Chapter 35
Dax
I wonder what my duplicitous little liar of a wife is after. My first instinct is not to trust this sudden about-face, but I also want it to be true.
Even now, she smiles at me from her seat across mine on the private plane.
She didn’t complain when she learned that Finch would be coming with us on our honeymoon, and that immediately put me on alert.
Her favorite pastime is complaining about Finch, but not one word about her has slipped past her perfect lips.
My dog is sleeping at my feet now, and my sneaky wife is flipping through a bunch of bridal magazines.
I leave my seat and take the one next to her. She doesn’t jump away or insult me as I expected. She smiles at me, so I lean in and kiss my wife.
“My mom said she’s flying down in two days to see the doctor.” There’s a mixture of nerves and excitement in her voice. Those big brown eyes land on me as if I have all the answers in the world.
I want nothing more than to tell her whatever she wants to hear.
“Yes, and you should go with her for support, but I want to know if you have a business plan for Corine’s Creations.” I take the magazine from her and look through it.
“I do,” is all she says.
“Can I see it? I know a thing or two about starting a business.” Her eyes widen at my words, and I wonder what I could have said that alarmed her so much.
“Well, I’m not ready to show it yet.”
“Let me see. I can help you.”
“Later.” She shifts in her seat. “I want it to be mine, and I don’t want any funny business.” She looks away when she says it, and I arch an eyebrow.
“Can you show me the damn business plan?” I snap. “I only want to help you.”
“I’ll show you later. It’s on my laptop.”
“I’ll see you back at the penthouse.” I kiss her temple. She leans into me and puts her hand on my chest. “Unless you need me to stay.” I eye her brother, who is pacing the hallway.
“No. I’m going to visit with Mom for an hour, and then I’m going to nap. I’m exhausted.”
Things with Cori’s mother happened quickly. She was evaluated and cleared for surgery a few days after arriving in Chicago. She had her operation on Friday.
It was an experimental surgery where the scar tissue that had been compressing Annette Lamb’s sciatic nerve and surrounding soft tissue was removed.
He took healthy nerve tissue from one of her legs, reconnected and decompressed the damaged nerve.
She will require extensive physical therapy, but if she heals well, she may be able to take her first steps in a couple of weeks.
“Your mother looks good, and the doctor said the surgery was seamless. She will be fine.” She doesn’t respond, but I can tell she’s doing her best to control her emotions.
She purses her lips together and looks at the ceiling while she dabs her eyes.
Devin is useless. His baby sleeps in the stroller, and I worry things will escalate when I leave. “I can stay if you need me.”
She gazes into my eyes, and I wipe a stray tear.
“No, it’s okay. I know you have business. I’m only going to be here for an hour. I’m exhausted.”
That’s not surprising. We’ve been in the hospital for the past two and a half days, and she spent most of yesterday with her mother. She cried practically all last night. The only thing that calmed her was when I slipped inside of her.
“Okay, but this is the last of the business. I promise.” I kiss her softly. On my way out, I stroke Ruby’s cheek, careful not to wake her.
“If there are any issues between you and my wife, I’m going to handle it.” Devin has enough sense not to talk back.
Instead of taking a cab, I take the ten-minute walk from Northwestern Hospital to our condo on East Delaware. Chicago is a direct contrast to Shadow Cove and its surrounding small towns.
No one here knows or is suspicious of me. No one pays attention, and no one cares. There’s so much anonymity, and I like that. But there’s a certain peace in living in a small town. No one looks into those areas. They’re perfect to build an empire and live in plain sight.
Instead of going to my unit on the fourteenth floor, I go to my other unit on the sixth. Preacher and King are already there waiting for me when I arrive.
Preacher is staring out the wall of windows, but I’m certain King is ready to head back home to his wife.
“Let’s get down to it.” I take a seat at the table, in front of the three laptops that Preacher has set up.
“I have a paper trail on the Brennans. One that I’ve created, of course.
