Page 8 of Dane

CHAPTER 5

AURORA

Brody followed us as Dane drove me in his red Bentley to my house, which was only a few blocks from the mansion that I learned belonged to Push and Nadia Barinov. When I entered the house, I almost threw up seeing Rocky’s dead body down the hall in the living room. Bernie shot him in the face. Blood pooled around his body. I hurried to the kitchen to grab my purse and the half-pack of stale cigarettes.

Brody stayed behind to get rid of Rocky’s dead body and clean the house as if nothing ever happened. Three dead men in the past few weeks, ever since Dane stepped back into my life. I knew then that I made the right decision to keep my son a secret from him. I hurried back out the front door, with Dane following close behind. I lit a cigarette with some matches and inhaled a long drag, blowing it out.

“Get your nanny on the phone now,” Dane demanded.

I turned away from him, rummaging through my purse, and pulled out the phone to call Anna.

She answered immediately. “Rory! Are you okay?”

“Yes, Anna. Is everything okay there at the beach house? How is Michael?”

“He’s doing okay. He misses you.”

I swallowed a lump in my throat and took another drag off the cigarette. “I’m on my way there now. I should be there in about three hours.”

“Oh, thank goodness. Michael will be so happy to see you this morning.”

“Listen to me carefully, Anna. Dane Neri is driving me there. I’ve told him about Michael.” There was silence on the phone. “Anna? You there?”

“Yes, Rory. Are you in danger? He won’t hurt you, will he? Is Michael in danger?”

“Do not leave the house. Stay there with Michael and lock the doors and windows.”

When I hung up with Anna, Dane snatched the cigarette from my hand. He dropped it on the ground, crushing it. “No smoking in my car. Let’s go.”

Dane asked me for the address of the beach house and typed it into his GPS. The three-hour ride to Cape May in Dane’s fancy Bentley felt like a twelve-hour ride. I didn’t say a word to Dane as he drove, and I stared out the passenger window. The only sound was the voice on the GPS giving him directions. Sometimes I would look over at him to see the whites of his knuckles as he gripped the steering wheel. His eyes darted to the rearview mirror every few minutes to make sure no one was tailing us. My heart sank as I feared he would never forgive me for hiding Michael from him.

When we pulled up in front of my beach house, Dane climbed out of the car first, scanning the block that I lived on to make sure no one followed us. I sat frozen in the passenger seat as my heart pounded in my chest, knowing that this would be the moment Dane would meet his son for the very first time. He opened the trunk, slung a bag over his shoulder before opening the passenger side door for me, and then followed as I climbed the steps and unlocked the front door.

“Mommy!” I heard Michael’s voice before he rounded the corner and ran down the hall toward me.

I scooped him up into my arms and spun him around. “My little man! I missed you so much!” When I placed him back down, his eyes went wide as he stared up at Dane standing behind me. “This is my friend Mr. Neri.”

Michael held up his little hand. “Hello, Mister Neri. My name is Michael. Nice to meet you.”

Dane just stood there with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. He blinked, then took Michael’s hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you too, Michael.”

Anna appeared from down the hall. “I’m sorry, Rory. Michael saw the car pull up and wanted to greet you first.” She saw Dane standing behind me, and she placed a hand to her chest with a look of apprehension in her eyes.

“Anna, meet Dane Neri. Dane, this is Michael’s nanny Anna Koval.”

“Mommy.” Michael interrupted, tugging on my hand. “Can Anna take me to the beach now?” He was dressed in his favorite blue swim trunks with little sharks on them and a white t-shirt.

Anna shook her head. “He was very insistent and dressed himself an hour ago. He waited impatiently for you to arrive.”

“I don’t want them to go too far, Aurora,” Dane warned.

“The beach is only about fifty yards from the house. They can walk out there from the back patio.” I replied.

Dane nodded.

“You and Mister Neri can come wiff us if you wanna,” Michael said.

I knelt and took his hands in mine. “I’m going to stay and cook some breakfast. You can go with Anna to the beach but for only one hour. And no whining when she tells you it’s time to come inside.” I looked at Anna, “Make sure he’s lathered up real good with the 50 SPF sunblock.”

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