Colton 911--The Secret Network

by Marie Ferrarella

  When she, Sean and Ruby finally arrived at the town house where her sisters and cousin were waiting with Maya, January could feel her heart breaking into little pieces. If this wound up going as well as she thought it would, January knew she was going to be saying goodbye to a little girl she had taken into her heart in an incredibly short amount of time.

  Who would have ever thought that a bond between her and the frightened little girl could have formed so quickly? January couldn’t help marveling. She had come to care for a great many children in her line of work, but never to this extent.

  But there was no denying that, right from the beginning, she had wanted nothing but the best for Maya. And the best was uniting the little girl with her mother.

  A mother who obviously loved Maya a great deal.

  When she and Sean walked in, Maya greeted them both with unabashed delight, hugging first one, then the other and then beginning the process all over again.

  “Boy, she certainly did seem to miss you two,” Simone observed.

  “The entire time you were gone, she was totally antsy,” Tatum told them. “Like she was afraid you wouldn’t be coming back.”

  All three women in the room looked at the stranger who had come in with January and Sean.

  “January, who’s this?” Simone asked, taking the lead and looking at Ruby.

  “This is Maya’s mother,” January answered, her voice completely devoid of any emotion for the moment.

  The pain of letting go was almost too much to bear, but for Maya’s sake, January knew she had to do it. This wasn’t about her or what she wanted, this was about Maya and what was best for the little girl.

  Maya was watching January as if she somehow sensed that this person who had come in with her and Sean was someone special. Turning, Maya signed the question to January.

  As she started to reply, she was surprised to see Ruby taking over. Signing to Maya, Ruby introduced herself to her daughter.

  Maya looked by turns stunned, then hesitant and finally, a very shy smile came to her lips. She obviously had no memory of her mother, but she appeared very willing to finally have a real mother in her life.

  “You know how to sign,” January heard herself saying to Ruby. For some reason, she hadn’t thought that Ruby would know how.

  “The moment I discovered that my baby couldn’t hear, I started learning how to communicate with her. Even when Elias took her from me and threatened me with dire consequences if I ever tried to reconnect with her, I just continued learning, hoping that she and I would someday be together again. I never gave up hope,” Ruby said with feeling, signing the sentiment as she said it. “Never.”

  January took a deep breath. “Well, looks like you were right,” she said. Ignoring how she felt inside, January forced herself to put on a positive face for Maya’s sake.

  Doing her best to rally, she told Maya’s mother, “I bought some things for her. Let me go and pack them for you.”

  January was trying her best to leave the room with some shred of dignity before she broke down altogether and cried.

  “That would be very nice of you,” Ruby replied gratefully. And then, pausing, she looked from January to Sean. “Could I talk to the two of you for a minute before we leave?”

  “Of course,” Sean agreed. He gestured over to the side, but not before asking January’s relatives for a favor. “You won’t mind staying with Maya a little longer, right?”

  “You take as long as you like,” Simone said encouragingly, speaking for all three of them. She waved the detective and her sister off.

  “What did you want to say to us?” January asked Maya’s mother the moment they had all stepped aside.

  Ruby appeared a little uneasy as she began to speak. “I couldn’t help noticing that Maya seems to have formed a real bond with both of you. She clearly trusts you and I can see that she’s very fond of both you and the detective.”

  January exchanged looks with Sean. “Yes,” she agreed. “Your daughter’s a very bright, sweet little girl.”

  Sean handed Maya’s mother his business card. “If you need anything at all, I can be reached at this number day or night.”

  Ruby looked at the card before pocketing it. “Well, as it happens,” she told them, “I think I am going to have to impose on you.”

  January was instantly alert. Was this going to be good or bad? “Oh?”

  “Since you both seem to have formed a bond with my daughter, I was wondering if you would mind very much helping me with what is going to be the difficult transition of becoming Maya’s mother again. I know I have no right to ask after everything you have already done, but I thought, since it’s obvious that she likes you both so much, it would be easier for her to have you—”

  “Say no more,” January cried. “I’d love to help you and Maya reconnect.”

  “We would love to help you and Maya reconnect,” Sean corrected, giving January a look that told her he intended to be in on this, as well.

  Ruby looked completely relieved. “I can’t thank you both enough for going out of your way like this and helping out,” Ruby told them with overwhelming sincerity.

  “No need to thank us. Just seeing Maya smile like that,” January said, gesturing toward the little girl, “is more than enough for me.”

  “For us,” Sean corrected her.

  January nodded as she smiled. She was finally starting to relax.

  This could turn out well, after all, she thought as she echoed Sean’s words. “For us.”

  Chapter 23

  It was several days later before a routine began to form and fall into place. Things finally settled down.

  Much to Ruby Duarte’s relief and joy, with January and Sean’s help, she was able to step back into Maya’s life. With what turned out to be a minimum of effort, the woman reclaimed her rightful place as the little girl’s mother.

