by Jen Talty
Blaine’s car had left, and Mason’s silhouette stood tall inside her family room. The second she started that car, he’d be out the door and chasing after her. Maybe she should hitchhike.
Right. In this small town.
She had to make a run for it. She headed for the front door and her modest SUV.
She slipped behind the steering wheel of her older model vehicle. She slammed the gearshift in neutral, hoping it would start to roll down the slight slope toward the street.
A sigh of relief filled her heart as the car slowly inched down the driveway.
Thud!
She screamed as Mason yanked open the driver’s side door of the car and tossed her from the seat. She knew she should have put on a seatbelt.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” he asked.
“I’m out of tampons.”
“You don’t have your period,” he said a little too calmly as he put the car in park and stepped onto the pavement. “You have two choices. You tell me the truth. Or I call a judge to unlock your phone and your computer so I can read any message from your Uncle Richard, who I know isn’t really your uncle.”
“You’re right. He’s not. But you have to let me go,” she pleaded with him as she tapped away on her phone. “If you don’t, your family will die.”
Mason held her phone with a shaky hand. “When did you get this?”
“I first saw it at my shop,” Destiny said, her blue eyes pleading with him as if she were a beggar desperate for a sip of water. The timbre of her voice screamed fear and a lack of confidence he wasn’t accustomed to when it came to her and how she carried herself.
“And you thought running out would save my family?” He read the entire email again.
“You have to let me leave. It’s the only way; trust me on that.”
“That way could get us all killed. Now, you’ve got to trust me and let me do my job, which starts with telling me everything.”
“Not a chance,” she said, turning on her heels and taking a long step in the direction of the car.
He grabbed her by the arms, holding her biceps a little too tightly. “I can’t help you unless you tell me what is going on.” He eased his grip as her slightly parted lips drew into a tight, angry line.
“Get your hands off me,” she said with a scathing tone.
He let go out of respect for her personal space. “Destiny, I want to help you, but I can’t if I don’t know what’s really going on.”
Tears pooled in the corners of her sea-blue eyes. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before clearing her throat.
“I have to make a phone call,” she whispered.
“Your handler?” he asked.
“I can’t tell you.”
“You just did; now come inside.” He rested his hand on the small of her back.
“I only have until six before something terrible happens,” she said with a shaky voice.
“I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you, me, or any member of my family.” He yanked out his phone as he guided her up the path.
His sister picked up on the first ring. “It’s late. Is something wrong?”
Oh boy, that was a loaded question. “I don’t know yet, but I need you to head over to Mom and Dad’s for the night with the kids. I’m going to have an officer drive by a few times, but I’m also going to call in Toby to hang tight with you.”
“You’re scaring me. What’s going on? Does this have anything to do with the break-ins? With Destiny?” Kate spoke quietly, but quickly.
“Just do as I ask, okay?” He pushed open the door, and Coop went nuts, running in circles, jumping up and down. No amount of commands would calm that beast down, so Mason let him do his thing.
Besides, Destiny seemed to have him under control.
For now.
“If you think it’s too late to move the kids, I can have Mom and Dad—”
“No. They took Jessica for the night, and the boys are still awake. Way too much candy and they are wired, so this will be good.”
“Thanks. Text me when you get there, okay?”
He tapped the end button.
Destiny held her cell up. He shook his head. “Don’t call yet,” he said.
“Why not?”
“Let me read the email again.”
She handed him her phone and then plopped herself down at the kitchen table, Coop sitting protectively at her side. Coop had only been a few months old when he first brought him home, but from the beginning, he hated Julia. Wouldn’t go near her, listen to her, or even let her pet him. He didn’t like Lilly any better.
Destiny was different, and if Coop sensed a kindness in her that deserved his affection, then Mason would move heaven and earth for her.
He scrolled through the threatening email, swallowing the bile that bubbled in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t take too kindly to intimidation, especially when his family was involved.
“In five sentences or less, tell me the history here,” he said, not looking up. He had no desire to see Destiny’s face. He wanted to hear the words first, then he’d gauge her facial expressions later.
“My name was Heidi Storm,” Destiny said with an even, yet tight tone, a flare of anger dropping from each syllable. “Lucas is the only person I’ve told since I left Delaware when I was twenty that my father’s real name was George, only I thought it was George Storm because that’s what my name was.”
“So, you think your ex put Charleston up to this?”
“Lucas Montana is a bad man, and he’d do anything to get back at me.”
“Did you work for Lucas?”
“We ran poker tables together.”
Mason’s heart fluttered. Hearing the truth from her lips meant the world to him. “Who started them?”
“He did, but I willingly participated, and I was good. But I had no idea about his drug running until I was in over my head. The FBI offered me a deal, and I ran with it.”
He leaned back and folded his arms across his chest, bracing himself for the truth that was going to put him over the edge. “Placentas don’t just detach from the uterus. What happened, exactly?”
