For the past twenty years, he’d kept that promise to his mother. Even after Aimee’s death, he’d been vigilant. He’d taken two lives out of revenge.
Did he love Autumn?
It was a question that nagged at him since someone tried blowing her fucking head off. He cared deeply for her. He didn’t know when it started, but with her being in danger, it struck something deep inside his soul.
He wasn’t letting anything, or anyone, harm the analyst ever again.
Nico Scala was at a crossroads.
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
He grabbed his keys and headed towards the door.
“I’m taking the rest of the day off, Lena.”
He didn’t give his secretary a chance to answer as he walked out the door, to run his errands.
He was taking the road less traveled.
Chapter 13
“Thankyouformeetingwith me on such short notice.”
“Not a problem.” Tracy DelMonico gave Autumn a one-shoulder shrug. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
The woman had dark hair, olive skin, and medium height. She was a little on the heavy side, but it didn’t deter from her beauty. And her looks didn’t disguise the glass eye. If one didn’t know about Tracy’s near death, they wouldn’t know she didn’t have two-toned eyes.
Tracy drove them from her floral shop, Forget Me Not, to Boston’s Public Garden. They passed the statue of George Washington astride a horse, which was the focal feature.
Autumn couldn’t shake the feeling they had been followed since she left the train station in Quincy. It was like when she was at Yankee Stadium. She knew someone was following her. She couldn’t figure out who it was.
Who could be following her here?
Autumn shook it off as she shut the door of Tracy’s vehicle. Even though she told herself to relax, she couldn’t help but look over her shoulder. There were only a couple of cars in the parking lot. Someone had a newspaper pulled open while they sat in their car.
Autumn shook her head and ignored the feeling as they walked beside one of the ponds where a family of geese swam together. A couple of swans on the other side waded slowly.
The only word Autumn could come up with for this place was peaceful.
“I come here to think.” Tracy's hands sunk into her jeans pockets. She looked over the water, and her eyes had a faraway expression. “And I realize just how blessed I am.”
“You have a family?”
Tracy nodded, a wistful smile on her face, “Yeah. Two boys if you can believe it.”
Autumn smiled. She never wished for children, not with the life she led. She didn’t want anyone to care about her if anything should happen to her. “And you’re married?”
“Yes, to the most wonderful man you could ever know.” A dreamy, far away gaze lingered on her face. “He was one of the cops working my case. He was so…”
“Comforting?”
“That’s one way to put it.” A nervous, tinkling laugh came from Tracy. She crossed her arms, her fingers rubbing them up and down as if a shiver moved through her body. “I try not to remember the specifics, but that is a day I will never forget.”
They walked near a bench and sat. Both women were quiet for a moment.
Autumn didn’t want to intrude on the woman’s calm, but she needed to ask her questions. “Can you tell me how it all started?”
Tracy nodded and cleared her throat, “I was getting out of work at a nearby coil factory. I didn’t live too far away. My apartment complex was in one of those dirty neighborhoods.” Autumn nodded, waiting for her to continue. “This guy came up to me while I was walking and asked to use my phone. He had a hood over his head, so I didn’t see his face clearly. Anyway, I was always the girl that never talked to strangers. I shook my head and kept walking. From out of nowhere, I was whacked from behind and… lights out.”
