by Mima
One day Audrey contacted him about her future marriage to Albert and tactfully asked him if her new husband could adopt Chase’s two boys. It was like his heart sank right to the floor when she quietly confirmed how they now saw this man as their father and even though she had a lot of wonderful things to say about Chase, nothing sank in after those first few words. They instead floated on top while he felt brokenhearted over her request.
He ended the conversation feeling stunned, as he sat alone in his new office, Chase suddenly began to go over the last few years in his mind. There had been a slow, careful unraveling of his relationship with the boys that he blamed himself for but at the same time, hadn’t Audrey also contributed? How many times had she promised he could talk to them only to have a last-minute excuse? Hadn’t she convinced him that it would be better for the boys if they bonded with Albert? If he stayed away for periods of time?
He attempted to work. He attempted to preoccupy himself but Audrey’s words continued to resurface throughout the day, asking him to allow Albert to adopt his two remaining sons. It was like a kick in the stomach especially having lost Leland. Audrey somehow managed to spin the entire situation, using that tragedy as a way to emphasize how important it was for their family unit to have more stability. Chase wasn’t stable in her eyes and she wanted him to step back.
His thoughts were so cluttered and confused, his mind so haunted, that Chase didn’t hear Diego and Jorge walk in the club and jumped when they entered his office.
“You were a million miles away just now,” Hernandez pulled up a chair as he chomped on a mouthful of bubble gum while beside him, Diego appeared troubled upon seeing Chase’s face. The two had been friends and roommates for over a year now and without a doubt, he was the one person that knew Chase better than anyone. Slowly pulling his chair over, his dark eyes met with Chase’s and immediately looked away, a sullen expression on his face.
“I guess you could say I was,” Chase replied honestly. “Just some shit from back home.”
“Back home? You mean that redneck town you’re from?” Jorge asked as his eyes zeroed in on Chase, taking in everything carefully, he suddenly seemed concerned. “Oh yeah, what’s going on there?”
“You know,” Chase replied as he shook his head. “It don’t matter.”
Jorge tilted his head forward, his eyes gazed up and he continued to inspect Chase’s face while chewing his gum. Diego bit his lip and shrugged.
“What’s up? I’m family. Tell me.” Diego insisted.
“He’s your family,” Jorge attempted to lighten the mood with a sarcastic quip. “What more could you want?”
Chase grinned and took a breath as the two sets of eyes zeroed in on him.
“My ex-wife wants her new man to adopt my kids,” Chase said with a shaking voice, something that seemed to surprise him as much as the two men who sat across from him. He noted that while Diego looked sympathetic, his eyes reaching out to Chase, a shot of fury ran through Hernandez’s face.
“No fucking way,” Jorge snapped and he sat ahead in the chair, his forehead wrinkled and his eyes became small, dark, full of anger. “You tell her that those are your kids and you aren’t fucking signing anything.”
“Chase, I gotta tell you,” Diego calmly added. “I’m not surprised. She’s been pulling them away from you for months and even during the funeral, I kinda sensed she…I dunno, it was weird, it was as if she wanted to put a wall up between you and the twins. It didn’t feel right but at the time, I didn’t feel I should say.”
“Ex-fucking wives and girlfriends,” Jorge shook his head. “They take and take and take. Maria’s mother tried to pull this kind of shit on me and I said no fucking way. And this, this isn’t going to happen either.”
“I don’t understand,” Chase attempted to make sense of it. “We don’t have a bad relationship. It’s not like we fight. In fact, we get along better than we ever did.”
“Women are always playing games,” Hernandez shook his head and continued to chomp on his gum, now with more aggression. “Fucking crazy shit.”
“Nah,” Diego shook his head slowly. “I was there. I mean, during the funeral. They do have a good relationship. In fact, I was surprised about how warmly she was with you, Chase. I hadn’t expected that. She even told me to look out for you after the funeral cause she was worried. So, it’s not out of anger toward you.”
“Maybe she feels it’s a good idea,” Chase shrugged apathetically. “Maybe she’s right.”
Jorge didn’t take his eyes off Chase. In fact, he didn’t even blink as he took everything in and finally, he eased his hand out in front of him and in an eerily calm voice said. “Don’t sign anything yet. This don’t add up. Let me look into this for you.”
Diego shuffled uncomfortably in his chair and Chase quietly nodded.
CHAPTER FIFTY
If there was a crazy train, Chase Jacobs was on it. Where he once was a passenger, watching as the train moved along the track, easing through tunnels and passing through small towns, he was now in the driver’s seat. He spent his entire life being compliant, going along with everyone’s wishes and not chasing after his own desires. As a child, his mother had taught him that he was not in control of his own life but merely an actor that followed a director’s instructions, unable or incapable of creating his own destiny. The scary part was that he believed it.
