by AS Teague
“What’s wrong?” I asked again but decided not to say anything more as he shot me a look that could have made plants wither on the stalk.
The more he paced, the higher my anxiety grew until I couldn’t take it anymore. “Jesus, Lawson, tell me what the hell is going on!” My voice was shrill and Lawson stopped in his tracks.
“Do you have any more letters from them?”
I nodded. I’d kept them all, most of them containing pictures of John Mark.
He turned on his heel and stalked to my bedroom, barking over his shoulder, “Get them for me.”
I rushed after him and went straight to my nightstand to pull them out. I’d barely turned around to hand them over before he grabbed them and started shuffling through the letters, his eyes quickly scanning the contents of each.
When he was done, his eyes landed on my face, but he was looking through me. “I have to call Pieters.”
As he nearly ran down the hall to his office, it was all I could do to follow behind him, hoping I would glean some information from the phone call. His cell was already to his ear when I caught up with him.
“Pieters,” he clipped, “get your ass to my house now.”
Pause.
“Don’t give a shit what you’re doing.”
Pause.
“Don’t care how hot she is.” Pause to check his watch. “It’s barely five o’clock, you should be —fuck, I don’t care what you should be doing. I expect you on my front porch in ten.”
Pause.
“Fine, fifteen.”
He hung up and turned to where I was standing in the doorway, watching him intently.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
He gave a curt nod and waved the paper in my direction. “I just found our missing link.”
I couldn’t hide my confusion as I asked, “John Mark is the missing link? To what, exactly?”
He began to pace again, something I don’t think I’d ever seen him do before, and the confusion mixed with frustration that he was talking in riddles.
“Dammit, you’re freaking me the hell out! Please give me a straight answer. What is going on here?”
That godforsaken piece of paper, which now looked like it had been dug out of the bottom of a garbage can, was waved in my direction once more. “This kid doesn’t exist.”
I froze. “What? John Mark? Of course he does. I’ve been sending him school supplies and presents and paying for his health care and food for months now. Every few weeks, I get an update on him. It was his birthday last month. I got a handwritten thank you note, for God’s sake.”
Lawson’s eyes shut as he shook his head. A clip of laughter that held no humor passed through his upturned lips.
“What’s so funny?”
I watched as his chest visibly expanded, the breath he pulled in through his nose so large. But it was the words he said next that caused my heart to skip a beat. “You’ve been conned, Piper.”
40
Lawson
I couldn’t fucking believe it.
I just couldn’t.
Piper had been conned.
By the very group I’d been investigating.
It all clicked into place the moment I saw the letterhead on that phony letter.
And of course, Piper wouldn’t think twice about sponsoring a child. We’d all grown up watching our parents send monthly checks around the world to help the children who were less fortunate. And she was a pediatrician, for fuck’s sake.
Piper’s shaky voice pulled me out of my anger fueled inner rant. “What do you mean I’ve been conned?” When I looked at where she stood in the doorway of my office, her eyes round with shock, she suddenly looked tiny to me.
It was like that godforsaken day at the middle school all over again. She’d been kicking that kid’s ass, but when we got in the car and Hampton spilled the beans about what he’d been doing to her, I’d noticed how delicate she actually was.
I’d gone back and threatened that little shit within an inch of his life, taking care of the problem for her. And this was going to be no different. I was going to find these motherfuckers if it was the last thing I did, and I was going to make sure they knew they didn’t mess with Piper fucking Kelley.
I pulled in a breath through my nose, hoping to calm myself down before I spoke again, and when I did finally answer her, my voice was much lower than it’d been.
“The Children of the Ministry is the group that we’ve been investigating. They’ve been on our radar for years, but we’ve never been able to pin anything on them.” A new surge of frustration raced through my veins when I thought about how close we’d been to nailing them to the wall a year ago. If only that investigation hadn’t been botched, Piper wouldn’t be in the situation she was in now.
I had to force my hand to release the fist my fingers had curled into as I continued explaining. “I knew there was some sort of connection here, I just couldn’t figure it out. The names the prescriptions were written under. Josiah Matthews. Matthew Shadblow. They weren’t exact matches, but the ‘president’ of the organization is named Josiah Shadblow. That child you’ve been sponsoring? Not a real person.”
Her mouth fell open, but she shook her head. “No way. I got a video clip from him one time! He was in a dusty street all dirty and holding the soccer ball I sent.”
I worked to control my frustration. “I’m tellin’ you. This kid does not exist.”
Her mouth drew a tight line across her face as she argued, “And I’m telling you, he does!”
I held up a hand to stop her. “Okay, fine. The kid exists. However, he isn’t some destitute child from another country. They probably give him five bucks and a couple of the toys you send to have him record the videos and write you a thank you letter.”
“Okay, I’ll play along. This kid I’ve been sponsoring doesn’t exist, at least not in the capacity I thought he did.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “How does that explain prescriptions written on my pad, with my signature, being for people I’ve never even heard of?”
I didn’t have the answer to that.
