by Dawn Edwards
‘Yes.’
‘And Deb?’ I asked.
‘I’ve just got off the phone with her, she’s on her way, or will be shortly.’ She was crying and I wanted to get there as soon as I could.
‘Alright, I’m leaving now, I’ll call Brett from the car.’
I walked up to the bar, pulling my wallet out as Lisa walked towards me. ‘Is everything alright?’ she asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
‘Not really,’ I sighed, appreciating her concern despite everything I put her through. ‘Can I settle up the tab for the guys?’
‘Sure thing,’ she turned to print my bill and bring me over the payment machine. I gave a generous tip, as I always did.
‘Thanks.’
‘You ok?’ she asked, looking me over.
I wasn’t sure if I could say anything, so I hesitated. ‘I have to go into Boston, someone’s in the hospital.’
‘Oh my God, who?’ she asked, her face showing her surprise.
‘Steve Cahill,’ I said in a low voice. If anyone knew how much the Cahills meant to me, it was Lisa.
‘Drew…’ she trailed off, at a loss for words placing her hand on my arm. ‘Let me know if there’s anything I can do.’
I nodded. ‘Thanks, Lisa, that means a lot.’
‘Hey guys, sorry to do this, but I have a family emergency in Boston and I have to leave now.’ I didn’t explain, it was the first thing that came to my mind to call them family. That’s what they were to me. I really didn’t know how else to explain it without getting into the details—the Cahills were family to me. And I was hoping that one day they would be my in-laws. The guys didn’t question my comment about family, despite knowing that I was single—not really, but it wasn’t like I could very well tell them about Jessa.
‘Joe, can I have a second?’ I looked at my right-hand man. He was the first guy I’d ever hired as an assistant and was thankful for ever since. I relied on him more than I should, but most importantly, I trusted him with my company.
He stood up and followed me towards the exit, ‘Sorry, but Mr. Cahill just had a heart attack, and Mrs. Cahill called me to come.’
‘Shit,’ he groaned. ‘Is he alright?’
‘I’m not sure, he’s in surgery,’ I paused. ‘I’m not sure how long I’m going to be in the city.’
He put his hand on my shoulder. ‘You go, do what you need to do, be there with them, I’ll take over here.’ I nodded, appreciative that I had him. He didn’t know all the details, but I think he knew how much the Cahills meant to me and that Steve bankrolled my start-up and was responsible for his family's health insurance.
I looked up to him, ‘Thanks, man, I really appreciate it.’
‘Don’t mention it.’
‘I’ll have my cell, text me with anything. The schedule for the week is in Google docs…’
‘I know, I know,’ he told me. ‘Call me tomorrow to let me know how the big boss is.’
I stopped in at home, packed a bag with a change of clothing and grabbed my laptop and chargers. I walked out of the nearly finished house with a backpack full of a few things. I didn’t need much to keep me going.
As soon as I turned the Audi on, my Bluetooth connected and I called the number I had for Breton and it went to voicemail.
‘Brett, it’s Drew. Give me a call ASAP, it’s important.’ I had never left him a voicemail before.
After ten minutes, he still hadn’t called me back. I knew that he was out of the country, but he always kept his cell phone near him. So I called him again and it went to voicemail again. It was clearly the middle of the night wherever he was, so I called again, and then again before he finally picked up.
‘What?’ he yelled into the phone.
‘Good morning, sunshine, this is your wake-up call,’ I said in an overly sweet voice. While I was stressed and worried, I needed to lighten the atmosphere in the car for my own sanity.
‘Drew, you better be dying.’
‘Um…’ How did I break the news to him?
‘What is it?’ he said, now sounding a bit more awake.
‘Steve’s had a heart attack and is in surgery. I’m on the way to Boston now to the hospital. Your mom’s also on her way.’
‘Is he ok?’ Breton demanded, worry clear in his voice.
‘I’ve told you everything I know.’ I kept my voice calm. Clearly Breton was upset and rightly so. ‘Colleen called me about a half-hour ago and asked me to come to the city and to call you. She wants her here.’
