Whirlwind (SAI Book 2) (14 page)

Waving a hand in dismissal, she laughed. “Nana Boo and Aunt Lolly pried it out of her. They’ve always gotten people to open up and spill their secrets. As they get older, they’ve only gotten better. Sara was telling them everything within thirty minutes.”

“Damn, I thought everything I heard about those two was overblown. Apparently not.”

“Believe it.” She stretched her legs out in front of her and then sat up. “I wanted to let you know that Rory has hired a second-in-command. She is four months pregnant and Max won’t let her travel because he’s paranoid and over-protective. So she’s found someone to run operations for all of the offices. Her name is Ivy Bellows and she has a ton of experience. Our office is on her schedule for the end of summer. Her goal is to streamline operations and improve communications. Also, she will act as the contact point for new hires. Every office has different needs, so she’s going to make sure that the right people get to the right office. I spoke with her on the phone, and she seems terrific.”

“Sounds good to me. The more support we have, the better we operate. Everything Rory has put in place has only made our lives easier.”

“I agree.” 

“What else is going on?”

“I will be going out on maternity leave in three weeks, and TT is going to come in and run the office while I’m out.”

“How did you talk her into that?”

“Vivi pulled the sister card and told her that we really needed her help. Also, she doesn’t start grad school until the spring. So she has some down time.”

Running his hand over his face, he let out a small laugh. “Does Kyle know yet?”

“Yes, he does. He’s trying to act really cool about it, which only tells me that he’s darn happy about having TT around on a regular basis. As long as Joel doesn’t kill him for going after his sister-in-law, things should work out.”

“I guess it won’t be boring watching the two of them together.”

“I told Ben that he has to tell me everything that happens while I’m at home. I expect it to be pretty interesting. I’ve known TT since she was born, and she is a firecracker. Always has been, always will be. She makes Ronnie and Vivi seem calm.”

“I’d warn Kyle, but I don’t think it would make any difference.”

“I suspect he knows what he’s getting into.” Checking her tablet, she read through a couple of items. “I think that’s all I have for you. Do you need anything else from me?”

“Is it possible for a house to have bad juju if a crazy person spent some time there?”

“Absolutely. Sara doesn’t want to go in your house because of crazy Ang…right?”

“Jeez, how did you figure that out?”

“Easy. And yes, it’s totally possible. I don’t think you have traiteurs down here, but maybe we could find someone else to come over and cleanse the space. Then you need to change all of the furniture and maybe paint. After that, she may be willing to come over.”

“Or I could just go over to her house and avoid the whole thing.”

“Or you could do that. Maybe you should just sell it and be done with it.”

“I’m not going to sell a perfectly good house because I happened to spend some time with someone who turned out to be crazy. That’s insane.”

Heaving herself out of the chair, she gave him a hard glare. “Suit yourself. But don’t expect Sara ever to spend any time there.”

“She wouldn’t even sit on the couch today.”

Slowly moving toward the door, Ruby shrugged. “I can’t blame her. When I moved into Ben’s house, we changed everything around. We bought all new bedroom furniture because we wanted a fresh start to our relationship.” Before she walked out, she smiled. “Never underestimate the power of bad juju. From what I’ve heard, she let her crazy out all over that house. One way or another, you should definitely get rid of it.”

Leaning back in his chair, he thought about what Ruby had said. Maybe it was time to get rid of the bad energy that Ang had left. He just didn’t know where to start looking for a traiteur in Miami Beach.

Before he could think about it further, his phone rang. “Merrick.”

“Hi, honey.”

Hearing Sara’s voice sent a happy buzz through his body. “Hi there. How’s your day going? Any more publishers contact you?”

“As a matter of fact, I received another email. I have two appointments at Comic-Con. But that’s not why I’m calling. Sammy showed up today.”

“Sam Barton from the FBI?”

“Yes, he surprised me and he’s staying for a couple of days. I was wondering if you could pick up some beer on the way home. I don’t have any, and I don’t even know what kind you like. We’re going to eat around six, so make sure that you’re home before that.”

“Okay, anything else?”

“No, that’s it.”

“All right, I’ll see you around five-thirty. Call me if you need anything else. Lo…”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. I’ll see you later.” He ended the call and let out a huge breath. He’d almost told her he loved her. He wasn’t even conscious of what was coming out of his mouth. “Shit.” The conversation seemed so natural, like they’d been a couple forever and this was just the conversation they had at the end of the day. He knew it was too soon to be feeling it, but damn if his heart hadn’t
gotten the message. 

***

Grady walked into the house and heard Gladys and Agnes talking away. They sat on the couch with a large man sitting between them. He was fairly certain that their hair color was a lot brighter than last week. They also had on a lot of lipstick. Sam the Fed must have been the reason for all of the excitement. He caught a glimpse of Sara and his heart stuttered. She had her back to him and was stirring something on the stove. It seemed that Gladys and Agnes were not the only ones who had made an effort today with their appearance. She wore a dress that hugged her curves, and her hair was curled against her shoulders. Before he allowed himself to become jealous, he called out a greeting to everyone. Gladys and Agnes barely gave him a wave, but Sara turned and beamed so much affection at him that he almost tripped. She made him feel like the most important person on the planet. “Hi, honey.” He set the beer on the counter and opened his arms. When she walked into them, he felt connected. His heart, his brain, his soul had finally found what mattered most. Before he fell all over himself and confessed his new feelings, a booming voice interrupted them.

Sam the Fed stood with arms crossed and studied them. “This must be the man who’s responsible for that stupid grin you’ve been walking around with all day.”

Grady released Sara and then draped his arm around her shoulders. Standing tall, he gave Sam a hard glare and waited.

