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Chapter Twenty-Seven
Holly
“Shut up, so you’re telling me that Duke Karrington III was never a doctor? Who the hell was I on a date with?” I shoved another forkful of ramen noodles into my mouth as I sat on the wicker sofa on the opposite side from Reid, my legs tangled in his as we ate.
“Special Agent Anthony Bennett. Don’t say the word date when you’re talking about yourself and another man Holly. The only man you date is me.” He pointed a plastic fork at me from across the couch, his voice serious but his eyes playful.
“Is that right, Special Agent Reid Chapman? You know, that’s super sexy by the way.” I ran my bare toes over his thigh and watched his eyes light.
“Not the first time I’ve heard that, and it’s Senior Special Agent to you.” He grinned adorably as he continued to eat.
“Watch it, same goes for you. I don’t share, and remember, you’re teaching me how to throw grenades tomorrow, so don’t tempt me into becoming a felon.”
I watched Reid’s face transform from light and fun to serious. “Look, Holly, we don’t know exactly why they’ve involved you in their business dealings. All this time, they’ve left you in the dark. To bring you in at such a pivotal turning point is concerning. At best, you’re a liability to them, which makes you dead. At worst, who the hell knows what Victor and Sylv are planning. Bennett wasn’t working for us that night. Who did you say set up that dinner?”
“Um, well Til did. She said he was friends with Kris. She’s been trying to set me up for ages though.” Reid placed his styrofoam bowl down on the floor next to the couch and picked up a laptop that was hooked through some special plug in the black box behind the couch.
“What’s your relationship like with Mistletoe? How well do you know her husband? Kristopher Trainor, right?” Reid’s fingers flew across the keyboard in concentration never once looking up at me as he spoke.
“Stop saying Mistletoe, it sounds weird and awkward. She’s the oldest and I’m the youngest, so we’re different. Noel and I have always been closer. Tilly was the people pleaser, she’s involved in the country club, even lives in the same neighborhood as my parents. I don’t know Kris that well. He’s a foot doctor, quiet, reserved. He comes from money, too. I don’t know, I just always kind of ignored him, he seemed boring as hell.” I tried to think back to the interactions I’d had with Kris in the past, but there just weren’t that many.
“So, she’s the oldest. Mafia is generational, but given your parents had only daughters…Kristopher Trainor…Mistletoe Adkins-Trainor…Mistletoe Trainor…Missile Adkins. Dammit, why didn’t I see this before? Motherfucker.” Reid leapt from the couch, tripping over my legs and almost ripping his phone from the cord that it was plugged into to get a charge and enough of a signal to receive calls.
“What, what is it?” Reacting to his sense of urgency, I sat up from my spot on the couch and waited for Reid to explain.
“Dammit Holly, it’s your sister. It was your sister the entire time. I have to make a call.” Reid punched a button on his phone, it must have been an emergency contact because one button and two rings and he was connected.
“Hey, yeah, it’s me. Listen, are you at your computer?” Reid spoke quickly, but I was only hearing one side of the conversation.
“Yeah, I know, it’s the oldest. We’ve been running her as Mistletoe Adkins-Trainor. Run Missile Adkins.”
“That’s what I said.” Reid ran his hand down his face as he listened.
“I’ve got her, she’s safe. Clocks ticking, I know. We’ll be ready.”
“Give Em my love.”
Reid hit end on the call and turned to look at me, dropping to his knees in front of where I sat upright on the couch.
“Missile? Like a rocket?” I questioned him, but Reid was wearing his serious face and looking at me like he was about to drop another bomb in my lap.
“Mistletoe Adkins-Trainor, the first-born child of the infamous Victor Adkins. We looked over her profile numerous times, but everything looked so normal. Then, when we got to yours and you were involved with this project as well as the café project, our red flags alerted. When did you get the call about the Anderson House project?”
“I’d just begun work on the café, but I got that job through Beth. Beth and Asher don’t have anything to do with this insanity.”
“No, but did you talk to your sister about it? Did you talk to her in between the time you began work on the café and the time you got the call about this project?” I thought back, trying to place the exact timeline of events surrounding the Anderson House contract.
“Um, yeah, she called. She was asking me about my dating life or something. I was busy working on the design for the café, so I was only halfway listening to her. It was either the next day or a couple of days after that I got the call about this project. Ugh, I can’t remember exactly but it was definitely after.” I watched as Reid’s blue eyes lit up with understanding. Despite the circumstances surrounding us, I can’t help but be just a little bit fascinated with this man and the brilliant way his mind works.
“You were the decoy. Jesus Holly, you were the damn decoy. Your sister is working with your father, she’s the underboss. Missile Adkins is like a figment of the night. Her name whispered in back alleys and dark corners. The name cursed from the lips of criminals as I watched the blood drain from their face in death, but never once have we seen her. We weren’t even sure she really existed. She was hiding in plain sight this entire time, sipping drinks by the pool at the damn country club. They served you up to us on a silver platter, and while we chased our own asses they were working in the background. Shit, that’s why Bennett was there, and he saw me too. That only further confirmed that their plan was working. They were playing us both.” His hands gripped my thighs as he kneeled eye level in front of me.
“Oh God, so many things make sense now. I just can’t believe, after everything we’ve been through. Wait, Noel isn’t somehow involved in this is she?” My thoughts raced as I began questioning my relationship with everyone in my family.
“We’re still fairly certain she’s not associated. When has she ever followed the crowd? Her social makeup doesn’t match the profile. No, I think she’s been in the dark just as much as you have, but you were an easier target for them. You were the obvious choice.” I tried to focus on Reid’s skin on mine, tried to let the good outweigh the bad because now is not the time to become overwhelmed, even when I know I should be drowning right now. There isn’t time for that. While I know Reid is more than willing to save me if that happens, I don’t want to need a savior. I want to be strong enough to save myself.
“I just can’t believe it, my own family. Why would they do this?” I pushed my hair back out of my face in frustration. I’m more angry than anything. I’m not hurt, I don’t have the sense of loss you might expect given the circumstances. You can’t lose something that you never had, and love wasn’t something of abundance in my household growing up.
“Look at me, Holly. You can’t question the actions of people like your father and your sister. The minds of people like that, they defy the laws of logic. That’s something I had to learn the hard way a long time ago. The evil is everywhere, it exists all around us, I’ve seen it more times than I care to remember and so many times that I will never be able to forget. But then I see you, and you’re my light in the darkness of the world. You give me hope that everything I’ve seen, everything I’ve had to do to get to this point, it was all worth it.”
