by Hype, Jenn
The officer came back in the room and Brooke pulled away to face him. Standing next to him was a very haggard looking Jack.
"What are you doing here? You should be at the hospital!"
Jack's eyes were trained on Brooke. He didn't even acknowledge my shouting. Not until he sat across from us did he even look my way.
"Figured Brooke has a lot of questions and I didn't want to make her wait.
My hand slipped into hers under the table, and she turned her head to me when I squeezed. "Do you want some privacy?" She shook her head, and I let out a long breath. More than anything I needed to be near her, but if she wanted to be alone with Jack, I'd give her that.
Jack took a deep breath before diving in.
"I was new to the bureau when your mom came to us with information about the guy she was dating. Turned out he was someone we'd been trying to nail for human trafficking but could never get anything solid enough to stick. Witnesses either wound up dead or retracted their story, and we tried several times to get someone inside. It was a high profile case, and for a rookie to land it was a really big deal. I was determined to prove myself and be the guy who finally put Viktor Popov behind bars for good. That meant keeping your mom alive, and I was too stubborn to put her life in someone else's hands, so I assigned myself to her. Twenty-four-seven I was with her for three months. Nothing happened between us during that time. It was the day Viktor was indicted that we went out to celebrate and made what seemed like at the time a poor choice. It resulted in her pregnancy, and nine months later, you entered the world."
"Why not tell me you were my dad? Why the lies?"
Jack nodded solemnly before responding.
"Your mom and I discussed it at length. She and I weren't in love. We had a connection that would keep us bonded for life and a deep appreciation of each other, but nothing strong enough to justify marriage. The problem was, even after Viktor was in prison, she had to remain in Witness Protection with the Marshals. They wouldn't be able to tell me what her name was or where to find her. Or you. I had to call in a pretty huge favor, but they ended up letting me leave the bureau and start over with a new identity as well. We always knew that you would grow up and leave home eventually, and she and I would go our separate ways. I was young and itching to get back to work, back into the action, but wouldn't do it until you were grown. I refused to miss out on watching you become the amazing person you are today."
Brooke's hand tightened in mine, but her face remained stoic. Jack cleared his throat uncomfortably, having suddenly become emotional.
"So many times I thought about coming clean, just telling you the truth. Your mother and I discussed it often, but ultimately decided it would only burden you to put that kind of stress on you. No teenage girl should have to worry that at any point in time a psychopath might come knocking on her door, looking to kill her mom and dad. So as much as it pained me to lie to you, to not get to hear you call me dad or spend time with you as a family, we really felt it was best. Maybe that was the wrong decision, I don't know, but we did what we felt was right at the time."
"Had you-" Brooke stopped abruptly, swallowing thickly and blinking back tears. "Did you ever plan to see me again?" A few rogue tears escaped, and she wiped them away quickly. To my surprise, when I looked back at Jack, he too had wet streaks on his face.
"Honestly? I wasn't sure. More than anything I wanted to see you again. I'd hoped that there would come a time when we could be reunited. I also knew that may never happen. I understand if you hate me, if you can't ever forgive me for lying to you. I can't even imagine the pain you suffered, and now losing your mom..."
Brooke let go of my hand. I started to protest, but then she reached across the table and placed it over Jack's.
"I forgive you. I forgive you, dad." Jack let out a choked sob at her soft words. "Mom is gone. It hasn't fully hit me yet, I don't think, but I do know this: Life is too short to hold grudges. I lost one parent today only to find another. And I don't plan on losing that one any time soon."
I stepped out of the room when Jack and Brooke embraced, crying into each other's shoulders.
A few minutes later, they both stepped out of the interrogation room, laughing with tear-filled eyes.
"Sir," an officer said as he walked over to Jack. "We've searched everywhere, but have been unable to find Kevin Popov. We'll keep looking, but he could be anywhere by now."
Jack nodded, but I already knew what he was thinking. The reason our team existed was to accomplish what the government couldn't. If anyone could find Kevin, it was us.
"And what about the investigation into the prison?"
The officer stood a little straighter before answering. "We've already found the parties involved in faking Viktor's death which subsequently led to his escape. The Marshals assigned to Ms. Jackson were cleared. They had no reason to suspect his death was faked, and once they received the call about his supposed suicide, they were removed from Ms. Jackson's case. It appears that somehow Kevin was able to obtain a position at the prison under a false identification, combined with less than acceptable screening tests on part of the prison."
I tuned out their conversation and turned to Brooke. I couldn't wait any longer. It was probably the worst, and least romantic time to confess, but it needed to be said.
"I love you."
Damn it all to hell. Brooke beat me to the punch. She was also smiling up at me with laughter in her eyes.
"Is this how it's always going to be?" I brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. "You trying to show me up."
She shrugged, then pressed up on to her toes to kiss my cheek. "Guess you're just going to have to get used to it. No one likes a sore loser, Masters."
"So," Jack said from behind me as he clapped his hand against my shoulder. "You going to make an honest woman out of my daughter?"
