Dance or Die (White Oak - Mafia Series Book 3) (9 page)

“Given what happened to everyone else, we’re feeling damn lucky. Those bastards could have grabbed us as well. We were both out cold.”

She looked at Malcolm. “What’s your men’s names?”

“Sean and Taylor,” he replied.

“Two of my grounds crew, Sean and Taylor, need to check out the cabin above, to ensure no one is hiding inside.”

“Shit…Is that why the light’s been going on and off for the last three hours?”

“What light?”

“The red one by the hallway.”

“Bolt the hall door and do not go out. The main house is bomb proof so you’ll be safe. Taylor will come to the back door and show you his ID. Open the door and give him the key you’ll find in the hall table. Is that clear?”

“Yes.”

She looked at Malcolm. “How soon can they be there?”

“Half hour.”

She returned to Jack. “They’ll be there in a half hour. Call me if you have any questions.”

She hung up and focused on the sheriff. “Jack says the light that triggers when someone steps on the porch has been going off. Now it’s possible another bear has arrived and has a penchant for porches, but I think my uncle is stepping outside because the cabin gives him the creeps. He’s always insisted it was haunted. That’s why I was about to argue that it was the last place he’d go. But then I realized that was exactly why he might go there. He’s not as stupid as he pretends to be.”

Sheriff Cobbs frowned. “I’ve feared that for years.”

“Why fear?”

“Because with Benito and his boys gone, your Uncle Jeffrey is now the head of the family…if he can avoid the police.”

She sighed. “Well, I believe he’s always pretended to be stupid so my father didn’t perceive him as a threat. When out of my father’s presence, he can be most articulate and formidable.”

Cobbs glanced at Malcolm, who nodded. “I’ll send six men.” His brow furrowed. “Two won’t be men from the crew.”

“Jack and Sonny don’t need to know about the extra men. Just have Sean or Taylor go around the cabin, take the trail down to the lower entrance, and get the key.”

Malcolm hurried off and Cobbs led her back to the couch. “Sleep. You’re more useful when you can think.” He then smiled and patted her head.

He was right. Too many lives depended on her knowledge of the family to be stupid with fatigue. “You’ll wake me if you need to know something about my family or if Steel or Dan come out of surgery.”

“They’re both out of surgery and in ICU,” he replied.

“Why didn’t you wake and tell me?”

“Because nothing has really changed for Steel. He’s still listed as critical.”

“And Dan?”

“Unless complications arise, they believe he’ll live.”

God, if they couldn’t provide such an open door assurance for Steel, what did that say about his chances?

Once the sheriff left her so she could sleep, she climbed off the couch and knelt on the ground. “Grams, I know you’ve only been in heaven a short while, but I think I need a miracle to save Steel.”

***

She woke to angry voices—definitely in the room.

The sheriff sounded gruff and furious like a bear protecting its cub. “You’ll either allow me to wake her or you two can wait outside until she wakes on her own.”

“Unless you wish to be charged with impeding an arrest, you’ll step aside,” an equally angry voice replied.

“Impeding an arrest? You have nothing to arrest her for. That girl is probably the most innocent person in all of Iowa.”

The man snorted. “She’s a mafia princess. She’s far from innocent. More than likely, she sat on her papa’s knee while he ordered men killed.”

“Clearly, you don’t know shit about mafia families, which I find very troubling since you are part of the Organized Crime Unit.”

“You’re behind times, old man. That unit was disbanded years ago. We’re part of Home Security now.”

“I always thought that was a bad idea, and now I’ve got solid proof of it. Clearly, if Miss Campbell hasn’t woken with all this noise, she is exhausted and in no condition to answer your questions. So come back tomorrow at a reasonable hour.”

A nurse stepped in the room. “I can hear you men all the way down the hall. It’s 1:30 in the morning and I’ve sick patients trying to sleep. You two need to leave now.”

“Why us?” the angry man challenged.

“Because Sheriff Cobbs has been here all day and hasn’t disturbed a soul. You two arrive and all hell breaks out. Now either you leave, or I call security.”

“We’re FBI agents.”

“Then you should know better,” she replied. “And if you’ll give me your supervisor’s home phone number, I’ll call him now and ask him how he likes being woken in the middle of the night.”

“I’ll give you the number if these men don’t leave in the next ten seconds,” Cobbs stated with satisfaction.

“Let’s go, we’ll speak to her in the morning,” the other man said. The door closed soon after.

“Thank you very much, Clarise.”

“Anytime, Lee,” she purred and left.

A heavy sigh released as the door closed.

She opened her eyes to Sheriff Cobbs sitting in the chair, now positioned in from of the door, so no one could enter until he let them. His eyes were closed.

How could he be asleep so quickly? He must be exhausted. Only he’d stayed awake all day. And he was old.

He was such a good man.

She closed her eyes and fell back to sleep, feeling safe that Sheriff Cobbs watched over her.

***

Tess woke to the gentle nudging of her shoulder. Sheriff Cobbs was kneeling down beside her, a broad smile on his face. “I’ve good news.”

She sat up. “Is Steel okay?”

His finger touched her nose. “He improved immensely in ICU so they’ve moved both him and Dan to the room next door.”

She darted past him, but he gripped her arm and stopped her.

“Hold on. You need to know a few other things.”

“Can’t it wait until I’ve seen Steel?”

“No. First of all, while Steel’s vital signs have improved, he remains unconscious.”

She sat before her legs gave out. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“They don’t know.”

“Was it something I did when cutting him down?”

