20
Chapter Twenty
Dominic
My parents arrive at the lake house just before the high-end fetal Doppler arrives via special courier. When my mother realizes what’s in the box, she grabs it from me and urgently calls for Sophia. The tone of her voice must have alarmed Sophia because she comes trotting through the house as fast as she can run.
“What? What’s wrong, Kayla?” she asks as she bounds into the room.
“My grandbaby wants to talk to me,” Mom replies with a huge smile.
Sophia exhales a relieved breath and laughs. “You scared the shit out of me!” But, she willingly moves to the couch, and following the instructions, we search until we find the heartbeat again.
Mom and Dad listen in amazement and we each take turns placing bets on whether she’s carrying a girl or a boy. “It’s a boy, I’m telling you,” Mom says.
“Nope, definitely a girl,” Dad declares. “Look at how radiant her skin is.”
“Are you saying mine wasn’t radiant when I was pregnant with Dominic?” Mom challenges.
“No, I would never say that,” Dad placates her. “You were justmoreradiant when you were pregnant with the girls.”
Tucker walks in with a manila envelope in his hand. Jerking his head to the side, he motions for me to join him in my study. Dad catches the subtle nod and his eyes meet mine. He knows everything that’s happened so far and they’ve both been worried about us. If that envelope contains what I think it does, I’d rather talk to Tucker to get the news alone before involving the rest of my family.
“Excuse me for a minute,” I say, kissing Sophia’s head. “I need to talk to Tucker.”
Sophia’s worried eyes flit up to meet mine, questions swirl in them but she works hard to contain it. She knows it’s obviously very important information. She also knows that Tucker wouldn’t pull me away from this visit for anything other than information directly related to Harrison. “Don’t take too long, okay?” she asks as she squeezes my hand.
“I will be back before you even know I’m gone,” I assure her.
Walking swiftly into the study and closing the door behind me, I approach Tucker. “Tell me.”
“The handwriting on the letter planted in your office is not Carol Anne’s, exactly as we already knew. Shadow also took a sample of Harrison’s handwriting, you know, from the file he accidently left in my hand. Anyway, it’s not Harrison’s handwriting either,” Tucker smiles, before delivering the last part of the news. “But, it does match ‘Sophia’s lawyer’s’handwriting.”
“So we know his has at least three aliases – Ramon Cortez, Ramon Nunez, and Sebastian Montoya.‘Cortez’was the detective on Carol Ann’s death and his real name that he keeps hidden,‘Nunez’is a detective in Austin, and‘Montoya’is the lawyer on the fake sexual harassment lawsuit. He will be in my office Monday afternoon and he scheduled the latest meeting possible,” I relay to Tucker.
“We’ll be ready for him. Shadow is meeting with the FBI Special Agent in Charge now. Since this is cartel related, they will run the show, Dominic,” Tucker says, his voice turning serious. “That means even Shadow won’t have his usual way of circumventing the rules. They won’t let us do anything that would jeopardize the case once it gets to court.”
I stare at Tucker in disbelief, even though I know what he’s saying is the truth and the right thing to do. The thought of not being in complete control of the situation doesn’t sit well with me. “Then Sophia won’t be there Monday,” I assert. “If we can’t guarantee her safety, she won’t be anywhere near the office.”
“Dominic, I can’t stay here with her and neither can Shadow. We’re both being pulled into this as backup because we’re both state mandated. She’d be safer there with us and the FBI agents than she would be here alone,” Tucker reasons.
“I’ll send her home with my parents,” I decide on the spur of the moment. “I can’t take the risk, Tucker.”
Tucker doesn’t respond immediately and I know…in my gut, I know what he’s about to say. “They want her here, Dominic. After they arrest him and put the printer, the IP address of his computer, his ties to the cartel, and of course, all the aliases he uses, they will question her to build the case against him and Harrison.”
“That doesn’t mean she has to be here!” I roar. “They can question her later!”
Tucker keeps his eyes trained on mine. “Dominic,” he pauses, and I wait on baited breath. “They think he’s coming for her. They think he’s been watching her come and go from the office. He’ll know if she’s not there. That’s most likely why he scheduled the meeting at the end of the day, when there are fewer people around.”
“What the fuck, Tucker?”
“Dominic, it’s the best way to end it quickly. We will all be in the office next to yours watching on the video feed.”
“And if someone gets to her while you’re watchingmy meeting?” I shout as I point in the direction of Sophia. I am about to pick up my desk and throw it through the fucking window.Are these fucking idiots not fucking thinking?
“You have to let us do our jobs, Dominic.”
“I need to think about it, Tucker. I’m not just going along with letting my pregnant lover be put in a dangerous situation because some asshole agent I’ve never even met says it’s best. Who is it best for–him and his career? Certainly not Sophia, not our baby, and not me!”
