Chapter Eighteen – Cadie
Cadie
When Mark finished telling me how the FBI had stumbled on my name and how he had entered the picture, my head was spinning.
“So they asked you to come in and talk to me?” I asked.
“Mainly it’s because I’m from here. But yeah, they had their reasons.”
“And you guys don’t know why I ran?”
Mark shook his head. “Would you like to tell me?”
I pressed my lips tightly together. When I looked at Kian, he nodded. I trusted him and knew I could trust Mark, even though I had just met him. Strangely, he hadn’t told his family he was the CIA, but who was I to judge?
Clearing my throat, I told Mark everything I had told Kian.
“Did you see the guy Michael shot?” Mark asked.
“Um, not really. He was maybe in his forties. The only reason I say that is he had some gray streaks in his hair; that was about all I could see.”
“And you said you saw two cops. Boston cops?”
I nodded. “Yes. ”
Mark sat back and whistled. “I hate crooked cops.”
Kian leaned forward. “Is there anything any of them said that you might have heard and didn’t think was important at the time?”
Mark looked at his older brother and smirked.
“Um, let me think.”
Closing my eyes, I tried to go back to that night. It was four months ago, and I had tried like hell to forget that entire evening.
My mind quickly took me back. I could see Michael, his father, leaning in and telling him to finish off the person he had the gun pointed at.
“He was second, and he betrayed us, Michael. He stole from us. Finish him.”
Opening my eyes, I said, “His father was pressuring him to shoot the guy. He said that the man was second, and he, um…he betrayed and stole from them.”
“Second?” Mark and Kian said at the same time.
“Like, as in second in command?” Kian asked.
Mark wrote it down. I glanced at his notes, and he had written the man’s possible age and the very small description I had given him.
“Makes sense why Michael’s father was desperate to find you. You witnessed him killing someone.”
I nodded as I chewed on my thumbnail. Kian reached over, took my other hand, and squeezed it.
“Why would he ask his sister about me though?” I asked Mark.
“He didn’t. He was just confiding in her. I guess he does it a lot. Seems like the guy might have a bit of a conscience. The sister doesn’t want anything to do with the family business, including the bank where her brother works. The FBI would have never stumbled on your name if he hadn’t brought it up that he was looking for you.”
“But the sister knows what her father and brother do?”
He nodded. “Yeah, she knows. That’s why she stays clear. But, her brother, mother, and father visit her often, and unbeknownst to them, they give away bits and pieces of information.”
My heart was still beating faster than normal, and I tried to take a few calming breaths. “So what do I do now?”
Mark looked at Kian and then back to me. “That depends on you. Do you want to tell the FBI what you told me? They can offer you protection.”
Confused, I looked at Mark and asked, “What do you mean? I just told you everything.”
“No,” he said with a smile. “You just told your boyfriend’s brother.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe I can ask my boyfriend’s brother for some advice.”
He motioned for me to go on.
“What would you do?”
Mark let out a long breath. “Well, I’d want them to pay for their actions and take them off the streets. But some part of me would want to move on and start my life over. The only problem with option two, you don’t know if they’ll track you down. They might, or they may never find you. It’s a risk you’d have to take.”
I looked at Kian; my heart felt like it had grown twice its size when he smiled at me. His eyes looked at me with concern and something else I didn’t want to label just yet. “I would never want to put you or anyone else in danger. What’s your advice? ”
“You can’t keep running for the rest of your life. Looking over your shoulder everywhere you go. If it were me, I’d offer to testify. Put them where they belong. Jail.”
Mark leaned forward. “As far as we can tell, they don’t know where you are yet. The FBI has a tail on Michael. My guess is his father is the one who would want to find you. I also think he’ll use his son to get to you. Figures you will trust him and maybe…just maybe it would be easier to snag you if Michael does the bidding.”
A chill ran through my body.
“If we’ve got you under protection, we can at least have eyes on you and Michael. If they even get a hint that he’s coming your way, they’ll get you to a safe house.”
“But I can stay here in Moose Village until the trial, if there is ever a trial?”
“They’d have to figure out who was killed first,” Mark stated. “But yes. I don’t see why you couldn’t stay here. If they don’t know where you are just yet, I don’t see the harm in allowing you to stay here.”
I closed my eyes, drew in a breath, and prayed I was doing the right thing. When I looked at Mark, I asked, “What’s the next move?”
