by Victoria Sue
“You must have a good employer,” Gael said. “The little one doesn’t look that old, so I guess you hadn’t been back that long after your maternity leave.”
Jake blinked. He would never have thought of that.
Louise glanced shyly at Kyle. “I married my boss, so my needing maternity leave is kind of his fault.”
Everyone chuckled, and Kyle picked up Louise’s hand and kissed it. “It was fairly easy. My family owns two restaurants. Louise started waiting tables and eventually became a hostess. My parents decided to travel two years ago, so they left it to me and my sister to keep the lights on.”
“Says the man who works seventy hours a week.” Louise arched an eyebrow.
Jake was charmed, and he shot a glance at Gael.
Louise sighed a little. “Mom was okay for around two months, and then she seemed to go downhill really fast. She spent her last ten days in a hospice. It was only when I was clearing out the room she had stayed in at our place that I found the box.” She pushed the envelope to Gael.
Gael stared at the envelope as if it was going to attack him. Jake didn’t know if he should give him some space or not, but Gael picked it up and shook the contents out. Press clippings from when the unit had been announced in March and then whenever they had appeared in the press since then. Then there was a yearbook photo of a young man.
“Is that Wyatt?” Jake asked, making an intuitive guess.
Gael nodded. “He graduated from Georgetown this spring. He’s got a few offers, including one to go do his master’s at Cambridge.”
Jake glanced up quickly from the envelope. Shit, if Wyatt went to England, Gael wouldn’t be allowed to visit. Another blow. Jake sat a little closer, until their knees were touching. There. Gael had the choice. If he wanted to move away, he could.
Gael stared at the clippings. “How did you know these meant anything, though?”
Louise just stared at him and slowly lifted her hands to the back of her neck. She unclasped a chain and brought out a small locket from under her T-shirt. “Because this was also in the box.” She passed the locket over, and when Gael’s fingers were too big, she reached over and unclipped it.
Gael went white, and Jake leaned in to see what he was looking at. There were two photos. Another of Wyatt’s graduation picture, and one of Gael—a much younger Gael with no scar and no burn.
“I managed to find out who Wyatt was nearly right away. He stood with his back to Regents Hall.” She shrugged. “Two minutes on the internet.” She smiled. “You were a little harder, but I put two and two together with the photos. The Tampa Bay Times loves you guys.”
“And—” Gael cleared his throat. “She never mentioned us?”
Louise bit her lip.
Gael pushed his chair back from the table. “Tell me about her?”
“She was… delicate, I guess.” Louise scrunched up her nose. “Dad was a good man, but he spent all his time looking after her. She had no independence.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Gael said.
“It was her choice. She completely fell apart when Dad died and then started dating again within three months. All the same type. Big, controlling guys. One of them hit her, and at least she had the sense to step back then.”
“She never spoke about my dad?”
“I didn’t even know she’d been married before. The older I got, the more impatient I got. It was like she was never prepared to fight for anything.” Louise sighed. “I once got into a fight at school. High school was real cliquey, and there was a group of girls making life impossible for one of the quieter ones to the extent that she’d started cutting herself. I walked into the girls’ restroom and the head bully was flicking a cigarette lighter on and off in the girl’s face.”
Jake felt Gael stiffen and slid a hand to his thigh and squeezed. Shit, Gael was having all his buttons pushed today.
“I yelled and we started a shoving match, which resulted in Jenna—the bully—getting a bruise. I got hauled in front of the principal and my mom got called in. I knew my dad would have stuck up for me, but Mom just shook her head in disappointment and after said it wasn’t my place to get involved. In fact,” Louise added, “as far as I can remember, she only did one courageous thing for me ever.”
Gael tilted his head.
“Gael? The thing is, I think I’m the reason she left.”
“That’s impossible.” Gael shook his head.
“Do you remember the day she left?” she whispered.
Gael swallowed. “June second, twenty-three years ago. It had been Wyatt’s birthday, and my dad had missed everything. He’d come home drunk, and we were sent upstairs but we could hear the arguing.”
