The Price of Secrets

by Terry Poole

  Nathan calmly sat down at the table directly across from Jerry. He turned to Kelly who was still at the counter. “Hon, could I please bother you for a coffee?”

  “You and your coffee.” Kelly fondly shook his head as he poured a coffee for Nathan and prepared it how he liked it. Nathan, his brilliant man, was behaving as if there was nothing wrong. Good. It was vital that everyone act normally and not give themselves away.

  “Here you go, love,” he said, placing Nathan’s favorite mug on the table in front of him.

  “So, what brings you out this late, Jerry?” Kelly asked Jerry as evenly as he could as he slid into the chair beside Nathan.

  “I just wanted to see if you guys made it back okay,” Jerry said, glancing between Kelly and Nathan.

  “We did, thank you. There were some minor injuries but nothing serious,” Nathan answered before taking a small sip of his steaming coffee.

  Jerry heaved in a large lungful of air then let it noisily out. He clicked his tongue as he shook his head sadly back and forth. “Awe you know, don’t you?”

  “I’m sorry? Know what?” Kelly asked Jerry, feigning ignorance.

  Jerry slowly lifted his other hand, which up until now had been invisible under the table. A gun was clenched firmly in his palm, aimed at them.

  “Jerry? What are you doing?” Kelly asked, keeping a firm eye on both the gun and Jerry, waiting for the ‘tells’ which would give him a hint to Jerry’s next move.

  “Just cut the crap, Kelly,” Jerry snapped, swinging his arm until Kelly stared down the barrel of the gun.

  A noise to one side caught Kelly’s attention. It came from Brendan’s direction and Kelly carefully watched him out of the corner of his eyes hoping that Brendan wouldn’t do anything stupid. Matt’s placed his hand firmly on Brendan’s shoulder and he pushed Brendan down with him as he slowly slid to the floor behind the island. Thankfully, Jerry hadn’t seen them. His attention was too focused on Kelly, the only real threat in the room.

  Nathan was contemplating his coffee, his brows drawn together in a deep frown.

  “Don’t do it, baby,” Kelly warned him softly, placing a hand on Nathan’s wrist.

  “Listen to the man, Doc. He knows that I can shoot this a lot faster than you can make a move.” Jerry gave the gun a small wiggle to emphasize his words.

  “Enough, Jerry.” Kelly scowled at him. “You have us defenseless and at gun point. Now what?”

  “Karen’s sick. Did you know that?” Jerry asked him conversationally as if he wasn’t holding a gun on him and Nathan.

  Kelly shook his head. “No, Jerry. I didn’t know. I went off the grid after I got out of the hospital. I’m sorry, man.”

  “Her treatments are really expensive,” Jerry continued as if Kelly hadn’t spoken. “Our shitty health plan won’t cover them anymore.” Jerry rested his elbow on the table, gun firmly held in place, with the barrel still facing Kelly and Nathan. “They said the treatments weren’t working anymore so there was no point in continuing with them. Bullshit!” He snarled. “They were keeping the cancer from spreading.”

  Nodding, Kelly said, “You made a deal with Varga so you could continue to pay her medical expenses.”

  “Give the man a cigar!” Jerry mocked.

  “Did Karen know?”

  “Of course not.”

  “No, because she wouldn’t have approved. And after Varga died, you were stuck without a source of extra income.”

  “Yeah well, after Varga offed himself, the Señora and I made a deal. She would continue paying and I would hand you over to her. The problem was, you’d disappeared off the face of the planet. Awe, poor boo boo,” Jerry teased him. “Couldn’t handle killing the Varga kid.”

  Kelly forced himself to remain outwardly calm even as he seethed inside. He could understand going to desperate lengths to save the one you loved but the man across from him was a stranger.

