Page 57 of Vail

“Fine with me.”

Reghan and Raiden were somewhere in the house. I was grateful they weren’t down here. Whatever went on with Alton and Raiden didn’t need to be brought into this.

I stood with Vail and Hartley while Sheldon gave me a rundown of what happened and how they were ambushed. The person driving the car they hit wasn’t alive after they got ahold of him, but the person in the passenger seat was who they grabbed. They found zip ties and duct tape in the car and used it on the man. Better to use theirs than waste mine.

The man in the second vehicle that ambushed them got away before they could get a photo of the rear plate. I didn’t keep cameras on my vehicles. They would only be used against me if the cops got their hands on them. We regularly swept our vehicles for tracking devices. The cops had tried and failed in the past to track us more than a few city blocks.

Alton finished with Oleander, who sat up and flexed his arm.

“It’s going to hurt when that wears off,” Alton said.

“I’ll be fine.” Oleander hopped down from the table and went to a tall metal cabinet along the far wall to sift through various sizes and styles of clothing and shoes. He pulled out a pair of sweats and a T-shirt and changed.

Alton examined Vail next and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Vail told him he felt fine. If the pain got bad, Alton asked us to call. There weren’t imaging machines here, but Alton could get Vail X-rayed easily if need be.

“I’m ready when you are,” Oleander said.

“I’d like to show Vail and Hart upstairs before we go further.” My body vibrated with the need to beat the ever-loving fuck out of the man within the other room. I would, but not until Vail and Hartley weren’t here to witness or be close to it.

Before we left the room, Vail hugged Oleander and Sheldon and thanked them for protecting him and Forest. Where the hell was Forest anyway?

I had the answer to that question when I entered the main house and found him looking out the front windows at the expansive lawn and falling snow.

“Are you all right?” I asked him.

“I’m fine.”

“My doctor would like to examine you.”

“I’m good. No need.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “You’ll allow him to check you over. You’re under my protection and therefore my care.”

“I’m not saying yes, sir, if you’re angling for it.”

A growl worked its way up my throat.

“Shut up, For,” Vail said.

Hartley hugged Forest and spoke to him softly to make sure he was okay.

Sylvan entered the room on soft footfalls. His fingers twisted in front of him as his eyes bounced from person to person. I strode toward him, stopping when I was a foot away and could block the others from his sight. “Okay?”

He nodded, his sandy blond hair falling over his eyes. “Just unexpected. I mean, I knew it could happen. It has before. But it unsettles me.” He was having a panic attack and didn’t want to voice it.

Sylvan was a slender man and shorter than me by a few inches. He was pale, likely from not going out in the sun enough. It was still winter. Irene mothered him when she came to clean. But he wouldn’t accept her food. There was a greenhouse on the property he liked to grow his own vegetables in when he could. He also made a weekly trip to the grocery store. Sylvan still left the house to run errands and go to appointments; however, he didn’t linger when he was out. The house was a safe space for him.

“Would you like to show Vail and Hartley around?” I asked softly. “They’re my partners and some of the kindest men you’ll ever meet. They didn’t know this home existed until today. I’ll have my guards stay back so you can have breathing room.”

He nodded. “I’d like that. And yes, I’d be happy to show them around. I baked muffins this morning. Maybe they’d like some?”

Sylvan had a mind that could concoct wild stories that sucked his readers in and made them feel like they were part of the tales. He was confident in his words, but in real life confidence wasn’t present. When it came to kindness, he was a sweet man who found me when I could have used someone who didn’t view me as the mafia boss and that alone. Or maybe I found him. Either way, it worked out for the best. I was able to provide a home for him and he gave me stories when I had to cover my tracks.

“I think they’d enjoy that.”

25

VAIL

---