Tackle (K19 Security Solutions)
Page 14
Still at the front of the house but across the hall sat another small bedroom.
“There’s one more bedroom on this floor, and behind the master is what once might have been that era’s laundry room.”
“You’re kidding.” I went down the hall and through the swinging door. The room’s floor and backsplash were white tile, and it had cupboards similar to those in the kitchen.
Tackle pointed to a back staircase. “Your favorite method of escape,” he said, winking. “The third floor has four small bedrooms and what was probably once a sitting area. My guess is two of the rooms were for the servants and the other two were part of a nursery.”
“It’s amazing, Tackle. Thank you for bringing me here. I’ve always wanted to see what it looked like inside. I can’t wait to see what whoever owns it will do with it.”
He walked closer to where I stood and took both my hands in his. “Sloane, I own it.”
“What?” I gasped.
“My father and I, but with the idea that once I’m able to buy him out, I will.”
I leaned against the wall. “Why?”
“My mother said it was a premonition.”
I closed my eyes when the vertigo I’d experienced last night returned. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m renovating it, Sloane, with my father’s help. My intention is to make it a home.”
“For whom?”
“I won’t make the same mistake I did last time with assumptions, but I hope one day you’ll consider living here with me.”
I put my hand on my belly when I thought I felt the baby move.
“Do you want to see the rest of it?”
I still felt too dizzy to walk. “There’s more?”
“We haven’t seen the third floor yet, and then there’s the carriage house in the back.”
“A carriage house?”
“It’s a four-car garage with storage on the main level and a large apartment above it. Come. We can see it from the back bedroom.”
He held my right hand, and I hung onto his arm with my left.
“See?” he said, pointing out the window.
I’d never seen more than the front of the house, but in the back, there was playground equipment that looked similar to what was in the park. “What’s that?” I asked, pointing at a small structure beneath a huge, old white pine.
“I think it might’ve been a playhouse.”
After looking at the third floor, Tackle led me down to the main level and into the kitchen. He opened up a cupboard and pulled out a roll of paper. He removed the rubber band and spread it out on the counter.
“This is the front of the house. My dad and I believe that, at one time, there were two large covered porches off each side of the portico. They must’ve been ripped off the main structure. I intend to put them back.” He rested his finger on another part of the drawing, this time on the side of the house. “I think this may have been a sunroom or sleeping porch. Another porch stretches across the back of the house, big enough that it could be made into two more rooms or left as an outdoor living area since it looks out over the backyard.”
“This must’ve cost a fortune,” I muttered.
He shook his head. “There was an auction. It went for not much more than the back taxes.”
“But the cost to renovate it must be staggering.”
Tackle shrugged. “Not so much when your family owns a construction company.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
He crowded me against the counter and put a hand on either side of me. “Don’t say anything yet. Just tell me you’ll try to keep an open mind.”
I gripped the counter when the dizziness got worse. I knew I was about to lose consciousness when I felt my legs give out, and Tackle caught me.
24
Tackle
Sloane was only unconscious long enough for me to pick her up and carry her into the dining room. I’d just sat down on the window seat, the only place in the house where we could sit, when her eyes opened.
A thousand thoughts raced through my mind in those few seconds. Should I call 9-1-1? How far away was Cowboy? Should I text him and ask him to come inside? Was Sloane getting enough to eat? Enough rest? Had I worn her out by bringing her here? I thought back to last night and how little sleep either of us had gotten. I had to be more careful about that in the future.
Or was there something in the house that had made her pass out? It was so old. Had I brought her into a place that might be toxic for her and the baby?
“How do you feel?” I asked when I looked into her beautiful blue eyes.
“I must’ve passed out.”
“That, you did. Do you have any idea what brought it on?”
“I was feeling dizzy.”
“Didn’t think it was important to mention that to me?” When I smiled, so did she. “I’m overwhelming you.”
When Sloane didn’t say anything, I laughed. “I’ll take that as silent affirmation.” She tried to stand, but I wouldn’t let her off my lap. “When’s the last time you ate?”
“Earlier?”
“Today? This week?”
“Today.”
“What sounds good? The Farmstead? Paddy’s?”
She perked up at one of the two; I couldn’t tell which. “I haven’t been to Paddy’s in ages.”
“Do you feel good enough to walk or—”
“I feel fine. I passed out. Not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal at all. People do it every day. It’s especially not a big deal if it happens when they’re driving. Or crossing the street at a busy intersection. Or in the shower.”
“Oh my God, stop.”
When I pulled up to the Irish restaurant that had been a Newton institution for as long as the grill had, something felt off to me. I could see in the rearview Cowboy park his truck a few spots over from where I was. I watched as he got out and walked over to the entrance. I waited for an all-clear sign before taking Sloane inside. It never came.
