Dead to the World (Cold Case Psychic Book 10) Page 11

  Climbing the stairs, he heard the click of tiny nails on the hardwood floor. He looked to see Dixie behind him. Her usual doggie grin was nowhere to be found. “I miss Daddy Ronan too, pixie girl.”

  She whimpered at the mention of Ronan’s name. When Ronan had left the house last night, she’d sat at the front door howling after him. It hadn’t been a pretty sight.

  Tennyson was about to scoop her up when the doorbell rang.

  Dixie let out a happy bark. She bounced down the stairs and sat at the door wagging her tail, just like she always did when Ronan came home.

  Ten frowned at the door. Why would Ronan ring the bell? Why wouldn’t he just use his key? Probably because he has his suitcase and computer bag. Ten jogged down the stairs and keyed the code to the alarm and pulled the door open. “Ronan!”

  The word died on his lips. It wasn’t Ronan on the doorstep. It was one of Dragonni’s men pointing a gun in his face. Ten recognized him from that night on the Boston Common when Tony Abruzzi was shot. He’d been one of the men holding an automatic weapon on him.

  “Guess again, asshole.” He stuck a handgun in Ten’s face.

  Dixie started barking her head off. She was growling and charging at the man at the door.

  “You’re coming with me. Make one wrong move and I’m capping the little bitch, hear me?” The barrel of the gun was inches from Tennyson’s face.

  Ten froze. He didn’t know what to do. “I’m not wearing shoes,” he said lamely. What he needed was more time to think. He needed to grab his phone and somehow get a message to Ronan. For all the good that would do him. Ronan might not even come to his rescue.

  “Grab the ones on the mat and let’s get moving. I ain’t got all day.” The goon motioned his gun toward the shoes.

  Slipping on his loafers, Ten knew there was no way he could make it to the kitchen to get his phone. The only thing he could do now was try to reach out to Carson with his gift. He broadcasted his S.O.S signal at full blast and prayed that his friend picked it up.

  The mobster gave Tennyson’s shoulder a shove. “Out now. Do not make me shoot you. My boss will be pissed.”

  “Your boss is in jail.” Ten gave one last look to Dixie who was still barking her head off. He hoped she’d be able to give some clue to Ronan if he came home. The chances of that seemed slim. Ten noticed last night he’d taken the large suitcase.

  The goon started to laugh. “Down the stairs.” He grabbed Tennyson’s elbow and pulled the door part way closed. He started to march Ten down the stairs.

  “The door isn’t closed the whole way.” Ten looked back. He could see Dixie’s nose in the crack of the door jamb.

  “Get in the car.” The goon shoved Tennyson against the back passenger window of the black Cadillac.

  “Where are you taking me?” Ten crossed his arms over his chest.

  The man slammed the butt of the gun against the side of Ten’s face, making him slump against the side of the car. Ten gave up trying to fight. He got into the back of the black Cadillac where another man with a gun was waiting for them. Ten recognized him as one of the men who’d been at the meeting with Dragonni with the briefcase bombs. As the engine fired to life and the car pulled away from the curb, Ten kept sending out his own personal Bat Signal, praying someone heard him.

  21

  Ronan

  Stumbling down Jude’s stairs with his suitcase in tow, Ronan was in a bear of a mood. He hadn’t slept at all. The bed had been comfortable, but it wasn’t his own. Dixie wasn’t across the room snoring like a hobo riding the rails, and the bed didn’t smell like Tennyson. It smelled like flowers. Lavender, he thought.

  “Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Jude said through a mouthful of crunchy cereal.

  “What the hell are you doing up? Shouldn’t you still be sleeping?” Ronan wasn’t in the mood for his snark. The bastard was grinning like a fool and looked like he had some fucking pearl of wisdom to drop on him. That was likely to get him throat-punched this morning.

  “I have to pick up Cope in half an hour. We have a ghost to interview this morning.” Jude’s smile lit up the room.

  Ronan opened his mouth, a bitchy comment in hand, ready to go, but he didn’t use it. He shut his mouth and took a seat at the dining room table. Even though his life was going to shit around him, he could clearly see that Jude was happy. “You like this new gig.”

