AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But in truth, I didn’t want to leave Baldwin’s Shore. I understood why Nico had chosen the tiny town as his home. There was a real sense of community and nature’s beauty right on the doorstep. As I fell asleep in Nico’s arms that night, I made a silent wish.
Please, make the Cavallaro family disappear.
45
EMMY
“The Royal Suite?” I crossed my legs at the ankles and leaned back in one of the less-than-comfortable chairs in Nico’s living room. “Did I just get a promotion?”
“You deserve it.”
“The credit for Manassas goes to Hallie and Collier, actually. They were the ones who trekked halfway around the bloody world to find the witness.”
“Is that why you billed me for a two-person safari?”
“Trust me, they didn’t go for fun. Well, maybe Collier did, but Hallie isn’t a big fan of wildlife.”
“I heard something about a rhino?”
Yeah, so did I. Collier had barely been able to speak, he was laughing so hard, and there was a video too. Hallie swore the rhino had been ready to charge, but all it did was amble forward and she’d sprinted for the nearest tree. Credit where credit was due, she’d climbed it faster than half the SEALs I knew would have. Collier had caught the perfect shot of her peering out between the branches as the rhino stared up in bemusement.
But she’d got the job done, and that was the important thing. Dan had sent her on a spa break to recover.
Things had moved quickly after we identified Ellen Robley as the missing witness. She’d picked Alonzo Cavallaro out of a photo line-up, which tied in with Kaylin’s story. And when Nico’s legal team began kicking up a stink, the new police chief insisted on further forensic testing, and a strand of Alonzo’s hair was found inside Kaylin’s car as well. Sure, his lawyer tried to claim that she was practically his sister-in-law and she’d probably given him a ride, but that was bullshit and everyone knew it. The only loose end was the blood smear, but Kaylin had managed to get ahold of Juan, the former owner of the car, and he recalled shovelling a friend of a friend into the back seat after the guy had one too many and fell over outside a bar. It was possible Mr. Can’t-Hold-His-Liquor’s grazed leg was to blame. In the end, the cops had agreed to drop the charges as long as Nico and Kaylin went quietly away.
Now I was in Baldwin’s Shore for another chat with Mr. Belinsky, and I was almost certain I knew what his next request would be. But as usual, he was faffing around with drinks and snacks instead of coming right out with the question.
“The rhino thing was an overreaction. How are Kaylin and the kid doing?”
I could see them on the far side of the garden, playing in a sandpit with buckets and spades. Kaylin seemed to be having as much fun as Matty, which wasn’t surprising. All the people I knew who’d been held captive for any length of time had told me that they’d missed the small things. Being able to take a walk. Breathing fresh air. Feeling the sun on their faces. If I’d been stuck in a New York penthouse for three years, I’d want to make sandcastles too.
“As well as can be expected. She’s concerned that the Cavallaro family will come after her again.”
“Understandable.”
Now we were getting somewhere.
“I want to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Also understandable.”
“Any whispers?”
“Fausto’s a problem,” I said. He’d been talking about revenge, about family honour, about making an example of his ex-brother’s former wife.
“It would be convenient if he disappeared.”
“That still leaves Vito and his consigliere.”
“I doubt Kaylin will send flowers for their funerals.”
“Got it.”
“Otello?”
“Too lazy to care and too stupid to do anything about it even if he did.”
Nico nodded once. “Can I interest you in another coffee? Or a glass of wine?”
