It pained me to admit my shortcomings, but at least I realized if I didn’t know the proper procedure someone else in the room did. I turned my head to the side and made eye contact with her, hoping she could read between the lines. “Katy, do that thing you’re good at.”
Not one to pick up on hidden innuendos, Katy cocked her head as if she was a terrier puppy and looked at me puzzled, trying to work out what I meant. “But I excel at so many things. Can you be more specific?”
I stopped just a fraction before I rubbed my eyebrow and needed to do another five second countdown. I was surprised she’d maintained her cool collected self the entire time we’d been in the room. It was very un-Katy like.
“Yes, but you’re always good for a distraction,” I said.
“Ohhhh.” She nodded in understanding.
Finally.
Women from Maine should come with warning labels.
Loretta’s grip on my shoulder tightened. She didn’t like not knowing what was going on, but there wasn’t time to question it because in one second Katy wore a scary smile and the next she began coughing. It sounded as if she was dying. If we’d been eating dinner, I’d have screamed for someone to perform the Heimlich maneuver on her, but the only thing she could have been choking on was… air.
Still, she made a good show of it.
You could always count on Katy for a thorough performance.
Just as my eyes widened in question to ask her what the hell she was doing, her body flopped in the space in front of me until she flipped over and landed on her back on top of the conference room table. Her coughing fit shook her body so much the ten-person table trembled with her movements. The entire time she coughed nonstop and flailed her arms in every direction almost knocking a few people in the face.
I waited for my chance to make a move as Pitero and his two men kept their eyes on Katy, worried she’d die right next to them. She flipped over to her hands and knees and coughed in their direction. All three men wheeled their chairs back, not wanting to get her germs on them, but Katy didn’t care. She continued to roll on the desk in what was becoming the most epic long-term death scene anyone had ever witnessed.
Precious seconds ticked away, and if I didn’t move, I’d miss my chance. As soon as the man with the gun pointed it downward, I sprang over the table and lunged for the weapon. We grappled, but I gained control of it when Katy kicked her feet and hit the man in the face during a particularly deep cough. There wasn’t time to consider my next actions. I wrenched the gun from him, turned, and shot once, hitting an enforcer in the side.
I expected blood to splatter everywhere, to gush out from the wound, but the only thing that happened after the echo of the bullet was the man who had to be two-hundred and fifty pounds screamed like a small child. He clutched a spot on his side and then fell to the floor, knocking his chair out beside him and hitting his boss in the legs with the rollers.
The other enforcer and Pitero stood from their seats in one coordinated motion and without a word between them walked out of the room, leaving the third man behind on the floor as he screamed in pain.
I turned back, finding my assistant. “Roxie, call the police.”
Her mouth fell open and her eyes were as wide as saucers, but she pushed past Katy and raced out to the main lobby to grab the phone. As she opened the conference room door, Drake, the security person hired to follow Katy around after she almost got her last one shot, and Pierce ran in. Drake drew his gun and flipped it from person to person in the room as the two of them stopped just a few inches into the space, their brains trying to process the crazy scene.
“What the hell?” Drake asked, putting his gun back in his holster and collecting the weapon from my hands.
Pierce shook his head and stared at his girlfriend as her flopping finally ended. “Katy.”
14
One week later
“Are you sure about this?”Loretta asked when I took her hand and swung it back and forth in mine as we walked into Central Park.
It was wonderful this time of year. The grass green and the trees full of leaves. Outside the park, New York City bustled around us with traffic and noise, but inside we were in our own little canopy. We blocked out the noise of the city and enjoyed a walk in the manicured nature environment.
I’d never spent time in the park even though my home overlooked the view, but now with Loretta by my side I found I wanted to be with her in the space as much as possible. She looked gorgeous standing next to a tree. And yeah, I realized that sounded crazy, but it didn’t make it any less true.
“Well, are you sure, Reggie?” Loretta asked again when I never answered the first time.
I didn’t find it necessary to answer because the question was so ridiculous. “Yes,” I said, making sure I was staring at her as I said it. I’d never been more sure of anything in my life.
We turned on a narrow path and stepped to the side, away from two joggers as they passed. The smell of flowers coated the air, and as we strolled along, I couldn’t help but smile. It felt as if after everything we survived, life was perfect.
I chose not to press charges against Pitero and his men because it may have been stupid to refuse to negotiate with the Pitero crime family, but it would be even more dumb to try and prosecute him for the shooting when I pulled the trigger. One bought off cop later and the police report mysteriously went missing. Both parties agreed to forget the day ever happened. I only hoped it served as a reminder to Pitero that he shouldn’t mess the Kensington family or Reginald Peterson.
“Nothing good happens in Pelican Bay, blue.” Sure, we had a minor incident with the gun in my boardroom last week, but crime in Pelican Bay was worse than anything I’d experienced in the city.
That little town in Maine was home to more than one drug kingpin, yearly kidnappings, and the occasional explosion. I’d heard rumblings there were even plans to set up a secret FBI operation in town. Of course, it was Pelican Bay, so nothing was secret. If the FBI moved in to help Ridge Jefferson and the local police department, the craziness of the small town would only increase.
