Dance or Die (White Oak - Mafia Series Book 3) (10 page)

“So you were not, nor never have been, engaged to Danny Spadoni?”

“I ran to Grams the moment I learned of the planned marriage.” She stared at them. “My mother’s was a planned marriage. There was no way in hell I was ever getting married.”

“But you just said—”

She glanced at Steel. “I planned never to marry until I met Steel.”

“You’re referring to Prince Castile?”

“Yes, he prefers to be called Steel.”

“And you’re not planning to marry him?”

Tess shrugged. “He is so different, so thoughtful, and kind. Now with my father dead, the possibility of marriage can be considered.”

“And before?”

She swallowed hard. “Grams was certain Steel would be safe from my father because he’s British royalty. Grams was very smart, so I believed her.” She glanced at Dan. “Dan tried to convince me Steel was at risk from my father, but for the last six years, my grams had sheltered me from his influence.”

She rubbed her face with her hands and braced herself for the ugly truth. She met the shorter agent’s narrow eyes. “I think he was safe while Grams lived, but upon her death, my father declared war on me.”

“Why?”

“I thwarted his attempt to steal her body and bury her beside the monster.”

“Who?”

“My grandfather, Eddie Campinelli. Grams called him the monster.”

The tall guy snorted.

“Instead, with Sheriff Cobbs and Steel’s help, we had Grams’ body cremated the night before my father planned to steal it away.”

“And you think this is why he picked up Dr. Castile?”

“No. It’s why he declared war on me. Next thing I knew, both roads to my home became impassable. The one used by the young man who delivers my food had a 300-yard section of the road removed. The asphalt down to base rocks was gone.”

She breathed in deeply and continued, hating this part. “Then he kidnapped four of my grounds crew and tortured them.”

“Tortured them how?”

“I don’t know. Sheriff Cobbs wouldn’t elaborate. He said I was better off not knowing.” She glanced up at Dan, whose brow was furrowed. “He asked me not to tell you, so I didn’t. But that’s when I decided Steel wasn’t safe here and I had to convince him to leave.”

Dan nodded once, his face giving no clue to his feelings. She refocused on the short agent. Oddly, his contempt was easier to bear than Dan’s expressionless stare.

“Sheriff Cobbs found a lawyer to be the executor of Grams’ will. With Jonas dead, the responsibility had fallen to me. Only I was doing a terrible job of it. I forgot to file Grams’ will for days. I gave the will to Sheriff Cobbs Tuesday morning. He took it to Dubuque and got it filed. Turned out my father had claimed there was no will and everything should go to him, so I’m guessing my filing pissed him off further.”

“How much money was involved?”

“I don’t actually know. However, Grams sold the woods for a hundred and eighty million.”

“All going to you?”

“No! She didn’t want my father coming after me. That’s why she didn’t leave me the woods. They are worth over two billion in lumber. If I stood between my father and two billion dollars, he would have made my life hell and harmed anyone who helped or liked me.”

She looked over at Steel, wishing he would wake up. “I had hoped I had more time before my father acted upon his anger. Dan and I talked Tuesday night and we agreed that Steel and I needed to leave the country. Steel had spent the evening mesmerized by his work. I feared he would refuse to leave if I asked him then. I believed I had a better chance of getting him to leave if I waited until morning. Then maybe his love for his work would have faded, and his love for me would take precedence.”

“I thought you said there was nothing between the two of you,” the taller agent challenged.

“I said our relationship was platonic, but we do love each other.” She returned her focus on Steel. “He is everything and more I could want in a man.”

He snorted and wrote something in his notebook, underlining it three times.

“So you planned to profess your love and that would make him up and leave his job and take you to England?”

“Actually, I planned to tell him I was afraid for us both, that my father had declared war upon me, and I feared for our lives.”

“And you intended to tell him this when?” the shorter agent asked.

“Wednesday morning. And if it went well, I figured we’d be on a plane before the day was out.”

