by Carol Ross
“Uh, yeah.”
“What’s your number?”
A pause, then more excited chattering. Mason recited the number, and Lee typed it into his phone.
“Got it. Sit tight. I need to think a minute,” Lee told them.
His brother turned and held up a finger. Stalling, he mouthed, and Cricket knew they were all hoping the police wouldn’t be delayed.
* * *
WITHIN MINUTES, IRIS texted that the police had arrived and were on their way to the unit. Cricket and Lee met Detective Carthy and two uniformed officers at the corner of the building and quickly recapped the events that had occurred since entering the storage compound.
“Let me get this straight,” Detective Carthy said, her gaze bouncing between Cricket and Lee. “You locked two men inside this storage unit?”
“No, ma’am,” Lee answered and then clarified. “Two robbers are inside there, but they shut us out. I may have implied that someone they know to be a, uh, scary guy was with us. As far as I could see there are two men inside the unit, Mason McGee and some dude named Diggy. I have it all on video. They walked in to check the stolen property and planned to load it all in that SUV back in the parking lot when we inconveniently interrupted.”
“I see. We know Diggy well.” Detective Carthy paused to nod at the additional police officers who’d just arrived. “And, Ms. Frye, it’s your storage unit?” she clarified with Ashley.
“That’s correct,” Ashley said. “It’s rented in my and my ex-husband’s names.” She held up the key. “Here’s the key.”
She turned to the officers and said, “We need to get them out of there and take them in. We’ll need a forensics team, too. Let’s—”
“Excuse me, Detective?” Lee interjected politely. “Before you proceed, I have an idea.”
“What sort of idea?” Detective Carthy asked with a knitted brow and a healthy infusion of skepticism as she motioned some of the officers toward the unit.
“I managed to get Mason’s cell phone number.” He quickly explained and then asked, “Would it be possible to borrow your phone to contact him and ask a few questions?”
Carthy narrowed her eyes in thoughtful consideration before handing it over. “Fine, but I’ll need to see the texts.”
“Sure thing,” Lee said. He entered the number and tapped out a text with Cricket peering over one shoulder and the detective over the other.
Hey, Mason. It’s Lee.
The phone buzzed almost immediately with a response: Not cool going silent like that man. Where u at?
Lee explained, “I want him to know that I know what he has.”
Lee: Thinking. 200 tablets is quite a score. Let’s split it all.
Mason: ur crazy dude.
Lee: Maybe. But we aren’t leaving.
Mason: How much?
Lee: Half.
Mason: Half!! NO WAY! I don’t know how u found out but if Roy set us up he’s a dead man!!! He promised if we do this for him we keep what we got. Everything in the van no matter how much.
Lee shrugged and gave Detective Carthy a look. “I got the sense that he’d talk. Like I said, his day job is not working for NASA.”
With her head shaking and eyebrows arching high, Carthy muttered, “After all these years, you would think these things would fail to surprise me.”
Finger up in a “just a sec” gesture, Lee went on to type another message:
Is it just you and Diggy or is someone else in on what you stole?
Mason: Just us. Fendy was sposed to do job w us but he bailed.
Lee: Ok good. Leaves more for us. Who you guys selling to? I know a guy pays top $
Mason: Jimmie K we already promised 100 tablets but maybe we can work out deal w rest.
Lee clarified for the detective, “Jimmie K is a guy in—”
“Yep. We know him. Keep him talking,” the detective told Lee, her tone now hinting at respect for Lee’s strategy.
Lee: What about the toys?
One of the policemen walked over and showed Carthy a page in his notebook. “This guy Mason has a record, mostly petty stuff until this last one.” He tapped a pen to the page. “Theft of a firearm.”
Mason: Let’s deal.
“Any idea if Mason is dangerous?” she asked Lee.
Lee: 50/50 Let’s split the stuff here.
“Mason, no,” Lee said. “He’s low-level and harmless. Aspiring professional gamer who steals to support his challenging but rewarding lifestyle of getting high and shooting virtual bad guys from the comfort of his grandmother’s basement. Ironically, that last stint Officer Bowen is referring to was the result of an accidental theft of a handgun.” Lee filled her in.
Mason: 70/30 We sell it and split the cash.
Detective Carthy nodded, a smile playing at her lips. “We’ll take it from here, Mr. Blackburn. Officer Greene will escort you folks to the parking lot for now. But we’ll need you all to stop by the station and make statements.”
* * *
HAZEL WAITED IN the lot, watching while Lee and Cricket visited with a laughing Officer Greene. Ashley had gone to Iris’s SUV to fill her in on what she’d missed.
Hazel took a moment to ponder the events of the morning, allowing her fear to dissipate and the adrenaline to settle. Lee had been completely brilliant. Ashley was awesome and brave. It was all wreaking a bit of havoc with her emotions. She got a little choked up thinking about the lengths Cricket had gone to for his brother, for her, and what the five of them had just accomplished together.