” Preacher rubs his hands together. “I’m talking false transactions, bank statements, and several illegal shipments.
I planted a few nuggets and will lead the feds right to some of the Brennans' actual customers. No one big. They are too small to be used as witnesses against them. When they’re arrested and behind bars, we can end them. ”
“Sounds too easy,” Ripley says. “They’re trying to do the same thing to us.”
“Except they don’t have me. You do. They can’t get us. Our businesses are legit, and our things are wrapped up in so many layers and accounts that they’ll never find anything. I used to be a digital forensics expert for the feds. I know what they look for.”
“What about the Titans?” King’s left cheek twitches.
“They are a lot harder to frame. They are almost as good as I am.” He cackles. “But unlike the Brennans, they are a family of their word. There’s honor amongst those criminals.”
“King?”
“We’re already in bed with them. I’m more concerned about the Brennans and getting rid of them. The Titans don’t worry me as much. I don’t like them, but all those greedy fucks think about is money. They’re all about business. They’ve never tried to hurt my wife.”
His nostrils flare after that last statement. With King, it’s always going to be personal when it comes to the Brennans, and he’ll have no issues sleeping when they’re all gone.
“Another thing to consider is that the Brennans employ a lot of people in their operations. It’s just the three of us.
” I don’t have to say more. They know what I mean.
There’s a trust between us. I chose these guys because I saw something in them.
This is my business, but we run it together.
My plan was always to keep a small, tight circle.
The Brennans don’t, and that will contribute to their downfall.
“I’ve already thought of it.” Preacher lists six members of the Brennans’ operation that would easily flip and snitch to the police to save their own ass.
“The Titans run a family business, and they would sooner die than turn on each other. We get rid of the Brennans, and we’re good, but I don’t think we should show all our cards to the Titans.
Let’s pretend to let them take the lead.
Of course, we’ll have our own plan in place. ”
“Speaking of the Titans, they presented me with a legitimate business opportunity, I think we should look into. If we do this, it will be good for our pockets and for Shadow Cove.”
“King, you headed back home tonight?” I check my watch and note that it’s been over two hours since I got here.
“Nah. Eden’s here. We’re staying for a few days. She’s waiting for me at our Airbnb.”
I leave soon after and head to the elevator. That’s when I notice that I have three missed calls from Cori in the last half hour.
I call her back, and she picks up on the first ring.
“Where are you?” she practically yells. “Can you get here, please?”
“What’s wrong?” All I hear is Finch’s barking, and I hope she’s not freaking out over the dog. The elevator doors swing open, and when I step in, the call drops. In the two minutes it takes to get to my floor, my heart nearly flies out of my chest.
I sprint down the hall to our unit, and when I get there, I hear the loud cries of a baby. I open the door, and Cori runs toward me with a screaming baby in her hands. She shoves Ruby into my arms, and the cries lessen, but she’s still unsettled. Finch runs around, barks, and growls.
“That fucking loser came over, and I knew I shouldn’t have let him in.
He waited until I went to the bathroom and ran out, leaving his baby here.
I came out, and that mongrel almost ate Ruby.
Almost bit her head right off, and now Devin won’t answer his phone.
” She stomps away. “And she’s got a shitty diaper and no clean diapers in her bag.
” She takes the diaper bag and holds it upside down.
Only a few articles of clothing fall out.
“And all the clothes are dirty. Fucking useless piece of crap.”
Ruby’s yells get louder, so I rub her back. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Uncle Dax is here.” I kiss her temple. “We need to get you some diapers.” I kiss her again, and the loud cries turn into soft whimpers. “Sweetheart, go to the store next door and get her some diapers.”
Cori’s nostrils flare, but she stomps away and returns holding her sneakers and a jacket. “I didn’t even get to take my nap. This is what I get for trying to be nice to his sorry ass. It won’t happen again.”
“Do you know what size diapers to get?” Her head whips back, and she looks at me as if she’s horrified.