“Lucas beat me,” she said, choking on a guttural sob, her hands covering her belly. “Kicked me so hard with steel toe boots that he killed our baby.”
Mason slammed his fist on the table. “I hope the asshole is facing life without parole.”
“He took a plea, so he could get paroled in fifty years. I had to go back and take two more beatings—”
“What!?” Mason stood, kicking back the chair. “You willingly went back?”
She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “The Feds talked to me while I was still in the hospital. They had enough evidence on me to arrest me, but they asked me to help.” Her words hung in the air like thick, black smoke. “I had the power to stop him, and I did.”
He breathed in deeply through his nose and exhaled slowly, counting to ten. Any man who hit a woman was no man at all.
And what this Lucas did was nothing shy of the murder of a potential life.
“If I’m not going to meet this George character, then I really need to make that phone call to my handler.”
“You’re not going to make it,” he said.
“I have to. I’m putting your family at risk if I don’t.”
“I said you’re not going to make the call. I am.”
She shook her head.
Coop followed suit.
Damn dog was always going to take her side.
“You can’t. I’m breaking all the rules telling you any of this.”
“Let’s not forget I’m a cop. That changes things, and my boss and I will deal with the Feds. But the bigger question is how did Lucas find out where you were? That takes some skill.” He scratched the back of his head. “Or maybe there is a leak.”
“You mean someone in the FBI told him where I was?” Destiny’s voice screeched.
Coop pushed his nose up unde
r her hand, licking wildly, as if that would make this situation any better.
“I’d like to believe that couldn’t be the case, but money talks,” he said. This changed things, and calling her handler might not be a good idea.
But calling a friend would be. “Hey, Siri, call Sally.”
“You’re calling a different FBI agent?”
“I’m sure your handler is a great guy, but I’m calling someone I know well and trust. If she needs to contact Sterling, she will.” He inched forward, holding out his arms. “We have a lot of dating left to do.”
“This is no time to be having this conversation.”
He pulled her to his chest, running his fingers through her hair.
She shivered. “I’m going to be pulled out of this town faster than Coop can jump on someone.”
“Not if I have something to say about it.”
13
For the last year, Destiny had to rely on others. She’d had no control of her life. The FBI told her what her new name would be. Her occupation. Where she’d live. She thought she’d be able to pretend to be someone else, but in the end, it didn’t matter what she changed her name to, she was still that girl who ran poker tables. She might have done the job willingly, but hindsight is perfect vision, and she regretted ever saying yes to Lucas.
About anything.
“What are you thinking?” Mason asked as he pulled down Lincoln Street two towns over. The dark sky had started to lighten, but the sun’s rays were still hidden behind the horizon. It would be at least forty minutes before the sun would rise, and with the dawn of a new day, Destiny figured she’d be starting a new life.
Again.
And this time she wouldn’t become attached to anyone.
Or anything.
She’d be that crazy cat lady that lived down the street that all the kids were afraid of and the adults ignored. She’d have to talk Sterling into making sure she was a computer geek or something. Anything where she could work out of her home and interact with not a single person.
“What if this guy is really my father?”
“Then you’re lucky he’s been out of your life for the last twenty-five years.”
“This is such a bad idea in so many ways.”
“Sally has pretty high clearance, which means she should be able to find out all the details, and she’s going to be talking with Agent Sterling. She might have already,” Mason said, glancing in her direction.
“Why are you doing this?” She shifted in her seat, facing him as he pulled into the parking lot of a twenty-four-hour diner.
“It’s my job,” Mason said, shutting off the lights and unbuckling his seat belt. He had insisted they take her car, for authenticity, but then refused to let her drive, which she totally understood. “And I care a lot about you. I tried not to, but you stole my heart, kind of like how you stole Coop. Damn dog likes you more than me.”
“Oh, my God. I can’t believe I didn’t think about this sooner.”
“Think about what?”
“The puppy,” Destiny repeated. “A Shepherd just like Oscar.”
“Who is Oscar?”
“He was Lucas’ dog. I gave Oscar to him as a present. It always reminded me of my childhood dog, Ozzy, that died from gas fumes when my mom stuck her head in the oven.” Destiny rubbed her hands up and down her thighs.
Mason pushed open the driver’s side door. “There has to be a reason the dog was left in your cottage, so either one of those make sense.”
“We got Ozzy after my dad left. My mom said he hated dogs, which is why we didn’t have one before,” Destiny said as she stepped onto the broken gravel. “I don’t think you should come in with me.”
“You heard my buddy. My family is safe and sound in my parents’ home.” He reached out, taking her hand in his. “Trust me.”
“Because trust comes so easily to either of us.”
He let out a slight laugh. “I trust you are telling me the truth about Lucas and your case, how is that for starters?”
No matter how truthful she had been, this thing with Mason was headed nowhere, fast. “You know I have to leave when this is all over.”
“Neither one of us knows that.” He tugged her along the walkway and pulled open the door. “But we can talk about that later.”
