Chapter 9
Mav
“Mav, come on in,” Declan said as he waved me over before I could even tell the officer sitting near the entrance to the department my name. Trepidation washed over me as I entered his office and he shut the door behind me.
“Thanks for coming down so fast,” Declan murmured as he sat down behind his desk and motioned for me to sit across from him. “I know Eli’s got his finals this week,” he began. I nodded.
“He’s taking one right now,” I managed to get out.
Declan nodded. “I wanted to talk to you before I call Mariana.”
I managed another nod. “Where is he? Is he okay?”
“He’s safe,” Declan acknowledged and I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Declan hadn’t given me any details when he’d called other than to say it was about Caleb and I needed to come to the station right away. My heart had been in my throat the entire drive.
“He’s here,” Declan added. “One of my officers found him on the Aurora Bridge about an hour ago. He was drinking, but a breathalyzer showed he wasn’t legally drunk.”
“Okay,” I said, though my throat felt tight because the tone of Declan’s voice said there was more and it wasn’t good.
“I know you aren’t from around here,” Declan said. “That bridge…it has a reputation.”
“What?” I asked in confusion. How the fuck did a bridge have a reputation?
“The bridge is one of the few in the area that has pedestrian access…”
“I don’t understand,” I admitted, still completely clueless.
“The bridge has been a popular location for jumpers in the past.”
I felt my heart beat painfully in my chest at that and heat flooded my entire system. “What?” I whispered, praying I’d heard the man wrong.
“There were so many suicides in the late nineties and early two thousands that the city erected an 8-foot fence to deter people from jumping. It’s been effective, but people still try on occasion.
A few sections of the fence are being replaced because there’s something wrong with the steel that was used to construct it.
Caleb was standing in front of one of the sections where the fence had been taken down to make way for the repairs. ”
“Oh my God,” I whispered as the pain in my chest exploded.
“He listened to the officer’s orders to step away from the side, but the officer said he seemed to hesitate…
he couldn’t be sure but he said it was just a feeling he had.
When he called into the station to ask if he should take the kid to the hospital as a precaution, I found out it was Caleb and had him bring him here.
He’s in an interview room and there’s an officer watching him. ”
I dropped my face into my hands and shook my head in disbelief. This couldn’t fucking be happening. “Did he say anything?” I asked.
“No, he refused to talk to the officer or me. He keeps asking for someone named Jace.”
“What?” I said as I snapped my head up.
“Do you know who he is?”
I nodded. “He’s the guy we had watching Caleb in D.C.” I didn’t add that Jace was the one who’d gotten Caleb out of the psychiatric hospital his father had stashed him in. Or that I suspected Caleb was harboring feelings for the older man .
I hadn’t spoken to Jace after he’d left earlier in the summer and Caleb hadn’t once asked about the man. But clearly, Eli’s stepbrother was still stuck on whatever connection he’d forged with Jace.
“Fuck,” I muttered as I realized I had no idea how to proceed. We’d been so sure Caleb would come around, especially once the shit with his father died down and the man began serving his sentence. But I hadn’t seen this coming. And it was going to fucking tear Eli apart.
“Can I see him?” I asked.
Maybe there was some reasonable explanation for this. Maybe if I just talked to the young man, I could get the answers I needed.
“Yeah,” Declan said and I followed him from the office. He led me to a room at the far end of the space. “There’s a two-way mirror in there. If you don’t mind, I’m going to watch from the other side,” the man said and I nodded.
Declan opened the door and motioned to the young male officer standing in the corner of the room.
Caleb was pacing back and forth along the far wall.
His eyes shifted up to meet mine, but he just shook his head and kept walking.
I was stunned at how agitated he was. In the past few months he’d been so withdrawn and quiet, but now he was like a caged animal.
The officer and Declan left, closing the door behind them.
“Caleb-”
“No!” he shouted. “I don’t want to talk to you! I want Jace! He fucking promised me!”
“What did he promise you?” I asked as a wave of uncertainty went through me. I’d worked with Jace several times and I knew him to be a good guy. But if he’d led Caleb on in some way…
But Caleb ignored me and kept walking back and forth in the confined space. “Caleb, why were you on that bridge?”
Caleb slowed and then turned to face the wall, putting his back to me. “Mav, please let me talk to Jace.”
I saw his shoulders hunch and I could tell he’d wrapped his arms around himself. I pulled out my phone and dialed Jace’s number. I kept my eyes on Caleb and when Jace answered I said, “Jace, Caleb wants to talk to you. ”
I didn’t give Jace a chance to answer because Caleb had turned around.
The hopeful look in his eyes tore at my heart and I was reminded of how young he really was and how fucked up his life had become.
I put the phone on the table and said, “I’ll be outside.
Just knock on the door when you’re done. ”
Caleb nodded and then his unsteady hand was reaching for the phone.
I left the room and immediately sought out the room next to it. Declan glanced at me as I entered. I could hear Caleb’s shaky voice through the intercom as he whispered, “Jace?”
I probably should have felt guilty about listening in on his conversation, but I didn’t.
Not in the least. The young man’s life was on the line.
I wasn’t playing games anymore and I sure as hell wasn’t going to worry about my conscience.
There was of course no way to hear what Jace was saying, but it wasn’t important.
I’d talk to Jace to get his side of things when Caleb was done.
“No,” Caleb said softly and then I saw him sink into one of the chairs and support his head with his free hand. “He’s gonna get out, Jace,” Caleb whispered, his voice catching in his throat.
I glanced at Declan. We both knew who Caleb was talking about. His piece of shit father.
Caleb was silent as Jace spoke and then he shook his head. “I…I can’t sleep. I can’t think. I keep seeing Nick…”
Caleb’s voice dissolved as a sob tore from his throat. “Jace…please…I need you.”