“And if he refused?”

“Then I had a backup plan. I would file a sexual harassment suit against him. Tom would have no choice but to fire him. Thus, he would have to leave.”

“Give me a break!” the taller agent yelled. “That would take months. Did you seriously think Benito was going to sit on his hands and do nothing for months? Especially if you declared in a sexual harassment suit that Dr. Castile had defiled you?”

She stared at the man in horror. “You’re right. I hadn’t thought it through. Claiming that would have just put a target on Steel.”

She closed her eyes. “Doesn’t matter now. Evidently, my brothers arrived at the cabin while I drove down the other road to give Sheriff Cobbs the signed transfer of executor responsibilities to Mr. Sedita.”

“And how did they get in? Did you just happen to forget to lock the door?”

“No. One of the borrowed rangers who lived in my house turned out to work for my father. He put something in the chili to knock us all out.”

“Except for you.”

“I was too upset to eat.”

“So you conveniently left the house at what time?”

“Before light…five-thirty I think.”

“And while you were gone, your brothers came and abducted Dr. Castile and a Secret Service agent?”

“Yes.”

The shorter agent leaned forward as if sensing blood. “And they were gone when you returned?”

“My brothers were. Frank was on the porch pacing while he spoke to someone on the phone.”

The agent stormed toward her and shoved his face an inch from hers. “Then how could you possibly know it was your brothers who abducted the men? I’ll tell you how. You were in on it. That’s the only way you could’ve known.”

“No! Frank told me. The reason I stated it as fact is because when I arrived at the barn, my brothers were there, so I believe Frank told me the truth in this matter.”

“Yes, well, poor Frank isn’t alive to confirm your story, because you killed him.”

“What? No! My father shot him because he realized Frank had lied about Steel and Dan being my lovers.”

“Which you led all of your housemates to believe, which means you’re the one who killed him.”

“Hold on,” Dan said. “I led the others to believe I was her lover to take the heat off Steel. So if anyone is responsible for that bastard’s death, it’s me and I’ll gladly take the honor.”

The agent stormed over to Dan. “We agreed to this location on the condition you remained quiet. Now, I’m not telling you again to shut your goddamn mouth.”

Dan sighed and closed his eyes.

The short agent continued to glare at him for a long moment, then pushed off the metal bars causing the entire bed to shift. The man turned and glared at Tess.

“So you gave Sheriff Cobbs a bad address and lost your tail so you could join your father at Grady’s barn.”

“Frank was claiming my father was holding his little girls hostage, forcing him to bring me to the same place Steel and Dan were taken. I demanded the address, insisting we needed reinforcements. When he gave me the address, I thought it was genuine. But it wasn’t. When I realized Frank was lying about the girls, I redialed Sheriff Cobbs and left the phone on so hopefully he could hear our conversation.”

“And why didn’t you let him know where you were going?”

She closed her eyes. “I had no idea where we were headed to.”

The taller agent walked behind her chair and gripped her shoulders, speaking in her left ear. “See, that’s where your story breaks down. If you didn’t know where you father waited for you, then how did you know to turn at the barn? We’ve been all over the recording and we don’t hear Frank telling you to turn anywhere.”

“He didn’t. He caused my seat to fall back, shoved himself on top of me, and took control of the vehicle.”

“Oh give me a break!” The shorter agent screamed.

“It’s true,” she whispered, wishing Steel could wake and rescue her.

“Then why didn’t you say, ‘Oh look, we’re at Grady’s barn’?”

“It was a barn. How the hell was I supposed to know its name?”

“You’ve lived your whole life in Iowa! Don’t play dumb with me.”

“I lived in Cedar Rapids until I was sixteen and then lived with my Grams on the hill. I spent every day learning to care for the woods and the evenings being homeschooled. I never left our hills until I turned twenty-one. And even then, it was just to Dubuque or La Motte to buy supplies. When exactly do you think I had the opportunity to learn the names of every barn in Iowa?” She realized she was yelling at FBI agents, but she no longer cared.

