Chapter 9 #5
Cayden knew he didn’t mean as a visitor. “Never,” he promised. “She deserves a hell of a lot better than an ex-biker like me. I honestly don’t know what I did in a past life to have gotten so lucky.”
Tony fell quiet again. Perhaps Cayden shouldn’t have mentioned his good fortune in front of the hapless man.
“T?” Cayden asked, grabbing his attention again. “I need to tell her about you. She told me about her brother AJ, but you never called yourself that. At least as far as I knew. I didn’t know until I saw your picture yesterday that you were her brother.”
Tony hesitated and then said, “AJ died a long time ago. I didn’t want that name in here. I didn’t want her in here.” Cayden didn’t think he was referring to Trixie. “Tell her what you need to, but please don’t—” He paused. “Don’t tell her about me, about who I am in here.”
Cayden’s brows furrowed. “I don’t understand.”
“Come on, man. You know what it’s like in here. You know the things we’ve had to do just to make it through the day.” Tony shook his head. “Don’t taint her with that darkness.”
Cayden recalled his own reaction when Trixie had asked him to tell her about his time in prison. Without knowing it, he’d already done as Tony was requesting. “Okay.” He glanced at the clock behind Tony. They only had a few minutes left before the visiting hour was up. “How are you, really?”
Tony’s laugh was dry and humorless. “Ask me that tomorrow.”
Cayden winced, recalling all the times Tony had said that to him. If today doesn’t kill you, there’s always tomorrow. “Do you need anything? I can try—”
“There’s only one thing in this world I need, and I gave it up a long time ago.”
Cayden had a feeling that it wasn’t an it Tony was referring to but a her.
He knew now why the pictures of Addy Wilson had looked so familiar.
Every night Tony would stare at a picture of her, even long after light’s out.
The one time Cayden had asked Tony about the picture, Tony hadn’t spoken to him for a week.
Apparently silent treatments ran in the family.
“I’m told she’s a lawyer now—”
“Don’t.” Tony spoke the word so softly, Cayden almost missed it over his own words. Tony seemed to struggle for a moment before he said, “Make Trixie happy. Please.”
Before Cayden could reply, Tony hung up the phone and stood. He swayed, struggling to catch his balance, and then limped his way back to the guard and the door. Cayden watched Trixie’s brother disappear back into Hell with a sense of dread.
Tony was utterly defeated. There was no fight left in that man. He truly believed he was going to die in here.
And what the hell was Cayden supposed to say to Trixie when that happened? How was he supposed to comfort her when yet another one of her brothers was taken from her?
Trixie jumped at the knock on her apartment door. It was after nine on Friday night. Who the hell was knocking on her door? For that matter, who could have gotten up to her apartment to knock on her door?
Trixie scurried out of bed, hoping it was Cayden.
He hadn’t called her back and all Peggy had been able to tell her was that he was “out with Mr. Jones”.
Trixie didn’t know much about his rehabilitation officer.
She had only met the man twice, the day with the Rolls Royce and Bucky, and the following Sunday.
She wasn’t sure that was a fair assessment of the man, since she’d been royally pissed that he put Cayden under house arrest.
She opened the door, smiled, and then scowled. “Where were you today and why the hell did you not call me back?”
Cayden shifted nervously on his feet. “Can I come in?”
Trixie straightened, the feeling of dread washing over her. “Are you going to break my heart if you do?”
A look of fury crossed over his face. “Never.”
She nodded and let him in. Trixie closed the door behind her as he walked into the room. “Why do I get the feeling you’ve still got bad news?”
He put his duffel down and sat on the end of her bed. She hoped the surprise she’d been working on would help with their lack of room in her apartment. “I wouldn’t call it bad, but I wouldn’t call it good either.”
Trixie let out a long sigh. She grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, took a sip, and then offered it to him. He took it but didn’t drink. She sat on the floor in front of him and crossed her legs. “Tell me.”
“I went back to Buford today.”
She blanched. “What? Why would you…” Buford? Where AJ was housed? “What do you mean you went back?”
“It’s where I served my time.”
She hadn’t known that little detail. But if he served time in Buford, did that mean he knew AJ? “Am I going to like what you’re about to tell me?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t know until yesterday he was your brother.
