Chapter Seventeen
Chase’s phone kept buzzing, waking him up.
He came to, at the bottom of the stairs, and then sort of wished he hadn’t. Chase ached all over like he was one big bruise. For a moment, he couldn’t figure out what the fuck happened to him. Then he noticed his shoulder throbbed and he had a painful lump on the back of his skull.
Chase silenced the phone and tossed it away. He blearily glanced out the curtains to see it was late and the sun was setting. Had he been out cold all this time?
Then he remembered what happened: those Lone Star Mafia bastards had shot him. He tried to sit up, and sure enough, he hissed in agony. There must be a bullet lodged in his shoulder.
And then he remembered Mary.
Chase slowly got to his feet, but he swayed and had to clutch the wall for support.
Step by step, he crept upstairs, looking for her, even though he knew those dickheads had taken her with them. Sure enough, when he pushed open all the doors, she was nowhere to be found.
Chase noticed her stuffed polar bear, Snowy, laying on the ground. He picked it up, clutching the toy to his chest, being careful not to stain it with blood.
All of a sudden, his place felt even emptier.
Goddammit. I never even got to say goodbye.
No, this is probably better. He never would’ve been able to walk away from her.
Chase limped downstairs to gather the supplies from Harry’s impromptu surgical procedure. He disinfected the tweezers, grabbed the gauze and vodka, and set about working on his own arm.
Mary had made it look easy, but it wasn’t, not by a longshot. He wasn’t sure if he poured more vodka down his own throat than he splashed on the wounds. After a couple of hours, he thought he’d pulled out every last bullet fragment. Chase thought about going to the doctor, but there wasn’t time. Soon, his dad would find out about Mary’s disappearance and then shit would really hit the fan.
Chase wanted to confront the dickhead first.
Afterward, he cleaned himself up in the bathroom, washing the blood off his hands, and then splashing some cold water on his face. His throat ached, and he stared at himself in the mirror for the longest time, trying to pull it together.
Chase shivered from the blood loss and exhaustion, and a deep down longing, a suffering, which would never go away.
“It’s for the best, you selfish prick. She’s better off without you.”
***
“Thank God you’re okay. When I’d heard you’d been abducted, I was frantic.”
Tucker wrapped his arms around Mary, and she hung limply in his embrace. Mary didn’t push him away, nor did she hug Tucker like she would have before the revelation.
She’d just spent hours in a car with Jasper and Ten. It had been a tense and awkward trip. Jasper had tried to talk her into pretending everything was fine, but she wouldn’t listen to him.
And now here she was, but Mary was starting to lose her nerve.
They were in the living room, surrounded by all of this wealth and privilege and in her mind’s eye, it was splashed with blood, tainted.
It sickened her. No, he sickened her.
“I’m so glad you’re home, Mary. I’ve missed you.” Tucker pulled back to smile at her, all easy Southern charm and fatherly concern. “And don’t worry, I called the admissions office and told them you had an illness. I dealt with your lease at the apartment as well. Harvard will be waiting for you this fall and I know it might sound devastatin’ now, but a few months is nothing in the scheme of things.”
Mary saw through his bullshit now. It should’ve been obvious years ago. Funny, she’d known this man her entire life and yet she’d only just met him. For now, she decided to play along.
“So you called the FBI when Ten told you I’d been taken, right? Do we need to speak with anyone?”
Tucker shook his head. “No, Ten had a hunch who’d taken you and his instincts were right. We decided not to involve the authorities yet.”
It didn’t make any sense. If he’d been worried about his granddaughter being abducted, the first stop would have been the police, followed by the FBI.
“What’s wrong, Mary? You don’t seem happy to see me.”
Ten and Jasper had left right after they’d dropped her off, so they hadn’t gotten a chance to warn Tucker about Mary’s suspicions. She supposed they wanted to be out of reach when her grandfather discovered Chase was still alive, too.
“I’m not unhappy to see you.” Mary couldn’t say she was exactly thrilled though.
“Why are you givin’ me such a strange look?”
“Why do you think?” Mary cocked her head to the side, waiting for his answer. She wondered what kind of crazy lie he’d create.
“I don’t know what these people told you about me, but I can assure you, I only care about your wellbein’.”
Okay, enough of this charade.
Mary took a deep breath. It’s now or never.
“I know you’re a mobster.”
He opened his mouth, ready to deny it, but she held up a hand.
“Don’t. Stop tryin’ to protect me. I’m not some fragile little girl anymore, and I deserve to hear it from you.”
“You’ve never been fragile, Mary, you’re a Cobb.” He sighed, sinking down onto his leather sofa. “Fine, I’m a mobster. Are you happy now? I didn’t want you to learn of it like this.”
No, she hadn’t been happy since Chase had taken her from the apartment in Boston and all of her illusions had come crashing down, one by one. Her well-ordered existence had disintegrated around her and Mary was still sifting through the ashes.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“It’s not something I’m proud of.” He glanced down as though sheepish when she doubted Tucker could be ashamed of anything.
“Yet another story. I wonder, can you level with me? We both know you like the power this position affords you.” Mary crossed her arms over her chest. She’d meant to be calm about this, get information out of him, and discuss it rationally.
Instead, she found herself growing angrier.
“I don’t like your tone, young lady.”