Just then a tiny beep sounded. “Time’s up gentlemen. Your ‘polite interview’ is over,” Dan said. “Say one more thing and I’ll file a complaint about your conduct today.”

“But we haven’t gotten to her hiding her uncle,” the tall guy said.

“Not my problem. Your interview is over.”

The short agent stormed toward Dan. “I’m filing a complaint against you, and you’ll be lucky to still have a job when I’m done.”

“Seriously? I only interrupted twice when I had information that could clarify matters and move you on to more pertinent areas.”

The short guy shook his head. “That’s not what my complaint is going to say, and Ed here will back me up. Wonder who they’ll believe?”

Dan sighed. “And why are you falsely accusing me? All I did was try to clarify two points. I stayed quiet through a flawed fishing trip that was nothing close to polite.”

He leaned over the rail. “You want to know why, asshole? Because you guys think you’re hot shit, but who let himself get beaten up like a one month rookie?”

Tess feared Dan would clock him, and he was in no condition to fight anyone right now.

The door opened and the nurse glared at the agents. “What is wrong with you people? You two out!” she ordered.

“We’re FBI agents,” the tall one said.

“And I’m head nurse. You were given two hours and your two hours are over. Now, you are disturbing my patients. So you have to leave.”

The short agent gripped Tess’s arm and pulled her from the room. Dan yelled at them but they didn’t care. She feared they planned to take her to some basement where she’d stay until she signed whatever they put in front of her.

Thankfully, Sheriff Cobbs waited in the hall and demanded custody of her.

“Don’t give me that crap. You don’t think she’s done a damn thing,” the shorter agent snapped.

“You’re right. I don’t. But it doesn’t change the fact that she remains in my protective custody. And until either my men or the FBI arrest every Campinelli on my list, she will continue to be so. Now, kindly release her arm and leave.”

“Yeah, well she’s probably hiding the rest of them, just like she did the other brother,” the tall agent said.

Cobbs’ brow furrowed. “I already told you she provided valuable assistance in locating her uncle.”

“Yeah, while she was asleep. She must be fucking you, too.” The two brown suits stormed off before Cobbs could respond.

Sheriff Cobbs sighed and shook his head. He then focused on her. “You okay?”

She smiled at him. “I am now.”

He patted her back. “Let’s go check on Dan and Steel.”

“Thank you for rescuing me. I was terrified they intended to take me somewhere and interrogate me for the rest of my life.”

Dan had his gown pulled up, exposing his wrapped chest. He was detaching something. “I hope to hell this worked because those bastards need to be fired.”

He handed Cobbs a small recorder.

Cobbs placed it in his pocket. “How bad was it?”

“Worst interview I’ve ever witnessed.” He then frowned. “You told Tess not to tell me about four of her men being tortured?”

“I did.”

Dan’s jaw tensed and his eyes narrowed. “Why?”

Cobbs looked at Tess. “Tess, Steel’s parents should be arriving anytime now. Could you stand at the nurse’s station and greet them?”

Cobbs didn’t wish to answer Dan’s question in front of her. But after all he’d done for her, she couldn’t object.

“I’ll get right on that,” she said and hurried from the room.

***

Tess worried she wouldn’t be able to identify Steel’s parents. She’d never seen a picture of them. She expected they would be well-dressed, but oddly, many people fancied up to come to the hospital.

She sat in the plastic waiting chairs and watched the door.

A couple in their fifties rushed through the door and looked about as if lost. The man resembled Steel with beautiful, well-behaved blonde hair, although shorter and styled in a more conservative manner. It also lacked the white sun streaks. The woman reminded her of the old pictures of Princess Caroline in the way she held her head with pride, even when under duress. The furrows in her brow and the tension in her neck left no doubt she was presently under great stress.