The Protector: The Complete C.I.A. Romance Series

by Lilian Monroe

  “I’ll try not to,” I grinned.

  Mickey shook his head. “This guy better be worth it.”

  I was about to protest, to tell him that it wasn’t about Bennett, but I stopped myself. I chewed on his words until it felt like a curtain was being raised and I realized that it was all about Bennett. It had always been about him.

  All this fear of betrayal, the back and forth of us flirting, me opening up to him about my family… it meant something to me. And whatever happened today, I realized that I wanted to do it not only to get my own family out of trouble, but I wanted to help Bennett.

  In twenty-four hours, I’d been bitter and betrayed when I found out who he really was, and now I was completely loyal to him. Agent Bennett—well, Anders—had gotten under my skin.

  And I liked it. That was where I wanted him—by my side.

  If today went the way I was hoping, that’s where I hoped Bennett would stay.

  After the hospital, I went straight to the Green Meadows Assisted Living Facility. Maribel was already there—I saw her car in the parking lot. I entered the building, my heart thumping. I signed in at the front desk and walked down the faded yellow hallways toward my grandfather’s room.

  My heart thumped as I made my way there. Every step took me closer to whatever confrontation was going to happen today. A nurse smiled at me and a resident stopped me in the hallway.

  “Why, Catherine Crawford,” she exclaimed. The old woman had deep wrinkles lining her face and a shock of curly white hair on her head. I racked my brain trying to remember her name—she’d briefly dated my grandfather when he first moved into Green Meadows. He used to call her his ‘lady-friend’.

  “How are you?” I smiled, glancing down the hallway toward my grandfathers’ room. I didn’t have time for this.

  “Your grandfather told us about your appointment to the Senate. We’re all so proud of you.” She beamed at me and I whipped my head back toward her.

  “He told you about that? He… he remembered?”

  “Oh, dearie,” she said, putting a frail hand on my arm. “He always talks about you and Mickey. I think he’d have left us a long time ago if it weren’t for the two of you.”

  Tears stung my eyes and I tried to blink them away. The last couple times I’d spoken to my grandfather—in person or on the phone—he seemed to be deteriorating rapidly. I didn’t think he had any idea what was going on around him.

  But he knew I was in Senate now. He talked about me with the other residents. He remembered.

  My heart soared. I smiled at the woman, wrapping her in an awkward hug.

  “I gotta go,” I said. “Thank you.”

  She smiled and I took that as permission to dart down the hallway. I didn’t stop again until I got near Gramps’ room. I could tell from a distance that door was ajar, which was unusual. All my hope and happiness evaporated as my stomach dropped.

  Was I too late?

  My mind started racing as I closed the distance to the door. My heart was in my throat and I couldn’t breathe. I just raised my hand to the doorknob and took a deep breath, pushing it open.

  “Kitty Cat,” Gramps said as he turned toward me. His face split into a smile. Maribel was standing in front of him with a little paper cup of medication. She glanced at me, nodding her head.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Gramps,” I said. You’re okay.”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Never mind.” I sat down beside him, wrapping my arms around his torso. He chuckled, returning my hug and placing a kiss on my temple.

  “Cat,” he said gently. “Are you okay?”

  My grandfather patted my back and I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. No, I wanted to say. No, I’m not okay. I’m very far from okay.

  Instead, I swallowed back my tears and took a deep breath. I pulled away from my grandfather and looked into his eyes. They were clear blue—just like mine—and I said a silent thank you. When he was deeper in his illness, his eyes got cloudy and unfocused. They’d dart from side to side and lines would mar his face.

  But now, his face was smooth. Well, as smooth as it could be. He was with us. I took a deep breath, readying myself to tell him what I needed to say. I’d have to be careful—any shock could send him deep into his illness and it would be much harder to protect him from whoever was coming to get him.

  “Gramps, you have to listen to me carefully. There are some bad men that want to hurt you—I think it has to do with me being a senator. They’re targeting my security team, oddly enough.” I took a deep breath. “I know that sounds crazy. I—”

  “Kowalski,” my grandfather interrupted.

