Concealment (The Cassano Series Book 1) (20 page)

Theo

Besides when we were waiting to see if our father was alive after 9/11, I’ve only ever seen Adrian this distraught one other time.

It was when he came home from his tour in Afghanistan and found out his longtime girlfriend, Kelly, was in love with someone else.

Actually, the fact Agatha knew and hadn’t told him is what pushed him over the edge. He had that same furious, helpless look on his face like he’s presenting now.

“Adrian, is she going to be OK?”

“Yes, and I’m going there.”

“You can’t go to the hospital, and you know it.”

“Son of a bitch!” Adrian clutches his hair and phone until his knuckles are white.

“Bro, you have to calm down.”

He lets his hair go, leaving it in a wild mess. He stands frozen, breathing heavily for a good minute.

Finally, he turns to face me, his eyes watery.

“I just realized I love her. I fucking love her, and I’m going to the goddamn hospital to check on her.”

“Adrian, you need to think this through. She might not be that injured and will call you later. You can’t jeopardize our work.”

My hand flies out toward him as the fear of him screwing up every bit of progress we’ve made against terrorism mounts. Not to mention, my ass refuses to go to prison.

“How are you going to explain knowing she’s there? The news isn’t reporting her name.”

He paces the plush tan carpet of his office, his eyes leading every step.

“I don’t know, but I feel like I’m abandoning her by knowing she’s there and not going. I want to take care of her. I have to know she’s OK.”

“I had no idea things were this serious. Why in hell did you allow yourself to fall in love with a cop?”

I rub my forehead, mindful I’ve said the wrong thing when his head jerks up.

“I didn’t fucking plan it, but since the first time she stepped foot into this office, I’ve been drawn to her.

“I haven’t been able to resist her since, and I’m going to see her whether it benefits anyone else in this family or not.”

“Adrian!” I shout as he storms out of his office. He’s going to fuck up everything.

Victoria

My fingers almost touch my forehead, but something stops them. I try again, but there is resistance, so I open my eyes.

An IV tube in my arm is catching on the bed rail. Holy shit, I’m in the hospital.

After freeing the tubing wedged beside the bed, I press my fingers to my forehead. I think it was beat with a sledgehammer. I feel around since there is some kind of cloth covering it.

What happened to put me here?
I went to see Molly Pennington. Shit, what happened to Molly?

I sit up, but the pounding in the back of my head has me falling right back.

“Ouch! What the hell?” I feel around and discover my entire head is wrapped in gauze.

“You’re awake,” Reggie says as he rushes toward me from the doorway.

“Where’s Molly?” I ask. He sits next to me on the bed. “I’m worried about you right now. How are you feeling?”

“Terrible. What happened to me?”

“You were pistol-whipped, and if you weren’t hurt, I would whip you myself for going to see her without me.”

His knuckle grazes my cheek. He truly looks upset and worried. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to risk Molly changing her mind. I tried to call you.”

“I know. I was in the shower, and then I went to bed without looking at my phone, so I didn’t know you had tried to call.”

Reggie takes hold of my arm, his thumb skimming up and down it. “Vic, I’m so sorry. I feel terrible for not checking to see if you needed me.

“I knew you were working at the hotel, and I should’ve looked before I went to sleep.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Did you see who did this to you?”

“No. I remember Molly looking behind me, terrified, but that’s it. How is she?”

“That’s what we thought happened. You have a ton of stitches in the back of your head.”

Reggie takes both my hands and places them between his. “She’s dead, Vic. She was found this morning under an overpass.

“Thank God you didn’t have a badge on you, or they probably would’ve killed you, too.”

“Someone got wind that she was going to talk.” I stare ahead at the wall.

“You couldn’t have done anything differently to save her, Victoria. Don’t even let your mind go there.”

Leaning over he kisses my forehead before he rests his against it. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you were hurt worse.” This is too intimate.

He’s holding both my hands, his head pressed to mine, and Adrian’s image pops into my mind.

My heart thunders in my chest. He has to be so worried. I swipe my head to the side to get around Reggie and start to sit up again, but he has a different plan.

“Whoa, where are you going?”

“I need my phone.”

“It’s in your bag. I managed to get it at the scene. Tucker called me as soon as he heard it was you, so I raced over there.”

Reggie rises and goes to the closet. “Oh, I need to give you a heads up. Your mom and sister, Nicole, are here. I had to call family in case something needed to be done medically. They’re in the cafeteria.”

“Oh, lord, why didn’t you just put me out of my misery?”

He turns with my purse and smirks.

“They’re not that bad. They love me.”

I roll my eyes. “Of course they do. You’re a single guy who spends time with me. I’m pretty certain my mother thinks I’m a lesbian.”

