“I still don’t understand how this gets Vito back.” She paused in the hallway, her face shrouded by darkness.
“That’s where we’re still figurin’ things out.” He glanced at the front door swinging open to admit Owen and his new partner. Ian couldn’t remember the guy’s name to save his life. “I can’t tell Owen all of it. He won’t like it.”
“Tell Owen what?” Taylor said slowly.
“I’m callin’ in some of my guys. From work.” He stared at her, willing her to understand.
“From your security company?”
“Yeah.”
“And they’re...like you?”
“There about.” He shrugged.
“I’m going to need a drink to get through this.” Taylor closed her eyes.
Ian bent his head and kissed her, briefly, before he could think better of it.
They still had to sort out the little matter of his confession from last night, but it could wait. For now. The most important thing they did in the next hour would be to lay the foundation for their next move.
“You talk to Owen, I’ll handle everythin’ else,” he said quietly.
“I’m the razzle dazzle show, aren’t I?”
“The what?”
“The flashy show you get the cop to watch, while you plan your not-really-legal retaliation.”
“It’s not retaliation if they end up in handcuffs, is it?” Because Ian would make sure Julia and the rest of those bastards who thought they could threaten his family faced the full extent of the law.
21.
Taylor picked at her nails to keep from drumming her fingers on the top of the bar. Relating the history of events to Owen and his partner, Jordan, was different, more nerve-wracking than telling Ian. Ian listened. Owen pried. And Jordan was a silent, watchful presence scribbling notes the entire time.
“Here, you three look like you could use a cup of tea.” The woman behind the bar pushed steaming mugs their way. She had an accent Taylor couldn’t place, but the kind sort of face that invited people to trust her.
“Thanks, Aunt Liv.” Owen grinned and reached for the tea.
“You’re his aunt?” Taylor glanced from the dark-haired, blue-eyed cop to the older, fair-haired woman.
“He’s part of the family I chose.” Liv smiled at Owen.
“How’s John?” He directed the question at Liv.
“Good. He’s comin’ up to see me this weekend, so you better treat the girls who are filling in for me nice.” Liv prodded a finger at Owen.
“Is it serious?” He leaned against the bar, engrossed in whatever Liv had to say.
“Maybe. We’re different people now.” Liv shrugged.
Owen glanced at Taylor, then back to Liv.
“Aunt Liv had a boyfriend when she was younger who used to live here,” he said, gesturing at Liv, who was beaming. “They lost contact after he moved. I found him a couple weeks ago.”
“Oh, that’s nice.” Taylor had to say something.
This was all so...normal. It wasn’t hard to see that Liv was glowing. Taylor had seen that look on a dozen of her fellow teacher’s faces when they fell in love. She’d always watched with some jealousy.
Things like falling in love didn’t happen to Taylor.
“I’ll let you get back to it.” Liv rapt her knuckles on the bar and walked away, swiping the rag down the planks of wood, polishing them more.
Taylor glanced over her shoulder at the cluster of men around Ian.
She didn’t have more than one person she could call in a pinch, just Vito. Here Ian had a small army from a single text.
Taylor reached for the tea, taking more comfort from holding the warm beverage than drinking it. She stared into the dark liquid.
Ian had said he loved her, but he couldn’t. Not really.
“Back to this morning. When Julia came to see you and Ian?” Owen prompted.
“Yes, she did come to see us.” Taylor launched into recounting Julia’s visit, her threat and Ian’s drive to the pub.
By the time Taylor was done with the whole story, from beginning to end, it took well over an hour. Her throat was parched, and her stomach had finally woken up, wanting something to eat.
“It looks like we have two different things here. Can I see that?” Owen took the notes from his partner and flipped a few pages. “I’d appreciate any input you have on George, because that’s a state matter. I’m sure the DA would be interested in anything you could tell them.”
“What’s going to happen with Stacey?” Taylor sat up a little straighter.
“Not sure.” Owen stared at her. He had the brightest blue eyes she’d ever seen. It felt like they were piercing her down to her soul. “A lot will depend on if George is found guilty.”
“Does her mother have any family who could take her?”
“No, her mom didn’t have any surviving family. It’s why Stacey was put in George’s care in the first place. Looking at the report, he wasn’t too keen on taking her to begin with.”
Taylor slumped in her seat. That was the one thing she hadn’t told Owen. Confessing the truth would only invite more problems, for her and Stacey. If Taylor went forward with Julia’s demands, where was Stacey in all of this? Taylor couldn’t help but feel some responsibility for her half-sister.
She’d always known that having children meant endangering their lives, simply because of who Taylor was, who she was related to. Would Stacey have a better chance if Taylor staked her biological claim? Or would she get lost in the system? She was a cute kid who deserved a family, but what were the chances one would find her?
“What’s going to happen to Stacey? Worst case scenario?” Taylor swallowed. The walls were closing in on her. She had to save Vito, but what about Stacey? They were both family.
“Stacey was picked up by CPS yesterday afternoon. After we searched the house, and Ian gave us the background checks on the employees, there was a good case to have her removed.”