  “What?”

  Gramps turned to me and gave me a sad smile. “Tony Kowalski was here. He was very clear about his intentions toward me.”

  My blood turned to ice as my eyes widened. “Here? Kowalski was here? When? How? Why didn’t you call me or the police, or—”

  “Kitty Cat,” Gramps said, taking my hand in his. “There’s a lot I haven’t told you. It was weeks ago.”

  I opened my mouth, glancing at Maribel. She nodded, slinking out of the room. She wouldn’t be far—we’d been clear about that. I was to stay with my grandfather and she’d be within hearing distance of the door in case anything went wrong.

  Still, it was nice to have some privacy.

  Gramps took a deep breath and his eyes drifted off into the distance. He sighed and a smile drifted over his lips.

  “Your grandmother was beautiful,” he said gently. I could feel the love radiating off him and I squeezed his hand. Tears misted in his eyes. “She was the love of my life. When we had your mother, well my-oh-my, I was the happiest man in the world.”

  He inhaled deeply, digging in his pocket for a handkerchief. He pulled one out and dabbed at his eyes, taking his time to fold the handkerchief carefully and slide it back into his pocket. I wanted to rush him, to ask him about Kowalski, to figure out what was going on, but the questions died on my lips.

  I knew my grandfather. He needed to tell me in his own time.

  And he did. He took a deep breath and turned his head toward me. “It was your grandmother who convinced me to leave Philadelphia. I got arrested, and—”

  “You got arrested?”

  He chuckled. “Yeah,” he said. “But they let me go. They wanted bigger fish, they said. I wasn’t important enough. That’s when your grandmother talked some sense into me, and we came here to make a new life.”

  I gulped. “And Tony Kowalski?”

  He inhaled and squeezed my hand. “Well, Tony wasn’t too happy about it.” He smiled sadly again and took a deep breath. “Where I grew up, there weren’t a lot of opportunities for the children of immigrants. We were second-class citizens. You could either struggle your whole life, or you could find another family to protect you.”

  “The mob?” I whispered.

  Gramps chuckled, glancing at me with his sharp blue eyes. “Yeah,” he said. “The mob.”

  “You were a mobster?”

  “I don’t know that I would call myself a mobster, but for all intents and purposes, I suppose I was.”

  “And Kowalski?”

  “He was my best friend.” Gramps sighed as sadness clouded his eyes. He blinked it away and looked at me, smiling. “But I left it all behind and I’m glad I did. I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for you and your brother.”

  My heart squeezed. “Gramps, why was Kowalski here?”

  My grandfather tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and leaned over to kiss my forehead. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled at me.

  “I did something I shouldn’t have done, but it was worth it, Cat. No matter what happens, it was worth it. Look at you—you’re a US Senator. I can’t tell you how proud I am, Catherine. Everything I’ve done, I would do it again to watch you fulfil your potential.”

  “Gramps…”

  “Shh,” he said, wrapping his arms around me. It felt like he was say
ing goodbye to me, and I wasn’t ready for it. It felt like he was getting ready to face Kowalski on his own, but I would never let that happen. I took a deep breath and pulled away from my grandfather.

  “Gramps,” I said. “Maribel and I have a plan.”

  32

  Chris

  I didn’t want to leave Cat’s side, but I knew I had to. Today was the day that all this ended, and we needed to do our parts—both of us.

  For me, that meant going back to the hotel and picking up Gary before heading to the cafe where Kowalski was likely to show up. I had borrowed the van to get to Cat’s last night, so I jumped in again and drove back to the hotel.

  Gary was awake and dressed when I knocked on his door.

  He nodded to me, opening the door wider for me to come in. His laptop was whirring on the table and he sat back down, pushing his glasses up his nose.

  “Got a ping on Kowalski’s cell phone. He’s in Baltimore in little Poland. Or at least he was an hour ago.”

