All Roads Lead Home (40 page)

“He’s been threatening members of my law firm and is responsible for the beating of Tommy Mills, and we know he likes to tinker with car bombs. Anthony, you must tell me where I can find him. If we find him without your help, then I may not be able to guarantee what happens next. He is a threat, and threats need to be neutralized. We are prepared to do so if you do not cooperate.”

“I’m fucking locked up, lady. How the hell can I help you?”

“This is how,” Jacob told him. Jacob pulled out a burner phone from his pocket and handed it to Anthony.

Anthony dialed his son. Once Roberto answered his call, the FBI was able to triangulate the signal. From there, we had his location locked.

“He’s there. Don’t hurt him, please? He’s all I have left.”

“Anthony, I don’t want to hurt him, but if it comes down to it, I may not be able to stop it. You must agree here to not retaliate or seek anymore vengeance. This is what he signed up for, you must know this. You’re a smart man. I also know you are dying of stomach cancer, so maybe you have three months tops, maybe six. I can make your remaining days comfortable if you cooperate with us. If not, then you will die in this prison and not in the comforts of a hospital.”

“Do what you have to do,” he said. “He’s dangerous, and I can’t stop him. My second in command is already in position to take over and will not partake in any further acts of violence against you or anyone close to you. This was always on Roberto. Had I not been incarcerated, I probably could have contained him, but seeing me in here drove him to snap and make careless decisions. I’m lucky he’s not dead yet.”

“I will try to prevent that from happening at all costs. You have my word.”

We left the facility and drove back in silence. Jacob was in deep thought. I turned my phone on, and my inbox was flooded with messages from Jagger. I didn’t bother to listen to them, already knowing he was furious with me. He had to know I was safe with Jacob.

“Any new information on Cheryl?” I asked Jacob, as he was scrolling through his phone.

“Nothing yet, but hopefully soon. No red flags were raised during our initial findings. She lives with her daughter in a Brooklyn brownstone. Her only income is what she brings in from the law firm. She has no offshore bank accounts. The brownstone she rents in was originally owned by her grandmother and was left to her, so that’s probably why she can afford it. It’s located in Park Slope.”

“You said she was a single mother? Who’s the father? Do we know?”

“The records came back listing a Thomas Daly as the father, but he died in a car accident before the kid was born.”

My mind was spinning in a thousand directions. I had a strong feeling that something was not right here and was staring us right in the face. They say if you’re too close to an investigation, sometimes the most obvious clues were the hardest to see.

“Dig deeper,” I said to Jacob.

“I’m already on it,” Jacob said as he texted a message to one of his men.

“Great! Let’s get back to the office, where I can face off with my angry cowboy.”

“This I have to see.”

I half laughed at Jacob’s remark. Fighting with Jagger was the last thing I wanted to do. I hoped he would understand and just kiss me madly. Calming the beast was one skill I could do and do very well when it came to my man.

I WAS GOING out of mind with worry over Tenley. I swear she was going to get put over my knee, and get spanked when I could get her alone. I didn’t need another lesson on how strong she was, and how great she was at being bad ass lawyer, but ditching me without a word for hours was not sitting well with me.

Why the hell was I here if she was going to keep me in the dark?
Get a clue, genius! You know why you’re here, because she’s your woman and you vowed to protect her even if she doesn’t think she needs you to.

Well at least Shane is having a good time. Zoey took him out sightseeing all around the city, and then brought back her friends Tommy and Roxy, who works for Tenley. He seemed like a cool guy, if not for the fact that he slept with my girl. I wanted to hate him for that, but I couldn’t hold that against Tenley. We weren’t together, and she owed me no explanation to how she lived her life when I wasn’t in it.

Her assistant Roxy was quite the firecracker. She was very outgoing and seemed to be into Tommy. They never stopped touching each other the entire time they were here. I felt my girl’s office was turned into a frat party. Zoey was making up drinks, and Shane had food delivered. Her father peeked in on the commotion, but seemed okay with it. I introduced myself to him and took him by surprise with news of our engagement. I guess that would be the general reaction around here. Tenley was very private when it came to her personal life, so showing up suddenly with a fiancé on her arm would be shocking to all who knew her. I didn’t care who knew about it. I just wanted her safe and back here with me.

A few minutes later, in walked Tenley with Paulson. She immediately scanned the room and locked eyes on me. I didn’t need to even blink, that’s how quickly she was in my arms. I held her closely to my chest and breathed her in. The thought of being away from her today hurt more than I realized. I needed to get her out of this city and back to our ranch where we belonged.

“Can we go somewhere private?” I asked her.

She had a connecting door off of her office that led to a back conference room. I followed her inside and locked the door behind us.

Not wasting another second with my girl, I had her against the wall with her legs wrapped around me. I wanted nothing more than to make love with her, but I knew we didn’t have the time I wanted to show her how much I missed her. I kissed her repeatedly all over the sides of her face and down her neck. She was out of breath, but I continued on with my onslaught attack on her neck. I nearly gave her a hickey, I was so turned on.

“Jagger, stop. We can’t do this in here,” she said as she caught her breath.

“Baby, I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I have never been so stressed out before and not knowing where you were all day freaked me out in more ways than you can imagine.”

