CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

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- NOW -

“IT’S A BIG HOUSE. Almost a mansion. Antonio leaves everyday at around the same time, six PM, and heads for one of the warehouses,” Kellan told us a few days later.

The address Phoenix had found in the police records had been a bust. It wasn’t surprising that someone like Antonio wouldn’t want the police to have his correct address. The tiny, one-bedroom apartment that had been on the police files had been abandoned. And it was a far cry to the mansion Kellan told us he actually lived at.

Kellan had ended up staking out one of the warehouses after the apartment had turned out to be useless. Luck had been on our side for once; Antonio had shown up that very same day. And he’d shown up at the warehouse every day since.

According to Kellan, everyone there treated him with respect and reverence. He’d even heard a couple of people refer to him as Tony.

We had our confirmation. Antonio was in charge.

“What are we waiting for then?” I asked. “We should go in. Now. Tomorrow.”

“Even if he leaves at around the same time every day, there’s no guarantee as to when he’ll be back,” Kellan said. “The first day, he was gone for a few hours. Last night, he was back within forty-five minutes. I could very well get caught inside the house if he arrives back early. And then I wouldn’t be of any use to anyone.”

It amazed me how his first thought was everyone else, and not what would happen to him if he was caught.

“How long do you think it would take?” Phoenix asked, biting into a cupcake that he’d baked.

We were in the kitchen, and Axel was upstairs packing. He was really concerned about his Mom, and would be going to stay with her for a few days. He hadn’t said much, just given me the brush off when I’d asked him about his visit. He’d also been pretty subdued the past few days. It wasn’t like Axel at all, and I was worried about him.

“It’ll take a while to search the whole house. It’s a big place. I would get Max’s help, but he’s a cop. He can’t very well get caught breaking and entering,” Kellan told us. He looked exhausted, the purplish circles under his eyes clear on his face. He’d only just gotten back from staking out Antonio about two hours ago, had napped for a bit, and was leaving again.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I am more than capable of walking. And snooping. I can help. We’ll cover ground twice as quick that way,” I told Kellan.

He was shaking his head before I’d even finished talking. “It’s too dangerous.”

I wanted to roll my eyes at that. He used the word often, not seeming to realize that dangerous situations applied to him too. He wasn’t immune.

“Are there any cameras?” Phoenix asked before an argument could start.

“Only on the outside of the property,” Kellan said, still glaring my way. The thought of me being in that house seemed to be too much for him. “Which makes sense. Antonio wouldn’t want any evidence of the illegal dealings that take place in the house. And I’m sure that there are a lot of them.”

“If I can get in and have a look at the camera system, I could erase the footage,” Phoenix said, energized. “They’ll never even know we were there.”

“We? There is no we!” Kellan said, shaking his head. “You’re not coming with me. Either of you.”

“Two pairs of eyes will be quicker,” I told him, jumping into the conversation. “This isn’t about you or me. This is about Dad. Will you honestly refuse to take me with you, knowing it could help him?”

“Yes,” Kellan said without hesitation, surprising me. I hadn’t expected that. “It’s what Mario would want. He wouldn’t want you in danger. He certainly wouldn’t want you putting yourself in the middle of it for him.”

I didn’t back down. “What other choice do we have?”

* * *

“That’s the car,” Kellan said, eyes following the vehicle through a pair of binoculars the next day.

“There are three people inside it,” Phoenix noted with a pair of binoculars in front of his eyes too.

We’d been in front of Antonio’s house for hours, but Kellan had been here since yesterday. He’d been keeping a careful record of everyone that had been coming and going from the house.

Antonio and two men had just left, which meant that only two other guys were still around. They were both outside on the porch, enjoying the warm weather. They watched a football game on a portable TV while they sat back, drinking beer. Unless someone hadn’t left the house in three days, we were sure that everyone was accounted for and that the house was empty.

“Have you disabled the alarm?” Kellan asked Phoenix.

