by J. E. Taylor
It clicked in her mind and her face turned red. “Oh, my god, I’m such an idiot. I’m so sorry, but no, I don’t own a computer.”
Steve pocketed the paper. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate the gesture.”
“I didn’t mean…” she started.
“I know,” Steve interrupted.
“I just forget sometimes,” she said and opened the car door. “You know, I learned sign language our freshman year just so I’d understand what he was saying.” She stepped out of the car and leaned over so she could see him. “I figured he was being just as snarky as the rest of them. But I was wrong. Not once in the last three years of high school did he make fun of me. Not once, even when those around him were.” She kept Steve’s gaze. “He actually tried to get them to back off, but they ignored him, telling him to stop being such a boy scout.”
Steve smiled. “He’s a good kid, and I’m glad someone besides us can see that.”
Chapter 32
Tom stared at the ceiling in his bedroom, going over the day. He looked down at the medallion, tracing the lines with his finger before slipping it back under his shirt. The metal warmed his skin and he sighed. His breath plumed white on the air and he shot into a sitting position, his eyes darting around the room.
“Tanya?” Just speaking her name was confirmation and a trace of cold air tickled his ear. He jumped to his feet, spinning around toward the bed and there she was, lounging with her head propped on her hand. He blinked at the smile she wore and nothing else, her figure as seductive as it had been when she was alive.
She slipped her finger in her mouth and drew it out slowly, suggesting more than she ever gave him when she was flesh and blood and against his best judgment, his body reacted.
“See, you still want me,” she whispered.
He cursed his lack of self-control and stared at her, afraid to move because he knew the moment she got her hands on him, it was all over and the idea of fucking a ghost just gave him the willies.
“I never denied wanting you. You’re the one who didn’t want me, remember?”
“Ah, but that was before. Now there’s nothing on earth I want more.”
“How about your face?” he asked, the words flying out before he could stop them. Her eyes widened and he kept his expression frozen in a challenging stare, despite the horrific transition from seductive beauty to the scalped corpse he found. “That’s right, you heard me. I saw what was left of you. I was trying to save you and that’s why they arrested me.” The anger that lay dormant, deep within him, flared and his hands clenched. “So not only did you break my heart, you just may be the reason I land on death row.”
Her jaw dropped and the bloody sockets of her eyes widened.
“So, if you have any connection to what’s left of you, find it and tell me where it is so I can end the bastard that ruined you,” he said pointing out his window.
Tanya’s hand wiped across her cheek, bringing away a thick layer of blood and she gasped, her gaze darting from the red gunk on her fingers to Tom. “He took my face?”
“That’s what the Windwalker does,” he said, driving his point home.
She covered her face and screamed, her pitch dropping Tom to his knees and he covered his ears. Pain filled his head and his hand dropped to the medallion, gripping it like the last zip line between him and a drop to his death.
White light pierced the room and her scream faded, replaced by the echo of pounding wings.
When Tom looked up, the room was empty and he glanced at the door. CJ stood staring at the ceiling, his eyes as wide as Tanya’s had been.
You saw Dad?
CJ’s gaze dropped to him and he nodded. “He took her out of your room,” he whispered and bit his lip. “You kissed that?”
Tom shuddered. No, she was, um, whole when I kissed her.
“But that’s what she looked like when you found her?” he asked and his voice cracked.
“Yah,” Tom said and climbed to his feet.
“Holy shit.”
Tom nodded. “I was freaked beyond reason when I turned her over,” he signed. “The cops came before I had the sense to scream.”
CJ’s shock turned into a grin. “Dude, that would have made me scream senseless.”
“Yeah, and you scream like a little girl,” Tom grinned back.
CJ’s smile faded and he looked at the ceiling before returning his gaze to Tom’s. “You okay?”
Tom shifted his weight, thinking about the question before he met CJ’s gaze. “I don’t know,” he signed. “Where’s Jen?”
“She went to the store after Steve left,” CJ said. “Want to play Medal of Honor?”
“Sure, but can you do me a favor? Can you get this stupid thing off me?” Tom signed and raised the cast. “Don’t vaporize it; just leave it so I can slip it on in the morning.”
CJ nodded and the crack of fiberglass filled the room.
The cast split from the thumb to just shy of Tom’s elbow, leaving only the palm intact. The cut was done with surgical precision and Tom gave CJ a nod of appreciation. “Impressive,” Tom signed and forced the fiberglass off his arm, scratching the dry skin and flexing his hand.
* * * *
Steve walked into a calmer home. CJ and Tom played one of their war games on the television and Jennifer wasn’t back from the store, yet. He pulled the paper out and handed it to Tom. “That’s her number.”
Tom looked at the paper and up at Steve.
“I know, she flaked out for a moment, but that’s the only way to get hold of her,” he said. “She seems like a nice girl.”
Tom nodded and pocketed the note, returning his focus to the game.
“Can you two turn the television off for a minute?” Steve asked and walked in front of the television, interrupting their line of sight.
Both boys looked up with the same crease of irritation between their eyes.
“I need to talk to you,” he said and it took a moment for the words to sink in and then the television behind him shut off. “Thank you.” He took a seat on the couch adjacent to them.
