by Lynn, JB
The noise made Daphne’s men nervous. Still, I had the distinct impression that they weren’t going to back off.
Daphne stepped closer to me. “I want--”
Only a few inches separated us, and I could see the hatred gleaming in her eyes. I didn’t really think about what I was going to do. It had been drilled into me by Patrick Mulligan, that the best way to react to someone attacking you is to go for their “Eyes. Nose. Throat. Groin.” I moved so fast she never knew what hit her.
I punched her once, right in the throat. She collapsed backwards, startled, grabbing her neck. Her eyes went wide and watered as she gasped for breath.
“Margaret,” Susan admonished quietly under her breath. “Violence is never the answer.”
I didn’t bother to tell her that violence is usually the answer for most of my problems.
The animals kept up their cacophony, as the men half-carried Daphne back to their car. Griswald and Templeton stepped up so that they stood beside Aunt Susan and me. We were a united front.
“Good job,” Griswald muttered under his breath to me.
“Lawrence,” Susan complained. “Must you encourage that behavior in her?”
Templeton grabbed my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. As Daphne and her crew regrouped, I tried to come up with a plan to get them to leave. It ended up, I didn’t have to.
Another car was barreling down the driveway toward us.
35
Everyone turned to see the car that was racing toward us.
“Patrick!” DeeDee barked excitedly.
“I sincerely doubt that,” God muttered on my shoulder.
The car stopped, kicking up a cloud of dust, and our favorite redhead climbed out.
“Patrick!” DeeDee barked again, though this time, she sounded smug as she gave God the side-eye.
The side-eye from an angry Doberman is something to see.
“Detective,” Griswald called out, both acknowledging Patrick’s presence and letting our enemies know that we now had more law enforcement on scene.
“I’m looking for Archie Lee,” Patrick said, striding toward me. His expression was stern, but I saw something that looked like worry flickering in the depths of his eyes. “Do you know where your father is?”
I shook my head slowly, trying to figure out exactly what game he was running.
He turned, then, to Griswald. “Do you?”
“No,” Griswald said calmly.
Then, Patrick turned on Daphne. “And who are you, ma’am?”
“A friend of the family,” she replied sarcastically.
“More like an enemy,” Susan raged. “She’s trespassing on our property.”
“Is that true?” Patrick asked no one in particular.
“It is,” Griswald assured him.
“Perhaps you should leave,” Patrick suggested to Daphne and her crew.
Katie’s father’s cousin glared at me. “This isn’t over.”
“Hush,” God warned as I opened my mouth to respond.
He was right. There was no point in threatening her publicly. I’d deal with her privately.
She and her henchmen got into their car, glaring at all of us. They drove away, and everyone who was standing there let out a sigh of relief.
“I’ll tell the girls it’s safe to come out,” Susan said, hurrying toward the barn.
“Are you really looking for Archie Lee?” Griswald asked Patrick.
He nodded. “He’s a suspect in a murder.”
“Are you working that case?” Griswald asked curiously.
Patrick shook his head. “But I’ve had enough dealings with this family, that I thought the safest thing might be for me to just bring him in.” He made a point of not even looking at me while he spoke.
“He didn’t do it,” I said.
Patrick held up his hands defensively. “That’s not for me to determine,” he said. “I’m just here to bring him in.”
“He isn’t here,” Templeton told him quietly.
Patrick nodded. “Well, if you see him…”
“If I see him, I’ll let you know,” Griswald promised.
I didn’t make the same pledge.
Nodding, Patrick absentmindedly stroked DeeDee, who was sitting beside him, and then got back into his car and drove away.
“That was lucky,” Templeton murmured.
Griswald gave me a searching look, shook his head, and then went inside. I didn’t know if he was shaking his head about my father, or about Patrick’s too-conveniently-timed visit.
As he stopped at the doorway of the house, Griswald called to me. “I’m calling Brian.”
I nodded.
“We’ll keep your family safe,” he promised.
“Thank you,” I called out. When he went inside, I turned my attention to Templeton. “And thank you.”
Then, I turned and scanned, and looked at all of the animals. “And thank all of you,” I said, becoming choked up.
“Protect! Guard!” DeeDee panted.
I nodded. The family definitely needed that.
I watched as Armani, Aunt Susan, Loretta, Leslie, Marlene, Herschel and Miss Lassalan herded the girls toward the house, surrounding them.
“I’ve got to go out,” I called to Aunt Susan.
“You can’t,” she said. “We need to stay here. We have to stick together.”
“I have to,” I told her. “It’s important.”
“And you’ll take Dominic his present?” Katie asked.
“I will,” I promised. Considering that it was Gino that I desperately had to go see, bringing Delveccio’s grandson the artwork that Katie and Alicia had made him was the perfect excuse.
“I’ll get it,” Katie called. She ran into the house, followed closely by Alicia.
“You hit that woman, Margaret,” Susan said.
“You’re the one who sent me for self-defense lessons,” I reminded her. Not that I’d actually taken them when she’d arranged for me to receive the instruction from Patrick Mulligan. He’d already taught me most of what I knew a while ago, but she didn’t need to know that.