Yet.
Right on cue, Pieters slung the door open, his large frame lumbering down the narrow hallway on his march back to my office. “This better be good,” he rumbled. “I was in the middle of some very hot action.”
“Sure, jackass, come on in,” I grumbled, making a note to start locking the door even when I was home to avoid people just walking in all the time.
He gave me the one finger salute before tipping his chin at Piper. “Sorry, didn’t realize you were here.”
She just shrugged and then turned her blazing eyes back to me.
Pieters lifted his brows in question, but I shook my head and held the stack of letters out to him. “Oh, it’s better than good. It’s the answer to all of our questions.”
“Ah, not exactly,” Piper spoke up. “Actually, it doesn’t answer any of my questions.”
Pieters cleared his throat and then looked at me pointedly.
“Piper, mind giving us a few minutes?” I asked, gesturing toward the door.
When she simply glared at me, her arms crossed over her chest, I rephrased my statement. “I’ll fill you in on everything later. But I’ve got to talk to Pieters privately.”
Pieters waggled his brows at her. “I’m sure you don’t care to hear about my hot date anyway.”
“Are you kidding me? This is about me and you want to talk privately? No.” She stamped a foot. “I’m not leaving.”
I groaned. “Please, don’t make this difficult. I promise, I’ll tell you every detail later.” I crossed my office to her side, and using her elbow, guided her to the doorway. “I promise.”
Her only response was a growl that I swear I’d heard Seven make before, but she finally relented and stalked down the hall to her room. She didn’t miss the chance to let her displeasure at being dismissed known and shut the door soundly behind her.
My shoulde
rs sagged in relief as I shut my office door and rushed to my desk. Pulling up the case file, I turned to Pieters excitedly. “We’ve cracked it.”
Disappointment washed through me when he didn’t return my exuberance. Instead, he pulled up the extra chair in my office next to me and patted my shoulder. “Look, I know you want to solve this problem for your girl. But”—he thrust the papers onto my keyboard—“this doesn’t prove anything.”
If he had grown a second head I couldn’t have been more surprised. “Of course it proves something.” I jabbed a finger in the direction of the best piece of evidence we’d gotten in months.
But all Pieters did was shake his head. “No, all it proves is that Piper’s got a big heart and some assholes took advantage of that.”
“It links The Children of the Ministry to Piper and to the prescriptions.”
He sighed the kind of sigh that was usually reserved for petulant children. “No, Reed, it doesn’t. Where’s the link between them and the prescription pad?” He looked around the room. “I don’t see any busted windows. Did someone break in and steal the pad from her? You got plenty of surveillance here. Catch anyone on tape going through her stuff?”
I shoved a hand through my hair. “Well, no. But I don’t need that stuff.”
“You shittin’ me right now? You don’t need that stuff? What exactly do you need then?”
I pushed to my feet. “I need you to call McAvoy in.”
The bark of laughter was so loud it echoed off the bare walls. “I’m not calling anyone in. Have you lost your fucking mind?”
I glared at him. “No, but I’m about to lose my cool if you don’t listen to me.”
Pieters launched out of his seat. “I am listening to you. I’m listening to you grasp at straws. I’ve been listening to you try to link Piper to this case for weeks now. Look, is Piper in danger?”
“She hasn’t received any threats that I know of.”
He shrugged. “Then she’s not in danger.”
I thought I knew Pieters well, but the more he argued against me, the less sure I was that he was the man I thought he was. The Pieters I thought I knew wouldn’t question my judgement. It had never failed us before.
“I’m calling in a supervisor.”
“You are not.”
“You can’t keep me from talking to McAvoy. I bet he’ll see the connection between it all.”
“Even if there is a connection, what is it? Where is the connection? Who is the connection? All you have is some circumstantial bullshit that’s been contrived by your feelings for your girlfriend. And look, I’m not saying I wouldn’t be chasing the shit out of every lead I could find if I had her in my bed at night too. But you’re reaching, and you fucking know it. You call McAvoy, you better make damned sure you don’t even think my name while you’re talking to him.”
My blood was boiling, the sound of it pounding my ears. “You watch your fucking mouth when you talk about her.”
Pieters at least had the courtesy to look sorry as he took a step back. “You know I’m right, Reed. You fucking know you’re overstepping here.”
I checked my watch. “Think it’s time for you to go home. You can show yourself out. Do me a favor, don’t bother checking in with me in the morning. Wouldn’t want your name to cross my mind while I’m talking to McAvoy. It’d be your own fault, not that you’d take the blame for it anyway.”
Pieters’ cheeks reddened further. “That was a low blow and you know it.”
I didn’t respond, just scowled as my chest heaved. I didn’t bother watching him leave, instead slid in front of my computers and began combing through the security footage again.
I knew there was a link.
I just had to find it.
It was nearly midnight when I slid into my bed. I was surprised to find Piper already there, her blond hair fanned out on my pillow. Her hands were tucked under her cheek and her lips were parted just enough for a snore to slip through them with each breath.
