Chapter Ten
Riley went outside to try calling Cai again, as well as to rid the stench of blood from his nostrils. He took several breaths before dialing for the fifth time. If he didn’t get an answer, he’d be forced to contact Peter.
Cai picked up on the third ring. “Hey.”
A stone weight lifted off Riley’s chest. He covered the receiver for a second to hide his uneven exhale. “Cai, where are you?”
“Um...I’d rather not say?” he answered faintly.
“Is Rachel with you?”
“Rachel?”
“Nikolaj, is she with you!” He intended to sound firm, but it came out angry and some of his panic seeped in there too. He dialed back his tone and asked, “Is Rachel with you?”
“Why are you looking at me like—” Rachel’s voice cut off.
“She’s here,” Cai sighed.
“Are you safe right now?”
“Yes? Why...um…why wouldn’t I be?”
Something was off about that question. A forced casualness? Almost like Cai knew something Riley wasn’t supposed to know. “I need you to bring Rachel to the federal building.”
Lots of unintelligible whispering came over the line before Cai finally spoke into the phone again. “Don’t get mad, okay? But that’s not going to happen.”
The phone beeped as Riley’s fist clenched around the screen. “She might be in danger, Cai.”
“Rachel’s in danger? Rachel? ” Cai asked again.
“Me?” Rachel asked. “How am I in danger?”
“I think they arrested your boyfriend.” Cai’s voice dropped low and muffled. “Is he dead, Riley?”
Riley would regret asking his next question, if only because the answer would contain that unvoiced ‘duh’. “What made you ask that?” Silence. “Cai? Hey, why did you ask that?”
“Osmosis,” Cai finally answered. “He’s dead, then?”
“Zip’s dead? Are you talking about Zip? Is Zip dead?” Rachel asked, her voice breaking. “Cai, fucking answer me!”
“I’m sorry, Rach, I-I think he is.”
The phone beeped and banged around in Riley’s ear before Rachel came over the other end. “None of your bullshit cop stuff, Riley, is Zip—Patrick dead?”
“Rachel, I can’t reveal that kind of information. I’m sorry.”
“Cai?” Her tone held confusion mixed with dread.
“I can’t think of any other reason Riley would believe you are in danger. It has to be something with Zip. And, he’d tell the FBI where we were, right? Unless he’s dead.”
“Shit. Shit! He was a nice guy.” Clicking sounds, probably Rachel snacking on her nails. “Am I a suspect?” A subtle tremble laced her breath as if she were trying not to cry.
“You met with Patrick Lemelin the other night and he gave you something. What was it?”
“He was a good guy, y’know?” She sniffed. “He was funny. These assholes...”
“Who? Do you know who’s involved here?” Kelly came outside, a questioning look drawing up her brow. Riley waved her off. “Rachel, let us protect you.”
“It’s not me you’re gonna need to protect. You hear that? It’s not me!”
The line went dead.
“Dammit!” Riley redialed. Cai’s voicemail answered.
“She’s okay?” Kelly asked.
“For now.” Riley held up his thumb and forefinger an inch apart. “I am this close to requesting an arrest warrant on the three of them!” he said.
“Really? I hit ‘that close’ sixteen hours ago. This”—Kelly squeezed his fingers until they almost touched—“is about where I am now.”
Riley growled under his breath as he pulled on his latex gloves. “How are we doing in there?”
A new batch of crime scene techs walked past carrying equipment and evidence out to their vans.
“McCleary is arranging for us to take over the investigation. FSI has several government contracts, which means we can take it in the ‘interest of national security’.”
“Homeland?”
She shook her head. “For now, it’s ours.”
“Who has the USB drive?” Riley asked.
“Denver Crime Scene Unit, but our techies will get it once the case is officially turned over. We should have something by tomorrow morning, latest.” She nodded to his phone. “What do you want to do about Lange?”
“If they haven’t linked her with any of this shit, I don’t want them to, now. With their government connections, if we bring her in there’s a fair chance they’ll get her name, if they don’t have it already.” He jammed his hand through his hair and then massaged his temples in the hope he would stop the pain of a new headache.
“We need to talk to her.”
“Look, wherever Cai is, Rachel is. And, eventually, he will take her to his brother’s place. When we finish up here, I’ll call Cai.”
“You think he’ll listen to reason?” She asked, fishing in her purse.
“Cai listens to me.”
“That’s some pretty steep hero worship you’re counting on.”
“I was pretty heroic,” he said with a tight smile. Levity and wit felt both needed and wrong, considering the circumstances.
“When he was kidnapped under your protection?”
Riley let that slide. Technically, he wasn’t on duty when that happened. “I spent time with Cai after things settled. Treated him like an adult. He has a crush.”
“And what do you have?”
An empty house with too many blank walls. “My application to the Hostage and Rescue Team.” Riley hoped he’d given her enough of an answer to stop questioning his relationship with Cai. He popped a sliver of gum into his mouth and offered her a piece.
After accepting the gum, she leaned beside him against the SUV and checked her phone. “There were ten armed SWAT members who rescued him when he was abducted. If I recall, you, as an agent, waited outside the building.”
“Ah, but I was the only one under thirty.”
“How does that work, by the way?”
“I think it has something to do with birthdays.”
She gave a laugh that wasn’t quite committed to jovial. “You’re amusing today. In all seriousness, though, is that the kid’s fascination with you? Are you secretly a genius like him?”
“So secret it’s barely evident.”
She rolled her eyes. “This false modesty shtick is the worst.”
“It’s nothing as interesting as genius,” he added. “I took extra courses in high school and carried a full load in college. Never took a break longer than two weeks in my life.”
“A full load? Why do you leave me openings like that, Cordova?”
“If I didn’t, you’d never get to be funny.”
“I will eventually think of a biting retort,” she promised.
