Chapter Twenty-Two
“Does he have bodyguards outside, too?” asked Rahab.
“Yes, but five acres isn’t much to see through when the trees are bare, and the sensors are always on.”
“Could someone get through the sensors without tripping them?”
“No. They line the perimeter, including the side of the house that overlooks the river.”
If the whole thing hadn’t been so fucking serious, Rahab would have thought it was like something straight out of a damn cartoon, or an old spy movie.
The sound of thundering boots reached his ears before at least a dozen armed men stormed into the kitchen. Vassago told them what Digger had said, and two of the men escorted Rahab and Vassago to large room in the basement with no windows. “Stay here. We got this.”
Vassago seemed to know their escorts and didn’t protest, so Rahab had no choice but to comply. He really wanted to call Liz, but there was no point. It would only upset her. Hearing her voice right now would be wonderful, but having her worried when there was nothing she could do would not be.
“You ever go through this before?” he asked Vassago.
Vassago shook his head.
“Where is his staff? Why aren’t they down here, too?”
“They each have a designated safe place to hide in the house. Donny never wants everyone in the same room during a threat.”
“Don’t you think if di Stefano sent someone here to kill Donny, that person would have simply followed him to Columbus?”
“No. It’s quicker and easier to get the mark at his home. Out in public leaves the possibility of too many witnesses.”
“Vito was killed in public.”
“That was a screw-up.”
“Wish we knew what was going on,” said Rahab, taking a seat on one of the benches in the room.
“We will.”
“Did Digger try to call Donny? Is that why he called you?”
“Yes. Donny doesn’t like to answer his phone when he’s out with his wife. Probably put it on silent or even turned it off.”
“Why is no one upset about this?”
“They are, but they don’t show it. A man like Donny lives with threats.”
“This is what we hoped wouldn’t happen.”
“I know.”
“You don’t seem surprised it did.”
The look Vassago gave him sent nasty chills down Rahab’s spine. “It was only a matter of time. Vito was killed and then Tony, but Donny got the contracts signed anyway. When the hit on Pete failed, di Stefano went right for the source.”
An hour passed, then two. One of the bodyguards came down with bottles of water and snacks, but said nothing. Rahab glanced at his phone but there was barely any reception down here, and there was no point in calling anyone. The people who knew what was going on were here, on this property.
To help pass the time, he let his thoughts return to Liz and everything he’d already concluded. What if they weren’t able to catch the guy, and something happened to him or Vassago? What if they were killed as they left the house? He wasn’t afraid to die, but the thought of doing so without having the chance to tell Liz how he felt didn’t sit well.
He’d never been in love, but if this is what it felt like, it wasn’t so bad. Not so bad at all. In fact, it was pretty fucking wonderful. If she was here right now, this would be a lot easier to deal with. But at the same time, he didn’t want her in danger.
Yeah. I guess this is love.
Time to tell her that, then. And if she wanted to go to law school, he’d be her biggest cheerleader. As long as he could hold her, fuck her, and look into those beautiful brown eyes, he didn’t need anything else in this entire fucking world.
Rahab snorted to cover up a chuckle. Never in his entire life had he imagined himself in this position over a woman. But he liked it. A lot. It felt right, and it felt solid. It was time to stop living only for himself and share his life with Liz, if she would have him.
Footfalls on the stairs sent Vassago and Rahab out of the room and into the hallway. It was one of the same bodyguards who had shown them to the room. “It’s over. We got him.”
“Who was it?” asked Vassago.
“No one we know. He was up in a maple just over the property line on the east, with a clear sight into the master bedroom. Had night goggles, several rounds, three weapons, and a cyanide pill.”
“Did you let him take it?” asked Rahab.
The man ignored him. “We circled the perimeters of each neighbor to close in. He didn’t see us until we were about three hundred yards away. Tried to draw on us, but we got him in the leg first, and down he went without getting off a shot.”
“Is he neutralized?”
Rahab had never heard Vassago use that term before. He was more of a badass than anyone knew.
“Yes. And Donny is on his way home.”
“He only sent one man?” Vassago asked the question with humor.
“Looks that way. You two can leave now if you want.”
And that’s our cue.
As soon as they were off the property, Vassago called Liz. “I’m coming to pick you up early. I have a story to tell you.”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me now.” Her teasing, sexy voice was music to his ears.
“No. Not on the phone. See you soon.”
“Tease.”
Vassago grinned after the call was disconnected. “This better not be all you tell her.”
“It won’t be.”
“About fucking time.”
“Fuck you.” Rahab found it amusing that after all that careful planning, the man sent here to kill Donny had never stood a chance.
“So it sounds like this guy knew about the sensors.”
“Probably tripped one. Animals do it all the time. The guards find them a pain in the ass because then they gotta go and check it out, but Donny insists on them.”
“I’m sure his neighbors love that.”
“He’s lived here a long time and knows all his neighbors. And besides, they don’t hear anything when the alarms are tripped. They go off inside the house only.”
“So if this guy tripped one, he didn’t know that until he saw bodyguards combing the woods.”
“Exactly. Then he found a spot to hide outside the property line.”
“You said earlier that the guy who killed Vito outside the Last Stop Saloon was a screw-up.”
“It was. Digger told me a story about that guy.”
“What did he say about him?”
“Let’s just say he’ll never work for anyone again. He wasn’t supposed to do that. He was supposed to get to Vito where no one would see it happen.”
“So what went wrong? I didn’t think assassins made such bonehead mistakes.”
“This guy was new and wanted to prove himself.”
