Chapter Six
It was definitely a bachelor pad.
Chase lived in an unassuming two-bedroom house with beige carpet and off-white walls. Everything was functional and had a purpose. There was a master bedroom and a guest bedroom, along with a kitchen and a bathroom, and a small living room.
There was nothing cozy about it—no knickknacks, throw pillows, no art on the walls. It was located in a sleepy neighborhood outside of Vegas. Chase’s place was situated at the end of a cul de sac, so there wasn’t much activity on the road.
This was a house, not a home.
After the place Mary had grown up in, it seemed cramped. Then again, she’d had servants and more rooms than she could count as a child. Of course, anything else would seem small.
“You’ll stay in the guest bedroom,” Chase said at the end of their quick tour.
Mary nodded. Truthfully, she was ready to go to bed. Maybe things would look less bleak in the morning.
“Do I have to warn you what will happen if you leave?”
She sighed. “No, you don’t.”
It would be nice if they could go a few hours without another warning. As soon as she had the thought, Mary wondered why. She had to get her priorities straight and he’d just given her a reminder.
Chase was the enemy, not her friend.
“I’m glad to hear it.” He punched a few buttons on a panel on the wall. “I have a security system, and if you open a door or window without the key code, it will set off an alarm.”
Fantastic, it’s a futuristic, electronic prison.
During the tour, she’d spotted a laptop, but she suspected he’d password-protected it. Mary made a mental note to try it later. Although, at the very least, Agent Hawthorne knew where she was, which was comforting.
“Are you hungry?”
Mary blinked. “What? Oh, no, I’m fine.” She’d barely eaten all day, and even the thought of food made her stomach turn.
“Come on, you gotta eat.”
Mary didn’t want to have an argument with him, especially over something so trivial. Chase did a lot of caretaking, and she wasn’t sure where the impulse came from. Was it guilt? Was he worried there would be reprisals if Mary wasn’t treated well?
Or did he genuinely care about her?
“Fine, what do you have?”
She followed him into the kitchen, and he opened the fridge. Chase rummaged around, and she didn’t see much over his shoulder.
“Well, if you want mustard and mayonnaise, you’re all set.”
“No, thanks.”
“How about a Kind bar?” Chase handed her a granola bar before she could answer.
They stood there awkwardly for a few moments.
“I’ll go to the store tomorrow and get some food. I eat out a lot, so there’s not much here.” He hesitated. “I’m sorry.” Somehow, she doubted his apology was about the lack of provisions.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“You need anythin’ else?”
“How about some answers?” On the drive over, a couple of things had occurred to her.
Chase shook his head. “This might as well be Fight Club. I can’t say much.”
“Will you at least hear me out?”
“Okay, let me have it.”
“So there’s bad blood between your father and my grandfather?” It sounded so outlandish, like a real-life version of West Side Story, only these guys weren’t doing dance numbers to solve their differences.
“Yes, for a long time now. In the past, they had some confrontations and, before you ask, I can’t give you any specifics.”
Dammit.
“Well, if all of you are mafia guys, what about honor among thieves and all that?” It didn’t make much sense. They were all criminals, so wouldn’t they work together against law enforcement and not each other? Or at the very least, stay out of each other’s way?
“Yeah, I don’t get it either, but these guys are tribal, so they are always jockeying for position.”
Interesting. Chase talked about the mafia as though he weren’t a member.
“What about loyalty?”
“The mafia in the south is more loosely connected. We aren’t all related like the Italian boys or those Russian guys. We’re separated by geography, for the most part, and my dad runs the Sin City contingent, while your granddad is with the Lone Star Mafia group. It’s big business in Las Vegas and in your area, too.”
She felt sick all of a sudden.
It just now occurred to her. Everything she owned was tainted. Her grandfather had used blood money to pay for their lifestyle—her schooling, her clothing, her car, everything.
Mary slumped against the wall, holding her stomach.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” On shaky legs, Mary went upstairs to lie down, but sleep never came.
***
Two tense weeks passed.
Mary was acting like a ghost, vacating rooms when he entered them, and holing up in the guest bedroom most of the time and Chase hardly saw her.
Chase had tried to make her more comfortable. He’d gone to the grocery store and gotten all of her favorite foods, although she didn’t eat much. Chase had encouraged her to make herself at home. She’d read a couple of his legal thriller books and watched Netflix now and then, but she was restless.
And so was he.
Chase threw himself into work, but it failed to distract him.
“Got a second to talk about Mary?”
Chase had just finished attending another Sin City meeting, and he lingered afterward, hoping to push Noah into taking action. They were in Noah’s house, in a meeting room, adjoining his office. It was an innocent-looking space—gray carpet and walls and a long wooden table with matching chairs.
As per usual, the meeting had been a long and boring exercise in futility, only with dickheads in attendance, instead of CEOs who kept bragging about their misdeeds. Chase hated going to these, but he didn’t have much choice.
“You’re really taken with this girl, aren’t you?” Unfortunately, his father seemed amused.
“It ain’t about her.” The words sounded like a lie, even to his own ears.
As they spoke, Harry wandered around the room, as though searching for something, but Chase thought he was probably eavesdropping.
What a nosy bastard.
Noah winked. “Sure, it isn’t. How is the prisoner, by the way?”
“Fine, but I’m eager to get this over with, and I want a shot at Cobb.”
“I never thought I’d hear you say such a thing, my boy.” Noah clasped his shoulder, as though he was proud of Chase, which disgusted him.
“Have you contacted her grandfather yet?”
“No, but according to the reports I’ve been gettin’, he’s looking for her. Apparently, he’s taking a run at all the local biker gangs, convinced they have something to do with it.” Noah grinned. “Cobb’s gettin’ desperate.”
