Sara McDonald, tall, trim and in her fifties, a shock of neatly styled white hair on her head, was the first to arrive.
“Say nothing,” she said, seated at the dining room table with us. “We want to know what they have before we start talking.”
Sounded good to me. Detective Wakefield, a heavyset man in his late forties, his hair thinning and his eyes glimmering with sharp intelligence, arrived soon after.
I was nervous; not at the idea of facing consequences for what I’d done, but at the idea of being taken away from Georgia and the girls.
We said our greetings, poured our coffee, and got right to the chase. Georgia kept her hand on mine underneath the table.
“I’m here to make a deal,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.”
“What kind of deal?” Sara asked, leaning forward.
“A good one. Fact of the matter is that Johnny Baros is spilling his guts trying to stay out of jail and get himself into WITSEC. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he’s offering to sell you up the river.”
“But I haven’t done anything,” I said.
Wakefield shrugged. “You were associated with one of the largest criminal gangs in New York. I’m guessing you failed to report gunshot and stab wounds, which your license would require you to do.”
Sara grinned. “Your ‘guessing’ implies that you don’t have anything concrete.”
Wakefield raised a palm. “Easy, no need to jump in for the kill just yet. We want Nico, not his doctor on call. If you’re willing to work with us, to help us make a case against Nico and testify if we need you, then we’re more than happy to cut a deal that provides total immunity.”
“Now we’re talking,” Sara said. “And when you say total immunity…”
“I mean total immunity. I’m here on behalf of the NYPD, and when Alex came to us before, that established a hell of a lot of goodwill.”
“So, no charges?” I asked.
“Nothing. Help us put this piece of shit away, and we’ll leave you here to start your new life.”
I glanced over at Sara. She nodded. Wakefield took out a tape recorder.
“Let’s do this,” I said, eagerness in my voice.
Chapter 31
Georgia
The conversation took a good few hours. By the time we were done, Alex and I were exhausted. Of course, that was the moment the girls chose to wake up.
“You know,” he said as we made our way to the nursery. “After nearly three hours of cops and lawyers, I’m more than ready to hang out with a couple of gorgeous little ladies.”
“Same here,” I said with a smile.
We flicked on the lights in the nursery, each of us taking one of the girls to change her. Once that was done, we fetched a couple of bottles of milk from the fridge, warmed them up, then retired to the living room to feed them. I turned on the fireplace, the snow that had started yesterday still falling, though not nearly as intensely as it had been.
The room soon grew warm and toasty, as each of us fed the girls—Danae in my lap, Daphne in his.
“God, this is so much easier when you’ve got two parents,” I said, shaking my head. “Can’t believe I thought I could do this on my own.”
“I can,” he said without missing a beat. “You’re one of the toughest women I’ve ever met. I wouldn’t be surprised at all that you could handle these two by yourself.”
I smiled. “Thanks. All the same, I’m glad you’re part of the team.”
“Me too.” Focus took over his face, and he glanced toward the window.
“A drachma for your thoughts?” I asked with a cheeky grin.