She stepped over the threshold, scanning the restaurant with its dated metal tables with vinyl-covered, orange cushions. A woman with an actual beehive hairdo snapped some gum as she waved.
“Take any seat you like. I’ll be right with you.”
A man with his back to them sat at one of the booths on the right side of the room. He glanced over his shoulder. “There’s my Heidi Ho Ho,” he said as he stood. “I couldn’t believe it when my lawyer snapped a picture of you.”
“You’re not my father.” She clenched her fists together as images of her past collided with the present.
George laughed. “When I saw your mother right before she died, she showed me your picture. You look so much like her. Too bad she was a useless bitch, and it looks like you’re just like her. An ungrateful little cunt.”
“Why don’t we all sit down and have a civil conversation instead of slinging insults?” Mason asked. He’d grown tired of listening to this man the second he’d opened his mouth.
“Heidi Ho, why did you bring a cop? Now I’m going to have to kill him.”
“Not going to happen,” Mason said with confidence. They’d gone over this plan five times, and he trusted everyone involved, even Agent Sterling who he’d never met before. The key was to keep George talking until he incriminated himself with enough to nail his ass to the wall.
Threatening an officer of the law was a good start.
“You have no idea who you’re dealing with, son,” George said. “Heidi Ho, you’ve really disappointed me.”
“My name is Destiny, and you’re dead to me.” Destiny squeezed Mason’s hand so tight it cut off the circulation. “I don’t even remember you.”
“Consider me back from the dead,” her father said with a smile. The man wore expensive Italian shoes and a designer suit. He looked like a diamond shining in a pile of shit, only he was of the fake cut. “And I know you remember me calling you Heidi Ho Ho and sharing the treat with me.” He held up a box of the treats.
“Actually, I don’t,” she said with a strained voice. “But I vaguely remember you kicking my mother while eating one of those vile things.”
Mason eased toward the booth, tugging a reluctant Destiny with him.
“I hated hurting your mother; I really did. But she didn’t follow directions too well. It seems neither do you, but once I take care of this young man, maybe you’ll change.” George set a gun on the table, keeping his hands curled around the butt of the weapon. “Everyone in this diner works for me. They will clean up the mess and throw Mason’s body away like the garbage he is.”
Mason wasn’t about to show his hand just yet. Not until he got more than enough information and not just for himself. “Do you know these two people?” Mason flipped his phone over, showing a picture of Dean and Jake.
“Should I?” George said with a snicker.
“What about this man?” Mason tapped his phone to go to the next image.
“I know Trip. He’s a damn fool too,” George said.
“Tell me who beat the crap out of this man.” Mason tapped the screen. “And killed this boy.”
“Why would I know that?” George smiled a little too wide.
Mason decided to go right to the point of the Feds’ case. “Who actually stole the 5k in counterfeit money? Was it Trip? Dean? The kid?”
“You think you’re so smart, don’t you?”
Mason raised his finger. “I think Trip didn’t really understand how money laundering went and thought he could just take some of the money you were trying to wash. Jake managed to steal it from Trip. What I can’t piece together is how Dean fits into all of this and why someone had to beat him to within inches of
his life.”
George waved the gun in the air, indicating for them to take a seat. “Trip is a stupid man. No one brings a kid into an operation like this. Then the kid’s uncle came poking around. But I didn’t do anything to them.”
“You hired someone,” Mason said matter-of-factly.
“You’re boring me.” George pushed the gun toward Mason. “If you must know, I helped Trip with the kid so I could get my money back. I don’t know about the kid’s uncle. I bet it was Trip who put the poor man in the hospital.”
“You certainly know a lot for someone who wasn’t involved.”
“I’m done with this conversation.”
“I want to know one more thing,” Mason said. “You mentioned Destiny’s—”
“Her name is Heidi. But proceed with whatever.”
“As I was saying, you said Destiny’s mother showed you a picture of her before she died. When exactly was that?”
“Poor woman. I was deeply disturbed when I found out she’d killed herself.”
Destiny slumped on the bench. “That’s where I know you from. You came to the funeral.”
Mason sat up a little taller. “You killed her mother, didn’t you?”
George waved his finger. “That’s a mighty steep accusation there, son.”
“I’m not your son. Now answer the question.”
“Heidi Ho, why don’t you go with my friend over there.” George pointed to the waitress. “I don’t think you want to see me kill your friend.”
“She’s not going anywhere,” Mason said. “And before you start spouting off about my family and threatening them, I’ve taken measures to keep them safe.”
George tossed his head back and burst out laughing. “Assistant Chief of Police Mason William Cooper, you are so damn predictable, and you’ve made this way too easy, taking away some of the fun.”
“What are you talking about?” Destiny asked, leaning against Mason, her fingers digging into his thighs.
“Gathering his family together. Smart, but stupid at the same time.”
He reached for his phone, but George shoved his gun in Destiny’s face.