  “I will always, always be grateful to both of you,” Ruby told January and Sean. “I want you to feel free to come by any time. You’ll always be welcome here.”

  “Just don’t forget to invite us to your graduation ceremony,” January told Maya’s mother, referring to the nursing degree that Ruby was earning.

  “Count on it,” Ruby promised, standing beside her daughter in the brand-new apartment January had helped her find for herself and Maya.

  “So,” Sean commented as they drove away, “looks like everything is going well for Maya and her mom. Why don’t we go out and celebrate?”

  “You mean, like, on a date?” January asked. With all the time they had spent together protecting Maya and then making plans for her future, they had never actually been out on a date.

  “Exactly like on a date. How about we have dinner at your sister’s restaurant? I hear the food’s great,” he said with a grin.

  “Sure,” January replied, but there was no enthusiasm in her voice.

  As they drove there, Sean found that he was doing most of the talking. If January responded at all, it was in one-or two-word answers.

  Arriving at the restaurant, Sean parked his sedan, but remained seated, observing his companion. This didn’t bode well for his plans for the evening, he thought.

  “You’re awfully quiet tonight,” he noted. “Something wrong?”

  January was just going to shrug off his concern, but then thought better of it. She wasn’t in the habit of lying and she wasn’t about to start now. Besides, she had discovered that Sean had a way of seeing through her, so there was no use in even pretending everything was all right.

  She knew this would probably sound foolish since, technically, she had just seen the girl, but January still told him what was eating away at her.

  “I miss Maya,” January confessed. There was this painful, gaping hole in her heart. She knew exactly how Ruby must have felt when Kid had taken her daughter from her.

/>   Sean surprised her with his response. He didn’t make a comment about her overreacting. Instead, he told her, “So do I.” Stunned, she stared at the police detective. “But you have to admit,” he went on, “that Maya’s better off with her mother.”

  January sighed. “Yes, I know,” she reluctantly agreed, then tried to rally by focusing on another aspect of this little drama. “Well, at least this turned out well for you.”

  She had lost him. “How do you mean?” Sean asked.

  “Well, with her mother coming forward to claim Maya,” January explained, “you’ve got to admit that certainly lets you off the hook.” Belatedly, she forced herself to smile at him, as if this outcome at least benefited Sean.

  “Off the hook?” he repeated, amazed that January would even think of putting it that way. “Did it ever occur to you that I didn’t want to be off the hook? If anything,” Sean went on, “I wanted to be on the hook.” Didn’t she understand that? he couldn’t help wondering.

  Her eyebrows drew together. Sean was lying to her. He was trying to be kind, but he was lying, she concluded. “No, you didn’t. With the exception of my dad and my uncle, no man I’ve ever met wants to be on the hook. Men prefer to be free, to come and go as they damn well please,” January insisted, and Sean wasn’t going to convince her otherwise.

  “And this is coming from where?” the detective asked. “From your vast relationship experience?”

  “All right,” she conceded. So this wasn’t firsthand experience on her part, but that didn’t make her conclusion any less valid. “It’s coming from observing people as a social worker. It comes from having woman after woman pour out their hearts to me because they believed the fabricated lies of some guy who promised to be there and love them forever, only to disappear the moment it had the air of becoming serious—or she became pregnant.”

  Sean nodded. Just as he’d thought. If tonight was going to turn out the way he hoped, he had to convince her that she was laboring under a misapprehension.

  “If you ask me, you’ve been dealing with a deck that’s only been stacked one way.” He paused for a minute, looking at her. And then he made up his mind.

  He was going to push ahead. His heart gave him no choice.

  “This wasn’t the way I wanted to do this,” he told her. “But maybe I should.”

  It was her turn not to understand. “Maybe you should what?”

  He could feel his heart beginning to accelerate as he continued. “I was going to ask you if you would consider making our living arrangement permanent.”

  His question didn’t clear up anything for her. It just made things even more obscure. “You want to move in with me on a permanent basis?” she asked, attempting to make some kind of sense out of what Sean was telling her.

  “No, I want you to marry me on a permanent basis.” Watching her face, he asked, “What do you say?”

  She was surprised when she actually found her tongue. “I—”

  And that was when two members of her family suddenly descended on them.

  “Hey, Jan, Sean,” Carly cried, looking obviously delighted. “Tatum said you were having dinner here.” January’s cousin made herself at home, taking a seat.

  “So, how have you been?” Simone asked, sitting on the other side of her cousin. If she and Carly realized they were interrupting something, they certainly weren’t acting as if they were aware of it. “We were going to grab a bite to eat here ourselves, and then Tatum told us that you two were already here.” She beamed at her sister and her police detective. “So here we are,” she announced—as if that was actually necessary.

  January dearly loved her entire family, but she couldn’t help thinking that her sister and her cousin couldn’t have come at a worse possible time. Sean had asked her a question—the question—and was obviously waiting for an answer.