Louise nodded. “When I found out who Wyatt was, I got his date of birth.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?” Gael’s hand had dropped to his leg, and Jake wound his fingers through Gael’s. He didn’t like where this conversation was going.
“I’m twenty-three the week before Halloween. Mom must have been nearly five months pregnant with me when she left you guys. Gael, I don’t think I’m your half sister. I think I’m your full one.”
Chapter Ten
JAKE KEPT glancing over at Gael as he drove back to his house. Gael was quiet. Too quiet. He had barely spoken after Louise had dropped her bombshell. He had made all the right noises, possibly arranged a visit for later in the year, and assured her he wasn’t hurt or upset, but Jake knew better.
It was killing him.
It was bad enough that his mother left and never came back, but the assumption was that she had left because she valued the well-being of her unborn child over her current ones. Jake never wished ill on anyone, but it was beyond him how someone could do that, how a parent could value one child more than another.
Jake couldn’t see Gael’s face because it was turned to the window. The complete crapshoot was that Gael had no one to ask that question to. They would never know if it was choice or something else that stopped her from coming back for him and Wyatt. The only small silver lining was that she had left before Gael had gotten his mark so he couldn’t blame himself. Jake knew he would try, though.
“You okay?” It was a silly question, but Jake didn’t know what else to say.
Gael turned to look at him. “I can’t decide if it’s better or worse.”
“Because she left knowing she was pregnant?”
“Yes. I mean, that makes things hard. I’m never gonna know why she never came back…. Except, maybe I kind of do?”
Jake gave him a quick glance as they slowed for someone making a right.
“Louise said it herself. She needed a protector and was unable to function without one. The only thing she ever did for Louise was leave, and it could be that he gave her no choice. He might have just told her to get lost, threatened her, and she just wasn’t strong enough to do anything else.”
“There’s a chance her new husband might not have even known about you two. From what Louise said, he was a good man.”
Gael nodded. “Thanks for going with me.”
“Anytime,” Jake said and meant it.
Both their phones bleeped and Gael fished his out of his pocket. “Oh,” he said, clearing his throat. “Amy emailed their client list. She’s included their current ones and all the old ones going back three years.”
“How many?” Jake asked, glad for something else to talk about.
Gael scanned his phone. “Jesus. Over a hundred and twenty that left, but of that, seventeen restarted. Mmm,” he said. “She’s noted when a house sale caused the contract loss, so I guess that helps, but even with that, we’re looking at over sixty.”
“You hungry?” Jake asked when traffic slowed, and Gael finally looked at him. Jake caught his breath at the hurt in Gael’s eyes. He was barely keeping it together.
Gael nodded and seemed to shake himself a little. He looked at the clock on Jake’s dashboard. “Do you mind if we swing by the soccer match? It�
��s at Manygates Middle. The parents do food for after, and I’d like to go.” He paused. “You don’t have to stay. I mean….”
Jake put his hand on Gael’s knee. “Of course I’m going. Then we can swing by the store and grab something for tonight.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I can stir-fry us something? You can show me how good you are with chopsticks.”
Gael smiled and covered Jake’s hand with his own. “I’m glad you came.”
Jake nodded, his throat suddenly too tight to respond.
LIAM CAME running over with a few more kids as soon as Gael and Jake got out. “They won.” Liam grinned.
Gael high-fived him. “Sorry we missed it.”
“It’s okay,” Liam assured him. “Vance recorded the highlights on his phone.”
Gael’s smile was huge, and Jake realized it was a good thing, them being here. If they had gone home, Gael would have retreated further. But no one could be around the kids and not have their enthusiasm rub off.
Jake was introduced to two foster kids named Lee and Alec. Apparently Liam had made friends with them in foster care before he went to live with Connie. Then he met two other kids, Aaron and Paul, both enhanced and both equally pleased to meet him. They all ran off for burgers when Finn yelled for them.
Jake took in the parents and the regular kids all milling around. He waved at Connie when she spotted them. No one seemed concerned there were three enhanced kids here, to say nothing of the enhanced adults.
