“I’m sorry to ask like that,” I said. “But…we have to know each other, right?”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
He sighed, then spoke, his eyes still on the forest. “Her name was Amy. We met when I was working for Marshall, back when I was still rising through the ranks. She was the daughter of some crime boss out of Vegas.”
“And you two were in love?”
“At the time, I was sure that yes, I was. But looking back…I don’t know. We were both lost in the world we’d found ourselves, and sometimes I think we clung to each other just to have a hand to hold in the darkness and confusion.”
He went on. “Connor, on the other hand…there was no doubt in my mind how much I loved him from the moment I laid eyes on the kid. I’d do anything for him, anything to keep him safe.”
“I can tell. And I know he loves you, too.”
“But I’ve had to keep my old life hidden from him. And now, here it is, coming back to haunt me.” He grit his teeth again and went on. “Anyway, Amy and I had a quick wedding one time when I was in Vegas. I think we both thought it was the thing to do, you know? And before I knew it, we were man and wife, and she was pregnant with my kid.”
I said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
“One day, a few months after Connor was born, I was in Vegas for a meeting with some of Marshall’s contacts in the city. Amy was there with Connor, and I…I don’t know. I had a bad feeling about it all. We’d been on the verge of going to war with one of the gangs in the city, and all of a sudden they’d called it off, said they wanted to negotiate. I should’ve known something was up.
“I left the hotel, and I decided to take Amy and Connor with me, to make sure they were safe. Amy was ready to take Connor while I finished up a phone call with Marshall, but Connor needed changing at the last minute. So I dealt with that while she went down to get the car and pull it around. She left, and a couple minutes later I heard an explosion, one loud enough to shake the windows.”
“Oh, my God,” I said, seeing where this was going.
Tate went on. “They’d planted a bomb in my car, thinking I’d be the one to set it off. But it hadn’t been me—it was her. And if it weren’t for me keeping Connor behind, he would’ve…” He trailed off, the idea of what might’ve happened clearly too much for him to consider. “But it didn’t happen. My boy was all right.”
“Then what happened?”
“Marshall went to war with the gang, wiping them out completely. After that was done, I told him I wanted out. He asked me to give him some more time, time which ended up being over seven years. But he finally let me go.” Tate snorted and shook his head. “A few months of freedom before I got pulled right back in. Pretty sure the prick never wanted to let me out to begin with.”
“But you’re getting out now. We’re free.”
“We won’t be free until Marshall’s behind bars. Or dead. Until then, we’re always going to be on the run.” He turned to me, a grave expression on his face. “But I’ll keep you safe. Nothing means more to me than you and Connor. I love you, Abbie. And nothing will change that.”
His face tightened as he spoke, his eyes on me. It was clear the words had slipped out, that he hadn’t meant to say them.
But they brought tears to my eyes all the same.
“Do…do you mean that?”
“Yes.” There wasn’t a hint of doubt. “I don’t know what the future holds for us, but whatever happens, we’ll all be together. If that’s what you want, of course.”
“Of course that’s what I want. I love you too, Tate. And Connor. And being together…it’s all I want.”
“And the baby,” he said. “We’ll look out for him together.”
I smiled. “Or her.”
He took my hand. “Or her.”
We both rose, my hands on his shoulders and his around my waist.
“Whatever happens with us, Abbie, it’s going to be an adventure.”
“No doubt about that. Never a dull moment with you, Tate.”
He leaned down and kissed me softly, a kiss I was more than happy to return. Then he pulled his lips away and placed his hand on my belly.
“We’re going to have a family.”
“We already do,” I said, smiling happily.
He glanced toward the cabin. “All right. We should probably tell Connor he’s about to have a new brother or sister.”
“How do you think he’s going to take it?”
Tate laughed. “Are you kidding? It’s all he’s ever wanted. Kid’s going to be over the moon.”
“Then let’s do it.”
Hand in hand, we both went into the cabin and started looking for Connor.
“Hey, kiddo!” called out Tate. “Where are you? Got some big news!”
His voice echoed through the vast space, but there was no reply.
“Maybe he’s up in his room,” I said. “Let me go check.”
“Sure.” Tate gave my hand another squeeze before placing another kiss on my lips.
“I love you,” he said.
“And I love you.”
With that, I hurried up the stairs and began searching for Connor. But he wasn’t in his room, and he wasn’t in any of the guest bedrooms either.
It was strange.
Then Tate’s voice cut through the house.
“Abbie! Get down here, now!”
I hurried back downstairs to see Tate standing at the front windows, his hands clenched into fists.
“What’s going on?”
He said nothing, his eyes fixed forward. I hurried to his side.
Fear overtook me right away as I realized what he was looking at.
On the front lawn were three men, all dressed in suits. Connor was with the middle one, a tall man with broad shoulders and short, silver hair, a smirk on his face.
I didn’t need Tate to tell me it was Marshall.
We’d been found.
Chapter 17
Tate
A rage I’d never known before ran through me. It took all the restraint I had not to burst through the door, bear down on Marshall, and take him apart piece by piece.
