“Who are they?”
“Their wives,” Leo answered.
Cassidy’s eyes widened. “You guys are all married?”
“Yup. Eagle has a little boy, and Smoke’s wife is expecting,” Leo informed her.
“Wow. I mean, that’s great. I just didn’t expect it, that’s all. You guys are all so . . .” Her voice trailed off. She didn’t know how to describe the badass men standing around her. At least not in a way that wouldn’t offend them.
But Bull merely chuckled. “Believe me, we were all just as surprised as you when we realized that we loved them more than life itself.”
Eagle nodded from his spot against the wall. She was oddly pleased to learn these strangers seemed to be so in love with their wives. Alfred had never said anything complimentary about her to others, at least not that she knew of. Then she remembered what they were discussing. She looked at Leo. “I will not call you Gramps. You’ll always be Leo to me. I don’t care what other people call you. Because believe me, even with you rocking that gray-in-your-beard thing, the last thing I think when I look at you is grandfather.”
It seemed as if Leo wanted to say something, but Eagle spoke before he could. “Right, so . . . we’ve got your back, and Gramps’s. He’s got a tracker in his watch. We know where he is at all times and can hear every word he says. He’s been recording his conversations with Coke as well. We’ve got a plan, but executing it depends on Coke himself. Gramps is gonna make his move as soon as he can, but we need you to be ready and on your toes. Can you do that?”
“Yes,” Cassidy said without hesitation.
“You probably won’t be able to bring anything with you when you leave,” Bull warned.
Cassidy shrugged. “I don’t want anything. And Mario and I have already discussed that exact thing. I knew if we had to make a break for it in the middle of the night or something, we wouldn’t be able to carry anything. Are you going to be able to find our passports?”
In response, Leo got up and walked over to a bag sitting on the floor nearby. He rummaged in it for a while, then came back. He put two objects on the table in front of her. “No need to find the passports that Coke confiscated. They’d be expired anyway.”
Cassidy could only stare at the two dark-blue US passports on the table. It surprised her how emotional she became at seeing them. They were her ticket out of Jamaica. Without them, she’d felt adrift, knowing that it would be almost impossible to leave. She reached out and lifted the cover of the passport on top, and saw Mario’s face looking back at her. Somehow they’d gotten a picture of her son—a relatively recent one, at that. “How?” she asked, looking up at Leo.
“We told you that we’ve been working with the FBI. They had one of their connections here take his picture with a zoom lens when he was out working for Coke.”
“Lloyd said that Mario and I were on a no-fly list.”
Eagle snorted. “He’s a fucking liar.”
Relief almost overwhelmed Cassidy. For so long, she’d felt as if she would never get off the island, but a sliver of hope bloomed inside her now. She swallowed around the huge lump in her throat. “This is really happening,” she said softly.
“It is,” Leo agreed.
Everything was moving extremely fast, but as far as she was concerned, it couldn’t happen fast enough. “Thank you,” she told Leo. Then she looked at Eagle and Bull. “Thank you. So much.”
“Don’t thank us until we’re on that plane on our way out of here,” Bull said dryly. He stood up, nodding at her as he did.
“We have some time to kill,” Leo said, drawing her attention back to him. “We need to be gone long enough for Coke to think you and I are getting it on.”
Cassidy blushed, but nodded. She wasn’t an idiot. With the way Leo had been touching her and making sure Lloyd and everyone else saw, she wasn’t surprised that’s what everyone assumed.
“You play gin rummy?” Bull asked.
“It’s been a while, but yes,” Cassidy told him.
“Good. Maybe I can finally beat someone,” Bull joked. “My wife is a gin rummy master, and she never lets me win.”
Everyone laughed, and Cassidy leaned back in the chair. She watched as the three men got settled around the table. They joked with each other, and she could see how close they were. She could almost forget where she was, forget about the situation she’d gotten herself and her son into. Almost.
Chapter Five
Gramps led Cassidy back toward the huge mansion. He hated to do it. He wanted to stash her in the plane and sneak in and snatch Mario, but he knew that would be suicide. Cassidy was his ticket into the mansion, and she’d never agree to hide out while her son was still in danger.
The longer he was around her, the more Gramps respected and admired Cassidy. Yes, she’d made some bad decisions in her life, like everyone. But she was doing everything in her power to fix those mistakes, and to make sure her son didn’t pay for them any longer.
He felt bad for berating her earlier about writing the letters to the FBI. It had been a huge risk, but like she’d said, she’d been desperate, and ultimately those letters had led him to her.
Smoke had reported that Mario hadn’t left the mansion all afternoon, which was a relief. Gramps was well aware that didn’t mean the boy hadn’t been tormented, but at least he wasn’t wandering around Kingston.
The second they got close to the front doors of the mansion, they opened. Lloyd and Martin were standing there, smirking.
“Have a good afternoon?” Lloyd sneered.
Gramps wanted to punch him, but he had a role to play. He threw his arm around Cassidy’s shoulders and pulled her against him. One of her hands landed on his stomach, and the other gripped his shirt at the back. “Oh yeah. Didn’t we, sweetcakes?”
“Uh . . . yes,” Cassidy responded a little uncertainly.
He hated that he had to embarrass her but knew it would throw off Lloyd. “Sorry we’re a little later than I expected,” Gramps said. “You know how it is . . . we lost track of time.”
“Interesting,” Martin said, lust easy to see in his eyes.
Gramps ignored him, doing his best to act as if he didn’t care what Martin thought. “If you don’t mind, I think we’ll head upstairs,” Gramps said.
“Michael would like to see you,” Lloyd informed him.
Inside, Gramps smiled. He bet the drug kingpin was getting antsy to talk business. He brought his hand up and mentally apologized to Cassidy as he palmed one of her tits. “I think he’ll understand why I need to postpone our talks until tomorrow. Probably after lunch,” he said suggestively.
Cassidy hadn’t pulled away from him, but she stiffened. Without asking permission, he strode into the house and headed for the stairs toward Cassidy’s room. He didn’t look back, but was ready for either one of the men to say or do something to try to stop him.
They didn’t.
Gramps walked Cassidy up the stairs and down a few hallways to her room. When they arrived, he squeezed her shoulders. “Sorry,” he whispered in a tone so low he wasn’t sure she heard him.