  “I’d been trying to find you for a year, you know.” Jerry continued. “Imagine how happy we both were when you suddenly showed up right out of the blue, a few months back. Yeah, you needed old Jerry’s help to save Nathan from the mysterious attacker who kept coming after him. You figured out that it was the Governor’s wife trying to remove Nathan so she could get back the blackmail documents hidden in his parents’ house. But then you went and got all shot up and I lost track of you again. And now look at you, no longer ‘off grid’, but back with the FBI, and teamed up with your old partner. Well, things just couldn’t get any better or more convenient than that now, could they?”

  Jerry leaned forward with a nasty grin. “She called me earlier tonight. Said you’d escaped and she wanted you back. She would pay me well for capturing you and returning your ass to her. She’s on her way. Here.” He tapped the table. “Coming to get you and finish what she started.”

  Well, that answered the question of what had happened to Danna. When they’d heard the single shot coming from Nathan’s cell as they were leaving, they had all come to the conclusion that Danna had killed herself. Apparently, not.

  “Jerry, Danna already knows that it wasn’t me who killed her son.”

  “No!” Jerry almost screamed the word, spittle spraying from his mouth. He had a wild glint in his eyes that made Kelly wonder about Jerry’s sanity. It appeared that dealing with Karen’s illness had taken a far greater toll on Jerry than Kelly had at first thought.

  “No,” he said once more, calmer, running his free hand over the top of his nearly bald head. “Danna would have said something. Of course, she would have. No, she wants you, she said so. You’re lying. You’re just trying to save yourself and your precious doctor.”

  He sneered at them before sinking back in his chair. “We just have to wait ’til she gets here. It shouldn’t be long now.”

  “What are you getting out of this Jerry?” Kelly quietly asked him. “Money?”

  “Hell yes, money. Enough that Karen and I can go somewhere to get her treatments and disappear.”

  A movement behind and above Jerry near the top of the stairs caught Kelly’s eye. Casually looking up he saw G, still in her leathers, peeking from around a banister. The open concept kitchen allowed a perfect view of the stairs if you were sitting in the right place and Kelly was. She winked at him when she realized that Kelly had seen her. He had been so wrapped up in Jerry and the gun he held that he had forgotten she was even here, upstairs and hidden. Go G!

  A loud knock on the door had G scrambling silently up the stairs and out of sight as Jerry stood.

  “And that should be her. Answer the door. Brendan,” Jerry ordered him without looking his way.

  Brendan slowly rose up from behind the island, his face impassive. He glanced at Kelly who nodded and warily keeping an eye on Jerry, Brendan went to the door and opened it. Moments later, he returned followed by Danna and three of her men. He stood to one side allowing them to pass him.

  “Ah-ah-ah.” Jerry brandished the gun in Brendan’s direction. “Back in here, if you please.” Jerry indicated Brendan should sit at the table with them.

  Reluctantly, Brendan walked forward, past Danna and the men arrayed behind her. He moved around the table sitting down on the other side of Nathan. Matt stayed well hidden behind the island.

  “Here he is, Señora, just like you wanted.” Jerry holstered his gun and took a step toward her. “I’ll take my payment and leave Kelly to you.”

  “Of course, Jerry,” Danna purred. She waved her hand and one of the men handed her a leather handbag.

  Kelly kept his gaze fixed on the scene before him. However, in his peripheral vision, he watched G silently make her way down the stairs, a gun in each hand.

  Danna opened the bag then dropped it as she pulled out a gun and pointed the business end of it at Jerry.

  “S-Señora?” He stammered, eyes wide as his gaze bounced between her and the gun she held. “What is this?”

  “You killed my son, my Samuel, and now, you will die.” There was no inflection
in her voice. She could have been discussing the weather instead of murder.

  Jerry tensed and Kelly knew immediately that he was going to go for his own gun. Not taking his eyes off Jerry, Danna and the men with her, Kelly leapt at Nathan and Brendan forcing both them and their chairs over to the ground like dominoes.

  “Freeze!” G shouted from behind them, her guns aimed at the group. Everyone froze, exchanging glances at each other in consternation. The men behind Danna were caught mid-motion reaching for the weapons under their coats.