There was a long pause.
‘Does she know?’ Breton asked.
‘I don’t know.’
‘Ok, leave it with me, I’ll get a plane for her and let you know the details. Can I call you back in about an hour?’
‘Yup, I’m about a half-hour from the hospital.’
‘K, give my mom and Colleen a hug for me.’
‘I will.’
I parked the Audi and went straight to the family waiting room in the cardiac wing of Mass General Hospital, eager for more information on Steve. I walked in to find Deb and Colleen sitting next to one another. They both looked up when I walked in. I gave Colleen a hug first, then Deb and took a seat across from them. ‘Any news?’
‘The nurse said a doctor should be out in about an hour or so to update us.’
I nodded, ‘Breton sends his love and will be calling back in a bit.’
Deb looked up to me alarmed. ‘You spoke with Breton?’
I looked to Colleen and then around to make sure no one else was in the small private waiting room before I got up and closed the door to ensure our privacy.
‘I asked him to,’ Colleen told her sister-in-law. ‘I needed him to arrange a sensitive issue for us.’
Deb looked to me as I took a seat, glancing to Colleen to take the lead.
‘Last year Jessa found a bunch of documents in Matt’s condo, illegal documents and such. She confided in Breton so he could look into them. When he did, he uncovered a lot more illegal activities. Jessa was very scared that Matt was going to try to take her away or worse…’
‘I will never forgive that bastard for taking her away from us like that,’ Deb shook her head. It was hard to comprehend that she still hadn’t been told of Jessa. That aside from Breton, who knew all along, her parents and myself, everyone else, including a jury, thought that Matt had killed her.
‘Breton got her away,’ Colleen whispered. ‘Breton and our girl faked her disappearance.’
Deb’s eyes went wide, ‘But all the evidence.’
‘She staged it before she got off the boat that night,’ I leaned in and confirmed in a low voice.
‘But...no.’
‘It’s true,’ Colleen nodded, holding her sister-in law’s hand.
‘And you didn’t tell me?’ Deb stood up, clearly angry, digging her phone out of her bag, ‘He has a hell of a lot of explaining to do.’
I stood up next to her, taking her phone from her. ‘You cannot mention this over your phone, ever. And I think it goes without saying that we can’t mention any of this publicly yet. He’s busy arranging a private jet to get her here as we speak, please don’t distract him. Colleen needs her here, and when Steve wakes up, he will need her here also.’
It dawned on her, ‘You knew, and I didn’t?’
I tried to smile, ‘Yeah, but only rather recently. Turns out our girl was a tad bit jealous of my relationship with Lisa…’
Deb laughed, actually laughed at the audacity of it. ‘Yeah, I wouldn’t let you go either.’
‘Deb,’ Colleen admonished.
‘What?’ she shrugged, sitting back down.
‘Does she know about her dad yet?’ I asked Colleen.
She shook her head, ‘I wanted to have the plane and immigration all sorted out before we told her.’
‘How’s she going to fly?’
‘She’s out of the country so Breton needs to ensure her passport is going to work with homeland security,’ I informed her on the techni
cal side of things. ‘But don’t worry, it will, her passport is real, just has a different name, and she looks totally different now.’
‘You’ve seen her?’ Deb was shocked.
I nodded, ‘Once, not too long ago.’
Deb looked to Colleen, ‘And you?’
Colleen shook her head, looking sad. ‘Not yet.’
‘Where is she?’
‘The less you know the better,’ I told her, and Deb looked confused. ‘She plans on coming home soon, just as soon as they have all the evidence and loose ends tied up. And a plan to keep them…’
I couldn't say out of jail, I didn't want her to think that Breton could go to jail. I hadn’t been able to even fathom the fact that Breton and/or Jessa may have to spend actual time in jail for putting killers and con artists behind bars.
No other law enforcement agency would have taken the time or spent the money they had to get to the bottom of all that they had uncovered.