She tried not to think about what would have happened if Cricket and Lee hadn’t been here, and these men had found her, Ashley and Iris inside the storage unit. Would they have believed their story, or would they now be locked inside? These guys might appear harmless, but, as Lee had suggested, desperate people did desperate things.
But just like with the robbery, none of those bad things had happened. Forcing herself to shift back to the present, she focused on the man who was walking over to stand beside her.
“You okay?” he asked gently, and she could see the concern in his gaze.
“Fine. But, Cricket, we owe you and Lee the hugest thank-you.”
“I’m grateful we were here, but I owe you just as big of a thank-you. This wouldn’t have worked out nearly as well if you ladies hadn’t come here to confirm that the stuff was in there.”
“That was all thanks to Ashley. She figured it out and she was very convincing, so it seemed worth a look. Plus, I knew she’d come here and check no matter what, and there was absolutely no way I would let her do that alone.”
“Of course you wouldn’t. It’s nice that you two...uh...”
Hazel let out a soft chuckle knowing he’d been about to repeat the statement he’d made before they’d gone to Juneau. “It’s fine, you can say it. We’ve definitely patched things up. Iris is right about her. She has changed. She’s actually very cool.”
“That makes me happy,” he said, his body more relaxed now, his eyes filled with affection.
“Your brother is a rock star,” she said as the detective moved away to confer with her colleagues.
“Yeah,” Cricket said. “I have to agree. He should have been a cop instead of a criminal.” She couldn’t help but note the pride in his tone.
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“Who better to catch a thief than a thief?”
“Reformed thief,” Hazel corrected.
“True. And this pretty much seals the reformed part. Once word gets out that he ratted out one of his own, no one from his former life will ever trust him again.”
“Oh, wow...” she breathed, a fresh dose of admiration and fondness welling inside of her. “I didn’t even think about honor among thieves and all of that. Why would he...?”
“He was furious about w
hat happened to you and angry about the rumors. That second part not so much because of himself, but because of what people were saying about me.”
“That’s so sweet and brave. Do you think he’s in any danger?”
“He says no, as long as he steers clear of certain people. The good part is that Roy isn’t a true thief. Meaning, he’s not a part of that world, so it’s not like we double-crossed some Mafia crime lord or intercepted a drug shipment from the cartel. This was motivated by revenge against me and Tag.”
“Ironic how you and Tag’s collective niceness was the true source of this fiasco, don’t you think?”
“I do.”
“Are you going to tell him, or am I?”
“Let’s figure that out later.”
Ashley had returned and was now sidled up next to Lee. Leaning in, she reached out, touched his shoulder. He glanced up and replied. They couldn’t hear the conversation, but their laughter mingled and carried.
Hazel observed, “I know Ashley can be a little—what did you call it—demonstrative? But I’m pretty sure she has a crush on your brother. That’s some high-level flirting going on right there.”
“Lee is clearly sweet on Ashley, too, so...”
“What do you think?”
He shrugged. “As long as Ashley knows what she’s getting into, I’m okay with it. You know Lee, he’s honest about his past. But he says he won’t get romantically involved with anyone until Dr. Monroe thinks he’s ready. He’s serious about therapy.”
“I’m so happy for him, for both of you,” she said, and then, because she couldn’t stand it a moment longer, she took his hand. Relief filled her from top to bottom when he didn’t pull away. Even better, he linked his fingers with hers.
“Feels like I have a brother again. But, you know, I don’t want to get my hopes up too high.”
“That’s understandable. Maybe keep them about here.” With her free hand, she indicated a spot just above her head. “Like midrange.”
Reaching out, he nudged her hand a bit higher. “Or possibly here.”
Lifting her eyebrows, she nodded agreeably. “Optimism. I like that.”
“Me too.” He chuckled. “Lee said that Dr. Monroe recommended I come in for a few sessions of therapy, too, and maybe Lee and I together for some family counseling.”
That would be amazing, she thought, but asked instead, “What do you think about that?”
“I’m okay with it. I don’t see a downside.”
“I don’t either. It could be good for both of you.”
Hazel wanted to ask whether this was all enough. Did the proof that Lee didn’t have anything to do with the robbery change anything? And did agreeing to therapy mean he was ready to let go of the hold his family’s past had on him? And what about his concerns regarding her family?
She needed to know where they stood.
Turning quickly toward him, she said, “Cricket—”
“Hazel—” he said, shifting to face her at the same time.
Their gazes collided and held. No, more like fused. And at that moment, Hazel saw so much in his expression—sweetness, affection, regret, vulnerability...and desire? Yes, she was pretty sure there was plenty of that, too.
Just like it had on their first date, her heart took flight. But this time, it soared, shaking something loose inside of her. The love she felt for him was overwhelming, impossible to contain. Inhaling a breath, she geared up to say the words aloud.
But then he started moving. “Come here,” he said, keeping a firm hold on her hand and urging her away from the others.
Pulse pounding, stomach fluttering, she followed. This was it. She would just tell him, and if he didn’t return the words, she didn’t care. Well, she did care, but that wasn’t why she was going to say them. She needed to let him know, wanted him to hear how deeply she cared about him.