“He fucked that up. You were pretty badass back there yourself. Ever think about a career as a hired hitman?”
Shivers ran down Rahab’s spine at the quick glance Vassago gave him. “What makes you think I never was one?”
Rahab raised his brows but said nothing. Vassago’s family had lived in both Creek Ridge and Brooklyn, New York, and for a short time after he finished high school, Vassago had gone back to Brooklyn and stayed with his relatives there. But could that be true? Is that what he’d done when he was living there?
There was a fucking lot more to their Treasurer than met the eye.
****
As soon as Rahab walked into the office, Liz’s heart raced. Something had happened. Something important. “Is there a place where we can talk in private?”
“Sure.” She led him to an empty conference room. “What’s going on?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t even know where to start.”
Liz leaned back in her chair. Was he here to tell her it was over? He looked nervous and sad at the same time. “Just tell me, Rahab.”
“You’ll hear about this later at the club, but I wanted to tell you in person, alone. Roberto di Stefano sent a man to Donny’s house to kill him.”
“Oh God! He’s dead?”
“No! No, he’s okay. He was in Columbus, Christmas shopping with his wife.”
“Jesus. Don’t do that to me. I almost had a heart attack.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. There’s no easy way to say something like that. Vassago and I were at the house when—”
“What? You were there?”
“Vassago had to drop off Donny’s cut, plus the Christmas gift the MC got him. I went with him ‘cause I was nosy and wanted to see Donny’s mansion.”
“What happened?”
“A guy was in the woods on the property next door, hiding in a tree, with weapons and night vision goggles. He had a straight shot into the master bedroom.”
“Oh my God, Rahab! How in the hell could that happen? I thought Donny’s property was like a fortress?”
“It is. He has these sensors everywhere that trip if you get near them. Vassago said even animals trip them. There are two dozen armed bodyguards that live in the house, and when a sensor trips, they go out to investigate. They think this guy tripped one, saw the guards run out, so he hid in the woods across the property line.”
“Well if it’s that easy, won’t it happen again?”
“Maybe. But Donny knows the risks he takes every day.”
“I assume they got this guy, then?”
“Yes. And they had me and Vassago hiding in a bunker in the basement, so we were never in danger.”
“Never in danger? What if di Stefano sends a whole team next time? What if he sends people to the club?”
He took her hands. “Liz, being able to kill someone without getting caught is all about secrecy. You have to blend in. It’s not like a SWAT team on a TV show, where the whole neighborhood knows what’s going on and someone alerted the media.”
“Vito was shot outside a crowded bar with people around.”
“That was a screw-up. Vassago told me that Digger said that guy will never do a job again.”
“Remind me again who Digger is?”
“Donny’s nephew. He lives in Brooklyn and is in the business. He was the one who called Vassago while we were at Donny’s house today, and warned him someone had been sent.”
“I wish I’d known all this.”
“Why? If I’d called and let you know, you’d have been here for hours, worrying, when there was nothing you could do.”
“Rahab, what if something had happened to you?”
“It didn’t.”
“When you care about someone, you want to know what’s going on in their lives.” Her pulse raced. This was the perfect segue to tell him how she felt, but now that the moment was here, she was terrified of his reaction.
“I know.” His voice was quiet, uncertain. He moved closer and brushed a hand along her face. “That’s why I’m here. Liz, I never felt this way about anyone before.”
“What? What way?” Was this real? He’d come here to tell her the same thing she’d been ready to say to him?
He laughed softly. “This way. Like I want to be with you for the rest of my life.” The eyes she loved so much went all soft, and Liz wanted to scream her happiness. “Like I want to share everything with you, and only you. Ever since I met you, I haven’t wanted anyone else.”
“Neither have I.” She had to blink back tears. Everything she’d fought against was gone. She only wanted Rahab, and hearing him say those words made her happier than she’d ever been.
“And listen. I support you going to law school one day. Hell, if you want to open up a practice I will support that. I’m not going to stand in the way of you having everything you want. I swear it on my life.”
“Oh…” No more excuses, Liz. He just said exactly what you needed to hear.
“What more do I need to say to convince you?”
“Nothing. Your word is good enough.”
“I’ve never said this to any woman. Liz, I love you. I am fucking head over heels crazy in love with you.”
Liz put a hand to her heart as the tears spilled over her lashes. “Really?”
“Yeah. Really.” His grin was her undoing. It always had been.
“I love you, too. I’ve never said it either. I’ve never felt this way.” She laughed. “I feel like I’m drunk!”
“Aren’t we a pair of idiots?”
“So what happens now?”
“What do you mean, what happens now? You agree to be my old lady, and we live happily ever after.”
Oh my God. This was real. She was about to become a biker chick! “Like in a fairy tale?”
“Yeah. Like in one of those fucking fairy tales.”
“Are you sure this is what you want, Rahab?” Because she was ready to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.
“I’m more sure of this than I’ve ever been of anything.”
“Okay. Then I am, too. This is real. Yes, I will be your old lady. I will live in that fairy tale with you.”
“Yes!” He laughed again, stood and picked her up, then twirled her around in a circle until she laughed and cried, and begged him to put her down because she was dizzy. He kissed her, and everything else melted away. The fear at imagining him in Donny’s house with a killer hiding outside in the woods, and all the doubts she’d been carrying around for weeks.
Liz had no clue what would happen now with Donny and Roberto di Stefano, but she knew one thing with absolute certainty. She and Rahab would weather it together. She knew that she loved him, and he loved her. There was nothing else she wanted or needed for the rest of her life.
The End
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