by Lynn, JB
Armani didn’t say anything.
“I’ve really got to go,” I told her, moving away.
She made no move to stop me so I hurried inside the office and filled out the paperwork.
Armani didn’t make an appearance while I was inside, and she wasn’t in sight when I left. I wasn’t sure if she was giving me space or avoiding me, but I was grateful.
I did my best to push Armani’s warning from my head as I went to the library. I had more important things to worry about. Namely what Arnold Rivgali looked like and who Kevin Belgard was.
It was unfortunate that I had to do my research at the public library, something that seemed to fly in the face of Patrick’s assassin rule number one: Don’t get caught, but since he was out of town for who knew how long and that I’d never gotten around to replacing the computer I’d lost when my old apartment was blown to smithereens, I didn’t have many other options.
I certainly couldn’t ask my aunts if I could use their machines for this kind of work. Their questions alone would make me nuts.
So I found the most isolated available computer in the library, pulled up a page about what changes in a cat’s eating habits could mean (I hadn’t forgotten about the strange demands of Piss) that I could switch over to in case any nosy librarians tried snooping over my shoulder, and started digging.
The first person I researched was Angel Delveccio. There was no way I could entrust the care of Katie to him without making sure he was as good as he appeared. I quickly learned about his career in the Navy, that he did indeed have a degree in Physical Therapy and had played on his high school football team. As far as I could tell, he had no criminal record. But that didn’t really mean anything.
Patrick Mulligan looked great on paper, but he’d had two wives and families and had a side hustle that included assassinating people.
Once again I found myself wishing the redhead hadn’t disappeared. It would have been nice to find out whether Angel had ever been brought up on charges, or if he was suspected of any kind.
Not that that would necessarily preclude him for caring for Katie. After all, if push came to shove, I’d trust Patrick to look after her. Strange the kinds of people I trust.
Deciding that I couldn’t discover anything else about Angel, I turned my attention to looking for someone I knew was a criminal.
It was easy to find old articles about Rivgali. I studied the photographs of the hook-nosed man with beady eyes and tried to imagine how the years in prison had aged him. I read a couple of articles Jack Stern had written about the trial and understood why he’d felt it necessary to warn me. Rivgali was one badass criminal.
Then I moved onto the mysterious Kevin Belgard. It didn’t take much to find him. All I had to do was input his name and the town and a whole string of articles popped up about him.
Basically he was a decorated cop that the whole world loved. Or at least that’s what the Internet seemed to think. I studied his picture too. Unlike Rivgali, who glared out of the mug shot, Belgard smiled proudly in his uniform, looking like an overgrown Boy Scout.
I wasn’t sure which I disliked more.
I jotted down Belgard’s address, which was practically around the corner from the B&B, logged off the computer, and left the library to focus on my most immediate problem, getting Katie ready to leave the hospital.
But before I did that, I went and checked out Belgard’s house. Located on the street that ran parallel to the B&B’s backyard, I was surprised to realize that the properties practically touched. In fact, I could see the top of the fence that stood on the B&B’s rear property line.
Belgard’s house looked like every other on the street, non-descript, well-maintained, with the blue flag of some sports team hanging just below Old Glory.
I stopped my car across the street and studied the house, trying to figure out what its occupant’s connection was to my family. Had the man responsible for Darlene’s disappearance been here the whole time?
As though I’d summoned an evil spirit with my wayward thoughts, the man himself stepped out his front door. As he scanned the area, his gaze locked on mine.
I swallowed hard as he squinted at me. Afraid he would know who I was and why I was there, I gunned the car’s motor and sped away.
When I glanced in my rearview mirror, he was nowhere to be seen, but somehow I knew I hadn’t seen the last of him.
I took God back to the B&B before I spent the rest of the afternoon in a flurry of meetings with Katie’s doctors and therapists as we finalized plans for her release and follow-up care. By the time I walked up to my niece’s room, I was exhausted.
And I was in no mood to put up with the antics of Delveccio’s bodyguard, Vinny.
His eyes narrowed as I approached.
“Cheer up,” I told him. “Another couple of days and you’ll never have to see me again.”
A sneer distorted his face, making him look like a grotesque Halloween mask. “Best news I’ve gotten in a long time.”
We stood there for a moment glaring at each other, the animosity between us practically palpable.
“Hey, cuz,” a voice said from behind me.
I didn’t have to turn around to realize that Angel was standing behind me. I found it oddly reassuring that the muscular sailor had my back.
Vinny’s face morphed back into his usual bland scowl. “Hey.”
The bodyguard stepped aside to let me in the room.