“What next? What if George is guilty and...then what?”
“She’ll go into foster care.”
Taylor bit her lip.
She knew the odds were low that a kid at Stacey’s age would be adopted. Stacey was sweet, kind, educated, well-mannered. But she was also eight. The older a kid got, the less chance they had of being adopted. Taylor had seen dozens of those kids go through her classrooms, seen their struggles.
It still might be a better future than Stacey could have with Taylor.
“Is there something you want to tell me?” Owen asked.
“I don’t think it will make a difference.” Taylor sat the tea down and rubbed her face with mug-warmed hands.
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?”
Taylor stared at the bar.
She’d come all this way to meet her sister, to find out what kind of man her father was. And now she’d caused...this. It was her fault. If it weren’t for Taylor bringing Julia’s wrath down on her, Stacey might have grown up cared for and kept until she was old enough to leave the nest. But because of Taylor, Stacey wouldn’t have the same opportunities. She also wouldn’t be in danger.
“George is my biological father. Stacey is my half-sister.”
“How do you know that?” Owen asked.
“My mom told me she had an affair with George. And my father couldn’t have kids.”
“Did George know?”
“No, I realized pretty fast that he wouldn’t appreciate finding out I was his long-lost daughter. Stacey doesn’t know either.” Taylor swallowed. “I never meant to make any trouble for them. I swear.”
“George made his own trouble. About Stacey—would you be willing to do a DNA test to prove it?”
“Yeah, but...” Taylor waved her hand, as if her history were stacked up next to her. “Who’s to say I’m the safer option here?”
“Nothing happens fast in these situations, but if you prove you’re family, maybe it’ll open some doors for you.”
&
nbsp; “Yeah, I guess. Yeah, I’ll take the test.” Taylor shrugged. Worst case scenario, her life insurance went to Stacey’s future.
“Now, Julia. That’s a federal matter. I understand you’re hesitant about talking with the FBI again, but considering what you’re accusing Julia of, how the crimes cross state borders, they’re the ones who will need to handle this. I know a guy. He’ll take this on, and he won’t let you down. Can you get the files back?”
“Yeah, I guess. Ian knows more about where they are than I do.” Taylor glanced once more at Ian, bent forward in conversation with his guys. Some of them she didn’t recognize, but Kade and one or two others she did from the dancing princes video.
“I’d like to have you come down to the station. I can get my guy to come in, and you can tell him all of this in person. Plus, we can better protect you if you’re in custody.”
“No.” Taylor shook her head.
“We can’t protect you here.” Owen glanced across the room. “Look, Ian’s a great guy, but he’s not a cop. He’s a very skilled bodyguard and PI.”
“I don’t want to be in protective custody.” Taylor couldn’t explain her irrational fear of those words. The nightmares they brought on.
“At some point, you’re going to have to come in.”
“I’ll talk to your guy, but I am not going to sit in some fishbowl, waiting to get killed. Out here, I can move freely, hide if I need to. I’m not going in until I have to.”
“Okay, fine. I think you’re making a mistake. This is your life—”
“And I want to keep living it.”
“Somethin’ wrong?” Ian’s hand curled over her shoulder, his presence a balm to her ragged emotions.
Owen turned his gaze on Ian.
“I think Taylor needs to be in protective custody, for her own safety. You and your guys can only do so much. We—the cops—need to handle it from here.” He stared at Ian, as though he were daring him to say otherwise.
“You’re right,” Ian said. “But she ain’t goin’ with ya, so we’ll have to figure somethin’ else out.”
“I can’t keep pretending I don’t know you’re up to something.” Owen pitched his voice lower.
“I wasn’t tryin’ to hide anythin’.” Ian shrugged. “The way I see it, if you know who to follow, you’ll follow ‘em. Taylor won’t go with ‘ya, so stop tryin’ to bully her into it. If I can’t convince her, you can’t either.”
“Fine.” Owen sighed. “I’m going to get to work on this. You two are staying here tonight, right?”
“That’s the plan.” Ian gave Taylor a little squeeze.
“Stay close to the pub. I’ll see about putting a unit outside to keep an eye on things until we have more to go on.” Owen slid off the bar and shrugged into his jacket. He waved at the woman behind the bar. “Later, Aunt Liv.”
Taylor watched the detective leave. An hour ago, she was going to go to that meet with Julia, and Taylor wouldn’t come back alive. Now...what about Stacey? What about Vito?
If Taylor went, then Stacey would go into the system. She’d likely spend the rest of her adolescence in foster care, with no family to watch after her.
If Taylor didn’t go, then Vito died. He’d risked everything for her. She owed him.
Then why did Taylor feel as though she owed Stacey more? Was this karma calling to collect for how her mother had fought to get Taylor out and away?
She wished Julia had set a time and place to meet today. So this could be over. Instead, Taylor was going to sit here and worry about her choices for the next however many hours it took Julia to reach out and make her demands clear.
“Hey?” Ian turned the barstool to face him.
She tipped her chin up, staring into his eyes.
Once, they’d been right here, but they’d been strangers. Now, Ian knew the most intimate details of her life...and he still thought he loved her. He was crazy, misguided, and yet here he was.
