The next twenty-four-hours were a rush of activity. We moved the McGrath family into a safe house close to Assassin’s Hill. Cillian had a concussion. It didn’t take long for the lone surviving assailant to tell us who sent mercenaries after my family.
It wasn’t Stepanov.
“Something set off Walter Ford,” I informed the team.
Bristow, Garrison, and I were gathered in the basement of the safe house. Declan was keeping watch on my family. I still hadn’t told Kelly about Dmitry wanting a face-to-face because our girls needed her first. Whitney was traumatized by what happened. Watching her gramps get knocked down, a dog she loved shot, and then her grandma going all Rambo on their assailant, I was glad my wife had the presence of mind to shield her from the actual carnage of witnessing Branna scatter the mercenary’s brain on the wall. There was no way the kids were going back to that house anytime soon.
“I’ve confirmed cryptocurrency transfers to several accounts belonging to our mercenaries,” Nadia said. I couldn’t believe she offered to help us. But according to John, she would go into premature labor from an argument preventing her from getting involved. Bristow was more than capable, but with both of them tackling the intel we’d gleaned from the surviving attacker, details were getting slotted into place quickly.
Nadia said. “They were already waiting in the wings and were just waiting for a go ahead.”
“It came from a Ford shell company you say?” Garrison verified.
“Yes,” the analyst said. “It’s the same one we suspect sponsored the Gulf of Aden attack on our SEALs.”
“What set them off?”
Bristow brought up a screen. “This happened yesterday at a Las Vegas club right before a concert.”
“A shootout?” Garrison asked.
“Yes.”
“Any casualties?”
“Vegas PD is still investigating,” Bristow replied. “So far three bouncers at the club were killed, but according to witnesses there were more, but the attackers cleaned out their casualties. Video footages had been wiped. I’m going through social media footage, too, but so far all I’m seeing is shaky video.”
Further digging linked one of the owners of the club to Simon Stepanov.
“Too much of a coincidence?” Nadia postulated.
The door to the walk-out basement opened to the arrival of the detectives.
“Have all the McGraths reported in?” Garrison asked Bristow. “Because if this is Ford going after the McGraths again, they should be put on notice.”
“So far Ronan and Alana are not responding,” Bristow said. “Mrs. McGrath and Kelly have been trying to reach everyone since everything went down.”
“Ronan goes to Montauk in the summer,” I said, trying to beat back the worry. “They’re concerned with Alana since she went to Vegas.”
“She’s using a burner,” Bristow said. “Wasn’t she tracking a mafia soldier there?”
“Shit. And she hasn’t reported back?” I asked.
“No.”
“Alana is missing?” Kelso asked.
“I wouldn’t say missing yet. It hasn’t been twenty-four hours,” Bristow said.
“Anything else from the crime scene?” I asked the detectives.
“CSI is finishing up. We don’t have enough to prosecute Ford until we can confirm that the shell company is undeniably his,” Gabby said. “So far, it’s covered with layers of ownership.”
“Yes, but Ford has the most to lose here. Where is he right now?”
“His personal assistant is giving us the runaround,” Gabby said.
“Last known location?” I asked.
“Chicago,” Nadia said. “He had a flight plan scheduled for Seattle, but it was never executed.”
“So, either he’s still in Chicago or he took a less trackable route.”
Garrison crossed his arms. “Could he have left the country?”
“Fuck, I hope not,” I growled. “I want to hang him by his nut sack and make him pay.”
“Easy there, tiger,” Kelso said.
I glared at the detective.
The team discussed other possible locations for Ford.
“How are your kids holding up?” Gabby asked.
Words clogged my throat and I swallowed, instinctively looking up at the ceiling. They were at the pool or maybe playing with Scout. “I don’t know yet. But they don’t want to be alone without one of us.”
“You took the big bedroom with that supersized bed, right?” John asked. “Because, I think you and Kelly will have those two sandwiched between you for a while.”
“Fine with me. Anything to help them feel safe.”
“My two cents,” Bristow said. “Ash and Whit are resilient. I’ve been around them, and they’re tough kids. Just think about it, man. Whitney just saw how tough the women in her family are. That’s role model for you.” He coughed. “Not that I’m suggesting dispensing of your enemies with a shotgun is the way to go. All I’m saying is, they know their dad is tough. I’m sure they’ve heard stories about their gramps. Now they know that their nana and mom are tough too.”
“Thanks, man. Coming from you, that’s something.”
“I still haven’t told Kelly about Dmitry.”