She refused to be cowed. Mary had been raised to respect her elders, but she had a new set of morals. She’d honor those who’d earned it, who deserved it, and Tucker Cobb wasn’t one of those people.
“Tell me what happened to Mom and Dad.”
“You know what happened to your parents. They died in a car accident, a long time ago.” The lie rolled off his tongue, so easily. “Why don’t you go upstairs, and wash up? I’m in the mood to celebrate, and I’ll take us out for dinner tonight. Maybe the little Italian place you like so much?”
Mary clenched her fists. She had a choice, tell him what she knew, or go upstairs and be a good girl, like she’d always done.
“I know the lie you told me, but this time I want the truth, the whole unvarnished truth. Tell me.”
“What are you accusin’ me of exactly?” he asked, regarding her as though she were a toddler throwing a tantrum.
Murder.
“I know you did it.”
“Did what? What heinous act am I supposedly guilty of?” Tucker stood and placed his hands on his hips. “I can see these people poisoned you against me, filled your head with lies.”
“Tell me how my parents really died. It wasn’t a car accident, was it?”
“They died in a vehicle.” It was another half-truth, a way of twisting reality to suit his needs. Had he always been this slippery and she hadn’t noticed?
“Yes, but why?”
“Warren told you, didn’t he?” His shoulders fell.
Mary closed her eyes. “I’m pretty sure you killed them.”
He sighed and turned to face her. Suddenly, he seemed older somehow, world-weary, but no less fearsome. His blue eyes burned bright, lit from within.
“I never wanted you to find out.”
“So I figured.” Mary gritted her teeth. “Now please talk.”
Tucker’s nostrils flared. “Your father made a deal with the FBI. He betrayed my organization, this family, and everythin’ we’d worked so hard for.”
Hmph. Tucker was casting her father as the real bad guy.
“Taylor knew what he was getting himself into when he joined. “ He shook his head. “And he wanted to take you away from here, away from me.”
“So he was going into protective custody?” she asked.
“Yes, in exchange for testifyin’ against me. Your father was planning on putting me behind bars. Taylor betrayed me, his own father.” Tucker laid a hand on his chest, right where his heart should be if he had one.
From what she could tell, Tucker deserved to be in jail. She didn’t want to see him dead, but twenty-five to life wasn’t out of the question. The public had to be protected from him.
Clearly, he was deranged.
Mary sucked in a deep breath. “Why did he betray you?”
“He didn’t agree with how I ran the family business. Taylor wanted to change things up, start a new era.”
So this had been an internal power struggle gone awry.
Mary was forced to reevaluate her father, too. Her parents were dim memories, childhood stories she’d heard from adults, and she’d idolized them growing up. Mary had never been able to have an actual relationship with them, so she’d admired them instead, spinning yarns about what it would’ve been like to have parents.
Now, she could no longer see Taylor in the same light. And Molly seemed to be a better person, but she’d still married into the mob.
Never examine your heroes too closely.
“Why did you kill Mom? She didn’t do anythin’ to you.”
His eyes narrowed. “She knew too much.”
“So you orphaned me to protect your business interests.”
“It was the hardest thin’ I’ve ever done.” Tucker actually seemed pained.
Did he expect her to sympathize with him? Mary wondered if it was all for show, crocodile tears to gain her compassion. After everything that happened, she had trouble believing him. If he told her the sky was blue, she’d look out a window and verify it.
“And I didn’t abandon you, Mary. I took you in and raised you as my own.”
“I know.” Mary was unmoved by his display.
“Then you understand my point of view?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t even know who you are anymore.”
“I’m the same man who’s always been there for you. You simply know more about me.” Tucker was so smooth, so convincing as he argued his case, he could’ve been a lawyer. “My actions were regrettable but necessary, and in time, you’ll agree with me.”
“You should turn yourself in.”
Tucker sighed. “Mary, I’d hoped you wouldn’t force me to do anythin’ I’d come to regret.”
Her breath caught, and Mary took a step back.
He snapped his fingers, and a man walked into the room. Mary didn’t recognize him, so he must be new.
“W-what are you doing?” Chase was right. This was a fool’s errand.
“What I have to.”
Mary braced herself for the worst.
“I won’t be makin’ the same mistake twice. I’m gonna give you a chance to calm down and think this through and eventually forgive me.”
For orphaning me? Not likely.
Mary raised her chin. “And if I don’t?”
“I prefer to focus on the positive. You’re a smart young lady with a bright future ahead of you, Mary. Surely, you’ll see reason. Once I’m assured of your loyalty, you’ll return to Harvard, finish your degree, and pursue your career, as we’d planned and we’ll never discuss this ugly business again.”
The implicit threat hovered in the air.
And if she didn’t play the compliant granddaughter, he’d arrange an accident for her, too. Mary wished she could say she was surprised, but she wasn’t. Her grandfather was despicable, and without conscience, both Jasper and Chase had been right.
Tucker Cobb was a wolf.
And Mary didn’t have any tears left for him. The last of what she felt for Tucker was stripped away.
He was a murderer, plain and simple.
“Take Mary to her room and guard the door,” Tucker said to the strange man.
“You can’t do this.”
“Yes, I can and I will. I’ll do anythin’ to protect us both.” And then he turned away.
The guard took Mary by the arm and led her upstairs.