Good question. My shoulders tensed as I made a mental note to go visit my night clerk friend and find out who he’d told. “I don’t know. Someone’s fuckin’ with me.”
“You need to tell me if you’re sleeping with her,” Annetta said, sounding devastated. “I know I haven’t been able to do anything lately because of Angel, but I thought you were okay with that. If you’re not happy, you should have told me.”
She didn’t believe me. After all we’d been through, it felt like a slap in the face. “Would you listen to me for a goddamn minute?” I asked. “I don’t know this Tiffany bitch, and I’m definitely not cheating on you. If I had time to fuck anyone, I’d be home in our bed. You should know me better than that.”
“I don’t know, Dom,” she sobbed. “I don’t know anything right now.”
Someone was messing with us while she was tired and jacked up on pregnancy hormones. When I found out who, I’d kill the dumbass.
“Where’s Mamma?” I asked.
“She went to the store a little while ago.”
“Perfect goddamn timing,” I grumbled. “Net, I swear there is no Tiffany. There is nobody else. I love you. You know this.”
“I do, Dom, but she knew things. She talked about the tub.”
How the fuck? That desk clerk had some serious explaining to do. “I’ll be home as soon as I can,” I promised her before hanging up.
A quick glance at my watch told me I had only a half hour before the pick up at the Pelino warehouse, but I needed to get home. Now. I paged Michael, sending him the number of the payphone. He called me back within minutes, and I explained the situation, asking him to handle the Pelino pickup.
“Dom—” Michael started.
Hearing the disapproval in his voice, I stopped him. “I know the Pelinos are my responsibility. I’m sorry, Mike. I wouldn’t ask you if this wasn’t important. Pregnancy hormones are no joke.”
Michael chuckled. He and Zeta were expecting a child in a few months, so I knew he’d sympathize. “Okay, but you owe me one.”
“Whatever you want,” I promised before hanging up.
Breaking multiple speed laws, I got home in record time, only to find a strange car in the driveway and the front door wide open. Drawing my pistol, I clicked off the safety and crept inside. The living room was quiet and still. Nobody in the kitchen. I thought about calling out to Annetta, but if anyone was here, I didn’t want to alert them to my presence.
Creeping down the hall, I searched each room until I reached ours. Turning the doorknob, I pulled open the door and stepped aside. Gun outstretched, I peered in.
“Dom?” Annetta asked, sounding both scared and hopeful.
I stepped into the room. Holding Angel, she sat huddled in the corner, her eyes swollen and a gun in her hand. Two steps away from the door lay the crumpled over body of a man I didn’t recognize, surrounded by bloody carpet.
“You okay?” I asked, pointing my pistol at the body. It wasn’t moving.
“He was gonna hurt Angel,” she said. “I didn’t have a choice. I got your gun out of the nightstand and—”
Her hands were trembling. I hurried over and took the gun, flicking on the safety and hiding it back in the nightstand. Then I wrapped her and Angel in a hug, picking them up and moving them to the bed.
“You’re both okay?” I asked. “Nobody’s hurt?”
Annetta relaxed her arms so I could see Angel. He was sleeping soundly. Relieved, I let out a breath.
“You did great, Net.” I sat behind her and pulled her against my chest. “You’re safe now. Tell me what happened.”
“I don’t know,” she said as tears slid down her cheeks. “After that awful phone call, I called you. I was so upset I… I went to check on Angel.” She glanced at the bassinet beside our bed. “When I turned around, that man was standing in the doorway, pointing his gun at me. Said he needed to take the baby. I couldn’t let him do that, Dom.”
“Shhhh.” I kissed her forehead. “I know you couldn’t. You protected him. You did the only thing you could do.”
“I… It’s a mess. I don’t know what to do with the body,” she said. “I want it out of my house, but I didn’t know who to call.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I said, reaching for the phone on the nightstand. “It will be okay.”
“I… Do you think this is connected to that call from Tiffany?” she asked.