She probably wouldn’t appreciate knowing I’d watched her snore and chuckled with each one, but I couldn’t stop myself from studying her profile.
Despite her world being turned upside down, in sleep she was able to relax.
She was everything I’d ever wanted. And now that she was mine, what I wanted most was to make sure she always felt like this. Relaxed, peaceful, content to fall asleep in my bed, knowing it wouldn’t be long until I joined her there.
I carefully brushed her hair away from my pillow and slipped an arm around her waist. Right on cue, she rolled to her other side and her eyes fluttered open.
Her voice was thick with sleep when she said, “About time you came to bed.”
My lips twitched. “Shh…go back to sleep.”
Instead of her eyes closing, they opened more. “Everything okay?”
Yet another question I didn’t know if I had the answer to. “It will be.”
“Mmm…you’re too serious sometimes.” She used the pad of her thumb to smooth the worry line between my brows. “Remember, I was always yours. And now you’re mine. That means nothing can hurt us, as long as we’re together. I trust you.”
I captured her hand with my own and kissed her thumb. “Glad you know who you belong to.”
She laughed, a soft sound that was muffled by the pillow. “Don’t push your luck.”
She turned again and nestled her back against my chest. “Hold me?”
I didn’t hesitate as I wrapped both arms around her and pulled her close.
“Love you, Law. It’s all going to be okay.”
I didn’t get the chance to respond before I heard her soft snoring resume.
I wanted to believe this was all going to work out.
But I really wasn’t so sure.
41
Piper
“Shit. Shit. Shit,” I chanted, running to the sink with the flaming pan of eggs.
God. What a morning.
Lawson had been gone by the time I woke up, and when I’d tried calling him, he sent me to voicemail and then responded with a short text that said he would call me later.
I was annoyed I’d fallen asleep before he’d come to bed last night, losing my chance to grill him about what had gone down between him and his partner. I’d heard their voices through the door and while I couldn’t make out what was being said, I could tell they weren’t joking around or having a good time.
I’d just finished dragging myself from the bed when my phone chimed with a text.
Smith: Gooooooooood morning! Could you hear me singing that to you? My neck is so stiff lately. Do you know what I could do to make it feel better?
I tapped out a quick response as I shuffled down the hall. My nose was leading me to the coffee pot and I smiled to myself. At least Lawson had been thoughtful enough to turn it on before running out on me this morning.
Me: Take some anti-inflammatories and rest it. You could also try a heating pad.
His response was almost immediate, as though he’d already had it typed out.
Smith: Actually, I was thinking a massage would be better. And it just so happens, I have a spa day for two booked. You interested?
I squealed.
Me: OMG yes! I’m totally in. You have NO idea how much I need one of Melinda’s pedicures!!!
I gulped down a cup of coffee and then raced to the bathroom to shave my legs. I wasn’t sure how long it’d been since the last time I’d done it, but I knew the masseuse probably didn’t want to have to rub the abominable snow man’s legs today. My phone chimed again.
Smith: Perfect. Pick you up in half an hour.
I squealed again. This was just what I needed today. When he got here, I was going to kiss Smith for thinking of me.
Lawson
I’d gone into the field office before the sun had even come up. Armed with the letters Piper had gotten over the last six months, I was ready to talk to the agent in charge about the new leads in the case.
There was only o
ne problem: Pieters was right. I was still missing something. And I knew it was something vital.
Piper had gotten the very first sponsorship letter exactly seven months ago. It was just a generic plea for donations with the typical verbiage that was on every letter. She’d probably only skimmed it before tossing it in her drawer.
It was about six weeks later when the second letter came, this time with the picture of the kid attached. This was the letter that had hooked Piper.
She’d immediately filled out the sponsorship form and sent it back.
It was just a few days after that when the prescriptions started to be written.
But I couldn’t figure out the connection between The Children of the Ministry and Piper’s prescription pad or how she’d gotten on their radar in the first place. They usually went after people with money. And while Piper was well on her way to making a good living, she wasn’t there yet.
I was still sitting in the conference room at the office, the files laid out on the table when Pieters walked in.
He was the last person I wanted to see, so I didn’t do more than tip my chin in his direction before turning my attention back to the papers before me.
His voice was tight as he called, “Reed.”
“Pieters,” I mocked in a bored tone.
He pulled the chair beside me out from its place beneath the table and lowered his bulk into it. “I spent the rest of the night thinking about what you said.”
I cut my eyes to see something that almost looked like remorse in his face. “Yeah?”
“You’re the smartest man I know. If you say there’s a connection here, then who the fuck am I to question that?”
Finally, I turned my entire body toward him. He stretched out a hand and it hung in the air for a brief moment before I clasped it in mine. “We cool?”
I nodded.
He released my hand and blew out a breath. “Good. You’re the only asshole I know who listens to me talk about chicks.”
I rolled my eyes but chuckled. “When they certified me as a genius I’m not sure if they actually meant dumbass.”