Bad Blood (Lone Star Mobster Book 5) Page 2

  “Cobb said he wasn’t involved, right?” Chase asked.

  “Yeah, but they found her right outside of the Creek.”

  “Which would be one hell of a coincidence. So what do you want to do about it?”

  “I’m thinkin’ about an eye for an eye.” Noah had a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel.

  “What are you talkin’ about?” He’d been anticipating a bloody, old school turf-war, not some kind of a gritty payback.

  “Tucker Cobb’s daughter is dead and gone, but he has a granddaughter, Mary Cobb. From what I remember, she’s around your sister’s age when she disappeared, or maybe a bit older.”

  Fuck that.

  His father must have lost his damn mind.

  “You’re talking about hurtin’ an innocent woman.” Chase had his own code, of sorts. He might be a mobster, but he drew the line at women and children. Full-grown men didn’t get the same consideration. They’d, at least, signed up for the fight, and knew they’d stepped into the crossfire.

  “Fine, if you want to be a Boy Scout about it, we don’t have to kill her. What if we just take her?”

  “And do what? Get a felony conviction for abducting somebody? No thanks.” Eventually, they’d have to set her free and Mary would pick them out of a lineup.

  “Cobb won’t let his granddaughter go to the police.”

  “Maybe not, but I ain’t willin’ to risk it.”

  Truthfully, Chase was sick of this life, tired of the body count, weary beyond his years. And he didn’t have much choice in the matter, not anymore. Once he’d taken the oath and joined the family business, he couldn’t back out.

  “He doesn’t want the FBI involved, any more than we do, and we ain’t gotta touch a hair on her pretty little head.”

  “Then what’s the point?”

  “Let’s make Cobb sweat this one out and then we’ll take another run at him.”

  “You think he’ll confess to Faith’s murder?”

  “Maybe he’ll volunteer to take Mary’s place.”

  So Noah could kill him instead?

  “Why don’t we take this fight to Cobb in the first place?” Chase would rather deal with the man who was responsible.

  Noah snorted. “And start a full-scale war?”

  “I didn’t say it was a great option.” But it would be more honorable.

  “You weren’t around for the last one, son, so you don’t know the true cost. We have to make him pay, but I’m too old for a scorched earth kind of battle.”

  “And you ain’t got somethin’ else up your sleeve?” Chase had no love for the Cobbs, but he wouldn’t hold her responsible for her granddad’s sins.

  Noah was a man of half-truths and Machiavellian schemes. He doubted he’d ever had a frank conversation with his father. Even before he’d found out Noah was a mobster, Chase knew he was underhanded and self-serving.

  What do you expect from a wolf? They prey on other people and don’t give a damn about the consequences.

  “No. I ain’t some heartless bastard like Cobb.”

  Yeah, right. Noah was callous and cruel, too.

  Chase shook his head. “I think you’re off your rocker.”

  “What I am, is the underboss of this outfit and what I say, goes, or have you forgotten your place?”

  He gritted his teeth.

  Noah was right, Chase didn’t have much choice but to go along with this insanity. Either that or end up with a bullet in his head for insubordination.

  “No, I haven’t. What’s the plan?”

  “Listen up, and I’ll lay it out for you.”

  Chapter One

  Crimson Creek, Texas, months later…

  “You got everything?” Tucker Cobb asked.

  “Yup, because I don’t have an extra square inch of space.”

  Mary Cobb scrutinized her car. The back end was nearly on the ground, and she’d had to sit on the trunk to close the darn thing. Her first semester of medical school started at the beginning of next week, and she had a long drive ahead of her.

  It was only five in the morning, and the sun hadn’t risen yet. Mary also hadn’t had a cup of coffee, so she was barely coherent. It was January 3rd, and the temperature hovered around forty degrees due to a sudden cold snap.

  “I’m so damn proud of you.” Her grandfather squeezed her tight. Tucker was in his late sixties with gray hair, blue eyes, and he had a thin build.

  “Thanks, Granddad.”

