Chapter 19
NIC
“ J esus, you're shaking.” I take off my sweater and place it over her head once we make it to the hangar. Luckily, Dario always has a pilot on standby and he’s arranged for me to meet him here. The whole car journey Lorna has sobbed, I’ve wanted so much to comfort her, but what can I say? The girl just saw her father get shot right in front of her.
My heart is beating way too fast, my mind is trying to think about too many different things at once and my focus has to be on getting Lorna to safety.
I need to know who fired that fucking bullet. Whoever it was, has to be a professional. Nobody saw them and, judging by what I noticed was left of Doyle, it was an accurate hit. Knowing that the bullet would have been just inches away from Lorna, or that it could have traveled through, is making my own hands shake.
The door to the jet is already open when I pull up the hire car. The stewardess stands ready to greet us as I get out of the car and move around to the passenger side to get Lorna. She’s still in shock and shivers against me as I lead her across the tarmac and up the steps to board the jet. The stewardess's smile instantly drops when she notices all the blood on my girl, and I nod my head politely at her as we pass, acting as if everything is perfectly normal. Dario hires his cabin crew on a full-time basis, they are all well-vetted and trusted employees. I’m sure she will have seen much worse, and I know she’s paid enough to act like it’s normal too.
“He’s dead.” Lorna looks up at me as I guide her to a seat and force her to sit. “He’s dead, Nic.” Her scared eyes brim with tears.
“I know, and it’s really scary but, right now, I need you to think of our baby and stay calm. You're safe.” I crouch in front of her, and the bright lights from the cabin remind me just how bad a mess she’s in. The blood has already dried on her face, her tears have made tracks through it, and although her hair is clumped together with chunks of her father’s brain matter, I still smooth it behind her ears and grab her face so she focuses on me.
“Don’t leave me.” Her eyes are desperate now, her hands clinging to my forearms like she’s petrified to let me go. I’m a sick, fucking bastard for liking the way that feels at a time like this.
I need to be one hundred percent focused. I don’t know who killed Jeremy Doyle, I don’t know why he was here but until I do, I can’t ensure that whoever it was won’t come after her too.
“I’m not going anywhere.” I close my eyes and press my forehead against hers, breathing slow and deep to remind her how it’s done.
“Baby…” After a few moments I pull back, “Do you know why your father was here?” I look out the cabin windows cautiously. I don’t know how long it’s been since Dario called the pilot, he assured me he could have him here within the hour. I’ll feel much better when we’re back on home ground.
“I guess he was looking out for me.” She frowns with something that resembles guilt lying heavy in her eyes.
“Lorna, whatever this was about, it wasn’t your fault.” I take hold of her trembling hands and raise them to my lips so I can kiss them. She’s still far too fucking cold. “I know it’s hard, but I need you to think back to what happened. Did you see anyone else out on the beach? Did your dad say anything that might be relevant?” I don’t like the way she suddenly stares back at me, it looks somewhere between fear and confusion and I hate even more that she slowly withdraws her hands from mine.
“He…he was trying to get me to go with him, he told me you were dangerous,” she whispers and the wariness in her eyes makes my entire body turn cold.
“He came here to take you?” Now, I’m the one confused, how could he even know she was here?
Her head nods slowly and I can see that whatever his final words were, they have put a doubt in her mind.
“Fuck.” I check my watch and see that it’s only been thirty minutes since I called Dario.
“How far away is the pilot?” I look over my shoulder to ask her, wondering how she got here so fast.
“He’s scheduled to be here in around thirty minutes, sir. Can I offer you a drink in the meantime?”
“No, thank you.” I stand my girl back on her feet and lead her to the back of the cabin where I know there’s a small but convenient shower.
“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” I close the door behind me and start to strip off her blood-drenched clothes, dumping them in the basin beside us before turning on the shower and testing the heat of the water. She allows me to maneuver her body so she’s beneath the spray, and stands motionless as I rinse her father’s blood from her.
“Are you warm enough?” I check when I notice the goosebumps on her skin. All I get from her in response is a feeble nod.
She’s lost, and I don’t know if a person can ever come back from what she’s just had to witness. I grip the tops of her arms, shaking her enough to ensure she listens to what I have to say.
“Lorna, listen to me. Your father was right. I am dangerous,” I admit, watching her blink back at me in shock. “I’m real fucking dangerous, baby. I’ve done some pretty fucked up things. But...” I make sure I’m looking into her eyes so she can see my honesty. “I am no danger to you. I would never, ever hurt you. And I would die before I let anyone else. Tell me you believe that.” Now it’s me who’s shaking because a lot rests on her answer. She says nothing, just wraps her arms around my body and tucks her head into my neck, soaking me wet through and sobbing. I guess that's her answer, and as I hold her tight and kiss the top of her head, I breathe out a long sigh of relief.
“I need you to tell me about your father, Lorna. I need to know whatever it is you’ve been keeping from me.” I’ve dried her and changed her into clean clothes from the holdall, and although I’m still in soaking wet clothes I need answers, more than I need to be comfortable. Her hands are still shaking as they both clutch the orange juice the stewardess brought her and, thankfully, we’re now on our way back to New York.
She doesn’t fucking answer me, just shakes her head and closes her eyes.
“Lorna, whatever it is you can tell me,” I assure her.
“I can’t, it’s…I just can’t.” She bursts into tears again and I scrub my hand over my face.
“Lorna, he’s dead, nothing that you tell me is going to hurt him now.”
“But it might hurt you.” She gulps as she places down her glass and brushes away her tears. “You, Madalina, Dario, you’ll all look at me differently. I don’t want you to go back to being mad at me again.” Her eyes lower to her lap and she snuffles.