  “It sure the hell beats trailing after cheating husbands and assholes faking disability claims.” Jude laughed. “Cope is good at what he does. This partnership is still fledgling but we understand each other. The job is fascinating and the people we meet have interesting stories to tell. Not to mention the spirits.”

  Ronan liked hearing how happy Jude was in his new job. As far as things were going with Copeland, what he said was all he was going to get out of Jude. Ronan knew how reluctant he was to talk about himself. Seeing the smile on his friend’s face was good enough for him.

  “I see you lugged your suitcase downstairs. Does that mean your going home where you belong or does The Ronan O’Mara Dumbass Tour continues to another friend’s house for the night?” Jude shot him a pointed look.

  “Why are we friends?” Ronan tried to hide the small smile quirking his lips. “I didn’t sleep at all last night without Dixie snoring.”

  “Uh, huh,” Jude deadpanned. “I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact that you were alone in a strange house, in a strange bed, without your husband.”

  “Okay, I’m leaving.” Ronan stood up from the table. Jude’s dart had hit the bullseye dead center. He needed to get home and talk to Tennyson. Standing here bantering with Jude wasn’t getting him anywhere. Now that he wasn’t so damned pissed off, he wanted to try to understand where his husband had been coming from and why he’d made the choices he’d made.

  “Listen,” Jude was behind him when Ronan turned around. “I know I’m always snarky about shit between you and Ten.” He paused as if he were searching for just the right words. “I would have done what Ten did. If we were married and I had to choose between you and our child, I would have chosen her too. It’s nothing against you, Ronan. I know what it’s like to grow up without one parent. It was awful.” Jude’s eyes slipped closed. “I get that you’re mad at him now and that you’re hurt, but he was thinking of that little girl’s future and his own place in it. You told me after the explosion that you were so afraid of having to raise Everly on your own. Now, here you are a few months later telling your husband you’re going to take her away from him. That’s not you, Ronan. That’s not the man I’ve come to see as my role model and my brother.” Jude set a hand on his shoulder. “I’m always here for you no matter what, just take some time to think about why Tennyson did what he did and how terrified he must have been in that room without you, facing a decision that was going to fuck him over either way.”

  Jude’s words hit him like a blow to the chest. Not only did Jude know what it was like to grow up without one parent, he knew what it was like to grow up without both. Nodding, Ronan grabbed his friend for a much-needed hug. “Thanks, man.” Without looking back, he grabbed his suitcase and headed for the door.

  He’d been a first-class dick to Ten yesterday. Telling him that he was going to keep him from their daughter? That was the lowest of low blows. Then, Ronan had interrogated him like a murder suspect about what happened that day at the hospital when Tony “died.” Last, but by no means least on the dick parade, telling Ten not to call him and he’d be in touch when he could “deal with” Ten again. Shit, could Ronan be a worse human being?

  Shoving his suitcase into the trunk, he got into the car and gunned the engine. He was still angry that Tennyson kept the secret about Tony from him, but they could fix this. Their marriage had survived a serial killer and multiple bullets. It sure as hell could survive this.

  Jude’s words about Everly touched him. A parent’s number one responsibility was to protect their child. That’s what Tennyson had been trying to do.
The idea that Clemente could so casually threaten an unborn child just to gain Tennyson’s cooperation made his blood boil. When he got his hands on that bastard…

  Ronan couldn’t think like that. The most important thing now was getting home and making things right with Tennyson. Or as right as they could be with his emotions being so all over the place right now.

  What Ronan couldn’t seem to understand in all of this was why it had been so damned important that the truth about Tony be kept from him in the first place. He was an officer of the law above everything else. The last thing Ronan would have done was jeopardize Tony’s safety as a material witness in the government’s case against Vito Dragonni.

  The fact that Cruz Clemente felt that he had to threaten Tennyson with jail time over this secret was something he and the FBI agent were going to discuss face to face in the very near future. That and the reason Tennyson had been dragged into that room to witness Tony’s confession in the first place. Surely there had been other agents from the Boston field office who had been available to come witness the goings on in that hospital room.

