“I can’t imagine why drug dealers would be mad that their heroin source was destroyed,” I said, my voice laced with sarcasm.
“These people aren’t playing around,” he said. “They know I’m going to prison. The state’s case against me is ironclad. I have no defense. So there’s no chance of me paying them back.”
“They don’t want the land, do they?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. Too complicated.”
“Then what?”
His eyes flicked to the guard again. “They want me to take care of something for them. In here.”
I blew out a breath and scrubbed my hands up and down my face. “Jesus. They want you to kill someone?”
“God knows I’m no saint,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of. But I’m not a murderer, Leo.”
“Who is it?”
He shrugged. “Some political insider. They didn’t tell me why they want him dead.”
“Why you? Other than you owe them money. You’re a white-collar criminal, not violent. Why make you do it?”
“Probably opportunity,” he said. “He’s being held here while he awaits his trial, same as me. My guess is, he has dirt on them, and they don’t want him cutting a deal. And they have me by the balls, so they figure they’ll use me to do their dirty work.”
“And now they’re threatening your family.”
“I never meant to get your mom involved,” he said. “I told them we’re divorced.”
“I don’t think they give a shit.”
“Look, I don’t know what you want me to do from in here,” he said. “I can’t do it, Leo. I thought about it, but… I can’t.”
“Tell me who they are,” I said. “I need something. A contact. A phone number. A location. Anything.”
“There’s a guy who goes by Joe Smith. Cooper met him once. He was my main contact.”
“A fake name? That’s all you can give me?”
Dad looked away.
“Dad,” I said, my voice still quiet, but hard. “I need more than that if I’m going to help.”
He leaned closer, lowering his voice to a whisper. “There’s another guy. An accountant. He’s the money guy. Name’s Edward Mozcinski. I met him once. He’s the only other one I know. The rest were just goons and I didn’t get names of the higher-ups.”
“Wait, Edward Mozcinski?” I asked. “Why does that name sound familiar?”
“He was in the media a few years ago,” he said. “Someone wrote a book about the family he works for. All those Godfather parallels.”
Oh shit. I had heard of this guy. “He works for the Paine family? That’s a mob family, Dad.”
“Believe me, I’m well aware of that.”
“What else do you know?” I asked. “Come on, Dad. You were working with these guys.”
“I doubt I know anything the feds don’t,” he said. “The poker games moved locations every night. I wasn’t buying drugs from them, so I don’t know anything about their distribution. I was just going to supply them the opium, that was all. Joe texted me sometimes to make sure things were on schedule, and he provided the workers to tend the crop. But I arranged everything through him, and we never met in the same place twice. Except…”
“Except what?”
Dad’s eyes flicked to the guard again. “There was this old lumber mill, north of Echo Creek. We met there a couple of times. It’s out in the middle of nowhere, so the first time I figured it was just another out-of-the-way location. But the second time, I saw Mozcinski there. I’d seen him once before, and I knew who he was. I thought it was odd that he was out there. It was just a lumber mill.”
“Or a front.”
“Right,” Dad said. “Could have been. But Leo, listen to me. Don’t get involved in this. These people, they’ll… they’ll kill you.”
“I’m not getting involved,” I said. “The best way to end this is to help the feds get these guys. Haven’t you been interviewed? Told them what you know?”
“Jesus, Leo, they’ll kill me in here,” he said.
“So you’re not cooperating,” I said. It wasn’t a question.
“I gave them what I could.”
I shook my head. “Cheating on your wife just wasn’t enough for you.”
“I’ve apologized—”
“Bullshit. You betrayed your wife in every way possible, abandoned your family, and now you put us all in danger.”
He glanced down. At least he had the decency to look guilty.
“How do you live with yourself, as a man? It’s our job to protect those who are weaker than us. As men, that’s our duty.”
He kept his eyes on the table. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to do what you couldn’t,” I said, rising from my seat. “I’m going to protect my family.”
I walked away, hoping to god I never had to look at his face again.
Twenty-Eight
Hannah
Everything at Salishan felt like chaos, and I felt like vomiting.
Local police drove through the grounds every few hours. A DEA agent was at Shannon’s house, meeting with her and Roland. Amelia and Cooper were with Zoe and Brynn at the Big House, trying to keep the impact to the guests as minimal as possible. Leo had gone to see his dad this morning, and his siblings were mad that he’d gone alone without telling anyone.
I spent my morning trying to ignore the roiling in my stomach. I hadn’t slept well, and everyone around me was so stressed. It was rubbing off on me, leaving me edgy and distracted.
I was worried about Leo. Worried about Shannon. Worried about what it meant that someone had threatened her last night.
Leo got home, but he didn’t want to talk. He sat down at the desk, his attention focused. He was so tense, it was making me feel worse, so I decided to get out for a little while.
“Where are you going?” he asked, looking up as if suddenly remembering I was here.
“Just out,” I said.
“You shouldn’t go anywhere alone.”
“Your sisters are at the Big House,” I said. “I’ll just go there.”
He stared at me, unblinking.
