by Meghan March
“Cannon’s an intelligent, thoughtful, and incredible man. I’m sure he knows exactly what he’s doing and will have no problem filling any role that comes his way.”
Her head jerks back like she’s stunned to hear me defend him, and it pisses me off a little that Cannon being defended is such a shocking thing.
“Well, apparently you know exactly what you think about the situation, don’t you?” she asks me with a dash of attitude creeping into her tone.
“I know Cannon. That’s all that matters.”
“Hmm. I guess we’ll see.” She takes her seat at the desk just outside the office door she relocked behind me.
I make my way back out into the lobby to take the stairs down to the apartment one of Dom’s guys showed me to in the early hours of the morning. When I’m alone again, I open the laptop.
It’s time to get started.
Four hours later, I still haven’t heard from Ariel, which isn’t surprising since my super-hacker friend has a brand-new baby. So I rise and stretch before heading to the main living quarters in the brownstone where Eden and Bishop are staying. Delicious smells come from the kitchen, and I follow my nose toward the food.
Inside, I’m startled to find Tanya unloading aluminum trays of food on the counter.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
She twists around to face me, equally shocked to see me as I was to see her. “I should be asking you that, but then again, it doesn’t surprise me to find you locked down with the family. Cannon’s made how he feels about you pretty clear.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, mostly because I didn’t expect her to know much of anything when it comes to how Cannon feels about me.
“He called me last night to tell me the club was closing indefinitely, and that you weren’t going to be working there until it was safe. He said he wasn’t taking any chances with anything, especially you.”
Warmth bubbles up in my chest, and I want to wrap my arms around her statement and hold on to it until I see Cannon next and can hug him.
“He had you bring over food?”
Tanya gives me a quick nod. “Yeah. He wanted to make sure everyone has everything they need.” She pauses in unclamping the lid of one container and bites her lip. “Is it true that Enzo almost died? Cannon didn’t say much, and the gossip mill is hard at work.”
I can’t help but wonder what the motivation is behind her question. “Do you have some special interest in Enzo?”
Tanya’s head whips back and forth. “No. Total opposite. He’s awful. And I know I shouldn’t say this, but if that’s not true, I wish it was.” Something that looks a lot like fear lines her features.
“What did he do to you?”
Tanya’s expression turns wary. “Why do you always ask so many questions?”
Part of me wants to laugh, because she has no idea how good I am at getting information out of people. I lift my chin and stare Tanya down.
“You brought up Enzo, not me. You’re also the one who basically just said you wish he was dead. Wouldn’t you be curious too if you were me, Tanya?”
She huffs, but I can tell I made my point. “He made a play for Teal after he saw her at the club. Cannon had to warn him off. Enzo didn’t listen, so Cannon made him.”
Of course he did. Because that’s what Cannon does. Save everyone. But who’s going to save him?
“How did Cannon make him listen?” I ask, wondering if that explains more of the bad blood between Cannon and Enzo, or if it comes from something else.
“Beat the hell out of him. After that, I heard Enzo tried to make Dom throw Cannon out because of it, but Dom put his foot down. Said no one tells him how to run his organization, and no one got to touch a woman against her will without consequences.”
The older man I once wanted to see rotting in prison continues to surprise me with his defense of women and his unwillingness to let violence rule his crew when he easily could.
“What do you know about the Rossettis?” I ask. “Because that’s who Cannon thinks did this.”
Tanya’s expression turns hard. “They’re no good. GTR sniffed around Teal too. She’s a magnet for bad seeds. He scares me even more than Enzo does, if you want to know the truth. There’s something not right about him. That’s another reason why Cannon had to pull Teal off working the nights we had meetings. On top of all her other issues, she attracted too much attention.” Tanya’s lips tilt to one side as she pauses to consider me. “And then he just made it worse by bringing you in and getting everyone riled up over you.”
“Who brought food? This smells a hell of a lot better than those bagels and lox Dumb and Dumber tried to get us to eat this morning.” Benny’s voice comes from the doorway of the kitchen as he follows his nose, much the same way I did.
“Benny, it’s been a long time,” Tanya says, stepping toward the old man to hug him.
“Hey, gorgeous, they finally let you out of that club?”
She grins and kisses his cheek.
The old gangster adds, “It’s about time. You gonna finally run away with me? Leave it all behind for the Florida sunshine?”
Clearly, the older man knows Tanya well. I have to assume that he was probably a cigar smoker at the club for years, which could explain the coughing fits and the blood smear on his handkerchief. One of our network execs had lung cancer, and I remember him doing the same thing. I have to wonder what Benny’s dealing with, because I have a feeling it’s not good.
“All you have to do is say the word, and I’ll leave this city behind, Benny.”
“Where’s your sister? How’s she doing these days?”
Tanya shoots me a look and bites her lip. “Hopefully, she’s in the right place to get better now, Ben. It’s a process.”
One side of his mouth pinches to the side. “Ah, man, her demons finally caught up with her?”
“Something like that. But she’s gonna be good as new once she’s done with rehab.”
“Pretty girl. She just needs to realize that’s not all she has to offer the world,” Benny says before stepping toward the aluminum trays. “Now, what’s for lunch?”
