48. Cole

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Paganini’s men were already in town!

Something didn’t add up. Finding me shouldn’t have been this easy. They had to have tracked or traced me, or something. If they were already here I had very little time left.

”You should go and see the Sheriff, Mr. Swift. He’s a good man, he’ll help you.”

“Yes, maybe I will, Mrs. Sheridan,” I replied with a smile and handed my card over to her.

“Be careful, Mr. Swift. I didn’t like the look of those men.”

“Thank you for being so kind and thoughtful. I really appreciate it.”

“Take care, son,” she said and moved away to take care of another customer.

The girl helping behind the food table handed Anya her box of pastries. I thanked her and we moved away into the sunshine. There was a chair and table right outside and I pulled out a chair for Anya. After she was seated, I took a seat as well.

I lifted my face towards the warmth of the sunshine. What a beautiful life it would be if I didn’t have the problem I had with Paganini. I realized I could live the rest of my life in this town. The sense of neighborliness, camaraderie towards one’s fellow man, and plain goodness amongst the town folk was a marvelous thing to witness. They took these qualities for granted and did not realize how precious they were. Coming from the city, I valued them greatly.

“The cornbread is really tasty, Dad,” Anya said. “Derek’s mom brought a box to class, and she shared it all around. It looks like a cake, but it”s actually bread. It”s really cool.”

I nodded and watched her. Had my daughter done something that she shouldn’t have? It had to be her. She was my weakest link. I’d made my plans meticulously over a long period of time. I’d left no traces. Anya had done amazing, but at the end of the day, she was still just a child and could have made a mistake.

She broke a piece of the bread off and offered it to me.

I was running out of time, but I needed to know. Otherwise, I would be running blind. I bit into the piece. It was good bread. “I’m going to ask you a question and I want you to tell me the truth, okay, honey?”

She looked at me with a full mouth and nodded.

“Did you ... have you in any way been in contact with your mommy recently?”

She blinked, then hung her head in shame and my heart sank.

“I”m sorry. I … I kept having bad dreams.”

“What dreams?” I asked, leaning closer and trying to be as soft as possible.

“That she was dying. That I would never see her again. I … I didn’t contact her, I just ... I just ... it was her birthday and I wanted to send her a card. I made one and I … Miss Kelly Douglas helped me to send it, but I didn’t put a return address on it …”

My mind was whirling. That was how they found us. I tried my best to keep my expression neutral so she wouldn’t burst into tears or clam up.

“What address did you use for your mom?” I asked.

“She gave me one before she left. A year ago. I kept it. I don’t know if she received it, I mean, we moved so she could have moved as well. I’m sorry, Daddy. I just wanted to know if she was okay.”

“It”s okay, sweetheart. It’s okay. You did nothing wrong, but we have to get home now.”

She jumped to her feet.

Quickly, I led her away from the crowds towards where the car was parked. All I had to do was get home as quickly as possible and get Montana to the safe house, and then I could be on my way to New York. I pulled my phone out of my pocket then and placed the call to Leila to make arrangements. I needed eyes on the house and on Anya, and I needed the current location of Paganini. For all I knew, he might not even currently be in the country. I picked up my phone to call Leila and my phone began to ring. To my surprise it was Leila.

“They’re there. Paganini’s men are already in Bison Ridge,” she said urgently.

“I know. When did they arrive?”

“This morning.”

“Can’t be. They must be working in teams because one lot already arrived here yesterday. They were asking the locals about me.”

“How did they know to go there, though? Yesterday, they suddenly stopped following the good schools lead and instead they went straight to your town. Which means the town must be crawling with them. At least two teams.”

“You”re sure they are Paganini’s men?” I asked, more out of hope than anything else. Of course, Leila was sure. She wasn’t the owner of one the top private detective agencies in New York for nothing.

“Pretty certain. Just got a message from Tom. He couldn’t believe it either. They must have some new information. You haven’t done anything out of the ordinary, have you?”

“No, nothing.”

I hurriedly put Anya into the passenger seat and went around to the driver’s door. As I did so my eyes spotted two men who had just arrived at the festival. Something about them caught my attention. My eyes connected with one of the men and a cold shiver ran down my spine. They were dressed like the locals to blend in and they had done an excellent job, they looked local, but I recognized the stone-cold look in the man’s eyes. I had grown up with it. He was wearing my father’s eyes. Instinctively, I tapped my side to feel the gun I had in my holster.

“Shit, they’re here. At the fucking festival,” I said to Leila. “Where are Tom’s guys?”

“Well, if they are already at the festival, then so are Tom’s men.”

“Get them to stay close to Montana Moore. She”s Anya’s teacher. Don’t let her out of their sight. I’ll send you a photo.”

“No need. I know who she is. I’ll call Tom now.”

“Keep me updated,” I said and got into the car.

They didn’t come towards me. They just stood watching us. As if they were not in a hurry. As if they had all the time in the world.

I turned around to look at Anya and saw her watching me. I had been too sloppy. I had not hidden my fear well enough. She was filled with alarm and on high alert. “What’s going on, Daddy?”

“Nothing’s going on. Put your seatbelt on, honey. Everything’s going to be fine.”

I drove home as fast as I could.

“Go to your safe room, honey. I need to sort a few things out, then I’ll join you. We’ll watch a movie together and relax, okay?”

“Daddy, come with me.”

I smiled at her. “Don’t be scared, honey. I’m just going to make sure all the video surveillance feeds are working, then I’ll come, okay? There’s no one here. Go and choose the snacks you want.”

She frowned. “Hurry, Daddy.

“Of course. Go on. I want to see if you remember how to do it.”

“Okay,” she said and ran towards the kitchen.

I called Leila. “What’s going on with Montana? Is she still there?”

“Yeah, she’s here. At the Waffle Eating Competition stand. Tom’s men have eyes on her.”

“What about the men I saw? Where are they?”

“No sign of them. They could be heading towards you.”

“Do you think they’ll follow Montana Moore?” I insisted.

“I don’t think so,” she said. ”I don’t think she’s the target. They may not know you have a special interest in her.”

I winced with regret. “If they were already at the festival they will. I did something stupid. I think everyone knows how I feel.”

“Shit!”

“I know.”

“Regardless, they are heading for you.”

“I’ve sent Anya into the panic room, and I’m about to activate all the booby traps before I join her.”

“Your panic room is blast-free, right?”

“Even if they burned down the house or threw a bomb on it, she would be fine. I’m prepared for anything. Paganini is insane. He could do anything to get to me, but if I know him well, taking my daughter is his plan. Once he has her, he can get me to do anything he wants. He can keep me going for as long as he wants.”

No more running. I hated running. I did it to buy myself some time so I could take him on, on my terms, but it was not to be. Paganini proved to be more resourceful and relentless than I had given him credit and I had given him plenty. But so be it. I would meet him head-on and we would see who walked out of the battlefield alive.

“Good luck,” Leila wished grimly.

“I’ll call you later.”