Worth Dying For (15 page)

A small fireplace sat directly in the middle. To the left of the doorway and surrounded by dark leather, wing-backed chairs sat a huge desk. The computer sitting on the edge got Rheyna’s attention. She was standing in the doorway of Anthony Castrucci’s office. Caroline’s description of the room was perfect.

“It’s the worst room in the house,” Caroline said, pulling the door closed.

“Definitely not my favorite,” Rheyna agreed.

They turned to see Terasa coming toward them. “I just finished giving Rheyna the five-cent tour,” Caroline volunteered.

Terasa smiled warmly. “Good. I hope she got her money’s worth. I’m getting ready to turn in and wanted to tell you girls good night.”

Caroline walked up to Terasa and hugged her. “Good night, Mom.”

Rheyna smiled at Terasa. “Good night, Mrs. Castru—” Terasa wagged her finger at Rheyna. “I mean Terasa, and thank you for dinner,” Rheyna corrected.

“You are most certainly welcome Rheyna, and you will have to come again soon.” Terasa turned to leave and stopped. “I left the proofs in the folder by the door and I circled the ones I would like, along with sizes, and quantities.”

“I'll get those done as soon as possible and give you a call.”

“Or you can just bring them by the next time you and Caroline get together,” she said over her shoulder before disappearing down the hallway.

Caroline turned back to Rheyna. “Would you like something to drink?”

“I would love it, but I need to check on Annie first. She’s been awfully quiet.”

“You go check on her and I’ll get those drinks.”

Rheyna felt her heart rate quicken as the first surge of adrenaline pumped through her veins.
If she catches me now, it’s all over
, she thought. She glanced back out into the hallway and waited for Caroline to disappear from view. She made her way toward Castrucci’s office. She turned the knob and pushed the door open, grateful that it didn’t squeak. She walked over to the desk, pulled the ballpoint pen from her pocket, and mixed it in with the assortment of pens and pencils sitting next to the computer. To the untrained eye, it was just another fully functioning ink pen with blue ink, and she hoped it would just blend in with the others.

She made her way out the door and had just stepped into the dining room when Caroline appeared with their drinks. She felt another rush of adrenaline mixed with relief when Caroline smiled and held the glass out to her.

“I guess I should drink this and get Annie home,” she said, taking the glass that Caroline offered, downing the contents in one large swallow to calm her nerves.

Caroline laughed, her eyebrows rising slightly. “Wow, I guess you really were thirsty.”

Rheyna smiled. “I guess I was.”

“Sure you don’t wanna hang around and watch a movie?” Caroline asked.

Oh, she wanted to, all right. More than anything, she wanted to hang out with Caroline, but she needed to check in with Laura and bring her up to speed. As much as she didn’t want to say it, she did. “Can I have a rain check?” she asked.

“Sure, we can do it some other time.”

Rheyna could see that Caroline was disappointed. She needed to get close to Caroline, but she needed time to get her game plan together first. The unexpected attraction she was feeling for Caroline was complicating things. She needed time to think, and being around Caroline made it practically impossible. For crying out loud, she was an FBI agent. She was trained to get close to people without getting emotionally attached to them. She would just have to force herself to stay detached, and she needed to not waste any more time. Time was of the essence and not a luxury she could afford to squander away.

This was her opening, and she needed to make the most of it. She wasn’t sure if it was her heart or head doing the reasoning when she smiled at Caroline. “How about you come over to my house tomorrow night for dinner and a movie instead?”

Caroline’s lips curved into a smile. “What do you want me to bring?” she asked.

“The movie,” Rheyna said, and then snapped the leash onto Annie’s harness.

Caroline walked Rheyna to the foyer. She was halfway out the door when Caroline grabbed her arm. Caroline picked up the manila envelope off the entryway table and handed it to her.

“Can’t forget these now, can I? I’ll see you tomorrow around six,” Rheyna said, and then disappeared out the door.

She was on cloud nine as she drove home. The little voice inside her head was trying to convince her that it had nothing to do with Caroline and everything to do with the operation. Her heart was saying that it was the adrenaline speaking, but her brain knew better.
 

After getting Annie settled in, she did what she did every night—she took her cell phone out on the deck and called Laura. She was surprised how quickly the sound of Laura’s voice brought reality crashing back.

“Artie followed Castrucci to the Lucchese estate in Newark. Castrucci was there for over two-hours and just left a few minutes ago. We also have surveillance tapes that picked up a conversation between Sonny Valachi and Thomas Grimaldi. They talked about major changes coming in the family.”

“Did they say what kind of changes?” Rheyna asked.

“No. They stopped short, but we think it’s because they’re all a little worried about being recorded. However, Edwards and Stevens are pretty sure that it’s connected with Castrucci’s meeting in Newark.”

“Well, on a good note, I was able to get one of the bugs planted in Castrucci’s office tonight. ID two-six-four Victor. ”

“That’s great. I’ll be sure to let Edwards know.”

