67. Kade

67

Kade

A fter two days, I have nothing. The cameras outside the nursery were not working, and Elaine turned out to be a fake identity. Her papers and ID were rock solid, which was why she passed all the checks before being hired.

A chat with Janice convinced me she wasn't involved. She seemed genuinely upset by what happened, as did the other members of staff.

Which leaves me with no clues about why someone would try to kidnap a baby. It's possible this was a kidnapping to order. There are some seriously sick people out there who take babies and small children and sell them on, but the fact it happened so soon after the Russians tried to snatch Tessa makes me suspicious that there's a link between the two events.

Just because Mashkov is still out of the country, it doesn't mean he isn't pulling the strings. Kirov is around. One of my guys has eyes on him and he sent word Kirov visited the Pussycat Lounge last night, along with Dante.

I don't believe in coincidences.

Chloe has suffered no ill-effects at least. She's back to her usual cheerful self. Toddling around the apartment, playing with her toys, and smiling at me. Thank God.

Tessa has fared less well. She hasn't left the apartment since it happened. I've been doing the school run, as well as walking the dog.

"I'm going to pick up Harry. Do you want to come?" I ask her. She chews her lip and glances at Chloe, who's playing with some wooden blocks.

"I probably shouldn't," she replies, her gaze sliding down my body. I smirk at her but she looks away.

She's been closed off since we finally gave in to the attraction between us. I'm not sure whether it's because she regrets crossing that line, or because she thinks we don't have a future.

We definitely need to have a conversation, but there hasn't been an opportunity. Harry slept with her last night, which squashed my plan to join her.

"We can take the car. Then go for an ice cream," I say. "Harry would enjoy that."

"He would," she agrees, but still she hesitates.

"You know you're both safe with me, right? And we have two of your father's guys following us in an unmarked car."

"Am I though? What happens if someone tries to take her again, Kade?" Tessa's voice rises and Chloe turns to look at us, her eyes wide.

"Nobody is going to take her. Not while you're with me. I promise."

"But you're not always going to be with me, are you?" Her lip wobbles and then she straightens her spine as if deciding enough is enough. "OK. Let's do it."

I want to say that I will always be there if she'll have me, but the words stick in my throat. I'm not sure she'd believe me. As far as she's concerned, I'm her father's made man. Not relationship material.

And she's right.

I've done many terrible things. My hands are blood-soaked, and when I leave this world, the only way is down.

Tessa deserves a better man. A man like Madden, or even my brother. They're no angels, but they don't come with the same baggage as me.

"I want chocolate chip...no, I want rainbow sherbet...oh wait, can I have cookies and cream?"

We've spent ten minutes perusing the menu and waiting for Harry to make his choice. He's overwhelmed by the options. Anyone would think he'd never been for ice cream before.

"You like the cookies and cream, so go with that," Tessa advises before choosing a low fat frozen yogurt for herself and a scoop of vanilla for Chloe.

Harry looks at mine with envy when our order is ready.

"Coffee toffee," I tell him with a smirk. "Too grownup for you."

"Aw! That's not fair!"

"But you can have a taste."

His little face screws up when he swallows a mouthful of my ice cream. "Brain freeze!"

I laugh because he's right, ice cream does that to me too. After a few moments, he gives me his verdict. "It's OK, but I prefer mine."

I choose a table where I can sit with my back to the wall and survey the door. Alberto's men are outside in their car, but I'm not taking any chances. If anything else happens, I think Tessa would lose her shit completely.

Just like Madden and Cin are doing right now.

I called them after the attempted kidnapping and Madden went ballistic, but they're stuck in New York until tomorrow, at the whim of Jewel Silver.

While the Terry Waters show aired last night - and it was an absolute car crash judging by what I saw - she has another chat show appearance tonight, but her agent is probably trying to cancel it. Only then are they allowed to fly back here.

Fucking bitch. I hope a psycho stalker carves her up into little pieces like a jigsaw. The woman is ice cold.

"How was school today?" Tessa is asking when I tune back in.

"It was fun, Mommy! We made paintings, read stories, did some writing, and Miss Richardson took us on a nature walk and I saw some worms." He pauses to take a breath and then chatters away about his new friends and how much he loves his teacher."

It's so cute and I'm happy he loves his new school. Alberto made the right decision by sending him there. The school he was enrolled at is not safe at all - fuck knows what might have happened to him there.

My phone pings in my pocket. It's a message from a hacker I use. He's been checking all the cameras within a three-mile radius of the daycare, seeing if we can figure out where the Escalade went.