“Don’t be silly, that's not going to happen. Just be honest. I need to know who did this.” She still looks doubtful when I raise her chin with the crook of my finger.
“I promise, I won’t get ma–”
“He’s a cop, okay?” she blurts out. “My dad is… was a cop.” She stares back at me as if she’s waiting for me to explode, but I’m far too shocked to be mad.
“A cop? What kind of cop?” I check, trying to make some sense out of what she’s telling me. Doyle is a fucking arms dealer, not a cop!
“The kind that your type has to be wary of. Which is why I never told any of you in the first place. I knew when I first started hanging out with Madalina that your family were…you know.”
“I know,” I assure her, creasing my forehead and trying to comfort her while she explains.
“Well, I also knew that if you knew my father was ATF, you’d see me as a risk, and I’m not. I swear to you, Nic, I’m not. I barely saw my father. He’s always chosen his work over me, he’s barely been in my life, and I wasn’t going to let who he is stop me from making friends.”
A-T-Fucking-F!
None of what she’s saying is making sense. If Jeremy Doyle was an ATF officer, what the fuck is he doing selling guns for the Russians, especially in our city?
“I know I lied to you, and that it looks bad, but I would never have told him anything. I valued my friendship with Madalina too much, and now...I’d never want to hurt you, Nic.” She looks petrified, and I can’t stand it.
“It’s okay, come here.” I wrap her back up in my arms and hold her tight. Dario isn’t going to be happy when he hears about this.
“He must have been watching me, to know I was there. He and my mom don’t speak anymore and it’s been so long since I heard from him, I was starting to worry. But he came to me tonight because he thought he had to save me. What if his department is investigating you?” A whole new fear breaks over her face.
“I don’t think that's happening, and he had nothing to save you from, you were never in any danger with me. What he did, was bring danger.” I try to ease some of the tension in my body. His trying to take her from me was foolish and dangerous, especially considering the people he was involved with. Did he think she would be any safer with him? It also seems that me and Dario have underestimated Jeremy Doyle, it turns out that it’s us who have been watched by him.
“Do you really think it was a professional?” She looks at me, trying to be brave.
“It certainly looks that way,” I tell her, taking her hand and raising it to my mouth, again.
“Try and get some rest, the baby needs you to be strong and I know that's hard, right now, but I promise I can fix this,” I assure her.
“How can you fix this, Nic? You can’t bring him back.” She turns her head away from me and as I sink back in my chair I remain silent because she’s right.
“What the fuck happened?” Dario closes the doors to his office so the girls can’t hear us. This place is like a fortress, bringing Lorna straight here seemed like the logical thing to do. Right now, my girl is broken and Madalina always seems to know how to piece things back together.
“You think this was Amanté finishing a job I couldn’t?” I’ve come up with all kinds of theories on my way here, this is just one of them.
“Amanté was desperate for the name of the man who shot his daughter, blowing Doyle’s head off wasn’t the way to get it,” Dario points out as he pours us both a drink.
“Fletcher called, said his guy in L.A. called from the scene. You were right, it was a professional hit. The bullet came from a Sako TRG, most likely our killer was sitting out on a boat, waiting. Whoever it was must have been paid to follow Doyle. I suspect the Russains. He could have taken off with their money when he left The Bronx.” Dario makes some guesses of his own.
“Look, I found something out on our way here, and you can’t be mad when I tell you.”
“Nic, I run this fucking city. I can be whatever I want,” he reminds me, and as I take the drink from his hand, I knock it back before I break the news.
“I learned from Lorna on the plane that her father was a cop. An ATF cop.” I watch the anger flare in Dario’s eyes.
“I’ve been trying to make sense of it all the way here and I’m wondering if he was at that house doing some undercover bullshit that might have gotten him killed tonight.” I offer another of my theories.
“How the fuck can Lorna’s father be a cop and us not know about it? I had intrusive checks made on all of Madalina’s friends and family before I married her. I have people working for me in the ATF department, Nic.” He slams his hand on the desk in rage.
“Well, for a start, Lorna doesn’t know him as Jeremy Doyle, the man’s never been a constant in her life. He’s a ghost, Dario. If he’s working as an undercover officer, who knows what level of protection he’s had? Even your people on the inside might not know he exists.”
“This is a fucking mess.” Dario sits in his chair and swishes the liquid around his glass. “We’re never going to solve this. We’ll never know who bought the gun that killed Mia Greco, and we’ll never know if Doyle was working against the Russians or for them.” He massages his temple.
“Not unless I ask them.” I look across at him and he shakes his head like he’s out of patience. “Amanté’s going to be mad, I’m the one who failed him. I should talk to him too.” I add, knowing how ill-tempered the man can be.
“I’ll deal with Amanté, for now, you need to focus on taking care of Lorna. Madalina lost her father while she was pregnant, it was a difficult time. The girl will need a lot of patience and your support. Be there for her, however, she needs you. Family comes first.” His anger seems to have cooled and I nod my head in appreciation.
“I asked her to marry me, earlier today, on the beach.” That memory feels like so long ago, considering all that’s happened since and I don’t know why I choose to bring it up now. Perhaps, subconsciously, I need my brother-in-law to know how much she means to me.
“And what did she say?” Dario looks surprised.
“She said yes.” Despite all the shit we’re in I can’t keep the smile off my face and it makes Dario look even more surprised. “I understand it now, all the things you did to get Madalina. They were underhanded, DeMarco, but I understand them.”
Dario nods his head as he pours us another drink.
“To love, a blessing and a curse.” He hands my glass back to me and clinks his against it. “We all become fools to it, eventually.”