Rheyna thought about dinner at the Castrucci estate and the dinner date she now had planned for tomorrow with Caroline. She voiced her thoughts out loud to Laura. “The more I think about my plan regarding Caroline, the more I’m convinced that she’s the way to go. Caroline is the key to me being on the inside.”

“You be careful and don’t forget for one minute that Castrucci’s a very dangerous man.”

She could hear the concern in Laura’s voice and spent the next couple of minutes trying to reassure her. “With the way things are progressing, I’m not sure when I’ll make my next call to you.”

“All right, but no longer than forty-eight hours between contact, understand?”

Rheyna smiled. “Okay, Mom, got it.”

She thought she heard Laura chuckle just before she hung up. She went back inside and sat on the couch beside Annie and propped her feet up on the coffee table. She opened the envelope containing the Castrucci photos and sorted through the proofs. She pulled out the ones that Terasa had chosen. The family was definitely photogenic, and the pictures had turned out very well. She looked at the photos with a sense of pride.

She held up one of Caroline by herself. After all these years, she still had it. She felt a tinge of guilt for wondering again how it would feel to kiss her mouth. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. She was like two different people. It wasn’t like her to have such sensuous thoughts for anyone, let alone someone she had only known for a short amount of time. No matter how she tried, she just couldn’t shake it. She honestly hadn’t thought about kissing any woman since Jenny.

The betrayal hit her in the gut like a boulder. Her guilt only worsened when she admitted she hadn’t thought about Jenny very much since meeting Caroline. She pushed the thoughts aside, telling herself that nothing was going to happen between her and Caroline because she wouldn’t let it. Caroline was off limits for two reasons: the first being, she was a very important piece in a much larger picture; and the second was that, in all likelihood, Caroline was straight.

Chapter 10

Ron Astor set the vase of red roses on the windowsill and rearranged the small stalks of baby’s breath. He glanced over at Lynn, his arms covered with purplish red-blotched lesions. Lynn’s eyes fluttered open.

“Hi, gorgeous,” Ron said as he slid one of the chairs over next to the hospital bed.

Lynn’s voice was raspy and weak. “Hi yourself, handsome,” he said and picked up the rag sheet covering his chest and laid it on the bedside table. His thin fingers grasped at the oxygen mask covering his face.

“Here, let me help you,” Ron said, pulling the mask off. He nodded at the trash rag. “You know those things are gonna rot your brain.”

“I don’t have enough time for that to happen.”

Ron covered Lynn’s hand with his own, taking care to avoid the IV line. “Did you see Dr. Lane this morning?” he asked, purposely ignoring Lynn’s comment.

“Two hours ago.”

“What did he say?”

“He said my T4’s are in the basement and that I’m not doing too well.”

“How far in the basement?”
 

“White-counts at one-eighty.”

As soon as he heard the number, Ron felt a horrible pit in his stomach. He laid his head across Lynn’s stomach.

Lynn reached up and stroked the back of his neck. “It’s okay, hon. I feel fine, despite those dumb old tests that say I shouldn’t.”

Ron tried to keep the anguish out of voice. “I don’t wanna lose you. I’m just not ready to say goodbye.”

Lynn used his thumb to wipe away the tears running down Ron’s cheek. He caressed Ron’s face with his hand. He said the words, knowing it was the last thing Ron wanted to hear: “I know, sweetheart, but you have to let me go.”

“I … I don’t know … I don’t know if I can do this,” Ron choked through tears.

“I’ve made my peace, Ron, and I’ll be fine, but I can’t do this without knowing that you’ll be okay.” He tilted Ron’s face so he could look at him. “I need you to tell me that you’re okay.”

Ron shook his head. “But I’m not okay.”

“Sweetheart, you have your whole life ahead of you, and I want you to live it as if you didn’t.”

Ron’s lip quivered. “We were supposed to live it together. We were supposed to grow old together.”

“Come up here with me,” Lynn said, pulling Ron closer. “Just lay here with me for awhile.”

Ron snuggled next to Lynn and laid his head on his chest. Lynn rubbed Ron’s shoulders. “Shh, everything’s gonna be okay,” he whispered.

“I’m the one who’s supposed to be comforting you, not the other way around.” Try as he might, Ron couldn’t stop the tears from spilling down his cheeks. He closed his eyes for a few minutes, hoping against hope that when he opened them, everything would be as it used to be.
 

Ron woke up to the sound of coughing. He must have dozed off. It took a few seconds for him to realize where he was. He slid off the bed and helped Lynn sit up. He grabbed the pitcher and poured a glass of water. He held the glass to Lynn’s mouth. “Easy, just take small sips. You need to put this back on,” he said, sliding the oxygen mask back over Lynn’s head.

He looked at the frail man lying in the bed and it made his heart hurt. He thought about the strong, virile man who had once been a professional baseball player at six-foot-two, 230 pounds. Back then, Lynn had been full of life, but now, he was just a man who had been reduced to a ninety-pound shell of his former self.