  “At that cafe?”

  “The data’s not that accurate, but it’s possible.”

  “Let’s go, then.”

  Gary glanced at me and grimaced. “What’s the plan here? Shouldn’t we call Berkeley now?”

  “I have York and Haynes on the way—they’ll sit on Cat’s brother at the hospital. Finch is almost here. He’ll meet us at the cafe. What did you say it was called?”

  “Krasinski’s.”

  “Can you send that to Finch? He’ll meet us there.”

  “And then what?”

  Gary stared at me, arching an eyebrow. I knew he was right. Kowalski wouldn’t just let me walk onto his turf—we’d arrested the two men at the safe house, and the third man was dead. For all I knew, there was a price on my head… and on Cat’s.

  We’d have to be smart about this. Cat and Maribel were at Green Meadows watching over Shorty Nowak. We knew that Kowalski’s guy was going to try to pick him up today—at least that’s what he’d told Maribel when he tried to hire her.

  They’d intercept whoever was sent over there, and I’d confront Kowalski. The man that Cat and Maribel apprehended would be our leverage. That would give me enough time to figure out who was paying Kowalski, and then we could end this. I would know who was truly after me, and why.

  I took a deep breath. Gary was still waiting for me to speak.

  “We’ll get eyes on him. If the opportunity to grab Kowalski presents itself, we’ll take it. If not, I’ll just walk in and ask him what the fuck is going on.”

  “You’ll walk in.”

  “Yeah.”

  “After having killed one of his men and imprisoned two others.”

  “He’s the one who attacked me, remember?”

  “I remember, I’m just not sure he will.”

  “Well, it’s the only plan we’ve got. I just need to figure out what he wants, and then I can deal with it.”

  “What if he wants you dead?”

  “Well, I already know he wants me dead. But what does he get for killing me? What does he want?”

  Gary made a noise and gently closed his laptop. That’s all he needed to do to let me know he would back me up on this.

  It was showtime.

  We found Krasinski’s Cafe and Deli without any issues. Gary parked the vehicle half a block away and I reached for some binoculars stored in the back of the van. The front of the cafe was quiet. It had white lettering arching on the windows and a faded green awning over the door. I swept my eyes over the street.

  “Anything?” Gary sounded nervous.

  “Not yet.”

  We sat in silence as the seconds ticked by. Seconds turned into minutes and I finally put the binoculars down.

  “I’m going to take a closer look.”

  “Chris…”

  I didn’t wait to hear Gary’s protests. I slid out of the van just as Finch was parking up across the street. He nodded to me and I flipped up my hoodie, rolling my shoulders forward as I walked toward the cafe. I took my time, walking slowly as I cased the street.

  It was quiet. An old woman walked into the butcher’s shop across the road, the bells above the door tinkling slightly. A gust of wind blew down the street and I held my hood closed against my face. In ten or twelve steps, I’d be in front of Krasinski’s Cafe.

  Eight steps.

  Six.

  Three.

  A car rolled to a stop at the corner of the street. I ducked my head as Kowalski stepped out, flanked by two massive men, both of them sporting lush unibrows and fake leather jackets. I leaned down, pretending to tie my shoe. My heart thudded in my chest as I strained my ears toward them. Kowalski didn’t even spare me a glance.

  “… Shorty should be joining us within the hour. Tomas went to get him. Stefan, I want you at the door.” Kowalski said, his tone commanding. One of the unibrowed men grunted, and all three of them walked into the cafe. I stood up, continuing my walk down the block. I glanced inside the cafe, and I could see Kowalski greeting half a dozen other men. My heart sank. There were way too many of them. We’d never be able to overpower them. Walking into that cafe would be suicide.

  Guaranteed, every single one of them would be armed and angry. Kowalski seemed to be in charge, and he took a seat at the head of a table in the corner. I had to duck away as he turned toward the front window and I kept walking around the block.

  An alley ran along the back of the building. There was a green metal door that led into the cafe, but no other entrances or exits. A fire escape ran up the building next door, but I would never be able to reach the ladder from the ground.