“Then let’s end this and contact him.”
“No, we’re gonna wait until the time is right.”
“And when is that? When she dies of old age?”
Chase needed to get away from temptation. Living with Mary was proving dangerous. Every day he spent with her, his resolve ebbed.
He’d vowed to punish Faith’s killer, but he hated to think of the impact Tucker’s death would have on Mary. Even though the prospect of killing the bastard filled him with a sick sort of dread, at the very least, this stalemate would be over, and they could all move on.
“No, we’ll wait until he’s exactly where we want him, and then we’ll settle this, once and for all.”
“What’s the point in drawin’ this out?”
Faith had been on his mind lately, plaguing his thoughts, pricking his conscience. In between thinking about Mary, he contemplated her life and death. Chase wanted to do right by both of these women, but it wasn’t possible. One of them would lose out.
And what if Cobb hadn’t really killed her?
Chase didn’t know for sure, but his father was awful quick to lay the blame at the other man’s feet, which made Chase a little suspicious. Did Noah have ulterior motives?
Yeah, of course, he did. The man made Sun Tzu look like Gandhi. And I work for the son of a bitch. The question is, what did he stand to gain?
“It’s about getting even. He’s gonna stay up at night, wonderin’ where she is, like I did. I want him pacin’ the floor, imaginin’ what the fuck happened to her and I want the bastard to suffer as much as possible.”
His voice was tinged with misery and rage. Fuck, the old man had really loved her. He was still just as broken up about Faith’s death as Chase was, even though he hid it better.
Reluctantly, Chase nodded in agreement.
“Are you gonna take over some of their territory, boss?” Harry seemed a bit too interested in the conversation, for his liking. “Push them out?”
“That’s for me to know, and you to shut the fuck up about. I make the decisions, not you.”
Grumbling, Harry faded into the background once more.
“Anything else?” Noah asked Chase.
“Come to think of it, I have a meetin’ in New Orleans in a few weeks, and I’ll need someone to watch Mary, if she’s still here.”
“You’d best make arrangements then.”
Damn, he’s really playin’ the long game on this one.
“Okay.”
“I’ll take care of her,” Harry offered.
Fuck that. I ain’t letting him get anywhere near her.
Chase turned to his father. “I’ll ask one of the soldiers to watch her.”
“Good, because Tucker won’t find out what happened to her until he’s out of his mind.”
“You want him to suffer, don’t you?”
An unholy light entered Noah’s eyes. “I really do.”
***
One evening, Chase came home to find Mary working out in front of the television. She had a YouTube fitness channel running. Mary had pinned her hair up and she wore the gift shop sweatpants along with a t-shirt, which she’d tied off just above her navel.
Chase licked his suddenly dry lips. “How’re you doing?”
He’d done his damnedest to shove these feelings away—compassion, understanding, lust, and something he couldn’t quite identify, but they kept cropping up. Chase wished Mary didn’t matter to him, but she did.
“I’m fine.” She never looked away from the screen.
Chase seriously doubted Mary’s answer but didn’t call her on it.
“I’ll leave you alone then.” Chase knew better than to push. This wasn’t his first conversation with a pissed off woman, and he already knew there was no point in pursuing it.
She turned to face him. “How long am I going to be here?”
“I don’t know, it’s not up to me.”
“I can’t stay here, Chase.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I wish I were in charge of this operation so I could cut you loose, but I’m not.” Actually, that was a lie. He liked having her around, although he’d never admit it.
Mary nodded and sat on the couch. “And what about Tucker?”
“What about him?” Chase asked, delaying the inevitable.
“What are they going to do with my grandfather?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do, but you won’t talk about it. They’re going to hurt him, aren’t they?” She lifted her chin a notch. “You’re going to hurt him.”
Chase didn’t want to have this discussion with her. It wasn’t going to end well, and he didn’t want to upset her.
“Your grandfather has done terrible things.” He tried to keep his tone even.
“Who are you to judge him?” Mary crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’m the last person on earth to pass judgment on anyone. I’m simply stating a fact, and I’m more concerned about you, and you should be, too.”
She sighed. “Look, I know you said he was a monster, but I don’t see it. Since I found out, I’ve been thinkin’, examining every single interaction I’ve had with him over the years.”
“My father didn’t lie to you.”
She bit her lower lip. “I know, but…”
“What? You want to change Tucker Cobb?”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “I don’t know everything he did, but I’ve seen his kindness. Granddad loves me and—”
“He’s still a killer.” Chase hadn’t meant to be so harsh, but he couldn’t help himself. He wasn’t even sure this was about her. There was a time when he’d been in denial about his own father’s crimes, and he didn’t want her to fall into the same trap. “You can’t save him, or stop him, all you can do, is save yourself, so don’t get sucked in, Mary.”
“And what if it’s already too late? I’m already up to my eyeballs.”
“Nah, I don’t believe that. Soon, you’ll go home and then you’ll move on, no matter what happens.”
“I don’t know.” Mary rubbed the back of her neck. “My granddad bought me a word of the day calendar for Christmas, and one of the words was ‘hiraeth.’ Ever heard of it?”
Chase shook his head.
“It’s an old Welsh term meaning homesickness, a nostalgia tinged with grief, which is how I feel about Crimson Creek again. Even if I get back to Texas, it will never be the same. I’ll never be able to go home again.”
His eyes burned with unshed tears and he blinked them away. He’d worked through the pain and anger, and moved forward eventually, but Chase had never been the same.
“I know how you feel.”
She considered him a moment. “Yes, I suppose you do.” Mary frowned. “How did you come to terms with it?”
“I’ll let you know when I finally do.”