Mark stood. “I make a phone call. They’ll come and interview you.”
“I won’t leave Moose Village or change my identity again. That’s my only stipulation.”
With a nod, Mark excused himself and walked outside. Kian and I both looked at one another.
“I’m so sorry, Cadie.”
I forced a smile. “It’s not your fault. I should have never gone looking for Michael. I wish I would have just left. ”
“It doesn’t do you any good to play that game.”
Nodding, I looked up at him. “What about your brother being in the CIA?”
His eyes went wide. “Right? My little brother…I had no freaking idea. I hope I get to be in the same room when he tells my mother and father.”
My hand came to my mouth to stifle my laugh. Kian winked and I shook my head. “That’s terrible, Kian.”
“Just wait, you’ll see after this weekend when you meet my parents.”
“So, I’m meeting them. Even with all of this going on?”
Kian took my hand and brought it to his lips. “Life as usual. And I promise you right here and now, I will not let anything happen to you. I’ve waited too long for you, Cadie.”
Leaning in, my lips brushed his. His hand slipped around my neck, and he deepened the kiss. A voice cleared, and we quickly broke apart.
“It’s done. Lucas Miller is the contact of the FBI. I know him personally, and he’s a good guy.”
“Is that the guy who called you to bring you on?” Kian asked.
Mark nodded. “I’m going to be staying on and helping him out. My team doesn’t need me right now.”
Kian and I both nodded.
“Your team?” Kian asked.
Mark smiled. “Yeah, my team. Anyway, I think I’ll grab my bag and head to the house. If I can make a suggestion?”
“Of course,” I said.
“I’d pack up a bag and stay at the house. Being out here isn’t exactly safe, and keeping our eye on you will be harder.”
I looked at Kian, and he nodded. “I agree. I think you’re safer at my parents’ place. We can stay in the guest house. ”
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know they were both right. “Okay, I agree.”
Kian faced his brother. “I’ll walk you out.”
Once the door to the cabin shut, I wrapped my arms around my body and sank down onto the sofa. Closing my eyes, I fought to hold my tears back. If anything happened to Kian and his family, or the friends I had made here in Moose Village, I would never forgive myself.
Drawing in a shaky breath, I stood up, squared my shoulders, and headed into the bedroom to continue packing.
The fire crackled in the fireplace as I sat on the sofa and drank a glass of wine while Kian made us dinner. He had opted to make dinner instead. I had texted Aurora and told her I wasn’t able to make it to book club. I was sad I was missing it, and I knew Mark told me not to change my plans, but I couldn’t bring myself to go. Just when I finally started to feel like I could enjoy people and things, something had to remind me of why I was lying to everyone in the first place.
My mind hadn’t stopped replaying what I saw that night all those months ago. After months of trying to forget, now I was obsessing about it.
“You okay?”
Dragging my gaze from the fire, I looked up at Kian and smiled. “Yes. I’m just sorry I’ve dragged you into this.”
“You didn’t drag me into anything.”
I huffed then took another drink of my wine. “I’ve been going over that night in my head and I can’t remember anything different. I couldn’t see the guy, I have no idea who it was.”
“Well, you remembered the comment about him being second.”
“Second to what? The mob family? That could mean anything.”
Leaning forward, I set the wine glass down on the table. “I’m scared, Kian. I mean, I’ve been scared this whole time, but knowing how easy it was for the FBI to find me, how do I know Michael won’t be able to do the same thing?”
Kian smiled. “I don’t think Michael has the same resources as our government does.”
“No, probably not. But he could still find me.”
Kian sat on the coffee table and took my hands in his and brought them to his mouth. “Let’s just get through the interview and this weekend with my parents. I trust my brother. If he says he can keep you safe, I believe him.”
I nodded.
“Dinner is ready if you’re hungry.”
Standing, I followed Kian to the kitchen and sat down on the stool. Kian had made taco salad and my stomach growled when I looked at my plate.
Kian let out a laugh and asked, “Hungry, huh?”
“I guess so.”
We ate in comfortable silence. I had no idea what was going on in Kian’s head, but all I could think about was this situation I had gotten myself in.
“Is that all you’re going to eat?” Kian asked, pointing to my half-eaten meal.
“I guess I wasn’t as hungry as I thought.”
There was a knock on the door, and I nearly jumped off the stool .
Kian stood and took both plates. “It’s Mark.”