There was a bench off to one side of the entrance, and that was where he stopped.
Facing her, he took her other hand and said, “Hazel, we’ve been through so much, and I...I always thought that I’d know if the time was ever right for us to be together. The problem with that belief is that I realize now that there will never be a time when I feel that way.”
And just like that, the air whooshed from her lungs, accompanied by a crackling sound in her ears, as if she could hear her heart crashing back down.
“But that’s my issue. I’ve learned a lot about myself the last couple weeks.”
Wait. What?
“I can see now that the time has always been right for us, just not for me because I was scared that I wasn’t enough for you. I hope you can forgive me for not seeing that, for not accepting what was right in front of me. And that is you. It’s always been you.
“I love you so much. I thought you deserved better, that you should be with someone perfect, or at a least a man who doesn’t come from a family of con men and thieves and criminals. Your family means a lot to me. They are what I’ve always thought a family should be, and for you to have less than that—”
“Stop,” she said. Her legs had turned to jelly, so she brought a hand up and pressed it to his chest to steady herself. “You love me?”
He untangled their fingers so he could hold her shoulders. “Yes. Of course I love you. So much that I want everything to be right for you, including who you spend your life with. That’s why I wanted to like Kai. As excruciating as it was for me, the best thing that ever happened to us was me seeing you with him.
“On the surface, he seemed perfect for you. But I could see that he wasn’t as perfect as me.” He paused, his expression earnest and sweet, and she was pretty sure it was the cutest thing she’d ever seen. “I don’t mean that I’m perfect—I mean that no one will ever love you like I do, Hazel. It’s not possible.”
Now tears were gathering for a different, better reason. The best of all reasons, but she refused to cry and blur this moment. Blinking them away, she said, “I think I’m perfect for you, too.”
“You absolutely are. The only person who is. And I’m sorry I wasted so much time.”
“Well,” she said, bringing her hands up to twine around his neck while he adjusted his hold to her waist. “I wouldn’t say it was wasted. Supposedly, the best things in life are worth waiting for. There’s actually this little-known principle called the waiting correlation. The longer you’re made to wait, the better the thing is that you waited for. So...” She offered a half shrug. “By my calculation, that means you should be nothing short of spectacular.”
“The waiting correlation? Huh.” Lips twitching with laughter, he drew her even closer. “Any chance you made that up?”
“Maybe,” she admitted teasingly. “But it’s a sound theory. I’m going to make a new list detailing all the amazing things about you that were worth waiting for. I’ll call it my ‘Romance Is Worth the Wait List.’”
He chuckled and then tipped his head down so that his mouth hovered just above hers. “Have I mentioned how much I love you?”
“Yes, but a spectacular guy would repeat it multiple times a day. That’s something I can add to the list.”
“I love you, Hazel James,” he said, just before his lips met hers for a kiss. No, not a kiss. The kiss. Hazel would never have believed that kissing him could get any better. How wrong she’d been. Because this and knowing that he loved her was unlike any sort of happiness she’d ever experienced. Ever. And that was saying a lot because Hazel had literally traveled the world trying to find something, anything, that matched this rightness, this utterly consuming mindfulness, this...this perfect sense of peace.
Cricket pulled away and hugged her tight. Nuzzling her neck, he placed his mouth close to her ear and whispered, “Despite the undue and possibly unrealistic pressure you’ve placed on me to be spectacular, I promise to spend the rest of our life together adding items to that l
ist. I promise, Hazel, that we were worth the wait.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE,” Margaret told Hazel while turning a pan of fresh-baked rolls onto a cooling rack. “Cricket has spent every Christmas Eve with us since... I don’t even know how many years it’s been.”
“I know, Mom.” Hazel hated breaking this news to her. “And I’m sorry. I’m sad, too. I couldn’t talk him into it. He doesn’t feel right being here.”
Operation Happy Christmas had been an unqualified success. Since the thieves were caught red-handed, they’d been offered a reduced charge to provide details about Roy’s and Darrell’s involvement. With the robbery solved, the police had released most of the tablets and other items, keeping just a few for evidence.
Distribution of all the gifts had gone smoothly, and Hazel knew her mom had been looking forward to their annual fun-filled family Christmas Eve. But even if Cricket had agreed to come, the evening would be anything but fun.
“Tag still won’t talk to Cricket. Hannah is angry with Tag. Shay is upset with Hannah. Iris is extremely disappointed that everyone won’t be here.” Iris’s disappointment went deeper than that because she was Margaret’s Secret Santa and had reserved a professional photographer to take a family portrait. But Hazel couldn’t give that part away even though the family photo wouldn’t take place without Cricket and Hannah.
“I’m torn because I want to be with him and you all. But he’s insistent that I stay here.” Hazel had agreed to do so only when Cricket and Lee had made plans to go snowshoeing, and Lee reassured her that he’d be preparing his “famous” cast-iron steak for the two of them. “He feels terrible because the last thing he’d ever want is to be the cause of holiday tension in our family.”
“He doesn’t want to be the cause of any tension in this family, and that’s a big part of the problem.”