Jason (Blue Halo Book 2)

Courtney was still smiling as she walked up the stairs to her apartment. Now she really had something to talk to Grace about. Not a small kiss on the cheek, or a heated breath near her ear. No. Now she could tell Grace that she’d kissed the man smack-dab on the lips.

She absently touched her necklace. And Lord, but she could have sworn she’d been about to combust right there and then.

Courtney had almost reached her floor when the cell in her pocket started to vibrate. Tugging it out, she looked at the screen, almost groaning out loud when she saw who it was.

Helen. She’d asked her neighbor to pop over and feed Eddie while she was away tomorrow night, and the woman hadn’t stopped calling since. Literally, a call an hour. About Eddie’s food, did he require pats, medication… it was endless.

She pressed the phone to her ear. “Hi, Helen.”

“Courtney. Where are you?”

Why was the woman whispering? “I’m just walking up the stairs. Is everything okay?”

Courtney stepped onto her floor.

“There are men in suits outside your apartment.”

She stopped when she saw them. Her apartment was halfway down the hall. Three men. All looking equally serious.

“I’m here. Thank you for the warning.”

Helen huffed. “I don’t like strangers standing in our hall. Who are they?”

She rolled her eyes. Trust the older woman to be dramatic. “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”

She hung up before her neighbor could say anything else, tucking her phone into her pocket and only stopping when she neared the men.

“Courtney Davies?” It was a blond man who spoke. He stood an inch taller than the other two and had an air of authority about him.

“Yes.”

He reached out his hand. The guy wasn’t as big as Jason, but he was still tall at probably a bit over six feet. Courtney slipped her hand into his larger one.

“I’m Special Agent David Peters from the FBI, and these are two of my guys.” His hand released hers, slipping into his pocket and pulling out a badge that looked all kinds of official. “Do you have a few minutes? I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

The FBI? Sweet mother of God. Even though he’d said her name, this had to be a case of mistaken identity. Was there another Courtney Davies close by? Because she certainly couldn’t be involved in any criminal activity. That was what the FBI did, wasn’t it?

“Err, what is this in regard to?”

“Could we talk inside your apartment, Miss Davies? What I have to talk to you about is classified.”

She shot a quick glance at her door, trepidation crawling up her spine.

It wasn’t that she didn’t think he was the real deal—he probably was. But IDs could be faked, couldn’t they? And her trust in people was running a bit low these days after the freezer fiasco.

“There’s a couch downstairs.” A small couch to one side of the large foyer, but it was better than her apartment or the hallway. “Do you mind if we go there instead? It’s private.”

“That’s fine.”

She gave a small nod, turning and heading back down the stairs. Her spine was ramrod straight and the back of her neck tingled from the guys walking behind her.

When they reached the seating area, he sat first, looking ridiculously official.

“Isn’t it a bit late for a house call?” she asked, lowering beside him while trying and failing not to fiddle with her phone in her lap. She’d pulled it out as they headed down the stairs, feeling safer with it between her fingers.

“We know the hours of your business. We timed our visit according to your schedule.”

That wasn’t creepy at all. “What is this about?”

The agent didn’t break eye contact. “I’ll get right to it, Miss Davies. The FBI has been monitoring an Italian Mafia organization called the Bonvicin Family for a while now. They’re based in Philadelphia. Six months ago, the head of the organization died, and we’ve been trying to establish who the new boss is ever since.”

A Mafia group? So, yep. Wrong person. There was no two ways about it.

“Establishing who the boss is, and learning the complex layers of their business, will ultimately help us set up a sting to bring them down,” he continued.

“Okay.”

“Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve tracked a few of the members to Cradle Mountain.”

Her jaw dropped.

The agent studied her closely, his eyes penetrating. Searching. “During surveillance, we’ve seen them in or around The Grind on numerous occasions.”

A chill skittered up her spine. Still, she just nodded, as if what he said made sense when really it didn’t.

“We decided to look into you and your employees, looking for any connection between any of you and the Bonvicin family. And we found something interesting.”

Oh, Lord, did she even want to know?

No. No, she didn’t. Not when he said it like he had information that would have her cuffed and put away within minutes.

“Do you know a Ryan Calo, Miss Davies?”

Her eyes widened, a trickle of unease crawling up her spine. Ryan Calo, as in…

“We believe Calo was dating and living with your cousin, a Jessica Quinton, two years ago, prior to her death.”

Even though shock and confusion coursed through her body, her heart still ached at the mention of Jess being dead.

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, how does Ryan fit into this?”

“Two years ago, Calo was being inducted into the family before he was murdered.”

She gasped. First of all, she hadn’t known Ryan was dead, let alone murdered. And second of all… “You mean while he was with Jess? He was being inducted into the Mafia while he was with my cousin?” No. That didn’t make sense. Jessica would never be with a man who was part of the mob or hoping to become part of the mob.