“Manygates Middle is one of Connie’s schools,” Gael supplied.
“She’s a teacher?”
He chuckled. “No, she’s been a foster mom for over twenty years. Liam’s her first enhanced, but she has a lot of respect among the teachers at half a dozen schools, which Vance could name for you. Inviting Liam’s enhanced friends will have been deliberate on her part. She’s on a mission to prove that enhanced aren’t scary, and she says it starts with the kids.”
Jake watched as she handed out small cartons of juice from a cooler. Sometimes moms made the best commanders-in-chief in any battle, and he suddenly missed his. He’d let his dealings with his dad color how he felt about his mom. Maybe he would give her a call. She’d left him a voicemail asking how the new job was going nearly a month ago, and he had been angry enough to ignore it.
Vance called over to them, and they walked to where he seemed to be in charge of flipping burgers. Jake’s belly growled. Talon smiled and joined them, and Jake stepped over to Vance, giving Gael and Talon some time to talk. People were finishing up and starting to head to their cars.
Sawyer stood sipping from a can of Coke, and Jake widened his eyes in surprise as he saw Detective Cortes in jeans and a T-shirt, talking to Sawyer and a woman Jake didn’t know.
Vance followed his gaze, handing Jake a paper plate with a burger on it and pointing to a small table with napkins and ketchup. “He turned up about an hour ago. Apparently he has a nephew here.”
“Who’s the woman?”
“Teacher. She’s nice. Had a tough deal with a student last year, accusing her of molestation. My dad knew the family and got the whole thing sorted out.”
“That’s rough,” Jake said and watched her smile at something Sawyer said.
“Yeah, the kid was being molested, but it was going on at home.” Vance sighed. “Accusing the teacher was an attempt to cover it up. She’d been giving him extra help after class because she’d noticed his work was suffering.”
Jake frowned. “How’s the kid?”
“Rehomed with his elder sister,” Vance replied.
Jake watched as more parents started to take their kids home and a few more cleared things away. “Oh God,” Jake mumbled in appreciation around a mouthful of food.
Vance chuckled. “Never, ever, skimp on the meat,” he said, waggling his finger at Jake. “You need to come around to my place when Daniel is cooking. He mixes this glaze.” Vance shook his head as if to say it was amazing.
“And he refuses to tell any of his brothers what’s in it,” Gael said, coming up to get a burger from Vance. “Drives them all nuts.”
Vance grinned and turned off the grill.
“They’ve got a bet going on who can figure it out.” Talon squinted at Vance. “Isn’t the pot like at $400 or something, now?”
Vance grunted in disgust.
Jake swallowed his last mouthful in regret and looked over toward the rapidly emptying parking lot.
A cop got out of a patrol car and advanced on them, but he was all smiles. Vance introduced Jake to Chris, one of Vance’s brothers and a sergeant in the TPD. They swapped war stories for a few minutes until Jake realized that nearly everyone had left.
Liam came running over on his own this time, and Chris ruffled his hair and said he had drawn the short straw and was giving him a ride home. “In your car?” Liam’s eyes were huge, and Chris grinned and started walking him to a black-and-white in the lot.
Jake watched and then stiffened as a black Buick rolled into the parking lot and Gerry Atkinson jumped out followed by Carmichael. “What the hell?” he got out, and Vance looked over, but before he could speak, a boy from the other school’s team ran over to the car and Gerry grabbed him and enveloped him in a hug. Jesus, Jake hadn’t even known Gerry had any family.
“Yeah,” Talon said, coming to stand beside Jake. “That’s Mark, Gerry’s nephew. Gerry’s brother died a little over two years ago.”
“I didn’t know, but they were never real friendly, and I was barely with them two months.”
Talon blew out a breath. “You aren’t missing anything. Gerry’s got a mean streak. Mac’s just a bully, but Gerry? You have to watch him.”
Jake frowned. He knew Gerry was Mac’s right-hand man and would always shoot first, ask questions later, but he’d never really been able to separate him from the rest of the douchebags.
