Chapter 18
I hadto give Shelly a few days off. She’d been hovering since I’d been on leave and it was driving me insane. I didn”t know why she was being so overprotective, but I continued to tell her that me and the girls were fine. Even now, she was texting me while I got the girls ready to take them to school. I sighed.
York: Yes, we”re fine. I”ll need you this afternoon, but I”m going to take them to school.
Shelly: Are you sure? You shouldn”t push yourself too hard. I can take care of the girls.
York: I know. Thank you, I appreciate it. We”re fine. Please pick them up today.
Shelly: Yes, Mr. Washington.
I almost put my phone away, but I continued to stare at my messages after exiting my and Shelly”s. Paul”s text from the night before was still right there. Say it. Two words, he”d only said two words, but it was as if he was baiting me out. What did he want me to say? Did he want me to admit what I was pretty damn sure I already knew? My fingers hovered over the keys, ready to finally give him a response, but they fell away.
I couldn”t.
Saying what was really in my head would shatter whatever we had before. If it was true, I had to fire and arrest him. However, if it was false, I knew he would never trust me again. How could he? Accusing someone of this level of crime, of being part of a mob family and hiding out in the FBI, it was dangerous. If I moved wrong, I could be killed. I was already getting threats.
”Daddy, we”re ready!” Navy called.
”I”m coming. Let me put on the alarm.”
I had an alarm system installed on my unit and cameras as well. Maybe I was being paranoid. After all, these weren”t the first threats I had ever received in my line of work, and I knew they wouldn”t be the last. This time, however, felt different. I couldn”t shake the sensation that it had to do with the crime families. They weren”t to be underestimated. As much as I viewed them as violent, disgusting, idiotic neanderthals, I knew they were good at inflicting their brand of brutality on the world. They didn”t distinguish between right and wrong, young or old. I had to protect my daughters.
”Daddy, are you coming?” Nyra shouted.
”Yes, sweetheart. I”m coming.”
I grabbed my briefcase, wallet, and keys before I went to the door. Once the girls were out in the hall, I typed in the code and shut the door as soon as it was armed. I took both of their hands as we entered the elevator.
”You two behave today,” I said. ”No switching classes.”
”Awww,” Navy whined. ”That”s not fair.”
”Yeah, that”s not fair,” Nyra added.
I shook my head. ”I”m not going to argue about it, okay? No switching.”
”Fine.” They both sighed.
The two of them never failed to keep me on my toes. Even with life being hard and confusing right now, they put a smile on my face. Only one other person managed to consistently get that out of me, and I didn”t want to think about?—
”Daddy, when is Paul coming over again?” Nyra asked, tugging on her lip anxiously.
”Stop that,” I said as I tugged her lip free.
”Yeah, we haven”t seen him in ages!” Navy added. ”When is he coming? He said he would do my hair next time.”
”I doubt he knows how to do that,” I muttered as I stared at the floors disappearing.
”He said he would try,” she pressed. ”When is he coming?”
My stomach tightened. ”I don”t know, princess.”
”Why not?” Nyra asked. ”Are you and Paul fighting?” A frown tugged at her lips.
”No, nothing like that,” I said.
The truth was that we weren”t really in an argument, but some weird standoff where neither of us were ready to budge. I didn”t know how to explain that to my kids. Instead, I tightened my hold on both their hands.
”Girls, it”s time for school. Focus up.”
”Yes, Daddy.”
Conversation successfully avoided. I thanked every deity in existence as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. We stepped out on the ground floor and I headed for the front desk.
”Good morning, Mr. Washington,” Clare, the woman that was often behind the desk, smiled at me. ”How are you today?”
”Fine,” I said. ”I want security sent up to patrol the halls as much as possible.”
She frowned. ”What”s the matter?”
I glanced at the girls. ”Go sit on the couch right there, where I can keep an eye on you.”
They took off, bouncing and playing on the plush, green couch before I turned back to Clare. ”I don”t want to upset them, but I”ve been having some trouble at work.”
”Oh no,” she said, concern coloring her face. ”Is everything all right?”
I half shrugged. ”As all right as they can be. I just need security to tighten up on my floor. If you see anyone suspicious, call me. If you hear anything suspicious, call me. If anyone goes up to my unit...”
”Call you,” she said. ”Should I alert the police?”
”Only if someone enters my unit. I have cameras and an alarm installed up there now, so if I see anything, I”ll call them myself. Just keep an eye out and let everyone else know too, please.”
She touched her chest and nodded. ”Of course, Mr. Washington. I”m so sorry. I”ll do my best to make sure that your unit is secure.”
”Thank you. I appreciate it.”
My phone buzzed and I immediately shoved my hand into my pocket. I thanked her again before I searched my texts. Hunter. Disappointment settled on my shoulders, heavy and suffocating.