Working with Diego, Jolene and now Jorge Hernandez had brought to light that in a world full of sheep, always be a wolf. He had zero doubt that no one could or ever would control any of their destinies and for that, he had admiration and sometimes fear. His fear, however, wasn’t because he worried any of them would hurt him but rather, he wondered about the path he might be headed on. Although it felt completely natural, he was brought up to never hurt anyone and to do the ‘right thing’ however that definition differed from person to person. To the Silvas and Jorge Hernandez, some things justified a barbaric punishment. Real life was not a politically correct television series that ended with the ‘good’ guys winning and the ‘bad’ guys losing. Only the naïve believed that Hollywood bullshit.
Everything was changing so fast. But with those changes, sometimes something familiar from the past rises again. A certain person, place or thing that brings you back to another time and place, when you were less jaded about the world, perhaps a little less tough, back to a day when you believed in a certain magic that no longer seemed possible. Maybe it had never been real at all or maybe, it stopped being possible when you stopped believing. Chase wasn’t sure but it was the dreary morning that he heard a soft voice say his name, just as he was about to walk in the club to start his workday, that he turned around to see her.
“Wow, small world!” Maggie was walking toward him wearing a long coat and heels as she approached casually as if it were a mere coincidence that she was in this particular city and on the club’s street that morning. He felt his heart race and he was suddenly back in Hennessey, during a time when he would’ve done anything to make her fall in love with him. It was the same girl who took him home from a disastrous party on the night that their friendship formed but yet, where was she? No longer the girl in cut-off jeans and t-shirt, no longer the gentle, sweet teenager, the woman who walked toward him may have had a smile on her face but her eyes were sizing him up, analyzing him carefully, as if preparing her next move. Like an animal about to quietly pounce on something she viewed as inferior to herself, she moved toward him and swept him up into a cold hug.
As she moved away, the smile falling from her lips, she stepped back and was silent for a moment, as if to re-evaluate the situation. Chase ignored the part of him that was heartbroken over the girl she had once been, on those hot days when only his hormones ruled, knowing that she wasn’t interested in him or any man at all. Hadn’t she always manipulated him? Hadn’t she always known how he felt about her and took advantage of it until it wasn’t conv
enient? Wasn’t that exactly what she was doing again?
“What are you doing here?” Chase quietly asked her as she awkwardly bit her lip. Her blue eyes searching his, she finally looked away.
“We should talk,” She spoke honestly. “It’s important. Can we go somewhere?”
“I don’t have time to talk,” His answer was abrupt and he could see she was a little shocked by his reaction. “I have work to do.”
“It’s important.”
“I don’t have time.”
“Chase, these people you’re working with,” Maggie started carefully. “You have to get away from them. Hernandez is a very dangerous man. I know he doesn’t seem it but he is. Diego, Jolene, they are no better.”
“And suddenly you’re concerned about my well-being?” Chase spoke boldly, thinking back to when he originally moved to Calgary and how cold she had been to him. He thought of all the information he had recently learned about her connection to the RCMP and started to turn away. “Look, I don’t need your help.”
“You have to listen to me,” She insisted. “I came to warn you…”
The club door suddenly opened and Hernandez stood beaming on the other side. The song ‘December ‘63 (Oh What A Night)’ loudly flowed through the club behind him.
His eyes were cold but his Hollywood smile was strong as he gestured behind him. “Let the lady in, please, I would love to meet your old friend.”
Although his words sounded friendly, welcoming, Chase knew better. There was a look they exchanged after Maggie reluctantly passed through the entrance as he did the same and closed the door behind him. It was the same look Jorge had when he pulled out a gun and placed it next to Maggie’s head. She remained calm but there was unmistakable fear in her eyes.
Stunned, Chase stepped back, his mouth fell open and he was unable to speak. He felt his heart race as he looked into Maggie’s frightened face as she put her hands in the air to indicate surrendering.
“What a coincidence! I come here to warn Chase about you and you come here to warn him about me,” Jorge said in a mocking voice as his dark eyes stared through her. “So tell me a story, little girl. I’m fascinated to hear what you came here to say.”
“I was trying to help,” Maggie’s voice was shaking. “Chase, please!”
Hernandez suddenly backhanded Maggie, causing her to fall to the floor and although his old instincts would’ve been to help her, something stopped Chase this time as he stepped further back. Hernandez continued to point the gun at her head as her fingers reached for the spot he hit her. “The truth now! I’m not fucking around princess, start talking.”
“I set you up,” Her voice was small, barely audible. “When I had you hired by Jolene, I set you up.”
“Why?” Hernandez’s eyes blazed in anger and she shrunk beneath his powerful stare.