“They come in different sizes?”
I sigh and roll my eyes to the ceiling. “Get size three. Get wipes too and some clothes. Get size twelve to eighteen months in the clothes. Hurry. I don’t want her to get a rash.”
Cori heads to the door, and Finch follows.
“You are not coming.” She looks down and points at the dog, who lowers her head and whimpers.
She returns fifteen minutes later. After handing me the bag of diapers and wipes, I take Ruby into the bathroom, clean her, and give her a bath.
Cori laid out a few onesies for her, so I put her in one.
She’s exhausted by the time I finish, and she falls asleep in my arms. I position her in the middle of the bed and surround her with pillows to keep her from rolling off.
Finch lies on the floor, and after rubbing behind her ears, I leave them in the bedroom.
I find my annoyed wife on the couch with one arm thrown over her face. I sit at the end and put her feet on my lap.
“I’m not about to babysit for his sorry ass.”
“She’s sleeping.” I rub her feet the way I know she likes. “And she’s so sweet.”
“I’m not opening that door. Don’t you dare get attached to Ruby.
” Her words come out as a warning, and I don’t have the heart to tell her that it’s too late.
She picks up her phone, taps on the screen, and puts it to her ear.
“You pathetic, fucking loser. I’m going to stick my foot so far up your ass that—”
I snatch the phone from her, end the call, and toss it away. I pull her up and position her on my lap.
“I wasn’t done telling him off.” I wrap my arms around her waist, pull her close, and bury my face in her chest.
“Forget him. This is supposed to be our honeymoon.”
“Exactly. You should be spending your time spoiling me, not changing shitty diapers.”
“I can still spoil you. Have you eaten?” She shakes her head no. “Let me cook for my wife. I’ll bring you a glass of wine, make us an early dinner, and then we’ll go to bed, and I’ll make you scream.” I slide my hand underneath her shirt and graze my fingers across her silky skin.
“Okay.” Encouraged by her quick agreement, I put my hand behind her neck and pull her to me. We kiss, but I don’t let it get too passionate before I end it. I’d rather take my time with her tonight.
“Let me get you that drink.” I tap her ass, and she slides off my lap. I bring her back a glass of her favorite white wine, but just as I start looking through the fridge for ingredients, Ruby starts to cry, and Cori groans.
“This is getting out of hand.” She stands abruptly and stomps to the bedroom, and I follow.
The baby is sitting up in the middle of the bed, crying and rubbing her eyes.
Cori picks her up before I can get to her, and she puts her head on Cori’s shoulder.
My wife rubs her back, and I lean against the wall and watch.
“It’s not your fault your father is a worthless piece of shit, Ruby,” Cori says in a soothing voice. “But, please, munchkin, stop crying. It’s giving me a headache.”
“I think she might be hungry. Was there any food in the bag?” I ask from a few feet away.
“There was nothing but dirty clothes in there.” Cori is doing her best to speak calmly, but her anger is palpable. Now, I’m getting a clearer picture of her issue with her brother. “Maybe she can have some of my chicken sandwich from yesterday.”
“Sweetheart, she only has two teeth. She can’t eat a sandwich.”
“Yeah, but the bread is probably soggy by now.” Cori gazes at me and shrugs.
I shake my head at my wife and tell her to follow me into the kitchen. “I can make her some oatmeal.” I pull out the oats from the pantry. “Can you boil some water?”
“Boil water? Why are we doing this when that lazy loser is—”
“It doesn’t matter now. He’s not here. We are, and this is our niece.” Ruby’s cries resume. She sees me and reaches for me, and Cori hands her off.
“See? Even Ruby knows I have no maternal instinct. I don’t know how people do this.
” She shakes her head, stomps to the kitchen in search of a pot.
“Now I’m supposed to eat oatmeal for dinner?
I want lobster. Oatmeal is a mushy, disgusting mess.
” I stare at the ceiling while I bounce a very fussy baby.