by K. M. Hodge
Alex’s gut twisted and churned at the news.
“You there, Bailey?” Richards asked.
Alex forced air into his lungs. “Yeah, I’m still here. What was he able to give up in return?”
“Well, we have enough to nail Senator Mitchel to the wall for illegal campaign contributions, conspiracy to commit murder, obstruction of justice, bribery, extortion, racketeering, money laundering, and the list goes on.”
Alex swore he could hear the other man smiling. “I have no words.”
Richards harrumphed. “You’re telling me! He was able to confirm that Fullmore and some low level people are accepting bribes to look the other way, or are being blackmailed, but he didn’t know a lot of the details, so we’ll still need you to back up these claims with all the paperwork I’m going to be sending you. Once we get all our ducks in a row over here, I will also be sending you all the documentation that Charles has, as well. I think between the two, we should be able to find enough to indict Fullmore and his cronies. It will just take some digging. I know you’ll be able to figure it out, though, in no time.”
Alex bit his lower lip. “Sir, what’s the bad news?”
“The AG’s office won’t send down indictments until our case is a little more airtight. We need a bulletproof paper trail, and for Katherine’s old man to testify. The problem with that is that we don’t know where he is anymore. My sources think he’s been spooked and gone deep into hiding.”
Alex padded into the kitchen, pulled a beer out of the fridge, and sat down at the table, using the end of table to pop off the top. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. “What’s the grand plan then, sir?”
His former boss stifled a yawn. “We need you to find him. Use your sources, whatever you have, and find him. Maybe if Katherine talks to him, he’ll come forward. In the meantime, we need to get her installed in a safe house. Charles is going to wait out the trial in prison. I need you in the field for this, Alex.”
He swallowed hard. The pressure to do it all had been building up inside of him all day. “You know I can’t. I need to be here with her.”
“I don’t suppose you would go if I ordered you out into the field either, huh?”
He paused and drank half the beer in one long gulp. “No.”
“Fine.”
Alex smashed his face with his hand. He was caught between his duty to follow this through and his desire to protect Katherine. “I’ll call in all my sources and assets and see what I can dig up.” That would just have to be enough.
“Do you have everything set with the safe house?” Richards asked.
Alex looked at the clock. “Yeah, we’re heading out there tomorrow. Thank you for keeping me in the loop. I’ll see what I can do on this end. Don’t worry, sir, we’ll nail them to the wall.”
After a long pause, Richards asked, “How is she?”
He pursed his lips, pausing to consider the loaded question before him. “Not well. She needs me here.”
“Damned if this isn’t the biggest mess,” Richards said. “Just help in any way you can, okay, Bailey?”
“Yes, sir, I will. I’ll... uh... talk to you later.”
“Yeah, bye.”
Alex ended the call and tossed the phone down on the table.
He hadn’t heard Brian walked into the kitchen, and was startled when his friend said, “Who was that on the phone?”
“My ASAC. It seems Charles is turning state’s evidence.”
Brian’s mouth dropped open in shock. He took a seat across from Alex and shook his head. “Wow. So, what’s the plan?”
Alex traced a knot in the wooden table. “I’m going to take Katherine to the safe house tomorrow, and the FBI and CIA are going to turn over every couch cushion in the hopes of finding her dad, who’s disappeared again.”
Chapter 16
Brian Williams’ Estate
Hinsdale, Illinois
June 10, 2008
8:00 AM
~~~
Alex awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside his window. A sleep-heavy arm and leg had him pinned to the bed. During the day, he could barely get away with a small touch, but in her sleep, she wound herself around him like twine. He was afraid to move, lest he wake her up and end the wonderful feeling of her body pressed against his. He closed his eyes with a sigh and snuggled against her. From outside came the sound of the neighborhood coming to life—people driving off to work or taking their kids to school.
It was Monday. He and Katherine would be leaving for the safe house today.
Alex was pulled out of his train of thought when her leg, which had been draped between his, tightened its hold on his midsection, and the hand that had been resting on his chest slid down to his hipbone that jutted out over the waistband of his boxers. It would be the easiest thing in the world to cross the mere inches that separated his lips from hers.
This sexual hiatus he was embarking on was so much harder than he thought it would be. Each small touch of her body against his enflamed him. He let out a small hissing sound as he tried to bring himself back under control, rousing Katherine. Her eyelids fluttered and opened to meet his intense gaze. For a moment they both lay there embracing each other, but it didn’t last long. The shadow of fear and anxiety darkened her eyes, and he tried to temper his frustrations when she recoiled away from him.
“I’m sorry.” A hint of irritation laced his apology—spoiling it.
They were on shaky ground. He had told her he was falling in love with her, but she had yet to say anything about how she felt about him. When he had left her in Florida, they had not made any promises, it had all been way too soon for that. Now, with all that had happened, he wished that they could just start over.
She scowled at him. “Don’t. Don’t you dare be sorry.”
Before he could even process what was happening, she had already jumped out of the bed and stalked off in the direction of the bathroom—toiletries in hand.
