Maggie Lee (Book 11): The Hitwoman Hires a Manny (8 page)

“Done with your pep talk?” I asked. “I really don’t need people giving me looks because my chest is making noise.”

“Ungrateful cur,” he mocked, but then fell silent.

I tilted my head to one side and then the other, loosening up my neck so that I could walk into the facility with my head held high.

After signing in with security, I made my way down the halls in search of my mother.

Instead, I encountered a different familiar face.

I sucked in my breath as Delveccio’s daughter, Angelina, hurried toward me. I tried to appear relaxed as the beautiful, dark-eyed woman approached, but every cell of my being tensed, having witnessed firsthand how unstable she could be.

“Do you have something for me?” she asked excitedly as soon as she was within earshot.

I recognized the gleam of manic madness in her eyes and had to fight the urge to run away. I shook my head. “I’m sorry, I don’t.”

She pouted like a three year old. “Is Daddy mad at me?”

“I don’t think so,” I said gently. “He didn’t even know I was going to be here. I’m here to see someone else.”

“Your Ma?”

I blinked, surprised she was able to make the connection. “Yes.”

“Did you bring
her
anything?”

I chuckled. “No. I came empty-handed.”

Without another word, Angelina stalked away. I had no idea who she was after, but I made a 180 degree turn and hurried away in the opposite direction.

I found my mother in her room. She was sitting in a chair, sketching.

I stood for a moment watching her, trying to gauge her mood. When my mom is in a stable mood, she’s sweet and kind and everything anyone could want in a mother. When she’s not, she scares the hell out of me.

Still, I needed to talk to her. Patrick had discovered that Kevin Belgard was behind the disappearance of all the records of my sister Darlene’s “murder” and my mother was the only person who might know the connection.

Holding my breath, I knocked softly on the door jamb, hoping the noise wouldn’t startle her.

She glanced up, a dreamy expression softening her gaze, making her appear almost angelic.

I waved. “Hi Mom.”

She blinked, struggling to focus.

“It’s me.” I slowly stepped into the room.

Her confusion cleared and a warm smile lit her face. “Maggie.” She held up her arms in welcome.

The pressing tension in my chest evaporated and I smiled back, hurrying forward to accept her hug, relieved she wasn’t going to smack me.

“What are you drawing?” I asked, glancing down at her paper.

“Candles.”

“Why candles?”

“So I can make a wish,” she said wistfully.

I knew better than to ask her what the wish was. Since she was relatively lucid, I needed to take advantage of the moment. “Can I ask you about something?”

She nodded, smiling benevolently. “Of course.”

Perching on the edge of her bed so that I could see her face, I said gently, “Tell me about Belgard.”

Her smile disappeared and she curled her hands into tight fists.

“Please, Mom,” I pleaded. “It’s important.”

“Terrible,” she spat out.

“What’s terrible?”

Pressing her lips into a flat line, she glared at me.

I swallowed hard, wondering if broaching the subject had been a mistake. Still, having no other clues to go on, I pushed on. “Kevin Belgard?”

She looked away, as though holding my gaze suddenly burnt her.

Hand shaking as she held her pencil, she made angry slashes across her drawing, as though by destroying the sketch, she could eliminate what was upsetting her.

I made no move to stop her. I just waited, watching.

“It’s his fault,” she ground out, breaking the point of her pencil.

“What’s his fault?” I prompted.

She raised anguish-filled eyes at me. “Darlene.”

A chill skittered down my spine at the confirmation that Kevin Belgard had something to do with my sister’s disappearance. “Why is it his fault?”

She shook her head.

Moving slowly, so as not to startle her, I left the bed and knelt by her side. “Please, Mom. I need to understand.”

She reached out with trembling fingers and brushed my hair away from my face.

“You think it’s my fault. You already blame me.”

I tried to keep my expression neutral. She was right. Part of me did blame her. If, at the carnival Darlene had disappeared from, I’d kept a better eye on the twins, than on the antics of my mother, maybe the family would still be intact.

I didn’t tell her that. I told her the other half of the truth. “I blame myself.”

She shook her head, a sad smile dancing on her lips. “You shouldn’t. It’s his fault.”

“Belgard’s?”

“He gave me the tickets.”

I sucked in a breath. “Kevin Belgard gave you the tickets to the carnival?”

She nodded. Her smile faded. “I should have known.”

“Known what?”

“Not to trust him. Your father was always warning me about him, but…” She trailed off and stared into space as though watching a distant memory. Tears began to drip down her cheeks.

