Chapter 6
Scooping Jonathan into his arms, Jack shut the TV off and headed for the back door. Where could they go? Callie’s detached garage? Victor might look in there to see if her car was here. He slipped out the back, locking the door. Into the woods behind Callie’s house might be safe.
Callie’s yard was about an acre but she abutted town conservation land. There was another fifty acres of forest in which he could hide until Victor left. It was where he’d stashed his motorcycle. Could he use the bike to escape? Not likely with a two-year-old in tow. There was no way he could safely drive his bike with his son. They’d have to wait it out in the woods.
Jack dashed to the tree line before Victor could see him. Maybe the mobster would stay in the car and send his driver to get his cufflink. When he’d been the Cabrini chauffeur, he’d done all sorts of mundane tasks for the man.
No such luck. As Jack slipped between a cluster of trees, Victor walked around to the back door and knocked. Callie rarely used the front door and Victor must have known that. He waited for maybe ten seconds, knocked again then wiggled the knob. Good thing he’d locked the door. He didn’t need Victor going inside and snooping around Callie’s things when she wasn’t there.
“Dah dee? Dampa?” Jonathan wiggled in his arms and Jack ducked behind a larger tree as Victor glanced around the backyard. Had he heard Jonathan’s voice? Taking a few steps backwards, he kept his eyes on the house.
Jack held Jonathan close to him and whispered, “Yeah, it’s your grandpa but we’re going to play a game of Hide-and-Seek. So we need to be quiet. We can’t let Grandpa find us. Can you stay quiet while we hide?”
Jonathan’s eyes widened and a smile lit up his face. He raised his pointer finger to his mouth and said, “Shhh,” then began to giggle.
Moving even farther into the woods, he tried to keep it so he had a view of Victor. When the man walked to the garage and peeked inside, he was glad he had decided not to hide in there. Images of Victor shooting him dead, while his son watched, made cold chills run down his back like he was leaning against an iceberg.
Victor walked back around the house, hopefully leaving. No, damn. Part of the limo was visible as it sat parked in front of the house and it didn’t move. Victor was settling in for the duration. Apparently, wherever he needed to go, he wasn’t in a hurry to get there.
Jonathan wiggled in his arms again and whimpered, “Do pee pee.”
“Now?” There was no way he could go back to the house with Victor sitting outside. Plus, he’d locked the door and he didn’t have a key. Callie did keep a spare key, but it was under a fake rock in the side yard. There was no way he could get it without being seen. Maybe it was time for him to teach his son the conveniences of being a guy.
“Sure, pal, you can do pee pee, but I’m going to show you how you can do it when you aren’t near a bathroom. This is a really cool thing only boys can do.”
He continued to move farther into the woods then lowered Jonathan to a small flat stone. “See that little plant over there?” He pointed to a fern next to the rock. “See if you can water it.”
He helped the boy lower his pants and adjust himself. When Jonathan started urinating on the plant, he giggled. Looking up at his father with excited eyes, he squealed, “I pee pee, Dah dee.”
“Yes, you did. Are you all done now?”
“Yup,” the boy chirped. “You pee pee, Dah dee?” He pointed to the plant.
Jack groaned, wondering if he had done the right thing but he could hardly bring the child back in. And all boys needed to learn how to go outdoors. It was part of growing up. Now that he thought of it, he did need to relieve himself too. Might as well do it now. Who knew when Victor would give up and leave?
When he copied his son, Jonathan giggled again. Jack looked back nervously, but they were far enough in the woods he didn’t think anyone could hear them. Victor was more than likely sitting back in his climate-controlled vehicle. He never was the type for hanging out in the elements.
He picked up Jonathan once he was done and moved quietly back through the woods. Callie wouldn’t be much longer, and he hated the idea of her dealing with Victor by herself. Stupid, she obviously did it all the time. It wasn’t like he was around to run interference or even had the option to.
Callie. He hated to think of how much she had to deal with Victor. It shouldn’t have happened. But he’d taken one look at her and been lost. He’d hidden it well for a while but once he started driving her back and forth to work, it had become impossible to ignore her.
Most of the women he’d known were tough and street smart. Callie was sweet and innocent, shy and demure. But she’d had more strength than many women he’d known. She hadn’t thought so and had confided in him she hated any kind of adventure or danger and sought out peace and harmony. Until she had found Angelo’s incriminating documents.
He’d reminded her how brave she was to go to the police when she could have walked away without saying a word. She had an inner strength she wasn’t even aware of. Her claim was he gave her strength and she couldn’t do it without him.
Callie’s car pulling up a few minutes later brought his thoughts back to the present. He watched as Victor came up behind her and they spoke. Jonathan took that minute to start rambling in his toddler speech. Backing up into the woods again, he tried to shush the boy. But he had seen his mother and was starting to get louder.
Bouncing the child higher in his arms, he trotted deeper into the trees. Can’t let Victor hear Jonathan. Callie would get rid of the man, he had to trust that. No doubt, she’d be fine. On her own since her parents had died, she was a survivor. As he moved farther away from the house, he kept whispering in his son’s ear to stay silent. Callie opened the back door and allowed Victor to enter. Everything would be fine, but he said a prayer anyway.
* * * *
Callie drove down the street, almost choking at the sight of the limousine in front of her house. Victor. What was he doing here? He’d been here at the party yesterday. She rarely saw him more than once a month. Why had he come back? Had he seen Jack with Jonathan? Oh, God. A flock of geese soared through her stomach at the thought of what she’d find inside the house.
After pulling into the driveway, she shot out of the car. Victor strolled up behind her and she breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t look like he’d killed anyone recently. His face was calm and pleasant. But what did he want?
“Callina, I called a little while ago but you didn’t answer.”
“Victor, is everything all right?” Her voice was a bit breathless and she hoped he couldn’t hear how fast her heart was beating. At least it was beating. When she’d first seen his car, she thought it had stopped.