Using his sleeve to wipe at his tears, Caleb listened to Jace talk for a while, nodding every once in a while. Whatever Jace was saying seemed to help somewhat because Caleb sucked in a couple of deep breaths.
“Okay,” he said quietly and then he got up and went to the door and knocked on it. I left the observation room and hurried back to the interview room. Caleb stepped back from the door and handed me the phone. “He wants to talk to you,” was all he said and then he went to sit down again.
I put the phone to my ear and said, “Yeah?”
“I’m on my way,” was all Jace said before he hung up on me.
I covered Eli’s hand with mine as he struggled to rein in the tears that had been falling from the moment I’d told him why Caleb was at our house.
I hadn’t known what to say to Mariana about why Caleb was spending the night with us so I’d lied and said Caleb had asked to spend some time with Eli.
I felt like shit for keeping the truth from the woman, but I needed to focus on Eli and he and I needed to make some decisions together about Caleb’s future.
Because Caleb had clearly become too much for Mariana to deal with on her own.
“Do you think he was really going to do it?” Eli asked.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I’m hoping Jace can find out for sure, but I think we need to go forward thinking it’s a very real possibility.”
Eli shook his head and wiped at his eyes. I got up and snagged some paper towels for him. He dried his face and then straightened. “I’ll take a leave from school.”
“Nuh-uh,” I said as I shook my head. “Absolutely not.”
“He’s going to need someone watching him and my mom can’t do this on her own…”
“She won’t have to,” I responded before Eli could continue. “I think he should come stay with us for a while. I’ve already talked to Memphis about me continuing the operations side of things which means I’ll be working from home indefinitely…”
“No, Mav, I can’t ask that-”
I leaned over and kissed him hard to silence him. “You’re not asking. He’s my family too, Eli. And this is what family does for each other.”
I felt Eli’s hand come up to wrap around the back of my neck and he pressed his forehead against mine. “It’s gonna get easier, right?” he asked.
I skimmed my lips over his and whispered, “The hard part was everything that came before we found each other.”
Eli nodded and then he was pushing into my arms. I wrapped my arms around him and felt the tension in my body ease. I was still scared shitless about everything we were facing, but there was one thing that wasn’t even a question mark for me anymore.
“Eli, I need to ask you something-”
“Yes, Mav. The answer is yes.” His whispered words in my ear had my whole system seizing up tight. I pushed him back a bit so I could see his face.
“You know?” I asked in disbelief. “Who…who told you?”
Eli’s hand skimmed over my cheek. “You did,” he said softly.
I shook my head, but couldn’t find any words.
“I’m thinking you made the decision to ask me a few weeks ago, right?”
I nodded stupidly. “How?”
“You started looking at me differently…you just suddenly seemed so unsure of yourself. I…I thought maybe you weren’t sure about us so I went to talk to Dom. I thought maybe if I asked you-”
I cut him off with a kiss. “I’m sorry, baby…I was having doubts, but not about you or us...”
Eli put his thumb over my lips to stop me. “It’s yes, Mav. It’s been yes from the moment I met you. It will be yes for the rest of my life.”
Tears stung the corners of my eyes and I pulled him to me for a long kiss.
“I should have come up with a more special way to do this,” I murmured as I reached into my pocket to pull out the ring.
I’d been carrying the damn thing around ever since I’d talked to Dom and Logan.
I’d kept hoping that having it with me would help me figure out when and where would be the perfect time to ask the question.
“I can’t think of a better way than this,” Eli whispered. “When it’s just us…when we’re facing so much uncertainty…”
I nodded and stood up, taking Eli with me so that we were both standing.
My fingers shook as I opened the box. Eli bit into his lower lip at the sight of the ring and when I dropped to my knee, he let out a small cry.
When I took his hands in both of mine, he gripped them tightly and I could tell he was struggling to hold it together.
I wasn’t doing much better as the emotion became too overwhelming .
“Eli Galvez, my lover, my best friend, my heart…will you marry me?”
Eli had started nodding the second I’d said his name and as soon as I finished the sentence he let out a guttural, “Yes,” and dropped to his knees in front of me.
We both laughed as I worked to get the ring on his finger and then he was wrapping his arms around my neck.
I felt his tears against my skin and I had no doubt he could feel mine.
He pulled back enough to kiss me and then we were wiping at each other’s tears.
“I…I got you a ring too. I was going to ask you on Christmas day,” he sputtered as he played with my fingers.
“Put it on me tonight when we go to bed,” I said softly and I leaned down to kiss him again.
Eli nodded and then he was clinging to me again. “I love you, Mav,” was whispered into my ear.
“I love you, Eli.” We held on to each other for several long seconds before I climbed to my feet and pulled Eli up with me. “By the way, I promised Sylvie she could be the flower girl.”
Eli laughed and said, “You talked to Sylvie about this?”
“Baby, I talked to practically your whole damn family.”
That silenced him. He shook his head in disbelief. “I guess you really do love me,” he finally said with a smile and then he was kissing me again.
“Damn right I do,” I murmured against his mouth. When we separated again, Eli admired his ring and then pressed his hand to my chest. It looked so fucking perfect on him that I wondered what the hell I’d been thinking waiting so long.
“I’m going to go check on Caleb,” Eli said.
I nodded and then watched him head for the hallway that led to the lower level guest room.
I dropped back down in the chair and pulled out my phone, hoping there’d be a text from Jace.
I had no idea when he was set to arrive and he hadn’t answered when I’d tried calling him just before Eli had gotten home.
At this point all I could do was wait…and hope like hell Jace had some answers as to how we could start putting the young man in the other room back together.