He needed a cigarette before dealing with that kind of complicated girl shit. His knees creaked as he swung his stiff legs over the side of the bed. The cigarettes and lighter were still in the pants from yesterday, which he had strewn on the floor with the rest of his clothes.
The flame of the lighter popped up and lit the end of his cigarette. He drew in the sweet tobacco smoke and his anxiety began to abate. The bed springs creaked as he sank down onto the old mattress and smoked the cigarette down to the nub. He lit another—it was a two cigarette kind of morning.
At some point yesterday, Betty had left one of her old ashtrays in the bedroom for him. It was the small things, he thought.
***
Katherine stood in front of the bathroom mirror holding the sides of the sink as she tried to catch her breath. Anger rolled and bubbled inside of her, unbidden. She was ashamed by her unwarranted outburst. Alex hadn’t deserved that; he had been so patient with her the last couple of days. She cupped her hands together, splashed cold water on her face and patted it dry with the guest towel. As she straightened back up she was forced to look at her reflection.
She didn’t recognize the battered woman reflected back at her. Her full-rounded features now looked more like those of a POW returning home from years of imprisonment and torture—with harsh blue marks across her neck, a split upper lip, and yellow and green shading around her eyes. She dared to touch the fingerprints bruised into her skin—branded.
Alex had told her, what seemed like a lifetime ago, that he would wait for her, but that was before this.
She choked back a sob, determined to shake off the despair that clung to her like barnacles on a bed-calm ship. After brushing her teeth and downing the half dozen pills the hospital had prescribed, she stalked back to the bedroom with the intent to make things right.
He looked up from his phone and caught her penitent gaze as she stood paused in the doorframe of their room. He released his thumbnail from between his teeth, letting his hands fall.
The room smel
led like smoke.
“Hey,” he said.
She leaned into the frame for support and cleared her throat. “Hey.” She wished that single word hadn’t sounded so awkward. She didn’t know how to get back to where they were before, but she knew she wanted to get back there.
Before, she thought. Now everything would be marked as before and after. She wet her lips with a quick sweep of her tongue and cleared her throat. “Um, about earlier—”
“It’s okay, I get it. You don’t have to explain yourself.” Despite his words, angry lines still marked his forehead.
He gave her a small, tender smile, which relaxed away some of the tension from her slight frame. She noted the thick cords of tension in his broad shoulders—knowing she had played a part in putting them there. She longed to go to him, touch him there and make it better. She bit her lip, embarrassed by this sudden impulse.
He caught her intense gaze and raised his eyebrows. “I should get dressed. We have a lot to discuss this morning.” He cleared his throat and looked away. “I got a call from Richards last night.”
His cold, all-business tone made her heart sink. She watched as he grabbed some clothes from his travel bag—jeans and a t-shirt, his “non-work” attire.
“I’ll go see about breakfast and you can fill me in then,” she said as he walked out of the bedroom past her. She couldn’t help but notice that he was careful to give her a wide berth so there would be no accidental touches.
As he walked off to the upstairs bathroom to shower, she dressed in a t-shirt and jeans herself. She then headed out to the kitchen to see about getting them something to eat—anything to avoid the agony inside.
***
Unknown Location
June 10, 2008
8:00 AM
~~~
Charles followed the guard down the empty cellblock. His hands, which held his neatly folded and pressed clothes and sheets, trembled.
His very expensive lawyer had been working all night with the Attorney General’s Office to make a deal that would allow him to avoid the death penalty for the two murders he had committed. His lawyer told him he would be serving time in prison, at least six months, until the deal was finalized. After that, they hoped the A.G.’s Office would allow him to serve out the remainder of his sentence at home, under house arrest, or at least in a minimum security, so-called “country club.” Though grateful to avoid capital murder charges, he wasn’t at all looking forward to the long six months alone behind bars. Still... better than being caught on the wrong side of an Ocean City goon’s gun.
All he had to do in return was testify against everyone around him for all the despicable things they had done. Not terribly difficult; he hated them all. His lawyer and the prosecution had assured him he would be safe in prison. In fact, they had cleared out a whole cellblock for him. His testimony was that valuable to the case, an investigation that had spanned more than three decades, he learned.
He entered his cell and unfurled his mattress, and the guard clanged the cell door shut behind him, making him jump. He slumped down onto the thin mattress and watched as his only connection with the outside world walked away down the block. He was more alone than he had ever been. Six months alone with little to no contact with the outside world... it might just break him.
He wallowed in self-pity until the picture of Katherine—they had allowed him to bring that in with him—fell to the floor at his feet. Whatever he had to endure, it was nothing compared to the hell she was in. No, he deserved this and so much more.
He bent to pick up the picture with trembling hands, held it with reverence, and traced his shaking finger along her profile. Katherine.
***
I-90
Danville, Virginia
June 10, 2008
9:00 AM
~~~
Scott sat in the back of his town car waiting to be taken to his district office in Richmond, Virginia. He had tried several times to get ahold of The Syndicate’s top men to find out if there was any news on Charles’ whereabouts. His little house of cards had started to wobble.