But he had my boy. He had us all.
“All right, Tate!” he said. “I know you’re in there. Come on out!”
I turned to Abbie, who appeared frozen with fear.
“Stay here,” I said. “Don’t go anywhere. Okay? We’re going to be fine. We’re going to get through this.”
“Okay,” she said, her voice weak.
Truth be told, I had no idea if we were going to get through it. But being in charge meant doing whatever I could to keep her fear at bay.
I wished I had a gun. But all I could do was step through the front door.
“There you are!” said Marshall, his face lighting up as he laid eyes on me.
“Dad!” cried Connor.
“Connor, stay still, okay?”
“God,” said Marshall, mussing Connor’s hair. “Always good to see this guy. I swear he’s grown a foot since I last saw him.”
“What do you want, Marshall?” I barked.
The two men at his sides, both tall and built and their eyes hidden behind sunglasses, stayed still. Off in the distance, a black luxury car was parked.
“Believe it or not,” he said, “I’m here to talk. How about we go on inside and you and I can have a chat? I mean, it’s not like you have any say in the matter, but I’m going to be a gentleman and ask.”
“We can talk about it right here,” I said.
He shook his head, opening his suit jacket enough to show he was packing a gleaming silver pistol.
“I don’t want to use this, of course. Just consider it a reminder that you’re not calling the shots here. Now, let’s go inside.”
Fear gripped me at the idea of what he might do to Abbie.
“Don’t worry about the girl,” he said, as if sensing my concern. “She’ll be safe for now. Him too.” He nodded toward Connor. “You have
my word.”
“The word of a crooked cop.”
He laughed. “Whatever you want to call it. But I didn’t come here to do any dirty business. I came here to work out an arrangement. Come on, Tate. Let’s talk.”
As much as I hated to admit it, he was right—he held all the cards.
“Fine. But just me and you.”
“Naturally. After you.”
I opened the door and stepped inside, Abbie still there waiting. Before she could say anything, Marshall entered.
“So,” he said, looking her over. “This is the famous Abbie. You’ve been a real pain in my ass, you know? Had to look all over creation for you and this guy.” He stuck his thumb out toward me.
Abbie said nothing, and I could sense she was frozen in fear.
“My boys are going to take you and the kid upstairs,” Marshall said. “Keep an eye on you while me and Tate have a little tête-à-tête.”
I stepped in front of Marshall, glaring at him hard. “If one of them lays a hand on either of them…”
But Marshall didn’t seem bothered by me getting in his face. That same smirk played on his lips.
“They’ll be fine. Unlike you, I’m a man of my word.”
He nodded to the men, who started off leading Connor and Abbie upstairs. I shared a long look with both of them as they disappeared down the hall toward the master bedroom.
“Now,” said Marshall, putting his hands on his hips. “This is a hell of a pad. And I bet they’ve got better stuff to drink than that cheapo domestic shit you’ve got at your place. Come on.”
“Marshall,” I snarled. “Whatever you want to talk about, we talk about it now.”
He scoffed. “Do I need to remind you about me holding all the cards here? Buddy, you’re lucky I don’t execute you on the spot for what you did. Now, I’ve been on the road for a long while, and I need a damn drink. Come on.”
He was right. At that moment there was nothing to be done. He had Connor and Abbie, and with what I’d just learned about her, I wasn’t about to do anything to risk her life.
“Fine,” I snarled.
We both went into the kitchen, Marshall stepping into the middle of the room and taking in the scene.
“Well shit, Tate,” he said, looking around. “How the hell did you swing a pad like this?” His eyebrows rose. “That girl’s not rich, is she? These some fancy digs her parents bought?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
He grinned, stepping toward me. “I’ll tell you what I need to worry about, bud. But it doesn’t matter. I know the answer—I looked into the place and know it doesn’t belong to you or Abbie. I’m sure the owners would be very, very interested to know you’re squatting here. Lucky for you, I’m not here to snitch.”
Marshall put his hands on his hips, swinging his suit jacket back and letting me catch another glimpse of his gun, his eyes on the bottles of booze.
“God,” he said, taking down a bottle of whiskey. “You have any idea how much this stuff costs? A shot’s worth more than most people make in a day.”
He took down two glasses and poured a pair of drinks, bringing them over to the long kitchen table.
“Sit down,” he said. “Let’s talk about this situation you’ve found yourself in.”
My eyes still on him, I sat down at the far end of the table. Marshall pushed my drink down to me before taking a sip of his own.
“Damn, that’s good.” He shook his head, as if unable to believe the taste.
I knew what he was doing—letting me wait, letting me stew. He loved to play games like that.
“We’ve got ourselves a little bit of a predicament,” he said, placing his palms on the table. “You’ve skipped out on me with the girl you were supposed to kill, and now I’ve got two problems to deal with.”
“She’s not going to talk,” I said. “She never had any intention of talking.”