  “Danna, please don’t do this.” Steven leaned against the wall clutching his side, obviously in great pain.

  “Why?” she asked him, her face a cold mask.

  “I have all the evidence, the proof I need to send Jerry to prison for a very long time.” Steven sucked in a ragged breath. “I’ve already summoned the police. They should be here any minute. If you kill him, they will gun you down when you try to leave.”

  Kelly rose cautiously to his feet, holding a hand down to warn Nathan and Brendan to remain where they were. A siren echoed in the distance and Danna’s head snapped to one side, looking past her men and out the large picture window. She shrugged, then picked up the bag and put the weapon back into it before handing it to one of the men behind her. She nodded and the men dropped their hands, no longer reaching for their weapons. G glided past them, gaze firmly locked on them, until she stood beside Kelly.

  Danna turned to go but paused and swung back to them. “Know this,” she warned. “Whether I kill him now or an unfortunate accident happens to him in prison. My son will be avenged.”

  She turned as the sirens grew louder and she led her men out of the house, slamming the door hard behind her.

  Jerry unfroze and tried to make a grab for his gun. The muzzle of one of G’s guns suddenly rested against Jerry’s temple as she pressed herself to him.

  “Ah, no, mez amie. I would not recommend you do that.” She reached around his shoulder and slipped the gun from the holster, tossing it over to Kelly before stepping back.

  “Thanks, G. Perfect timing as always.” Kelly raised the gun, pointing it at Jerry, his ex-partner, ex-friend.

  Brendan walked over to G grinning proudly at her as he slung an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. “You are amazing.”

  She gave Brendan’s cheek a kiss. “But of course, cher, I am French-Canadian. We are all amazing, oui?”

  “Mais oui. Je’t adore ma petite ange and I will show just how much I adore you later when I peel you out of all that sexy leather.”

  G proceeded to blush a lovely shade of pink but the gleam in her eyes as she looked at Brendan was one filled with promise.

  While Nathan righted the chairs, Matt handed Kelly some zip ties he had dug out of the junk drawer in the kitchen. The two of them bound Jerry’s hands together behind his back before shoving him into one of the chairs and tying him in place, all under G’s watchful scrutiny.

  “That will keep you until the police get here,” Kelly told him.

  “About that,” Steven said from his place against the wall. “You can turn it off now,” he called down the hallway before slowly sliding to the floor as the sirens abruptly shut off.

  Nathan was out of his seat and over to Steven in an instant. “Lift your shirt. Let me see.”

  Steven tried to wave him off but Nathan was having none of that. He gently, but firmly nudged Steven back before pulling Steven’s shirt up to examine him.

  “You’re fine, just weak.”

  “I could have told you that,” Steven muttered.

  The door to the guest room burst open just as Nathan was carefully tugging Steven’s shirt down. Nathan’s mother and Luis came charging out with Vicki running straight into Matt’s arms. Taking one look at Steven collapsed on the ground, Luis shouted his name and dropped to his knees beside Steven, his hands reaching out to him.

  “I’m okay. Relax, son.”

  Luis froze. Slowly a deep scowl formed on his face. He grasped Steven’s chin in his fingers and turned Steven’s head until their gazes met.

  “Understand this,” Luis said in a low, firm voice. “I am not a child, and I am most certainly not your son.”

  Luis brought his face closer to Steven whose eyes had widened, giving him a deer in the headlights appearance. “I am a man and I chose you.” He lowered his head until their lips met.

  With a small smile, Nathan rose to his feet and moved over to stand beside Kelly. Wrapping an arm around Nathan’s waist, Kelly gave Nathan a discrete, concerned glance, flicking his gaze at the two on the floor and back again. This development troubled him. Sure, Steven was a nice guy and Kelly had seen the hero worship in Luis’s behavior but Luis was ten years Steven’s junior and according to Nathan, quite inexperienced. As Luis’s defacto fathers, it fell to the two of them to chaperone this budding relationship.

