Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
Fred
I sank onto the corner of my bed, head in hands. “I hate this.”
“What do you hate exactly? You’ll need to be specific because there’s a lot to hate, but I think there’s a lot to like as well.”
I could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke; I didn’t have to lift my head.
“I hate having doubts about someone I’ve known for years, Vincenzo. I can understand his hurt.” I looked up, and Vincenzo was closer but gave me space.
“Can he understand yours?” He held up his hand before I could answer. “I know how someone unfamiliar with me would see me. He’s known you forever, and here I come swooping in. My words shine doubt on everything he says and does, and on top of it, I’ve had you in my bed.”
When he said it like that, it did sound every part the manipulation Aiden claimed.
“But anyone who does know me, would realize how dedicated I am not just to finding out who did this and bringing them to meet their fate, but to you, Fred.” He took a few steps closer and kneeled so he was eye level with me.
“I meant what I said. I’ve seen you, I know the type of man you are, and I’m enamored. I don’t want to extinguish the flame that flickers inside you; I want to pour gasoline on it and watch you burn away your demons.” He reached out and took my hands in his.
“I welcome any proof Aiden can find that I have nothing but your best interests at heart.”
I sighed and slid my fingers through his. “In my gut, I know who you are.”
He nodded. “But you’re uneasy because you can’t say the same about Aiden, someone you should have no doubt about?”
“That’s it exactly.”
He lifted my hands to his lips and pressed tender kisses to my fingers. “I’ve been betrayed in my life by people who were supposed to love me, protect me, and sacrifice for me.”
“Your sister.”
“Probably the most painful of all betrayals.”
“Yet she lives.”
He hummed, his concentration on following a vein on the front of my hand. “Last time I saw her she spoke of death and I told her if she truly wanted it, I’d take her life.”
I gasped. “You’d kill her if she truly wanted it?”
His dark eyes met mine. “Anyone else, and she’d already be dead, Fred. It’s not easy to forever remove someone from this earth who you loved unconditionally once upon a time.”
I pulled my hands free and cupped his face. “Do you still love her?”
“Yes, and I hate that I do.”
I understood that completely. If it came down to it and I had to kill Aiden, could I?
Pressing my lips to his, I tried to convey how I felt. I got it, he got me. I’d never be able to explain to Aiden that Vincenzo was trustworthy, but honestly, it wouldn’t matter if he were the reason for all this devastation in my life.
“Can you stay with me tonight?” I pleaded, my cheeks warming, fear of rejection ever present.
“There’s no place else I’d rather be.”
Vincenzo ran to his room to shower and get ready for bed. I never asked for the update he’d come to give me, but I was sure he’d get me up to speed soon.
Once we were in bed, I sighed as his hands, fingers, and tongue explored my body. As he opened my legs and tasted the most intimate part of me, I had to bite my tongue not to scream out in pleasure.
When he slid inside me, I wrapped my arms around him, clinging to him as if he were a lifeline in a vast ocean. Vincenzo consumed me, and in this moment I’d let him because being surrounded by him was pure oxygen—revitalizing, lifesaving, everything.
Aiden never joined us for breakfast and when I questioned one of the staff, they explained that he’d come into the kitchen early, grabbed food and coffee, and returned to his room.
I hoped he was taking time to think about all I’d said to him the night before. My intent was to go up to talk to him once I was finished, but Albert March chose that second to call.
Zion put it on Speaker. “Good morning, Albert, this is Zion. You’re on Speaker, and Mr. Brennan is here.”
“Mornin’. I heard from my friend at the DMV. The paperwork for the SUV is legit. But she was able to pull up the footage near the time the paperwork was stamped. No one matching Richie or his grandfather was at the DMV at that time.”
“I thought we already established they were being set up,” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m getting there. Thing is, there was someone who came to the counter with that paperwork. It was as if he knew there were cameras and kept his head lowered. Bushy beard, probably fake, wore a John Deere baseball cap. He took his sunglasses off at one point, but we still couldn’t see his face clearly.”
“This is unhelpful,” Zion responded.
“You need a lot to register a car. All of it matched to Richie’s grandfather?” Vincenzo wondered.
“Yeah, because you don’t need a photo ID to register a car as long as you have the paperwork, duplicated perfectly or otherwise—anyone could do it.” Albert sounded frustrated like the rest of us.
“Could we see the photos of the person at the DMV? I know they aren’t good, but maybe we can glean something from it.” Vincenzo was smart to ask, but I had a better idea.
“Better yet, can I see the video of the entire interaction?”
Vincenzo cocked his head at me.
“If it’s someone I know, a person who may be in my life and I’ve stood side by side with, I might recognize mannerisms.”
“Smart.” Albert chuckled. “I’ll get those to you. Where do I send them? They’re physical copies, otherwise I’d email them over.” He chuckled again. “Some things are just old school.”
Zion took over from there and arranged to have someone go to March’s auto shop to pick it up.
“I’ll let you know when I have it in hand.”
Albert disconnected the call, and I caught Vincenzo’s eye. “I want to arrange a meeting with Finn, Rowan, and Oscar.”
“Why?”
“We’re getting nowhere fast. Maybe it’s time to shake things up. If those three know anything, I think I can get it out of them.”
“How?” The corner of Vincenzo’s mouth curled up.
“Good old-fashioned manipulation.”
Vincenzo laughed, and his smile lit up the whole dreary room. “Sounds like a perfect plan to me.”
“One more thing, I keep forgetting to ask.”
“What’s up?” Vincenzo asked, and Zion peered up from his tablet.
“The detective said they found a fourth gun, a blank gun. It doesn’t shoot bullets, just makes it seem like they do. It was near the turn by Molly’s where I was shot at. Suspicious, right?”
“Very.” Zion glanced at Vincenzo, then me. “Why would someone toss that? Unless it was no longer needed.”
Neither man said it outright but they were thinking it…and so was I. The niggling feeling that Aiden truly was behind this was getting stronger, and no matter how much I pushed it down, it bobbed up again. But why would he do this? Was I paranoid or just refusing to see it in technicolor?
I went up to Aiden’s room after breakfast. He let me in, and I made my way over to the window.
“I’d like you to call Finn, Rowan, and Oscar, and arrange a meeting with them.”
“What? Why?” Where he was solemn a moment ago, he was now, dare I say, trepidatious.
“It’s time I find out what they know, and I’m never going to get it by hiding out here. They want a boss; I’ll give them one.”
“What are you planning on doing, Fred?”
I grinned. “You can’t be raised by a man like my father and not learn a thing or two. I know how to extract information.” I shrugged. “And if they won’t listen to me, I’m a doctor. I know places on the body that when sliced don’t kill right away, but the pain will make you wish you were dead.”
“You’re going to slice up your lieutenants?”
I stepped up closer to Aiden. He was taller than me—most people were. “I’m going to do whatever I have to do to end this. It needs to be over.”
Neither of us moved an inch. Of course Aiden was going to call for the meeting, and the three men would attend. I just wondered if this maneuver would bring the old Aiden back or unveil a monster he’d been working hard to keep covered.
“I’ll make the call.”
I nodded curtly and left the room.