Taking Care of the Target

by Cindi Madsen

  With a growl, he gripped her hips, digging his fingers into the skin, and pulled her flush against him. He kissed her, rediscovering every inch of her mouth with his tongue. “I’m never letting you go again.”

  “Last time you said we’d start over and that you were mine, and then you left me. Just know that if you ever try that again…” She wrapped her arms around his neck and locked eyes with him. “Just don’t, okay? My heart can’t take it.”

  “I won’t, I swear. My life completely sucked without you, and I already had plans to find you, no matter what it took.” He brushed his thumb across her bottom lip. “And for what it’s worth, I never stopped being yours. I’ll always be yours.”

  A satisfied smile spread across her face. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too. After this mess is over, we’ll start over new. Together.”

  “Sounds perfect.” A wicked glint hit her eyes as she dragged her fingernails down his chest, sending the waves of desire that’d been building inside of him cresting and crashing. “But for now, I think we should take advantage of all this uninterrupted time together.”

  She rolled her hips as she sucked his lower lip into her mouth, and then the world blurred into skin-on-skin, moans, months’ worth of pent-up longing, and coming together, only to work up the energy to do it all over again.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  The testimony Vince gave as Assistant US Attorney Birch questioned him was the smooth, expected part. Seeing Carlo was far from easy, but Vince laid out the facts.

  When Carlo’s slimy lawyer stood to cross-examine, Vince reminded himself he needed to remain as calm as possible, no matter what Uffizi said. The lawyer brought up his father’s death and talked about how, even though Carlo took him in, Vince was an uncontrollable, angry kid who stole alcohol and cars.

  “Borrowed one car,” Vince said. “When I was seventeen. And the charges were dropped.” Thanks for that, asshole.

  Uffizi continued on with his spiel, painting him as someone who wanted to take over his uncle’s business and was bitter when he was told he couldn’t have Rossi’s Restaurant, because it was Carlo’s main source of income—hah! The bones in Vince’s jaw ached from biting down so hard. He kept hearing AUSA Birch telling him it was of the utmost importance he didn’t lose his temper, no matter how much the other side provoked him.

  Uffizi stopped his pacing in front of the witness stand. “Isn’t it true you had access to the safe that held the weapons in Rossi’s?”

  “I knew where the safe was, and Carlo had shown me a few of the guns, yes.”

  Uffizi made a big deal about how at any time, Vince could’ve gotten into the safe and used the weapons.

  “I also have two witnesses who’ll say you’re the one who killed Eduardo Alvarez,” Uffizi said with a smug look Vince sincerely wanted to punch off his face.

  Sal and Dante, no doubt. “Most of Carlo’s guys would say anything for him,” Vince said. “That’s what happens when you’re a don in the Mafia.”

  Uffizi strode forward, ignoring the last comment. “But there was another witness, wasn’t there? A waitress who worked at Rossi’s? Ms. Cassandra Dalton?”

  A long exhale leaked through Vince’s clenched teeth as he fought the urge to keep Cassie out of it. His stubborn, amazing woman had taken away that option, and soon she’d be in his place, adding her testimony.

  “In fact, you told my client you killed Cassandra Dalton, didn’t you? Remember, you’re under oath.” Uffizi grinned at him, and Vince grinned right back. As much as he wanted Cassie far, far away from this mess, he couldn’t wait to see the look on Uffizi’s and Carlo’s faces when the prosecution called her to take the stand next.

  “I told him that so he’d stop trying to kill her,” Vince said. “He’d asked me to kill her twice, and his capo, Sal Esposito, hired thugs to mow her down in the street. She barely survived the drive-by shooting, and then there’s the sniper Carlo sent to kill her. I think there’s a recording of him ordering that hit, isn’t there? And pictures of her apartment afterward?”

  Uffizi’s eyes narrowed. “Convenient that she hasn’t been seen for months.”

  “Actually, getting her out of the city alive was extremely inconvenient, considering we were shot at as we tried to flee. But I helped her get out of Jersey and told her to run and never look back. Then I came back and lied to Carlo, because I knew he wouldn’t stop going after her until she was dead.”

