by Karen Rose
“You could have waited,” Judy said, but some of the anger had faded from her eyes.
Not really, Paige thought uncomfortably. “I’ve made mistakes, ma’am. Lots of mistakes. I’m…” She looked down, embarrassed. “Um, I’m attracted to your son.”
“Of course you are,” Judy said, as if it was expected. “Any woman with sense is.”
Okay. “He’s attracted to me. Which I guess you figured out. Things have moved very quickly between us. I needed to know if we even had the promise of something, before things got out of hand. Because I’ve made mistakes before. Which I think you understand, too.”
Judy looked grimly accepting. “Yes, I do.”
“If he’s the one and I had let him get away because of a secret, one it sounded like you were urging him to tell… well, I hope you’ll forgive me for finding out for myself. But I’d still do it all again.”
Judy settled back in her chair, her jaw cocked. “You won’t tell anyone?”
“No one. I gave you my word.”
Judy tapped the table with a manicured nail. “His boss knows. That Anderson.”
Paige’s mouth fell open. “What?” She remembered Anderson’s silence as she’d told her story. The way he’d dismissed them to have a word with Grayson. And the look on Grayson’s face when he came back to her. Oh. “And still he knocked,” she murmured.
Judy frowned. “What are you talking about? Knocked on what?”
“We confronted Rex McCloud tonight. He’s the grandson of Jim McCloud. He was a state senator in the nineties,” Paige added when Judy’s brow remained furrowed.
“Okay. What about the grandson?”
“A girl was murdered six years ago. It looks like Rex did it, but someone covered it up and framed an innocent man. I told Grayson that knocking on Rex’s door would get back to his boss and ruin his career.”
“And change his life,” Judy said harshly. “Because his boss threatened to tell about us if Grayson didn’t back off the case.”
“And still he knocked on that door.” A new wave of emotion crashed into her. “You should be so proud. You’ve raised an amazing man.”
Judy regarded her levelly. “Thank you. Will you tell Grayson you know?”
“I want him to tell me himself. If he never does, I don’t know what I’ll do. But even if it doesn’t work out for the two of us, I still won’t tell. I’m not wired that way.”
Judy nodded her approval. “It might be easier for him to tell after tonight.”
“Why?” Paige asked, and Judy’s eyes grew shadowed.
“He’s telling the family. He wanted them to know before his boss leaked it publicly.”
Paige looked at the front door. Holly was back, looking satisfied with herself. “The family didn’t know? After all this time?” That stunned her.
Judy grimaced. “There never seemed to be the right time to tell them.”
“You’re not telling Holly?”
“Of course we will. But she’ll need to be spared certain… details.”
Paige thought of what she’d read. “I understand.”
Judy looked over her shoulder to make sure Holly was still far enough away. “I think you’re probably all right.” She met Paige’s eyes. “But if you ever hurt my son, you will regret it. I don’t care how many black belts you have.”
Paige had no doubt Judy Smith could make her suffer. “Yes, ma’am.”
“But if you make him happy, I will love you forever.”
Paige swallowed. “I’d like the second one better myself.”
“I thought you might.” Judy looked up and smiled at Holly, who held out a pair of glasses with a taped bridge. “Oh, good. You found them.”
“These are your old ones. I couldn’t find the pretty new ones.”
Judy took the glasses from Holly with one hand, brushing the pocket of her jacket with the other, and Paige figured the new glasses had been there all along. “Thanks, honey. I am starving and Giuseppe has the best carbonara in town.”
Wednesday, April 6, 8:15 p.m.
The incoming call came from the only number he always picked up on the first ring. “What do you need?”
“They visited Rex tonight. Smith and the woman.”
Damn. He’d rather hoped they’d be chasing Brittany’s blackmail victim to Hagerstown. But a visit to Rex was not unexpected. “What did they say to him?”
“They told him the security tape of the party had been switched. They picked up on the Betsy Malone discrepancy. They visited her before they saw Rex.”