“Please, Tate. You’ve been in this business for long enough to know that’s not how it works with witnesses. You can’t just ask them nicely and hope they stick to it. I’ve tried that before, believe it or not. Sometimes they’re good on their word, but you know what happens if they ever get into the slightest bit of trouble with the law? They start singing like a bird, telling any cop who’ll listen that they know about this thing or the other—anything to shave a few years off.”
“She’s not mixed up in any of that shit,” I said. “She just wants to be left alone.”
Fuck. I realized as soon as I’d spoke that I’d said too much.
Marshall raised his eyebrows. “Tate…don’t tell me you like the girl, huh? That’s what this is all about?”
“No.” My tone was stern. “It’s about you lying to me and trying to get me to bring her to you so you could kill her.”
He shrugged. “I gave you a chance, and you blew it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“This whole thing with you bringing her to me. I could’ve gotten one of my other guys to do the job. But I wanted to throw you a bone, help you out in your new life with taking those unfortunate black marks off your record. I knew you’d be too proud to accept help, so I gave you a little job to do in exchange. Sorry to say that ship has sailed.”
“Get to the point. Tell me why you’re here.”
He glanced away and sipped his whiskey before beginning.
“When I found out that you’d skipped town, I was pissed, of course. I wanted to track you down, put a bullet in your head, and then do the same for your little girlfriend. But, I calmed down, thought it over, and decided better. And, most importantly, a little situation came up.”
“What kind of situation?”
“You’re familiar with the Severin gang? Those pricks over on the east side who’ve been a thorn in my ass for years? I’d been happy to smack them down when they’d get out of line, but recently they’ve been taking things too far—hijacking my shipments and killing my men. And that shit needs to end, now.”
“And how do I figure into this shit?”
“You’re a killer, Tate. Like it or not, it’s one of the things you’re best at. I know you’ve got these big ideas about going straight or whatever the fuck, but this is what you do best. So, I want you to do it one last time.”
“What do you want, Marshall?”
“I want you to come back to Denver, track down Jason Severin, and kill him. I figure that’ll take the wind out of the sails of the gang, freak them out enough that I’ll be able to mop them up, not have to worry about them.”
“No.”
He grinned. “Figured you’d say that. But you don’t have a choice, Tate. And believe it or not, I’m going to make this nice and easy for you. If you do this job, I’ll let you and the girl and your boy go. Denver’s off-limits, of course, but go to Timbuktu for all I care. As long as you give me your word that you won’t try any funny shit like getting her to testify.”
His eyes lit up, as if he’d remembered something. “Holy shit! How could I forget all about the good news I wanted to share with you.” He reached into his suit jacket and took out a small, leather billfold. “Part of the reason I didn’t come after you right away was that I had some big, big developments for my career.” He opened the billfold and passed it over.
It was a government ID.
An FBI ID.
I stared at it, my blood running cold.
“Aren’t you going to congratulate me?” Marshall prompted. “I’m an official federal agent now!”
“How the hell did you make it into the FBI?” I spat.
“By being a fucking upstanding officer, that’s how. You know what this means, right? It means I’ve got reach. Power. There’s not a place you can go without me knowing it, not a thing you can do. You should be down on your knees thanking me for giving you a second chance like this.”
“Forgive me if I stay sitting.”
He grinned. “I know you, Tate. You’re too proud for that kind of shit. And that’s why I wan
t to give you a real chance to get out of this with your life somewhat intact. Do this one little favor for me, and I cut you loose. Go somewhere with the girl and your boy, start fresh.”
Before we could go on, one of Marshall’s men entered the room.
“Sorry to interrupt, boss,” he said. “But I found something you might be interested in.”
I watched him approach, something small and white and plastic in his hand.
A pregnancy test.
He handed it to Marshall, and his eyes went wide as he realized what it was. My hands clenched into tight fists.
“Well, how about that!” he said. “Is this the real deal, bud? You’re going to be a dad again? So much to celebrate, huh?”
He nodded for the man to leave, then got up and poured two more glasses of whiskey, mine not having been touched.
“Looks like you’ve got even more motivation to work for me. You and that girl are about to start a family! How about that?”
He checked his watch, sighing before finishing his drink and getting up. “I’ll email you the information, Tate. Say your goodbyes, all that crap, then I want you back in Denver tomorrow. You get in touch with me when you’re there, and we’ll sort out the rest. Got it?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, too furious to say a word.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Marshall said. “You try to leave and I’ll track you down within the hour, and you won’t be happy about what I do after that.” He nodded toward the upstairs where Connor and Abbie were still being held. “If you get what I’m saying.”
He gave my shoulder a squeeze as he passed. “Good luck, kid. The rest of your life depends on it.”
And with that, he was gone.
Chapter 18
Abbie
I heard the pounding of Tate’s feet on the stairs, rushing toward us as soon as the men left. He appeared seconds later at the door of the bedroom.
“Tate!” I shouted out.
“Dad!” cried Connor.
Tate rushed over, pulling us both into tight hugs. After a long moment he let us go, looking us over with worried eyes.
Taker - A Single Dad's New Baby Romance (Criminal Passions Book 4) Page 11
