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Rock thanked Detective Graves, the officer who was investigating the shooting at his apartment, and ended the call. While the police had found fingerprints on the casing recovered in the parking lot, it had not matched any on record. The only positive news from the call, if you could call it positive, had been that they’d matched the bullet to a weapon used in a fatal robbery the previous year. However, the homicide remained unsolved and the official from Dumfries didn’t know how the weapon had made its way back into circulation. At the time of the robbery, the gun had been found in the dumpster outside the convenience store and taken into police evidence. Graves claimed all this was further evidence the shooting at his apartment had been a random gang related act and nothing else.
He didn’t buy it. He tried convincing the guy otherwise. Although the detective had remained polite, he’d more or less told Rock he had no clue. He recognized a hopeless case. If the detective didn’t want to hear it, he wouldn’t waste his breath. The cops in Alexandria knew about the shooting. They might have better luck getting Graves and the Dumfries’s police force onboard. Either way, it didn’t change his mission. Until he left next month, he’d do everything possible to keep Allison safe.
After passing through the base exit, he headed for Interstate 95. Typically he took the interstate straight to US-1. Since tonight of all nights he couldn’t be late, he’d checked traffic reports before leaving. According to them, an accident had traffic on US-1 backed up for miles, which meant if he hoped to reach Allison’s with enough time, he’d have to take an alternate route.
Rock’s smartphone beeped while he waited at the traffic light and he glanced at it.
Addie’s water broke. They’re on their way to hospital. I’ll call when I have more news. Your dad and I are on our way over there. The message from his mom said.
He reread the message. He’d hoped she’d go into labor early and have the baby before he left in June. Now maybe he’d get to meet his nephew before he came back in the winter. Both he and Allison were convinced the baby was a boy. His sister and Trent kept denying they knew, but on more than one occasion Addie referred to the baby as him. Allison was so positive in fact she’d ordered dozens of baby boy outfits, which she’d showed him the moment they arrived. He’d been blown away by the tiny size of them. The idea another human could fit into them boggled the mind.
Before he did anything more than hit reply, his phone rang.
“Trent’s taking Addie to the hospital. She’s in labor,” Allison said before he managed any kind of greeting. “Dad just called me.”
“Got a text from my mom. Are we canceling dinner tonight?” He understood if Mark Sherbrooke wanted to head back up to Providence. A guy’s first grandbaby wasn’t born everyday.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re afraid of seeing my dad.”
Afraid? Hell no. A bit reluctant perhaps. “Figured he’d want to be there for your brother.”
“He does, but he also wants to have dinner with us since he’s already in the area. We’re meeting them at the Washington Grille instead. It’s closer to the airport. Right after dinner, they’ll head back to Providence. He’s already told his flight crew about the changes.”
Sounded like they had it all figured out.
“He invited us to fly back with them.”
Stuck on a plane with her dad and stepmom wasn’t how he pictured his Friday night.
“Don’t worry. I declined the offer,” Allison continued on before he said a word. “I didn’t think you’d want to travel with them, so I told Dad you couldn’t leave the area this weekend.”
Already he regretted the words he intended to say. “If you want to fly back with him, we can.” Her stalker was in Virginia not Providence. By the time he figured out she’d left, she be in Rhode Island. Assuming they stayed at her father’s estate, which he guessed had a top-notch security system, he could protect her just as well in Providence as he could here.
“I love you,” Allison said.
She’d told him the same thing early today, but it still sounded surreal.
“I already told him we can’t fly up tonight. How about we plan on going up next weekend?”
As long as she was willing to wait, he’d go next weekend or any other time she wanted. “You got it. See ya soon. Love ya.”
Chapter 17
How? How had he made such a stupid mistake and not locked the deadbolt on the back door? He’d been
so careful each and every time he’d gone inside. And it had always been so easy. Only the very first time had it been tricky.
It was Raimono’s fault he’d made an error. If the jerk hadn’t touched Allison, he would’ve remained calm and not slipped up. Now, not only did she have Raimono living with her and bodyguards in tow, but the police were involved too. If not for Kitty at the station, he wouldn’t know the reason behind the police visit to Allison’s house earlier in the week. Her knowledge had kept him from visiting Allison’s house again. The first thing the police would’ve told her when they came out was to change her alarm code, which meant he’d have no way of turning it off. He didn’t need half the Alexandria police department arriving after him. Assuming he was able to get in at all with his key. He suspected the police would’ve suggested she get her door locks changed too. It didn’t matter now anyway.
Their little precautions only meant his plans required adjusting. He’d made all the changes without any difficulty. Having a friend who could hack into any computer or security system came in handy. Too bad he’d have to die too. Who knew when he’d have need for such talent again? Unfortunately, if he let Roger live, there’d always be one person out there who knew the truth. Right now, Roger agreed to keep his mouth shut and take the money they’d agreed on. What if he changed his mind and demanded more money? Or even worse, went to the cops? No, he couldn’t risk it no matter how valuable Roger may be in the future. When Roger came back to collect his money, he’d not leave.
Yes, tonight everything would occur as planned. This time tomorrow, Rocco Raimono would be dead, his body burned past recognition along with Roger’s. Even better, he and Allison would be at his house in Maine where no one would find them.
Just a few more hours. He watched her walk inside with her bodyguard and then he turned away from the windows. Too bad he’d been forced to change his original plan. He liked this house. It had a lot of character to it. History too, if what the real estate agent told him when he bought the place was true. Maybe when he came back from Maine he’d see if he could find a house similar to this one. He liked the area and planned on staying in Alexandria for the foreseeable future. I wish you could’ve lived, my love. If only you’d waited for me.
Chapter 18