Phoenix’s fingers moved furiously against the keyboard on his laptop. “Almost there.”

He’d bought his laptop with him, and a small black gadget that I didn’t know the name of. Antonio had a wireless alarm system in place. Phoenix claimed that it was pretty straightforward to disable it if you had the right software. He couldn’t turn the alarm off without having the pass code, but he could put a block in place to stop the sensors from transmitting any signals to trigger the alarm.

Phoenix had been needed – at least in order for Kellan to get into the house. I’d had to argue myself hoarse in order to come along. Kellan had only acquiesced because he hadn’t felt comfortable leaving me alone.

The hard part was yet to come. Kellan was still determined to go in alone, and neither Phoenix or I had managed to convince him that we could be helpful while searching the house. As stubborn as a mule, he was determined not to risk anyone but himself.

“It’s done,” Phoenix announced, shutting his laptop.

Kellan nodded, eyes still on the house. “Okay. I’ll be back as soon–“

“We’re coming with you,” I told him, crossing my arms.

“The hell you are–“

“You can’t do everything alone,” I told him, a frustrated kind of affection in my voice.

He wasn’t moved. “You’re wasting time–“

“We’d better get going then, hadn’t we?” I said cheerfully, just to wind him up.

It worked. A muscle ticked in his jaw, and he looked decidedly unamused. “This wasn’t the plan,” he said through clenched teeth.

“We thought our plan was better, didn’t we, Phoenix?”

Phoenix nodded, looking at Kellan. “Time’s ticking. Come on. Let’s go.”

I opened the car door, Kellan hissing, “April!” He chased after me, like I’d known he would.

Luckily, the property next to Antonio’s was on the market and currently unoccupied. Kellan had already hashed out his plan last night; to climb the hedge separating the back yards of the two houses, and then get into the house from the backdoor.

He caught up to me as I was climbing the hedge, strong arms grabbing me like I weighed nothing and pulling me onto the ground.

“What are you playing at?” he demanded, looming over me. I often forgot how tall he was, but with him right up in my space, it was hard to ignore.

“I’m not letting you risk spending any longer in that house than strictly necessary! The longer you’re there, the more chance you have of getting caught,” I said, struggling in his hold.

“And if we all get caught, then what?”

I shrugged, a little breathless from the run and the struggle against Kellan. “Then at least it’ll be three against two. Its better odds than two against one.”

He shook his head, looking rueful. “You are something else, ballerina.”

Phoenix caught up to us, panting. “If the camera footage is streamed here, and I can get to it, they’ll never even know we were here. Think about it, man. This is a better plan.”

It took a minute of further arguing before a plan was formed.

“It’s agreed. I’ll go in first,” Kellan said, repeating the plan, “if I can find where the cameras are streaming the footage to, I’ll call. If not, you are not to come within distance of the cameras. Okay? You’re to wait in the car.”

It was possible that the video recordings were being streamed to a monitor or hard drive not located on the property, which was why Kellan was adamant that he go in alone at first. Phoenix could only wipe out the evidence of our presence if the footage was inside the house. If not... well, they’d only see Kellan through the cameras. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Without glancing back, Kellan climbed the hedge into Antonio’s backyard. I held my breath as he opened the back door. He paused too, waiting, but nothing happened. The alarm didn’t go off.

I released a breath.

“Oh, please. That pesky alarm was no match for my mad IT skills,” Phoenix said, noticing my relief.

“I won’t ever doubt your skills again,” I promised, watching the house.

My hands clenched into tight fists as we waited for Kellan’s call. I was nervous, and I had yet to take a single step onto Antonio’s property.

The phone rang a mere minute later. He turned towards me, swallowing hard. “Let’s go.”

We climbed the hedge and moved stealthily across Antonio’s backyard, all the while my heart continued to beat a mile a minute. Phoenix also didn’t look unaffected. His right hand clasped the strap of his backpack tightly, and his face had a faint sheen of sweat on it.

