Jennifer winced. “Yes, well, I will be there as well. In case she has any issues, I will be sitting on the bench beside her.”
I glanced at Gideon, who shrugged. “I figured it would make Livy feel more confident if Jennifer was with her.”
“Yeah, thank you for going above and beyond.”
Her smile was tight. “Of course, well, I’ll just…” She gestured in the direction of the music room.
Once she was out of earshot, I went over to Gideon and sat beside him. “Did she seem weird to you?”
He snorted. “I think that woman is one of the most impassive people I’ve ever met. But Livy loves her, and her background was clean, so maybe she’s just introverted and closed off.”
“Maybe.”
For the rest of the day I painted with Owen, spent time with Livy after Jennifer left, and did my best to keep Gideon happy as the clock counted down to when Monica would head to the restaurant.
We’d been given confirmation that she’d dropped off the bags to one of Rita’s donation bins, and Mila informed us that Monica had texted her that she’d be at the restaurant at seven with the kids.
At around five, Gideon and I brought the twins to Dean and Rita’s for a sleepover. I’d stayed behind last night; I wasn’t doing that again. Once they were settled, we finalized all the details for tonight. Gideon’s guys needed to distract Monica’s security long enough that she and the kids could sneak out. Harold, the owner, would be there to push the door open, and an SUV would be waiting. It had to be flawless.
The vehicle taking Monica and the kids was already parked in the rear lot where employees kept their cars, Danny and Raff with it. Gideon, Alex, Toni, and I were in a van across the street,watching the front of the steak house. We needed to see how many bodyguards she brought with her.
Three minutes before seven, a car pulled up. She got out with the kids, and two men were with her. One stayed outside while the other followed her in.
“Okay, I had a feeling this would happen,” Gideon said as he pulled out his cell phone. “Harold. There’s one man with Monica and the kids. As soon as the accident happens, I need you to have one of your servers go up to the man, informing him his car was hit and he had to go out to check. He can’t take no for an answer.” Gideon listened and smiled. “Thanks.”
“What did he say?”
“That he has a very persistent server who will encourage her security to come with him even if he says no. Let’s hope it works.”
Half an hour into dinner, it was game time. A small white Volkswagen bug turned the corner, swerving all over the place. In the driver’s seat was Ronnie. He moonlighted as a streetcar racer when he wasn’t working for Gideon. He knew how to make it appear authentic.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, he barreled into Monica’s vehicle. The security guy who’d been outside was yelling, and Toni was on the phone with the police as a concerned citizen.
“Now we need the other guy,” Gideon mumbled.
It took almost five minutes, but a blond-haired waiter who was half the size of the security guard was dragging the guy out, flailing his arms, gesturing to the accident.
Both of Monica’s men began conversing, and Ronnie was pretending to be drunk, which enraged them even more. They were well and truly distracted.
“We got ’em.” Danny’s voice came through the speakers.
“Good, let’s get out of here.” Gideon smiled, and we drove off, leaving just as the police arrived.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Gideon
The safe houseI’d chosen for Monica and her children was an hour and a half away, right over the border in a different state. It was a farmhouse with a lot of land and in no way connected to me…at least not if anyone was looking. It was in the name of an acquaintance of mine who lived in Italy. I paid her a nice sum of money just to keep her name on the paper work.
I’d never stayed at this farmhouse but it was so far from where anyone would place me, I had to have it. There was a staff that tended to the horses, sheep, chickens, and other animal life scuttling about. They all worked for me and were paid generously for their silence.
“Wow,” Lucia said as she stepped out of the SUV.
Penn, Toni, Alex, and I had beaten them to the house. Penn and I were sitting on the farmer’s porch.
“This is beautiful.” Monica tentatively climbed the steps.
“It’s your home now…at least until this is all settled. If you choose to move, I’ll make it happen. Otherwise, you and your kids can call this home for however long you’d like.”