‘I was hoping she’d have been home by Christmas, but they have told me more like the spring now,’ I was treading lightly.
Christmas was only three weeks away, perhaps I could convince Jessa to stay now. As much as I was upset about Steve being in the hospital, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t happy and excited to be getting the chance to see Jessa, even under these circumstances.
My phone rang and I answered it right away as I saw Breton’s name on the screen, putting it on speaker phone.
‘Hey, you're on speaker, I’m here with your mom and Colleen.’
‘Boy, you have a lot of explaining to do,’ Deb started.
‘I know, but now’s not the time and most certainly not over the phone,’ he started in a firm and final tone, then asked, ‘Any update on Steve?’
‘We’re waiting on the nurse for an update,’ Colleen said. ‘I will have Andrew text you once we hear anything.’
‘Ok, thanks. I have a plane for Sarah at Luton’s private departures. It’s able to leave anytime in the next four hours, I just need to give them an hour’s notice to take-off time. It’s with Debon Air, they’re French, but were able to make it work, as they were planning to travel later today to New York. This way they make a few bucks...well, a shit ton, actually, but whatever, I’ll add it to her tab.’
‘Who’s Sarah?’ Deb asked, looking between Colleen and myself.
‘My girlfriend,’ I winked at her.
‘Thank you so much, Breton, we will call her now and let her know,’ Colleen stated.
‘Remind her to take only her passport and a carry-on, that way it will be quicker for customs and less time in the airport.’
I knew exactly what he was talking about, and I would be sure to relay the message to her.
‘Thanks,’ I replied.
‘Keep me posted,’ he said and hung up.
CHAPTER 18
JESSA
‘Ugh,’ I moaned, pushing myself out of my favorable horizontal position from under my duvet and grabbed my phone on the nightstand next to me. I saw the time was four in the morning, and I had an email from Breton, two missed calls from Drew, along with a missed text message, and it was him that was calling me again.
All the hair on my body rose, alarm bells went off and fear took over me. Something had to have happened. Drew never called me like this, always just sent me text messages and waited for me to reply.
I answered the phone, ‘Hello?’ my voice cracked from sleep and worry.
‘Hey, cupcake,’ Drew’s voice was like honey on the line, calm and relaxed. ‘Sorry to call you in the middle of the night…’
‘What’s wrong?’ I asked, getting right to the point.
‘No one is dead, but have a seat,’ he told me and then paused. ‘Are you sitting?’
‘Drew, you're scaring the shit out of me, what the fuck is going on?’ I demanded.
‘Your father has had a heart attack…’
What?
‘What?’ I whispered, not really able to comprehend what he was saying. My father was young, he was healthy, he exercised, and he ate pretty well.
This couldn’t be happening, not now, not when I was so far away.
‘Cupcake, are you listening to me?’ Drew asked me, I wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying.
‘Jessa?’ he used my name in an authoritative tone, one I wasn’t all that used to.
‘Yeah, I’m here,’ I said, dumbfounded.
‘Breton arranged a private jet for Sarah out of Luton,’ he told me. ‘Do you understand?’
I nodded and said, ‘I do.’
‘He’s sent you an email telling you what to do. Now I need you to put your phone on speaker, I’m going to walk you through things.’
I did as he said and held it in my hand. ‘Go get your passport and put it in your purse with your wallet and phone charger,’ he instructed me, and I went into Breton’s office and found Sarah Khan’s passport in the safe. Back in my room, I unplugged my charger from the wall and put it in my purse with my passport.
Drew was telling me about the events of the night up until now, how my mom called him and he was out with his crew at a bar for some end-of-week drinks.
‘Are you done yet?’ he asked me.
I was sitting back on my bed, holding my purse, which already had my wallet with Sarah Khan’s identification and bank cards and a few hundred pounds of cash for emergencies, such as this, I suppose.
‘Yeah.’
‘Ok, now get your carry-on suitcase.’