“What’s going on?” she asked when Cowboy came back out and touched the right side of the brim of his hat instead.
“Let’s go somewhere else.”
Sloane folded her arms. “Did you think I didn’t notice him?”
“Who?”
“The guy you’ve had following me. You know, the one who just went into Paddy’s, came back out, and signaled you not to go inside.”
I shook my head and laughed. “So is Farmstead okay with you instead?”
“Of course.”
We drove up and went through the same routine we had at the last place. This time, I saw Cowboy give the all clear.
“What’s his name?” asked Sloane when we got out of the car.
“Garrison Cassidy.”
“Good Lord. Where’d you find him? Texas?”
“He’s one of Doc’s finds.”
When we walked inside, Cowboy was seated at the counter studying a menu.
“Ask him to join us,” Sloane said before the hostess approached.
“How many?” she asked.
I said two and Sloane said three.
“Three and a half,” I joked when the woman went to clear a table.
“More like three and a third.”
The hostess motioned for us to follow. Once Sloane was seated, I went to get Cowboy.
“What was the deal at Paddy’s?” I asked.
“See for yourself.” He held out his phone, and I looked at the photo he’d taken.
“Is that DeLuca?” The very guy who Razor said was purported to be the head of the Sabatino family and who Nick’s husband had alleged connections to.
“Affirmative.”
“Do you think his being on this side of town is a coincidence?”
“I don’t know, but I made Doc and Razor aware of his twenty.”
“Good.”
“Uh, how’s Sloane?”
“Shit. Waiting for us.” I motioned for him to follow me. “Whatever you do, do no
t mention DeLuca.”
He gave me a “what do you take me for, asshole?” look.
“Hey, I’m Sloane. It’s nice to meet you in person,” she said when we joined her at the table.
“Garrison, but most call me Cowboy.”
“So, Garrison, what did you see at Paddy’s that made you divert us?”
Cowboy looked at me.
“Someone with connections to the Sabatino family was there,” I answered for him.
“So?”
“Not the best place for former agency and current DHS,” Cowboy responded.
“Got it.” Sloane looked at something on the menu and then back at Cowboy. “Who was it?”
“Um…” He looked at me.
“Cadillac DeLuca,” I answered for him a second time.
Sloane looked at me and then at Cowboy. “Would you please excuse us?”
“Of course.” He got up and went back into the other room and sat at the counter.
“Who was it, Tackle?”
“I told you. DeLuca.”
Sloane threw her menu on the table. “Take me home.”
“What? No. You need to eat.”
“And I will. At home. And not with someone who’s lying to me.” She shook her head. “Good job, by the way. You made it almost twenty-four hours before pulling another stunt that makes me unable to trust you.”
Explaining why we’d avoided DeLuca meant I would have to divulge the connection between him, Caruso, and ultimately, Nick. Sloane would think I’d lied because I had some kind of involvement with her. I’d have no chance to explain the situation between Nick and her husband or what role I’d played in their lives.
“Please reconsider at least eating.”
Sloane rested her forearms on the table and leaned forward. “You have three choices. Either you take me home, Cowboy takes me home, or I call a car service.”
I stood and pulled her chair out.
“Good decision,” she muttered.
Neither of us spoke on our way from the restaurant back to her place. Anything I might chance saying would only make the lie worse.
“Don’t get out,” she said when I pulled into the driveway.
“I’m coming in with you.”
“No. I don’t want you to.”
“You passed out less than thirty minutes ago. I’m not leaving you alone.”
“Take me to my parents’ house instead.”
I eyed the outfit she was wearing; it didn’t do a thing to hide her tummy. “How do you plan to explain that?” I pointed to her midsection.
“That isn’t your concern.”
“Can we please go inside for a minute?”
“I’m going inside; you aren’t.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, hoping I wasn’t making an already bad decision worse.
“Cadillac DeLuca is the head of the Sabatino Crime Syndicate, who Dan Caruso, Claudette Caruso’s husband, works for.”
She looked at me with scrunched eyes.
“Nick.”
Sloane didn’t hesitate. She got out of the car and slammed the door behind her. She raced to her front door, but I got there ahead of her.
“Let me explain.”
“Too late.” She took her keys out of her purse. “Get out of my way.”
I didn’t want to have this conversation out in the open, but she was giving me no choice.
“He beat her up. That’s what the deal was when she came into Max & Millie’s the day you, Halo, and I were there for lunch. She asked for my help.”
“Your help. There was no one else she could go to? The police, for example?”
“Sloane, please, I don’t want to talk about this out on the front stoop.”
She hesitated, but opened the door, and I followed her inside.
“Caruso is a bad dude, and Sabatino is worse.” I walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking for something to eat.”
“Help yourself. What’s mine is yours.” She had a disgusted look on her face and shook her head.
“For you.”