“How do you know that?”
“I have my sources. Betsy told them everything. A soul cleansing, as it were.” The words dripped with contempt. “The girl is weak. Always has been.”
That was definitely true. When Betsy was an addict, she’d been far easier to control. He blew out an impatient breath. “What did Rex tell them?”
“What you’d expect. That he was innocent. That he wanted his lawyer present the next time they visited.”
That made him smile. “Let Rex call his lawyer.”
“You find this funny? I can assure you that it’s not. You said the prosecutor had been dealt with. You said he wouldn’t cause trouble.”
“He hasn’t done anything major yet.” And as of around eleven thirty tonight Smith would cease to be a problem. He’d cease to be much of anything. He’d cease to be.
“Stop him before he does.”
“You can count on it. I need to go.”
“Wait. I have another matter.”
Dread pooled in his gut. “What have you done?”
“Nothing. That’s the problem. This last one is incredibly lucky. She keeps surviving.”
“I asked you to back away from that.”
“I can’t now. She knows.”
The dread grew. “What does she know?”
“That I’m trying to kill her.”
Shit. “Wait. Does she know you’re trying to kill her or just that someone is?”
“The second one, I believe.”
He sighed silently. “I’ll take care of her.” He usually did. “Where is she?”
“She left her house with a suitcase about an hour ago. Her husband left with a foul expression earlier this evening. I think they’ve fought. She’s staying at the home of a friend who lives at 3468 Bonnie Bird Way. What a ridiculous name for a street.”
“Where are you now?”
“On Bonnie Bird Way, sitting a few houses down from the friend.”
For the love of God… “Go home. Now.”
There was an ominous pause. “Don’t command me. Ever.”
“I’m sorry,” he said contritely. “Please go home. I can’t have Adele Shaffer putting too many loose ends together. Not right now.”
“Very well. Take care of her. Fix this.”
“I will. Wait for my call.”
Wednesday, April 6, 8:25 p.m.
By the time Grayson walked Peabody and made it to Lisa and Brian’s Party Palace, the family was gathered in Brian’s kitchen and chowing down on pot roast.
The chair at the head of the table was empty and Grayson looked at Jack Carter in surprise. The head of the family always sat at the head of the table.
“Your meeting,” Jack said, pointing to the empty chair with his fork. “Your seat.”
Jack and Katherine Carter sat together. Katherine had taken them in, all those years ago, but Jack had never said no. Instead the man had taken him under his wing. When Jack took Joseph to play ball in the park, Grayson was automatically included. When there was a game or any school award function, Jack and Katherine had been there, sitting next to his mother, beaming with pride.
When time came for college, Grayson watched Joseph fill out applications to all the best schools. Grayson had enough saved for a local school, grateful for the opportunity to even go to college. But they’d turned his world on end yet again by revealing that they’d been putting money aside in a college fund for Grayson along with
their “other kids.”
Jack and Katherine had made it possible for him to become the man he was today. Now Grayson found himself staring at his family, his heart in his throat and his stomach turning inside out as he faced telling them who he really was.
What if they were angry? Or worse, ashamed or repulsed? He wasn’t sure he could handle that. But he knew they needed to hear the truth from him. He knew the news of his visit to Rex McCloud would be reaching Anderson soon if it hadn’t already.
“What’s wrong, Grayson?” Lisa asked. She slid a plate onto his place at the table. “You look sick. Sit, honey. Eat.”
“I don’t think I can yet,” Grayson said, still standing.
Lisa took her place next to Brian. “Don’t let it sit too long. It’ll get cold. Plus I only have the sitter until ten.”
“Then I’ll make it quick.” Like ripping off a Band-Aid. “Thanks for coming out.”
Six sets of eyes met his. Jack and Katherine. Brian. Lisa and Joseph and Zoe.
“I have something to tell you that Mom and I should have told you years ago, but we could never find the right time. At the beginning, we were scared. We’d been homeless and Mom would have done almost anything to keep me safe. Later… I wouldn’t let her tell. I didn’t want anyone to know. And for that, I’m sorry.” He closed his eyes. “I don’t even know where to start.”