  Luis had apparently staked his claim and judging from Steven’s blown away reaction, he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Kelly would simply have to wait and see what, if anything, developed further between them and be there for Luis.

  Then something else occurred to him. “Um. Where are the cops?” Kelly asked no one in particular.

  “Oh, there are no police,” Nathan’s mother answered him.

  “What?”

  The sound of sirens suddenly echoed in the hallway and everyone turned. Maria came out of the room with a large toy police car in her hands.

  She looked up apologetically and held out the toy. “Grandmother, I can’t get it to stop.”

  The entire room exploded into laughter. Even Jerry gave a wry smile and shook his head at the irony of it.

  “Come here, baby, I’ll fix it.”

  Vicki took the toy and after fiddling with it, the noise shut off once more. She handed it back to Maria who scooted back through the open guest bedroom doorway. Kelly could hear Jesus giggling from inside.

  “Where did that toy come from?” Kelly asked Vicki.

  “It was in the huge box of toys that was delivered to the house about an hour before you showed up.”

  “Brendan must have cleared out an entire toy store for them.”

  Vicki smirked at him. “Wait ’til you see what else was delivered.”

  “What else—”

  An abrupt knock at the door interrupted them.

  “That would be the real police,” Matt stated. “I called them while everyone else was busy.”

  “Good move, Dad.” Brendan high-fived his father as he went to open the door, willingly this time.

  “Well done, dear.” Vicki curled into Matt’s chest and hugged him tightly, as his arms came around her once more.

  “I thought so,” he answered rather smugly.

  “Oh, you.” She gave his chest a playful swat.

  Brendan returned with several policemen in tow, Detective James in the lead. While Brendan immediately gathered G to him, Kelly stepped forward and clasped the detective’s hand.

  “Detective.”

  “Special Agent. Nice see that you were able to ‘rescue’ Dr. Kirkfield.” The detective made air quotes with his fingers then did a double take when he caught sight of Nathan. “Now I know why that name was so familiar. You treated a friend of mine not too long ago. It’s a pleasure to meet you again and under better circumstances.”

  It was Nathan’s turn to move forward and he gripped the detective’s hand. “I remember you. Your friend was the near miss with the car. How’s he doing?”

  “All right.” Sadness clouded the detective’s eyes before he straightened and dropped into professional mode again. “I’ll take your statements and then get out of your hair.”

  The officers efficiently removed Jerry but Kelly found it hard to feel sorry for the man. He had brought this on himself. Even if his intentions hadn’t been wholly evil, they’d been wrong. Jerry had caused so much hurt by his actions, both emotional and physical. The person he felt truly sorry for was Karen, Jerry’s wife. She was the one
who would pay the ultimate price for Jerry’s secrets.

  They sat at the table with Detective James and recounted what they were allowed to tell him. Much of it was classified and had to remain between Steven, Kelly, and his team.

  Once they were finished and the detective seen to the door, everyone settled in the living room. Kelly studied all the snuggling couples around him, the children playing on the floor before them and let out a deep contented sigh.

  “Is something wrong?” Nathan asked, sitting up from his position against Kelly’s chest.

  Kelly tipped his head so that his forehead rested against Nathan’s cheek. He squeezed Nathan tightly to him. Kelly had the love of his life safe and in his arms, two beautiful children and a wonderful extended family.

  “Nope. Nothing at all.”

  The End

  About the Author

  Terry makes her home between the two massive lakes that bisect Manitoba in central Canada. She’s always written in one form or another. Her very first book, at age five, consisted of stick figures drawn upon a roll of adding machine paper. When Terry isn’t writing (which isn’t often), she can be found crocheting, making handmade soap or hanging out on Facebook.

  Her mind has been compared to a train station filled with runaway trains. The trick is to catch one and hang on. So many stories, so little time. Her epitaph will consist of only two words – What if…?

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