I hurried in as Delveccio’s bodyguard and my manny stayed in the hall, speaking in low tones.
Katie was asleep when I walked in. My heart tightened as I looked at her frail face against her pillow.
Noticing Delveccio’s grandson was awake, his dark eyes following my every move, I walked over to his bed and whispered, “Hello, Dominic.”
The little boy, who appeared even slighter and weaker than Katie, smiled and waved, and then reached for my hand.
As he slid his cool fingers into mine, I bent down and said softly, “Do you need something, honey?”
Shaking his head, he squeezed my hand as though he wanted to keep me at his side.
“Mind if I sit with you until she wakes up?” I asked.
He beamed.
I pulled the nearest chair closer to the bed, sat down, and then scooped up his hand in mine. He squeezed gratefully and I was struck by how much I’d miss the little boy once Katie was no longer his roommate.
We were smiling at each other and holding hands when Angel walked in. I glanced over at him in time to see a strange expression cross his face.
“Hey, look,” I said softly. “Your uncle is here.”
Dominic looked at the man uncertainly and I realized that he probably hadn’t seen much of Angel when he’d been stationed who-knows-where.
Angel didn’t seem to be bothered by the boy’s hesitancy. He strolled over to the bed with an easy smile. “Hey buddy. What’s up?”
“We’re waiting for Katie to wake up,” I answered.
“I’m awake,” her tiny voice piped up.
I laughed, squeezed Dominic’s hand as I stood, and pressed a kiss to his forehead before making my way to her bed.
“Why didn’t you say something, silly goose?” Leaning over, I smothered her with a hug.
“I did.”
Shaking my head, I noticed Angel settling into the seat I’d just occupied. He didn’t reach for Dominic’s hand, but he did lean in close and whisper something that brought a smile to the boy’s face.
“Aunt Susan brought my ‘going home’ outfit,” Katie told me excitedly.
“That’s great,” I said, while my body protested the announcement by having every muscle coil in defiance as another example of my aunt’s pushiness reared its ugly head.
I knew from the sideways glance Angel threw my way that he heard the annoyance in my tone, but the kids seemed oblivious.
“Have you seen it?” Katie continued. “It’s bee-you-tiful.”
I plastered a smile on my face. “I
s it?”
“It’s hanging on the back of the bathroom door. Can we show it to Angel?”
“Sure.”
I walked over to the bathroom and yanked the garment bag hanging there with a little too much vigor. The door bounced on its hinges.
Clenching my teeth, I focused on keeping a smile on my face. “Here we go.”
Angel stretched out on his chair as he watched the proceedings, not bothering to hide his amusement at my discomfort. In fact, he winked at me, which I took to be a reminder I was taking the whole thing too seriously.
“Battles,” I muttered under my breath.
He nodded and I felt some of the tension in my body relax.
By the time I unzipped the bag and pulled out a poufy pink dress, my smile was genuine.
Katie clapped her hands in delight. “I’ll look like a princess.”
“You will,” I agreed, making a mental note to thank Aunt Susan for planning this special treat. I would have never thought to do something like this for my niece, but it was obvious that the special little touch made Katie very happy. “You’ll be the most beautiful princess in all the land.”
Katie giggled.
Self-doubt fluttered in my chest as once again I realized I wasn’t cut out to be the little girl’s mother-figure.
But then I caught the expression of approval on Angel’s face and I thought that maybe, just maybe, there was hope for me after all.
Chapter Nine
Aunt Susan was in the kitchen, slicing onions at the counter, when I got back to the B&B.
I surprised her by walking in and planting a kiss on her cheek.
“What’s that for?”
“The pink princess dress you got for Katie.” I opened the oven and peered at the chicken roasting inside.
Susan half-turned toward me. “You’re not…bothered about that?”
“Nope.” I closed the oven door and smiled at her as I stood up. “It’s a great idea.”
Relief and confusion warred on Susan’s face.
“Really,” I assured her. “I wish I’d thought of it.”
“You have so much on your mind. The new jobs, all the arrangements for Katie--”
She fell silent as I held up a hand.
“I appreciate that,” I told her. “But we both know that sweet and girly is not my forte. I’m lucky you’re around to pick up the slack. Thank you.”
I didn’t think the tears shimmering in her eyes were due to the onions.
“Gotta! Gotta!” DeeDee whined from the basement.
“I’ve got to let the dog out,” I told Susan.
She nodded. “Dinner in half an hour.”
“Smells great!” Opening the basement door, I ran down the steps and was almost tackled by the Doberman.
“Maggie! Maggie!” she yipped excitedly.