She nodded approvingly. “I’m glad that you paid attention.”
“Did you punch her in the eye?” Herschel asked, rubbing his hands together with glee.
“No,” I told him.
“She karate chopped her in the neck,” Templeton supplied.
I rolled my eyes. “Not quite.”
“Quite effective, though,” Aunt Susan said. “I’m proud of you. You protected the family.”
If she only had any idea what I’ve done in the name of protecting the family.
Still, it was nice to be recognized for my efforts, for once.
Katie and Alicia came running out, each carrying a hand-drawn card.
“Wow,” I said, dropping to my knees in front of them so I could examine their creations more closely. “These look amazing.” I took one from Katie, and impulsively gave her a tight hug. “I love you,” I whispered in her ear.
“I love you, too,” she replied, equally quietly.
Then, I took the artwork from Alicia and held out my arms, inviting her for a hug. I was never sure with our newest addition to the family about how she’d react, but she threw herself against me, practically wringing my neck.
“I love you, Alicia.”
“I love you, too, Aunt Maggie,” she said shyly. I swallowed a lump in my throat and blinked back tears. She really was coming out of her shell.
Blinking rapidly, I got to my feet, and allowed my aunts and Marlene to usher the girls into the house, where Griswald was waiting and would no doubt protect them.
“I’ll keep an eye out,” Templeton promised.
“Call if there’s a problem,” I requested.
He nodded, and then he and Herschel followed everyone back into the house. Only Armani lagged behind.
“What?” I asked her, not liking the look in her eyes.
“She’s angry,” Armani shared. “She’l
l be back. She wants to destroy you.”
I nodded. “I’ll be ready.”
Armani shook her head sadly. “No. I don’t think you will be.”
36
I wasn’t surprised that he pulled me over. I’d barely cleared the driveway when a car pulled up behind me, flashing its headlights. I flashed a thumbs-up. He passed me, and I followed Patrick to a side street where we both pulled over.
He quickly got out of his car, strode over to mine, and hopped into the passenger seat. “Hey, Mags.”
“Long time no see,” I joked, trying to ignore the reaction I still had when he said my name. Even though things hadn’t worked out between us romantically, I seemed to have a connection with him that was different than with anybody else. Not better than my relationship with Gino, just different.
“Gino sent me,” he said.
I blinked, thinking for a split second that he’d somehow read my mind. “He did?”
“Apparently, he’s still keeping an eye on your place and said there was trouble.”
“And he called you?”
“We’re all on the same team, Mags,” he said with a rueful smile.
“I’m headed to Delveccio’s now,” I told him.
“Why?” He did not seem pleased by this development.
“The girls made something for Dominic and I promised I’d take it over,” I told him.
“You’re such a bad liar,” he said, chuckling.
“I want to talk to him. I want to make sure that he doesn’t think that my father set him up for a murder rap.”
“I think he’s got other things to worry about than your father’s involvement in this mess,” he muttered.
“What does that mean?”
He shrugged. “The DA has it out for him.”
“He does?”
“Of course,” he said. “Between you and me, District Attorneys can be some of the most vindictive people around.”
I blinked. He didn’t normally disparage law enforcement, even though he skirted the line between being an officer of the law and breaking it.
“The guy’s name is Reese?” I guessed.
He cocked his head to the side. “Who told you that?”
“Lucky guess,” I murmured.
“Bull.”
I shrugged. “Something Griswald told me. We’re all more interconnected than we think.”
He nodded slowly.
“Thanks for your help back there,” I said, waving in the general direction of home.
“Who was the trouble?” he asked.
I quickly explained about Daphne and her assertion that she was trying to destroy my entire family.
“Griswald won’t let that happen,” he told me.
“He was calling Brian when I left.”
Patrick nodded his approval. “Detective Brian Griswald is a good man. Your family is in good hands.”
“But they can only watch over them for so long,” I muttered.
Patrick tilted his head and squinted at me. “You’re going after her.” He said it as a statement, not as a question.
I shrugged, remembering that my car was bugged.
“Be careful.”
He opened the glove compartment of my car and placed a gun inside. “In case you need it.”
I nodded my thanks.
“I’ve got to get back to work,” he said awkwardly.
“And I’ve got things to do,” I told him. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but finally, he just got out of the car and closed the door softly. He walked away without another word or even a backward glance.
“Gotta love that Gino,” God said. “He’s looking out for you.”
Ignoring him, I continued on to Delveccio’s.
“You’re not going to confront the mobster, are you?” God asked worriedly.
“No,” I said calmly. “We’re going to have a discussion.”
“He’s not big on discussions,” the lizard reminded me.
I shrugged. “We’ll bond over food.”
When I got to the Delveccios’ mansion, Gino was waiting in the driveway for me. He grinned as I pulled up, and gave me a slight nod. I climbed out of the car, being sure to take the cards that Katie and Alicia had made for Dominic.
