by K. J. Dahlen
Cricket closed her eyes briefly, then nodded. She sat down on the other side of Michael. “What do you want to know?”
“Anything you want to tell me.”
“My mother was an honorable woman.” Cricket sneered at Bane as she spoke, “She was kind and decent and loved only one man, my father. She taught me to be loyal to those I loved and to stand up for what I believed in. She hated the lies she had to live because of him.” She motioned at Bane. “But she also knew she couldn’t live any other way. He wouldn’t have allowed her to.” Cricket pulled her wrist free, got up and walked away. She never looked back at them as she walked down the hall to her room.
~* * * *~
Cricket was staring out the window when a knock sounded on her door. She made no move to answer it.
“Are you all right?” Sam asked softly from behind her.
The wrist Bane had squeezed was cradled in her other hand but she shed no tears. “Yes, I’m okay.”
He came over and took her wrist gently to see if it was broken. “You may or may not care at the moment but I should warn you, you can’t speak to a man like your uncle the way you do. If Raine had been here, he would have gotten right in the middle of it. He has been my friend for a long damn time and I do not want him killed over your bad temper.”
Cricket turned raging eyes on Sam. “I would not have acted that way if Raine had been here. I know better. AND that monster is not my uncle. He’s a sick sonofabitch that I want nothing to do with. Michael and I may share a mother but he is Bane’s son all the way. Did you notice his eyes?”
Sam shook his head.
“He’s very much like Bane and Cordy. He has no soul, no compassion.” Cricket told him bluntly. “The only part of him like my mother is the shape and color of his eyes, everything else is Bane.”
“It might not hurt to know Michael’s story, to know what kind of life he had outside your family’s reach.”
“I’m not sure I want to know his story,” Cricket admitted. “He will be or already is a cold blooded killer, exactly like his father. That is NOT someone I want as family, Bones.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“Oh, but I do. Knowing Cordy and growing up under her thumb was bad enough. I have a feeling knowing Michael will be worse. He has the same cruel streak in him she had.”
“How can you be sure until you know him better?”
Shaking her head she said, “I spent my whole life under Cordy’s thumb, so I know by that cold glint in his eyes.”
There was another knock on the door and when Sam opened it, Deke stood there.
He glanced at Cricket then his father and whispered something to Sam. Then he left.
Sam turned to her again, standing at the window. “Bane wants you to come out and talk to him.”
“I don’t want to talk to him. I just want him to go away.”
Sam shook his head. “He says he won’t leave until you speak to him.”
Cricket leaned her forehead against the glass. She wanted to ignore the summons but she knew she couldn’t. She wouldn’t give Bane reason to think he’d frightened her. He didn’t, she just really wanted nothing to do with him.
She turned and saw Sam waiting for her. She straightened her shoulders and walked to the door. Before she opened it she whispered, “Why do I feel as if this is going to be more than just a meeting? That Bane wants something he shouldn’t have and that if I don’t give it to him, he’s not going to be happy?”
Sam didn’t say a word, instead he turned and followed her back to the main room. He stood beside the door and watched as she made her way over to the table and sat down opposite the two men waiting for her.
Cricket raised her head and frowned at her uncle. “I’m here, what the hell do you want?”
Bane glared back. “My grandfather left Orrin a matching set of daggers. They have been in the Jessin family for centuries. As Orrin is gone, I want them returned to me.”
Cricket got to her feet. Her eyes blazed with fury and her lips curled in a sneer, “You go to hell. If the daggers were left to my father, then they now belong to me.” She got to her feet and stormed away, leaving Bane and Michael sitting alone.
CHAPTER TWO
The Bordeaux Mansion...
When Calico arrived with the Vincintis, he sat on his bike for a few minutes. The sun reflected on the windows and he thought he saw a face peering down at him from one of those windows.
Calico frowned as he glanced over at the limo, then when he peered back up—the face was gone. It had looked familiar in some way, but he just could not place it from this distance.
