Bait, p.24
Bait, page 24
Gabe smiled. “Sometimes. Maybe. But mostly not.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No. I’m just saying you’re not the boss.”
“When someone is shooting a machine gun, I am.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that one. There are instances where you clearly have more training.”
A knot pressed hard against her chest. “If I tell you to go, you better go.”
Gabe pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was quick and then he touched his forehead to hers. “We’re all fine.”
Caisey sucked in a breath and grabbed his elbows to steady herself. He was right. They were fine. She had to remember that even with all that happened, they hadn’t been harmed. Jake wasn’t okay. Natalia was gone, but he would survive.
Two firefighters passed them and one clipped the other on the arm. “Hey, did you hear about that blaze over at the custom car shop? I’d much rather be saving those sweet rides than doing cleanup for the Russians.”
Caisey trotted up behind them, grabbed the guy with the big mouth’s elbow and swung him around. “Are you talking about LoDo Custom Cars?”
Jenna had told her where she would be tonight. It was a standing agreement they had, even if Caisey was working Jenna would have an idea what part of town she’d be in.
The guy shrugged. “What about it? What’s your problem, anyway?”
She let him go with a shove. “We don’t have long enough for me to explain it to you.”
Gabe had his phone out. “Nic?” His body stilled. “Yeah, we heard about that.” Gabe paused. “No way. Are you guys okay?”
Caisey wanted to shake him. Or grab the phone and pepper Nic with questions herself.
“Okay, we’ll do that.” He hung up. “Nic and Jenna were at the garage. They’re okay, but EMTs took them to the hospital to get checked out. He said Jenna was coughing pretty badly. We’re supposed to meet them there.”
“Okay.”
“Did you want me to tell them what happened here?”
Caisey shook her head. “I’ll do it later, when we know for sure everyone’s okay. Smoke inhalation can be pretty nasty.”
“You okay?”
Caisey didn’t answer Gabe. Instead, she glanced at Jake who was still deep in conversation with the Russian mafia boss. She looked back at Gabe. “Sure. I’m okay. I’ll go tell Jake so we can get going. Though, I’m not sure this is exactly how he wanted to meet his dad. Especially not when his girlfriend just got killed.”
“I’m sorry about what happened.”
Caisey nodded. “Me too. She was a sweet girl who didn’t seem to be able to catch a break on anything. Until Jake. He’s going to be a mess.”
“Should we finesse this so he doesn’t have more drama? He needs to be with his mom. Maybe I could take Nic aside so Jake doesn’t have to deal with that too, right now.”
Caisey smiled, enamored by the layers of Gabe that were peeling open. Jake was wrapping it up with Lazlo, so she motioned to where he was standing. “I’ll be back in a sec.” She walked to their huddle, flanked by Lazlo’s soldiers who hadn’t been detained for returning fire. They would all be taken in for questioning before the night was over, but these guys hadn’t been arrested.
Caisey got close to Jake, whose eyes were bloodshot and his cheeks read from wiping away tears. She got in his face and held his eyes. “You okay?”
Jake’s eyes flashed. “No. I’m not okay.”
“We should go.”
“Maybe I’m not done talking.”
Caisey sucked in a breath. She didn’t want to come down hard on him, not at a time like this. She had to remember he wasn’t lashing out at her, this was grief. “We can’t stay here all night. It’s late and we need to get you to your mom.”
He leaned in close to her. “I’m not a child.”
His face morphed into a Jake she’d never seen before in the happy kid she knew. “It’s not that. It’s—”
“Don’t tell me what to do. This is all on you. You brought us here and you’re supposed to be the big special agent. You’re the one who let her get killed.” Tears filled his eyes. “You want to go? Then go.”
