MemoriesErasedTreachery (28 page)

"Have to get out of here," he mumbled.

* * * *

Every cell phone in the room went off at the same time.

Ewyn snatched his cell from his waistband and flipped it open. "Hey, Myce…what!" he shouted and jumped to his feet. "Where…okay, calm down…who? Oh, my God. Is she all right. They did…yeah. On our way." He snapped his phone closed. "Son of a bitch!" He kicked his chair over, then turned to face a roomful of stunned people. "Christopher. He went for Kieki, grabbed Niqui instead."

"I heard." Christopher came to his feet.

The glacial look in those steely grey eyes had Ewyn taking a step back. He thought Devin could be scary. "She's okay," he quickly added, then looked at Devin, whose expression mimicked Corbett's look. "They're okay, Dev." He hurried to keep up with the two men as they strode toward the door.

"Where did this happen?" Patterson asked, following behind as they left the house.

"Riverview. Out of your jurisdiction," Christopher replied. "My family has a friend on the force down there. Trust me, Kristen will have contacted him." He shook his head. "Damn!"

"What?" Devin asked.

"She will have called her mother and my wife, too."

"Good," Ewyn growled. "I hope they caught the fucker and let the women loose on his ass."

"I guess this means Calabria isn't in Italy," Patterson stated.

* * * *

Calabria scanned the parking lot before he climbed out of his car then hurried toward his room. Shit. I can't believe this is happening, after all my plans…twins! Why didn't I notice? Damn it, the pictures…I should have looked at the pictures, instead of trashing them. Jennifer and Kathleen should have said,
those bitches
. They were my friends first.

"Have to get out of here," he grumbled and started throwing clothes into his duffle bag. He had the passports and the house in France. He could live over there for quite a while. His family would pay anything to keep him away from home.

With everything packed away, he looked around the room. "Pills…" He opened and closed all the drawers. "Where are my goddamn pills?" He rushed toward the bathroom, but pulled up short when a knock on the door startled him. He tensed, glancing around, no escape. The door was the only exit. Tentatively, he called out, "Who is it?"

"Housekeeping."

He relaxed. "Just a minute." He snatched his pills off the bathroom vanity, grabbed his duffel, and hurried toward the door. One last look around and he opened the door. "Hey. I'm checking out--
oomph
!"

His world faded.

* * * *

After Christopher spoke to Detective Steppling at the Riverview Police Department, a statewide APB went out for Anthony Francesco Calabria. Patterson returned to San Bernardino, while Devin and Christopher rejoined the rest of the family at Marissa's house.

"Can Steppling be trusted?"

Christopher nodded. "He's been this route with us before. He'll work it under the radar and keep the Calderone name out of the limelight. If not, I'll put MacGregor on his ass."

Devin dropped down on the chair next to Ewyn at the kitchen table. "How are Niqui and Kiera?"

"Surprisingly, okay." Ewyn shook his head. "Bragging about kicking butt, comparing techniques. They're too young to understand the seriousness of what happened." He looked from Devin to Christopher. "I guess we owe the two of you and Tag a debt of gratitude for teaching our little warriors so well."

Christopher grinned. "Uh-uh, not me." He glanced at Kristen and Marissa. "Niqui's mom and
ganmom
have the skills."

Wide-eyed, Ewyn turned to Kristen. "Hey. I live in a male-dominated environment. A girl has to keep up," she teased. "As for my mom, someday you should ask about her childhood."

"Only if you can stomach the blood and gore of horror stories," Marissa commented. "Listen. With Jered out on assignment, Kris, my husband and I have discussed how we should handle this situation. We've agreed Niqui should spend a few days with Kiera, until we can get decent security set up here, and at Kristen's place."

"Just in case my dogs aren't enough," Kristen interjected.

Marissa looked at Ewyn. "If it's okay with you."

"Not a problem." He glanced at Devin. "I'm going to work from home for the next few days to help Kieki settle down. She's not afraid now, but her bravado could change. She's only a baby."

"Good idea." Devin turned to Christopher. "The condo is more confined, so security and surveillance are more effective than the wide-open spaces of the estate." He stood and headed for the door. "If you have time, I'll take you over there and give you the tour."

"Right behind you." Christopher followed Devin from the room.

"So, Mick. You think it was Calabria, huh," Ewyn said.