Garrison regarded me thoughtfully. “There’s time. In light of these circumstances, I’ll see if he’ll agree to an alternative.” He walked toward me and clapped my back. “Your family comes first.”
Kelly
Levi’s team came around the corner to the pool area where the girls were spending time with Scout. My eldest child was still understandably withdrawn, although there were moments when she smiled when the pup did a cute head tilt. Gabby recommended several child trauma psychologists she’d worked with.
Nana kept Gramps indoors because bright light hurt his eyes and he’d been ordered to rest. Everyone worried about Ruger. We’d called the emergency vet clinic so often, I was certain they were going to send our numbers direct to voicemail. The vet wanted to keep him one more night. He certainly wouldn’t be lacking attention when he came home, and the girls were anxious to pick him up the next day.
Meanwhile, I was irritated and worried that I couldn’t reach Alana. Her voicemail box was full. But Mom and Dad were worried because after what happened to us, they couldn’t get a hold of their kids.
Levi watched me end the call, and I shook my head.
“No luck?”
“None.”
I heard the sliding door behind me, and Nana asked, “Have you gotten hold of Alana yet? Cillian is driving me crazy.”
I knew it was her own concerns, but she was laying it on Gramps because it was the tenth time she’d asked me today. “Ronan might simply be out of pocket in Montauk, and you know how Alana is.”
Nana harrumphed. “We shouldn’t have let her go to Vegas.”
“You didn’t know this would happen,” I reminded her.
“When was the last time you had contact with her?” Kelso asked.
“She called us when she arrived,” Nana said.
Nobody wanted to make speculations or give false hope. I could see it on everyone’s faces. Which was why, when Nana invited the detectives and the Garrisons for dinner, everyone declined. Bristow was staying with us to provide added security.
I trailed Levi’s team to the door and tugged on Nadia’s elbow. “Thanks for helping today.”
“John wouldn’t have been able to keep me home despite this big girl wanting to come out.”
“You’re due any day now, right?”
Nadia gave a light laugh. “Yes.”
I glanced at her husband who was talking to Levi.
My hand involuntarily went to my chest. “No words can express how thankful I am that John jumped in to help Levi yesterday. I—”
“Not another word,” Nadia said sharply. “John wouldn’t be the man I married if he abandoned his friend. That’s not in his vocabulary.”
“But—”
“John and I discussed this. He’ll try not to put himself in a situation where he’ll have to choose between me and his job. And it wasn’t a job. It was an intrinsic reaction of the man he is. The choice he made yesterday, Kelly, was a choice he could live with.”
“What happened last night puts a perspective to the situations Levi faces in his job.”
Nadia tried to hug me, but her stomach came between us. She settled into giving my shoulder a squeeze. “Now you know. You can never predict decisions they make in life-or-death situations.”
“What’s going on here?” John asked, putting an arm around Nadia.
“Just thanking her for her help today and what you did yesterday.”
John emitted a non-committal sound. “You’re family.”
“Annnnd, you should be honored to hear John say that,” Levi chuckled.
“I’m a changed man,” he shot back.
“Not too changed,” Nadia glanced at her husband, and the way they looked into each other’s eyes made me lean into Levi. I had a feeling it was the same look I gave my husband.
After Levi’s team left, dinner was a muted affair. Only Bristow seemed to be alive at the table. Occasionally, Scout elicited laughter when he decided attacking our feet under the table was an accepted behavior.
“Why does he do that?” Ashley wailed. “Ruger never nipped our ankles.”
“That’s instinct,” Gramps told her. “It’s the way shepherds herd, but we need to redirect him because it’s unacceptable for him to do it to us.”
After dinner, Gramps declared his head was killing him and retired to the bedroom with Nana. Bristow offered to let Scout out in the yard. The girls, fortunately, seemed ready to crash.
Ashley asked. “Can we sleep with you tonight, Mama?”
“Sure, sweetie. How about you, Whit?” I asked.
“I don’t want to be scared,” she whispered.
“It’s not being scared.” Levi put a hand on her shoulder. “This will be us being a family, okay?”
“Just like the time we watched that scary cartoon?” Ashley asked.
“Exactly like that time.” When Levi had his concussion and had to stay with me, there was a night when we watched an animated film that was too adult for kids. Whitney was fine after one night, but Ashley demanded Levi and I sandwich her so she would be safe on both sides. That lasted a couple of nights.
“Can Scout sleep with us?” my youngest asked.
