32. Kai
As we leave the doctor’s office, my phone rings. Before answering it, I help Cordi into the truck. “Hello?”
“Two, it’s your brothers,” Liam says. I glance at the phone number, but it’s not one I recognize.
“Why are you calling me from an unrecognizable phone number?”
“Why do you think?” Liam quips.
“Liam,” Emerson barks.
“Okay, okay, sorry. We’re currently bouncing our signal off random towers right now, so this phone call can’t be traced.”
I roll my eyes and hop into the truck. Cordi gives me a funny look, and I mouth Liam to her. She nods, and I turn the truck over. “Will you get to the point, Three?”
“Actually, I wanted Liam on here to listen,” Emerson explains. “I wanted to tell you both what I found.”
“The beach house,” I mutter, looking both ways before turning onto the road and heading back to the campground.
“Yes, the beach house. I talked to the neighbors, and they said they didn’t see anything, which isn’t surprising. Luckily, both neighbors next door and directly across the street have cameras on their gates and at the corners of the house, so I’ve been reviewing their footage. I even scanned through footage of the house two doors down to see if I could catch anyone parking down the street. The house next door had their footage wiped. I haven’t caught anything out of the ordinary, and there are no unusual cars. I cross-checked all the cars that drove by. They were either neighbors or registered to the airport rental companies,” Emerson says.
“I did hack into the rentals,” Liam says.
“Why? It’s not like the guys who did this would have used their legal names,” Emerson says.
“Guys,” I grumble.
“Anyway, when I talked to the neighbors, they did mention that someone who rented had a huge party. Based on the timing, that was when the footage was wiped. They said it got pretty rowdy, but no one called the police.”
“Interesting,” I say, glancing at Cordelia.
“Yeah, I thought so, too, but they weren’t careful enough. They couldn’t hack the neighbors to the right of the house. They have a separate battery backup, so the footage goes on a USB, so anything caught on it can’t be hacked. I caught most of the party, and it looked like any other beach party, which explains why the lawn chairs were in pieces. Regardless, there were three males in their early thirties approaching from the beachside. The only reason I noticed they were out of place was because it was dark, and one of them stupidly had sunglasses on, and one of them had a bag with something in it.”
“The footage isn’t good enough for Liam to cross-check facial. I did grab pictures, but it’s safe to say the party was used as cover.”
“Is it also safe to say the Costas are involved?” I ask as my heart picks up speed. The last thing I want is a bunch of mobsters coming after my wife and child.
“I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s them because after cross-checking the timing and hacking into airport security. I verified the cars Emerson caught and then reverse-searched the rentals. I obviously got random names, but I got faces from IDs. I cross-checked those faces but couldn’t find any matches or known associates. But they were on a flight from Boston. That’s what I was trying to say,“ Liam says.
“Mierde,“ I mutter.
“My thoughts exactly,” Liam says.
“So, what do you want to do, One?” I ask Emerson.
“Me? Oh, thanks for asking,” Liam interrupts. “I’m down in Hawaii catching some gnarly waves and watching Costa’s daughter, Aelia. You know, just in case we need to hit below the belt. She photographs beautifully, I will say that.” Liam sighs.
It’s not an annoyed kind of sigh, it’s… we don’t have time for Liam’s bullshit.
“Three, you have no business being there watching her.”
“Yes, I do. They want to come after us, so I will come after them twice as hard, and that includes taking every single opportunity we can get,” Liam grits out. My jaw moves back and forth, and I feel a soft hand rest on my forearm. I glance at Cordi and roll the truck to a stop. Her fingers grip my forearm, and I take a breath, releasing my tense jaw. Both of them are silent as I put the truck into park.
Emerson takes a deep breath. “Look, guys, I am looking at every angle. I don’t want to play defense. I want to be on the offense, which means figuring out what they want from us and what they are looking for. We know Dad and the Costas are involved. Three, there is no doubt in my mind that the mafia princess will be of no help. So either ride your waves or come home, do your damn duty, and help us figure out what he wants from the family. Two, take a breath. Don’t let her out of your sight. Mom is going to make an impromptu visit to you when you’re in Texas. We will get ahead of him. We don’t have a choice. Talk later, be careful,” he says and hangs up.
“See ya, brother,” Liam says and hangs up. I toss the phone and squeeze the steering wheel. I hate that he’s toying with my family, and there is little to nothing I can do to stop it. I hate this. I hate that I don’t know what that bastard wants.
“Kai,” Cordelia says gently. I glance at her over my shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. We are going to be okay.” I stare at her a little longer and shake my head. “Come on, help me get inside,” she says. I nod, hopping out of the truck. Yes, she can do it on her own. The difference is I don’t want her to. I want to do it for her.
***
Cordelia is making dinner for us and her dad. I tried to help, but she told me to sit down despite my multiple protests. I’m not great at cooking, but I can make a few dishes. I’m not completely helpless like she might believe.
While she’s cooking, I research the list of things a baby needs. I’m ordering three different strollers because I don’t know which is better. I order the car seat for the truck and bottles I know nothing about, so I’m probably buying too many diapers that could fill a warehouse, and I can’t decide on cribs, so I buy four. One is for traveling, one that will fit in the RV, and two for the house. I guess one can go to Mom’s. Unless she doesn’t like any of them, then I’ll return all of them and take her to find the ones she wants. Babies need a lot of stuff, including a baby bath for the first months. I figured we could use the sink, but I was very wrong. Who knew? Well, except for the women who write blogs. I start to browse clothes but think again. That’s not my department. I should leave all of that to Cordi. I can handle the rest.
When we get back to my house, I’m baby-proofing it. I’ve been researching things I need to do, such as plug light sockets and replace sharp-cornered furniture. Not that I have much. I have a couch, a table, and a bed. Oh, I need to get a high chair. I scan through the recommended ones and decide we need a small one for the RV. We will need one for the house, too, so I ordered two more, one for Mom’s place. Hopefully, this will all be enough, but I’m sure there’s something I don’t know about.
Cordelia’s back is to me as she stirs a pot on the small stove. I wonder if she will like my house. Regardless, I have to redo my security system and make sure that there are contingencies for the contingencies. I need more guns, too, and probably another gun safe. I will do whatever it takes to ensure their safety.