A Fortune to Die For (White Oak - Mafia Series Book 1) (13 page)

Meg spoke up. “I can personally attest they are horrible.”

He grimaced.

“If this is a deal breaker, I will contribute money to improve the roads to the forest. However, I’ll need some realistic estimates of cost from whoever does the work.”

He looked at Joe.

Joe made a note on his pad. “I’ll get the information.”

She then ran through the medium and high projections of revenues and the assumptions behind them so he could realize these were real possibilities, not pie in the sky numbers.

When she finished, she met his gaze. “Now do you see why this is a plan worth risking my life for?”

“How long have you worked on this?”

“I got the pictures a week ago, so six days.”

“Well, I love it. You’ve got my support a hundred percent. Get the backing of the park guy and the cost of road construction, then I’ll tell you how much we can squeeze out of our current budget. Once we’re ready, I’ll call in the crowd of bureaucrats required to make this happen, and you can give them the same presentation.”

He rose and grasped her hand in both of his. “Excellent job, Miss Williams.”

“Thank you. You’ve been an excellent audience.”

“Any chance you worked on the analysis if the land is leveled for homes?”

“I did. I was just hoping my presentation was so good, you wouldn’t need to see them.” She pulled the papers from beneath the case and handed one to Joe and one to the Governor. “As you can see on page one, comparing their high projection of jobs created for years one to three to my low projections of the same, if we make it a state park, you might get two-hundred and fifty more jobs from destruction of the forest in year one, but they’ll all be filled by skilled workers from out-of-state. Your biggest worry should be the negative consequences of destroying the forest showing up in years two and three.

“When compared to my offer’s high projections, and assuming the revenue surplus is used for job training and scholarships to encourage students to go into fields where jobs are projected, then saving the forest is the clear winner in all categories.”

“Mind if have my financial people review these numbers.”

“Not at all. In fact, I will send them my files so they can tweak the assumptions. However, these are the numbers I stand by. If you project revenues three times this due to a change in my assumptions, you do so at your own risk.”

Both eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Is that so?”

She met his hard gaze and nodded once.

“All right then, let’s get this moving. Joe, I hope you remember all the players we need to get this through…hopefully a lot sooner than we did it last time.”

Joe handed him a list of people.

“Excellent!”

“I suppose you’ve got the legal documents written?”

“I do,” Joe replied.

The governor rubbed the back of his neck. “So theoretically, if I can get everyone to sign off on this, we can have our new state park when?”

Joe held his hands out as if trying to stop matters. “Hold on. The state congress will have to vote on it. Best case—two months from now…or six.”

The governor scowled. “Why do they have to vote on it? It’s cost neutral.”

“Because they like to be involved in the creation of things extending into perpetuity.”

“But legally…” The governor prompted.

Joe gripped his forehead as if in pain. “You could approve it on your own, but I strongly advise against it.”

The governor leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “All right, we’ll do it your way. But I want this girl protected until this gets approved.”

Joe stood up. “I’ll talk to the FBI. They seem keen to keep her alive.”

Meg’s head buzzed with things to do, but first she needed a place to stay. Staying in the governor’s mansion was not an option. The press would have a field day if they found out.

She’d just finished her to-do list when Joe came into her room. “Can you help me rent an apartment?” she asked.

He smiled. “You’ve evidently read my mind. We have a meeting right now with a real estate agent to look at three. An FBI agent is coming along, too.”

She hoped it was Steve despite her embarrassing declarations in the bathtub. Damn it! He had to think her the most screwed-up, crazy woman in the world. First, her Jekyll and Hyde behavior in New Jersey, and then declaring she wouldn’t marry him just to better his career.

When they arrived at the public section of the governor’s mansion, leaning against the wall was Steve. She smiled…and probably blushed, too.

In an assessing glance, he eyed her over as he pushed off from the wall and fell in beside her. “You look well-rested.”

“And sane,” she whispered.

Steve gave her one of his adorable grins, causing her stomach to flutter.

God…was she in lust with Steve?

Really didn’t matter since she’d bluntly rejected him twice now.

He stuffed her into the back seat of a black van and climbed in beside her while Joe climbed in the front passenger seat. As the driver rushed away from the governor’s mansion, Steve reached over and attempted to secure her seatbelt, making her feel like a three-year-old child.

So naturally, she slapped at his hands. “I’ve got it.”

Ignoring her protest, he engaged the lock. “I’ve found three apartments with adequate security. They are pricey, and I don’t think you’ll like any of the current furniture, but I need you to settle on the one you hate the least.”

“Any way I can order new furniture?”

“I’d rather you didn’t. It opens a mile-wide security gap.”

She sighed heavily and stared out the window. She missed the hills. Everything here was so flat. After a half hour of slow traffic, they entered a gated high-rise. She hated it on sight and released a low disgruntled cough.

