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“My gut instincts are usually pretty good, and they’re saying ‘watch your back.’”
“Find them.”
“We will. I’ll update you later.”
Nico trusted Emmy’s gut, and he trusted his own. If Cesare and Alonzo Cavallaro were missing, there was nothing good about that.
“Problem?” Deck raised an eyebrow.
Nico’s first instinct was to brush the question away, but he paused for a moment. Colt and Luca had two suspects when it came to the identity of the Bad Samaritan: Nico and Deck. Since Nico knew he wasn’t playing vigilante in the little spare time he had, it stood to reason that Deck might be the culprit. If two of the Cavallaros really were headed for Baldwin’s Shore, then it wouldn’t hurt to have a trigger-happy avenger looking out for them.
“My girlfriend’s been having trouble with her ex. She left him, and he’s not a man who takes rejection well.”
“Her ex? Do you mean Matthew’s father?”
“In the loosest sense of the word. He didn’t pay much attention to the boy when they shared a home. Katy’s terrified of him, so my priority is to keep her safe.”
“He was that kind of man?”
Nico knew exactly what Deck was asking. Was Cesare capable of harming Kaylin?
“He was that kind of man.”
Deck nodded slowly. “Yeah, I see how an abusive motherfucker could get riled up if a woman ran with his kid. Try calling Annie at the hair salon—if any strangers have been asking about your girl, she’ll know.”
“I’ll do that.”
But Nico called Kaylin first. He didn’t want to scare her, but he did want her back at the Peninsula and under the watchful eye of his security team. She was already on her way. Good. Nico’s chest was tight as he alerted his head of security to the potential danger, and the man promised to get in touch with Brie’s people too. Even when she was overseas, there was a contingent of guards present at the old paper mill to watch over her new family.
Annie hadn’t heard about any strangers nosing around town but promised to keep an ear to the ground. She also fished for more details, but Nico didn’t supply any. Just for good measure, he called the Craft Cabin—Paulo was the second-biggest gossip in town after Annie—but he had nothing to report. Everly was also working, and she promised to ask around discreetly in Coos Bay.
Dammit, Nico had forgotten the frittatas, and Kaylin would be here in five minutes. He called the kitchen and arranged for a server to lay the table on his terrace. No, not the terrace. Indoors would be better. There was a panic room in the bedroom, and he’d need to show Kaylin how to get in there. Should he ask Emmy Black to send a close-quarters protection team? He’d discuss the possibility with her when she called later. Maybe the wiry guy who’d watched Matty in LA would be available?
Nico paused to take a breath, to rein in the panic, and it struck him that he’d never felt this way before. This fear. Kaylin was as much a part of his heart as his left ventricle. And Matty. Fuck, he loved that boy.
Deck slammed the tailgate of his truck and ambled over. “You need anything else? A swing set? A rocking horse? Fencing for a pony?”
“How old does a kid need to be?—”
The bang made everyone jump. Screams rang out around the main pool, glass shattered as a waiter hit the ground, and Deck reached for a gun that wasn’t there. Nico’s chest seized, and now he knew how Vito had felt that night in the Starlight Lounge.
“That was a gunshot,” he said, as if voicing the worst would somehow make it better.
Deck was scanning the area. “Yeah, I know.”
Nico’s phone buzzed a second later, his head of security. “What happened?”
“Don’t think it was on the grounds,” the man said. “The shot came from farther away, out near the road. I’ve sent a team to investigate.”
Who needed to investigate? Nico already knew this was related to Kaylin. He didn’t believe in coincidences. Cesare had found out she was here, and he’d been lying in wait outside the hotel gates.
Nico ran.
* * *
The scene on the road outside the gates resembled a horror movie. Addy was lying on the ground in a pile of broken glass and a pool of blood. Two members of Nico’s security team had gotten there first, and they were trying to stem the bleeding while Brooke sobbed into the phone. Vega was attempting to dig his way out of the trunk while Cricket snapped at the men’s ankles and generally got in the way. The worst part? There was no sign of Kaylin or Matty.
“What happened?” Nico demanded, breathing hard. Adrenaline had got him to the crash site at a wild sprint, and his burning lungs were still playing catchup.