  They stood in the parking lot, outside of his Tuscan-style mansion. It was ostentatious, even by Texas standards. With the nude classical statuary, huge fountains, and over-the-top marble staircase, it reminded Mary of a Roman emperor’s palace, although she’d grown up here. Tucker had a taste for the theatrical and audacious, so it suited him.

  After her parents died, Tucker had taken Mary in and raised her. For all intents and purposes, he was her father. She’d come to live with him as a small child, and she only had a few memories of her parents.

  “Not only are you the first Cobb to earn a degree, but you're also the first to go to graduate school.” Her academic achievements were a source of pride and Mary did her best never to disappoint Tucker. “I wish we’d had time to see the carnival before you left.”

  “Me too.” Mary loved circuses and carnivals. It was the last happy memory she had of her parents. Before they died, they’d taken her to the circus, and she remembered almost every moment of the night. Her parents had even met at the carnival, so maybe Mary was predisposed to like them. Maybe it was genetic.

  “Before I forget, here’s some mad money.”

  It was his term for cash spent on fun, rather than practical items. For as long as she could remember, he’d been giving her a twenty here or there whenever she went out with her friends. Only this time, Tucker handed her five-hundred dollars.

  “No, it’s too much.”

  She tried to give him three of the bills back, but he wouldn’t take the cash. He’d always been very generous. Last night, he’d thrown a going away party for her, and she’d gotten a pile of presents, including a stethoscope and a fancy pants version of Gray’s Anatomy, a quintessential medical text.

  “Nonsense. Get some takeout, or go to a movie or buy some new duds. Hell, go nuts and do all three. I know you’ll spend most of your time studying, so I want you to enjoy yourself before school starts. You hear?”

  “Yes, sir.” She fired off a mock salute and tucked the bills into her purse.

  Mary didn’t know what her grandfather really did for a living, but they lived an upper-class existence. He owned an expensive home and Tucker had been able to afford a private school education as well as pay cash for her college tuition. He was also footing the bill for medical school, and Harvard didn’t come cheap. Whenever she asked Tucker about his career, he evaded the question, which only made her more curious.

  “Keep your phone with you and check in with me every night.”

  “I will.”

  It was a thirty-hour drive, and Mary figured it would take her three and a half days to make it to Boston. She’d rented a small one bedroom apartment near the university. Mary had stayed on campus all four years during undergrad, and she was grateful to get off campus for a change. Although, the apartment complex advertised to students and Mary figured there would be a lot of future lawyers and doctors in the building, too.

  “Before you go, we gotta talk about your safety.”

  Mary groaned.

  She should’ve started in August, but Mary had to delay classes until January due to a near abduction. A man had tried to grab her and throw her into his van a few months ago. Then right before she’d been due to start college last semester, yet another attempt was made. This time the man had almost snatched her from a grocery store late at night and tried to put her in the trunk of his car.

  Since then, Tucker had kept her under constant guard, which was nothing new. She’d grown up in a gated house with other safety measures like a personal bodyg
uard who’d stayed with her when her granddad was away for the evening, instead of a babysitter.

  “I’ve arranged for a security firm to watch you while you’re away.”

  “I appreciate it, but maybe they’ve given up?”

  A while back, Tucker had even hired Justice, a biker, to watch over her. Justice had found someone outside the beauty shop stalking her, but hadn’t gotten any information from the man. Since the grocery store attempt, there hadn’t been any incidents, which had been nearly three months ago.

  “Could be, but I ain’t willing to take the chance, not when it comes to you. You’re the most precious thing in the world to me. You know that, don’t you?” He tilted his head to the side.

  “Yes, and I feel the same way about you.” It had been just the two of them for years since her grandmother had died, and they’d grown very close.

  Mary was acutely aware of the passage of time. Her granddad would be sixty-eight years old in a few weeks. He was in excellent health, but he was getting up there in age, and when he passed, she’d be all alone.

