Red Handed(75)

Rinaldi bared his teeth like a wild animal. “We’ll see.”

“Hey, I’m innocent in all this,” Michael protested as another agent led him away. “He made me do it. Took my sister, Lynette. Said he’d give her back if I helped kidnap Danielle.” He looked over his shoulder at Rinaldi. “Well, I did it. Now where is she?”

Rinaldi pursed his lips as if he was thinking. “Lynette . . . Lynette. Oh yes, I remember her.” He shook his head. “Nasty heroin addict, if I recall. Poor thing probably OD’d. I bet if you made your way to the county morgue, you’d find her. The morgue is filled with unidentified bodies. At least she died doing what she loved best.” He grinned, his face turning into nothing but gleaming white teeth. “Well, second best.”

Michael’s face paled. “You son of a bitch.” He looked at Danielle. “I swear, I never would’ve hurt you. I was only trying to get you to work faster at getting that bank account information. You have to understand. He has . . . ” Michael hung his head to his chest. “Had my sister. I just wanted to get her back.” His eyes burned with rage at Rinaldi. “I don’t care if I have to spend the rest of my life behind bars. I’m going to testify and make sure you get what’s coming to you.”

“Don’t worry,” Rinaldi said. “You won’t have to spend very long in jail. I look out for my people.” Danielle shivered at the deadly promise of his words. Rinaldi’s gaze narrowed on Cole. “DeMarco, we’re not finished.”

Cole puffed out his chest as he got into the mobster’s face. “I think it’s safe to say your membership has been revoked, and if you ever step foot on my property, I’ll have you arrested.”

Rinaldi smirked. “We’ll see, DeMarco.”

It was as if the moment Rinaldi stepped out of the cabin, the oxygen in the room was restored, and Danielle could breathe again. Only a minute had passed since the FBI had first arrived, and yet it felt as though it had been a lifetime. A few police officers came through the door along with a team of EMTs.

Her eyes locked with Cole’s, and everything else disappeared.

A couple agents kneeled behind her and Tasha and began to cut the ropes.

Cole cupped her face between his hands, inspecting her cheek. “Are you okay? When I realized he’d hit you . . . ”

She didn’t care about her face. She just wanted them to get the damned restraints off her so she could return to Cole’s arms. “It hurts, but I’ll be fine. You gave me a sweater with a GPS tracker sewn inside. Very clever.”

He shrugged and smiled. “I told you I have faith in science.”

Science had certainly saved her life tonight. She jutted her chin toward her stepmother. “Tasha needs medical attention.”

A female EMT crouched by Tasha. “Ma’am, we’re going to take you to the hospital and have you checked out. Is there anyone we can call?”

“My son, Roman,” Tasha whispered, “but he’s in Russia.” Tears flowed down Tasha’s face as she too gained freedom from the ropes. She turned to Danielle. “It’s all over now, darling. We’ll go back to Arizona and put this whole disaster behind us.”

The rope fell away from Danielle’s legs, and she sighed, flexing and pointing her feet. “Did you know about the money?” she asked Tasha.

Tasha winced as the female EMT helped her to her feet. “No, I had no idea. Your father told me were broke. We’ve been living off his life insurance policy, but it’s almost gone now. Roman has been helping with the bills. Maybe it’s time to sell the house and move into a small condo.”

Danielle tried to stand, the room spinning and the floor tilting under her feet. “I’m going to go with her in the ambulance.”

Cole caught her, snaking his arm around her waist. “Tomorrow morning she’ll be there,” he said to Tasha. “Right now, I want to get her home so she can rest.”

Her heart fluttered at his reference to home. Where was her home now?

The danger was over. Once they gave their statements to the FBI and Tasha was released from the hospital, there was nothing to keep her from returning to Arizona.

She rested her cheek against Cole’s chest, inhaling the soothing leather scent of his coat, comforted by his warmth. They were living on borrowed time, the clock ticking down to the moment when they’d each have to choose what they couldn’t live without.

She only wished she knew what that was.





Chapter Thirty


THE SUNLIGHT STREAMED through the window, stirring Danielle from her sleep. She sighed into the pillow and burrowed in closer to the man behind her, relishing the experience of waking up in his arms.