33. Cole

Matthew called just as I drove out of the ranch gates. He had good news. I wasn’t surprised though. For the price I was asking, it was a steal.

“I told you it would go fast,” Matthew said.

“Yes, you did. Well done,” I congratulated softly, as I plugged in my headphones, my gaze moving quickly to the strapped-in sleeping baby beside me.

“The sale price minus costs is already in your bitcoin wallet. I transferred it myself.”

“Thanks, Matthew. Really appreciate it.”

“No problem. Always a pleasure doing business with you, Luca.”

I had so completely integrated myself into my role as Cole, that hearing someone call me Luca felt strange. “Take care.”

I ended the call and looked over at my daughter. She was sleeping peacefully. Even she had completely morphed into Anya. Not once during the dinner had her mask slipped. Many times Noah had tried to draw her out with questions and every single time she had stayed within her script. She had played her ‘pretend game’ perfectly. I felt both sad that she was enveloped in so many lies and proud that she had carried her part so naturally.

My thoughts returned to Montana, the woman who had just minutes earlier turned this old banger of a car into a pleasure seat. A smile curved my lips. My mother’s life had taught me silver linings were a myth, but what was happening to me now was incredibly interesting. I moved away from danger, and by a stroke of incredible luck and magic ran again into what had to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

Montana was everything a man could want in a woman. She is the dream find. I literally couldn’t ask for better. She was everything! Sassy, loyal, funny, and extremely sexy. Who would believe that after living for years in the city with its millions of inhabitants I would find someone like her in a tiny town like Bison Ridge?

My telephone rang. It was Leila, I’d hired her to be the go-between, the extra layer of separation between me and my private investigator, Tom. This way even if Tom got careless and was in some way compromised, there were no trails for Paganini to follow back to me.

“Any news?” I asked.

“You sure kicked that hornet’s nest. It’s been going crazy here. They even paid a visit to your mother’s previous care home. Paganini is incandescent with rage. The guy was so livid he threw a tantrum at the restaurant when he first heard the news. Smashed up the table and scared all the other customers. Tom says heads have rolled since.”

“What about Arianna? Any news on her?”

“Tom got someone to befriend the Chef and he says her meals are brought up to her. It’s clear she is now locked away in one of the rooms upstairs. Don’t worry though, nothing’s going to happen to her. She’s the one card he’s got left to play.”

I couldn’t feel too bad for Arianna. Her freedom was gone, but she was safe for the moment. What did she expect from a Mafia Kingpin? Sunshine, flowers, and unicorn farts forever.

“What about my father? Any change in his condition?”

“No. Your father is valuable to Paganini. He’s paid for him to stay alive in luxury all this time and soon he’ll be wanting his pound of flesh back. Your dad will be working for him till the day he dies.”

I exhaled softly. “Good work, Leila. Contact me again if there’s anything I should know.”

“I know that this is a delicate time for you and your daughter,” Leila said, “but I want to assure you that Tom has eyes on everyone that needs to be monitored and everything is under control.”

“Right. Thanks.”

“By the way, your car was sold yesterday at 2:54 p.m. to the son of a Mexican multi-millionaire, drug money. His girlfriend is Russian, but they’re both harmless. Young. No connection to Paganini. Just saw it and couldn’t resist the quick purchase. We’ll keep our eyes on the house sale as well and ensure nothing leads back to you.”

“Fantastic,” I replied and ended the call.

After those two calls, I could breathe easier and try to concentrate on settling down in Bison Ridge. I looked to the side to see that Anya was stirring several times. She opened her eyes and smiled sleepily at me. “Daddy,” she whispered.

“The ice cream put you down?” I asked.

She straightened in her seat. “Tolstoy was cute. Can we have a cat, Daddy?”

“Maybe. Let’s settle down first, okay?”

“Okeydokey.”

As we drove into our driveway, I was surprised to see a blue Toyota parked in front of our home. An obviously peroxide blonde wearing a pink dress got out of the car. She was carrying a box. Anya and I walked towards her. The sight of her surprised me. I never expected to see her type grow in the countryside. She was one of those completely plastic girls that thrived in big cities. Everything about her was fake. Her lips, her hair, her nose, her boobs.

“Yoo Hoo,” she called and raising her hand high above her head waved as if she was the heroine in a movie.

I raised a half-hearted hand.

