AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hell, no. They know better than to bother us. I had the assassin buried in a nice, murky swamp outside the city. Crocodile food.”
I nodded. The last thing I wanted to deal with was his body washing up somewhere. Although it would have possibly drawn out the enemy. No. Delaney’s protection took precedence.
“What about this girl? Are you really staying with her at Brandon’s house?”
“For now. Not the optimal choice but given her life was almost destroyed, agreeing seemed like the least I could do.”
“What about Sadie? Do you want me to keep her? I don’t mind.” He grinned after making the offer.
“Not a chance. Who knows? Maybe it will break the ice between the feisty girl and myself.”
He lifted a single eyebrow. “Interesting. Do you still have that meeting with your brother?”
“Yes. At least Pops and our mother are safely tucked away on a sudden African safari. I doubt anyone could hunt them down. He needs to know what we’re dealing with.” Even if I still had no clue.
“Except for wild beasts.”
He could always make me laugh. “Yeah, well, there’s that.” My father did enjoy taking risks. I gave him credit for taking his retirement more seriously now that he felt convinced his three sons and one adopted son were taking care of business. I couldn’t help but wonder if Pops’ carefree attitude about killing people had gotten us in this mess. Not that it mattered. As Capo, it was my job to clean it up.
“Do you have any additional information on the man terrorizing her?” he asked.
“None. She couldn’t make any kind of identification. However, if this is about the family, everything needs to be looked at.”
Rocco nodded. “I don’t blame you. The computers nerds have tried to find the location of the sender of those emails, but they were routed through about a dozen countries, no origin yet. I’ll have them concentrate on the LA area as well.”
“Good idea. I need to know what we’re dealing with.”
“They’re working round the clock.”
I clicked off the screen, still keeping her pictures where they were. While I doubted that she’d lied to me about why she’d gone to the club, the stalker hadn’t simply found her there, which meant she’d likely received previous threats that could have been disguised as gracious gestures. Or she’d been followed. “Find out who Ms. Baxter’s agent is. I may need to talk to him.”
“Why don’t you just ask her?” he chided.
I grabbed my jacket, rolling down my sleeves. For some reason, the suit was confining as hell today.
“Because she already believes her father is overbearing in his decision to hire me. And we didn’t get off on the best foot.”
“Uh-huh.” He grinned again and I almost wiped it off his face.
“Just make certain there’s coverage at Brandon’s house within the hour. Anything less is completely unacceptable.”
“Not to worry, boss.”
Which usually meant I would continue doing so.
“One last thing.” If Delaney had somehow been identified as someone I cared about and I’d shoved her life into a web with mine, I needed to know every aspect of the known parties involved. “Check Delaney Baxter’s background. I want to know what she drives, her address in LA, the dollars in her bank accounts and any investments she might have. I want to know everything you can find out about her.”
“You’re not thinking she actually faked what happened and is working for one of our enemies. Are you?”
The thought had crossed my mind. If it hadn’t, I’d be remiss in my position as Capo of the family. “It’s best to be informed.”
“Yes, sir. I hear what you’re saying. I’ll make that a priority.”
“Call me after you’ve developed a sketch of her life. That includes whatever information you can glean on her agent.”
“I got it. Stop worrying.”
That’s exactly what I wasn’t used to doing. Worrying. I was the kind of man who remained in control at all times, which had allowed me to bask in the freedom from anxiety most of the time. However, it could also be seen as carelessness. Men and empires had been brought down for less.
