Chapter 28
Ashia
‘By The Way’ – Theory of a Deadman
Leanne wails in Damien’s office, and I find myself staring at the conference table.
The grain makes the perfect pattern, and it’s easy to get lost in it.
It has so many swirls and curves, and it all flows seamlessly together—like it was all made from the same tree.
Knowing Damien, it probably was, and I’m sure it had some meaning to him.
Everything he did, he poured his heart into, and as I watch a tear drop onto the surface, I realize that another piece of his heart is gone.
I had to change out of Damien's shirt. So, I just put on another one. I can’t just wash and reuse the old one, now that his father’s blood is splattered across it, and that’s just another sad thing to add into the pile.
How am I going to tell him that his dad is dead?
If I get to tell him at all… I don’t want to think like that, but after seeing John lay in the middle of a parking lot like that…
I just can’t help it. The reality of what Damien could be going through, if he’s not dead, is starting to become more real.
The sound of Leanne’s cries finally starts to die down, but I know that’s only because Serena gave her a shot of Lorazepam.
She was hysterical, and rightfully so. I hope she didn’t see it happen.
Hell, I’m not even sure I did. He was talking to me one second, and the next, he wasn’t in front of me anymore.
I’ve run those few seconds through my mind over and over again, but I’m coming up blank.
I’m not sure if my mind is blocking it out on purpose, or if it really just happened that quickly.
Leanne couldn’t get two words out between her sobs, so I’m not sure what she witnessed.
Serena quietly steps out of the office, and then she walks over to me with her medical bag.
“Hey. Let me check you out, okay?” she asks, but it’s less like a question and more like a soft demand. I just nod my head a little and let her wrap her blood pressure cuff around my other arm this time. She listens intently, and I still look at the table, not sure what to say.
Zeke and the guys walk through the door, and unfortunately, Satori is included in that group. He’s the first one to walk up to me, but thankfully, he stands a few feet away.
“I don’t mean to bother you, truly. I just want to know how I can help,” he asks sincerely.
A part of me wants to scream and throw anything in my reach, but another part of me feels bad for the urge.
He’s been quiet and has been doing everything that Kade has asked of him.
He even oversaw the cleaning duties around the Attic a couple of days ago, and I never imagined he’d be okay with something like that.
As hateful as he may be, it’s clear he’s trying, and my frustrations aren’t his fault.
When I look up at him, I’m sure my exhaustion and disinterest is clear on my face, but I don’t bother to try and fix it.
“Can you handle tonight’s patrols, and make sure everyone wears extra gear?
” I ask with a clenched jaw, and I’m gritting my teeth so harshly that I can feel them grinding against each other.
I hate that I’m giving him that level of responsibility, but I want to make sure everyone is safe when they go out tonight.
“Yes. Of course.” He nods and slowly leaves the room. I’m surprised that he didn’t run out jumping and hollering with excitement, but I appreciate the subtlety. I look down at Ser as she takes the pressure cuff off, and I notice the concerned twitch to the corner of her lip.
“It’s one-thirty over eighty-five. I’m going to call Dr. Campbell and let her know, but I’m not that worried about it after what happened,” she says softly.
I just let out a small ‘hmm’ and watch as she walks towards the door.
As she passes by Carter, he grips her arm and pulls her close enough to whisper something in her ear.
She picks her head up just enough to whisper back, and she lightly pats his chest before walking out.
“Everything alright?” Alex asks me.
“Depends on what you mean.”
“With you and the baby, specifically.” He grins lightly, and I just nod back at him. The flutters and whooshes continue to tumble in my belly, and I can’t help but lay my hand on top.
Our baby will never be able to meet their grandfather.
That realization hits me so hard that my eyes immediately water again. I blink and wipe them to try and get them to stop, but it doesn’t work.
“Did Tony give you guys the evidence?” I ask and clear my throat, trying to move forward. Alex’s face falls and he pockets his hands.
“Yeah, we’re just waiting on the shot trajectory video, and then we’ll have everything.”
“Okay,” I whisper back, not even bothering to try and speak any louder. Serena walks back into the room and pockets her phone before striding back over to me. Carter watches her as she crosses the room, and then he looks at Alex.
“Now that Leanne is sedated, would you talk to her while Zeke and I talk to them?”