He followed Leon and Calderone into the mansion. He noted the fine furnishings and gleaming floors of the place. He watched as Leon and Calderone walked through the house.
At one point, another man joined them and introduced himself as Simon, Max’s right hand man.
Calico wandered around the main part of the house. Curious about the face he thought he saw in the window on the second floor, he vaulted up the steps taking two at a time. Turning right at the top of the stairs, he made his way down the hall. Checking each door as he went, he came to a door that was locked.
The key was still in the lock and he reached out to turn it. Unlocking the door, he pushed it open and looked into the room. The bed was made but someone had laid on it recently. There were other signs the room was occupied. The afghan at the foot of the bed was half on the floor and there was a book opened on the bedside table. A glass of water and an empty cup of tea sat on an end table beside a rocking chair that was still rocking but no one was sitting in it. “Hello?” he called out. “Is someone here?”
No one answered.
Calico stepped further into the room. Glancing around, his gaze swept the room. His eyes skimmed over everything so fast he almost missed it. Almost. a set of bare toes tucked under the heavy drapes that framed the windows. When he looked again, he found a woman’s outline behind the drapes. He stepped forward and spoke quietly, “Hello, I’m not here to hurt you. Can you come out from behind the drapes? I’d really like to see you.”
The woman stood frozen for a moment then her fingers gripped the side of the drape and pulled them away from her face. She frowned as she stared at the man facing her. Her green eyes seemed confused as she continued to stare at him.
Calico smiled at the frightened woman and held out his hand.
She stared at his hand, then searched his eyes for a moment. Her gaze went to his hair. She couldn’t seem to take her eyes off the different colors of his hair. She frowned briefly as if trying to remember something.
When she completely stepped out from behind the drapes, it was Calico’s turn to gasp. She was dressed in a pair of well-worn jeans and a tank top. “Well, I’ll be god dammed! Jolene?” he whispered. “I thought you were dead.”
The woman took a step closer. Cocking her head to one side she whispered, “Do you know me? Do you know who I am?”
Calico stared at her for a moment. “Don’t you know?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t. The man that brought me here told me I was his wife but I didn’t believe him.”
Calico’s fingers curled into fists. “Why? Why didn’t you believe him?”
Jolene wrung her hands together. “I don’t know. He told me I was in an accident but I don’t remember. I can’t remember anything. I don’t know my own name but I would remember the man I loved, wouldn’t I?” She turned to him. “I do remember your hair. But even that confuses me.” She shook her head. “It’s so short. I remember it being longer.” She began to pace back and forth. “Why do I remember it being longer?”
Calico shook his head. What the hell happened to her? Why isn’t she dead like everyone believed? He noticed a fairly fresh scar barley healed along her jaw. There was another level with her ear on the left side. It ran upward into her hairline and he wondered if that was from one of Gunner’s kicks. Her skin color was off, not by much but it still had a yellow tinge to it as if the br
uises weren’t quite healed yet.
Then he saw the ink on the inside of her left wrist. He grabbed her hand and turned it slightly to show the tattoo. He snapped off the wide, worn leather band that hid his tattoo. It was something he’d worn for a very long time now. Her tattoo was the other half of his, he moved to her side and brought his wrist to hers. Together, the tattoo was complete. It was a heart with Celtic knots and three names written in bold black ink, along the edge of the heart, Jolene, Clancy and Sawyer.
Jolene gasped as she stared at the completed heart. Tears formed in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks as she studied the tattoos on their wrists. She raised her eyes to his. “Who are you?” she whispered.
Calico raised his hand and gently brushed back a wisp of her hair. “I’m the man you loved once upon a time. I’m Clancy.”
Jolene wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. “I think I still love you.”
“What makes you think so?” he whispered and he held her in his arms.
“Because this feels like I’m finally home.” Leaning back, she gazed into his eyes. “Am I? Am I finally home?”