  January looked at the police detective apologetically. This was normal behavior as far as her family was concerned, with members from both sides thinking nothing of popping up out of the blue without any warning and just commingling. But she knew this wasn’t something he was used to taking in stride. She regarded Sean ruefully.

  “Before I answer your question,” January said to him, “how do you feel about being part of a crazy family like this? Because this—” she circled the general area that included her sister and her cousin with her hand “—isn’t unusual. This is actually part of the norm.”

  January watched his face intently for some indication that the man was debating heading for the hills for his own self-preservation.

  “How do I feel about being part of it?” Sean echoed.

  January nodded. “That’s the question.”

  Sean’s couldn’t have smiled any wider if he had tried. “I feel great about it,” he told her with unabashed enthusiasm.

  Simone exchanged looks with her sister and then stared at the detective. “What are you two talking about? What about our crazy family?” Simone asked.

  Sean had just given her his answer, so she was just about to give him hers—and it was a positive one.

  “Well, if you must know,” January began, “Sean and I have just decided—”

  Sean’s cell phone went off just then, interrupting what January had been about to share. “Hold that thought,” he requested, looking down at his cell phone’s screen. “I’ve got to take this call. It’s from my lieutenant.”

  Maybe it had to do with something more about the dead cartel chieftain, he thought.

  Rising from the table, Sean stepped away to give Walters his full attention. He knew that if he remained sitting where he was, he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on what his lieutenant had to say. Not under the present circumstances.

  The moment Sean walked away from the table, Simone looked at her sister. “So, give,” she ordered. “Did he just ask you to marry him?”

  Carly was only half a beat behind Simone. “More importantly, did you say yes?”

  Oh no, she wasn’t about to do this on her own. In her mind, she and Sean were already a couple. “You heard Sean. He wants to be here before anything’s said,” January told the other two women.

  Simone pretended to ignore her sister and turned toward their cousin. “Look at that face,” she said, nodding toward January. “She’s grinning from ear to ear. She said yes,” the oldest Colton sister said confidently. Then she glanced at January. “You did say yes, didn’t you?”

  January shook her head. “I told you, Simone, it’s not exclusively my story to tell.”

  “C’mon, Jan, don’t be that way. We’ve been through so many things together. You can’t just pick now to shut us out,” Carly complained.

  Simone looked up to see the man she assumed was going to be her future brother-in-law heading back to their table.

  “Ah, speak of the devil,” she said, winking at Sean as he drew close. “We were just trying to get your partner in crime to spill the beans and tell us what’s going on.”

  In light of the expression she saw on the detective’s face, Simone dropped her teasing tone. “Sean?” she asked seriously. “Is something wrong?”

  He looked at the three women seated at the table, wondering how he was going to break what had to be the worst possible news they would ever hear.

  For that matter, how was he going to find the words to tell January?

  Something had frozen within him the second he had heard the news himself, and now he had to be the one to say those crushing words out loud to January and her sister and cousin.

  And once the words were out, Sean knew he couldn’t unsay them, couldn’t find a way to take back the pain they would create.

  But whether or not he could take them back didn’t change the fact that it had happened.

  And they needed to know.

  “Sean,” January said in a very still voice. “What is it? You’re sca
ring me. Who was that just now on the phone?”

  He was just making this worse, Sean thought. His not saying anything just deepened the tension, the horror of the situation that had just come to pass.

  “That was my lieutenant,” Sean told her. Each word he uttered felt as if it weighed a ton as it came out of his mouth.

  “And?” Carly pressed, growing as uneasy as her cousins.

  “For heaven sakes, Sean, it can’t be that bad,” Simone insisted. “Just what did this lieutenant of yours say?”

  In the course of his career, he had been the bearer of this kind of awful news a number of times. It was something he had never gotten used to. But in all that time, the news had never been a personal matter.

  It was today.

  “I was just informed of a double homicide,” he heard himself telling the women.

  “A double homicide,” Carly repeated, as if repeating the words would make her able to absorb the news better. And understand it.

  “Who were the victims?” Simone asked, her voice suddenly stony, removed.

  He felt January reach for his hand, wrapping her fingers around it in an attempt to brace herself.

  Sean squeezed her hand before uttering the words no one wanted to hear. He would have been willing to give up his own life to spare her and her family this anguish and grief.

  “Ernest and Alfred Colton. Your father and uncle,” he added numbly before saying, “They were gunned down tonight as they left their office.”

  He was aware of January trying to muffle the anguished sob that rose to her lips.

  She failed.

  Taking her into his arms, Sean made her and the other two women a promise right then and there. “I’m not going to rest until I find out who did this to your father and uncle—and why.”

  And he would love January forever and help in the darkest times. Times like this one, where the world seemed to be falling apart for the Colton family.

  No one said a word. They all too busy dealing with the overwhelming, gut-wrenching pain and grief generated by this sudden crime that had come out of nowhere.