  “And we’re just supposed to believe you’re not lying now?”

  Vince leaned closer to the microphone in front of him. “Right now I’m in a courtroom and under oath, not standing in my uncle’s office with a gun pointed at me.”

  “Did you trade your testimony in exchange for criminal charges to be dropped?” Uffizi had to already know the answer to that.

  “Nope. Like I told the court earlier, I refused to join my uncle and ran the restaurant. He used my brother against me, and I stayed for too long because he was family. But it’s time for me to tell the truth about who he is and who he’s killed, and for him to pay for his crimes.”

  He dared a brief glance at Carlo, who had a carefully neutral expression in place. But Vince knew him well enough to see the murderous gleam in his eye, and he had no doubt that given the chance, he’d strangle him with his own two hands.

  Uffizi stood in the middle of the floor. His expression held a hint of frustration, but he obviously thought showing Vince’s access to the weapons and the supposed other eye-witness accounts would be enough to plant reasonable doubt. Cocky bastards, both him and Carlo. They truly thought they could get out of anything, no matter what evidence was stacked against them.

  Finally, Vince was excused. As he started down from the witness stand, AUSA Birch said, “I’d like to call Cassandra Dalton to the stand.”

  And he had a front row seat to the shocked and horrified expressions he’d so badly wanted to see.

  ***

  Cassie’s hands shook as the bailiff escorted her into the courtroom. Luckily, the first face she saw was Vince’s. He shot her a reassuring smile that steeled her nerves, and she strode toward the stand.

  Her steps faltered when Carlo looked her way. “That’s not Cassie,” he muttered. “I’ve never seen that girl in my life.”

  As Cassie was sworn in, she noticed a frantic, whispered conversation going on between Carlo and his lawyer.

  She sat and stated her first and last name as asked.

  Carlo’s scrawny, bald lawyer shot to his feet. “Your honor, we were not aware of this witness.”

  “She was on the list,” AUSA Birch argued.

  “Yes, but no one’s seen her for months. My client hasn’t laid eyes on her since she simply stopped showing up for work. I request a recess to prepare for this unexpected surprise the prosecution is trying to pull on us.”

  Cassie wanted to argue that she hadn’t shown up because she watched the defendant blow someone’s brains out, but the judge pulled the two lawyers up for a sidebar. More frantic whispering ensued. AUSA Birch turned red as he argued, obviously doing his best to let the court hear her testimony right now. But Carlo’s lawyer argued right back. Then the judge told both of them to return to their tables.

  “We’ll recess for just shy of forty-eight hours,” the judge said. “Proceedings will start the day after tomorrow at nine a.m.”

  “I need more time than—” Carlo’s lawyer started, but stopped when the judge glared at him.

  “I’m being generous,” the judge said. “You already had her name, and we have a jury who can’t go home to their families. I suggest you use this recess more wisely than you’ve used your discovery time.” He banged his gavel. “Until then, court is adjourned.”

  ***

  Carlo sat across from his attorney for their emergency meeting. To say he was stunned when a supposedly dead girl took the stand would be an understatement. He’d alternated between livid and floored. Even as they’d sworn Cassie in he’d stared, th
inking it wasn’t her, and the prosecution was trying to put an actress in her place.

  Finally, he saw through the differences to the girl he hired all those months ago. Some of the sweet had worn off her, but it actually was Cassie. He caught the way she looked across the courtroom at Vince when the judge allowed the recess, and it was so fucking clear they were in on it together.

  His nephew’s betrayal and lies—lies he should’ve seen through—sent anger coursing through his veins. I deserve some fucking loyalty after everything I’ve done for my nephews. Instead they turn on me.

  Despite his best efforts, family had made him soft. But the soft side of him was long gone now.

  “Is it done?” Carlo asked.

  Uffizi glanced around as if someone else might materialize in this shitty room they got to meet in. “I did exactly what you told me to do.”