Digging through the bag, I find my cell and see I have missed calls and texts from Adrian. I hold the phone close to me and send him a message.

Me:
I’m so sorry. I will explain later, but I can’t see you today. I’ll call this evening. I miss you.

He doesn’t reply, and I can’t help but worry he’s angry.

“We’re guarding your door, and your mom said they’re letting you go today as long as your blood count is up. We don’t want you here longer than necessary since the news that you’re a cop leaked.”

“Maybe they didn’t take the time to look at me. I was wearing a wig, and I imagine they just wanted to get her out of there.”

“That’s what I’m hoping.”

“Oh, my baby, you’re awake,” my mother, Reba says.

“Yep.” She kisses my forehead and gracefully sits on the bed at my thigh.

“Hi, Vic,” my older sister, Nicole, says. 

“Hi, and thanks for coming.”

Nicole waves her arm in the air and rolls her eyes. “Sadie said she couldn’t miss her exam today. I swear I think she’ll still be trying to go to college in her thirties.”

“She said to tell you she loves you and will check on you later,” Mom says as she picks a piece of blanket lint off her cream dress pants.

She moves a section of her golden blonde hair from her face as if it’s a fragile butterfly.

Nicole’s locks match Mom’s from the shade of color to the short attractive cut, whereas Sadie and I have our dad’s brown hair, where the waves have an indecisive mind of their own.

“Oh, my gosh, did you get a manicure?” Nicole is shoving my mother out of the way, so she can get a hold of my hand. I hear Reggie snicker.

“Yes, I did. I thought we could go together sometime soon.”

My older sister beams at me like she never has before. “Finally, there is something we can do together.”

“Yep. We can go shopping, too.”

Mom holds a hand to my forehead. “Do you have a fever? Amnesia maybe?”

I pull her hand down. “No, and it’s not that big of a deal. OK, I think it’s time to call a nurse. I need them to unhook this crap on my arm, so I can go to the restroom.”

So I can run far, far away from the two of you.

I convince Mom and Nicole into leaving by telling them I need rest. After I go to the restroom, I feel horribly weak.

The nurse gets me, and this awkwardly thin gown, resituated in my bed, and Reggie returns.

“You should go home. I’m fine.”

He tucks the blankets around me like I’m a child and kisses my forehead again.

“I don’t think partners are supposed to kiss partners on the forehead,” I say with a cheesy grin, trying to lighten the mood and uncomfortableness of the close proximity he keeps putting us in.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be partners anymore, Vic.” He’s not gazing at me as if he has no desire to be my partner due to anger. Instead, there is adoration in his eyes.

“I know she’s in there!”

Shit, I know that voice.

My body is stone still as I hear arguing. Adrian’s voice drowns out the words from the officer on duty.

“You’re going to ask her if she wants to see me!” he shouts next.

Reggie’s brow furrows as a territorial look washes over him. He’s off the bed and in front of it, guarding me with his life. His hand is on his holster, his posture that of someone prepared for battle.

My head pounds harder as the blood races through my veins. How the hell did he find me?

“Reg, don’t be mad at me.”

“Victoria, who is that?”

“It’s Adrian Cassano. Tell him he can come in.”

Reggie’s body spins around, his forehead wrinkled even tighter. “Did you tell him you’re a cop?” he asks, obviously pissed.

“No, I swear. Now, let him in before he causes a bigger scene.”

Reggie’s black eyes are fixed on mine for a few seconds, his broad chest rising high with every sharp breath.

He strides to the door and is gone for a minute that feels too freaking long before he and Adrian return, both looking furious.

The second Adrian’s eyes lock with mine, it’s as if all his anger is replaced with relief. He rushes to the side of the bed and plops down in the same spot everyone else has claimed as their own today.

My cheeks fill his warm hands as he quickly surveys all of me that he can see.

“Are you OK?” he chokes out.

“Yeah, I will be. How did you know I was here?”

“We can discuss that later. Baby, I was so sick with worry.”

“Tell me, Victoria, I’m not seeing this,” Reggie says indignantly.

My eyelids blink rapidly as I peer at Adrian. His brow is now furrowing, and I am overwhelmed by the testosterone saturating this space. I peek around him to eye my partner, and I bite my lip.

“Maybe more than our professional relationship is ending,” Reg says bitterly. “I guess you feel safe with him. I’m out of here.”

The door slams and I jump. My eyes squeeze shut as pain shoots through my head and my heart.

I’m about to lose the two most important men in my life, and until now, I had no idea how much the first one meant to me.

Adrian

Victoria bites her lip, and I catch a sight of her watery eyes before she swallows back tears.

“I can’t figure out how, but something tells me you know who I am, or I should say ‘what I am,’” she utters quietly.