What the hell were you expecting? Stop thinking about that man!
Most people believed in innocent until proven guilty, but I didn”t have the pleasure of thinking that way right now. Not when I had just been shot because of Paul”s informant. Thinking about it made my blood boil all over again. Today was the day I was going to confront him. He needed to tell me what the fuck was going on, who his informant was, and I would have a discussion with him whether Paul liked it or not. I couldn”t keep operating under the assumption that he was simply doing his job. There was already a mole who possibly worked for one of the families. I had to figure out what was going on before it was too late.
”Girls, let”s go,” I called as I walked toward them.
”Coming!” they called.
I took their hands once more and gave them each a little squeeze. As we walked out of the building, I couldn”t help but to look at them. Navy and Nyra were my whole life. The thought of losing them made bile crawl up my throat and threaten to choke me. I was doing as much as possible to make sure they were safe. Maybe the threats were bullshit or maybe they were true. Either way, I was going to do my job and protect my children. If I looked crazy and nothing happened? So be it. I loved them more than anything.
The sensation of missing something snuck up and scratched at me. Paul was usually there, holding one of their hands while the three of them talked endlessly. I would never forget the relief of them having these in depth conversations about nothing that I sometimes got lost in. Paul never got lost. He talked to them like they were little people, not children, and they loved him for it.
They loved him.
”Ow, Daddy, there”s something in my shoe,” Nyra said.
”Huh?” I came out of my thinking and saw her rolling her foot around with a frown on her face. ”Oh, poor thing. Let me see.”
”My sneakers are double-knotted. Navy makes them too hard to undo.”
”I do not!”
”You do too!”
”Hey, no need to fight,” I interjected. I crouched down and patted my leg. ”Foot.”
”Daddy, can I start the car and listen to the radio?” Navy asked.
”This will only take a second.”
”Please?” she begged.
I tugged my keys out and handed them to Navy. Nyra put her foot on my thigh and I unlaced it. Carefully, I pulled it off and dumped out the huge rock that was in her shoe.
”That had to hurt,” I said.
”It did.” She nodded. ”Thank you.”
”You”re welcome, princess. You want to tie it or do you want me to do it?”
”I can do it.”
”Oh, here”s the button!” Navy said.
The beep sounded twice and the world erupted into chaos. A loud boom echoed in my ears as I snatched her and Nyra against my body. My heart pounded, my lungs tight as I panted. Fear raced through my body, my hands shaking as I clutched my daughters to my chest. Nausea took hold of me, choking my throat as flames licked the air and smoke started to fill the parking garage. Shakily, I pulled my phone out, dropped it, and picked it up again.
”Daddy, what”s happening?” Nyra cried.
”I”m scared!” Navy added.
”I know, I know. Shhhh.” I tried to soothe them as I stood up. ”Hold each other”s hands. Navy, your hand in mine, now.”
The one thing about my daughters was that when things really happened, if something went wrong, they listened to me and entrusted that I was right when the world was in shambles. I led them to the entrance to the garage, but tucked them out of sight. I was afraid someone could still be around, watching. Waiting. If this plan failed, who was to say that they wouldn”t be around the corner ready to put a bullet in our heads? I wasn”t paranoid after all, I had been right.
Someone really wanted us dead.
”Wait here,” I said, my voice trembling despite how badly I tried to keep it stable.
”What”s happening?” Navy cried, tears racing down her cheeks.
”It”s okay,” I whispered, not feeling like anything was all right at all. ”One moment, I need to call someone.”
People had started to gather, but I made them step back. This was a crime scene, one I wanted my people on, not a bunch of strangers. I needed to control this, to focus on the job, to do something I knew how to do well before I freaked out. My chest tightened, my breathing short as I was reminded of Dawn. The day she was murdered, a robbery gone bad, it had felt like this. Sirens in the distance, shouting, mayhem. I couldn”t take it.
I couldn”t take it.
I couldn”t?—
I dialed Paul”s number. The phone rang twice before he answered, his voice cautious and reserved.
”My place,” I managed to get out despite the fact that my throat felt as if it was closing. ”Now.”
”What”s wrong?”
”Someone, uh...” I stumbled, my feet unsteady. ”Someone tried to kill us.”
”Us?”
”Me and the girls.”
”I”m coming.”
Paul hung up and I stared at the phone. I could have called anyone, could have summoned any one of my team members to the scene so that they could help us, but I had called the one man that I was tormented over. I knew, deep down, that it was a completely stupid decision, but I craved comfort.
I craved Paul.
As the girls cried, I drew them against my body and comforted them with soft words and gentle shushes. They were hysterical, their cries sending me back to that night when I had to tell them that their mother was gone. I clutched them more tightly, clinging to them as they did the same to me.
Please hurry, Paul. I can”t do this right now.
I need you.