  Going in there would be a suicide mission, but I’d heard what he said. Shorty would be joining them—Cat’s grandfather. They would wait in the cafe until then, and if everything at Green Meadows went according to plan, they’d be waiting a long time.

  That meant I could either sit on the cafe and wait for him to re-emerge, probably angry and impatient, or I could go straight into the lion’s den and ask for a parley. In order to do that, though, I had to wait for Cat to apprehend the Polish man on his way to her, and every second that went by was agonizing.

  I walked to the end of the alley and looped back around to Finch’s car. I slid inside and pushed my hood off my head.

  “How’s it looking?”

  “At least ten of them in there. They’re waiting for Cat’s grandfather to show up—they’re supposed to be picking him up this morning.”

  “But?”

  “But Cat is going to try to stop them.”

  “What? On her own?!” His head whipped toward me as his eyes widened.

  “I had no choice, Finch. I had to act.”

  “Why did you bring me here? I could have gone over there for support!”

  I shook my head. “They’d spot you. We need to be careful, and any hint of our involvement would mean Shorty Nowak and Cat are in real danger. We need to make them think they’re in control.”

  “So you’re just using her as bait?’

  “Give her some credit, Finch. She can handle herself.”

  “These aren’t regular thugs, Chris,” Finch said angrily. “They’re dangerous. They’re killers. You faced them; you know that!”

  “We have no choice, Finch,” I said harshly. “We need them to go to her grandfather. We need them to expose themselves, and this is the only way. They’ll get one of their weakest to pick up Grandpa Nowak, and that’s the only way we’ll get any leverage.”

  Finch let out a big sigh, massaging the steering wheel as he frowned. He gulped and I could see the wheels turning in his head. He knew I was right. If we sent agents over to the Green Meadows Assisted Living Facility, there was a real chance that they would be spotted by Kowalski’s man. We’d be giving them the advantage, and I might as well just hand them my life on a silver platter. They’d send more men, more firepower, and both Cat and her grandfather would be in danger. Well, they’d be in more danger than they already were.

  Even if they saw
Cat in there, they wouldn’t expect her to fight back. Kowalski had only sent one man to talk to Maribel, and we were banking on the fact that he would only send one man to pick up Shorty Nowak.

  I hated putting Cat in danger, but it was the only chance we had of getting some sort of advantage over these guys.

  Finch took a deep breath, and I knew he understood where I was coming from. He nodded and turned to me. I expected him to tell me I was right, but his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

  Then, I heard a light tap-tap-tap sound on the passenger’s side window. I glanced over and saw the gleaming barrel of a gun staring back at me. It was attached to a leather-clad arm, standing just behind the passenger’s side door. He must have seen me through the window of Krasinski’s Cafe and followed me around the back of the building.

  “Fuck,” I said under my breath.

  “Out,” the man said through the window, his unibrow angling down toward me. “Both of you.” Another man appeared on the other side of the car. I glanced at Finch and he let out a sigh.

  He shook his head. “Well, I guess we have no choice now. Cat’s on her own.”

  “Hopefully she manages better than we do.”

  33

  Cat

  My grandfather sat quietly as I paced up and down the room. He looked completely calm, almost resigned. He stared at the television as if it was like a normal day and we weren’t waiting for some Polish thugs to come attack us.

  I guess I didn’t know everything about him, after all. He’d obviously been in this kind of danger before, otherwise there’s no way he’d be this calm.

  “Don’t worry, Cat,” he said quietly, sensing my unease. “It’ll be okay.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  He didn’t respond, and I kept pacing. I wanted to call Bennett, to see if he was still okay. He had the harder job of the two of us—he had to find Kowalski and face him directly.

  I was just praying that there was only one man coming to face us. Maribel said it sounded like the man who had offered to pay her to vandalize my house would be the one to come back. He’d told her he would need to come in the side door and have a quiet talk with my grandfather, off the record.