Three Mob Members Vanish from Witness Protection Program
“They weren’t hiding from the mafia,” she said. “They were hiding from the feds.”
She handed the article to Jonah, and he took a long time reading it. Finally, he said, “This is why Patrick is being so careful. Eddie’s about to blow their cover.”
“What? How?”
“He’s expanding into the city. Greenway.” His jaw clenched. “Patrick made sure I heard him arguing with Eddie. He said they were supposed to keep a low profile, and Eddie…he said it wasn’t like he was waltzing into Manhattan with a hostile takeover bid. Goddamn it.”
“We have to stop him,” she said. “That hardware must have evidence on it. I’ve got all these new names and places now, so I’ll try cracking the password again.” She slid off the bed and stood—and a wave of dizziness nearly knocked her over.
Jonah caught her as she swayed. “Whoa, slow down,” he said gently, not letting go of her. “We still have to wait for Patrick. All of this barely makes sense, and he’s got to fill in the gaps. He can tell us what to do with the evidence, if that’s what it is.”
“It is. I’m sure—” A huge, involuntary yawn swallowed the rest of her response. She didn’t think she’d ever been this tired in her life. Scant sleep and shock after major shock had worn her down to exhaustion. They were so close, but she could barely keep her eyes open. “It has to be,” she said. “I can figure out the password.”
“How about you get some sleep first?”
“No, I can do this,” she said.
“I know you can. But it’ll be easier when you can think straight,” he said. “We’re safe here, and we haven’t heard from Patrick yet. We have time.”
She sighed. He was probably right, but it still felt like giving up with the finish line in sight. “All right,” she said. “But don’t let me sleep longer than an hour, and wake me up right away if Patrick calls.”
“It’s a deal.”
The world tilted, and she realized he’d scooped her into his arms. She wanted to melt into him. He was solid and warm, and she felt safer, more grounded than she ever had in her life. Jonah was exactly what she’d been missing all along.
And she couldn’t stand the idea that she might lose him now, when they’d barely found each other.
She wanted to tell him that. All of it. But he laid her gently on the other bed next to her laptop, and her eyes were already closing, her tongue already thick with sleep. She settled for what she hoped was a smile.
He leaned down and kissed her with a tenderness that made her want to cry, though she wasn’t sure why. “Sleep,” he said softly. “I’ll be right here.”
Don’t leave me. The words stayed locked in her mind as she dropped soundlessly into slumber.
* * * *
Jonah was tempted to let her sleep until she woke up on her own, or until Patrick called, whichever happened first. She was alarmingly exhausted—she’d nearly passed out just trying to stand up. But an hour would have to do for now. She’d be furious if he let her sleep longer, and he couldn’t really blame her.
She’d just found out that her aunt, the woman who’d been a mother to her most of her life, had been in the mob.
While Piper slept, he studied the photos and articles from the envelopes, trying to find out as much as he could. It seemed that Eddie and Celeste had been an item, at least in Manhattan. And if she’d been his ex by the time they came to Covendale, it would explain the cold familiarity and the rage he held toward her.
He also suspected that Celeste had been seeing Patrick behind Eddie’s back. Eddie couldn’t have known that, or Patrick would be in several pieces at the bottom of some lake right now.
The lawyer stumped him. He couldn’t figure out how this Malory King had gone from defending the mafia boss they’d put away with their testimony, to representing Celeste. Unless she’d been straddling the fence, giving every appearance of being on Drago’s side but working with the witnesses to bring him down.
If that was the case, Malory was a dangerous woman.
A little before the hour was up, with Piper still sleeping soundly, Jonah decided to risk hitting the vending machines across the motel complex. They both had to eat something, keep their strength up as much as possible. It wouldn’t be much, but he couldn’t take a chance on driving anywhere, even to the nearby Chinese place in the strip. He didn’t like leaving her for even this long.