Lazlo had thankfully turned away, though he was right beside them so it wasn’t like he couldn’t hear everything. Caisey wanted to grab Jake’s hand, but she didn’t dare reach because he would probably push her away. What was she supposed to have done? There was no way she could’ve known those men would open fire at that second and Natalia would be killed. A matter of inches and Natalia would’ve been in the hospital right now with a solid chance of a full recovery. And yet the coroner had removed the body, and all that was left now was emptiness.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Caisey gritted her teeth. “Hate me if you want, but I can’t control everything.” Caisey heard the words as she spoke them, and realized it was true. She tried so hard to take care of them, but she couldn’t cover it all. “We really do have to go. Your mom is at Mercy. There was a fire and she’s being checked out for smoke inhalation. We’re headed over there now.”
His eyes flickered. “A fire?”
“She’s okay.” Caisey nodded. “She was with your dad.”
“Arturo.” Lazlo said the name like a curse, his voice low and hard.
Caisey turned to him. “We don’t know that for sure.” She tugged on Jake’s arm. “Go wait by Gabe, okay? I need a minute.”
He pulled his arm from her grip and shoulders slumped, but he walked to where Gabe stood. When he was out of earshot Caisey turned to Lazlo. “This is where our association ends. You said what you said to Jake when he needed the comfort of his girlfriend’s grandfather, but that’s it. I’m very sorry for your loss.”
“Arturo will pay.”
“I’m not sure this was him.” Caisey saw movement. Several sets of eyes were on them, no doubt hoping to hear something incriminating come from Lazlo, spurred by a special agent on the job. But she wasn’t on the job now. She just wanted to say what she had to say, and get to Jenna.
“Why would Arturo offer your son a job and then target the restaurant? This wasn’t a precision attack, it was a rampage. He had no idea you were going to call me, or that I would be here.” She motioned to the restaurant’s destroyed front windows. “Could your son have done this?”
Lazlo didn’t say anything, so Caisey continued, “What happened tonight was terrible, there’s no doubt. This had nothing to do with me, and while I’m sorry for what happened to Natalia, I can’t be involved any further. This wasn’t about Gabe and me. This was about you, and that sweet girl got caught in the crossfire.” She pointed to where Gabe and Jake watched them. “I’m sure you can appreciate that I won’t let the same thing happen to them.”
Lazlo’s dark eyes narrowed, but he dipped his head before he walked away.
Caisey watched him go and went to Jake, making a point to ignore the agents who’d been listening. She might not be able to keep them safe from everything, especially not heartbreak, but she was certainly going to try. She led Jake to Gabe’s Jeep and sat beside him in the backseat while Gabe drove to the hospital.
She didn’t doubt that, as young as he was, Jake would go on to find someone who would fill his life with love and happiness. But this would shape him. A defining moment— much like her attack—one that made her squeeze her eyes shut and pray that the grief wouldn’t overwhelm him. She didn’t like to admit that her fear of being vulnerable sometimes sucked her under like a tidal wave, or that she would happily work her fingers to the bone if it meant protecting the people she cared for. As much as she didn’t wish it were true, that attack had shaped her. It made her the agent she was.
Jake squeezed her hand and pulled her close until her shoulder hit his. “I’m sorry.”
She leaned her head down and the wet from her eyes soaked his shirt.
Gabe pulled up at a stoplight and glanced back. The small smile was a comfort, but her pain was so much less than her godson’s. Why couldn’t they live in a world where death didn’t lurk around every corner, waiting to strike? The whole point of being an FBI agent was to keep it at bay and yet here it was…part of Jake’s world.
Stopping Holden Arturo wouldn’t be enough. It would never be enough, because there would always be a new threat to take the place of whoever she brought down or arrested. It was enough to drive her crazy, trying to figure out how in the world she was going to fix it so they were safe.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
Caisey sniffed and lifted her head. “I’m sorry...about Natalia.” She could see the shock still in his eyes, like he didn’t totally believe that she was gone. “She was a sweet girl.”
“Yeah, she was.” He turned away and looked out the window. “What do I do now?”
Caisey sighed. “I don’t really know. You know how it was when my dad died. Mostly you just keep going, keep moving, and keep getting out of bed even though it’s hard. Life goes on and it sucks and it’s painful, but there’s so much beauty and love still. It’s hard to see it in the darkness, but in the light it’s easier.”
