Dangerous Protector (Red Stone Security #14)(22)
He wasn’t actually going to kill a kid—he did have some scruples after all—but he knew the message would freak her out. It might make her scared enough to get sloppy.
He didn’t think the message would make her come out of hiding. Not yet anyway. He was going to leave more messages and make each one worse than the last.
The messages would put her on edge and guarantee she’d call her friends to check on them. From the little he’d watched Tegan he knew she was close with the woman who owned the bakery. A few more messages like that and Tegan O’Kelly would be compelled to call her friends. Once she did, he’d be able to get a location on her—because he was watching her boss’s cell phone, waiting for any call from Tegan. Soon enough he’d get a lock on her location. From there, he’d track her down and put a bullet in her head.
Chapter 7
Aaron stopped outside the entryway to his living room and eavesdropped on Tegan and Dillon. It had been almost two days since she’d talked to the Feds and so far neither they nor the Miami PD had been able to locate De Fiore. If he was even in Miami. Aaron knew they were exploring all leads on the bomber and so far all the cops had been able to find was a few images of a man in a hoodie heading down the street where the bomb had been placed.
They had a time frame for when they thought it had been planted. It had been early in the morning and the man’s image had been caught on multiple CCTVs. But the guy had disappeared into the parking garage of a hotel and from there they hadn’t been able to trace him anywhere. Without an actual face or fingerprints, they were hunting a ghost. It could be De Fiore or not.
“You don’t have to let me win, you know,” Dillon said.
“I’m not. I just stink at this game.” Tegan’s voice was matter of fact.
Dillon giggled, the sound music to Aaron’s ears. He might have screwed up by marrying the wrong woman, but he’d gotten Dillon so it was worth it.
“You really are bad. Not as bad as Daddy. We can play something else if you want.”
“It’s okay, it’s still fun. So your dad stinks, too?”
Dillon gave a belly laugh. “He can’t even get past level two.”
Tegan laughed loudly and Aaron risked peeking around the entryway. The Christmas tree twinkled in the corner, brightening the room. The two of them were sitting on the ground in front of the television, their backs to him. Kali was snoozing next to Tegan, her body stretched out as she lightly snored. Dillon was wearing his Captain America pajamas and Tegan had on a black party dress with a big puffy skirt that had sparkles all over it. It puffed out around her on the ground. Her hair was pulled up in a twist, revealing the smooth, pale skin of her neck and back.
He’d never really thought of backs as sexy, but everything about Tegan was.
Unfortunately, they hadn’t had much time alone together since the meeting in Carlito’s office. She’d been working on her website designs for the past day and a half, and he was pretty certain she’d been keeping him at a healthy distance after their almost-kiss. Much to his annoyance. He was patient, though. And determined.
“So…are you my dad’s girlfriend now?”
Tegan’s entire body jolted and he watched as the character on her side of the screen fell off a cliff. She cleared her throat. “Ah, no. We’re just friends.”
Unfortunately, he thought. He planned to change that soon, though.
“Yeah, that’s what he said. I just thought maybe…you guys might not wanna tell me.”
“I don’t think your dad would ever lie to you.”
“I know. But I heard Nana talking to Grandpa about you when they thought I was asleep. She said you were lovely and that it was about time Daddy moved on. I don’t really know what she means but I know she likes you. I thought maybe you might be my new mommy.”
Aaron winced. Tegan was silent for a long moment and he wasn’t sure if he should interrupt the conversation or just let it play out. Dillon had asked about ‘getting a new mommy’ a couple of times in the last few months so this wasn’t exactly out of the blue. He’d even put mommy on his Christmas list for Santa. Aaron hated that his son had missed out on a solid, loving, maternal presence.
“I like your dad but we really are just friends. He’s helping me out right now by letting me stay here. So how about I be your friend, too?”
“I’d like that. You know, Nana lets me have ice cream whenever I want. Now that we’re friends, maybe you can give me ice cream when I want, too.”
Tegan snorted. “Your Nana lets you get away with a lot. And the answer is no. You’re already killing me in this game. I can’t reward that.”
“So if I let you win, you’ll give me ice cream?”
Tegan barked out a laugh. “No, but nice try.”
Aaron quickly moved out of sight as the doorbell chimed. He waited a few beats then stepped into the foyer and in full view of the living room.
“Nana!” Dillon flew past him, moving at light speed before Aaron reached the door.
“Wait.” Aaron hurried to the door and looked through the peephole before opening it. He’d tried to explain to Dillon why they had to be extra careful right now but, at five, he just didn’t understand the concept of real danger. He barely understood ‘stranger danger.’