“I finally got Zach on the phone. He’s goin’ to swing by Tali’s and they’re goin’ to scan the files as a backup, in case we decide to do somethin’. I know we talked about not doin’ that, but we need multiple copies, even if that reduces our leverage.”
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.” The whole point was that Taylor had all the power. Copies would dilute that.
“Trust me?”
Taylor nodded. She wasn’t convinced but so far, doing what she thought best hadn’t worked out so well. Maybe it was time to trust someone else’s judgment.
“What were you guys talking about?” She glanced across the pub.
“My boss, Zain, the guy with the metal arm? He was able to pull that file Vito sent you off your phone. It’s basically a tracin’ device. He’s leavin’ to go back to the office and back-trace it, see if we can’t find out where Julia is holed up.”
“Then what?”
“Then we weigh our options.”
“That’s what you’ve been talking about this whole time?”
“Among other things.” Ian shrugged. “Do you have any way to contact Julia?”
“Her cell phone and maybe an email?”
“Well, if Zain can track her with any of that, he will. He’s good like that.”
“Then what?”
“We’ll figure it out.”
“Vito could be dead before we figure it out. You saw the blood. What if the bullet nicked his artery? What if he’s already dead? He could already be dead. Fuck.” Taylor rubbed her hands over her face. She hadn’t even thought of that. Julia could be pulling one over on her.
“Guys?” A man with brown-streaked blond hair and a grunge look stepped out from the kitchen behind the bar. “Not to listen in or anything, but have you seen the news?”
Erik. Taylor could hear Stacey’s voice in her head supplying the name. He’d been part of the dancing prince routine as well.
“No, what’s going on?” Taylor gripped the edge of the bar.
“I paused it as soon as I saw what they were talking about.” Erik turned on the TV over the pool tables. He hit play and a gruesome reel of news began to play out something from a gangster movie.
“Police have identified the three victims of last night’s brutal shootout as the known bosses of five of New York’s most notorious crime organizations. The remaining two are in custody while receiving treatment. The authorities are looking for this woman as a person of interest.”
The rest of the news anchor’s statement was drowned out by the rush of blood past her ears.
That was Taylor’s face on the news.
Julia swept into the condo, more than a little pleased with herself. Who would have thought one happy accident would have tied everything up so well for her?
“What the hell, Julia?” Ciro pushed up from the bench in the entry.
She frowned at the man.
“Sorry, boss,” Ciro muttered. He fell in line behind her, following her into the formal dining room which had become her headquarters away from home.
Madeline sat at a laptop, tapping away. Just because they were out of town, didn’t mean business stopped. Julia was relying heavily on Madeline being the go-between for their people in these difficult times. It would be better if Julia were there herself, but she needed to wrap things up with Taylor. Fast.
“Well, they reply, yet?” Julia asked.
“The bosses will corroborate the story,” Madeline answered.
“What story? What’s going on?” Ciro glared at Madeline.
Julia turned and smiled at Ciro. His feathers would need smoothing before she could turn his talents to use.
“Taylor is going to be our fall girl.” Julia couldn’t believe how well this was turning out to be.
“What?” Ciro frowned.
“The gun I used? It was registered to Taylor.” Julia shrugged. Her late husband had made use of his daughter’s name and identity a few times.
“Are you kidding me?” Ciro glanced from Madeline to Julia. “But...”
“She bought it?” Ciro asked.
“If the bosses verify my story, why not?” Julia shrugged.
“They have the gun, though. It’ll have your prints on it.” Ciro raked a hand through his hair.
“The cops don’t have the gun. I do.”
“Then... I don’t get it...”
Julia patted Ciro on the shoulder. He didn’t have to understand, all he had to do was play his part.
“First,” she glanced over her shoulder, listening for the watch dogs her partner had on her, “we need a little privacy.”
“What are we going to do about Vito? The kid’s in bad shape. Did you really marry him?”
“Ciro, pay attention. That’s not important. Listen.”
Julia was going to get off the hook free and clear, and the cops were going to do her dirty work for her. It was perfect.
Ian paced the length of the pool table. Early afternoon meant the pub was practically empty. Soon enough, they’d need to hide out upstairs to avoid too many people pointing fingers. Someone was likely to recognize Taylor’s face from the image on the news.
“Take a shot already.” Taylor sighed and perched on the empty stool.
“I will, don’t rush me.”
If the stripes were Julia’s people and the solids them, what would he do? How’d he handle it all?
His phone vibrated, saving him from the need to answer those questions.
“Zain, tell me you got somethin’?” Ian turned to face Taylor, frozen with a fry halfway to her lips.
“I’ve got a location.” Zain sounded grim.
“Well?”
“Her cell phone is sitting in a condo owned by a guy suspected of belonging to MS-13.”
“We know where she’s at, that’s what matters.” Ian figured the rest they could tackle on an as needed basis.
Taylor stood up and circled the pool table. She watched his face, as if she could read Zain’s words on his brow or between his lips.
Alpha Prince (Twisted Royals, #1) Page 20