“It’s okay, Mom.” I stood up and wrapped her in a hug. “It wasn’t your fault.”

She went unnaturally still in my arms.

“Mom?”

When she didn’t respond, I released her and leaned back in order to get a better look at her.

When I looked into her eyes she was gone, having disappeared into the dark abyss of her mental illness.

I placed a tender kiss on her forehead. “I love you, Mom,” I whispered, even though I didn’t think she could hear me.

I managed to walk out of her room before my own tears blurred my vision. Eyes closed, I leaned against a wall in the hallway, trying to get control of myself.

Which is why the hand on my shoulder startled me.

“You okay, boss?” a deep voice asked.

I jumped away from Angel Delveccio. “What are you doing?”

He shrugged, stretching the fabric of yet another Navy t-shirt, even tighter across his chest. “Making sure you’re okay?”

“By sneaking up on me?”

He glanced around the hallway that was inhabited by a myriad of patients and staff. “Didn’t realize this was your equivalent of an abandoned street corner in the dead of night.”

Embarrassed, I looked away, muttering, “Sorry.”

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said as way of apology. “You looked upset.” He raised his hand as though he was going to touch my face, before dropping it back to his side as though he’d thought better of it. “You were crying.”

I brushed my cheeks, almost surprised to find they were wet. “It’s nothing.”

“Visits here can be upsetting,” he said carefully.

I nodded. “You’re here to see your cousin?”

He shrugged with one shoulder. “I was, but she’s…” He paused for a moment, choosing his next words carefully. “…in a mood about something.”

I grimaced sympathetically, knowing it was my empty-handed fault that Angelina was in a bad mood. “I’m sorry.”

“I’ll try again tomorrow.” He eyed me carefully for a moment. “I was going to get some of my stuff out of storage to bring to the Bed & Breakfast. Want to join me? It would give us a chance to talk about Katie and your expectations.”

Seeing my hesitation, he added, “Unless you’ve got somewhere else to be.”

I shook my head. “Not for another couple of hours.”

He smiled. “Good. It’ll give us a chance to get to know each other.”

As we walked out of the hospital, I was aware of the curious gaze of a number of nurses. They were probably all thinking they’d like to get to know the handsome man beside me. I couldn’t blame them. I was too.

Chapter Seven

We left my car and took Angel’s truck. I was curious as I climbed inside it to see what it would reveal about the man.

“Do you have a lot to get?” I asked as I glanced around. The interior of the vehicle was clean and fairly nondescript, except for a single strip of white ribbon dangling from the rearview mirror.

“Not much.” He seemed larger in the enclosed space, filling the area with his masculine self. The engine roared to life as he turned the key.

The ribbon seemed incongruously soft and feminine compared with the dark leather interior and the hard-edged owner. Something about the contrast unnerved me, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the strip of white as it swung from side-to-side.

Realizing that he’d noticed me staring at the scrap of fabric, I babbled nervously, “Because you won’t need a TV or towels or anything else a hotel would provide.”

Turning his attention to the road, he lazily swung the steering wheel. “That’s what Susan said.” Then he reached out and tapped the ribbon with a single finger. “Curious about this?”

I could have lied and denied it, but considering how much I was probably going to have to lie to the man, I decided to go with the truth. “Busted.”

He chuckled. “I guess it is unusual to find in a man’s truck.” Reaching out again, he stroked its silky length lovingly.

I stayed silent as it occurred to me that I probably shouldn’t have gotten into a vehicle with a man I barely knew. Sure, he was Delveccio’s nephew, but what if he was a serial killer or something too? My heartbeat sped up, my breathing became shallow, and I briefly considered throwing myself from the truck at the next red light.

Sensing my tension, he glanced over. “You okay?”

I nodded tightly, hoping he wasn’t going to reveal that the ribbon was a trophy he’d claimed from a murder victim.

“Is my driving making you nervous? Because, I assure you, I’m a decent driver.”

“I’m sure you are,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Relax.”

I wondered if that’s what he said right before he strangled all his victims with a length of white ribbon. I could barely breathe.

“Whatever you’re imagining isn’t going to happen,” Angel soothed.

He extended a hand and patted my knee.

A zing of electricity scorched through my body and it took all my self-control to keep from squirming in my seat.

“We’re not going to crash or anything,” he continued calmly.

“I didn’t think we were,” I murmured honestly, no longer concerned I’d die, but worried about how my traitorous body responded to his touch.

“You’re perfectly safe.”

I nodded, even though I didn’t believe him. We drove in silence for a minute. He seemed perfectly relaxed while I was ready to flee at the slightest provocation.