“What’s going on?” CJ asked, his eyes squinted in concentration.
“I’m blocking you,” Steve started and held up a hand to squash CJ’s interruption. “I’m blocking you because I want you both to hear this from me.” He traded a glance with Tom before he moved his gaze to CJ. “I need to go down to Washington at the end of the week.”
CJ crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing and his mind filtering over the plethora of facts pinging in his head.
“I’m being charged with aiding and abetting a known criminal, extortion and reckless endangerment,” he said, voicing the charges for the first time. Inside he cringed, just the thought of being arrested set his blood boiling, but now wasn’t the time to create a scene.
“That’s bullshit!” CJ said and Tom nodded his approval at the statement.
“I didn’t extort anything from your family,” he said. “But the other two, well, I can’t defend against them because I did both.” He inhaled and studied his hands. “From what my boss said, I could be looking at thirty years in a federal penitentiary,” he said and looked at the boys.
CJ crossed his arms. “What in God’s name are they thinking?”
“They’re thinking I abused my power as an FBI agent, and honestly, they’re right. I coerced your mother into coming to the hospital and infusing Jen with her mojo in return for your father’s freedom. Therefore, I am guilty of coercion. I didn’t bring your father in, instead I let him help me catch Kyle Winslow and because of that oversight, he died saving us. Between that and bringing you to Georgia, they’ve got a strong case for reckless endangerment too.”
“You did what you had to do,” CJ said.
Steve sighed. “No, CJ, I didn’t. I ignored my oath in favor of personal gain. As a federal officer, it was my sworn duty to bring your father in and I didn’t. They don’t care why and I can’t reasonably explain why without bringing a whole oth
er level of scrutiny on this family.”
CJ tilted his head, reading between the lines. “So you’re going to take the fall for us?”
“That’s what I’m saying,” he said. “Neither of you need that kind of attention.”
“No,” CJ said crossing his arms.
“No, what?” Steve leaned back in the seat.
“No, you’re not going to jail. Just…no.”
“CJ.”
“No! No one is going to jail,” CJ yelled. Before Steve knew it, CJ was on his feet, his face turning red under the pressure of his anger and he stormed past, headed for the solace of the back yard.
The door slammed closed and Steve turned to Tom.
“Don’t look at me,” Tom signed and threw his hands up. “I agwee,” he said and stood to go after his brother.
“Do you have any idea what they’d do to him if they knew what he could do?”
Tom paused and looked over his shoulder at Steve. The same could be said about you. He disappeared through the door, leaving Steve sitting alone.
Chapter 33
CJ walked the perimeter of the back yard, his hands squeezing and stretching in an attempt to control the anger wrapped around his chest and eradicate the red flares in his line of sight. He knew Tom came out after him and was waiting patiently in one of the lounge chairs, but he couldn’t talk to him, not right now.
Not with this raging beast eating him from the inside out.
He stopped at the intersection of the wall and the path and glanced back at the house for a moment.
“Fuck it,” he muttered and darted down the zigzagging trail, stepping by memory in the dusk. Instead of climbing the stairs down to the dock, he jumped the ten feet, landing square. The lowering tide had pulled most of the water out of the pool, leaving only a layer of cold muck behind. Beyond the boulders, the waves lapped at rock; he relished the chill, considering whether the frigid water would cool him off quicker.
You’ll get hypothermia if you go in that water. Tom’s voice reasoned in his head and he looked up at the ledge above and Tom’s silhouette against the darkening sky.
“So what.”
Then I’d get hypothermia jumping in to save your ass.
“Fine, I won’t go in. Can you just give me some space for a while?”
Tom raised his hands and backed away from the edge, disappearing from view.
CJ stared out at the black water, calming his emotions. Anger was the easiest to identify and soothe. But the one that clenched his insides like a panther on the back of its prey was harder to define, more elusive and twice as crippling.
When the revelation came, he closed his eyes.
Fear.
Fear tasted like a sickly sweet dose of medicine that made him want to vomit.
Knowing it was fear that clawed his stomach to shreds didn’t help either, and he wondered how many times his father felt this crippling dread.
“Too many times.”
CJ glanced up at the timber of Steve’s voice.
“Your father was on the run for most of his life, and once he had you and Tom, every day was a battle for him,” Steve said as he climbed down the ladder and took a seat next to CJ. “He loved you boys and he was so afraid of losing you.”
CJ glanced at Steve and then back at the water, not acknowledging that he spoke.
“Every day he thought twice about staying in your lives, wondering if he would be the one to poison the inherent goodness you got from your mother.”
“We shouldn’t even exist,” CJ whispered.
“I think you’re wrong. Everything happens for a reason.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit!” CJ moved to stand and an invisible hand shoved him back down.
“Sit down,” Steve barked the command, glaring at CJ.
The abrupt change in manner shocked CJ into complying and not rebelling like he normally would.
“Your father had pure intent in him at one time. Did you know he used to put himself between his brother and his stepfather, knowing he might end up in the hospital because of it?”
CJ blinked and shook his head. “I, I didn’t know that.”