Instead of heading back to the apartment with my food, I stay in the common area and eat with the others. I’ve always been a loner, but with them, it’s easy to talk and laugh and generally distract ourselves from everything going on.
Then the conversation turns to more serious things.
“How long are you staying?” Bishop asks Cav, after telling us that he booked a flight for the next day for himself and Eden. They’re taking no chances getting back to New Orleans safe and sound.
Greer leans against Cav. “I’m not leaving until Crey is released, but I can’t imagine he’ll want to stay long, though. If I know my brother, he’ll want to get back to baby Rose as quickly as possible.”
“I don’t want to run,” Cav says, directing his comment to his wife. “But I’ll get you the hell out of here as fast as I can. I’m not taking any fucking chances with you either. One set of stitches is enough.”
My hand tightens on the laptop beside me. Now more than ever, I need to get back to my digging. There’s just one thing I can’t figure out.
“Benny, do you know what started the feud between the Cassos and the Rossettis? Cannon never told me.”
The older man looks up from a bowl of ice cream heavily laden with chocolate syrup. “The feud that’ll never die? I’m not sure anyone wants to talk about why it started. They’re just interested in finishing it.”
“But you were around when it started? Working for Dom?”
His spoon clinks against the bowl as he dives in for another bite. At this rate, the entire serving will be gone in less than five scoops. “It’s not something we talk about. Those were dark days.”
His reply tells me, more than ever, that the cause is something I need to know.
“Dark days like when I had to run for it?” Eden asks, peering into the kitchen around Bishop’s shoulder.
Benny’s attention cuts to her, and he smiles like someone who just caught a glimpse of their favorite grandkid. I wonder if that’s how Benny feels about everyone either in this building or laid up inside the hospital—that they’re family. Maybe it’s cold-blooded of me to think that’s a positive thing that I can use to find answers, but I don’t care. Right now, anything that stops more bullets from flying is worth the cost.
“Darker, kid. That’s why we don’t talk about it.” Benny drops the spoon in his bowl with a clank of metal on ceramic, shuffles to the sink to dump it out, and rinses it with hot water.
Dark enough that it puts Benny off his ice cream? Yep, definitely something there.
“I’ll catch all of you later. This old man needs a nap.” He moves out of the kitchen, and everyone watches him silently.
It takes one round of glances bouncing from person to person in the room for me to make a decision.
“I’m going after him,” I say to no one in particular, or maybe to everyone. Since there are no objections, I rush out of the room to catch Benny on the stairs, heading in a direction I haven’t yet ventured.
“Benny . . .” When I say his name, the old man waves me off.
“Not now. I’m tired.”
He takes another turn, and I stay on his heels down the hallway.
“You’re not tired. You’re dying.” My assumption is out of my mouth before I realize what I’m saying.
Benny spins around to face me, his expression the opposite of friendly. “You think you’re some hotshot detective figuring that out? What the hell do you want, Drew Carson?”
My gut, which has guided me faithfully my entire life, tells me that I have to give him some of the truth if he’s going to trust me with anything.
“I want to find a way to fix this without any more blood being spilled. I didn’t find Cannon now just to lose him to some mob war I don’t understand, and no one knows how it started. I need answers so I can try to save this family, because I desperately want it to be mine too.”
Every word out of my mouth is the absolute truth, and from the way Benny studies me, he sees it too.
“You got it bad, kid. Not that I’m surprised. Cannon’s a good one. Maybe the best of all of them. You’d do right to grab onto him and convince him to get the hell out of this mess before a bullet with his name on it finds its mark.”
“I wish it was that easy. But you know him. Better than me, no doubt. And that means you know that he’s not going to walk away when the people he loves are in danger. Not a chance.”
Benny rocks back on his heels. “Yeah, because he’s got a heart of gold, and not even fool’s gold at that.” As soon as I think he’s being swayed in my favor, Benny turns and continues on down the hallway.
“Dammit,” I whisper to myself, feeling like I’ve lost an important battle, but I’m not even sure why I feel that way.
The events of the past twenty-four hours crash down on me, all the highs and lows and craziness. My lack of proper sleep weighs on my shoulders, causing me to slump against a doorway. But I force my exhaustion down and dig deep for a second wind.
“You coming or what, Drew Carson?” Benny waits at the end of the hallway, his hand resting on a doorway.
“Coming for what?”
“Your answers. I ain’t got all day.”
31
Cannon
“I need to get out of this fucking bed. I got work to do.”
My father is just as stubborn as Enzo, which shouldn’t come as a surprise, although I expected he’d be a little smarter.
“You’re not getting discharged for at least another forty-eight hours. You just had major surgery,” I tell him as he rips one lead from his chest.
“Then I’ll go against medical advice. I don’t fucking care. I’m not going to let them take everything I’ve built. Not now. Not after all these years.”
A nurse comes jogging into the room as soon as she sees what Dom’s doing, and Primo takes a step toward Dom. I raise my hand to indicate the bodyguard needs to stay put.
“Sir, please. You need to stay in bed and leave the monitoring equipment alone. It’s for your own safety,” the nurse says, her calm tone edged with mild authority. No doubt because she knows exactly who this man is.