Brooke's mouth fell open in horror. I choked on air. Hard. For so long that it drew the attention of several officers who gathered around to watch me struggle for air while Jack laughed his ass off.
When I finally caught my breath, I glared at him. Then I remembered he really was Brooke's dad. Not just my boss. The father of the woman I loved. The woman who still didn't know I loved her.
Suddenly not caring who was watching, I grabbed her hand and pulled her into my arms. After tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear again and smiling down at her, I squeezed her ass. Hard.
"You are the most aggravating, stubborn, difficult woman I have ever met. And I love you."
Brooke laughed, wrapping her tiny hand around my neck. "And you are the most hard-headed, bossy, infuriating man I've ever met. And I love you, too."
I swept her up into my arms and spun her around. She squealed, but I cut her off with a bruising kiss. I faintly heard Jack clearing his throat and muttering something about "kids" and "no respect", but I was too wrapped up in Brooke to care.
"So what now?" Brooke asked when we finally broke apart.
Hand in hand we walked out of the precinct, trailing behind Jack as he waved and said goodbye to almost everyone we passed.
"Now, we do whatever we want."
"Well, I know what I want," Brooke said suggestively, bumping my side with her hip.
"Oh yeah? And what's that?"
She stopped walking and turned to face me, a mischievous grin on her face. "I want to go get the rest of our team and find that punk-ass, dinosaur tattoo wearing, wannabe criminal and teach him a lesson."
I cupped her face and gently brushed her lips with mine. "You read my mind."
Chapter Twenty-One
See, What Had Happened Was
Brooke
"Hey! Watch it, man!" Nick yelled as he ducked. Hunter had nearly taken his head off with the big box he was carrying.
"If you'd help with the heavy lifting instead of sitting around trying not to break a nail like a pansy, then you wouldn't have to worry about me almost hurting your delicate self."
"I just got here!" Nick
argued, but Hunter was already disappearing into the building and out of earshot. Grumbling, he trudged over to the truck and grabbed a box.
We were moving into our new HQ. That's right. Our. I was officially part of the team. The guys teased that I only got hired because of nepotism, but even if that were true, I wouldn't care. That I had a dad at all, let alone one who would pull strings for me, was something I was grateful for. Besides, if I were going to get the job for anything other than skill, it would be from having my boyfriend wrapped around my finger.
Speaking of which...
"Hey, sexypants," I muttered before grabbing Grant by the collar and pulling him down for a kiss.
"Hey, sugartits," he responded between kisses, laughing when I shoved him away.
"You know I hate that nickname." I planted my fists on my hips and stared him down, but he just laughed harder before tugging me back to him and kissing me again. I, of course, melted into him immediately, all but forgetting why I was irritated in the first place.
"Do I need to instate a no kissing on the job rule?" Dad said from behind me. Dad. I didn't think I'd ever get used to calling him that. Three months had passed since we'd been reunited, and it still felt new.
"You can make the rule all you want, but we'll just ignore it," I sassed. It felt just like when I was fifteen and would argue with anything and everything my mom and Officer K - errrr, Jack - told me to do.
My mom.
The service had been beautiful. I missed her every day, but having Grant made it easier. He made sure to remind me that she would want me to keep on living whenever I started to feel guilty for being happy. For someone as determined to not depend on anyone as I was, I sure had become pretty dependent upon Grant and everyone else. The idea of losing any one of them was too painful to even consider.
Trent hopped out of the U-Haul, carrying a massive computer. I didn't even know they made them that big.
"Need some help, buddy?" Grant asked, grabbing an end of the monster of a machine before Trent could even respond.
The past few months had been hard on him. He blamed himself for so much of what happened. HQ being infiltrated, the security feed for all the properties having been accessed - everything. Even after we found out that Viktor had paid one of the world's best hackers - and he paid him heftily, let me tell you - Trent was still too busy riding the guilt train to care.
All the technical mumbo jumbo was lost on me, but the FBI sounded pretty confident about Trent not being at fault. In fact, they were very impressed with his set up. They even offered him a job, which he immediately turned down. The team still views the government as a foe, but they seemed more willing to coexist peacefully after they rewarded us with a hefty sum of money for taking down Viktor's operation.
One thing Trent didn't know was that Viktor made Jack watch as they attacked Wilson. They wanted him to watch me die. When I made it out alive, Viktor apparently had a hissy fit. Would've loved to have seen that. He was also made to watch when HQ was attacked, and apparently Jack had cameras installed in all of their homes, and those were hacked into as well. The team was not happy about that. He promised to never install anything again without first telling them.
No one believed him.
We all agreed not to tell Trent about the cameras. It was like giving the enemy eyes on us at all times. It wasn't at all Trent's fault, especially since he wasn't even aware of several of the cameras to begin with, but we knew he would blame himself anyway. I, for one, think he's going to be completely pissed when he finds out we kept it from him, but the team took a vote. Even jamming Grant in the ribs with my elbow and forcing him to vote in my favor didn't help. We were outnumbered.