“Sammy, I would like you to meet Grady Merrick.”

A huge grin broke across Sam’s face, and he thrust out his hand. “Happy to meet you. Hank can’t say enough good things about you. It’s a relief to know that Sara has someone in her corner.”

Gladys and Agnes strolled up and sat on the stools at the island. “She’s had us in her corner for a year,” Agnes responded.

“And I couldn’t be more grateful. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you two,” Sara said.

Grady exchanged a knowing glance with Sam and laughed. “It’s nice to meet you, Sam. Hank gave you a strong recommendation, and I know Sara has been fortunate to have you.”

Clapping her hands, Sara gained everyone’s attention. “Dinner will be ready in ten minutes. Grady, make sure that everyone has something to drink.” Turning, she went back to the stove and worked on dinner.

Gladys leaned over to Agnes and said loud enough for the neighbors to hear, “It seems that Grady has moved up in the world. I bet it has something to do with the fact that he walked back to his house in a towel at six this morning.”

Grady was handing Sam a beer and almost dropped it when he heard that comment. “Ladies, why don’t I get you more wine, and let’s try those snacks Sara made.”

Gladys lifted her glass and smiled innocently. “Sure, Grady. Fill it up.”

Sam stood off to the side and tried to hold in his laughter. As far as Grady could tell, he was doing a piss-poor job. Nothing like having your private life discussed before the meal was served. Apparently the idea of privacy wasn’t something they were familiar with. After he filled the ladies’ glasses, he asked Sam to take them into the living room. Once they were out of earshot, he approached Sara. The way she was stirring the sauce told him she was working very hard on holding it together. “Can I pour you more wine?”

“Just bring me the bottle and a straw. Let’s not pretend that I’m not going to need the whole thing to get through this evening.”

He refilled her glass and kissed her head. “I’ll keep it topped off.”

“Don’t let me have more than three. I want to stay awake long enough to have at you. I loved what we did last night, and I want to do it again.”

Before he could respond, she opened a package of fresh pasta and dumped it into the boiling water. “Can you grab the salad out of the fridge?”

Standing as still as he could, he tried to determine if there was any blood left in his head. Nope, all of it had pretty much traveled south. “So, you want to get at me?”

She slid the bread into the oven and set the timer. “Why does your voice sound so gravelly?”

“Because I’ve got a couple of pictures running through my mind that are making it hard to breathe.” When she took a step closer and patted his chest, he about lost it. “Let’s just make everyone leave now. I can give Sam some money, he can take the ladies out and we can have the house to ourselves.”

“Salad, honey. Can you get it out of the fridge?” Pushing away, she stepped around him and went to check on the table. As he watched her bend over, he groaned out loud. It was going to be a very long evening.

CHAPTER TEN

Wednesday

Sara opened the front door and waved Sam in. “Don’t say anything about my hair.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.” Snickering, he dropped a kiss on her head before he moved past her. “I’d ask how it happened, but I already know the answer.”

Trudging over to the coffeepot, she filled two mugs and handed him one. “All I can say is that it was completely worth it.”

Grady strode in and asked, “What was worth it?”

“My crazy hair.”

Laughing, he kissed her cheek as he grabbed a coffee cup. There was no mistaking how they spent their time together. Sara appeared well-tumbled and satisfied. The fact that her mouth was still swollen from his kisses and her cheeks were pink from where his beard had abraded her only satisfied him. “I’m a gentleman, so I won’t be discussing anything that happens in our bedroom.”

Sara kissed his arm before she grabbed the cream from the fridge. “All of it didn’t happen in the bedroom.”

“Don’t need to hear the details,” Sam responded.

“Wasn’t going to give you any.” She grabbed a banana and stepped out of the kitchen. “I’m going to take a shower. You all can discuss safety measures for our trip to San Diego.”

Grady tracked her exit until she disappeared into the bedroom. “She’s got me so tied up that I don’t know which way is up.”

Sam responded like a proud brother. “Congratulations.” He moved over to the table and sat down. “I’ll give you the latest information we have about the threats against Sara.”

“Thanks, man. I can use all the intel I can get.” Grady filled his cup and grabbed his tablet. “I have our travel plans, and I can forward them to you. I booked direct flights, and we’re going to be met at the airport by some guys from Max’s team. We’re staying in Coronado at a condo that I booked through Airbnb. Max confirmed that he would have men available if we needed them, and I have a bunch of buddies from the Teams who live in the area. I booked Sara’s ticket with her alias, so no one should pick up on our travel plans.”

“Sounds rock solid. We have no reason to believe that the Outfit has developed skills in tracking people. Traditionally, they’ve focused most of their illegal activities on gambling, prostitution, juice loans, and the like. They haven’t gotten into cybercrime like the Eastern European crime groups. That’s what has allowed Sara to stay out of WITSEC.”

Grady ran his hand along the top of his cup and then cleared his throat. “How do I end this for her once and for all? I know that I can’t plan an op and wipe them out, and if they could be brought in and put away you would’ve already done that. I want to neutralize this, so we can have a life together.”

“That’s the frustration. I spent ten years in the Army, and my mentality was very similar to yours. Identify the threat and then eliminate it. None of that works with the mafia. The FBI has been after organized crime since its inception. The task force never shrinks.”

“What would it take for them to leave Sara alone? Forever.”

“First they want the password to the bank account that Sal had. Apparently he skimmed around seventy million dollars from the Outfit, along with details of how the family operates. It was his insurance policy, because he knew there were certain family members who wanted him out.”

“It seems he was right, since he got gunned down in front of a restaurant in broad daylight. According to Sara, one of his men didn’t do anything to stop the hit.”