Page 10 of Clean Slade
His face contorted. His jaw dropped.
And I finally remembered where I’d seen him before.
I’d been inside him nine years ago, back in New York.
He was the mysterious man named Rex.
THREE
KING
He’s here.
I could feel it in my bones.
My father was here, and he was out for blood.
I didn’t know if my lie to Santiago and Joey’s team would hold up, but I couldn’t tell them Tony Ferraro was my father. I didn’t know what the truth would do.
Not that it mattered. He’d found me, and the life I’d built was over.
I didn’t know why he’d had men stalk Santiago or why he’d gotten involved with the cartel. Was it his?
Had I somehow moved to one of his drug havens without realizing it?
It wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility. He’d never had a base in Mayberry Holm that I knew of, but I’d been gone for nine years.
Had the people he’d blown up been his men? Was he covering his tracks?
I hated not knowing. I hated being out of the loop. And what I hated more was being back in his world again, whether I wanted to or not.
What am I still doing here? I should be running.
It didn’t matter that we’d built a life here, that I had friends here. Friends that were more family than he ever had been.
I was putting them all in danger by sticking around. Especially Mac.
No. He’s not getting my daughter. I’d die before I let him take my daughter.
I lifted the curtains of the kitchen window and looked at the darkened streets for any signs of trouble.
Nothing. No suspicious cars. No shadows of men. It was quiet. As you’d expect from any coastal bed and breakfast.
That would have to do for tonight. Tomorrow was a different animal altogether. I needed to pull my head together and come up with a plan.
How am I not better prepared for this?
I’d always lived in fear of being found out. I’d always had a plan. Hell, I still had generous amounts of cash stashed in different cities. But now I was…
I was scared.
I’d gotten comfortable. Too comfortable.
I should have moved us around more often. I shouldn’t have stayed in one place for so long. Now I was out of practice.
The kettle on the stove whistled, and I jumped, putting a hand to my chest, feeling my heart pump faster.
I gave myself a moment to recompose and calm down, checked behind the curtains again, and finally removed the kettle and filled my cup with hot water.