"Pretty sure. Right height and build…didn't get a clear look at his face." He stood and refilled his coffee cup. "I think the girls would recognize him." He returned to the table. "But I don't want to confront them with it today."

"I agree. Enough drama for one day. The son of a bitch," Ewyn snarled. "Why didn't we see it?"

"Because you were looking for someone more sinister like your sister-in-law," Marissa pointed out. "You and your niece only thought of Calabria as annoying, and a bigoted ass-wipe, I believe you called him. You never considered him a threat." Marissa stared at him while she sipped her tea. "You have good instincts, Ewyn, you never trusted him, but you allowed your suspicions to become misdirected. He played the role. The nuttier they are, the better they are at fitting in. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience."

Ewyn thought about Anthony's derisive attitude, the animosity behind his flash of temper, and nodded. "You're right. I guess I didn't learn anything from my encounter with CeCe."

"Ewyn." Kristen reached across the table and put her hand on his. "We've been there, dealing with nutcases, and you can't blame yourself."

"That's what Dev says." He looked around. "All of you are so calm about this."

"On the surface, yeah. We've been down this block enough times, we've learned to cope," Marissa remarked. "But my inner rage wants to kill something."

Stunned, hearing the deadly intent in the quiet tone, Ewyn glanced at Kristen and her aunt, who nodded their heads. The men's expressions were menacing, too.

"Hey. It will be all right. Promise." Kristen patted his hand and sat back. "Change of subject." She grinned. "Will Myce stay at the condo while the girls are there, or should I come by to check on you? I mean…wait. Don't take that the wrong way, because you're a great parent, but two three-year-olds could be a handful, if you're not used to it."

"I hear you, but Myce will be there during the day. Mick and Tag are across the hall," he reminded her. "I want everything to remain as normal as possible for them, and that's why I'm going to leave Kieki here with you today, so you can carry on with your outing as if what happened was no big deal."

Marissa smiled and nodded.

"What?" Ewyn queried.

"Nothing. I'm agreeing with you."

"Oh." Heat strafed his cheeks and he looked away. "Mick will stay, too." He stood. "Right now, I need to go to the estate and reassure Gemma. I'll see you later, Kris." Headed for the door, he paused on the threshold. "Marissa, will you come, too? I'll fix dinner."

"How could I refuse an invitation to a night of no cooking?" She laughed. "Tristan and I will be there. What time? Should we bring anything?"

"Uh-uh. Will eight o'clock work for you?"

Marissa looked at her husband and Tristan checked his watch. "Since I have to get back to work, that's perfect," he said.

"Okay. See you then." Ewyn hurried from the room.

* * * *

He heard her before he saw her.

"C'mon, Niqui. See my room." Kiera bounced into the living room, spotted Ewyn in the kitchen, and screamed, "Ew! I'm home."

"Me, too," Niqui added.

"So I see," Ewyn replied.

Kiera skipped into the kitchen with Niqui close on her heels. She climbed onto the counter stool and puckered her lips. "Kisses, Ew." Niqui clambered onto the other stool and said, "Me, too."

He leaned across the counter and gave each girl a loud noisy kiss. Both giggled. "Did you have a good time?"

"How come I don't have a dog, huh? Niqui has two." Kiera's little brow furrowed. "Well, ackully…"

"Whoa. There's a new word," he teased.

She rolled her eyes. "Dogs, Ew." She sighed. "Talkin' bout dogs. Niqui have three dogs 'cause Ganmom have one for her too. Can I have a dog, huh? Can I?"

"Slow down, baby-girl. I'll think about it."

Kristen walked into the kitchen. "Hey, little people, I'm not unpacking for you." She grinned and winked at Ewyn. "Kieki, where do the backpacks go?"

"Momma…" Niqui sighed and did the Kiera eye-roll thing. "Kieki wants a dog."

"C'mon, Niqui," Kiera said. "Let's see my room. I'll ask Dev about the dog." She jumped off the stool and flounced out of the room with Niqui right behind her.

"Well, put me in my place," Ewyn called after her.

Kristen hurried to catch up with the two munchkins, calling back over her shoulder, "Myce said she'll see you first thing in the morning."

Devin strolled out of his office, came up behind Ewyn, and wrapped his arms around the slim shoulders. He kissed the slender neck, and whispered, "Didn't I hear our baby-girl?" Ewyn turned his face to him and mouths merged for several breathtaking moments, then Devin pulled back.