“Can we get back to this case?” Talking to Kelly about Cai’s crush made it two coworkers in under a week. He didn’t need to be uncomfortable at work as well as with his parents. “Couple of things are really bothering me.”
“Only a couple? I have a growing list of at least twenty problems with this case.” Her phone rang before she could do more than humph. “Marks,” she answered. “Yes, sir...What?... When?... What about the Lemelin scene...Do you want us to wait for them?...Yes, sir. We’re on our way.” She pulled out her car keys. “Bryant and Fuentes are taking over this scene. An hour ago, the wife of James Thorpe was found dead outside their estate.”
“Thorpe?” The name sounded familiar to Riley.
“CFO of Foreign Security Incorporated.”
* * *
After the conversation with Riley, Cai couldn’t think properly. And right now, he needed his brain. Needed to figure out a place where Rachel would be safe. And he needed someone who would be gentle with her. She was more angry than sad, which meant sullen silence and belligerence. She chose the latter to deal with Julian because he asked if she needed a hug. They bickered in the background almost like Dare and Austin did. It was…oddly comforting, like white noise but with hissing.
Where to go?
Peter and Austin? That would drag the danger to their house. They would protect Rachel, but Stuart was there. No. After everything his brother had done for him, risked for him, Cai couldn’t drop another disaster on Peter and Austin’s doorstep. Shame built acid in his stomach and bubbled it up into his mouth. He shuddered and swallowed it down. Peter and Austin would be a last resort.
The other option was Dare. Maybe the only other option. He had biker gang contacts. But Dare’s anger could be challenging to deal with. Right now, Rach needed calm.
There had to be another choice, but what?
The sniping between Julian and Rachel became less comforting, and more intrusive. He covered his ears to drown them out. His arms felt heavy. They fell to his lap like they were made of cement. How could he think when he just wanted to sleep?
There wasn’t a way out. It didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered.
He slid lower in the seat. The pull and comfort of hopelessness wrapped around him with strong arms. He rested his head against the window and closed his eyes.
“Cai!” Julian barked in his ear.
“What?” Cai heard the lethargy in his own voice. “Dare,” he said. “We’ll go to Dare.”
Rachel flipped on the light inside the car and examined him with narrowed eyes. A moment later her palm held up a tiny blue pill under his nose.
“We really need to talk about NA, Rach, and what does and doesn’t constitute narcotics.” Cai rolled down the window and threw the pill out. A blast of cold air swarmed his face.
“Hey! That was my only happy pill. I wasn’t gonna take it. I was saving it for you. Like a morning after pill for The Dark.”
“What’s she on about?” Julian asked.
Cai punched The Manhole’s address into the car’s navigation system. “Just follow the directions.” He held Rachel’s hand and squeezed. “I’m fine. Just a little tired.”
“Last time you were ‘just a little tired’ and you sounded like this…”
“I know. I recognize the signs too, Rach. I’ll work on it, okay?”
“One of you tell me what the bloody hell you’re on about!”
“He’s bipolar,” Rachel yelled, her mouth almost pressing into Julian’s ear. He tried to move away, but the window blocked him. “He’s tired and he’s bi-pol-ar. Bi. Pol. Ar. You don’t need to know everything.” She drew out every loud word. Cai cringed, while Julian rubbed his ear.
“I knew that! Get off. Damn, woman.”
Cai laughed and leaned slightly out of the open window.
Some of the bleak lifted.
Rachel gave a satisfied, “Hah!” and sat back. “You may suck his cock, but I make him laugh.”
“Oi, that’s not fair. I make him laugh as well.”
“When you’re naked?”
He missed Riley. Missed the conversations about art and music, about carburetors and the Firebird.
“Are you comparing a 500cc engine to a V-8 engine with 250 horsepower?” Riley demanded.
“When you have that kind of engine between your legs, even at 500cc, it feels more powerful than riding a...ar... around...” Cai’s own words circled back to him. He lost the rest of his sentence.
“Are you okay, Nikolaj?” That smile. Wicked and taunting. Riley knew exactly why Cai couldn’t speak. Couldn’t breathe.
“The, um...the Triumph is better.” So lame. I’m so lame. “It’s not fair to win that way,” he muttered, but he couldn’t help his own grin.
“Remind me to teach you chess.” Riley winked. “Then you can learn how to psych an opponent out.”
Cai pushed the intrusive memory aside. He picked up his cell phone and dialed.
A harsh house beat thumped in the background before Dare said, “I thought you were coming by last night?”
“Sorry. Can I come by now? I...I need to talk.”
Dare instantly switched into brother mode. “Are you in trouble?”
This seemed to be the go-to phrase for everyone involved in Cai’s life. What made it worse was the answer was usually the same. “Yeah.”
“Hang on.” Music from The Manhole faded, replaced by the slick sound of cars passing on a wet road. “What’s up?”
Cai relayed only what had happened earlier in the evening. Dare didn’t ask questions; he was more of a solutions guy. Those solutions normally involved fists, which made him the perfect choice to help. He also had a lot of dangerous friends.
“I need a place for Julian to stay,” Cai said. “And someone to protect him.”
“Sure. As soon as you’ve gone to Peter.”
“Dare—”
“Don’t ‘Dare’ me. You wanted to move out. You wanted me to treat you like a grown-up. Well, precious, here it is. We don’t keep things from each other. And we don’t make decisions like this without each other. Those’re your first adult lessons.”
“I know I have to tell him.” Cai swallowed a ball of anger. “I just didn’t want to bring this to their house with Stuart there.”
“Listen to me or I will whack your ass so hard your dick will grow two inches from the force. Turn the fucking car around and head to Peter and that freak show he calls a boyfriend. I’ll be there when I can find someone to take over my shift. Got it?”