“Good afternoon, Ms. Jones,” Nick said with a smile.
“Hello, Ms. Jones. We are glad to have you back,” Xander finished.
I shot my angel a glare as she smiled brightly at them. They each treated her with nothing but respect, keeping their eyes on her heart-shaped face. Her hand landed on my back as she stepped into me, and her vanilla scent washed over me. She tried to make small talk, but I cut them off.
“I don’t pay you to talk to my woman,” I clipped, my jaw clenching. “Fuck off.”
They nodded and returned to their positions around the small island, though Karina shook her head and kept smiling at them.
“Are you going to keep them here? Romano is gone,” she said to me as I guided her up the path to the house. Pavers would be out next week to install a walkway for her and in the spring, I would have a new garden put in.
“I enjoyed my privacy before you re-entered my life, angel,” I said as the front door opened. Bella stood in the doorway, ready to greet us. Her face was calm, but I could see the excitement in her eyes.
“Sir. Ms. Jones. It’s so good to have you back,” she breathed, her hands folded at her waist.
“Bella,” Karina breathed and pulled her in for a hug. My housekeeper was shocked for a moment but quickly recovered, embracing her back. Her brown eyes looked at me. “I’m so glad you both are safe,” she said, her accent coming out heavier than usual. I held her eyes, despite the ache in my chest that had nothing to do with the bullet inside of it.
“It’s over. Romano is dead,” I said.
The woman seemed to go through the five stages of grief within seven seconds. She sobbed and pulled away from Karina. “Are you certain, sir?”
I nodded, slipping my hands into my pockets. “If you wish to return home, I can have the travel arrangements ready within the hour.” She smiled and shook her head.
“If you would have me, my place is here, sir.”
Before I could answer, Karina cut me off. “Of course! We love you! You always have a place here.” She talked as if this house was not just mine, but hers too. I liked that. This was good; when I told her later that her name was on the deed, it wouldn’t come as a surprise.
A few hours later; after a shit ton of phone calls, I finally ventured out of my office.
For the first hour or so, my angel stayed in there with me, sitting on my lap. She listened closely through the first few calls, one to Boston and California, one to James Garner, with Casey Gomez in the background, one to Washington with Director Wells, while Casey tapped into the phone lines. Agent Garner and John Alex wanted to nail him down first, but they needed a recorded phone conversation.
After that, Karina said she was going to call Gwen, which gave me time to call Davenport’s fiancé.
“Have you thought about my offer?”
“I’m not putting on a uniform again, Stevens. I’m done with baseball.”
I sat back in my chair. “I’m not asking you to play, Connors. I’m asking you to protect.”
He sighed on the other end of the line. “I need to protect my family.”
“Good, glad we're on the same page. You can do that by working for me,” I noted, tapping my fingers on the desk.
“I’ll think about it.”
“You and I both know you and baseball will never be done, Connors. It’s in your blood.”
My offer was simple.
While I would be helping out the FBI, weeding out the sex traffickers, Dean would simply oversee the baseball side of things, ensure that all of Romano’s old ways are tarnished. There were still rats in the stadiums, after all, curve balls waiting to be pitched. Dean would be the one to knock them out of my fucking parks.
Speaking of rats…Ian Matthews was sentenced to two years in prison. For what, I wasn't sure. Something about a warehouse near the Canadian border. Kevin Matthews, on the other hand, would be sent to work for me. Yesterday, after I left my angel in her bed at her apartment, I ventured to the field office for my meeting with Garner, his director, and Kevin.
There was a lot of toxicity between the both of us, but he came to an agreement and signed a contract to be an informant to the FBI. He would use his status as Matthews’ son to get into the parts of the underground where I couldn’t. With every coronation, there would always be push back, and Kevin was instructed to find anyone who would try and stand against me, anyone who disagreed with the rings being shut down.
Their mother would be sent to a treatment facility—a rehab of sorts, a place where she could rest and heal.
James’ team was moving in on high profile members of society on Casey Gomez’s list. Evil was being taken down, one by one. Slowly, so the government wouldn’t collapse. We didn’t need the general public going into hysteria.