There was a long, long silence. Then Jack cleared his throat. “How about ‘Once upon a time I was a kid in Miami’?” he said.
Grayson’s eyes flew open. Six pairs of eyes watched him, kindly. Unsurprised. For what seemed like an eternity, he couldn’t speak. Then he said hoarsely, “You knew?”
Katherine smiled. “Before I offered your mother the job as nanny. Do you think I’d trust my own children to just anyone? What kind of mother do you think I am?”
“You knew?” he repeated. “And you didn’t care?”
“Of course we cared,” Jack said. “We cared about you and Judy. Whatever happened was not your fault. Ever. You didn’t want to tell us and we understood. That was then. You’re part of our family now and we take care of our own.”
Slowly Grayson sank into the chair, his heart hammering in his chest. “How?”
“You made the national news when you disappeared,” Jack said. “Your mother cut her hair, but she couldn’t change your appearance that much. When she showed up for her interview, she had you with her. Katherine recognized you right away.”
Grayson looked at Katherine, who shook her head, remembering. “You were this terrified child with big green eyes that had seen things no human should ever see. Your mother was desperate. We had the means to keep you safe. So we did.”
Grayson’s heart filled his throat. Tears stung his eyes. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Mom and Dad told us the basics soon after you arrived,” Joseph said. “We watched over you at school. Made sure nobody ever took your picture. By the time you were on the news saying ‘no comment’ every other week, we figured you were ready to take care of yourself.”
Lisa rolled her eyes. “And then you get yourself on YouTube yesterday. Freaking worldwide celebrity overnight. We all thought that was extremely ironic.”
They laughed and Grayson felt a load lift from his shoulders. “I never even considered that. I haven’t worried about being photographed since I graduated from high school. I don’t look like him, thank God.”
“You’re nothing like him,” Lisa said fiercely. “I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.”
Although she was a whopping five-foot-nothing, Grayson would put his money on Lisa any day of the week. “Thank you.”
“We learned the rest when we were old enough to do the research ourselves,” Zoe said, her eyes growing haunted. “I remember the day I found the articles. I… was never the same. It changed my life. That’s why I became a criminal psychologist.”
“And why I joined the Bureau,” Joseph added quietly. “It changed us all.”
Grayson blew out a breath. “I thought you’d be mad.”
Katherine rose, came to his chair, and put her arms around him. “We love you, Gray. We hoped you’d tell us yourself someday. But we would have been fine if you never had.”
“Mom said to say that she’ll leave if you want her to.” He winced when Katherine smacked his arm, even though it didn’t really hurt. “Ow,” he said without feeling.
“That was for your mother,” she said. “The very thought.”
“What we want to know is, why today, Grayson?” Jack asked. “Why tell us today, and like this?”
Grayson looked at Joseph and saw his brother had figured it out. Joseph shrugged. “This is your party.”
“You know?” Jack asked his son. “And you’ve said nothing?”
“I don’t know for sure,” Joseph claimed and Jack scoffed.
“Hah. So will you satisfy this old man’s curiosity, Grayson? Since my other son has a terminal case of poker face.”
Grayson found himself smiling. “You’ll never be old, Jack. You’re too damn wily.” He picked up his fork, suddenly starving. “Let me eat a few bites. Then I’ll fill you in.”
Fifteen
Wednesday, April 6, 9:30 p.m.
Silas dragged himself into his house, dropped onto the sofa. No cops were waiting outside, so he knew he was safe for now. Grayson Smith hadn’t recognized him.
I should be hurt, he thought dryly. All those years and he didn’t know me.
To be fair it had been dark. And I was wearing a mask. And my voice may have been a little higher than normal. Adrenaline did it every time. Still…
I shouldn’t even be here. I should be driving across Canada like there’s no tomorrow. But as long as his boss breathed, his wife and child would not be safe.