“They are all high-rises, all on higher floors for security reasons.”

“Probably cost a fortune,” she grumbled. “Who’s paying for this?”

“They do, and you are. Now stop whining. I’ve spent the whole day interrogating security guards on safety protocol, and I’m not in a good mood.” His hands fisted as they rested on his legs.

She wrapped her fingers around his left hand. “Thank you for fixating on my safety. However, I think I’d rather return to St. Donatus and stay with Helen and Tess.”

“You can’t. I’ll explain why when we’re alone.”

While his answer was better than just “no”, it still annoyed her. “Isn’t this ultimately my choice?”

His blue eyes locked on hers, melting her resistance within seconds. “I will explain later.”

The car drove into an underground parking area and parked in the visitor’s section. Joe led them to the elevator.

Clearly she’d pissed Steve off because once they were inside the elevator, he stood before the door with his back to her as they ascended.

The driver eyed her over once, then focused on Steve’s back. Joe leaned in and whispered in her ear, “If you don’t stop fighting with your agent, I’m going to need to send you a bill on a daily basis to ensure you’re alive to pay me.”

Damn! His comment made her realize they had never discussed his billing rate. God! Had she completely lost all financial sense?

Finally, the elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. Steve stepped out into a foyer, then gripped the side of the door and motioned them to exit. A woman in her thirties wearing a broad, fake smile shook her hand. “I’m your real estate agent, Ann Callihan. This apartment is to die for!”

With Steve leading, all four of them entered the penthouse. Upon sight of the steel and heavily mirrored black pit of hell, she turned around. “Okay, this one isn’t going to work, let’s go.”

“You haven’t seen it yet,” Steve growled.

“Seen enough.” She headed to the elevator hallway, forcing everyone else to follow.

“I gather you don’t like black?” the real estate agent lady asked.

“I detest black, hate mirrors, and can’t stand stainless steel.”

“Oh dear,” she muttered and looked at Steve.

He shook his head. “Could you guys wait out here while Meg and I take another look at the apartment?”

Meg opened her mouth to object, but he gripped her arm and dragged her inside Batman’s cave.

She opened her mouth to yell at him, but he pulled out his phone. “Say no more. I’ll call and get them to assign you a different agent. Clearly, you have lost confidence in me.”

“No!” she snatched his phone and hid it behind her back. “I just hate black.”

“Well, unfortunately, black is the rage among the Iowa rich right now, so all three apartments are much the same style. However, this one does have a normal bedroom, so out of the three, I thought you’d prefer it. But you can fight with your next agent on the matter.”

“No! I’m sorry I’m being so impossible. I just react badly to black. Let me see the bedroom.”

To her surprise, the master bedroom, which was like an apartment in itself, actually soothed her raw nerves. On the left was the living room area with a dark wood table and white cushioned chairs. Wall-to-wall bluish glass provided a non-scenic view of high-rises and flatland. The couch and chairs were white with soft turquoise pillows. A turquoise fur rug lay beneath the glass and copper coffee table. Like the governor’s mansion, a giant flat-screen TV hung over the mantel of the fireplace. Frankly, she thought it a terrible location to place expensive electronics, but remained silent, not wishing to piss off Steve any further.

She turned and stared at the large bed tucked in the darkest corner. Evidently sensing her annoyance at the black bedspread, Steve tugged her through another door.

The large marble tiled bathroom made her laugh. It had a walk-in shower large enough to host a small elephant. And the Jacuzzi looked overly complicated with dials and knobs across the back of it. She nodded toward it. “Does the monster bath come with a manual?”

A faint smile came to his lips. “I’ll ask if you like.”

She gripped his arm. “I’m sorry I’m being so difficult. You’re right. These rooms aren’t as unbearable as the front room. If you think this is the best of the bunch, I’ll take it. But will you tell me why I can’t go back to Helen’s house?”

“Two reasons. No three.” He took a deep breath. “First, Joe says you need to be here so when the governor flips, which he is prone to do, you can flip him back.”

Meg wanted to curse all politicians to hell but held her tongue.

“Secondly, it is far easier to protect you if you have secure lodging. There are few and far between in Iowa. They are proving to have extremely low security-consciousness.”

She suspected he was right. Weren’t farmers generally thought to be a hardworking, trustworthy group?

Steve ran his hand through his hair. “Nor does it help citizens are allowed to carry concealed weapons. And while the law prohibits them from carrying guns in a city without a permit, the law is either ignored or they pass out permits like candy.”

Her brow furrowed as she recalled Steve’s retelling of how many guns came out to play when the assassin murdered the pillows he thought was her.

He gently gripped her chin and tugged it up so he could melt her with those blue orbs again. “Finally, you would put Helen and Tess in serious danger if you stayed with them.”

