It's A Sweet Life Part 29

"You're really happy about this?"

He tipped her chin so she had to meet his gaze. "Very. No, the circ.u.mstances aren't perfect. But absolutely I'm happy. So's Allan."

"I hope it's okay."

He squeezed her tightly against him. "It's going to be beautiful and perfect, just like his or her momma."

She snickered. "I can't wait to tell Allan you were really worried about not having a condom."

He laughed. "Personally, I say wait to tell him. Let's see if he's smarter than I am."

She giggled.

Allan hurried toward his office in his car, taking the time to backtrack a few times even though he knew there was no way in h.e.l.l any of Bianco's men could have spotted him. On the way back to the hotel later, sure, he'd d.a.m.n well take all precautions.

But only after he had a chance to stop by his house first. There was something tucked in a jewelry box in his top dresser drawer that he'd held on to for years and that he wanted to pick up before he returned to the hotel.

Their mom's wedding and engagement rings.

He suspected Ben would agree that it was perfect. And it would be a tangible reminder, even when both of them had to be away from her, of their love.

He had to stifle a giggle as he hurried into the back entrance and to his office. I'm going to be a dad! He wanted to scream it to everyone and knew it had to stay secret.

Libbie had to stay secret.

He stopped by the receptionist's desk. "Sorry I'm so late, had to take care of some stuff that cropped up. Anyone waiting on me?"

Technically, the first appointment wasn't for another thirty minutes, but it didn't hurt to check.

"Not yet. You all right, Allan? You look...different."

He grinned. "I'm great. It's a great day."

She made an odd face. "It's Monday."

"I know. Isn't it great?" He walked back to his office, resisting the urge to whistle all the way there. Even the uncomfortable, unfamiliar weight of Ben's gun pressing against the front of his hip, combined with the bulletproof vest under his suit coat, couldn't dampen his spirits.

Florio sat parked in a lot across the street from the government building's employee lot. He'd considered sending a man in there to wait at Allan Donohue's car and jump him, but realized there was too much security, as well as regular patrol sweeps by bailiffs, to pull it off.

Instead, he sent one of his men to Donohue's house to watch there. He had two other guys stationed on either side of the parking lot he now sat in, so regardless which way Donohue turned when he left the garage, at least one guy should be able to tail him until everyone else could catch up.

Finally, close to six thirty, he saw Donohue's car pull out of the garage and head north. He alerted his guys via the two-way phones he'd equipped them with, and soon the three of them were trying to follow Donohue through Miami traffic.

One of his guys was soon left behind, caught at a light behind another vehicle. As Donohue whipped through traffic, he realized if they hadn't been made, they soon would be. He called ahead to the guy in front of him, who was three cars behind Donohue. "Circle the block and come up behind me," he ordered. I'll pull closer. I don't want him making you."

"Got it." His man took the next right turn.

Florio waited until his other guy, the one caught by the light, caught up with him. "We're going to leapfrog this f.u.c.ker, got it? I'm going to circle around and come up from behind. Do. Not. Lose him. Got it?"

"Got it."

Florio felt his b.a.l.l.s crawling up inside him as he turned off, losing sight of Donohue and his two guys. He was making another turn to catch up again when one of them called him. "He just took the Turnpike, heading south."

"Stay with him. Take turns staying behind him. Don't tip him off." Traffic was heavy, but would quickly begin to thin out with the end of rush hour, increasing the chances of Donohue spotting them.

He made his way to the Turnpike and soon caught up with his men. He hung back several cars. "When he turns off, you two keep going and I'll pick him up."

That happened five miles later. Florio felt the sweat soaking his shirt despite the AC over the stress of not losing him until he knew his guys were behind him once again in traffic.

"I think he's going to his house," one of them said. "We're close."

Florio struggled with what to do. "Hang back. Let's hope you're right."

Five minutes later, he nearly cried with relief when the guy staged in Donohue's neighborhood, parked in the driveway of a foreclosed house nearly a block down, reported Donohue had just pulled in.

"Thank Christ. Something's going right."

Allan had decided to go by his house before stopping by the hotel for Ben's things. And it was so late that he'd grab his own stuff and check out tomorrow, after Libbie and Ben were safely out of Miami. He didn't think anyone had followed him, although once or twice not long after leaving work it had seemed like maybe there was. Each time, however, the car had turned.

I'm just paranoid.

He quickly went to his bedroom and found what he was looking for. He hadn't opened the velvet jeweler's box in years. He looked at them, smiling as he thought how beautiful the rings would look on Libbie's finger.

He closed the case, pocketed it, and hurried back to his car.

"Look sharp, he's coming," Florio ordered. He'd told his guy who'd been waiting at the house to take the lead. With it growing dark, it'd be harder for Donohue to spot them. After thirty circuitous minutes, Donohue stopped at a hotel and pulled into their parking garage. Just as Florio was getting ready to send someone in to see what they could find out, Donohue reappeared with two suitcases, which he tossed into the backseat of his car and took off again.

