Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Penn
“Daddy!”
“Penny!”
Owen and Olivia ran into the house, dropping their bags onto the floor. They were all gap-toothed smiles and not slowing their steps.
Gideon scooped up Livy while I gently took Owen into my arms.
“Welcome back.” I hadn’t realized I’d missed them as much as I had until they came trampling through the door.
“Penny, I saw so much stuff.” Owen was missing one bottom tooth and one on top, which made his words whistle every so often.
“I can’t wait to hear all about it.”
I looked over his head to find Rita, Dean, and Matteo entering. One arm wrapped around Owen, I held out my fist.
Matteo rolled his eyes but gave it a pound. “What, is this no longer cool anymore?”
“It’s fine.” He went to Gideon, who released Olivia and pushed Matteo’s hand away in favor of a hug.
The next few minutes consisted of greetings, getting everyone drinks, and while the kids left us to go upstairs, Rita and Dean joined Gideon and me on the couch.
Rita sipped her iced tea and sighed. “Why does it always feel like you need a vacation after a vacation?”
“Because you were with three kids.” Gideon chuckled.
Dean sat back, his smile fading. “So, what did we come home to?”
“How’d you figure out I didn’t fix everything?” Gideon placed his drink on the table.
Dean cocked his head. “We were greeted by an insane amount of security at the port.”
“Just tell them.” I released a breath.
The next twenty minutes were spent with Gideon and me telling Rita and Dean everything that had happened while they were gone—from the explosion to Nathanial’s murder, to Benito’s visits, all of it. Rita swore a lot in Spanish while Dean stared at us wide-eyed.
“Shit, we should have stayed on the boat,” Dean said once we were done with the information dump.
“So, this asshole knew where we and the kids were this whole time?” Rita was raging.
“Vaguely.”
Rita glared at Gideon. “Bullshit. You told us he knew where we were sailing, and I’m sure he knew our location at all times.”
“I get that you’re angry, but right now we need to concentrate on staying safe while I bury this motherfucker.”
“Gid.” Dean leaned forward. “What’s your plan?”
“I’m figuring it out. What I need both of you to do is not give my people a hard time. You need to be guarded, and so do the kids. I’d have honestly kept you all away longer, but it wasn’t feasible.”
“I wasn’t going to roam the sea forever, Gideon.” Rita cocked a brow. “We won’t give anyone trouble for protecting us, but you gotta have a solid plan. This guy sounds smart, well connected, and extremely dangerous.”
“I’m not someone who hasn’t had their fair share of enemies, Rita, and I’ve taken down each and every one of them.”
Her eyes softened. “I know, and I believe in you, Gid. You’ll fix this.”
The three of them stayed the night since their house had no food and they were too exhausted to leave. The night was quiet and normally I liked that, but something in the back of my mind knew things were going to get so much worse. I could only hope that in the end, we were the ones left standing.
August was in full swing with the twins going to day camp and Olivia getting tolerable as her piano lessons progressed.
“She’s getting better,” I said to Jennifer as I walked her to the front door.
“Yes, well, that’s how lessons work. You practice and you improve.” She was a little snippy.
“You seem upset.”
“Mr. Garrand—”
“Penn is fine.”
“Penn, truth is, she’s not where I’d like her to be. I was told she’d practice when she was on vacation. It took me two weeks to get her where she was and this last week to show improvement.”
“But you did so, way to go.” I lightly punched her upper arm, which she did not find amusing.
Her eyes narrowed. “Should I be expecting any more trips away that will hinder her lessons?”
I shook my head. “Not that I know of.”
“Good. It’ll be hard enough to make a schedule with them returning to school in two weeks. I’d hate to have to work out more vacation time.”
I just smiled and held the door open. “It’ll be fine, Jennifer. It’s not like she wants to be a world class pianist; she just wants to learn to play.”
She huffed. “I treat all of my students as if they will be the next Yo-Yo Ma.”
I scrunched my brow. “Isn’t he a cellist?”
“You know what I mean, Penn.”
I didn’t, but I was eager for her to go. “Okay, yeah, I hear you loud and clear. Time to go now.”
I swore she growled but she did finally go, leaving behind her vanilla and rose fragrance.
I was about to walk up to Gideon’s office when Toni entered.
“Hey, Boss up there?”
“Yeah, need something?”
He grinned. “Nah, I got something.” He wiggled his tablet.
“Then by all means, let’s go.”
He followed me up, and the office door was ajar. I knocked on the frame before entering. Gideon glanced at me and grinned.
“Toni has something to show you.” I moved to one of the chairs while Toni placed the tablet down on the desk in front of him.
“And what am I going to see? Because I don’t want to be scarred for life.”
“Ha-ha. Funny. Just hit the red button.” Toni took the seat next to me and we watched Gideon’s face as he looked at whatever was on the tablet.
“It took a while, but I knew eventually the two of them would fuck up,” Toni said.
“Can someone clue me in?” I peered between the men.
Gideon handed it to me and regarded Toni. “Now, we meet with both of them.”
I clicked the restart tab on the video, and my eyes widened. On the screen, Senior Senator Steven Robins was being enthusiastically pleasured by a naked Junior Senator Lucy Mikens. The son of a bitch had gotten the proof that they were cheating.
“The crate?” Toni asked.
“They’re senators, Gideon. As great as this leverage is, you can’t kidnap either of them.”
Gideon pursed his lips. “Invite them each to dinner but don’t tell the other. I’ll reserve the back room at Tessa’s.”
“Are you sure they’ll come?” Neither had ever rubbed shoulders with Gideon. I was sure they knew who he was, but they were obviously team Benito.
Gideon smirked. “Yes. We’ll tell each of them that there’s proof of their affair and if they don’t go, it’ll be on every news circuit in the country by the end of the week.”
“You got it, Boss. What time?”
“Tomorrow night, seven.”
“Short notice, that may not work.” A lot of senators were in Washington and couldn’t always drop everything in a pinch. I stared down at the still video of Steven with his pants at his ankles. I guessed he could drop things when he really wanted to.
Gideon chuckled. “Trust me, they’ll be there.”