The Best Goodbye (Rosemary Beach, #13)(53)

Something else I had missed. Holding Addy while she slept had been a part of my life. It was what helped me sleep at night. Without her in my arms, sleeping had almost been impossible for years.

I stared at the ceiling. My past was back to haunt me, and it wasn’t leaving. I had to face it and find a way to keep Addy, too. She and Franny were my life. I had promised myself that I was done with killing. But if someone threatened what I loved most, I’d remind them who they were dealing with. I’d do anything to protect my girls.

My phone vibrated on the table beside me. I reached over for it gently so as not to disturb Addy.

It was DeCarlo. “They’re there. You’ll have to take them out.”

That was it. Nothing more. But I knew exactly what he was talking about. My last job wasn’t over yet.





Major


It was dark as shit. I hated working in the dark. Times like this, I wondered what the hell I’d gotten myself into. I had craved danger and excitement. Something more than what I had. But was this really what I wanted?

Working with Captain had been cool. He wasn’t a cold-blooded killer. The man had compassion and knew when to draw a line and stand on one side of it.

Cope, however, was a f*cking maniac. I swear, the dude killed for fun. He never acted like it affected him or like he regretted one moment. And this was the man I was supposed to get my marching orders from.

Fuck my life.

“Captain’s been alerted. This will end soon.” Cope’s voice came from the shadows. Dammit. He always came out of nowhere. Never could hear the son of a bitch. He was like a damn ninja.

“How’s it gonna go over? We locate them?” I asked, annoyed that he’d once again snuck up on me when I was actively attempting to be alert.

“Alexa has them on target. Captain will go to her and take them out.”

Captain had said he was done with killing. The fact that he had to come in because of an old job didn’t sit well with me. I wanted to know that when I walked away, I would be truly free.

“He ain’t working anymore,” I replied. “Why can’t we do it? Hell, I’ll do it.”

Cope lit a cigarette and shrugged as he stared out at the old house I’d been instructed to watch. “You’re right. But this is his problem. We tracked them and made sure he knew, because Benedetto takes care of his own. Captain might be out, but he’s still got blood on his hands for DeCarlo. We have his back, but he knows the kill is his responsibility.”

Seemed screwed-up to me. I still didn’t understand all the inner workings of this thing. What I did know was that DeCarlo wasn’t completely on the up and up. There was something else going on, other than offing men who deserved it. All I got was orders from Cope, and so far, I hadn’t been able to close a deal on my own.

“The girl you’re watching is who you need to focus on. We think she knows what we need. I’ll give you the details tomorrow. Tonight we end this for Cap.”

The job I was sent here for was getting more and more complicated. I wasn’t even sure what the details were yet. Just that there was a man we were searching for who had abducted a kid ten years ago and gotten away with it. I’d been told nothing more.

Cope reached for his phone and checked the screen. “He’s there. Alexa has armed him, and he’s going in. Let’s move that way in case he needs more backup,” Cope said, dropping the lit cigarette and stomping on it. He began moving toward the forest behind us.

“What about the house?” I asked, when I turned to follow him.

“Ain’t no one there of importance. Just needed you in a prime location, and I figured this would keep you busy,” he replied in a bored tone.

Fucker. He really was annoying as hell. I’d been out here watching this house for three hours and had about a million mosquito bites to show for it.

“When you planning on giving me more credit?” I asked, annoyed. Everyone was so scared of Cope, but he only killed those he was told to kill. He followed orders, same as everyone else.

“When you do the f*cking job you’re given,” he replied, as he continued to move forward. “Now, shut the f*ck up, and stop bitching like a woman. Focus. Cap might need us.”

I wanted to argue or at least call him a motherf*cker, but I kept my mouth shut. I hadn’t actually been given a job that was easy. Being told to stalk my cousin’s sister was messed-up. Didn’t help that I’d already had my eyes on her before I signed on for all this shit. Nan was a hot piece of ass. But if she was f*cking around with someone DeCarlo wanted, then she was in danger.

And I couldn’t even tell Mase about it if I wanted either of us to live.





Addy


After the most amazing morning of my life, I had woken up to Captain being distant and awkward. I hadn’t been expecting him to withdraw like that. When we were younger, we had become more attached every time we slept together. This experience was completely different.

His thoughts had been elsewhere. When he had given me an excuse that he had to get to work to deal with some things, his eyes said something else. I felt like I’d been given the brush-off. My stomach was twisted in a knot for the rest of the day.

Franny coming home had helped brighten things some. Having her talk about her day and hearing her laugh at her favorite television shows was a definite distraction. I didn’t have to work that night, and for that I was thankful. Facing Captain now seemed impossible.