  “Excellent, it’s all settled then. The contract doesn’t start until the first day of school. In the meantime, Ten is staying with you.”

  Tennessee Ross worked for her granddad in some unknown capacity. He was a handsome man, if strange. He stood well over six feet tall with a long, lean build. Ten had thick, dark hair and sported a pair of sunglasses—indoors, even at night, which was weird. Like the rest of the men employed by her grandfather, he wore an expensive suit, though Ten had scruffy hair covering his chin and cheeks, which made the look incongruous.

  Mary couldn’t put her finger on why, but something about the man freaked her out. He just wasn’t right and the thought of spending a few days in his company gave her a major case of the willies.

  “Yeah, I remember.” Mary managed a smile, but it was difficult. “Are you sure Jasper can’t make it?” Jasper Tan had protected her for years, and they’d gotten used to each other.

  “Sorry, but he’s working on something important, so you’ll have to make do.”

  “Workin’ on what?” Her accent came and went since she’d spent a lot of time out of the state. Besides, snobby Ivy Leaguers liked to tease her about the “southern fried” accent and she’d been working on it.

  He chuckled, but there was an edge to the laughter. “Why? Are you writing a book?”

  “What if I am?”

  “Then leave that chapter out.” Tucker raised his steely gray brows.

  Lately, she’d been pressing him for details, and he’d lost all patience with her on the subject. Whatever her grandfather was hiding, she’d have to find out for herself. Frankly, with school starting, Mary didn’t have time to solve the mystery.

  “And while you’re in medical school, I want you to keep your eyes peeled.”

  “For what?”

  “You might meet an eligible young man, one who shares your professional interests.”

  She groaned. “Granddad, I’m not getting a Mrs. I want an MD after my name.” In Tucker’s day, women had gone to college to meet men who had exceptional prospects. Hence, the term getting a Mrs.

  “Still, I want you to be open to the possibility. You deserve to be with a driven young man, like yourself. Just make sure he doesn’t get in the way of your goals.”

  Like anyone ever could.

  She’d been practicing her bedside manner since she’d done imaginary exams on her teddy bears as a kid. Mary had bandaged their make-believe wounds and created her own mini-hospital in her room with baby beds.

  “Ready to go?” Ten asked as he walked up to them. He’d poured some coffee into a pair of travel mugs.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be.” She took the stainless steel mug he handed her. Mary resisted the urge to open the thing up and sniff the liquid to make sure he hadn’t put something in it.

  “Then we should head out, we’ve got a long ride ahead of us.”

  “You’re right.” She planned on driving five-hundred miles today.

  “Take care of my granddaughter, or you’ll answer to me.” Tucker fixed Ten with a scowl.

  “No harm will come to her on my watch.” Ten’s expression was so fierce it sent a shiver up her spine.

  “Drive safe.” Tucker kissed her forehead, and she hugged him tight one last time, before breaking the embrace. Tears stung her eyes, and she blinked them away.

  She couldn’t help but feel like this was a demarcation, the line between the end of her childhood and the beginning of her professional, adult life. There was no going back, even if she wanted to stop the clock.

  She climbed behind the wheel, and Tucker stepped out of the way.

  Mary took one last, longing look at the place where she’d grown up and then pulled out of the driveway.

  Hello, adulthood.

  Chapter Two

  I hate driving.

  They’d been traveling for three days, breaking for meals and to sleep at night, in separate hotel rooms, of course. Mary was eager to get the journey over with, so she could unpack and settle in before classes started.

  Tomorrow afternoon, they’d arrive in Boston. Right now, they were in the middle of Nowhere, Pennsylvania. They’d been on the turnpike for hours, and every mile looked like the last. At least in Texas, there had been interesting scenery.

  They’d stopped at a buffet across the street from a hotel. While she appreciated Ten’s protection, he was getting on her nerves. He’d picked a table in the corner of the restaurant, with his back to the wall, and he surveyed the customers, eyeing everyone suspiciously.

  They’d both ordered soup and salad for dinner, and the food was decent.

