BEX
Chapter Twenty-Six
I didn’t stop working all together, but since the shooting, I had started working from home. In the few days following the event, I had found a sort of routine.
Jared stopped by each morning to pick Landon up for pre-school and drop off Dom's homework that his younger brother would collect. Dom and I would work in silence for most of the morning until he got bored and started complaining.
Vicky had a tooth coming out and was more fussy than usual.
She’d also been more clingy and both Logan and I suspected it was because it had been a while since she’d slept in a room by herself.
I could handle the clinginess. Maybe it was selfish of me but I relished the idea of her wanting to be close to me all the time.
Even though Landon spoke more, he never spoke to Logan or I. It had been a month, and even though he’d been home alone with us, he still managed to let us know what he wanted, without uttering a word. There were times when I thought he was just being stubborn.
Brie had said it was because he couldn’t express what he was feeling. I wasn’t so sure. Anyone who beared witness to those tantrums would not doubt his ability to communicate his displeasure. He just didn’t feel like talking. He wasn’t talking to anyone at school either.
And if that was the case, then I wasn’t going to force him.
Maybe it wasn’t healthy, but who said that talking was healthy?
Both Dom and Logan erred on the side of quiet.
My family? Not so much. There was no right way to be.
I may need to teach him to be polite in a different way, but that was something I could work with.
When he finished kindergarten, things might be different. Mostly because his classmates would ostracize him if he continued to not speak. But that was not the bridge I needed to cross at this moment in time.
I looked over at Dom and rolled my eyes in a way that would have made him proud. “You’ve been staring at the same page for over an hour. Is there something you want to talk about?”
“Want to? No. But…”
“Dom, I know I’m not Logan. But you can talk to me. I love you and never want you to feel like we can’t have a conversation.”
He frowned, but his brow lifted at the same time. It was a truly comical sight. “You love me?”
“Of course, I do.” I pulled my chair closer to his. “I’ve loved you from the day you were born. That didn’t stop when you were adopted.”
He nodded. “Is it too soon for us to love you?”
I smiled and took his hand in mine. “Love doesn’t know things like time and space. I loved you for fifteen years even though I knew you didn’t know me. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Vicky loves you. She thinks you’re the best thing ever. So does Landy, but I think he’s scared. I don’t know why he won’t talk to you.”
“If he doesn’t want to talk, let him be.” Vicky made a sound from her spot on the blanket pallet close by. I picked her up and faced Dom once more. “Dom, all I want is for the three of you to be happy. I know Logan and I can help with that.”
He looked away and focused once more on the book in front of him. “We are happy. I mean, obviously I’m worried. I don’t want the fact that people are after me to hurt the two of them. Or you or Logan. I want you all to be safe, too.”
“Is that what’s bothering you?”
With a quick shake and a little color to his cheeks he looked away again. “No.”
I took a guess. “Is this about a girl?”
“Tiffany Snow asked me to the Sadie Hawkins dance. None of the girls in our group like her. Apparently, she wasn’t nice last year when she was still in middle school either.”
I knew that last name. They were one of the richest families in Marina De Ferrier, owning one of the hotels and a few of the tourist traps.
They weren’t very nice people and flaunted their wealth.
They hated the fact that my family had as much money and power as them around town.
They called us mercenaries and threw out terms like nouveau riche.
It didn’t bother me. But I also didn’t want it to hurt Dom.
It was my guess the reason why the girls didn’t like the daughter was because she displayed many of the same qualities. “Do you like her?”
Dom smiled, that goofy one when boys were trying not to think about girls. “She’s pretty and she asked.”
“If you want to go with her, your friends will understand.” He didn’t look convinced.
“Shy said she would ask Holden to go with her if I didn’t want to go alone. Cat is going with that asshole Charles Ripper. No one likes him either.”
I let out a deep breath as it occurred to me what he was actually doing. “Dom, you can go to the Sadie Hawkins dance. Logan will drive you to fetch her, and he will pick you both up after. That way we get to meet her and her parents can meet you, too.”
His shoulders sagged from relief. “It's not that I like her.”
I pinched my lip and frowned. “Of course not.”