Calico didn’t answer but did hold her close. A huge lump seemed to be lodged in his throat. Closing his eyes, he took a moment to relish in the fact Jolene was back in his arms again, after almost twenty years. “Yeah honey, you’re home. It’s been a long while coming, but you’re home.”
Jolene hugged him for a moment, then leaned away. “Is this real? I’ve been so confused since I woke up. First, the man called Max tells me I’m his wife, then he leaves in a hurry and you come here. Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“When did you wake up?” Calico frowned.
“Only a few days ago…Max told me I was hurt in a very bad accident. That he almost lost me but that he was glad I survived.”
“You said you couldn’t remember anything, what can you remember?” Calico asked as he brushed a few loose hairs away from her forehead.
“I don’t recognize this room at all, nor did I know Max. He told me we’d been together for a while but I didn’t like when he touched me and when he looked at me it felt creepy.”
“That’s because you were never his,” Calico assured her. “He’s been trying to get you to come to him but you never did.”
Jolene gasped. “Why would he lie to me? I don’t understand.”
“Because Max was crazy and he’d been chasing you for the last twenty years.” Calico nodded. “You have kept away from him all this time, but when you were hurt and didn’t remember anything, not even your own name he stepped in and lied to you.”
Jolene had tears in her eyes. “How do I know what the truth is anymore?”
Calico smiled. “I think you know the truth in here.” He touched her chest just below her ribs.
“Do you know what happened to me?”
Calico closed his eyes against the pain of her question. Should he tell her what happened or fudge the truth about the beating? He only knew what Sawyer and Jordan told him about what happened that night. Maybe she should hear the truth from her children. “I think there is someone else you need to ask that question.” Calico brushed the back of his fingers along her jaw. “I can take you to them.”
“Them?” she questioned.
“Two very special people who will be very happy to see you again.” He smiled.
“Who is she?” a voice called out from the doorway.
Calico and Jolene turned.
Jolene gasped and hid a bit behind Calico.
Leon stood in the doorway and scowled at the two of them.
“This is Jolene Moon.”
Leon scowled. “I thought she was dead?”
“So did I, but apparently, we were wrong.” Calico nodded. “She’s very much alive.”
“I can see that.” Leon tipped his head to her. “Did Max not say anything when you saw him last?”
Calico growled. “No, he didn’t.” His eyes narrowed as he remembered the last time he saw Max. “He did however, say something I thought odd at the time.”
“What was that?” Leon wanted to know.
“He said she would never be mine again, not like she was before. That her fire was gone forever.” His eyes widened. “That bastard!” He turned to Jolene. “How long have you been locked in here?”
Jolene stared at Leon for a moment, then turned toward Calico. She kept trembling and looked nervous but when he held out his hand to her, she calmed down. “I don’t know. I guess it’s been a couple of days or so. Usually, Max brings my food to me. He told me it was because I was still too weak to come downstairs.”
“When did you eat last?”
Jolene smiled sadly. “I haven’t been all that hungry.” She turned and showed them a plate that still held the remains of a sandwich that had long dried out. The crust was hard and the meat inside curled up. “He brought me that a couple of days ago. It’s been pretty quiet since then. I was beginning to wonder if anyone was still here.”
“Has there been anyone else watching over you?” Leon asked.
Jolene shook her head. “I haven’t seen anyone in a couple of days now.” Looking around the room, she frowned. “I hadn’t expected to be locked in though. Max told me it was because he feared for my safety but it just felt eerie, like he was keeping me prisoner or something.”
Calico wrapped his arms around her. “Well, you aren’t a prisoner anymore and Max will never hurt you again.”
“Bring her downstairs and we’ll get her something to eat,” Leon ordered. “I have a team of men coming in later today to begin the task of going through his books and such. Calderone and I are just doing a quick search of Max’s office.”
Calico nodded and assisted her to the door.
She didn’t seem to give the room another thought as she went with him down the stairs and into the kitchen.