“I’ll let him in,” I said as I approached the door. When I opened it, Mark stood there with another man. He looked like he was about the same age as Mark, maybe a few years older. His blonde hair was a bit long, and he had a beard. If you pictured an FBI agent, this wasn’t what I thought one would look like. Mark was clean-cut, had short hair, and was clean-shaven. Both men looked to be in good shape, not overly built, but they for sure worked out.
“Hi, Mark,” I said as I looked from him to the blonde.
“Cadie, this is Lucas Miller. Lucas, this is Cadie…um…”
Lucas held out his hand. “First name is fine.”
I moved to the side and motioned for them both to come in. Kian stood in the living room and reached his hand for Lucas.
“Kian Carter.”
“Lucas Miller, it’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Kian looked at his brother. “I can’t say the same thing.”
Mark laughed as Lucas smiled.
I walked over and sat down on the sofa. My mind started racing again and when I looked down, my hands were shaking.
“I know this is a stupid question, but are you okay?”
I glanced up to see Lucas standing there. “About as okay as I can be. Does Michael know I’m here?”
Lucas pulled a chair around so that when he sat, we faced one another. “I don’t think so. He seems to still be trying to figure out where you are. He’s called your brother a few times. He keeps telling Michael he hasn’t spoken to you in a number of months. ”
I looked down at my hands. I was rubbing them together. “That’s true. We haven’t spoken to each other ever since I left Boston, but he has heard from me. I sent him a letter via the guy who helped me change my identity.”
“What did the letter say?” Lucas asked.
I replied, “That I was going to be disappearing for a while and that he wouldn’t hear from me. That if anyone asked, for him to say we hadn’t spoken in a number of months. The guy told me to keep everything as close to the truth as possible.”
Lucas nodded. “Okay, good.”
“Is my brother safe?”
“I think so,” Lucas stated. “It doesn’t appear that Michael thinks he is lying. And he probably thinks you wouldn’t go to your brother’s because you wouldn’t want to put him in any danger.”
All I could do was nod.
“Are you ready to tell me what caused you to change your identity?”
I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. “Michael and I had been dating off and on, more off than on. He invited me to a gala that his bank was having at a hotel in Boston.”
“What date was this?” Lucas asked as he started to write on a notepad. “Also, do you mind if I record this conversation?”
He took a recording device out and showed me it.
“No, I don’t mind.”
Smiling, Lucas turned it on. His smile vanished and he was back to business. “What date was this gala that Michael Bellucci invited you to?”
“It was, um, on December 13. I remember because I joked with my roommate, Lauryn, that it was Friday the thirteenth and nothing good ever happens on that day. ”
“Can you walk me through that night?”
“Yes,” I replied as I slid my hands under my legs to keep them from shaking. “I told Michael I would meet him at the hotel because I had been distancing myself from him. I couldn’t find him for the first twenty minutes.” I closed my eyes and tried to picture myself back at the gala as I kept talking. “Once he found me, we mingled, he introduced me to some people he worked with and…”
My eyes flew up.
“What is it?” Lucas asked as Kian sat down next to me.
“The guy Michael had the gun on. He introduced me to him. I hadn’t remembered until just now. At least, I think it’s him.”
“Who was it?” Lucas asked.
“His name was Andrew Wagner, and he was the bank’s chief operating officer.”
Mark let out a gruff laugh. “The second.”
Lucas looked at Mark and then at me. “The second?”
“When Michael had the gun pointed at him and his father was pressuring him to shoot, he mentioned that the man had betrayed and stolen from them, and that he had been their second.”
Lucas leaned back in his chair. “Andrew Wagner died in a house fire.”
“When?” Mark, Kian, and I all asked in unison.
Lucas looked at me. “December 14. It was all over the news in Boston.”
My hand came up to my mouth as I sucked in a breath.
“Was it confirmed with DNA?” Mark asked.
Lucas pulled out his phone and hit a number. “Andrew Wagner, was his death confirmed with DNA? Get your hands on the autopsy and get back to me if you find anything unusual.”
He hung up, typed something into his phone, and turned it to show me a picture. “Was this him?”
My eyes went right to the hair. It was streaked with gray. I slowly nodded. “I think that was the man Michael shot.”
Lucas sat back. “Shit. Andrew Wagner’s father is a senator.”
“Well, this shit just got a helluva lot more interesting,” Mark stated.