A beep on my phone told me someone was in the driveway. Logan was still on shift. Nick, Oliver, and Jake were on a mission in Florida. All the women were working.
It could only be Jared. He had been working at the office most days, but when he’d picked up Landon earlier, he said he had some information and wanted to run it by me. He was bound to stay a while after he picked the boys up from preschool.
I checked the app to make sure it was his car and watched as he got out. One by one, he helped all three boys out.
I quickly disarmed the alarm and opened the door for them. The three boys ran to the door and the world turned as I heard the most beautiful sound.
Landon came running to me with open arms. “Bets.” His shriek was full of glee and I swear I’d never heard anything more beautiful. He was holding a paper and what looked like a drawing.
I didn’t even think as I pulled him up into my arms as soon as he reached me. “Hello, sweet boy. Did you have a good day?”
He nodded and I didn’t even care. He could use head gestures all the time if he was this happy to see me after school. He shoved the piece of paper at me. “You.”
“Me?” He nodded and I took the page from him and straightened it as best I could. There was a very rudimentary face drawn with big brown circles for eyes and long brown strokes for the hair. “Is this me?”
He nodded. “Pretty.”
“It is very pretty.” I lowered him to the floor and he made his way over to Dom.
I, on the other hand, went searching for tape.
I knew we didn’t have fridge magnets and I would rectify that the next time I did some online shopping.
In the meantime, I was determined to display the picture on the fridge and show Logan as soon as he got home.
Jared followed me inside. “I have news.”
I turned to Dom. “Will you watch the boys in Landon’s room?”
It wasn’t really that I wanted the boys out of the way, though they could get rowdy. I just didn’t want Dom to hear what Jared had to say. Not that I would keep things from him, but I would rather filter it.
Dom shook his head, but did as I asked. No doubt he was rolling those eyes and I would hear later about treating him like a kid. Except he was a kid, and shielding him was my job.
As soon as I picked up Vicky again, Jared and I went to sit in the living room. He took the huge armchair none of us liked because we couldn’t see the television. I took the sofa and laid Vicky out with my leg preventing her from falling off.
Jared smiled at me. “Motherhood looks good on you.”
“Shush.” But I couldn’t resist smiling at the statement and dropping my eyes to the little girl lying next to me. “I don’t want to get my hopes up. A judge could still take it all away.”
“Bex, I think it's too late for that. Your hopes are up and your heart is invested. Its gonna hurt like a mother fucker if you get some asshole judge who can’t see how good you and Logan are for these kids.”
His words were true and I let them wash over me for just a moment before turning back to him. “You said you have information.”
“Yes.” He placed the folder he was holding on the table and leaned back.
I knew he was about to recite the contents of the folder.
“So, William Watson, or Bill, grew up in the Tenderloin district, now part of what’s called Little Saigon.
The area has been riddled with crime and small-time gang activity.
Anyway, growing up, Bill was constantly in trouble with two others.
Boyd Marsh, who my sources say is a Lieutenant for one of the gangs, was one of them.
And Samantha Lang, known to her friends as Sam, was the other. ”
I frowned at him. That second name sounds familiar. “Wait, that's the State’s Attorney.”
“Exactly.” He leaned forward and pinned with a stare. “There’s more.”
“Okay.”
“Sam has a brother. His name is Martin Lang.” He pointed to the folder. “I included a photo in the file. But he is a dead ringer for the man Dom described to the sketch artist.”
“She’s the leak, Jared.” Fear rumbled through me.
“That would be my guess.”
“No, Jared.” I picked up Vicky and started pacing.
“I’m not guessing. She is the leak. She knew where the safe house was in San Francisco.
When she had no idea where Dom was, she considered filing kidnapping charges.
That would’ve meant we’d have to disclose where he was.
Then the only time a move is made against my kid is when that bitch is in town. She’s the leak, Jared.”
Vicky started crying and I tried to sway her. It wasn’t working
“Fuck.” Jared took Vicky from me and calmly rubbed her back. “Babies can sense tension. Does this woman know where he is now?”
“No. All they know is that he is with Salinger Security.” I nodded and he continued to hold Vicky. My entire body turned to ice as another thought occurred to me. I sat down, trying to come up with a plan B.
“She knows Dom’s not dead.”