“You okay?” I asked quietly, touching his arm.

He nodded jerkily. Slipping his backpack off, he cradled it to his chest like it were a life vest – which it could very well be. He wasn’t sure exactly what kind of setup there was for the security cameras, so he’d brought some equipment along with him.

Stepping inside Antonio’s house gave me chills. Knowing we were there uninvited, knowing what might happen if we were found, had me more than a little unnerved.

Kellan appeared at the end of the hall, the sight of him immediate reassuring. “Come on,” he said, voice low and anxious. “We need to get out as fast as we can.”

We followed him. Eyes darting left and right, I tried to take everything in as quickly as I could. The kitchen looked like something out of a catalogue. Gleaming white, and expensive looking. The hallway and the other rooms were richly furnished, plush carpet on the floor. Paintings on the wall. It actually reminded me a little of Phoenix’s place.

Kellan showed Phoenix to a small room on the ground floor. Aside from two computers on a large desk, and a folding chair, the tiny room was empty.

“You know what you’re doing?” Kellan asked as Phoenix bent down in front of the computers. I could see the front and back yards displayed clearly on the monitors. There was what looked like a large black modem next to the computers that Phoenix was delighted to see.

“This is a fairly simple system,” he told Kellan. “I’ll wipe it clean.”

In the hallway, Kellan turned to me. My presence in the house had him more than antsy... it had him scared. I could see that clearly in his face. “You take the upstairs. I’ll take this floor. The quicker we’re out of here, the better. Any sign of trouble, and you climb out of a window. Okay?”

With my jaw clasped together so tightly it hurt, I nodded. I understood that he’d assigned me the less risky part of the house. If one of those guys stepped inside, I’d be upstairs and have a chance to hide. Kellan most likely wouldn’t.

I didn’t hesitate, taking the stairs two at a time. I pushed the first door open and saw that it was a mostly empty bedroom. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, though, I decided to peruse the room anyway. I pulled open drawers in the dresser, shutting them just as quickly after verifying they were either empty or their contents were useless to me. Lifting the mattress up from the bed, I peeked underneath it.

Nothing.

I shut the door behind me, glancing back only once to make sure that it looked just as I had found it.

The other rooms were similarly as bare. Except one. I was sure that it was Antonio’s bedroom. There were clothes and shoes in the closet, aftershave and toiletries in the bathroom.

I ran my hand over every item of clothing in his closet to make sure that there was nothing concealed inside it. I pushed aside the two paintings on the wall just in case there was a safe behind them. I found nothing. Nothing at all. I was beginning to despair.

Shutting his door behind me, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw someone make their way up the stairs. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it was just Kellan.

His eyes moved over the hallway quickly, the storm in them only slightly abating now that I was in his line of sight. “Aside from furniture, most of the rooms downstairs have nothing in them,” he said, frustrated.

“Same up here. Just two more doors left,” I said, opening one. It looked like an office. Bingo.

Kellan moved fluidly, opening the opposite door. “It looks like an attic. Finish here, and then head back outside,” he told me, waiting until I nodded before disappearing up the steps.

I went straight for the desk in the office. I was careful not to disrupt anything as I had a look through the desk. There was close to five thousand dollars in one drawer, several bags of what looked like cocaine in the other. Although of interest to the police, they were useless to me. I needed information. I was ready to tear my hair out in frustration. We had to find something here. We just had to.

Hearing a steady thud of approaching footsteps, I froze. Every muscle locked into place, even as my mind screamed at me to move. To hide. It couldn’t be Kellan. The footsteps were coming from down the hall.

Carefully, quietly, I pushed the drawer closed. All the while, I tried my hardest not to panic.

I prayed that whoever it was, they wouldn’t enter the office or head up to the attic.

I ducked under the desk, unwilling to stand in plain view. Bringing my knees towards my chest, I wrapped my arms tightly around them. My heart was thundering in my chest, and my hands trembled violently. I’d never been so scared in my entire life.