“What if I don’t want to see?”
Caisey squeezed his hand. “It might take time, but you will.”
He looked at her. “Is my mom really okay?”
“Your dad said she was coughing. She’s just getting checked out.”
“Is he with her? Can I see him?”
Caisey bit her lip. “Do you want to see him?”
Jake took a deep breath and then nodded. “I think so. I think Natalia would like that I’m going to meet him, even though she isn’t here.”
Caisey couldn’t believe how well he seemed to be doing. Apart from his outburst of blame, Jake seemed almost contemplative. She wanted to believe it was something innate in him, strength he’d gained from life and family. Was it just shock? Maybe he was numb and it would hit him later and lay him flat. This was too much for a teen to deal with. She wanted different than this for him.
She wanted to rail at God and ask why. Why had he given her so much to take care of, when she clearly wasn’t cut out to serve and protect?
**
Jake concentrated on just breathing. In and out. He was finally going to see his dad. Natalia would think that was cool. Her mom—and her dad—hadn’t been the greatest, but her grandfather sure loved her. And now she was gone and he’d never see her smile at him when he got to English Lit and she was waiting by the seat she saved.
Caisey grabbed his hand, the way he used to do with her if there were a lot of people in the grocery store. They walked the hospital hallway with Gabe trailing behind them— Jake’s uncle, or whatever, he didn’t know how that worked. Was Nic like Gabe? Jake wanted to see his mom and all, since she almost got hurt in a fire. But his dad was here. That was so huge Jake wanted to run. And shriek and scream. He didn’t know whether he was going to hug the guy or yell at him for abandoning them.
He’d been right when he told his mom that she shouldn’t call her dad back. She didn’t need that negative crap in her life. His dad had left them high and dry until they had to stay with Sam and Caisey and Grams instead of being a family. Not that anyone had a normal family these days. It seemed like every one of his friends had dysfunctional parents or brothers and sisters who made their lives a misery.
“Your mom’s okay.”
Jake looked down at Caisey. “I know.”
She was shorter than him, but her presence usually made up for her lack of height. And the gun didn’t hurt either. It was pretty cool. Jake figured he was going to be some kind of cop after he went to college. That had been a given, since he grew up with Sam Lyons. Now that man had presence. And Jake figured he was pretty lucky to have grown up knowing a man like that. Going to father son church camps and learning how to change oil on a car, or fish socks out of the dryer vent when it got clogged that one time.
“You want to talk about it?”
Jake hit the button for the elevator. “I miss Uncle Sam.”
Caisey looked away. “Me too.”
Gabe clapped Jake on the shoulder. “He was a good man.”
“He told me I could tell him anything.” Jake chuckled. “Then everything I’d tell him, he’d say, ‘that’s cause you’re a sinner, kid’. I mean, he wasn’t wrong, but still…”
Gabe smiled. “Your dad’s a good man too.”
“He left us.”
The elevator chimed and they got off. Jake looked at Gabe, wanting desperately to understand. To know what made a man leave what was supposed to be the most important thing in life.
“It has to do with your grandfather.” Gabe sighed. “It’s complicated.”
“Adults always say that.”
He turned away. If they weren’t going to explain it because he couldn’t know, then why not just say that? Why did adults always say stuff like “maybe” or “it’s complicated” when they didn’t want to tell you?
Then Jake saw him. His feet faltered and Caisey bumped into his back. The man was an inch or two taller and their shadows would be identical and he knew, finally, why his eyes were grayer than his mom’s blue. He wanted to be mad, to ask why this man had to be a stranger. Then he saw Nic’s eyes and the tear traced its way down his face. Jake didn’t want to react, but his heart squeezed in his chest until he thought it would burst.
Caisey’s fingers laced with his and she squeezed. “Jake, honey, this is your dad.”
He looked at her. “I think just want to see my mom.”
