Merger (Triple Threat Book 3) (10 page)

Her father looked better, she noted through tired eyes. It had been more than a year since he had left the city, Dominic’s detail reporting he had settled in Cuba for a while. It had been a strange choice in her opinion, because she never remembered her father being a fan of hot places or sand, but whatever he’d been up to in Cuba, it was clearly agreeing with him. He was darkly tanned, a healthy weight, and his hair was a more vibrant black again, without so much white.

Lily wasn’t certain if that came from a box of dye, or if he’d somehow managed to find a way to regenerate his original hair color. The idea of her father dyeing his hair seemed ludicrous, but perhaps he was trying to impress a woman. She didn’t care. She was just happy to see him. “Hi, Dad.”

He stood awkwardly in the doorway of the hospital room. “I got your text.”

She nodded. “I was hoping you would. Would you like to see him?” The him in question was Jamison Philip Rinaldi, currently two hours and thirteen minutes old. He was asleep in Dominic’s arms, and Dominic was also dozing in the armchair the hospital provided for partners of the mothers in labor.

Her father hung back, still looking uncertain. “I don’t want to wake him.”

“Which one?” she asked with a hint of teasing.

Her father smiled. “Neither one, I guess. I’m here for a while, so I’ll have plenty of time to hold the baby. How are you feeling?”

“Like a truck ran over me, and that’s an improvement over how I felt a couple of hours ago.” Bringing her son into the world without anesthetic had been a challenge, but she was happy to have accomplished it. Especially since halfway through the final stage, she’d been begging for an epidural, though it had been too late to get one. When her obstetrician had denied her request, she’d looked at Dominic and said with all seriousness, “Shoot her.”

Now, she giggled at the memory and hoped her doctor would dismiss it as labor-induced craziness, rather than suspecting that Dominic might have actually shot her. Fortunately, he’d been far more sensible about the whole thing, promising to do it later, after Jamison was born. That had proved unnecessary, since she had returned to reality since then, but knew it was a memory she’d never forget.

She didn’t share it with her father though, since he didn’t really need the reminder of Dominic’s criminal endeavors in light of finally approaching her after more than a year of silence. He’d missed her wedding and all the small and large events in between, but she had been hopeful that he would be drawn back into her life with the advent of grandchildren, and she had been right. When she had texted her father several hours ago that she was in labor, she had hoped he would come. He must have been as eager to see the baby as she had hoped, because he had arrived sooner than she’d expected. “You must have had a frantic trip.”

He looked sheepish. “Actually, I’ve been staying at a hotel across the city for the last couple of weeks, waiting for you to go into labor. I wanted to be here for it, but I couldn’t cross that last hurdle until you sent me the news that the baby was coming. I can’t pretend that I understand or approve of the decisions you’ve made, but I really do love you, and I’m very proud of you.”

Tears came to her eyes, and she blinked rapidly in an attempt to dismiss them. “Thank you, Dad. I’m so happy to see you.”

Her father came over and bent down to give her an awkward hug. It was enough to make her start to sob quietly, which roused Dominic.

He glared over at Philip, though he wasn’t nearly as intimidating as he usually appeared with an infant in his arms. “What have you done to upset her?”

Lily waved a hand, taking a moment to regain control before she could speak. “Nothing. He’s just here, and I’m happy.”

He let out a sigh, shaking his head as he leaned back against the chair again, slightly shifting the baby. He looked at Philip in an appraising fashion. “Do you want to hold him?”

Her father nodded stiffly as he moved around the bed to where Dominic sat. “If you’ll allow it,” he said gruffly.

Dominic’s tone was softer than she had expected when he replied. “I’ll never keep you from your daughter or your grandson. I wouldn’t do that to Lily, Jamison, or you.”

They shared a look, and though Lily couldn’t decipher it, it seemed to say something to both of them, because their rigid postures relaxed slightly, and Dominic handed over the baby carefully. Her father cooed down at him as he began to walk around the room, clearly falling easily back into the role of baby soother. She was certain Jamison would need to eat soon, but she had a few moments with her husband as her father walked the baby around the room.

Lily twined her fingers with his, smiling when he squeezed gently. “I was afraid he wouldn’t come.”

“I know you were, but I was sure he’d show up.”

She frowned, eyeing him suspiciously. “Did you force my father to come here?”

He held up a hand. “Easy there, babe. I certainly didn’t. I was just positive he couldn’t ignore you or Jamison. I’m done manipulating events and trying to force people to do what I want them to.”

She gave him a slightly skeptical look, but she accepted the kiss he pressed on her cheek without arguing. “You’ve turned over a new leaf, huh? When did that happen?”

“Probably sometime between you getting a positive pregnancy test and Jamison being born. It was a gradual transition.”

She shook her head as she laughed softly. “Very gradual. I’ll believe it when I see it, but I’m willing to keep an open mind.”

He looked the picture of innocence. “That’s all I’ll ever ask, Lily. Just keep an open mind and give me a chance to prove myself.”

She rolled her eyes as she leaned forward to kiss him. “You already have.”

******

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After taking some time to calm down and think rationally, she knew she had to speak to Luka. She couldn’t take anyone else’s word for such a serious allegation. He might avoid owning up to his feelings completely, but she didn’t think he’d ever lied to her. Abby hoped he wouldn’t start doing so now.

The idea of waiting for him to come home was too much torture, so she decided to go to his club instead. She had spent several hours locked in her private pity party, trying to sort out the truth, and it was now dusk as she left the apartment to walk to the cab she had called. After her brush with the FBI agent earlier, she didn’t want to risk hanging around outside the boundaries of the security fence while awaiting the bus. Nor did she want to travel conspicuously in one of the town cars driven by the company Luka kept on retainer. A cab was nondescript and felt safe.