The door to the office opened.

Shit.

I swallowed hard, and placed a shaky hand over my mouth, convinced that my breathing was audible.

“Yeah. Tonight.” The guy paused, and I guessed he was on the phone. “You’ll have to ask him.”

I willed him to turn around and head back out of the room. I hoped that Kellan had heard him and wouldn’t come down from the attic just then. I prayed that Phoenix was done and had already headed back out to the safety of the car.

There was some rustling, but I didn’t dare move to see what he was doing.

“Nah. He got a call from his parole officer.” He chuckled. “The boss man still has to answer to someone.”

I heard him hang up the phone, followed by a few muttered curses. There was some more noise, kind of like wood moving against wood. With my heart still pounding in my chest, I moved slowly to steal a glance around the leg of the desk.

I could see him, thankfully not facing me, rummaging through some books on a shelf. The door was right across from me, and for a second, I was sure that I saw a shadow move across it.

Kellan?

My eyes were drawn back to the man when he pulled a hardback book away from the shelf. Opening it, he… pulled out a gun.

My breath caught in my throat at the sight of it. Did he know there were intruders inside the house? He was too calm. He couldn’t know. Oh, please, don’t let him be aware, I begged.

He dropped the book on the floor and I saw that a large rectangle hole had been cut throughout all the pages to create a space to conceal the gun.

In the midst of my silent panic attack, I heard a large thump come from outside the room. My head swung towards the door just as the man spun around towards it too.

Suddenly the gun was all I could see.

“Stefano, is that you?” the guy called out, heading out the door. I saw him standing in the hallway, looking both left and right. With the gun still in his hand, he turned left.

Not thinking it would be a good idea to remain in the house a minute longer, I crawled out from under the desk and made for the door. I looked left and right, too, before running as quietly as I could down the hallway towards the stairs. I was extremely thankful that the guy had turned right, and didn’t even want to think about what I would have done if he hadn’t.

I collided with a firm hard figure when I rounded a corner downstairs. With my heart in my throat, I looked up.

Kellan.

Relief flashed over his face, and he placed a quick, hard kiss on my forehead before he pulled me down the hall.

My heart continued to race even after we left the house and found Phoenix in the back yard of the house next door.

“Let’s get out of here,” Kellan said, not slowing his pace.

The further we got away from the house, the more I relaxed. I could see the tension leave Phoenix’s shoulders, too, as Kellan pulled the car away from the curb. Kellan’s body, however, remained coiled and ready to strike.

“Do you think they’ll know we were there?” I asked anxiously, putting my seatbelt on.

Kellan glanced at Phoenix.

“I erased the footage. They’ll never know,” Phoenix said with satisfaction. His glasses had steamed up a little, his forehead lined with perspiration. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, cleaning his glasses before he mopped his brow.

“That guy heard something,” I told them in concern.

“I needed a distraction to get him out of the room,” Kellan said, eyes intent on the road in front of him. “With any luck, he’ll pass it off as nothing.”

I nodded, feeling drained. All that. For nothing. We hadn’t learned anything new during tonight’s adventure.

Once we got back to Phoenix’s place, he disappeared upstairs. Kellan watched his retreating figure in concern.

His eyes shifted, catching me watching him. There was a sea of emotions in the stormy depths of his eyes; relief, doubt, self-blame.

“For an agonizing minute back there, I was sure that you were about to get shot and killed,” he said quietly, something deep and painful passing over his face.

“But I didn’t. I’m fine,” I told him. Reaching for his hand, I gave it a gentle squeeze.

He turned his hand around so that my palm was pressed against his, his fingers entwining with mine.

* * *

He was still there.

Leaning a denim-clad thigh against a wall, Kellan brought a cigarette up to his mouth. His eyes stared unseeingly at the surrounding woods of Phoenix’s home.

There was something troubling him. I could see it in the rigidness of his frame, and in the stormy greys of his eyes, visible even from my perch on the kitchen windowsill.