“Hmm, better not,” I said. “He’s not fully housebroken yet.” We didn’t tell the kids that Scout had chewed through the leather seats of Garrison’s SUV. But Bristow was a godsend. Though Levi’s team helped move the big stuff into the safe house, he ran errands around town for us, ferrying stuff from my grandparents’ house we might have forgotten, even following up with Ruger. Plus, Whit and Ash loved him. My husband’s bachelor friend who could be bribed with food was proving to be an ideal babysitter and dog sitter.
“Okay, but soon?” Still from Ashley.
“Not promising, baby girl,” Levi said. “It’s up to Scout to show us he’s ready to be trusted outside his crate.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
With that settled, we thanked Bristow again for helping us and went to the second floor. The bedroom we occupied was furnished with a California-sized mattress. The draperies were all basic beige and the bedding was white. Like a hotel, I figured it was easier to throw in the washer with bleach if necessary.
The pantry and fridge in the kitchen and the basement were fully stocked with food and could feed a large family indefinitely for months. I wondered if it was more than a safe house. Judging from the walls and the security, it was possible to retreat into this property in case of a cataclysmic event. I’d heard Levi mention Assassin’s Hill a couple of times before. Gabby and Declan lived close by. Garrison and Nadia bought a house at the bottom of the hill. LA had faced several terror threats in the past two years, from an ebola-virus scare to a ransomware attack that took down the utilities during StreamCon. I shuddered at the memory. Levi’s team were on top of both threats.
It was easy to take Levi’s job for granted when he’d been a SEAL. It was harder when he took private contracts because the missions weren’t always about protecting the country, and I didn’t doubt it benefited people with questionable moral compasses. I also didn’t doubt having to work for such people contributed to Levi’s anger.
“Wow, this room is huge,” Ashley exclaimed. “This is bigger than any room I’ve seen!”
“But not cozy,” I told her. I glanced at Whitney. She was looking around but remained subdued. First chance I had, I was taking her to the counselor. “What do you think, Whit?”
She shrugged. “It’s okay.”
“What’s wrong, sweet pea?” Levi asked.
“When will Ruger come home?”
“Tomorrow,” I said, but an idea struck me and I glanced at Levi. “Road trip? Think they’ll let us see him?”
Levi’s eyes flashed with determination. “I’ll make that happen.”
As it turned out, the whole troop wanted to visit our heroic wonder dog. Renewed energy sparked in our girls. There was no stopping Gramps either from seeing his dog.
We all piled into the Escalade on a trip to the emergency vet’s clinic. The receptionist accommodated our request.
Ruger was in a sectioned-off area for critical care animals. He was curled up in the corner of a huge crate with an IV line running in. The vet tech said he was lightly sedated because of his stitches and they didn’t want him moving around too much. It also helped him with the pain.
Poor boy.
Whitney and Gramps crouched in front of him.
“You saved me, Ruger,” Whit whispered.
Tears pricked my eyes.
A soft whine sounded from the crate.
“We love you,” Ashley said behind her sister. Somehow my youngest knew this was Whit’s moment and hung back. “Get well soon, okay? Scout needs his big brother.”
We also brought the younger German Shepherd. Scout was plopped on the tile floor, blissfully unaware of his surroundings.
Gramps mumbled something in Gaelic, and I saw him wipe his eyes.
Levi put his arm around my shoulder.
And together in the emergency room of a vet clinic, we gathered around as a family, thankful for being together and surviving an attack that was designed to destroy us. Levi told me those who attacked us were Ford’s men and I was more convinced this whole chain of events had something to do with the McGraths rather than Tom.
It was the wrong time for my mind to mull what I remembered of my father’s case. I was antsy to get hold of Alana, but I was more than worried that she was in trouble. I carried the anxiety in the pit of my stomach on the ride home.
Levi stopped at a twenty-four-hour fast-food joint to get burgers, fries, and milkshakes. The kids were thrilled because now that they’d seen Ruger, their appetites returned and were ravenous. Even Gramps was hungry.
My troubled thoughts about my sister and Ronan continued to hound me. It didn’t help that Levi and the girls—suitably wired from sugar and carbs—decided to stream a series while sitting on the bed. The sounds from the television competed with my dreams, so when my phone rang, I was startled awake to silence, in a strange bed with half the weight of my youngest daughter piled on top of me.
“Phone,” Levi grunted.
I grabbed the device from where it was charging.
It was from an unknown number.
My sister?
“Alana?”
“It’s Tom.”
