11. Kade

11

Kade

T hank god I stuck around to listen to Tessa's conversation. The last thing we need is the fucking FBI paying attention to Alberto's business. We already have an overzealous agent poking around the clubs, thanks to a tip-off.

"Call time's over."

"You asshole!" Tessa's angry. So angry she's forgotten her son is in the room. He watches us with wide eyes while the DVD plays on.

"I don't need the FBI poking around."

"If you'd bothered listening for more than three seconds, you'd have heard me tell Stella I didn't want Quinn's help!"

"I was listening. The fact your friend even raised the subject tells me she won't leave it alone."

"Congratulations. She'll be even more concerned now you cut my call off! Stella probably thinks I've been kidnapped! If you'd let me finish the conversation, I'd have reassured her and everything would have been fine. But no, you had to jump in and act like a stupid alpha male dickhead!"

"What's a dickhead, Mommy?"

"Oh for fuck's sake," she mutters. "Pay no attention to Mommy. That's a bad word. I'll put a dollar in the swear jar in a minute."

"You said another rude word too," Harry points out. "That's two dollars, Mommy."

Maybe I overreacted. And she makes a good point about her friend panicking.

"I'll give you a burner phone and you can use that to call her back, but make sure she doesn't get the FBI involved."

"As I said already, I'm not dumb, dickhead." If looks could kill, I'd be six feet under.

"Three dollars, Mommy."

"For fuck's sake!"

"Four dollars!" Tessa breathes in and then exhales slowly, counting under her breath. She's stressed as hell and I'm not making it any easier for her.

For a nanosecond, I feel guilty, but then I remember I'll be leaving in a few days, so it doesn't matter if she hates me. My job is to keep her safe, not be her friend.

My phone rings. It's Alberto, so I walk away and step outside onto the porch. The sun has broken through the clouds now the storm has passed and it's humid as hell.

"Is my daughter safe?"

"Yes, she's fine. She and the kids are doing OK given the circumstances."

"Good. When are you back?"

"Not sure. The road is blocked because of the storm. It will take a few days to move all the debris. Has Ferrero been found yet?"

"No. We have everyone looking for him, but it's possible the Russians still have him. He's not shown up at the club he runs and there's no sign of him at their house."

I wait for him to ask to talk to the hellcat, but he doesn't.

"I'll see you in a few days," he says before ending the call.

"I need to get back. How are we going to shift those trees?"

Madden looks up from his laptop. "There's a chainsaw in the shed, plus an ax. It's going to take some effort, though. A couple of those trees are massive. If we can cut them down into small sections, I can use the 4x4 to drag them out of the way."

I leave Madden to his work and head back into the living room after grabbing a burner phone from my bag.

Tessa's on the sofa with the baby in her arms. She looks exhausted, even though it's barely 6 PM.

"Here's the phone. Call your friend but be careful what you say."

"Sure thing, Captain Obvious," she snipes.

"Hungry?"

"I'm hungry!" Harry jumps up from the rug, abandoning the bucket of Lego he's been playing with. There are small plastic bricks everywhere. It's a barefoot nightmare.

"How does pizza sound?"

"I love pizza!" he yells, jumping up and down on the spot. Chloe wakes with a startled cry and Tessa sighs.

"How about you come and help me in the kitchen?" Harry nods enthusiastically. "Go wash your hands and then I'll show you how to make pizza dough." He scampers off while Tessa opens and closes her mouth, speechless.

"You do know he'll be no help at all, right?"

I shrug. "I helped my grandmother when I was his age, so he'll be fine."

"Not your mom?"

The only thing that bitch knew how to cook was meth, but I don't say that. "No, mom wasn't well enough to cook anything."

"Oh. I'm sorry." She looks away and an uncomfortable silence stretches between us. It reminds me we're strangers. But it's better that way. No point in getting close to her. I'll be gone in a few days.

Anyway, I'm sure my little brother will take on the role of getting to know her better. I'm not blind. I've seen how he looks at her. The idiot is already crushing hard.

"Thank you," she says, just as I'm about to walk away. "I appreciate you making an effort with Harry. I know he's a bit much sometimes."

"He's not a bit much. He's a kid! Why would you say that?"

"It's what Enzo said all the time." She messes with Chloe's blanket and looks away.

What kind of asshole father says that about his own kid? Harry's cute as hell and not a handful at all. Fucking cocksucker.

"I'm happy to entertain Harry for a bit. It's getting late and I expect the kids will be ready for bed soon. It won't take long to make some pizza dough. The guys have a pizza oven out back, so we can eat outside. May as well while the weather is decent."

"Sounds good. I can help if you need another pair of hands?" My attitude toward her softens now she's stopped being a prickly hellcat.

"No, rest. I'm good."

Harry bounces back in and I lead him into the kitchen, ready to teach the kid how to make the best pizzas in North America.