She pulled back before her challenge dissolved. “But whoever shot at me is in jail now. Right?”

He sighed. “Actually no. He escaped. But from hotel security video, we were able to ID him as a Chicago-based hitman known to work for the mafia.”

“Mafia? Mr. Drecker wants to take me out? Why? He ripped me off, not the other way around.”

“Iowa used to have an active mafia. And while it has been quiet for a time, the speed in which this guy showed up indicates there’s still someone calling shots from here. And we don’t think Drecker did this. We think it was Helen’s son.”

“Jeffrey is a mafia kingpin?”

Steve shook his head. “No, her eldest son, Benito. Jeffrey is her second son. What do you know about him?”

“Nothing. I just heard him yelling at Helen.”

“Did he see you?”

“I’m not sure. The family was in the main cabin when I carried a box of groceries into the kitchen, but Tess led them to believe I was there delivering the groceries.”

“So how did you come to know his name?”

She grimaced. “I’m ashamed to say I was eavesdropping behind the kitchen door. He didn’t sound like a very nice man, which must be why Helen has gone out of her way
not
to make Tess a target of their anger.”

“Their?”

“Tess’s father, Benito, and her Uncle Jeffrey.”

“Interesting. And another reason why you shouldn’t be there. I wish to keep both of those ladies from becoming targets,” Steve replied

“But I’d be in the part of the house neither of those guys knows about.” Meg then told him of the lovely home beneath the cabin. And how Helen has security cams and lights to let her know when someone arrives upstairs.”

“Didn’t it strike you as odd a woman would hide where she actually lives from her relatives?”

“Now you mention it, many of her actions are odd. Helen didn’t have to sell her land to a stranger. She could have given it to Tess, the only one who loves it as much as she does. But she didn’t want them to come after Tess. I thought she meant constant nagging, but maybe she meant something worse.”

Her mind raced to the scam Helen’s son and his buddy had attempted to pull in order to force the dear old lady to sell her lands to the developer. She shared the story with Steve.

Steve frowned. “Doesn’t make sense. This partner has to be mafia as well, but the mafia doesn’t file complaints with the police to send someone to jail. They just kill him. ‘Sell or your grandson dies’ is far more compelling than ‘sell or we’ll try to send him to jail’.”

“I’m not sure hardball would work with Helen. She is a strong-willed woman.”

Then she remembered Helen was dying. “Nor does she have long to live.” She told Steve about her having cancer.

He smiled as he cupped her cheeks with large, slightly calloused hands. His breath caught, and she thought he would lean in and kiss her. Instead, seeming to realize he’d stepped across a line, he dropped his hands and moved back.

Only he hadn’t overstepped. She’d wanted the kiss, maybe more than he did.

“You-hoo!” a female voice called out.

Steve opened the bathroom door and led her back into the master suite.

The real estate lady tapped her watch. “We are running behind schedule. I’ve another appointment in less than an hour from now.”

“Sorry,” Meg stated. “I’ve decided I’ll take this apartment.”

“Really? What changed your…oh, the bathroom. Yes, it is lovely, even if it is a bit dated. And as far as the bedroom, most of the time you’ll spend in this room will be with the lights off.” She then glanced at Steve and smiled.

What the hell did the woman mean? Either she was hitting on him or suggesting he’d be in the dark with Meg.

She had better not been hitting on him.

Meg fake-smiled at the annoying woman. “If you have a contract, let’s get it signed so you can get on to your next appointment.”

When she saw the price, she almost balked, and would have if not for Steve. Fifteen minutes later, she was the proud lessee of a thirty-five thousand a month bat cave. God help her.

Once the real estate lady left, Joe sat down on the black couch in the front God-awful room.

“Oh no! I’m not staying here. There’s a tolerable couch in the next room. If we need to discuss anything, let’s go in there.”

He rose and shook his head. “This is actually nicely done.”

“The lack of trees must make Iowans crave shade and the color black,” she muttered, leading the men into what was technically her bedroom. But the bedroom portion was hiding in the corner. She led them to the semi-normal living room, assuming polar bears were normally killed, dyed turquoise to match the pillows, and displayed beneath a coffee table.

“So what do we need to go over?” she asked.

To her surprise, Joe had a great deal to discuss. She glanced at Steve to see if he wished to go first so he could leave for the night, but he seemed to be grabbing a nap in the recliner. Since he seemed fine, she spent the next three hours with Joe making notes and adding things to her to-do list.

Finally, Joe left her with a long list of people and their phone numbers so she could follow through on all his instructions.

Once she led him to the front door and escaped the bat cave back to semi-normality, she discovered Steve had moved to the couch and was reading the list of names.

“Do you think Joe forgot which one of us works for the other?”