“And even the repeated beatings and broken bones didn’t break his spirit. When his stepfather carved his face up, that came close, but he still had both his brother and sister. It was when his sister was murdered that he lost it. When she died, everything honorable inside him did, too. The only thing that remained was his militant sense of protection over his little brother. That never left.” Steve took a breath and scanned the ocean. “I know that doesn’t come close to making up for everything he did. He crossed moral and legal lines neither of us would ever dream of crossing. But that feeling of being his brother’s protector, well, that wasn’t a bad thing and it seems he passed that down to you.”
CJ narrowed his eyes, something in Steve’s narration bothered him and when Steve met his gaze, he got it. “You want me to protect Tom.”
“Yes. He’s going to need it until they catch the real killer.”
“You know you don’t even have to ask. It’s a given,” CJ said.
“We’ve split time on this one ever since we got back from Georgia, so you’ve been afforded a break, but when I’m in Washington, you won’t get any relief. It’s a twenty-four by seven job to keep him out of harm’s way. I won’t be here to fix him if the shit hits the fan.”
“So, my mission, should I choose to accept it…” He grinned and gave Steve a sideways glance.
“Smart ass.” Steve smiled back. “Come on, Jen should be back by now.”
Steve climbed the steps first and CJ paused halfway up, tilting his head and listening. He scurried up and caught up to Steve, grabbing his arm and stopping him.
“Did you know?” he snapped.
Steve glanced at CJ, leveling a gaze that told him enough, but he opened his mouth, confirming CJ’s suspicions. “I knew they wouldn’t wait. Not with the case they’re building. In their minds, I’m too much of a flight risk.”
“Won’t they throw Tom back in jail if you’re not here?”
Steve stopped and turned, taking CJ by the shoulders. “Jennifer is here and she has the same responsibilities I do where Tom’s house arrest is concerned, so no, he won’t go back to jail unless he screws up.”
“What if she has one of her auditions?”
“Then you take him to and from school.”
CJ shoved his hands in his pocket and nodded. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, the fear of losing another loved one ate at his insides, creating an icy hot pain in the pit of his stomach.
“You’re not losing me.”
CJ met his sincere stare. “Why don’t I believe that?” he asked and broke away, walking the path back to the house, knowing an ambush lay in wait for Steve inside the house.
* * * *
Steve looked at the sky, counting the visible stars. “You need to stay and watch over them,” he said to the heavenly lights.
Silence met his order and he glanced up at the sky again.
“I’m serious. Tom is your priority. You have to promise me you’ll stay here until they catch the bastard.”
“That’s not how it works,” Ty said.
“I don’t care. It’s the only way I’ll know he’s safe.”
“Fine, I’ll stay.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t forget to call Lynn. She’s got papers that can help.”
Steve nodded and collected his nerves. Taking a deep breath, he stepped from the heavy brush onto the lawn. A flurry of activity hit from all sides, and at least a dozen firearms pointed in his direction. He raised his hands so they were in clear view and looked beyond the agents into the family room, meeting Jennifer’s panicked gaze.
Cleary held her in place in a bear hug and she fought like a tiger to get loose. He could hear the curses flowing from her mouth even through the closed glass door.
“Hands on your head,” one of the team ordered.
Steve
knew the drill and he put his hands on his head and dropped to his knees before that command followed. He kept eye contact with Jennifer. Calm down, babe. You’ll be fine.
Jennifer stopped struggling and the tears glistened on her cheeks, driving a stab of pain in his heart. The thought that this could be the last time he saw her for a very long time brought a mist to his eyes and he blinked it back. Tom and CJ stood next to Cleary, just staring out at the chaos.
Cold metal clamped around his wrists and Steve tightened his jaw trying to hang onto the iota of pride he had left.
“Do you have to do that?” he asked the agent behind him, meeting his sharp glare.
The disgust was clear in both his facial features and his thoughts and Steve turned his gaze back to the house giving Jennifer a nod as they helped him to his feet.
“You have the right to remain silent,” the agent began and Steve tuned him out.
Call Lynn Trueman and let her know what’s happening. Ty said she has papers that may help my situation.
Jennifer’s eyebrow rose.
He planned for this.
Her mouth dropped and then popped closed, anger replacing the shock and despair of his arrest. His gaze flicked to the boys and back, and the beginning of her silent rant shut off.
Steve glanced at the officer. “Yes, I understand my rights,” he answered when they finished reading him the Miranda rights.
“You’re a disgrace to the Bureau.”
Steve glanced at his badge. “You don’t know shit, Scully,” he said and tilted his head. “Funny, you don’t look like a hot redhead,” he said, pushing the agent’s buttons and keeping his own temper in check with the slant.
Scully’s face turned red and his glare got downright dangerous.
“Oh, come on, don’t tell me you’ve never been razzed about your name,” Steve said and received a yank in the direction of the house as a response. He refrained from any more comment because Scully was a push away from clocking him.
The slider opened and Jennifer broke from Cleary’s grip, running to Steve and wrapping her arms around his neck.
Scully didn’t pause, he dragged Steve and Jennifer toward the front door until Steve yanked his arm from his grasp.