“I know you’re mine, and I haven’t been this worried in years.”

“Seriously, how did you know I was …”

“Victoria. Victoria!” I shout after her eyes close, and she slumps over. I hold her up and yell her name until people come running into the room.

Hopping off the bed, I move out of their way. A cop and lady in a nurse’s uniform push me out of the room as I yell for someone to tell me what’s wrong.

Immediately, the officer questions me about what happened as medical staff runs down the hall toward her room.

In only a few minutes, she’s being wheeled out on her bed in a hurry. I’m ushered to an empty waiting room, so I whip out my phone and call Theo.

“How is she?”

“Something is wrong. She was talking one minute and then unresponsive the next. I don’t know if she’s OK.”

“I’ll come down.”

“Thank you. I’ll text you her room info.” I take one of the eight chairs in the small room. There is a table at each end of the two rows of seating and a flat screen TV perched from the ceiling.

After messaging Theo, I lean my head back against the wall and close my eyes in an attempt to calm down.

Resting for a while, I picture Victoria’s stunning eyes. I love how they always give off a hint of her spunk. I don’t even possess a photo of her.

What is it people call those? Selfies. Yeah, we’re taking one together when she gets well, so I can look at it on my phone whenever I want. I’m taking tons of photos of her.

Hearing the door open to the room, I open my eyes.

“What the fuck did you do to her?”

“I didn’t do shit. You walked out, and she went unconscious. I don’t know what’s wrong.” I flip my hand toward the doorway. “They took off with her …”

“I told you from the beginning of this to stay the fuck away from her,” Reggie says, pointing a finger down at me.

“Get your damn finger out of my face.”

The second I see his fist begin to pull back, I’m up out of the chair. I tackle him, and he loses his footing. We both go down to the floor, and I get a punch in on his right jaw.

“You dickhead, you didn’t waste any time trying to get with her.” He barely gets his words out before I punch him again.

Somehow, he gets hold of my shirt and yanks me forward. I lose my balance and fall to the side of him.

“I’m not using her. I fucking love her already,” I say.

He’s coming at me now with a fist, and I take a shot right to my nose. My foot gets around a chair leg, and I kick it, trying to get out from under him. It falls on top of him, and it’s like WWE in this cramped space.

“I love her, too. She’s my partner, and you were never supposed to speak to her.” Reggie heaves for air as he shoves the furniture away. “She would’ve left your precious hotel soon enough.”

His palm twists my head sideways, and he pushes it into the floor, his fingers spreading wide over my face. I swipe his leg, and he falls.

Moving just in time for his face to hit the tile, I jump up and stumble as blood spews from my nose.

“Yeah, you really care for her,” I sneer. “You’ve been jeopardizing her job for how long now?”

He stands and stumbles, too, while wiping blood away from his mouth. “Oh, please, are you going to tell her all your secrets? She’s a goddamn cop. She can’t date a criminal.”

“What the fuck do you think you are?” When I think he’s too exhausted to hit me again, I walk over to a small table and grab a handful of tissues.

There is blood all over my blue shirt and khaki pants. Actually, there’s blood everywhere. It’s on the white floor, and I spot some on a chair.

I glance over at Reggie, and he’s holding the arm of his shirt up to his mouth to catch the evidence of our fight.

“I’ve only continued doing this shit, so I could one day give her everything she wants,” he says.

“I can give her everything now.”

He releases a short sinister laugh.

“She won’t want a damn thing to do with you once she knows the truth.”

“Victoria doesn’t need to know any of it to be with me.”

Reggie tries to straighten his clothes and his curly hair but it’s pointless. “Are you doing drugs now, too? If you think you can keep your two worlds separate, then you’re delusional.

“And besides, if you don’t stay the hell away from her, I’m telling her you’re up to no good.”

Falling into a chair, I tilt my head back against the wall and pinch my nose to get the bleeding to stop.

“When? While you’re telling her about your own deceit?” He’s in no better of a position than I am in. “You never told me you liked her. Victoria and I have slept together. She’s mine,” I say.

Reggie charges right at me, surprise and fury owning his stormy eyes. The door opens and Theo steps in. He jumps between us right before Reg has a chance to throw another punch.

“What the fuck?!” Theo yells, shoving Reggie away.

“Motherfucker, I should kill you for touching her!” he shouts.

“Our friend and informant here left out an important detail about his relationship with Victoria Hart,” I say to my brother.

“I think I can guess what that detail is,” he answers, glancing back and forth between us, “but don’t you think the wellbeing of the woman you’re trying to kill each other over should be a priority right now?”

Taking a few steps back to a garbage can, I spit out blood, hardly taking my eyes off of Reggie.

“You’re right, bro, and I’m not leaving this hospital unless Victoria is going out the door with me.”