He walked me through packing a few things, including the red wig, brown contacts, and glasses to wear through customs and into the hospital. Next, he told me what to turn off in the apartment. When I was all done, he texted Breton and a car service was ordered for me.
It was an hours drive to the Luton airport from where we lived. I was quickely escorted on to a jet owned by a French company and aside from being served some food, was left on my own to try and sleep for the flight. It was harder than normal, for one, I was worrying over my father so much, praying that he was going to pull through. He was too young to die and my mother and I need him. Secondly, I was stressing bout being back in Boston and potentially being caught, making everything Breton and I had done almost worthless. And finally, trying to sleep with a wig and contacts wasn’t exactly comfortable. But seeing as I was surrounded by an aircrew I knew nothing about, I needed to maintain my disguise as part of my role. If I wanted to be with my family, I needed to be in disguise.
I had been surprised when the captain told me we weren’t going to Boston, but Providence instead. For my security, it actually made sense to land in a different state and drive the short distance to the city I called home my entire life until I set out on my journey of self-discovery. A journey I was now questioning; had I never left, perhaps my father wouldn’t be under so much stress, perhaps he wouldn't have had the heart attack
While only lasting about twenty minutes, the descent felt excruciatingly long. I knew that I would soon be in the safety of Drew’s arms and after that to see my parents, who I’d missed terribly over the past year and a bit. I was anxious for any update of my dad and hadn’t been able to think of much else except him over the past few hours. He had still been in surgery when I boarded the plane and I’d had no other updates since.
I had my shoes on, checked my wig, sunglasses perched on my head, was already wearing my jacket and had both my purse and bookbag in my lap while my carry-on was on the seat next to me. I couldn’t wait to get off this plane and the door of the plane wasn’t even open yet. To say I was eager was a bit of an understatement.
The flight had been long, feeling much longer than the 7 hours of flying time that I had done repeatedly with my family over the years.
It was 9 in the morning Boston time. I had managed to get some sleep on the plane and felt as rested as I could be given the circumstances, but I was anxious. Anxious that bad news of my dad awaited me, anxious to see Drew and my parents. Anxious to run into anyone I shouldn’t and anxious tha
t I would be found out by someone and end up in jail.
I could really go for a Xanax right about now.
The flight attendant couldn’t get the door open and the stairs unfolded fast enough in my opinion. ‘Thank you,’ she looked to me. ‘Have a great day, enjoy Providence, Miss Khan.’
I nodded, ‘Thanks for your hospitality.’
I didn’t even stay on long enough to thank the captains, the fewer interactions with people the better. I walked across the tarmac to where I saw a man in a fluorescent yellow vest holding open a door for me, which I assumed led into the arrivals terminal.
‘Just follow the hallway, through the double doors, and you will come out to arrivals,’ the young man told me and I nodded, holding on to my wig, as it was a bit windy.
I hurried along the corridor, looking down so not to show my full face to the cameras, however, I was pretty sure Breton had already hacked into the system to prevent my image from ever showing up.
When the automatic doors opened, I stepped out from the secure area of the airport into the open, finally back in America. Looking around I saw Drew, watching another set of doors, looking eager every time the door opened and agitated when it wasn’t me he saw exiting. I walked towards him, stopping when I was about ten feet away. Sensing our connection, we’d had since the day we first met, he turned to look at me.
‘Je…’ he stopped himself from saying my name but rushed towards me. ‘Cupcake,’ he took a few quick long steps towards me and picked me up in his arms, then pulled away just enough to kiss me.
‘How is he?’
‘He’s out of surgery. The cardiac team said it went well, they removed the blockage, but they will need to do another surgery at some point soon. But right now, they have induced sedation until his blood pressure starts to respond to the medications.’
My eyes went wide, and I felt a tear roll down my cheek. ‘The doctors said that it’s all very normal with his type of heart attack,’ he assured me. ‘That he’s otherwise healthy and that’s a really good thing. Your mom called 911 right away, they got him in and treated, it was a best-case scenario.’
He wiped the tear from my face with his thumb. ‘They expect him to make a full recovery.’