hurry up, kid. We’re going to be late meeting your mother, and we both know what happens if I’m late returning you.”

  Moreno’s sister sounded like a woman I’d like to meet. It sounded like she could single-handedly get the mob boss to bend to her will. I liked her already.

  Dante and Veronica appeared at the door, his gaze intent on hers. “Can I see you again?”

  Veronica’s eyes fluttered. “I kind of can’t leave the house yet.”

  “I can come here.” He glanced at Moreno and then at me. “If that’s okay with Ms. Blue.”

  I rose from my seat and set the gun and knives on the cushions. “You’re welcome here anytime, Dante.”

  Dante held Veronica’s hand. “You’ve got my number. Call me.”

  Moreno and I exchanged a look. His was one of confusion, mine not so much. Veronica liked him. Granted Dante was the nephew of a mob boss, but he appeared to be a good young man. I wouldn’t crucify him until he gave me a reason. We couldn’t pick our family. Veronica and I knew that better than anyone.

  Moreno patted my shoulder in passing. “Ms. Blue, it’s always a pleasure.”

  “Thanks for filling in the blanks,” I called out as Moreno and Dante headed for the car. West stood behind me, rubbing his palm over my back.

  His mouth rested a breath away from my ear. “When I found them, they were in a lip lock.”

  “I figured.”

  “I spooked them. He pulled a gun and pulled her behind his back.”

  “Sounds like something you would do.” I glanced up at him and grinned. “Oh wait…you have done that.”

  I patted his chest, picked up his gun, and handed to him as a reminder before picking up mine and my knives.

  “I’m not sure I like them being together.”

  “She’s almost eighteen. It’s not like we can forbid it.” I shoved the gun in my waistband. “Is he better than the schmuck that she stole my Jeep to go see?”

  West nodded. “Anyone would be better than him.”

  I slowly nodded. “Are you ready for a road trip? I’d like to see what treasures are hidden in his safe.”

  “Let me grab my keys and find Freddie and tell him he’s on duty.”

  I headed over to the passenger side of West’s car and stared at the ground, turning in a spot back toward the trees. A single footprint was in the dirt. I walked over to it and laid my foot alongside it. It was several inches bigger than mine.

  I followed the direction that the footprint was pointed. I’d almost made it to the tree line when West appeared by my side.

  “I know you weren’t just going to go traipsing off into the forest without telling anyone.”

  “That would have been stupid.” Yes. I gestured with my thumb back toward the car. “The thief left a footprint.”

  “So…you thought you should follow it?” he asked stepping into my path.

  “We should check it out, don’t you think? What if the thief dropped a clue?”

  West took my hand and pulled me out of the tree line. “Freddie already found the print and looked. He’s trying to find a camera that will give him a view of the face.”

  “Well, why didn’t you just say so?” I smiled and happily trotted to the car and pulled open the passenger door. “I’d rather go hunting treasure chests anyway instead of getting eaten up by mosquitos.”

  “You’re never going to change, are you?” West asked, standing next to the driver door.

  “No, I’ll always pick gold over bug bites. Duh.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Well, what did you mean?” I asked, resting my hand on my hip.

  “Nothing.” He slid into the seat.

  I followed behind him. “It’s not nothing. What did you mean by that?”

  West sighed. “Most people don’t go traipsing into danger, but you…you just do whatever the hell you want without thinking of the consequences. You have got to stop doing that.” He glanced at me. His gaze laced with concern.

  “I follow the clues, West. Wherever it takes me. What’s so wrong with that?”

  He lowered his head and twisted the insignia ring on his finger. “I love you, Cree.” He raised his gaze to meet mine. “And it would kill me if anything happened to you and I wasn’t there to stop it.”

  I rested my palm on his hands. “I love you too, West, but I can’t walk away from this one.”

  “I know.” He sighed and started the car, pulling out of the
drive. “We’ll solve this one, but I’d like you to consider scaling back or at least not putting yourself in so much danger. I can’t have a future with you if you’re dead.”

  My life had been so much easier when it was only myself that I worried about. Not having a liaison with the police department, which followed up with the clues I’d provide, really had me having to investigate on my own. It wasn’t fair to West and now Veronica. He had a point.

  “I’ll find another liaison with the police,” I said, glancing at him. “But I won’t give up the cold cases. I can’t. If I can provide at least one clue for the police to use to solve the cases, it might bring peace to the grieving families.”

  “You can’t save the world, Cree,” he said, turning out onto the road.

  “I can try.”

  The quiet ride to the old warehouse district took forever as I stared out at the passing scenery, lost in my own thoughts, trying to figure out why West was having a change of heart. He knew I was like this. I never hid that fact.

  I rested my hand on the knots twisting in my stomach. If he was acting this way now out of concern for my well being, I could only imagine how he’d be if I told him I might be pregnant.

  I remained quiet and let him take the lead when we parked on the street next to the old alley. I grabbed my lock picking kit I’d left in the car last night and got out without much fuss or fight, following behind him as we neared the door.

  West threw out his hand, stopping me, and I lifted my gaze. He’d grabbed his gun and had it out in front of him. “The door is open.”

  I proceeded to follow behind him quietly as my gaze went up and down the alleyway before we stepped inside.

  The air still stunk, and dust bunnies still floated. Nothing at all looked disturbed in the rundown area, although it was kind of hard to tell.

  West moved us along the wall, peering around the corner into the gutted kitchen before he dropped his gun to the side. “Yep, someone’s been in here.”

  We stepped into the room. The debris that West had placed in front of the door was moved. The box with the number entry was hanging open as West moved in front of it. He punched in the numbers and waited for the door to open.