He’s gotten the royal treatment due to his infamy, much like Creighton has. The hospital staff has gone above and beyond to make sure every need is met before we even have to ask. They’ll definitely be getting a large anonymous donation soon.
“If I want to leave, I’ll leave. No one’s stopping me.”
Instead of shrinking at Dom’s authoritative tone, she lifts her chin and her posture stiffens.
“Sir, with all due respect, the surgeons didn’t just spend hours of their precious time saving your life when they could’ve been working on someone more grateful, just so you could undo all of their work and throw it back in their faces. If you walk out of this hospital, I wouldn’t be surprised if you drop dead on the sidewalk before you make it to your car. And even if you don’t drop dead, but simply pass out or need a second surgery, there’s a chance those same surgeons might not be quite so quick to rush to your rescue.” Her gaze shoots at me, and instead of seeing latent fear pushing its way out, her gray eyes are flinty. “We don’t appreciate people who don’t give a damn about their health and waste our time in the process.”
I don’t know what it is about her or her statement, but Dom’s hand stills and he leaves the other lead on his chest.
“No one talks to me that way. Ever.”
The brazen nurse pins her shoulders back and stares my father down. “Well, you can make a note in your diary that today, Judith Maria Hansen is speaking to you that way, and if you’ve got enough brain cells left in that hard head of yours, you’ll listen to what I’m saying. You need to take it easy and keep your blood pressure down. Now, if you’ll allow me, I’ll reaffix the lead and you can continue your discussion.”
Dom says nothing, but she doesn’t need words from him. Bold as you please, she steps right up to the bed and picks up the discarded lead and sticks it back to his chest.
“Now, Mr. Casso, can I get you anything? Water? A magazine?”
Dom’s gaze lifts to hers, and unexpectedly, a chuckle falls from his lips as his chest bounces. “You’ve got balls, Judith Maria Hansen. Big, brass ones that should clank when you walk through the hallways and make it damn near impossible to do your job.”
“Thank you, sir. I’ll take that as a compliment. If you want anything, please don’t hesitate to ring. I’m on call for the next ten hours, and you’ll be seeing me a lot. Even if I have to hunt you down.” With that final threat, she backs out of the room with a nod to Primo and disappears down the hall.
Dom watches her closely as she leaves. “Damn. What a fucking woman, am I right? I’m gonna have to get her number before I get the hell out of this place.”
I didn’t look at Nurse Judith with anything but an eye toward information, but now that she’s out of sight, her appearance sinks in. She looked to be around fifty, fit, trim, and pretty with short dark hair and librarian-style glasses. Also, completely not Dom’s type, as he usually goes after women in their late twenties and thirties who have daddy issues and are drawn to his power, but are definitely scared of him.
Judith is none of those things.
Which makes her all the more intriguing, especially if Dom’s staring after her with a wonderstruck expression I’ve never seen on his face.
Then, like he flipped a switch, his features morph into a calculating look as his attention snaps back to me.
“Where the hell is Enzo? If I’m out of commission, someone needs to handle things and fast. He’ll know what to do. Who to call. Who to fucking kill. Paulie and Junior will have his back, and this will all be over fast.”
Enzo. That’s who he wants to handle shit. Of course. Still doesn’t fucking matter, because he’s back in surgery after his stupid little stunt. Which probably ex
plains why Judith was so adamant that Dom take it easy.
And fuck. I haven’t even had a chance to tell him about Paulie and Junior not pulling through. Given what Judith just said about Dom’s blood pressure, now isn’t the best time to give him any of that information. At least, nothing but the basics.
“Enzo’s out of commission. He took a bullet and they’re still working on him.”
Dom’s heart rate kicks up on the monitoring equipment, and I know that’s the extent of what I can safely tell him.
“What the fuck do you mean? Is he going to be okay?”
I don’t have a single fucking clue, but I take a page out of Dom’s book and lie to him. “He’s going to be fine. He’ll need a lot of rest and recuperation time, just like you.”
“Goddammit. Then get the others in here. I need to lay out a plan that even they can’t fuck up.”
I pull up the chair to his bedside and take a seat. The next words out of my mouth may change the course of my life forever, but I truly feel I have no choice. It’s time for me to step up and take my place. I’m done living on the fringes, leaving the safety of my family to chance.
For the first time in my life, I tell Dom how things are going to go, and there’s nothing he can do about it. “Whatever plan you’ve got, you tell me and I’ll handle it.”
Dom stares at me like I just told him I’ve been convicted of murder in seventeen states.
“What the fuck? You’re no gangster. You don’t know the first thing about how the fuck to retaliate after an event like this. You think you can go spray bullets and take them out?”
I stare down my father with even more confidence than I saw on Judith’s face. “You’re right. I’m no fucking gangster, but it’s about time this family stops writing its history with blood on the streets. We’re better than that.”
Dom jerks his head back, but the stack of pillows stops it from moving much. “And what fucking way do you think you’re going to make things happen? By talking? Those sons of bitches will kill you as soon as they see you. You’re my worst-kept fucking secret.”