He set her on a chair and opened the fridge to see what food Max had.
A few minutes later, he put a sandwich in front of her and when she gazed at it, her eyes widened. She looked pale suddenly. “How did you know I would eat this?”
Calico remembered that a sliced turkey meat and pepperjack cheese with mayo was her favorite. He grinned. “I told you I’ve known you a long time.”
Jolene raised her eyes to his, then picked up part of the sandwich and began to eat.
After a few minutes, she set the half eaten sandwich back on her plate and asked, “Can you tell me what’s going on?”
Calico had been making himself a sandwich but at her question, he froze. He turned to look at her. The years since he’d seen her last hadn’t changed her much. She was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Her blonde hair had a few strands of grey in it and there were a few wrinkles around her eyes but she still looked like he remembered.
He reached into his back pocket and pulled his wallet out. Opening it, he took a small photograph out and pushed it across the counter toward her. It was all he had taken with him when he left this town twenty years ago.
~* * * *~
Jolene kept staring at the man who claimed he’d known her a long time. She was beginning to get a headache from thinking too much about the past. Trying hard to remember anything gave her a migraine.
The doctors told her to just let it happen on its own, but Jolene couldn’t do that. She felt as if there was something important she needed to remember, something more important than her own wellbeing that she needed to get back to. She just couldn’t remember what it was. It was frustrating because the answers she wanted were just out of her reach.
Looking at the man again, she kept staring at his hair. She recognized it but for some reason it was shorter than she remembered. He had a thick full head of hair and the ends brushed lightly on his shoulders but in her mind, the strands of every color from dark brown to almost silver blond should be much longer.
Jolene’s fingers trembled as she took the photo and studied it. It was a photo of the man in front of her and herself. But the
photo held another figure, that of a small child. A small child she held in her arms as she stared at the man behind her. She raised her eyes to his. “We had a child?”
Calico nodded. “Her name is Sawyer and she turned out to be a beautiful woman just like her mother.” He paused then added, “You also have a son. His name is Jordan.”
She stared at him for a long moment as new memories slammed into her. Nothing very clear but memories of two other people that meant the world to her. Closing her eyes tightly, she tried to remember their faces but she couldn’t see them in her mind’s eye. Tears rolled down her face as frustration clawed its way through her. She opened her eyes and stared at him. “I don’t remember them,” she whispered. “Why can’t I remember them?”
“Maybe you need to see them in person,” he suggested. “You said you were in an accident, what do you remember about that?”
Jolene shook her head. “Max told me I was in an accident. I don’t remember anything other than waking up in the hospital. The doctors told me I’d been there a long time. They told me they kept me in a coma in order for my body to heal. They never did say what needed healing. A few days ago, Max brought me here but he didn’t say what really happened to me.”
Calico gripped the countertop hard. “I think you should hear about what happened but I wasn’t there the night you were hurt. If you like, I can take you to your kids. They will tell you the truth.”
She smiled. “I think I’d like that.” She noticed his grip on the counter eased some.
“But before we go, I think you should know they think you died from your injuries.”
Jolene frowned. “Who told them I was dead?”
“They were there with you that night in the hospital. Your heart stopped beating. They wanted to stay with you but your monitor flatlined, they thought it was too late. They were in trouble with—well, someone was after them and they had to leave but if they’d known you would come back they never would have left you.”
“What do you mean someone was after them?”
“Max did some pretty horrible things to you and them over the years,” he explained. “He forced his way into your life and wouldn’t accept that you wanted nothing to do with him. Well, his nephew was doing the same thing to our daughter. Sawyer refused him time and time again, then the night you got hurt, this nephew, Micah came after her and Jordan again. So, they had to run for their lives. She kept her brother safe but it cost them you. When I found them a few days ago, I took care of Micah. I came here to bring your ashes back to your kids, so they could have closure.” Then he smiled. “Now, I get to bring you back to them.”