“Yeah,” he says back to Carter, and squeezes my shoulder as he walks into Damien’s office. Zeke comes around to sit on my right, and Carter moves to sit on Serena’s left. They stare at each other for a second before Zeke speaks up.
“I don’t want you to get too worked up when I tell you this, okay?” Zeke nods as he speaks, so I nod back. “John’s alive,” Zeke reveals, and I think my brain short-circuits. “He’s in the ICU under a fake name, and he’s in critical condition, but he is alive.”
“How?” Serena asks before I have the chance.
“The shot went through the side of his neck. It hit his carotid artery, but it only nicked it. When we left, Alex put enough pressure on it until the doctors came outside. If we weren’t in that parking lot, and Alex didn’t act when he did, he wouldn’t have made it.
Hell, he still might not, but he’s got a chance,” Zeke says grimly.
“Alex is telling Leanne?” I ask, and he nods. “Okay, when can we go see him?”
“We’re not,” Carter blurts out, and I snap my gaze to him. “We don’t know anything yet, and we don’t even know if they were aiming for John. You’re not going anywhere.”
“What do you mean we don’t know if they were aiming for John?”
“You were both standing close together, and if the shot came from where we think it did, there’s a good chance they were aiming for you and they missed,” Zeke chimes in angrily.
“Or they were aiming for John, but they had to shoot at an angle that wouldn’t kill you both. We just don’t know yet,” Carter continues.
“But why either one of us?”
“We’re not—"
At that moment, Kade storms in the door.
“You guys have to see this,” he says loudly, and projects a crime scene investigation file on the large screen from his tablet. His eyes are wide, and he’s breathing heavily, like he just sprinted here.
“Kade, now’s not a good time…” Zeke says, but Kade just shakes his head.
“No, I’m serious. Take a look.” We all look around at each other before we start to read over the file.
The details seem like any other murder, and it’s all the way in D.C.
It’s violent, sure, but with it being further away than we normally concern ourselves with, I’m not sure why he’s showing us this.
“Do you know who this is?” Kade asks, and we all shake our heads.
He then swipes on his screen to pull up a news article about Senator Avery’s campaign to support his bill.
It includes a layout of the law, like they have no idea how fake it truly is, and a picture of Avery shaking someone’s hand.
“That’s the victim,” I say, and point to the picture, starting to understand the connection.
“Yep. Now, they only found one set of fingerprints at the scene—” Kade starts, but Zeke cuts him off.
“Let me guess. The victim’s?”
“Nope.” Kade grins and pulls up a photo of the print like I’m supposed to know who it belongs to just by looking at some squiggly lines.
“Do they have an ID?” Carter asks, also growing impatient.
“They don’t, but we do.” Kade’s smile only grows, and my surge of aggravation turns into curiosity. Then, he pulls the match for the print and positions it next to the first photo.
It’s labeled from our database.
And it’s Damien’s.
I jump to my feet, along with everyone else, and my heart sinks as I stare at his picture on the screen.
It almost looks like a mugshot from how serious he looks in it, but I know that background is the entryway into the Attic—where everyone does intake.
It is recent, though, taken when they first opened the new base.
“Alex, get the fuck in here!” Zeke screams, and turns back to the screen. In a matter of a second, Alex bursts through the door like someone is dying, but then he stops when he sees the screen.
“What the fuck?”
“They found D’s print at a murder scene this morning.” Zeke fills him in.
“How did you find this?” I ask Kade.
“I was watching the news, and they were talking about the murder. The second I heard the connection to Avery, I started digging.”
“Why would Damien kill him?” Carter asks.
“John is so sure that DeLuca and Saconne have him,” I add, because John’s conviction that night was enough to convince me.
It’s the only plausible reason we haven’t found him yet, and now Damien’s leaving us breadcrumbs to make it all clearer.
“Could they have made him do it? Maybe Avery is starting to clean up his messes, and he’s using DeLuca and Saconne to do it? ”
“Of course they did.” I turn to see Leanne walking in slowly from the office, and I step over to help her to a chair.
She’s a little wobbly from the drugs, but now that she knows John is alive, she seems a little more put-together.
“Their training methods are ruthless.” Once she’s stable and sitting fully, I kneel down beside her.
“What training?”