  “Don’t worry. My friends will take care of everything else. As long as they got the location?” He arched an eyebrow.

  “Your informant did a lot of digging and had to tail a pair of cops who are watching the street, but he found them. If anyone finds out I was involved…” Uffizi wiped the sweat beading at his forehead with the sleeve of his suit. Repulsive, even if it was cheap material.

  “No one will find out. I should’ve just called Jackhammer the first time around. Then it’d already be done.” Carlo told himself there was no going back, so it was pointless to think of where he would be if he’d done just that. Cassie would’ve been long gone, and he’d only have to deal with an occasional twinge of regret over having such a sweet girl killed. Now he had to deal with suffocating regret all day long as he sat in his cell.

  The jury didn’t seem as charmed by him as he’d hoped. For the first time since this whole ordeal started, he worried he might be convicted. Well, even if the worst-case scenario happened, he’d go down swinging, and he’d have his revenge.

  “I can’t have that girl testifying—she’ll ruin the doubts you raised with Vince,” Carlo said. “And I can’t overlook the way he turned on me. You got a verbal confirmation, right? Not just a message?”

  Uffizi nodded.

  “And they know to take in a lot of firepower, that Vince isn’t to be underestimated?”

  His lawyer nodded again.

  “Good. Relax. By tomorrow morning, your job of defending me is going to be that much easier, and I’ll be happier to boot. It’s all win for you.”

  During the many years he’d worked with Uffizi, the lawyer had always taken the large sums of money and done as asked, no qualms. The qualms over carrying out this request were written all over his face. More proof that everyone thought they wanted the top spot until they had to get their hands dirty.

  Right now Carlo wished he could get his hands dirtier. He preferred dishing out vengeance personally, but the guys he had Uffizi contact would take care of everything. And after they were done, everyone would know that even behind bars, Carlo Rossi wasn’t someone you wanted to cross.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Cassie lay in bed, wishing she could sleep. Vince had no problem drifting off—he’d been asleep for a good hour now. For most of the day, he tried to distract her from the shock of being so close to testifying only to have to wait.

  I’ll testify on Friday morning, and Mr. Rossi will still end up behind bars. And as soon as the trial’s over, Vince and I can move on and have a normal life.

  That was one of the ways he distracted her as she ranted about the crappy situation and the extra hours of stress. He told her about the little house he imagined living in together, and how he’d make sure it had a nice kitchen for her to work her magic in. Talking did help, so she told him more about the Hursts and Deanne and Oklahoma, and how they needed to stop by and tell them she was okay when they could.

  Then Vince took her upstairs to the bedroom and distracted her with his hands, mouth, and body.

  An icy breeze floated over her, making her shiver. After all the crazy hot sex, Cassie didn’t think she’d ever cool down, so she’d cracked the window. The temperature had definitely plummeted in the last hour or so. She eyed the open window, debating if it was worth scooting out from under Vince’s arm to close it. Maybe she’d just snuggle in tighter.

  She found the corner of the bedspread and pulled it over her as she wiggled closer, her back now flush against his warm chest. Finally, her muscles relaxed and her eyes drifted closed.

  Right before her body tipped over the edge of sleep, to that magical place where her body became one with the mattress and the sexy guy she was sharing a bed with, she heard a brief shout. Followed by a deafening silence.

  She shot up in bed, and the hair on the back of her neck prickled. She listened, but only heard the usual sound of traffic in the distance.

  “What is it, baby?” Vince asked.

  “I thought I heard something. It might just be someone outside, but—”

  Vince sprang into action, not even waiting for her to state her worries. He stepped into his jeans as she threw on clothes, and then he grabbed his gun. She picked up hers and took off the safety.

  “I’ll go check it out,” Vince said. “You stay in the corner, gun out, and shoot anyone who comes in that you don’t—”

  “No way. I’m not going to sit here while you go and get yourself killed. We’re in this together. You’re going to need some help, and I can help.” Cassie slipped on her backpack. “Now, let’s get Bobby, and if we need to, we’ll find another place to hide out until the trial’s over.”