I looked down at the guitar in my lap, though I wasn’t really playing. My eyes kept inadvertently glancing out of the window.

I’d sought out the instrument shortly after getting back, needing it to help erase some lingering nerves from the evening’s activities. But I was too distracted to play. Looking at Kellan wasn’t helping.

I shifted, determined to stop looking at him. However, there was a flash of movement a moment later, drawing my eyes back to the window.

Kellan had pushed away from the wall and was stalking towards a tree. He pulled his hand back, and then let it fly forward in a tight fist. Amazingly, the branches swayed from the impact, several leaves scattering to the floor.

I gaped as he made his way back to the wall and leaned against it. Shoving a hand in his pocket, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Placing one in his mouth, he lit it up. I blinked, almost doubting that I’d just seen him punch a tree, he was acting so nonchalant. I stared at him for a moment longer before I placed Phoenix’s guitar down on the floor and slipped outside.

Kellan didn’t acknowledge me as I approached, though I could tell by the subtle tensing of his body that he was aware of my presence.

The wall wasn’t too high, but I still had to use my arms to heave myself onto it, coughing slightly as the smoke of the cigarette hit me. He put it out immediately.

“I haven’t seen you smoking much lately,” I commented, perched on top of the wall beside him.

He shrugged, his shirt straining across his broad shoulders. “After today... I needed it.”

I looked at his hand, seeing that he’d split his knuckles open again. He’d only just taken the bandages off from when he’d gotten into the bar fight.

“Nothing happened, Kellan. Nothing,” I said, a little exasperation seeping into my voice.

A searing look was sent my way. “It so easily could have. God, April,” he sighed, and I melted at the way he said my name. It was a half-plea, half something I couldn’t name. He closed his eyes, looking pained.

There was something else going on here. I didn’t know how I knew, but I did.

“What is it?” I said softly.

After a moment, he opened his eyes. The startling grey gaze stared at me, looking torn. “There was an empty room in the attic, behind a steel door with half a dozen bolts and locks on it. There was a single bed inside, and a small sink. No window. Nothing else.”

“Like... like a holding cell?” I asked, swallowing hard. My heart was pounding in my chest, dread at what he’d say next settling deep in my gut.

“Yes.”

I closed my eyes.

“You think–“ I started to say, but paused, unable to voice what I was thinking. I opened my eyes, looking at him wordlessly.

“Maybe,” he said, knowing what I was asking without me having to say. He hesitated for a moment, eyes tormented, before saying, “Probably.” He took in a deep breath. “Mario’s gun was on a table just outside the room... alongside his wedding ring.”

I drew in a ragged breath. Kellan’s arm was suddenly there, supporting my weight when I felt as though I might pass out for the first time in my life. He shoved his other hand in his pocket, and I eyed the closed fist he retracted anxiously.

“Here.” He uncurled his fingers, the familiar white gold band sitting in the palm of his hand.

Carefully, almost reverently, I picked it up and placed it on my thumb. Even on my biggest finger, it was still far too big for me. I curled my fingers into a fist around it, clutching it to my chest and close to my heart.

“But he wasn’t there anymore? He wasn’t there,” I whispered, tears stinging my eyes.

“No, he wasn’t,” Kellan confirmed, looking like he wished he was telling me anything else. Cupping my face with his big, warm hand, he used his thumb to wipe at the one lone tear that had escaped.

I leaned into the warmth of his touch and the comfort he was offering; his arm no longer supporting my weight, but presenting a soothing comfort. His arm tightened, and I nestled my head into the crook of his neck, feeling his warm breath on my forehead.

We stayed that way for hours.

The sun eventually set, and the sky darkened. His arm stayed around me, the warmth of his body keeping me more than warm. Even if I’d been cold, I wouldn’t have been able to move.

I was content. Physically. My mind still wandered to different places. To Dad. And Mom.