"Now what?" one of his guys asked nearly an hour later after they'd followed him to another hotel, where he'd parked and gone inside.

"Now, we f.u.c.king wait, that's what. Boss wants them both, but especially the cop."

Libbie still couldn't believe how much life had changed for her in the past few hours. She honestly had never considered the possibility that her nausea was from being pregnant. Fibro was the gold standard of mystery symptoms, and sometimes they even changed from week to week. But while waiting for Allan to return, they'd gone ahead and used the third test kit.

Positive.

Ben had room service brought up for lunch for them, and was getting ready to order it again for dinner when they heard a knock on the door. Ben silently walked up to the door and looked through the viewfinder before opening it.

Allan rushed in, dumping the two suitcases on the floor before grabbing Libbie and pulling her into his arms.

"There's my girl."

"You okay?"

He grinned. "I'm going to be a dad. I'm better than okay." He looked at Ben. "I had to struggle to keep the s.h.i.t-eating grin off my face all day."

"No one followed you?"

"No way. And I got this." He pulled a black velvet case out of his jacket and showed it to Ben. "Mom's."

Ben frowned. "Is that from your house? You went by your house?"

Allan's smile faltered. "Yeah. What's the big deal? You went by my house this morning."

"Dude." He shook his head. "That was risky. Twice in one day we go there, that's f.u.c.king risky!"

"No one followed me. Now, can we do this right, or are you going to bust my b.a.l.l.s all night?"

"What's going on?" Libbie finally asked, confused by their behavior.

Ben joined Allan. Allan opened the case and withdrew a ring. Ben held her left hand steady while Allan slipped it on her finger. "This was our mom's engagement ring," Allan said. "If it creeps you out, then we'll get you something else, but-"

"I love it." It was a simple setting holding a small stone, but to her it could just as easily have been the Hope Diamond.

Ben kissed her hand. "You still want to marry us?"

She nodded. "Yes. Absolutely."

They got their dinner ordered, and it was all Libbie could do not to rip Allan's clothes off him during the wait. Once the food arrived and they ate, Libbie didn't waste any time.

And Allan, unlike Ben, didn't need a reminder that condoms were unnecessary.

For the first night in months, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

Chapter Twenty-Three.

Florio jumped when the man walked up to his car and tapped on the window a little after one that morning. He rolled it down. "What?"

"Head boss sent this." He handed Florio an envelope and walked away.

Florio ripped it open. Inside, an orange sticky note, hand-printed in black ink.

WHATEVER IT TAKES. BRING PROOF. BOTH.

He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. He didn't like the idea of killing. He'd never had to do it before, either. Until last month, he'd been running numbers and doing courier work down in Hialeah, reporting to Enrique's brother.

He always knew who was really in charge of the operation, but he'd never met Bianco personally until the other day.

Frankly, he'd hoped he never would.

He knew d.a.m.n well what kind of "proof" he was being ordered to get. The thought of killing someone and taking their head wasn't on his top-ten list of favorite things.

He also knew it meant his head if he didn't do it.

He'd ordered in a couple of reinforcements and stationed them in cars on various levels in the parking garage. They would stay on Donohue until he led them to the cop.

He was hoping they'd both appear in the morning, but he didn't get his hopes up.

In the morning, he sent a guy into the hotel's restaurant, where he could sit with a clear view of the elevators and front desk. His other guys had the garage covered. Wherever one or both of them came out, he'd know about it.

At 8:11, his lobby guy spoke into his radio. "Donohue and a woman, coming out of the elevators in the lobby."

Florio felt a second wave of energy flow through him. "Stay on him."

Then one of his guys, watching the car in the garage, spoke up. "Then who da f.u.c.k's getting in Donohue's car?"

Florio blinked, trying to make sense of it in his sleep-deprived state. "f.u.c.k! They're both here. Don't lose either of them!"

Two of his guys followed the parking garage Donohue. He got in his car and headed out, Florio's guys on his tail.

"What about the other one? Which one is which? They f.u.c.king look alike."

He was betting the one who'd just left was the attorney. "Stay on the guy in the lobby."

"Got it."

Ten minutes later, the other Donohue and the woman left the lobby, luggage in hand, and headed to the parking garage, too. They got into an older Toyota Corolla with a Hernando County tag on the back, Donohue driving, and headed out of the garage.

"Stay on him," Florio said. He grabbed a throwaway cell and dialed a number he'd memorized.

A man answered. "Yeah?"

He read off the plate number and hung up. Five minutes later, the same man called back with a name-LacieBelle Addams. More importantly, he now had an address in Brooksville.

Florio jotted the info down and hung up as he pulled out of the parking lot and followed his men.

"Stay with them," he told everyone. "You f.u.c.king lose them, and I'll kill you myself."

Allan headed toward his office. He didn't bother trying to be evasive. Ben's plan hinged upon anyone following Allan to take off after him, allowing Ben to get Libbie safely out of the hotel and on the road to Brooksville without detection.