“Gerry had an older brother, Carl, in the NYPD. They got called to a robbery, and the guy just lost it and emptied his gun on the owner, Carl, his partner, and finally himself.”
Jake winced.
“Shooter was enhanced. Weird ability, according to his family. He was like a human lie detector. Anyway, he did insurance claims for a big New York based company. I mean, knowing someone was lying? Pretty useful thing to have around insurance.”
“I’ll bet,” Jake said appreciatively.
“Yeah, but get this. His star’s on the rise and he gets invited to the boss’s house for a garden party. He starts talking to a group of people he didn’t know that well, drinking a little too much, and they start a game, like asking stupid things and he has to answer if it’s right or wrong. He’s showing off, life and soul of the party, and then this woman says, ‘Is it true my husband is having an affair with his assistant?’”
Jake’s mouth dropped open. “He didn’t.” He knew what was coming.
“Yep. Confirmed it straightaway. His boss’s wife filed for divorce the next day, and the shooter lost his job. Trouble is, the boss was vindictive and blacklisted him. Couldn’t get a job to pay for the swanky apartment, and too proud to ask his family for help. Fast forward three months and Gerry’s brother gets shot.”
“By an enhanced.” Jake rolled his eyes. “That’s screwed-up.”
Talon didn’t answer, and Jake looked back at the now-empty parking lot, except for the Buick. As they were watching, Mac and Gerry stared at them and started walking over.
“Talon,” Finn said in a low warning, but Talon shook his head.
“They’re not gonna start anything here.”
Jake wasn’t as confident. Then he took a breath. Gerry and Mac were both looking at him. “I got this, guys,” he said.
“No,” Talon repeated evenly. “You’re one of mine. I’ve got this.”
“HEY, JAKEY-BOY,” Mac called as soon as they were closer. “How you settling in with your new team?” Jake sighed. On the face of it, Mac was being friendly, but he heard the faint mocking lilt in his voice. “I guess with your experience, you sh
ould fit in with a bunch of murdering misfits.”
There was a beat, but the only thing Jake heard was his heart thumping loudly against his ribs.
“Look, guys, we’re at a school for fuck’s sake,” Talon began, and Mac eyed him.
“You’re that desperate you let anyone on your team, huh?”
Gerry sniggered. “Yeah, don’t turn your back.”
Jake didn’t know how he was still standing upright.
Talon was talking. He couldn’t process the words, but Mac and Gerry weren’t backing off, even if they had backed down a little.
“What are they talking about?” Gael asked, stepping alongside Jake, the words riddled with confusion.
Jake couldn’t have said anything even if he had known what to say. He was too distracted by the very real possibility that he was going to vomit Vance’s burger back up. He could nearly taste it, bitter in the back of his throat.
Gerry’s eyes widened as he heard Gael’s question, and his grin was evil. “You don’t know?” He waggled his eyebrows.
Mac snorted. “Some partner you’ve got there, Peterson, and to be honest, with his track record, I’m surprised they let him anywhere near you rejects. But then, if he can shoot some of you here like he did in LA, all well and good.”
Jake wanted to breathe. He just couldn’t remember how to inflate his lungs. Like his body was on pause. There was movement, words, all going on around him, but it was as if he wasn’t really there.
“What the fuck, Riley?”
Jake jerked. Sawyer, an angry Sawyer, was standing in front of him.
“Not here,” Talon ground out, and Sawyer swerved around.
“You know, don’t you?”
Talon’s eyes met Jake’s. Yeah, he knew. Of course he did. There was no way Jake would have joined the unit without the team leader knowing all his shameful history.
“What do they mean?”
Jake’s gaze fell on Gael. The short blond hair that he would have liked to be just a little longer to latch on to. The smoky blue eyes that deepened and had clouded over last night. The wide lips that were the softest he’d ever tasted. The stubble-covered jaw, because maybe sometimes he had to shave twice a day, and the pulse point beating in his neck. The exact point that Jake had rested his own lips against and wished the heart that was beating belonged to him.