He gripped both hands. “No! You saved his life by taking him down.”

She shook her head. “You can’t know that.”

“Bullets were retrieved from both posts. They came from Benito’s gun. Had you left either man tied up, they’d be dead now.”

Tess was relieved she hadn’t caused this setback, but it still gave little comfort. “Can’t the doctors figure out what’s wrong?”

“A specialist is flying in.”

“Okay, what else?” Since he hadn’t released her hands, she figured he had more bad news.”

“Jeffrey has been arrested. He was hiding in your cabin.”

“Good.”

“Not for you. The Feds are now convinced you were hiding him.”

She sighed and hung her head.

“Anything else?” she asked, dreading his reply.

“Steel’s parents will be arriving around noon today.”

She looked at her wrinkled pants. “I’ll need to shower and change before that.”

“You need to do that now. A different pair of agents will arrive at eight to question you. Dan wants the questioning to occur in his and Steel’s room.”

“Why? Won’t that disturb Steel?”

“I think he’s hoping it will force your fellow to join the conscious world and tell them to leave you alone.”

“Oh…Is that a possibility?”

He shrugged. “Worth a try.”

“Anything else?” she scrunched her face and asked.

“I bought you a blue skirt and white blouse in case you wanted to dress up to meet your future parents. First impressions only occur once.”

She had been all ready to refuse the outfit, but she really needed to make a good impression. Steel liked his parents. And with Benito dead, there was no reason she and Steel couldn’t marry.

“Did you by chance remember shoes and pantyhose?”

He stood up and hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. “In fact, I did.”

“And how did you figure out the sizes for everything?”

He tapped the side of his head. “With my clever detective skills. I got the sizes from the clothes in your suitcase and your shoe size from your boots.”

She smiled at him. “Can I give you a hug?”

“Any time you like.”

She stood and wrapped her arms around him. “I wish I’d had you for my father.”

He patted her head and sighed with a hint of sorrow. She released him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you sad. It’s just you’re even better than the make-believe father I used to dream about.”

“You can take your shower across the hall. Grab your clothes.”

***

A good night’s sleep, a shower, and clean clothes did wonders for Tess’ spirit. When she left the bathroom, she first went to Steel, who had a contraption over his mouth, intravenous lines into his left arm, and wires leading from underneath his gown to the beeping equipment.

“Steel, I’m here,” she said and kissed him on his bruised swollen forehead. She slid her hand into his. “If you can hear me, squeeze my hand.”

After ten minutes, she sighed and kissed the bridge of his nose. “You have to come back to me,” she pleaded and turned to Dan.

He managed a faint smile before the pain to do so overcame him. She walked to his side and slid her hand into his. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you from the first.”

“Water under the bridge,” he whispered.

“Is Sheriff Cobbs keeping you up to date?”

“Better than my own agency is,” he grumbled. “Brad was made primary since I was out of commission and the jerk tells me nothing.”

“Maybe he knows nothing. The FBI seems to be running the show.”

He grunted. “You’re just trying to cheer me up.”

“Well, what choice do I have? As long as you two are hurt and injured, I’m going to feel guilty.”

A voice spoke from the door. “And what do you have to feel guilty about, Miss Campinelli?”

Tess turned to discover two guys, one about five four and the other six foot, standing in the room. Brown suits…had to be the FBI agents. “My name is Tess
Campbell
. My father may have chosen to change his name, but I was born Tess Campbell and will remain so until I marry.”

“You planning to marry?”

She glanced at Steel. “It would be presumptuous to say since I’ve not been asked.”

“Now that’s not true. I understand you’re promised to Danny Spadoni?”

She sighed and sat down in the only chair in the room. “When I was sixteen, my father—who I detested—called me into his office and informed me that I’d be marrying this Spadoni person. I told him I would not marry anyone he selected, stormed from his office, and ran away from home. We lived in Cedar Rapids back then. I hitchhiked to Dubuque and then walked two days to get to my Grams’ house. I told her what my father intended and she took me in at once.”

The first agent sneered. “Why didn’t your father retrieve you? Surely he must have known where you were.”

“He never spoke of Grams and I’d never seen her before I arrived at her door, so it’s possible he didn’t know where I was for the first few years.”

“Oh, he knew. So why, if it’s as you said, didn’t he come and get you?”

“I don’t know. I only knew that he hated my grams, so I was pretty sure I’d like her, and I did from the very first.”

“It’s more likely he sent you to spy on her,” the other agent challenged.

“Never. I loved Grams with all my heart.”

“Well, someone spied for Benito. If it wasn’t you, who was it?”

“Jonas. He was my father’s consigliere.”

“We know who he is,” the other agent snapped.

“Then you knew the answer before you asked me,” she replied.

“Don’t get smart with us,” the lead agent warned.

“If I sounded sassy, I apologize. That was not my intention.”

He snorted and flipped a page in his notebook. “How long have you and these two been lovers?”

“What? No! My relationship with both men is platonic.”

“Give me a break,” the taller agent whined.

“She’s telling the truth,” Dan stated.

“You need to stay out of this, Brown,” the shorter agent warned.

“I just wanted to help. You only have two hours and you don’t want to waste time on dead ends. I’m sure if you ask, Tess will allow a doctor to examine her.”

“And what good would that do?” the taller one demanded.

Tess answered, annoyed at being talked around. “I’m a virgin.”

They both stared at her as if she had just declared herself an alien from Mars. “I have trust issues. You would, too, if your father beat your mother daily and then finally killed her. And don’t even get me started on those two feral beasts that were my half-brothers.”