It was nearing noon, and the parking lot sweltered in the midday heat. There were no signs of activity—not unusual for this place, where most of the people who checked in didn’t want to be found. He made his way to the alcove next to the check-in window and the three rusted, push-button style vending machines inside it. One for food, one for drinks, and one for necessities like over-the-counter medication, feminine products, condoms and lube, and a few novelty items he didn’t even want to think about.
He was trying to decide between stale corn chips and dusty chocolate cupcakes when his phone buzzed. It was about time Patrick bothered to call. But when he looked at the display, he went cold.
It was Eddie.
He answered, knowing he shouldn’t but too furious to care. “In case it wasn’t clear, I quit,” he said in flat tones. “We’re done, Eddie.”
The answering laugh chilled him. “You might’ve quit, but we’re not done,” Eddie said. “Because I’m going to retire you. Face to face, just like I told you. Right after I break your precious rule all over that bitch’s little girl.”
“You’ll never find her. Or me.”
“Won’t I?” The man laughed again. “I know you’re together. You’re just making it easier for me, because I will find you. Soon. And when I do, you’re going to watch her die.”
“You don’t know shit,” Jonah said darkly. “But I do. Goodbye, Eddie.”
He had to hang up. Eddie wanted to keep him talking, try to pick up a background sound or get him to slip some clue that would give their location away. More than that, he couldn’t stomach that bastard threatening Piper. The rage in him threatened to boil over, and he was damned close to putting his fist through something. At least he knew Eddie wasn’t stupid enough to call back.
Though nothing seemed even remotely appetizing now, he got two bags of trail mix and two packages of cupcakes, and bottled water for both of them. He tried to calm down as he headed back to the room—he didn’t want to upset her more than she already was.
But when he opened the door, her bed was empty.
“Piper?” He strode in fast, slamming the door behind him, and dropped the purchases on the nearest bed. His heart had all but stopped. “Where are you?”
The toilet flushed in response, and he released a pent breath. If they couldn’t end this soon, he might save Eddie the trouble and drop dead of a heart attack. He settled on the foot of the bed to wait.
Piper came out a few minutes later, looking pale and shaken. “I thought you left me,” she whispered.
“I’ll never do that.” He stood and went to her, wanting to embrace her but not sure she’d welcome it. “I may have to step away a few times, but I will always come back. No matter what happens.”
She shuddered and tried to smile. It was painful to watch. “Where did you go?” she said. “You look as awful as I feel.”
He smirked. “Thanks. I grabbed some food from the vending machines,” he said. “Well, sort of.”
“Oh, God. I’m so not hungry.”
“Neither am I, but we have to eat sometime.” He reached back and snagged one of the water bottles. “At least drink some of this, for now.”
“That I can do.”
She took the bottle, and he opened the other one and drank. The cold water didn’t do anything to revive his appetite, but he did feel a little more relaxed. It looked like Piper had a similar reaction. In fact, she was yawning again.
“Guess I’m more tired than I thought,” she said. “Did Patrick call yet?”
“No.”
“Well…maybe I’ll sleep a little longer. I’m still out of ideas on the password.” She closed her laptop, moved it onto the nightstand and cleared the rest of the bed. Then she looked at him. “Jonah,” she said softly. “Will you lay down with me? Just until I fall asleep.”
He shivered slightly. Right now there was nothing he’d like to do more, but it was a risky proposition. Here, they were as safe as possible—but he couldn’t protect his heart, if he let himself believe they could be together after this.
Still, he’d do anything to erase that haunted look from her eyes.
At last he smiled. “Sure.”
“Thank you.”
He let her climb into bed first, and he took the side closest to the door. After checking his phone to make sure the volume was up, he eased in next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. She snuggled closer, laying her head on his chest.
“I could really get used to this,” she murmured sleepily. “Let’s just stay here, forever.”
He stroked her hair with a hand that wanted to tremble. “Try to sleep,” he rasped. “It’s probably going to be a long day.”