Alice came sauntering up to the truck, pulling me back to the present.
"Oh my gosh, have I told you lately how much I fucking hate my new assignment? Because seriously... if I have to spend one more minute with that arrogant asshole, I'm going to kill myself. Men should not spend more time on their hair than women. Just saying."
I barked out a laugh. "You have told me. You've actually already told me six times today, and it's only ten in the morning. Twice through text, once through email, an angry voicemail, a Tweet and then just now makes six."
She waved dismissively. "You should probably stop counting. It will most likely be in the double digits before dinner."
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Hunter asked her as he ignored Nick, who was trailing after him, still trying to defend himself.
"I needed a break from my client before I murdered him."
Hunter bristled. Why was I the only one who noticed how infatuated Hunter was with Alice? Every time I tried to broach the subject with Grant, he flipped out and refused to listen. He seriously plugged his ears and went "la la la la la!" like a toddler. Something about gossip and drama and having a dick. I don't know, I never listen to him.
"Why don't you take a break, pretty boy. Let the men do all the hard stuff. Wouldn't want to ruin your manicure." Deebo's deep voice rumbled with laughter. He swatted Nick on the shoulder teasingly, but Deebo was seriously huge, so Nick fell forward a few steps.
"What the hell! I do not get manicures. Why are you all acting like dicks today?"
Deebo was recruited by Jack only days after the whole debacle took place. Turned out the only reason he was working for Viktor in the first place was because of his brother, Trey. Apparently Trey was struggling with addiction issues and in a moment of desperation, he took a job working for Viktor. Once you were in with Vik, you didn't get back out. Deebo took the job trying to figure out how to get Trey out.
The team had taken to calling him Deebo instead of his real name, which was Fred. Deebo was cooler, anyway. Plus Fred was cool with it.
"Where are you going?" I yelled to Alice when she turned to walk away.
"Back to work!" Her head tilted skyward, and though she was too far away, I was pretty sure she was praying for strength. Shit. Maybe she really was contemplating murder.
Hunter watched her retreat, not looking away until she was out of sight.
"So, Dad."
Everyone around me groaned and started slowly backing away before I could finish my sentence. Even Grant. He shrugged and held his hands up in the air, to which I responded by mouthing "what the hell" and flailing my arms around.
"Any time you start a sentence with 'so', we know it's going to be bad," my dad said once they were gone.
I snorted and crossed my arms. "We all spend too much time together. And you seriously need to consider some new recruits since your current employees are all terrified of a woman who's only five-foot-three and a hundred and fifteen pounds."
Dad smirked. I fought against it, but eventually my lip quirked up, too. I liked being scary.
"So," he dragged out the word. Dammit. Now I was going to be self-conscious every time I said the damn word.
"I always wondered something about mom." Dad sat on the bed of the U-Haul and patted the spot next to him. I actually had a lot of questions about mom, but it was still hard to talk about her. "Well, I guess this question is more about you, really."
Dad's eyebrow raised, but he stayed quiet.
"You know as well as I do that mom and I struggled financially almost my whole life. At times she worked two jobs just to make ends meet. I'm not complaining. I didn't need all the expensive toys and name brand clothes and things like the other kids, but..." I trailed off, wondering if I should even voice the next part. Dad's hand squeezed mine, giving me the encouragement I needed. "Why didn't you help out? Financially I mean. I know it's none of my business, but you certainly seem to be doing well for yourself. All the properties you own and stuff. I just..." I wiped an errant tear from my cheek. "She could have been home more. She missed holidays and school plays because of work. I'm not blaming you at all, I just... I wish we'd had more time, ya know?"
Dad pulled me into a hug and let me cry into his shoulder. Any time I brought mom up I'd get emotional. Which, believe me, was not a commo
n thing for me. Though I had become more sensitive since meeting Grant. He apparently brought out the human side of me. I still had my doubts as to whether or not that was a good thing.
When my tears finally dried up, dad pulled back to look at me, but kept his arm around my shoulder.
"Your mom wouldn't have taken my money. I tried once, offering to pay for something, and she all but castrated me. She was a proud, hard-working woman. She wanted to make her own way in life. She wanted you to have a mother you could look up to and respect. Your mom knew you didn't have as much as the other kids, and there were times when she let herself feel horribly guilty about it, but she knew as well as I did that handing you everything in life wouldn't do you any good. We may not have been madly in love, but we were good friends. Best friends. If it had ever gotten to the point where she couldn't make rent or put food on the table, I would have stepped up and forced her if necessary, but it never came to that. As for her not being around as much, well..."
He looked away, a pained expression on his face.
"You may hate me for this part," he said as his arm fell from my shoulder. I grabbed his hand in mine. He looked down at the connection sadly, like I might pull away any second. Finally, he sighed heavily and stared into the sky before talking again.
"That was her way of letting me be a part of your life. If she had been around all the time, there would have been no reason for me to be involved. Not without making things more complicated, anyway. Most of those things that she missed were intentional. Her way of giving me the opportunity to experience some of those things with you. I'm sorry if-"