“I’ll be fine,” I said. “It’s a short walk and I’ll text you when I get there. How about that?”
“Okay. Just be careful.”
“I will.”
The Big House wasn’t much better. Zoe had brought Hudson to work with her. She was upstairs in her office trying to get him to nap. Cooper and Amelia had taken a group of guests out on a winery tour, and Brynn was in the tasting room. Chase sat in the corner, looking a little menacing, as if he expected any one of the customers to suddenly turn on his wife.
Ben wandered in, then back out again, his face set with grim determination. I wondered if he’d slept last night. I’d called him first after Leo left, then Cooper. Ben had just said on my way and hung up. Today he reminded me of a guard dog walking a patrol.
I didn’t stay long. Everyone was busy, and it didn’t feel any calmer here. Maybe I could get Leo to talk—see if I could help. I hated feeling useless. These people were in crisis, and I wished there was something I could do.
As I walked back home, a car pulled up behind me. My back tensed. Leo’s house was beyond where guests usually came, so it was rare that a car drove back here. The house was just up ahead. For a split second I debated between looking over my shoulder and simply sprinting for home.
The car stopped, so I glanced back.
Oh no.
A man I’d hoped I’d never have to see again slowly got out of the car. Jace.
He was dressed in civilian clothes. I quickly looked him over to see if he might be hiding a gun. I didn’t see anything, but it could have been tucked behind his back.
The sick feeling in my stomach intensified and I tasted bile on the back of my tongue. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
“I just want to talk.”
“What part of protection order do you not u
nderstand?” I asked. “You’re supposed to stay away from me.”
He put his hands up, as if to appear non-threatening. “I said I just want to talk.”
“No,” I said, taking a step backward.
“Hannah, come on. Things got out of control, but this is fucked up.”
“No, what’s fucked up is you putting me in the hospital.”
“Look, I know. That was wrong. I shouldn’t have done that.”
I sighed. “Jace, why are you here?”
“They put me on leave at work,” he said. “And I’m going to counseling.”
“Mandatory counseling,” I said.
“Yeah, but that’s not the point.”
“Then what is the point?”
He paused for a beat, his eyes boring into me. “You should come home. I know you can’t right now. But when the order expires.”
My mouth fell open. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. I miss you.”
I gaped at him. “You’re unbelievable. How did you even find me?”
“You changed your number and you blocked me on everything,” he said. “What was I supposed to do?”
“Stay away from me,” I said. “You realize I have to report you.”
“No, Hannah, don’t do that.” He held up a hand and walked toward me. “I just want to talk to you. We can work this out.”
I took another step backward. “There’s nothing to work out. You beat the shit out of me and you think I’m going to come back to you?”
“I got a little out of control, but I’m doing better now.”
My heart thumped hard and fear sizzled in my belly. He had that look in his eyes. I’d seen it before. He always got that feverish glaze when he was about to lose his temper. Get violent.
“Back up, Jace.”
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
“That’s great, but you still need to stop.”
He came at me, his arm outstretched.
“Leo!” I shouted over my shoulder.
“This is your fucking fault, Hannah,” Jace said through clenched teeth. “I’m going to lose everything because of you. If you just fucking come home, they’ll see everything’s fine. They’ll put me back on duty.”
“It’s not my fault you hit me, asshole.”
Jace grabbed my arms but before I could even scream, he let go. I staggered backward, ready to yell for Leo again, but he was already here.
He’d moved so fast, I’d hardly seen him. Before I knew what was happening, he had Jace pinned down on the ground, his arms wrenched behind his back.
How had he done that?
“Don’t fucking touch her,” Leo growled.
Jace winced. “What the fuck?”
“I said don’t touch her.” Leo leaned down, his voice cold steel. His knee pressed into the small of Jace’s back. “If you so much as lay a finger on her, I’ll break every bone in your body.”
As if to drive his point home, Leo pulled on one of Jace’s arms. Jace cried out in pain.
“Is that understood?” Leo asked.
“Yeah,” Jace said through gritted teeth, his face in the dirt.
Leo still didn’t let him up. He was so calm, it was almost scary. I had no doubt he’d do exactly what he’d promised if Jace touched me again.
“Holy shit, Leo.”
I heard Cooper’s voice behind me, then footsteps running toward us.
“Who the fuck is this guy?” Cooper asked. “The one who threatened Mom?”
“No, that’s Jace,” I said, still staring at them in awe.
“This is Dickmonkey?” Cooper asked, taking a step forward. “What are we going to do with him?”
Leo looked up, his cold gaze meeting Cooper’s.
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “I’m going to call the police and let them deal with it.”
Cooper growled, but took a step back. “Fine. If Rawlins is still here, I bet he’d be happy to babysit him while you wait for the cops.”
“That’s a good idea, Coop. Can you ask him to come over here?” I put my hand on his arm and nudged him back. Giving Cooper a job seemed prudent. Leo wasn’t doing anything other than holding Jace down, but his expression looked a little unhinged. I wanted to save both of them from assault charges.
Leo adjusted his grip and Jace shouted again.