“Mmm. Not long enough, if this is what we get to do.”
Moments later, she was asleep.
Jonah lay there feeling her warm weight against him, wishing this wouldn’t end. He knew it had to—sooner rather than later. Nothing good waited for him when this was over, even if he survived. But for now, he didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to disturb her, or give up being this close to her. He’d never been this intimate with anyone.
Even as he told himself it was time to get up and go back to standing guard, consciousness slipped away from him.
Chapter 12
Piper woke from half-remembered dreams to a darkened room.
She forced herself to shift quickly from panic to assessment. This was still the motel, but it was late. Near dark outside the windows. And Jonah was…still beside her. Eyes closed, breathing softly, one arm curled firmly around her waist as if letting go would kill him.
They’d slept for hours, and now she was refreshed enough to be truly worried.
Jonah probably hadn’t meant to fall asleep. She’d have to wake him and he wouldn’t be happy. She shifted slightly, trying to decide the best way to do it—but the instant she moved, his body tensed and his eyes flew open.
“Everything’s okay,” she said quickly. “It’s just a little later than we planned. I think.”
She felt him relax by degrees, until he let out a sigh. “Yeah,” he rumbled. “A little.”
“I think we both needed that. And nothing happened, so—”
“Hold on.” He reached out and fumbled his phone from the nightstand where he’d left it, and glanced at the screen. “Nothing,” he said. “No Patrick. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”
She smiled. “Let’s call it good.”
“All right.”
“We didn’t miss the call. That’s a good thing.” She let herself relax against him, not willing to move yet if she could help it. Celeste had been right—she could absolutely trust the boy.
Celeste. The note, and that random, out-of-nowhere signoff. Had her aunt left her the key to the evidence?
“Oh my God.” She sat up fast, and got a look of sharp concern from Jonah. “Don’t panic. It’s a good thing,” she told him. “I think Celeste gave me the password.”
He frowned. “How?”
“The note she left me. She signed it ‘Love and 99 blue kisses’, which doesn’t make any sense at all—unless the last part is the password.” She got up and circled the bed to the nightstand, where her laptop was still connected to the external hard drive. While the computer booted, Jonah pulled himself up and sat on the edge of the bed to watch.
Once everything loaded, she navigated to the hard drive and pulled up the login screen. “She must’ve wanted me to find all this if anything happened to her,” she said. “All those letters were never meant to go anywhere. And no one except me would ever bother opening them.” She typed in 99bluekisses and hit enter.
The drive folder opened.
“Holy…” She trailed off as the files populated. There were dozens of them—documents, images, videos. Some of the images were disturbing, even in thumbnail. At least two were of Eddie standing over dead bodies, grinning like a hunter displaying a fresh kill.
The file names were vague, apparently random strings of letters and numbers. She picked a document, opened it, and found a bank statement with Eddie’s identifying information clearly visible, and a long list of deposits and withdrawals. It was a scanned PDF, and each deposit had a name written beside it. Eddie’s clients.
Jonah leaned forward. “This looks like more than enough to put him away.”
“I’d say.” Piper closed the document and opened another one at random. More bank statements. “Patrick knew about this. He probably put most of it together, since he’s the closest to Eddie. Why did he just sit on it all this time?”
“Because if Eddie goes down, he goes down,” Jonah said softly. “We all do.”
She froze in the process of closing the file and turned slowly toward him. “Oh, God,” she half-whispered. “I didn’t even think about that. If we go through with this, turn the evidence over to someone…”
“Then I pay the price for what I’ve done.” His eyes were clear, determined. “I’ll pay it, Piper. I’ve earned it.”
“But you’ll go to prison.”
“Yes.”