  Pulling onto his street, he could see Ten’s Chevy parked in its usual spot in front of their house. Checking the time, Ronan could see it was past when Ten should have left for work. After what happened last night, Ronan couldn’t blame him for not going in to the Magick shop today. He wouldn’t be going in to the office either. He made a mental note to call Fitzgibbon and let him know.

  Climbing out of the car, Ronan’s ear caught something. It sounded like Dixie barking. She was always such a good girl, only barking when something was wrong. Ronan bolted for the stairs, taking them two at a time. His hands were fumbling for the keys when he noticed the door was open a crack.

  Reaching for his gun, Ronan realized he didn’t have it with him. He’d left in such a tizzy last night that he’d left it locked in the gun safe in his closet where it had been when he’d left for court in the morning.

  A million things flashed through his mind at once. Should he call 911? Fitzgibbon? Tennyson? Or should he just go into the house? Dixie wouldn’t be barking her head off if someone was still in the house. The first thing intruders would have done was shut her up.

  Making up his mind, Ronan gingerly pushed open the door with his elbow, so he wouldn’t contaminate the door with his own fingerprints.

  Dixie raced to him, hoping up on him and practically climbing him like a mountain goat. “It’s okay. I’ve got you,” Ronan cooed to the tiny dog, who was shaking like she was scared to death. “Tennyson?” he called out. There was no answer.

  He walked through the downstairs of the house. There was no sign of his husband. What he did find was Ten’s phone sitting next to a half-drunk cup of tea on the kitchen table. Sticking his finger into the brew, he found the liquid was cold to the touch.

  Running back through the living room, Ronan spotted Tennyson’s wallet sitting on the hall table along with his keys. Cold dread settled over him. Tennyson would never leave the house without his phone, wallet, or keys, even if he was going down the street to talk to Carson. Where the hell was he?

  Ronan dug into his back pocket for his phone when the doorbell rang. He jumped a mile. Dixie started to bark from his arms. Looking through the peephole, Ronan saw it was Fitzgibbon. “Thank God, you’re here. I was just about to call you. Tennyson is missing.”

  “What do you mean, Tennyson is missing?” Fitzgibbon paled. He stuck an arm out to catch himself on the door jamb.

  Grabbing his captain’s arm, Ronan half-dragged the bigger man into the living room. Setting him down on the sofa, Ronan sat next to him. “Why are you here looking like someone died?” It wasn’t like Fitzgibbon to look over-wrought like this over anything unless it was serious.

  “I don’t know how to tell you this, Ronan.” Fitzgibbon’s mouth hung open. He looked like he was in a state of shock.

  “How about now and in English, Cap. You’re starting to freak me out.” Jesus, did the captain know something about Tennyson?

  “I just got a call from Cruz Clemente. He was in the transport vehicle bringing Vito Dragonni from MCI Walpole to the Federal Courthouse and there was an incident.” Kevin shook his head before bringing his eyes up to meet Ronan’s.

  Ronan felt his stomach sink. “What happened?”

  “On that deserted stretch of Route 1 before it intersects with 95 North, a dump truck pulled out in front of the transport van and slammed on the brakes, while a second one blocked it in from behind. Armed men piled out of both, surrounding the van. The leader ordered Clemente out of the van at gunpoint and then they demanded Dragonni be turned over to them. Clemente refused. They shot him in the left shoulder and told him the next one was going in his head. Cruz ordered the release of Dragonni. The men shot out all of the tires of the van and led Dragonni away. Clemente reports hearing the screech of tires and saw another vehicle drive away that was in front of the dump truck. He could see this from where he was lying on the ground, but couldn’t see what kind of car Dragonni drove away in. The armed men stayed on scene for ten minutes or so before piling back into the dump trucks and leaving.”

  “Jesus fucking Christ.” Ronan sank his head into his hands. Not only was Cruz Clemente injured in this exchange but Vito Dragonni was on the loose. Again.

  “Clemente was rushed into surgery and he’s fine. The real problem here was that no one else thought to let us know about the jail break. The local news stations are just starting to pick this story up.” Fitzgibbon wore an annoyed look on his face.