He reached for the business cell he’d left out in plain view. He figured if the cops were on to him, he might as well incriminate everyone he could. His boss’s number was in his phone log. A smart cop could put it together. He knew smart cops.
His old partner was one of the smartest. That he’d had to lie to her hurt. Every time he’d taken a life to protect his child, he told himself she’d understand. But he knew it wasn’t true. Now he could only hope he didn’t put her in the position of having to take him down. Because she would, he had not a single doubt.
He opened the business cell and frowned. His employer had called eight times. There was a message. Another job. I have to say no. But that would alert the man and that was the last thing Silas wanted. He hit speed dial. “It’s me,” Silas said.
“Where have you been?” The question was not kindly asked.
“I had a migraine. Leveled me all day long. I never left my bed. Dry heaves.”
“I’ll send you a fucking potted plant,” he said sarcastically. “I need you at the Carrollwood Nursing Home at half past eleven.”
Silas frowned. “Why?”
“Because I want you to read bedtime stories to the Q-tips,” he snapped. “Fuck it, man. I want you to shoot someone, for God’s sake. Remember? That’s your job?”
Silas drew a steadying breath to keep from snapping back. “Who?” he asked.
“I’ll tell you when you get there. I’ve sent you an e-mail with a map showing where you need to wait. Be prepared to take a shot from about a hundred yards. Questions?”
About a million, first of which is, how do I fry your ass? “No.”
“Good. This is your last chance, Silas. You fuck up again and somebody’s going to need a priest. You’ll only wish it was you.”
Silas flinched when the phone clicked in his ear. Sonofabitch.
So don’t go.
No, he’d go. He needed to know what the bastard was up to. He found the nursing home on the map. He had an hour before he needed to leave. Time for a shower and shave. And a meal. But first, a phone call to Violet to say good night. Priorities.
Wednesday, April 6, 11:00 p.m.
“Are we there?”
Grayson looke
d over to the passenger seat as Paige opened one eye, then the other, still half asleep. But totally beautiful. She’d fallen asleep minutes after he’d picked her up from Giuseppe’s, where his mother had nodded her approval.
“We’ve been here for ten minutes,” he said. “I’ve been reading e-mails.”
She covered a yawn with one hand. “I guess I fell asleep.”
“You needed it.” He smiled at her. “All that girl talk must be exhausting.”
“We had fun, your mother, Holly, and me. We missed you, though.”
He’d arrived as they were finishing their meal. “Next time.”
“Where did you go?”
“I went home to walk Peabody and got sidetracked.” He didn’t want to lie, but he didn’t want to tell her the whole truth, either. “What did you girls talk about?”
“Oh, all kinds of things. Karate and fashion. Your mother and I are going sale-ing.”
He frowned. “My mother hates boats.”
She laughed softly. “Sale-ing as in finding sales. Shopping. Your mother likes that.”
“Don’t I know it.” He traced her mouth with his fingertip. “She liked you.”
“It was mutual. Of course we talked about you. A lot. She’s a proud mama.”
He played with her lower lip, his breath catching when her tongue licked his finger, barely enough to feel. He swallowed hard, his body responding.
Really responding. He wished he knew what he was going to do about Paige. Joseph and Lisa had separately urged him not to blow it with her. His mother had done the same thing. In two days Paige had managed to impress all the family that she’d met.
He wasn’t surprised. She’d impressed him within two seconds of seeing her on TV.
He had about two hours to figure out his own mind, because that’s how long it would take to find and talk to Brittany Jones, then get back to his town house to pick up Paige’s dog. He’d take them to the Peabody Hotel, where he should leave her under the guard of her partner. Possessive fury bubbled up at the thought and he knew he would not be leaving her under the care of another tonight. I will guard her myself.
She was watching him, dark eyes aroused and potent. Maybe they’d never leave his town house. He had a big bed. A really big bed. His mind tortured him with what he could do to her there. He’d make sure her eighteen-month fast was worth the breaking.