Cooper scowled as he took out his phone. “Are you sure I can’t just kick him a few times?”
“No.”
Leo kept Jace in the submission hold while Cooper got Agent Rawlins, and I called the police. Rawlins arrived and handcuffed Jace, and the local police arrived a few minutes later.
I watched Jace get arrested—again—this time for violating the protection order.
Leo stood with his arms crossed, his eyes never leaving Jace. He was like a coiled spring—so tense. Seeing him take Jace down had been as frightening as it had been satisfying. I had no idea how he’d moved so fast.
The police drove away and Cooper offered to wait for the tow truck, on its way to take Jace’s car. He seemed to take gleeful satisfaction in the fact that not only had Jace been arrested, his car was being impounded as well.
I went inside, feeling like I was ready to shatter. My nerves were raw, my stomach a churning mess. I couldn’t believe Jace had shown up here. What the hell had he been thinking? And with everything else Leo’s family had to deal with, my drama was the last thing they needed.
With shaky hands, I got myself a glass of water.
Leo stood in the doorway to the kitchen. “Are you okay?”
“No,” I said. “I’m angry and scared and overwhelmed. I didn’t think I’d see him again and he found me. And then you took him down like you’re some kind of fucking ninja.”
“I’m sorry if I scared you.”
“It’s not that. I’m glad you were there. I’m glad you knew how to do that. I just—”
My stomach churned and I clapped a hand over my mouth. Oh, no.
I raced to the bathroom, barely making it before the contents of my stomach hurled out into the toilet. I crouched down, heaving, my muscles spasming as I vomited.
Leo was behind me, his hand on my back, murmuring something.
When it was over, I sat back and brushed my hair out of my face. My forehead was covered in a sheen of sweat, my palms clammy.
“Are you done?” Leo asked.
“I think so.”
He helped me clean up, then got me a fresh glass of water and put me to bed. My stomach was better, but I was exhausted. It felt like I’d run a marathon on an empty stomach.
I had no idea what time it was, but I didn’t care. I curled up in bed and went to sleep.
Twenty-Nine
Hannah
I threw up again early the next morning. Although I felt better when it was over, Leo insisted I go back to bed and take the day off. Yesterday, I’d figured my stomach issues had been mostly stress-related. Today, I assumed I must have picked up a virus.
When it happened again the next morning, I got a little worried.
Leo didn’t know—he was out when it happened. And when he came back, I decided not to tell him. I didn’t want him to worry. After all, once I’d thrown up, I felt fine.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew what could make a woman throw up in the absence of illness. I hadn’t worried about condoms with Leo. I’d been tested for everything under the sun when they’d had me in the hospital after Jace’s assault, and I had an IUD. Leo hadn’t had sex with anyone in years. We both knew we were clean, and I was on birth control. It wasn’t like we’d been throwing caution to the wind.
I tried to put it out of my mind. It was probably just the stress.
That afternoon, I had plans to meet Zoe for coffee. Leo insisted on walking me there—it wasn’t far—but I had to make him promise he’d go home and not stand around outside waiting for me. In exchange, I promised to text him when I was done and either walk back with Zoe, or wait for him to come get me.
I went inside
and it was a relief to see Zoe already at a table. I ordered a coffee and sat down with her.
“Hey, you,” she said. “How’ve you been?”
I blew out a long breath. “Okay, I guess? Considering everything.”
“What a fucking mess,” she said.
“I know. I’ll be glad when everything feels normal again.”
“It will,” she said. “By the way, I noticed Leo escorted you here.”
“Yeah, he’s just really tense after what happened to Shannon. And my ex showing up the other day did not help.”
She waved a hand. “Oh, I know. I was just going to say Roland did the same thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s still sitting out there, watching every person who comes in here.”
“These Miles brothers, huh?”
“Yep. Cooper’s been driving Amelia to the ranch and then finding excuses to stay. She put him to work cleaning out stalls this morning. And Chase apparently decided he’s Brynn’s new bouncer.”
I laughed. “Wow.”
“It’s weird,” she said. “After what happened to Shannon, I can’t decide if they’re overreacting or not. Roland and I keep waffling on whether to have the nanny bring Hudson to Salishan during the day, or stay home.”
“Do you think the DEA are going to track these guys down?”
“I hope so. It’ll be nice to feel like we can relax again,” she said. “On the bright side, the new logo looks amazing.”
“Thanks.” I’d given them several options, and we’d settled on one with a lovely script font. It was reminiscent of their original logo and evoked the classic feel Shannon had wanted. I had to admit, I was proud of it. “I’m happy with how it turned out, and the new website is coming along.”
“That’s great.”
I picked up my coffee, but my stomach did a little flip. I put it down and pressed my hand against my belly.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Yeah. I just haven’t been feeling well for the last few days.”
“Do you think it’s stress? Or are you coming down with something?”
I felt my forehead. “I don’t feel warm or anything. It’s probably just stress.”
Zoe narrowed her eyes. “Tummy trouble?”
Hidden Miles: The Miles Family Book 4 Page 21