“Yes.” Peters didn’t hesitate or flinch when he answered. “Did Jessica ever talk to you about their involvement with the Bonvicin family?”

Their? “No. Jessica would never involve herself in criminal activity.” No way. No how. “She was a nurse, living and working in Virginia. She was kind and empathetic and generous in nature. People connected to the Mafia aren’t those things.”

They were cruel and sadistic and lived in multi-million-dollar penthouse apartments and had collections of guns and knives, didn’t they? Hit men at their beck and call…

“Even if she wasn’t involved with the group, Ryan certainly was. I have little doubt she would have known about it. She didn’t mention anything to you? We have it on record that she flew from Virginia to Florida a couple of times while she lived with Calo. Once for your birthday, another time for your grandmother’s funeral.”

Her throat closed at the reminder. Their grandmother had basically been Jessica’s mother, raising her after her own parents had died when she was a baby. “She didn’t mention anything about a Mafia group.”

“Was she acting any differently on those visits?”

Courtney tried not to squirm in her seat. If she was honest with herself, she didn’t like to think about the year before Jessica died.

“She was a bit different after she started dating Ryan.” Because Ryan was an ass. “More closed off and reserved. I never got a good feeling around him. After they started dating, her phone calls became less frequent. And when I did see her, she just… smiled less.” She ran her thumb over the edge of her phone. “At first, I put it down to the death of our grandmother. Then the last time I saw her, there were, um, bruises on her arms. I tried to ask about them but she didn’t want to discuss it.”

In fact, she’d threatened to leave that night, any time Courtney brought up the bruises.

Courtney swallowed. “How… how did he die?”

“A few months after Jessica’s death, his body was found floating in James River in Virginia, with a bullet wound to the head and obvious signs of abuse.”

Her breath thudded to a stop in her throat. A bullet to the head? “What kind of abuse?”

“He’d been tortured, Miss Davies.”

The fine hairs on her arms stood on end. She was pretty sure she was close to experiencing a brain overload. Mafia. Murder. Torture. Those were words that belonged in Hollywood movies.

“You think these Mafia people killed him?” she asked quietly.

“Yes. We now believe so.”

“Do you think they killed her?” Courtney was told it was a home invasion and Jessica had been beaten to death. But maybe…

“It’s possible.”

That’s all he said—possible. It made her heart ache.

“Miss Davies, do you have any idea why the Bonvicin family may be in Cradle Mountain right now?”

“No.” That was probably the quickest she’d ever answered any question in her life. “I’d never heard of them before you got here. I don’t think they’re here for me though. I’m not connected to them at all. Jessica and Ryan are dead…”

No. It was one big fat coincidence, and she was sticking to that assumption.

She wasn’t sure if he believed her, but he gave a small nod and stood. Pulling a card from his pocket, he told her, “If anything comes back to you, I would love for you to give me a call. In the meantime, I’ll have some of my guys patrolling your shop and the apartment building.”

She nodded as she stood and took the card. “I’m going away this weekend, so you don’t need anyone on until Monday.”

“Are you going with anyone?”

“Some friends from Blue Halo Security. I’ll be safe with them.”

He dipped his head, clearly already knowing who she was talking about. He was about to walk away when she stopped him with a final question.

“Do you know why they would have killed Ryan?”

When his gaze returned to Courtney’s, his eyes were harder. “The Mafia needs very little reason to kill someone. One screw-up and you’re gone. We don’t know what Ryan’s screw-up was, but it wouldn’t have taken much.”

She swallowed in an attempt to wet her dry throat.

“Thank you for your time, Miss Davies.”

And then they were gone, disappearing out the door and into the early evening, leaving Courtney standing there, no doubt looking as confused as she felt.

Thoughts ran wild through her head as she made her way back up the stairs. Had Jessica known about Ryan’s activities? If so, why had she stayed with him? Could Courtney have helped her?

When she returned to her apartment, Helen stepped into the hall. The woman was mid-seventies, with graying hair and lines wrinkling her face. Her dog, Bernie, was in her arms. “Everything okay?”

Was it? She’d just found out her late cousin and best friend had been dating a guy who was in bed with the Mafia.

“Everything’s fine, Helen.” Not really, but she wasn’t about to tell the entire morbid story to the old woman. She’d probably have a heart attack.

She opened her door, but before she could close it, she heard Helen’s quick footsteps nearing. “Are you expecting any more visitors like them?”

Good God, she hoped not. There was only so much Mafia talk she could take before her brain exploded. “No.”

The older woman watched her for a beat before nodding and turning back to her apartment.

The second Courtney’s door was closed, she pressed her forehead against the wood.

Oh, Jessica, what did you get yourself into?