” Cayden reached into his duffel and pulled out Peggy’s scrapbook.
Trixie reached for it with trembling hands.
She hadn’t seen it in years. How had Cayden gotten it?
“I asked Mrs. Wynn to tell me about AJ. I wasn’t trying to invade your privacy.
You were so upset, and I didn’t want to bring up bad memories for you.
She told me everything. I think Mr. Wynn must have overheard us because when I got back up to my room that,” he indicated to the scrapbook, “was sitting on my bed.
I looked through it. I saw… When I saw the last article, the one where he was sentenced to life, I recognized him.
“You have to understand that this is a massive coincidence. I didn’t know his last name, and he didn’t call himself ‘AJ’.
Everyone called him ‘Tony’, even the guards.
I don’t think I ever heard him referred to as ‘Romero’ once.
And even if I did, I probably would have never put the pieces together.
He looks different. I didn’t even recognize your eyes as the same as his.
” Different? Why would AJ look different?
Why would he call himself Tony? What was it Cayden was trying to tell her?
“I had to go back. As soon as I realized who he was, I had to check on him for you. He’s…
hurting, but he’s okay, Trix. His injuries weren’t life threatening. ”
Trixie gripped the scrapbook hard against her chest. “Did he ask about me?”
Cayden nodded. “I told him about us. He made me promise to make you happy.”
A small smile touched her lips. That was so like AJ. Whatever you do in life, abeja, just make sure you’re happy doing it. She closed her eyes against the sudden onset of tears. “And he’s…okay? I mean, he’s…”
She heard him move and opened her eyes in time to see him kneel on the floor in front of her.
“Baby, it’s prison. No, he’s not okay. But he’s alive.
I’m no lawyer. I’m just some ex-biker gearhead, but I want to look into his case.
I want to see if there’s anything we can do to get him out of there. ”
Trixie quickly shook her head, her chin trembling. “Don’t you think we’ve tried that? Papá died believing AJ was lost to us.”
He reached forward to grip her hands. “It doesn’t hurt to have a fresh pair of eyes look into things, but I won’t do it if you don’t want me to.”
Tears flowed freely. “I guess not. Just… Don’t tell me anything unless you’re positive about it.” She couldn’t risk any more false hope.
Cayden put his hand under her chin. “Is this why you asked me what prison was like? You wanted to know what it was like for him.”
Her chin trembled. “Yes, no, I don’t know… I was… I wanted to know for you too. I wanted you to share that part of yourself with me.”
“Trix, AJ and I are in agreement here. You don’t need to know, and it will only hurt you to know. Neither of us want you a part of that.”
“I’m not some girly-girl who needs protection!”
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t back down from her ire. “I never claimed you were. But there are some things you just don’t need to know.”
She made a face and looked away from him. “Fine. Just don’t treat me like a child. If there’s something that’s bothering you or you want to share, do it. Regardless of your need to protect me. I can take it.”
He moved her face back towards his. “I never doubted you could. You just don’t need to. Do you understand that?”
She didn’t like it, but she nodded.
A distance had sprouted between Cayden and Trixie following his confession of his connection to her incarcerated brother.
Cayden wasn’t sure what he’d expected. He didn’t think his reveal warranted them to be closer, per se, but he certainly hadn’t wanted distance.
They still worked together just as well, and they made sure to say goodbye to the other at the end of the day before Mr. Wynn picked Cayden up.
But those little touches, those hidden kisses, the need to be in the same room as the other even if they weren’t touching…
All that had vanished. Cayden didn’t like it, but he also didn’t know how to fix it.
He couldn’t change going to jail any more than he could change who his cellmate had been.
Mrs. Wynn’s suggestion to give Trixie time was driving Cayden nuts. “She’ll come around, sweetheart. I think AJ’s attack and learning your connection with him was a bit much for her. Brought back some nastier memories.”
Mr. Wynn even went a step further and hinted that, in a twisted way, Trixie was jealous. Cayden had spent more time with her brother in the past eight years than she had. Cayden had a hard time wrapping his mind around that suggestion, but still found himself wondering if Mr. Wynn was right.