  What’s the old quote? Hunger is the best sauce?

  They’d gotten a sandwich for lunch, but she’d only finished half of it, so she’d made two trips to the salad bar.

  “How’s your soup?” Mary asked.

  “Fine.”

  He was a man of few words, the very definition of the strong silent type. Sure, she and Jasper had joked about Ten’s creep factor, but his eccentricity intensified on a road trip.

  They hadn’t said more than a few dozen words since the trip began, although it didn’t seem to bother him.

  “So, how’s the winery?” Mary was desperate for conversation. She wished Jasper had come with her for the thousandth time. The two of them would’ve laughed and talked the entire time.

  “Fine, I checked in with the employees yesterday.” In addition to his mystery employment, Ten owned the local winery and bistro in town, Poison Fruit.

  “Oh, great.” All of their conversations were this stilted. “Ever been to Boston?”

  “Yes, a long time ago.” Although, he didn’t elaborate further.

  “And how was it?” she asked, prompting him for more details.

  Ten thought about it a moment, and the awkward silence stretched between them.

  “Cold.”

  Excellent. Very informative.

  And then he fixated on something or someone over her shoulder and his brow furrowed.

  “Is anything wrong?”

  “No.” Ten glanced at her, but he seemed distracted. “Why don’t you use the restroom? I’ll pay the bill and take care of a couple things.”

  “What kind of things?”

  Instead of answering her, he stood and walked across the room to gaze out the window.

  Was somebody following them?

  A chill rippled down her spine.

  Mary was sick and tired of being stalked. And wished everyone would stop treating her like a child, and let her in on the big secret, whatever it was.

  Since she didn’t have much choice in the matter, she went to the bathroom and washed her hands. There was a text from her grandfather, asking how she was. Mary had taught him how to text, although he still had difficulty using the “newfangled” smartphone she’d had given him for Christmas.

  How are you doing?

  Fine, we stopped for dinner. Mary te
xted back.

  His reply took five years to come. I hope Ten’s looking out for you.

  Yes, he’s kept an eye on me. Actually, his demeanor reminded her of the old book, 1984, and Ten was playing the part of Big Brother.

  Glad to hear it, but I have to go. I have an appointment to keep. Call me tomorrow.

  Will do. Love you.

  Love you, too, honey.

  When Mary left the bathroom, Ten was still pacing by the windows like a caged panther, so Mary wandered into the small gift shop near the register.

  There were a lot of Pennsylvania-themed items like mugs, t-shirts, and postcards. And then she noticed a tall, thin man was staring at her. If he were twenty years younger, Mary would consider him attractive.

  "Going on a trip?" he asked.

  "Yes, I'm headin’ to Boston." Mary smiled politely and continued scanning the postcards.

  "What's in Boston?"

  "Harvard." Mary wasn't in the habit of talking to strangers, but it was refreshing to have an actual chat with someone.

  "My, my, we have a scholar in our midst. What are you studying?"

  "Medicine."

  "An excellent field. I've heard there's a lot of job growth in the industry."

  Mary had heard the same thing, especially with an aging population of baby boomers. According to the guidance counselor at her prep school, she was guaranteed a job, but it wasn't the reason she’d chosen medicine. Quite simply, Mary couldn't do anything else.

  "So I’ve heard. What line of work are you in?" Mary asked.

  "Law enforcement."

  “Are you a police officer?”

  “No, I work for the FBI.”

  “Wow.”

  Her granddad didn't have much respect for law enforcement. Over the years, she'd heard him make negative comments about the FBI when they were watching the news.

  Mary loved a good police procedural show, and she was very polite to Crimson Creek’s police officers, even though they only had a couple.

  "It pays the bills.” He shrugged. “I used to have a friend who worked in medicine."

  "Oh yeah?"

  "Yes, she was a nurse."

  "Funny, my mother was a nurse, too." Mary had always wondered if her interest in medicine was genetic, or maybe she was trying to connect with her parents in other ways, like her love for carnivals and circuses.