“I was angry with you, Chase,” Maggie continued her confession as she attempted to pull her body away from Jorge. “I…I wanted to get in the RCMP and I knew Jolene didn’t trust me but she would trust you. Everyone does. I thought once you got in I would persuade you to turn on them.”
“What?” Chase shook his head in disbelief and glanced at Hernandez who didn’t take his eyes off Maggie for a second.
“She used you,” Jorge commented, his face growing more tense with the moment. “She misjudged your loyalties. She misjudged you, Chase.”
“I was wrong,” Maggie spoke again, her eyes begged him for help. “But don’t be mistaken. These people are criminals. All of them! They are loyal to no one. They are dangerous.”
Shaking his head, Chase felt sick as he backed further away not accepting her words. Glancing at Jorge, they had a brief, intense moment of eye contact leaving Chase feeling incredibly gullible, he secretly feared that Hernandez thought he was involved in this mess. However, it quickly became clear that this was not the case.
“You’re about to see how dangerous. Tell him what you told his ex-wife,” Jorge calmly instructed and Chase felt his heart sink. “Tell him about the little visit you paid to Audrey. I think he might like to know.”
She was silent for a moment, her eyes glanced up at Chase’s and shamefully looked away. He felt his heart racing, while his eyes stung as he stared at her. Suddenly the song ‘Break my Stride’ came on the radio.
Tears poured down her face as she started to sob uncontrollably, her head down, she didn’t even look in his eyes. Her voice was barely a whisper. “I told her that you worked with criminals and she needed to keep you as far away from the kids as possible. I told her to keep pulling them back for their own good.” She took a deep breath and with desperate eyes looked up at Chase. “I was trying to protect your kids.”
Covering her face, Maggie’s sobs were loud, her voice begging as she finally looked into his eyes. “I’m sorry Chase, please forgive me but I only did what I thought was right.”
Anger seemed to vibrate from Jorge, his breathing was loud, as if he were struggling to hold back his fury. His cold eyes finally looked away from Maggie and met with Chase’s for a split second but in that split second, a silent communication connected them in a way that only another parent could understand. No words could’ve been more powerful. No words were needed. It wasn’t necessary.
“You tried to have my kids taken away from me?” Stunned to hear the innocent calamity in his own voice, as if Chase were, for that moment, eighteen once again and talking to the girl he was so much in love with. He felt weightless as if this were a dream that couldn’t possibly be real. “You actually went to Audrey and told her I was…dangerous?”
Maggie nodded, continuing to weep, she avoided his eyes. “After I quit with Jolene, I went back home and saw Audrey. She mentioned the kids were bonding with Albert a lot since you left and I suggested that it might be for the best to keep away from you. I didn’t say anything more until Leland died.”
She stopped crying but still didn’t look into his eyes, choosing instead to pick at her nail polish, reminding him briefly of her younger sister, Kelsey.
“She commented how nice Diego was and I told her to not be fooled, he was a dangerous man,” She started to cry again. “That they are all dangerous and you were too. I told her to keep the kids away from you, for their safety. I couldn’t see her lose another child after that day.”
“But you had no issue with me losing my kids,” Chase softly replied as he stared down at her, he felt a lump in his throat and shook his head. Suddenly hit by a wave of rage, his voice rose and his next words were full of aggression, bubbled with intense fury. “You actually told her that I was dangerous. That my kids were in danger because of me. That she should keep them away from me. All this time, I keep seeing them less and less…”
Chase couldn’t even finish his sentence. He felt panic as his heart raced erratically but he fought it off. “I already lost a child and you wanted me lose the two I had left,” He hesitated for a moment and his voice was suddenly full of emotions. “Who are you?”
He didn’t care that Hernandez was easing the gun closer to Maggie’s head, her hair a mass of tangles as her body shook from fear and anguish.
Chase turned around and started to walk away when he heard the shot. For a moment he closed his eyes and saw a million memories pass through his head, almost as if his own life was passing before his eyes but instead it was Maggie’s. It was the times they spent together that now felt as though it never meant a thing. It was the love he felt for her, a woman he didn’t know. She was a manipulator and now he saw clearly how cunning she had always been. He had been so naïve but he wouldn’t be again.
He decided to not turn around. Instead Chase walked outside into the crisp, spring air, and took a deep breath as if it were the first day of a new life. It was a life where his eyes were wide open; alert and ready, he could take on the world. Nothing would ever be the same again. He would never be the same again. He wa
s no longer the naïve boy. He was no longer the compliant man. He was the wolf and his story was just starting. This was not the end but a new beginning.
Love the book? Check out the We’re All Animals to learn more about Chase Jacobs and to follow along on his adventures!
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