“Well hello, Cole,” she cooed, before looking down at my daughter. “And you must be Anya. What a pretty little thing you are.” She looked up at me again. “I’m Tiffany.”

“Hi, Tiffany.”

I thought I’d bring you something I baked to welcome you.”

I took one look at those fake-ass fingernails and knew this girl didn’t even know where the kitchen was, let alone bake anything.

“That’s nice of you,” I said politely.

“We’re all nice around here,” she said and batted her eyelashes at me.

I blinked. I never knew women still did that. Wow! “Well,” I said, holding out my hand towards the box. “Thanks for the welcome gift.”

“Tell you what. Why don’t we all go in and I’ll put the kettle on and we can all have a piece of this delicious apple and blueberry pie.”

“Actually, it’s late and it’s nearly bedtime for this monkey here.”

“Oh, right.” Suddenly she dropped to her haunches and smiled at Anya. “I love your shoes. Gucci is the best, isn’t it? And this is the most iconic design of that whole line from the season. You, young lady, have excellent taste.”

“They’re not real,” Anya said quickly. I could hear the panic in her voice. “My dad bought them at the flea market. They’re fakes. We couldn’t afford the real ones.”

“Let me see,” Tiffany said with a frown, and lifted one wing of the butterfly on the shoe. “Hmmm.” Then she stood and looked at me, and her face was contemplative. “Maybe I can invite you and your daughter to have some ice cream with me.”

“Yes, why not,” I said and forced a smile.

“Right then. I’ll be off, but no doubt I’ll see you around very soon.” She turned around and sashayed over to her car. We waved as she sped off.

“You want to have ice cream with her?”

“Nope.”

I laughed. “Bath time and an early night, don’t you think?”

”Daddy?”

“Yeah.”

“Can we ask Miss Moore to come over for dinner?”

I looked at her, surprised. ”Why?” I asked, eager to hear her explanation.

”I like her. We have already gone to visit her, so it should be our turn to invite her over, right? It”s only polite.”

”Well, Winnie, that is a fantastic idea. Go ahead and invite her,” I replied.

“Can I ask her to bring Tolstoy too?”

Now I understood why she wanted to have Miss Moore over. I grinned at her. “Sure.”

Her eyes instantly lit up at my agreement. ”Thank you,” she cried and ran into the house.

While she had her bath I quickly checked the perimeters of the house to ensure that everything was exactly as I had left it. Then I turned off the lights and reviewed some of the surveillance clips from the day.

So far, no one had come around or stopped in some car and watched from a distance. They were still unaware of where I had moved to, but I didn’t expect that to continue for too long. Paganini was not a man to just give up. His motto was if you fail, try and try again, until you find the motherfucker and make him pay.

Anya called out to me and I headed over to her bedroom. I tucked her in, read to her, and going through our ritual of telling her not to let the bed bugs bite her, I returned to my own room for a shower.

Then I called my mother’s nurse for an update. I got to speak to the Hungarian woman and I was pleased to hear that my mother was settling in well. I was even happier to hear that she finished a second portion of her favorite meal. I asked to be put on speaker phone and for a few minutes, I spoke to my mother. It was a monologue of course, but I lived in hope. That she could hear me and know that I’d never stopped loving her. That I’d always be there for her, no matter what. As long as there was breath in my body, I would never let her go.

I was lying propped up in bed and closing off some of my old clients’ accounts when there was a knock on my door. I didn’t think. My survival instincts immediately went into overdrive. Flinging the computer aside, I jumped out of bed and rushed to open the door.

Anya standing there, desperately clutching her favorite stuffed animal close to her body. I didn’t need to ask her to know that something had terrified her.

“I didn’t die. I just... I had a bad dream,” she whispered.

Relief washed over me. It was just a nightmare. It would have been abnormal if she didn’t have nightmares. So many changes had happened to her within the last few days, and so far, she had adjusted, and I loved her for it, but she was still just a child, it was too much too soon.

“Want to sleep here with me tonight?” I asked.

She nodded.

“Come on then,” I said and brought her into my bed. Soon her little body was tucked cozily in my arms, but she didn’t fall asleep right away. I could hear her heart still beating erratically.

”What was your dream about?”

”I”m not sure,” she whispered.

I knew it was a lie and it saddened me, but I had to accept as she grew older, she would keep even more secrets from me.

”Goodnight, sweetheart. Don’t let the bed bugs bite you.”

She nodded against my chest. ”Goodnight, Daddy.”