Page 62 of Countdown

“And his home.” Simon wasn’t going to try and cover it up. No sense in that. “I need to know that Daphne isn’t ready to change her mind or anything.”

Christopher frowned at him. “That’s illegal, Dad. If you get caught...”

“I know, but it’s also providing me a special advantage that I need right now. Like the ability to head off trouble at the pass.”

“There’s more trouble?”

“Not yet.”

His son pulled his bowl back and rubbed his temples like he had a headache. “Well, I’m certainly not one to throw stones. Just don’t tell me anything else.”

“Nothing to tell. Daphne is still googly-eyed over your brother and talking about the possibility of a wedding with her girlfriends. I’m going to tell Keith it’s time to pop the question.”

The kitchen door opened and Keith stepped inside. He took one look at their bowls and headed for the freezer. “Thanks for the invite.”

Simon exchanged a look with Christopher, then forced a smile. “Glad you’re here, Keith. Grab a bowl and pull up a chair. It’s time for us to talk about your upcoming nuptials.”

“I haven’t even asked her yet.”

“Exactly. You need to get that done.”

Keith swiped a hand down his chin in an uncharacteristicdisplay of ... nervousness? Or was it something else? “I ... I don’t know. I think it might be too soon. I don’t know that she’d say yes.”

Simon wanted to pound something. Mostly some sense into his son’s head. “She’ll say yes. Any fool can see she’s head over heels for you.” That’s one thing he could say about Keith. He knew all the right words, body language, and more to make the ladies fall for him.

“Right, but what’s she going to say when she learns I want to find my son?”

Simon bit his tongue and stood while Christopher went into a coughing fit. He finally released his tongue before he drew blood. “Son? Keith, do you hear yourself?”

“I do. I’ve decided to go after my kid. I’ll keep it quiet, but I’m going to get him. He belongs to me, and the sooner you two come to terms with that, the happier we’ll all be.”

“And what about the child’s family? He’s happy where he is. Leave him alone.”

Keith shook his head. “No. I’ve had time to think about this and I’ve got a plan.”

“What kind of plan?”

Keith finished off the ice cream in one big bite that made Simon’s head hurt. “A plan to get my son back and make sure the people who kept him from me all these years pay. Big time.”

Leaving his bowl on the kitchen table, he stood and walked out of the kitchen without a backward glance.

Christopher groaned and dropped his chin to his chest. “What now?”

Simon blew out a low, frustrated huff of air. “He’s going to ruin everything. We have to make this go away.”

“How?”

“I’ll think of something.”

????

Once again, Vince found himself sitting in the hospital, only this time, he was perched on the edge of the bed, waiting for someone to come stitch up the groove in his arm. The bullet had gouged out a nice chunk of flesh but thankfully, as he’d suspected, hadn’t hit anything serious, and the cold water had stemmed the blood flow.

He stood, grateful his legs held him. By the time the boat had arrived, they’d been more unsteady than he would have liked to admit. And he needed to know how Raina was. His phone buzzed, and seeing his supervisor’s name on the screen, he swiped it. “Covelli here.”

“Vince, it’s James. I heard about your little adventure. How are you doing?” The words were light, but Vince could hear the concern behind them.

“Doing okay. Got grazed by a bullet and need a couple of stitches, but I’ll be fine.”

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