“For me?” he asked, eyeing them. “You shouldn’t have.”
“Afraid not, the girls made them for Dominic.”
“Sweet,” he said with an approving smile. “I bet they cheer him up.”
“Does he need cheering up?”
He shrugged. “It’s not exactly a fun atmosphere here, right now,” he confided. “Seeing you will do him good.”
Together, we walked up the flight of stairs and into the house. He led me straight to the kitchen. Delveccio was making some kind of pasta dish.
“Food,” God groaned. “Why is it always food?”
“Hungry?” the mob boss asked. It sounded more like a challenge than a question.
“Yes,” I said with a smile. “The girls made these for Dominic,” I said, holding up the cards.
“Go give them to him,” the mobster ordered. “This won’t be ready for another couple of minutes.”
Gino led me back out of the kitchen, and up the stairs toward what I knew was Dominic’s bedroom. I knew that because I’d stolen a teddy bear out of it once, not that I was proud of that.
“Hey, buddy,” Gino called out. “You have a visitor.”
Dominic stuck his head out of the room, and yelled, “Maggie!”
He ran at me full speed and I was barely able to hand Gino the papers before scooping him up in a big hug and twirling him around in a circle. “Hello, handsome,” I said, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“She doesn’t greet me like that,” Gino complained to Dominic with a wink.
The little boy laughed.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Is Katie here?”
I shook my head and put him down on the ground. “Sorry, the girls couldn’t come this time, but they sent something for you.”
Gino offered him the cards and Dominic beamed with delight.
“They made them for you,” I told him.
“Why don’t you make them thank you notes?” Gino suggested.
Grinning, Dominic took his cards and ran back to his room.
“You’re good with him,” I told Gino.
“Somebody has to be,” he murmured.
“Do you have kids?” I asked. I seemed to remember something that Delveccio had said a long time ago about him having a wife and kids. For some reason, it had escaped my memory until now, and I wasn’t even sure if it was real or if it was just me looking for problems.
Gino shook his head. “Not that I know of.”
I didn’t ask him anything about it further. It could have been that Delveccio was just telling me a story. That was back when he hadn’t really trusted me, back before I’d prevented his last bodyguard from killing him.
We returned to the kitchen and there were three plates set at the table.
“Tell me why you’re here, Maggie,” Delveccio said. He indicated that Gino and I should both sit.
After we did, I took a deep breath. “I don’t think my father set you up.”
“I don’t, either,” Delveccio replied mildly, settling into his seat and dishing out food. “He doesn’t have the same temperament as you.”
I gulped. “You think I set you up?” I shot Gino a worried look.
His expression was unreadable.
“Of course not,” Delveccio scoffed, “but I think you’ve got the balls to do hard things and your dad does not.”
I slumped in my chair, relieved.
“You come here just to plead his case?” the mobster asked, pushing a plate of pasta in front of me.
“I have a theory who might be behind all of this,” I said hurriedly.
Delveccio leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. “Oh yeah?”
I sat up straighter, trying to look like I f
elt sure about what I was going to say. “Who benefits if you’re charged with murder?”
The mob boss shrugged. “Nobody, really. Even if I’m taken out of the picture, my brother is still running things.”
I nodded. I guess that being an identical twin is a perk when running a criminal enterprise. “So then, I guess the question might be, who would be affected by you being charged?”
His gaze narrowed. “Me.” He tilted his head in Gino’s direction. “Him.”
“Uh huh, but I was thinking family,” I gently corrected.
Delveccio’s gaze darkened. “Gino is family.”
His bodyguard watched me; curiosity shining in his gaze.
“You think someone was doing this to get to Dominic?” Anger tinged Delveccio’s tone at the idea that his grandson was in danger.
“No, no,” I quickly assured him.
“My brother? My daughter?” he asked.
I shook my head after each option.
Delveccio glared at me. I swallowed hard, knowing I couldn’t afford to show him any weakness.
“Maybe you should just tell us,” Gino suggested.
“Angel,” I said quietly.
“Angel’s nowhere near this thing,” Delveccio scoffed. “Eat your pasta and leave your conspiracy theory at the door.”
Shaken by his dismissive tone, I stared at him.
Gino leaned forward. “What do you know?”
I took a deep breath. “I suspect a D.A. is involved.”
Delveccio put his fork down. “Which one?”
“Reese.”
“Why?”
“Because things are interconnected. Angel runs off with the guy’s daughter, and suddenly you’re framed by the guy who put my dad away and is now involved with my aunt.”
“First two could be a coincidence,” Delveccio said slowly. “Overlapping criminal circles.”
“But the aunt, boss,” Gino pushed. “That can’t be a coincidence. And it makes sense. He never wanted Angel and his girl to be together.”
I flashed him a quick smile of thanks for supporting my theory.
“Plus, he’s the one who bounced Johnny on that bar fight charge a few months ago,” Gino added.
I looked away, suddenly nervous because of the mention of the mobster’s driver who’d ended up dead.
“If he had leverage over Johnny…” Gino continued.