“I’m perfectly capable of finding my own food.”
I ignored her, took a jar of raspberry jam out of the fridge, and opened cabinets until I found bread, peanut butter, and plates. I made two sandwiches and handed one to her.
While she ate, I explained that I’d put Nick up in an apartment so she was safe and how I’d gone to K19 for help in getting her protection. I also told her how Razor Sharp had somehow gotten enough on her husband to get him picked up and put in jail.
“I have no idea if DeLuca knows anything about it, and if he does, whether he gives a shit. According to Razor, his plan was to set it up so Cadillac believed Caruso planned to turn state’s evidence.”
“What’s your involvement with this woman?”
“I have none. We dated a few times in high school. That’s it.”
Sloane shook her head. “Doesn’t add up.”
“What doesn’t?”
“Why she came to you.”
“Everyone we know, knows I worked for the agency. Some know I don’t anymore. It isn’t a stretch to think she’d come to me, Sloane.”
“Knox thought she was the woman you were talking about when you said you weren’t sure the person you were interested in was as into you as you were them.”
“We’ve covered that. You were that person.”
“Right. And I believe you because you haven’t lied to me before.”
“That isn’t fair. I didn’t lie to you.”
She went into the kitchen and made a second sandwich. She pointed to the bread. “Want another?”
I ate the one I had in four bites. “Yes, please.”
“This is why I was being watched. Caruso knows you helped his wife, and you being around me, puts me in danger.”
“I’m not sure he knows, and I stayed away until I believed there was no longer a threat.”
“Now you think there’s a threat from DeLuca?”
“I don’t know.”
“You need to leave.”
“Sloane, come on. Don’t do this.”
“Until you know whether you’re putting me and our baby at risk by being here, you can’t be around us.”
I understood. I didn’t like it, but she was right. It was the reason I’d stayed away in the first place. “I don’t like you being here on your own with Halo out of town.”
“I’ll go to my parents’.”
“I’ll take you.”
“Good idea. That way, I won’t be safe there either, and neither will they.”
“Okay. I won’t take you, but I will be arranging for more detail.” I had another idea brewing in the back of my mind, but until I had everything in place, I wouldn’t bring it up to Sloane. “If you’re going to tell them you’re pregnant, I want to be there.”
“I wasn’t there when you told your mother.”
“Are you going to tell them I’m the father?”
“No.”
That hurt, and I couldn’t explain why. I’d known for less than twenty-four hours, and yet, the baby was mine, and I wanted the world to know it.
Sloane’s face softened. “I want to tell my parents and Knox that you’re the father at the same time. With you there. If Knox was back from New York City, then maybe I’d do it today.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m sorry I’m angry, Tackle.”
“I’m the one who’s sorry.”
“Okay, we’re both sorry. You made me promise I’d tell you the truth. Is it really too much for me to expect the same of you?”
“Of course it isn’t.”
“If you want me to ‘keep an open mind,’ then you need to be honest with me. That includes telling me things I should know or that relate to me, in real time.”
The fact that my mind was racing with what I hadn’t yet told her that I should’ve, drove home how right she was.
She walked over and handed me the other sandwich. We both sat on the sofa. When she put her plate on the coffee table, so did I.
“I love that idea,” she said, turning her body to face mine.
“Does that mean—”
“It means I love the idea.”
“Got it.”
“I’m going to ask you a question, and I want you to tell me the truth.”
“Shoot.”
“Swear to me there isn’t any kind of relationship whatsoever between you and Nick.”
“There isn’t.” I said the word, but that didn’t change the fact that Nick wanted there to be, no matter how much I didn’t. What she wanted wouldn’t sway me; I didn’t want any other woman in my life other than Sloane, my mom, and our baby, if it was a girl.
“Was there one?”
“Not since high school. You asked me to swear, and I did.”
I hated that Sloane looked like she didn’t believe me, but I loved that she didn’t tell me to leave again.
Two days later, Ranger called.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Nick is making noise about needing you to come back out here.”
“Why?”
“You know why, Tackle.”
“Tell her I said no.”
“Already tried that.”
“No means no, man. I’m not coming every time she calls. In fact, I’m never coming again. She needs to accept that.”
“She’s threatening to come there.”
“Stop her.”
“It isn’t that simple. K19 arranged for a place for her to live and supplied her with a new identity, but she isn’t under house arrest, Tackle. She isn’t a prisoner. We’ve even cut back on surveillance.”
“Tell her it’s for her own safety that she not return to Massachusetts, at least until her husband goes to trial.”
“Ex-husband now.”
That in itself was a relief. It was pretty easy to get a divorce in Massachusetts. All one spouse had to do was cite irreconcilable differences. Even if Caruso had tried to contest it, unless Nick filed based on fault, the courts wouldn’t allow it. The only holdup was the ninety-day waiting period.