Tay: Tracked the car to a warehouse on 178th Street. It's owned by a shell company. I can find the original owner but it's going to take time.

Me: Keep looking.

This was no random kidnapping. Whoever was behind it wanted Chloe. It has to be the Russians, but why? Aside from leverage, what possible benefit does Mashkov get from taking Alberto's baby granddaughter? He must know it will trigger a war.

I feel like there are too many missing pieces. Dante's involvement with Mashkov is still unclear, aside from the fact they are both members of the secret society that operates out of the Pussycat Lounge.

That could be coincidental, but I doubt it.

The shit Madden and I saw was fucked up, but Alberto refuses to do anything about it. He says it's none of his business, and even though he doesn't agree with what's going down, he isn't about to get involved.

Tessa scoops out the last of her yogurt and then wipes Chloe's face. I catch her scanning the room every few seconds, hyper-alert for threats, and sigh.

She's been tense ever since we left the house, even though I'm armed, there are two guards outside, and we're in a public place, so it's unlikely anything will happen.

"Come on, let's get back to the apartment," she says, ignoring the message on her phone screen from her friend Stella. She's still using the burner phone. I figured it was safer than reactivating her old phone, even if Enzo is no longer a threat.

"I'll do pizza for tea," I tell Harry.

"Yes!" He fist-bumps me and I smile. Harry's such a cute kid. Even after everything he's been through, he does nothing but smile. Chloe too.

She giggles at me when I bop her nose as I lift her from the chair. I catch Tessa smiling softly at me when I drop a kiss on Chloe's forehead.

"What?"

"Imagine if your scary colleagues could see you now," she jokes. "I bet they'd be asking, ' Who is this man and what has he done with Kade ?'"

I laugh despite myself at her gruff impression of me, which is not at all like me.

"They would be surprised," I admit. Most of them are terrified of me; my violent reputation is well deserved.

"Well I like this side of you," she says, and my eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

"You like me?" I tease.

She blushes before turning away to grab Chloe's changing bag. "Maybe." Her voice is so low I nearly miss it over the tinny music blasting out from the speakers above our heads.

My stomach does a flip-flop like I'm a teenager all over again and the most popular cheerleader smiled at me after the football game.

She likes me!

For a heady moment, I bask in the knowledge that the woman I have an inappropriate crush on likes me, but then reality comes crashing down. It doesn't matter if she likes me. It can't go anywhere.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

We coral the kids and lead them to the SUV. The late afternoon sun is warm and the parking lot is full of families. No threats anywhere. But I hustle Harry along and it's only when he and Chloe are safely strapped in that I let myself relax.

There's a handgun in the glove compartment and another strapped under my seat. I also have my trusty Sig Sauer in a holster under my arm. Not to mention the weapons in the trunk.

This vehicle is a four-wheel armory; whatever happens, we're safe.

Traffic is heavy but we make good time. Mario and Zed follow behind in a dark Merc. Harry sings a song in the backseat and Tessa fiddles with her phone, messaging Stella.

The lights change and Mario's car gets stuck. I lose sight of them but we're so close to the apartment, it doesn't concern me.

Just as we reach the final intersection near the apartment building, a fast-moving vehicle approaches us on the left. I'm so busy watching it that I miss the black SUV in my rear mirror. It shunts us from behind, pushing the car into the middle of the junction.

Tessa's screams ricochet in my head. A few seconds later, the other car rams us from the side. Our car pin-wheels around and my head hits the reinforced glass, temporarily stunning me.

A bullet ricochets off the glass. I manage to pull my gun but Tessa's door is wrenched open and she's dragged out. I can't get a clear shot, but the man fires at me, narrowly missing my head.

A second man approaches Chloe's door. She's screaming so hard she's almost purple. Harry is silent. He looks at me, his face white with shock.

"Close your eyes," I tell him before shooting the asshole who yanks the door open and points another gun at me. The man's head explodes, he flies backward and hits the asphalt with a thud, but Harry doesn't make a sound.

I can't open the door on my side - the car that hit us is in the way - so I crawl over Tessa's seat. Two more men wearing Kevlar vests approach the car. Sirens wail, getting closer by the second.

While my focus is on the first asshole, the second unclips Chloe and pulls her screaming from her seat.

I can't risk shooting him. Not while he's carrying her. Asshole number one raises his gun but before he has a chance to fire, I hit him at point-blank range. He's down and out but I'm too late.

Chloe is being bundled into the waiting car. I run toward it, but the door closes, the driver guns the engine, and it's gone in seconds.

One minute later, the cops arrive, closely followed by Mario and Zed, who are about to feel the full force of my rage.