30. Gideon
30
Gideon
When there was a knock at the door, I was surprised. I opened it to find a young woman standing there.
“How can I help you?”
“Where is Gary?”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Letty. I need to talk to Gary.”
“Wait here,” I said, walking to the back of the house, where Gary always stayed hidden. Hey Gary, someone named Letty is here to see you.”
“Letty?” His eyes widened in panic. “What the fuck is she doing here?”
He muttered under his breath as he followed me to the door. Curious, I lingered close enough to hear their conversation.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“You were supposed to call me!” Letty shot back. “I’ve been waiting and waiting and you wouldn’t answer your phone.”
“I threw it away. The insurance company thinks I had something to do with Pam’s death. I couldn’t deal with it anymore.”
“I don’t care about that,” Letty said angrily. You’re the one who hired the man to kill her. I want the money you owe me. You promised me a hundred thousand dollars if I found someone for you. Where is it?”
“I don’t have the fucking money yet!” Gary hissed. “I told you the Insurance company is holding the payout because they suspect me. If you even think about ratting me out, I’ll have the guy take care of you, too.”
“What about the money in Pam’s savings account?”
“I used it to hire a security company to protect me from Daniel. He’s after me, so you better keep your mouth shut.”
“Did you get all that on tape?” River asked quietly, stepping into the room.
“Every word,” I said, holding up a recorder. I signaled out the door, and Pam’s brother entered with three police officers.
Pam’s brother glared at Gary. “We have everything we need. You hired someone to kill my sister, and Letty here helped you. You’re both going to prison for a long time.”
Gary’s face twisted in fury. “You bastards! You were working for me!”
“We work for what’s right,” I said firmly. “We’re Army Special Forces. Do you really think we’d help you if we knew what you did?”
“My sister is alive,” Pam’s brother revealed. “The man you hired called us, and we set you up. Now, both of you are finished.”
As the officers took Gary and Letty into custody, I turned to Pam’s brother. “Call us if you need us as witnesses.”
“Will do. Thank you.”
As the police led the pair away, I grabbed my bag and locked the door behind us
“Sweetheart, I’m home,” I called as I walked into the house.
“Dad, Laney’s isn’t feeling well. She went back to bed,” Ryan said, meeting me in the living room.
“Daddy!” Haley squealed, running toward me. “I missed you!”
I scooped her up in a hug. “I missed you, too, sweetheart. “I’m sorry about Jeramy. I heard his family was very loving.”
“Yes, and they will FaceTime me so we can talk.”
“I better check on Laney.” When I opened the door, Laney was in the bathroom vomiting. She didn’t even hear me. She rinsed her mouth and brushed her teeth.
“I’m so happy you are home. What happened? Did you fix everything?”
“Yes, it’s all fixed. Kiss me.”
“I don’t feel very good. I don’t want you catching whatever I have. I’m going back to bed. Okay, sweetheart. I’ll make you some soup.”
I jumped up and looked at Laney as she ran into the room crying. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m pregnant. We’re having a baby.”
“What? Did you say we are having a baby? Are you sure?”
Yes, I’m pretty sure. I’m sick in the morning, and then it goes away. What else would it be?”
“Were you sick when you were pregnant with Haley?”
“No, but it’s not always the same. Crap, I’m going to be sick again. You run to the pharmacy and get two pregnancy tests. We’ll know for sure if we are pregnant. I’m so happy,” she said while leaving the room crying. Haley followed behind her, clapping her hands.
“You better go, Dad. Laney is pretty sure she’s pregnant.
“Do you want to go with me,” I asked.
He grinned. “Not a chance. I know what you would do. You’d have me run inside to buy the tests.” He laughed out loud.
I laughed. “You’ve figured me out,” I said, hugging him. “I’m proud to have you for my son. I love you, Ryan.
“I love you, too, Dad.”
“So, do you want to go with me?”
“No,” he said, laughing
Later that evening, Laney sat on my lap, grinning. “I told you we were having a baby,” she said, kissing me. “This will be the first of four. We’ll have them close together—I’m not getting any younger. Our son will be a pediatrician, and we’ll be his first patients.”
I smiled. “I’m so proud of Ryan. He’ll finish college and go to medical school through the service. He wants to join the Navy SEALs, and Killian Cooper is coming to talk to him about it. If Ryan decides that’s what he wants, Killian will help him. And then he can go to med school through them.”
“You have so many great friends,” Laney said. “It makes me feel safe knowing they’re around. The best thing that ever happened to us was the day you stopped that little girl from running and put her in the store, away from danger.”
“That was the best thing that ever happened to me, too,” I said softly. “I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you, too.”