Page 34 of Dangerous Refuge

“Look, I need information on Paul Hensley and Allie Clarke. He’s got a record; I know it. I just don’t know what.” I wait for him and hear movement in the background. It’s late. I know he’s not at work, but I don’t care. When a man is on payroll with the Bratva they provide results when results are requested.

“One second,” he mumbles, and I hear fumbling then typing. “Social security number? Driver’s license?”

I grit my teeth. Of course I know nothing like that; I don’t even know Allie’s birthday. “All I know is they have a kid named Rico together.”

After a few moments of silence I hear more typing and Monroe clears his throat. “Looks like he’s got a DUI. No warrants, though he’s tied to a couple domestics.” There is more silence and then more typing. “She’s got nothing except a few unpaid parking tickets from seven years ago. There is a note in her file about the doctors at multiple hospitals thinking her a victim of domestic abuse but she never filed a report.”

Figures that Allie would be face to face with help and not take it. She really fears for her life with this bastard, which makes me want to get him all the more. “I need more on him. Anything you can use to hunt him down. I need to find him now.”

“Sir,” he says, more typing sounds in the background “Mr. Hensley is linked to an armed robbery and an attempted stabbing, but we never got the weapon to run ballistics. As for the stabbing, that happened only three weeks ago and the man is still recovering. He barely made it out of surgery. We are waiting for him to wake up so we can get a positive ID on the attacker. If it turns out to be Hensley we can—”

“Locations!” I snap. I don’t have time for blubbering. I know this guy is a piece of trash that needs to be taken to the dump; I just need to know where to find him.

“The stabbing took place on the corner of Ninety-Fourth and Broadway. The attempted robbery within three blocks of that, Ninety-first and Amsterdam.”

“Where does he live?” I take a deep breath, trying to calm my raging heart. This is why I need Red. He does this shit for me so I don’t have to get so damn worked up. I drum my fingers on the desk while I wait for an answer.

“No known address, though the last known was six months ago on the lower east side.”

“Get me more details. I’ll call back tomorrow.” I hang up before he can make excuses. Stewing over the fact that Paul is truly in the wind, I shove my phone into my pocket and stand up. I can’t spend so much time trying to find him anymore. I need to get the shipping business back in line, which means hiring actual employees and vetting people to work in our armory. The two can’t really overlap much because the temp agency frowns up on trying to source gun runners, and folks who want an honest job packing fish don’t like bumping shoulders with the mob. It’s a nightmare.

I shut off the lamp and head back to the bedroom. Allie will likely be in bed sleeping already, another tactic to avoid my questions. It’s okay. I will just follow her tomorrow via the little tracking chip Tucker will place in her bag. I don’t need to press her for information tonight. My suspicion is that she’s sneaking out to work, which pisses me off, but she’s not cheating at least. Still, I have to know. Dominic will slit my throat if Allie is a weak link.

When I pass through the foyer I see the lights still on in the game room, so I head up the stairs. Rico stares at the screen like a zombie, Odin on the couch next to him. Odin’s tail flops around as I take a few steps into the room, but he lazily droops his head to the side as if to say he’s not leaving his boy. I like that he’s claimed Rico as his own. It feels fitting that my pet and Allie’s son would bond.

“Hey, kid, it’s late. You should be sleeping.” I lean on the door frame and he blinks slowly and looks over at me. I can see the exhaustion in his eyes. He never leaves this room except to eat and half the time he takes his meals here.

“Mom already said that.” Even his voice reveals fatigue. “Just one more game.”

“I think now is good.” I stroll over and take the controller from his reluctant hands and he yawns. “I know you like these things but your eyes are going to go bad if you keep staring at a screen all day every single day.”

Rico stands up and stretches. “I took Odin out to the backyard to play earlier. I wasn’t on the game the whole day.” He walks past me, his fingers tapping his side, and Odin leaps off the couch and follows him into the hallway. I flip off the television and trail behind him, shutting off the lights as we exit the game room.

“Can Jordan come over and play? He will like the games. I never got to invite him to our apartment because he always wants to play video games and I don’t have my own game.” Rico’s stockinged feet shuffle on the slick floors. More and more he reminds me of myself, and I find my heart actually craving fatherhood. I’d have never thought I’d want something so normal, so non-mob related, but I do.

“Sure, we can work that out I think.” I follow him to his room and he rests his hand on the doorknob.

“Can Odin sleep with me? I know Gerard always makes him sleep downstairs, but he likes me.” His sleepy eyes and disheveled hair are cute. I can’t resist him.

“Sure, just leave your door open in case he needs to sneak out the back to use a tree.” I push his door open and give Odin the signal to enter. He’s a well-trained guard dog, but I can see Rico is bringing out his protective nurturing side too. He’s all too happy to leap onto Rico’s bed. “Good night, kid.”

“Hey, Sven?” Rico says, pulling his shirt off. He uses it to rub his eyes and then blinks up at me with tired eyes.

“Yeah?” I linger in the doorway for a second.

“Thanks for letting me stay here. I like it. I think Mom likes it too. I just want her to want to stay.”

“I want her to too, kid. Goodnight.”

By the time I get down the stairs to my room, I’m ready for sleep too. I enter the room and I am right. Allie is either very adept at pretending to sleep, or she’s forced herself to shut down just to avoid me. I strip off and slide into bed next to her. When I do, I reach for her, pulling her against my chest. She’s still naked, her body still moist from the shower. She is actually sleeping.

Work must have been exhausting for her, and I wish things weren’t the way they are. I’d like to have heard about her day, celebrated her victories and mourned her losses with her. I just don’t know how to send her out into this world where only horrible things await her.

As I hold her, I think of my mother. She killed herself. I didn’t see any of it, not the blood or even her room afterward. Dominic took the brunt of that psychological trauma for the family. But I know how I felt when she was just gone. She was here; then she wasn’t. I’m not letting that happen to me again. Allie is mine, and though I don’t understand why she has become the cornerstone of my heart, she has. She just has to fucking listen to me so I can keep her safe. Because if that bastard kills her, or even harms a hair on her head, I’m not coming back from it this time.

Dominic thinks I’m a little out of control now? How will he feel when I goJohn Ramboon this city and take out every last vestige of rage I have over Allie Clarke being threatened or harmed?

19

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