Chapter 35
“IT’S OKAY.” NIC couldn’t move. All he could do was stare at his son and just soak in the fact that Jake was here. Caisey looked ready to argue, but Nic shook his head. He didn’t want to know how he looked, given that he stank like smoke and his face was smeared since he tried to wash off the ash. His hair was probably all over the place and at some point he’d wiped his hands on the front of his shirt.
The ER wasn’t the place to do this and if the kid needed a break, Nic was going to give him one. On a night his mom could have been killed, he didn’t need the added pressure of more emotional upheaval and now that he thought about it, Jake didn’t look so good.
“Is everything all right?”
Gabe caught Nic’s eye and shook his head.
Nic motioned to the room where Jenna was with a tip of his head. “Come on. I’ll show you to your mom.”
Nic didn’t wait for Jake to answer, he just set off walking. Jake caught up and Nic glanced over. The kid’s face was tight like he was holding back a bucket-load of emotion. He wanted to pray that one day they would get to a place where they were tight, but he’d never put much stock in a higher being. Did God still listen, even if you weren’t sure you believed in Him?
Jenna sighed, like Jake had been the one in danger and opened her arms. She was sitting up on the edge of the bed, still in her smoky dress and clutching Nic’s jacket on her lap. The teenager burrowed into his mom’s arms, his face in her neck. His breath hitched.
“I’m okay, honey.”
“Mom, Natalia—” Jake sobbed.
“What?” Jenna’s gaze darted between them. “What happened?”
Nic got nudged aside and Caisey and Gabe came in the room behind him. Gabe looked him over, so Nic nodded so his cousin would know he was fine. They might not have seen each other in years, but their relationship seemed to have slipped back into place. Then Jenna looked up, her face a question Nic didn’t even begin to answer.
Caisey spoke. “Natalia and I went to see her Grandfather. He has a restaurant over on Seventeenth. The guys were in the car down the street.”
Jake sat beside Jenna on the bed, his hand in hers. She glanced at him and then looked back at Caisey. “What happened?”
“Someone attacked the restaurant. Natalia got caught in the cross-fire.”
“Oh, honey.” She pulled Jake close. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
Caisey looked at her friend. “It happened so fast I didn’t even have time to draw my weapon. Gabe said you got caught in a fire, you okay?”
Jenna nodded. “Just a cough. The doctor was coming back with discharge papers so I can go home. But I want to run upstairs and see Grams before we leave.”
“Okay.” Caisey glanced at Nic.
He scratched his ashy scalp, his hair wiry. “Someone decided tonight would be a good night to vandalize my car garage and burn the place down. I don’t think they even knew we were there.”
“Your dad?”
One thing Nic was learning about Caisey, she always got right to the point. He nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking.” Nic sighed. “I just wasn’t going to be that man anymore. I don’t want to cow-tow to him just because he’ll retaliate. It isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
And wasn’t that the truth. Nic couldn’t believe all he’d missed out on. Now that he could see it, right in front of his eyes see the bond between Jenna and Jake. This was what family meant. Not just Jenna and Jake, but Caisey too, and the unspoken stuff that whipped back and forth between them.
Jake’s eyes were on him. Did the kid know that Nic had made mistakes but he was ready to try? Would Jake let him in, or never get over all the ways Jake had failed? All Nic could do was give Jake all the information he needed to make the choice and hope like crazy he made the right one. Because Nic wasn’t sure he could give up Jenna, not again. Not now he’d seen the woman she had become.
Jenna squeezed her eyes shut and kissed her son on the forehead. “All this in one night? Could it be linked?”
Caisey shrugged. “We could theorize, but I’d have to look into the details to know for sure.”
Jenna turned to him. “When you talked to the police, did you tell them you think it was your dad?”
Nic shook his head. “Like Caisey said, no proof. If it was him, it’ll be tough to find a link. He isn’t going to want anything to get back to him.”
A thick knot in his chest crept up and lodged in Nic’s throat. He tried to swallow. “I’m really sorry.” His eyes strayed to Jake, and then back to Jenna. “I know that barely covers it, but I was a coward. I should’ve known what I had. I thought I was keeping you safe from my dad, but I didn’t realize what I’d be doing to us.”
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