  For all of her tough talk, her gut dropped as they exited the bedroom. If she heard what she thought she had…

  Just focus on the here and now. Worry about who might be hurt later.

  Vince crept to Bobby’s room and eased open the door. “Bobby,” he whispered.

  No answer.

  Keeping Cassie next to him, they went into the room. Bobby’s bed was unmade, but he wasn’t in it. What if the shout was from Bobby?

  Cassie’s breaths came faster and faster until they were right on top of each other, and she forced herself to calm them. She’d hoped it would never come to this, but she’d readied herself as much as someone ever could for a situation like this.

  Anyway, that’s what she told herself as she gripped her gun and moved into the hallway behind Vince.

  They started down the stairs, and then Vince pushed her back as muted shots rang out, the bullets punching holes in the walls. Oh, great. The bad guy’s got a silencer.

  Footsteps pounded up the stairs, and Vince pushed her behind him and trained his gun on the landing. A noise made her turn, and she caught sight of a guy swinging through the window she should’ve locked. He rolled to the floor, the bed now covering him.

  “Um, Vince—”

  The shooter hiding behind the stairway wall stuck his gun around the corner and blindly fired. Vince shot back, and Cassie caught movement in the bedroom. With Vince’s attention on the other guy, she leveled her gun on the open doorway. The guy started out, gun raised, and Cassie fired.

  The first bullet hit too high, and the guy clearly hadn’t expected it. His finger twitched on the trigger, and she fired again, hitting him square in the chest. He stumbled back, hit the edge of the bed, and then his limp body slumped to the ground. For a moment she could only stare in shock. She’d told herself she could do it if her life depended on it, but…

  I just killed someone.

  “It’s okay, baby,” Vince said, tugging her back to him. “You did good.” He motioned for her to get low, and when she crouched, he crept closer to the corner of the wall. The guy stuck his gun out again, and Vince grabbed his wrist, yanked him forward and drove his fist into his face. The guy tried to raise his gun again, and Vince blocked and shot. The guy fell back and twitched, making a horrible garbled choking noise before going completely still.

  “Two down,” Cassie whispered. “How many do you think we have to go?”

  What few lights were on in the house died, sending everythi
ng into darkness and shadow. They’d just cut the power. Great.

  “Looks like at least one more,” Vince said in a deathly low voice.

  Cassie’s feet didn’t want to move, but she forced them into motion again and they made it to the bottom of the stairs. She tripped over a dark object, and when Vince moved to grab her, a guy dove on top of him, sending all three of them crashing to the floor.

  Deputy Florez—he was the object she’d tripped over. The streetlights filtered in through the window and lit his dead eyes. Fear rose up, along with the bile in her throat.

  I don’t have time to freak out. Self-preservation kicked in, and she gripped her gun, leveling it on Vince and the attacker he was exchanging blows with.

  The risk of hitting Vince was too great to pull the trigger. Vince slammed his fist into the guy’s gut and followed up with a left hook into the side of his face, so it looked like he had it under control.

  “Cassie?” she heard, the voice weak. She looked around, keeping a tight grip on her gun. There. Near the back door. Someone was down. He lifted his head, and Cassie’s heart dropped.

  “Tom.” She rushed over and dropped to her knees, realizing last minute that what she’d thought was a shadow was a pool of blood.

  “Tried to…warn…You gotta…” Tom’s breath escaped in a puff, and his head dropped back to the floor. “Go.”

  Cassie searched his body for the source of the bleeding. There were two shots in the back, but she didn’t think they’d punctured his vest. Just underneath the vest on his left side she found the bullet wound. She gently tipped him up a few inches, hoping she wasn’t doing more damage than good. The exit wound in the front of his leg was huge, blood leaking out at an alarming rate.

  She saw a hand towel hanging from the oven in the kitchen and dove in there to grab it, trying to juggle it and her gun.

  When she crawled back to Tom, she set her gun to the side and pressed the towel to the wound, trying to get it into place so his weight would help keep pressure against it.