  “Obviously he’s going after Tony, right? What other reason would Dragonni have to do this? He must have thought there was no way in hell he was going to get convicted on these charges with only my testimony, but his vendetta against Tony is serious business.”

  “That’s my suspicion as well, but we can’t rule out the idea that he could be coming after you and Tennyson as well.” Fitzgibbon looked up at Ronan in alarm. “What was it you were saying about Ten being missing when I rang the doorbell?” Kevin’s annoyed look had quickly morphed into one of alarm.

  “Ronan!” Carson burst through the front door. “It’s Tennyson! He’s been taken. You have to help him! I don’t care how angry you are at him!” Carson’s was panting and could barely catch his breath.

  “Slow down, Carson. What are you talking about?” Ronan was out of his seat taking Carson’s arm and leading him to the armchair across from Fitzgibbon.

  “I’m calling Cisco Jackson.” Fitzgibbon had his phone out.

  “Call Jude too. And Faulkner Hayes. Call everyone.” Ronan turned back to Carson. “Tell me what’s going on.” His own heart was racing. Tennyson had been taken?

  “I’ve been calling you for forty-five minutes. Why is your fucking phone shut off?” Carson shouted.

  Ronan was stunned. He pulled back from the angry psychic to reach into his back pocket for his phone. Pressing the home button Ronan saw that it was powered off. “Oh no. I was so angry at Ten last night that when I left, that I shut it off. I didn’t think he’d leave me alone like I asked, so I…”

  “What do you mean when you left last night? You left Tennyson?” Carson shouted. “Your husband sacrificed everything for you! To protect you and your unborn daughter and you left him! Why the hell didn’t you call us? One of us would have come and stayed with him or insisted he come stay with us! Jesus Christ, Ronan! He’s so sensitive and fragile right now and he’s wasting away to nothing because keeping this secret was eating away at him!”

  Reaching out to Carson, Ronan held his hand. “I hear every word you’re saying to me, Carson, and you’re right, but what’s more important right now is what you know about Tennyson. Please tell us everything.” Ronan looked back to Fitzgibbon. “All that matters right now is finding him and making sure he’s safe.” If anything happened to Tennyson because of his carelessness, he’d never forgive himself.

  “Everyone’s coming. What does Carson know about this whole thing with Ten?” Fitzgibbon
was all business.

  “He’s going to tell us now.” Ronan turned back to the psychic who was taking gulping breaths of air. He felt like doing the same thing.

  “I was home alone with the babies. Truman is at the bakery with Cassie. I got a psychic message from Tennyson that was so strong it nearly knocked me over. He was crying out for help.” Tears were streaming down Carson’s cheeks. “He said he was taken by Dragonni’s men in a car. A black Cadillac.”

  Ronan fell back on to the blue area rug. “Dragonni’s men came here and grabbed him?”

  “I tried calling you. I left messages. Then I called Truman and begged him to come home. I should have called you, Kevin. I’m so sorry I didn’t, I just wasn’t thinking.”

  “Is there anything else you can tell us, Carson.” Fitzgibbon was up from the couch and pulling Ronan back to his feet.

  “He’s scared. The men have guns and he doesn’t know where they’re taking him.” Carson swiped the back of his hands over his eyes.

  “It’s good that you’re able to be in touch with him Carson. We can use that link to help track him down.” Fitzgibbon’s voice was soothing.

  Carson shook his head. “No, we can’t.” He cleared his throat and locked eyes with Ronan.

  “What do you mean, you can’t?” Ronan felt his heart start to pound again. Why couldn’t Carson use that connection with Ten to help track him and the kidnappers down?

  “The connection went blank about fifteen minutes ago. I was promising Ten that I’d find him when all of a sudden he was gone.” Carson shook his head. He looked devastated.

  “What does that mean? Is gone as in dead?” Ronan knew that wasn’t possible. If Tennyson were dead he’d know that. Wouldn’t he?

  “I don’t know. He could be unconscious and unable to communicate. Or drugged. Or he could be…” Carson trailed off. He sank his head into his hands.