"Oh yeah. The twins have arrived, and Kieki wants a dog or three. I'm not sure how many."

A bark of laughter exploded out of Devin. "Guess that calms your fears about her contact with dogs. Did she happen to mention what kind of dog?"

"No. I didn't give her the answer she wanted to hear, so she terminated further discussion with me. She told Niqui, she would ask Dev."

"Uh-oh." He turned Ewyn to face him. "What do you think? You're the one who will have most of the responsibility for the dog."

"I never had a dog, Dev. Did you?"

"Yeah. As a kid, until I left Sweden. Since then, with college and what I do for a living, no. I was never at home. But I can see the sense in getting one for Kieki." He moved to the counter and sat down. "Christopher said Kristen and Marissa have trained their dogs to be protective of the children in their family."

Kristen came into the kitchen. "Did I hear my name being bandied about?"

"Oh yeah. Thanks to you, we have a dog problem," Ewyn teased.

Laughing, she sat on the stool next to Devin. "Hey. Korey and I grew up with the best-trained Dobies you'd ever want protecting you--CJ and JC. When we were babies, they slept in our room under our cribs."

Eyes wide, Ewyn said, "Marissa left them alone with you."

"Oh yeah. They even went on vacations with us. Mine --Siege and Jazzmine--are Niqui's best friends. Well, they were until Kieki came along. You should have seen your baby-girl with them. It was love at first sight all around."

"Probably because she looks like Niqui," Ewyn stated.

"No, Ewyn," Devin responded. "They go by scent, instinct."

"That's true.
Mmm,
speaking of scent, what smells so good--which reminds me, I have to get home and start dinner." Kristen stood and headed toward the front door. "The girls are settled in. I left them watching television. Niqui gets a snack before bedtime. Usually fruit, sometimes ice cream."

"Not a problem. We have those individual ice cream cups for Kieki." Ewyn wiped his hands, then he and Devin walked with Kristen to the door. "We always have fresh fruit. Anything she can't eat."

"No. She'll eat whatever you give her." She paused in the living room and looked around. "I like the set up you have here. Is Kieki's bedroom a recent addition?"

"We added it when she was four months old," Devin explained. "Next visit, we'll give you the grand tour."

"Sounds good." Kristen glanced at her watch as she stepped out the door. "Oh, shit. Look at the time. Jered is back in town and should be home soon. I'll stop by tomorrow evening to spend some time with Niqui. This is her first sleepover."

"Not a problem," Ewyn replied. "See you tomorrow."

She started toward the elevator, then stopped and turned back. "Oh, wait. Mick brought me up. Do I need a key for the elevator to get out?"

"No, but hold on." Ewyn dashed inside, returned with a key, and handed it to her. "To get back in, since you'll be a regular visitor."

"Thanks." She hugged Ewyn and rushed away.

Ewyn closed the door just as Devin's cell phone rang. Devin flipped it open and headed for the office, while Ewyn returned to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner. He was setting the table when Devin reappeared.

"Chicken fingers, corn on the cob…" Devin laughed. "I thought we were having rib eye, mashed potatoes, and green beans."

"Dev." Ewyn rolled his eyes. "The chicken is for the munchkins. I'm feeding them first, then baths, and bed by eight o'clock."

"Teasing." Devin kissed the tip of his nose. "I'll help with the baths and bedtime routine."

"Thanks." He wrapped his arms around Devin's waist. "I guess sex is out until they leave, huh."

"Not. That was Tag on the phone. After hearing about today's scare, he's taking a vacation day to spend time with the munchkins. He and Mick are going to take the babies out for the day."

"Until Calabria is caught, are you sure it's safe?"

"Taking every precaution." He winked. "Pencil me in for an afternoon of loving?"

"It's a date." Ewyn leaned up for a kiss.

* * * *

"Ewyn, dinner was delicious." Marissa stood and removed hers and her husband's plates from the table. "Tris and I will deal with the cleaning detail."

"No way. You're the guest."

"Way." She smirked. "House rules. You cooked."

Ewyn stared wide-eyed. "You do that, too?"

"Doesn't everybody." She took the washcloth from Ewyn's hand, passed it to her husband, and moved to the sink. "Sit."

"Yes, ma'am." He looked at Devin, who grinned and winked.

"Do you want to save these green beans?" Tristan asked. Ewyn retrieved a plastic storage container and handed it to him.