I thought about where to go from here. What to do next. One question haunted my mind the most... if Dad had been held in Antonio’s house, where was he now?

I had to work to shift my thoughts. But only other worries replaced them. I thought about the house, and how I’d pay the bills. I thought about getting another job. Or maybe going to college.

Apparently, I could afford to go now. With our debt paid off, I was in a much better position than I’d ever been before.

College had always felt like a faraway dream, something to think about later. What would I even do if I actually went? I wanted to do something useful. Helping others – making a difference in their lives –would be my dream.

“You think I would make a good teacher?” I asked, my voice the first to break the long silence. He turned to look at me, brows furrowed in confusion. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about. Working with disadvantaged kids. Helping to teach and inspire them...” my voice trailed off, uncertainty filling me as Kellan’s intense gaze remained focused on me.

“You’d be fantastic at it,” he said softly, a small smile appearing on his face.

“You really think so?” I asked.

He gave me a small squeeze, his arm still around me. “I have no doubt that you’ll excel at anything you set your mind to,” he said, then continued teasingly, “annoyingly so.”

I rolled my eyes. “You can talk. You’ve thrived as a bounty hunter.”

“Not in other aspects of my life,” he said quietly.

I looked at him for a moment, not sure if he was being serious. “Name one thing you’re not good at,” I said with a raised eyebrow.

“School,” he said grudgingly. “I’ve never been good at it. I barely graduated.”

“I thought you didn’t care,” I said, surprised. Kellan had always given me the impression that he didn’t give a crap about school. He’d just swaggered through everything with a careless shrug back then. I’d heard Dad talk to him about it often enough those months Mom had been in hospital and I’d spent so much time hanging around the high school.

“Back then, I’d rather have had people think I didn’t try or give a shit about school than admit I was struggling,” he said quietly.

“You’re smart, though,” I argued, turning to look at him. He was so smart. Smarter than me. Even if he’d never gotten the grades in high school, it didn’t change how sharp and knowledgeable he was.

“I don’t read all that well,” he admitted. “I didn’t start going to school until I was ten and in foster care. I never did manage to catch up with everyone else.”

I was completely shocked. I’d never known that about him. Suddenly, little things were beginning to make sense to me. I felt a flash of sorrow for the little boy Kellan had been. What kind of life had he had before he’d been taken into care?

“It doesn’t matter to me. It shouldn’t affect how you see your accomplishments. You’re still the greatest man I know,” I told him, and it was true. Kellan Reed was honest and determined, kind and compassionate. It amazed me that he didn’t see himself that way. “Along with Dad, of course,” I added, a small smile appearing on my face.

His lips quirked. He turned, his face now so close to my own. “You really believe that?”

“Of course I do,” I whispered, barely remembering what we were talking about. His eyes moved across my face. They seemed to take in every feature; from my eyes, to the small beauty spot near my mouth, before finally dropping to my lips. They stayed there, and he swallowed hard, almost as though he were bracing himself.

My thoughts fled when his lips, ever so slowly, brushed against my own. It was barely a kiss, but the reaction it elicited from me was greater than any other I’d ever received. It was tender and gentle when our last kiss had been anything but.

He deepened the kiss, his mouth soft, yet hard against my own. Our tongues brushed, and my knees weakened.

We pulled back at the same time.

I stared at him, panting slightly, and could see that he was similarly breathless.

The depths of his grey eyes were intense as they stared into mine, his breath fanning across my face making me feel lightheaded.

We moved at the same time.

Kellan was suddenly pulling me off the wall and into his arms, as my hands found their way into his hair.

Our lips met in a sensual, open-mouthed kiss, and I felt everything in that moment. His hard thighs as I stood between his legs, the softness of his hair in my hands, and most of all, the reverence in his kiss and in every single touch.

“Wow,” I said, breathing hard.

His answering smile was strained, though his eyes held an underlining softness as they gazed at me. “You stole the word right out of my mouth, ballerina.”