A few moments later, the cab drew up outside of the club that Luka owned with his brothers, appropriately enough called Triple Threat, which usually made her smile, but she didn’t have that in her this evening. Her hand was on the door handle when she saw Luka step out of the club. She could have finished exiting and caught his attention, or waved him over, but something about the way he moved stilled the impulse. Instead, she told the driver, “Change of plans. Follow the man in the black jacket, but don’t get so close that he knows he’s being followed.”

The cabbie gave her a look in the mirror like she was nuts, but he didn’t argue as he put the car into gear. He’d likely assumed, based solely on where he had picked her up, that she had the money to fund an all-night drive around the city if she chose.

He would be wrong in that assumption, since she had never used, and refused to use, the credit card Luka had given her several weeks ago, and she didn’t think it was going to be an all-night trip anyway. She held herself stiffly in the seat as he got into his sports coupe and roared out of the club’s parking lot, driving confidently and at least five miles over the speed limit. The cab driver managed not to break the law, but he was clearly skilled and kept up with Luka.

That didn’t mean Luka didn’t see the driver following him, but she had to hope he didn’t. She felt sneaky following him without his knowledge or permission, but she was desperate to know what Luka was doing. She couldn’t even explain why she was positive he was up to something, but she was listening to her gut, which told her to follow behind quietly.

They drove for twenty minutes before pulling up outside a crumbling building in the industrial district. It wasn’t quite large enough to be a warehouse, but might have once been an office for one of the warehouse storage places around the area. Now, it appeared to be nothing more than a mess.

She waited until Luka had parked his car and entered through a side entrance before reaching for the door handle again. She bit her lip as she considered whether she really wanted to go inside and discover what was happening. She didn’t really have the luxury of burying her head in the sand and pretending like everything was just fine. For the baby’s sake, if not her own, she had to know if Luka did the terrible things the FBI agent and her sister claimed.

“You’re not really going in there, are you, lady?” asked the cab driver, his incredulity clear in his tone.

She wanted to shake her head, but nodded instead and grasped the handle firmly. “Wait for me.”

He looked indecisive for a moment. “This is a bad neighborhood, and I bet you there’re bad things going on in there. I’ll give you five minutes, and then I’m gone.”

She glared at him. “I haven’t even paid the fare yet, and I’m not going to until I get back.”

He shrugged. “My life is worth more than a hundred bucks, lady, and yours should be too. We should get the fuck outta here.”

She shook her head. “Just wait for me. If you’re in danger, then drive away; otherwise, please just wait for me.”

He let out a harsh sigh. “Ten minutes, and not a minute more. If I hear gunshots or something beforehand, I’m driving away before I call the cops. Just so we’re clear.”

She nodded her understanding and slid out of the cab, cautiously approaching the building as she looked around her. There were two other cars parked nearby, but she didn’t recognize either of them. She half-expected to find a guard posted at the door, but there wasn’t one.

Abby turned the knob and pushed against the door, wincing when it squeaked slightly. She froze for a moment, holding her breath as she waited to see if she had been discovered. When no one came running, she slipped inside and eased the door shut so it wouldn’t make more noise to alert someone to her presence.

She didn’t have to figure out which way to go, because the sounds of grunts reached her. She moved across the cracked cement floor cautiously, not wanting to fall, especially in her condition.

When she made her way down the hallway, she held her breath each time she had to cross a doorway, but found all three rooms empty as she walked past them. The fourth room was where the sounds she could hear all the way at the entrance originated from, and she paused, leaning with her back against the wall as she tried to listen before peering in.

“I told you to stay away from me and my family. That sure as fuck goes for my girlfriend, Armstrong.”

“I’m just doing my job,” rasped a voice she recognized, the one from earlier in the afternoon. She shuddered as the sound of flesh striking flesh reverberated from the room.

“Guess what? Your job is over.”

Her heart stuttered when she heard a small click, and she didn’t want to believe it, but it sounded like a gun cocking, or perhaps the safety being removed. Deciding she couldn’t live with not knowing, she took a deep breath and peeked around the edge of the doorway, almost gasping at the sight before her.

The FBI agent was on his knees with two men she didn’t recognize standing beside him on either side, pinning him to the ground by his shoulders. Two more men in dark suits stood behind him, and Luka was directly in front of him with a gun held out in his direction. She clapped a hand over her mouth to hold in her shocked cry when Luka fired the pistol a moment later, and blood sprayed from the agent’s head as he collapsed to the ground.

She didn’t have to wait around to see if he was dead. There was no way he had survived that bullet to the forehead. It didn’t matter if he was still somehow miraculously alive at that moment, because she was certain he wouldn’t be allowed to leave the warehouse in that state if he’d survived the first shot anyway. Luka would take care of that.

Luka would kill him.

Luka had already killed him.

The thought made her shudder, and tears blurred her eyes. A second later, her foot caught in one of the cracks in the cement floor, sending her flying forward. Fortunately, her hands and forearms absorbed most of the impact. It hurt, but she would prefer the sting in her arms and palms to pain in her abdomen. She didn’t let the discomfort get to her as she scrambled to her feet and kept running.

She held the sobs in check until she had left the building and returned to the cab, which she was thankful to find still waiting for her. She was certain she hadn’t been gone anywhere near ten minutes, but she’d been afraid the cabdriver would drive off as soon as she disappeared into the building. She was doubly thankful now that he hadn’t done so, since she would have no other way to flee.

After she’d scrambled into the back and quietly shut the door, he turned partially in his seat to look at her. “You okay, honey?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m pretty far from okay, actually.”

“What can I do?”

“Just drive,” she said in a voice thick with tears.

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