“You act like it’s been ages since you’ve seen her,” the lizard groused from inside his glass enclosure.
“She has no concept of time, bless her heart,” the cat drawled from the corner of the couch she was curled up on.
“Gotta! Gotta!” the dog reminded me urgently.
“Deplorable grammar. No understanding of the passage of time,” God complained as I hurried across the room to let the dog out the cellar’s storm door.
Once she was outside I turned back to the other animals. “How was your day?”
God flicked his tail, signaling his annoyance. “You forgot to leave the TV on.”
“Sorry.”
The lizard puffed out the orange flap of skin under his chin, a sure sign he was angry. “Sorry? You try to spend endless hours in a glass box with nothing to watch.”
“Now who doesn’t understand time,” Piss mocked. “Endless hours?” She licked a paw. “Drama queen.”
Deciding that the best way to defuse the situation would be to change the subject, I said, “Katie’s excited about coming home.”
“Of course she is,” God said. “Tell us something new.”
Sitting beside the cat on the couch, I stroked her while I filled them in on what I’d learned, both from my mother and my computer search.
“Mysterious,” God said, having listened carefully.
“Dangerous,” Piss hissed.
I thought they both were right.
“So what’s next?” God asked.
I shrugged.
“You’re not just going to drop it are you?”
I shook my head. “I just need to figure out how to proceed.”
“Confront him,” the lizard ordered.
I felt the cat tense beneath my touch, but she didn’t offer an opinion.
“And what would you have me say?” I asked the lizard. “Hey, my mom who’s in the loony bin holds you responsible for her daughter going missing?”
“It’s direct and to the point,” the lizard approved. “But don’t use the words ‘loony bin’. I thought you were better than that.”
I rolled my eyes. There’s nothing like being lectured by a reptile about one’s lack of political correctness.
Instead of responding to him, I opened the storm door to bring DeeDee back into the house. I whistled to summon her. Usually she came running, but this time she didn’t appear.
“What are you doing out there?” I called, immediately suspicious that she was getting herself into trouble.
She didn’t answer.
Worried that she was destroying Susan’s flowers or knocking over the garbage, or doing something else that would endanger my peace accord with my pickiest aunt, I ran up the stairs. “Dammit, DeeDee. Answer me.”
“You do know she’s a dog, right?” Angel asked.
I whirled to find him standing in the corner of the yard, cradling the large dog to his chest like she weighed nothing.
“We were bonding,” the human said.
“Bonding,” the dog agreed and then licked his face.
I raised my hands defensively. “Forgive me for interrupting your special moment.”
Angel chuckled as he gently returned DeeDee to the ground.
The dog trotted over to my side as though she was the most obedient creature ever, and not one who would forsake my commands in the blink of an eye if it meant she’d get a cuddle or a morsel of food.
I gave her a dirty look for scaring me. She blinked back at me innocently and nudged my hand with her nose, indicating it was my turn to pet her.
“You’re all moved in?” I asked Angel.
He nodded. “Your aunt invited me to dinner. You and I hadn’t discussed that, so I accepted, rather than have her get annoyed with you. But if you’d rather I didn’t accept invites in the future, just say so.”
“Accept away.”
He squinted at me. “You’re sure? I wouldn’t want to intrude on family time.”
I grinned. “Stick around long enough and you’ll see that the dinners are never just family. There’s always been an extra face or two at the table for as long as I can remember. Heck, when I was in high school my friend Zeke moved in for a year.” I hesitated for a moment, wondering how Zeke was. The last time we’d talked, he hadn’t been sure when he’d be able to return since he was being blackmailed into working a long con job.
“You miss him?” Angel guessed when I was silent for too long.
I nodded. “He’s a lot of fun.” I didn’t add that he was sexy as hell. “He takes my family’s craziness in stride and can charm my aunts into just about anything.”
“Sounds like a special guy,” Angel murmured.
“He is,” I said fondly. Then I added, “But there’s always somebody here, a friend, a B&B guest, a neighbor…” I trailed off for a second, my eyes drawn to the fence that separated our house from that of the neighbor’s behind us...Belgard’s house. Shaking my head I continued, “Or someone’s boyfriend. Loretta’s, Susan’s, Marlene’s…”
“What about yours?” Although Angel voiced the question casually, there was more than idle curiosity behind the words.
A small f
lutter of excitement quivered in my belly. I squashed it immediately. He was an employee. Besides, I had Patrick. Sort of.
“Last guy I dated, Paul, tried to kill me,” I confessed.
Angel raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“Templeton saved me,” I elaborated.