“No. There has to be another way.” She turned back to the laptop, opening more files and ruthlessly ignoring the tears that burned her eyes. “Patrick must’ve found a loophole somewhere. We’ll find it, too. I can’t let you—”
His big hand covered hers, and she shuddered. “It’s all right,” he said firmly. “There are only two ways this ends for me. I’ve always known that. And if I have a choice, I’ll take the not-dead option.” Anger flashed into his expression as he added, “It’s worth it to shut that bastard down permanently.”
“Jonah…” She twined her fingers through his and gave a gentle squeeze. “We’ll find a way,” she said. “He never gave you a choice. That has to count for something.”
He shook his head. “No judge is going to care about my sob story. Not with the things I’ve done.”
“Sob story?”
“Yeah. It’s a classic.” He sighed and lifted his gaze to the ceiling. “Kid grows up with a single mother, loses her, and falls in with a bad crowd. That’s not going to play—especially since I wasn’t the only kid. Just the only one who went criminal.”
“Tell me about it,” she said.
“Not much to tell.” He closed his eyes. “We were trailer trash. Dad was a drunk who went out in a blaze of glory…a car crash that took out him and a pregnant woman. After that we limped along for years in a town that hated us all, until Mom got cancer. She died when I was nineteen.”
Piper shivered. “That’s when you went to Eddie.”
“Yeah.” He looked at her with a hollow gaze. “We owed a lot of money. Too much. But the woman my father killed, she was the wife of the man who owns the Covendale bank—so it was Eddie, or lose the trailer and my youngest brother and sister. Mark had just graduated, but Gage and Luka were still in school.” He stared at the floor, and said flatly, “I asked for a loan. Eddie offered me a job instead. So I took it.”
Her heart felt shattered into a hundred pieces. “You did all this to save your family,” she said. “And you don’t think a judge would consider that?”
“No. I knew exactly what I was signing on for.” He looked up a little. “At least, I thought I did,” he said. “I knew what he wanted me to do. But he gave me an advance, and promised that once I worked off the money, he’d let me go. I worked it off in three months, and…well, it’s been eight years now. Because it didn’t take long to figure out that walking away wasn’t an option.”
“It is now.” She waited until his eyes met hers, a
nd said, “You’re going to make it through this. We both are. And if you end up in prison, which we’re going to do everything we can to avoid…I’ll wait for you. I’ll visit, and I’ll be there when you get out.”
She felt him shudder. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.” She moved closer to him, reached out and smoothed a fall of hair from his face. “This is going to sound crazy under the circumstances, but you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And I’m not letting you go.”
A small smile played on his lips. “Funny,” he said. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
He slid an arm around her, trapping her between his legs, and kissed her. Gently at first, then with a rising fire that left her deliciously dizzy.
She was halfway to unbuttoning his jeans when his phone went off.
Looking incredibly annoyed, he reached around her and grabbed it from the nightstand. “Great timing, asshole,” he muttered at the screen before tapping it a few times and putting the call on speaker. “Patrick,” he said.
“We need to meet.” Patrick sounded hoarse with exhaustion. “Just you, Jonah. Don’t bring Piper.”
“Oh, no,” she said. “I’m coming.”
“Will you turn off the goddamned speaker?”
“No.” Jonah glanced at her. “Tell me why she can’t come.”
“Because I’m at Cray’s.”
He sighed. “Of course you are.”
“Wait a minute. What’s Cray’s?” A thread of panic stirred in her—Jonah looked like he was considering leaving her behind. “You can’t leave me out of this, Patrick,” she said. “We already know all about you and Eddie and Celeste in Manhattan.”
“Shut the hell up. Right now.” Even over the phone, Patrick sounded capable of ending her in a heartbeat. “I don’t know how you found out that much, and I don’t want to know. Do not tell me anything. Understand?”
She was close to shaking. “Fine. But—”
“But nothing, goddamn it.” He paused briefly, and his tone was a little softer as he said, “She never wanted you to know about any of that. Made me swear you’d never find out. She didn’t want you to think she was…a bad person.”
Dawson's Honor (Welcome to Covendale Book 6) Page 10