“I think I know, but I love hearing you say it,” she said, as she kissed me again. “Don’t be angry with me, please. My heart has no room for arguing with you, I love you too much.”

“Okay, tell me more?”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you where I was going today. It was strictly confidential between Jacob and me. I trust you completely, baby, but this was work.”

“I get it, and although I wasn’t happy about it, I do understand. Besides it’s not like I wasn’t entertained. Your friends are really great. Zoey is the spunkiest woman I have ever met in my life. She can go toe to toe with the best of them, and bring the strongest of men down to their knees.”

“Oh yeah? Sounds like you paid attention today, maybe a bit more than I would have liked.”

“Jealous?” I asked.

“Absolutely. You’re my man, and the only eyes I want on your body are mine.”

“Then we agree, because that’s exactly how I feel about you. Anyway, can we get out of here? I’m starving, and I don’t mean for food.”

“We can, but can you give me a little while? I need to wrap up a few things on my desk before I head home. Tomorrow is going to be a big day. This case could be wrapped up by then if all goes the way I have planned it out. Jacob is pretty confident as well. He’s looking into a few tie-ins to the case for me. I should be hearing something soon.”

“Music to my ears. I can’t wait to get you home.”

“Home to my apartment?”

“No baby, home to
Our Home
in Wyoming.”

“I know…just checking,” she replied.

My heart almost ached. I couldn’t wait to marry her.

JAGGER AND I made our way back into my office where our little group was still laughing and getting to know one another better. I hugged Roxy, then Tommy next. I was so happy to see him better. The images of his bloodied body still gave me the chills.

“You look happy, really happy,” Tommy said to me as he hugged me again.

“I am my friend. So much has happened in the past month, I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

“Well, I think I’ve been properly brought up to speed. Your friend Shane can talk with a few drinks in him. And don’t worry, he didn’t say anything I already didn’t know about you. He seems to really genuinely care about you.”

“He does, and I care for him, but…”

“He doesn’t hold your heart like the big guy over there does, right?” Tommy finished my sentence and nailed it right on the head.

“Exactly. Are you mad at me?”

“Now what kind of question is that? I could never be mad at you.”

“I guess what I’m really asking is that what happened between us will not affect our friendship, and we are okay?”

“Always, Tenley, always. I already told you how I felt about our night together, but I now see why you could never move forward with me. You love Jagger, and that’s okay. As long as he treats you in the manner you deserve, you have my blessing friend. Be happy, that’s all I have ever wanted for you.”

With tears in my eyes, I hugged Tommy and wished him well with Roxy. He told me that she had completely taken him by surprise. Once he allowed himself to feel something for someone besides me, it was like fireworks on the fourth. They had an instant connection and they both appeared to be happy.

After Tommy and Roxy left, Zoey was not too far behind them. She had asked if I would mind her taking Shane out to the local hotspots. Shane seemed to be interested in Zoey, so what the hell?

“Go have fun,” I told them both, and no sooner than I said it, they were out the door.

“Holy shit! My boy moves quickly, doesn’t he?” Jagger said as he watched them getting a little too close for comfort and smiling as they looked at each other. We heard their echoing laughter as the doors to the elevator closed.

“Jagger, I’m all for Shane having a great time, but is there something I need to know? He is still engaged to marry Shelby next month, right?”

“As far as I know, baby, the wedding is still on.”

“I hope you’re right, because I don’t want Zoey getting hurt. She deserves happy, not heartbreak, especially from a cowboy from Wyoming.”

“Hey now, what’s that supposed to mean? A cowboy from Wyoming?”

“Now don’t get all twisted up in your Stetson. What I meant to say and should have said better was that cowboys from the west are supposed to be charming, born with ingrained manners, and know how to treat a lady. I wouldn’t want Shane shattering that image for Zoey.”

“I think your friend is safe, and Shane will be on his best behavior.”

“Let’s hope so.” I smiled and kissed Jagger.

The office had pretty much been abandoned by now. It was nearing seven, and I was just about to wrap things up when my private line buzzed. It was Raymond phoning me from his office.

“Hi, Raymond. You’re here late tonight,” I said as I double checked my clock. He never worked past five on any given day. He asked if I could come up for a few minutes to speak with him before I left for the night. I agreed and said I would join him in a few.

Jagger was just finishing up with a call from his father. All was well back home, and they just missed us and wanted to know when we would be back.

“Are you okay?” I asked him.

“Yeah, I’m fine. My dad was just checking in. She-devil has been restless without me. He took her out for a ride this morning, but she wasn’t her best self, so she’s grounded to the stables until we return home.”

“Oh, poor She-devil! Your horse misses you.” I hugged my man and kissed his nose.

“Can we get out of here?” he said very slowly.

“Yes we can, but not before I take one more meeting. I promise it will be a quick one,” I said with my fingers crossed behind my back. Any conversation with Raymond was never quick, more like an hour plus, and that’s
before
he got to the point.

“I’m coming with you this time. No more ditching me.”

“No need to follow. I’m only going two flights up.”

“I’ll always follow you, baby, remember? That’s our deal and how we roll, got it?”