His sister and that partner of hers had gone into hiding. Even the dirty Ocean City slime balls couldn’t find them. Either no one was talking or they had strayed from the traditional channels. As far as the police and FBI were concerned, they had fallen off the face of the earth. He was beginning to see that this wasn’t going to bode well for him. For a moment he thought about hopping on his private jet, and leaving The Syndicate’s echelon to take the fall.
Fuck them and their money! But he had a wife and a high profile job and couldn’t just disappear.
If The Syndicate had just listened to him about Charles in the first place, he wouldn’t be in this mess. Now he was out of the loop, dead weight that needed to be excised from the group. If only he had been in charge; none of this would have happened, and Katherine would have never gotten away with what she did. Her betrayal was going to cost him his freedom. If given the chance again, he wouldn’t fail in stopping her this time.
He slammed his fist into the seat.
Fuck family loyalties! She needs to pay.
***
Brian Williams’ Estate
Hinsdale, Illinois
June 10, 2008
9:00 AM
~~~
Alex sat in silence across the table from Katherine, eating his breakfast. The quiet of the house amplified each small noise so that each bite Katherine took of her toast seemed to echo through the room, grating on Alex’s overworked nerves.
He wished Betty and Brian hadn’t already left for work. They were excellent distractions.
He thumbed through the paper and took sips of his coffee, tired and frustrated, and thought it better that he kept quiet. He didn’t want to risk hurting Katherine’s feelings with the sharp words that hung on his barbed tongue.
Her loud chewing and constant fidgeting made it nearly impossible for him to concentrate on the paper. Taking away one of his stress-relieving outlets, during one of the most stressful times of his life, was beginning to seem like the stupidest decision he had ever made.
He carefully folded the sports section over and laid it down on the table in front of him to look at the baseball box scores, since he had missed watching the last half of yesterday’s game. The black and white rules of baseball had always been a comfort to him. It was a simple constant—a straightforward action and reaction. He found deep comfort in its simplicity.
Out of the corner of his eye he caught her watching him over the lip of her cup.
The irritation he’d been suppressing the last few days bubbled up and out of his mouth before he could stop himself. “What?”
She blushed and looked away. “Nothing.”
That’s it!
He slammed his coffee cup down, causing it to spill. “I’m going outside to smoke.”
Once outside, he lit up a cigarette and pulled out his phone to text Doc.
I’m losing it! Why do you women have to be so damn complicated?
His phone buzzed back a reply:
Why do you men have to be such callous pricks? It’s only been a couple of days!
The bluntness of her comment struck a chord with him and he burst out laughing, choking on his cigarette smoke. He held his cigarette between his bowed lips. Touché, he typed back, then thought for a second and added:
This whole sexual fast thing may get ugly.
Doc’s reply came several seconds later:
If you care about her as much as you claim to, then it will all be worth it.
Her words hit him hard. He did love her, he was sure of that. Doc was right, he resolved. Not that this surprised him. He was being stupid and selfish.
***
Inside, Katherine sat at the kitchen table. Her stomach rolled and twisted again, making her feel as though the small amount of food she’d managed to ingest was going to make a return visit. Her fingers covered her mouth as she concentrated hard on not vomiting. The sound
of the back screen door opening and closing with a thud did nothing to calm her nerves. Today was going to be a bad one.
Alex paused in the doorway of the kitchen. “Are you ill?”
She shook her head no.
His long legs carried him across the room in two easy strides. He dropped down on his haunches, trying to catch her eye. “Katherine?”
When his hand touched her knee, her eyes began to pool. She turned her head to meet his concerned gaze, and fell into his warm embrace as hot tears streamed down her cheeks. She felt as though her heart might split into two from the force of her tenacious distress, which threatened to rip them both asunder.
She tightened her hold on him when his tears mixed with her own.
His legs began to tremble under their combined weight. Using the table as leverage, he stood with her still in his arms.
She sat on his lap as he settled into the chair, and they sat still like this for some time, and might have for longer if not for the intrusive sound of the doorbell ringing two times—the mailman’s usual signal that he’d left a package on the front porch.
Alex reached up, brushed the tear-matted hair off her cheek, and tucked it behind her ear.
A stormy gaze greeted her when their eyes met, and her breath hitched at the intense feelings it brought out in her. She wanted to kiss him so badly that, before she knew it, she was already lowering her lips to his. Her parted lips caressed his, and as she continued kissing him, his breathing became ragged. His heart hammered against the side of her chest.
She let out a trembling exhale as she broke the kiss.
A slow smile crept up the sides of his mouth as she focused on him, testing the waters. His hands held her on his lap as hers looped around his neck. He kissed her again, causing her small smile to crack wide open, and soon she was grinning back at him.
What just happened?
She brushed her lips with her fingertips, already missing his kiss.
He chuckled, and his eyes crinkled as a wide smile snaked across his face.
She rewarded him with a hard jab to his gut, which made him laugh harder. For a moment, they returned to the sweet spot of new lovers, but the moment passed, replaced by the creeping darkness.