Chapter 4 #2
“We were just having coffee and talking.”
“About?”
“Old stuff, dead and buried.”
“I’m sure your mother would have a shit fit over that.”
She snorted. “Since I just kicked her out of my apartment, she’ll definitely have a shit fit over something. It’s anybody’s guess which element of all my family’s dramas will be dominant.”
“You did what?” Selene asked, shocked. “Did you just say you kicked your mother out of your apartment?”
“I did,” she confirmed. “Some information came to light that I’m struggling to deal with. And honestly, because I’m still struggling to deal with it, I really can’t talk about it. So please don’t ask.”
“Damn, you say something like that, and then you don’t want me to pick it apart? Are you kidding me? That’s like the juiciest gossip ever. You never go against your parents. Hell, even after all that mess with your sister and poor Riley, you didn’t do anything.”
Gail closed her eyes and winced. “Yeah, that has come back to bite me in the ass.”
“Right. Of course, because you were just having coffee with him.” Envy filled her tone when she added, “He’s a really good man. I don’t know what all happened in your family, but the local talk is that he got run out of town basically, mostly because of your family’s money.”
“Really?” she asked. “Is that what everybody’s saying?”
“Yeah, and everybody’s saying—” Serene let it trail off.
So, Gail had to ask, “Out with it. What are they saying?”
“They figure you just let it happen. Either you were trying to get out of the marriage or your daddy was pulling all the strings.”
“Right,” she muttered. “Another one of those lovely little things I get to deal with now.”
“Hey, look. … People are people. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I will be,” she whispered. “Could you let me know if they find the dog?”
After a moment she replied, “I will, of course, but—”
“But what?” Gail asked, just waiting, as if knowing some pronouncement was coming that she wouldn’t like.
“You don’t think he’ll contact you?”
“I don’t know why he would.” And, with that, she ended the call.
When her phone went off again a little bit later, she was surprised to see it was Riley.
When she answered, he asked, “Are you okay?” His voice was calm and quiet, with that same collectedness she remembered from before.
He always seemed to know when she was having a bad time.
She’d often questioned him about it, and he just told her how it was instinctive, that, when you were connected to somebody and when you cared about them, you understood when things were off.
And right now, she stared down at the phone, not sure what to say about his instincts at the moment.
Did it mean he was still connected to her in some way? Because she just felt like her whole world was off. She didn’t know how to get her footing again.
When she didn’t answer, he added, “You could at least answer me.”
“I could,” she began, “but that would imply I actually knew the answer. I don’t even know where I am, what I am, and what the hell happened to my world.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blow up your world this morning.”
“Is that what you did?” she asked, with a broken laugh. “I’m sitting here, looking back over the last many years, and I see it from a very different perspective.”
He was quiet at first, then shared, “Maybe that’s a good thing.” And, with only silence on the other end, he added, “If you want to talk anytime, you can always call me.” And he promptly disconnected.
She stared down at the phone, realizing that the one person whom she had always been able to talk to, the one person who had always been there for her, had just reached out again and had given her a lifeline. But he was the lifeline she had so foolishly thrown away without a care before.
How the hell could she even dare to pick up that lifeline and reopen that relationship again?
Because doing so would blow up her world in a way that she may never come back from. And yet what had her entire family done to Riley? It was the same damn thing, and they had all walked away, thinking they were fully justified.
And yet their actions weren’t justified at all, not in any way, hers included. Dear God, now she couldn’t even look herself in the mirror.
Riley stepped farther away from where the gang was gathered inside the pub.
He wanted to call her back again, but her response had left an odd feeling on the inside of him as well.
He didn’t know if it was part of their earlier conversation.
Maybe she had contacted her father or in some other way had dealt with some of the issues he had brought up this morning.
Maybe he shouldn’t have; he didn’t know.
But he felt the need to tell her some of the things that had happened and how he felt about it.
If he was after closure, and she was after closure, the only way they could get it was if they fully opened up the doors of communication.
That way, they could each see things from the perspective of the other.
He didn’t expect change, certainly not from her when she was such a part of the entire Montoya machine that her family was.
He walked back over to where the men stood, talking among themselves. The conversation stopped as he approached, and he nodded. “I’m not here to cause you guys any trouble. I really just want that dog.”
“Yeah, but what are you going to do with it?” Derek asked, glaring at him. “It’s my son’s dog.”
“True,” he replied. “If your son is capable of looking after Cain or if your son has caregivers capable of looking after Cain, I’m fine with you keeping him. It sounds like Timmy and Cain are really bonded, and that’s good.”
The old man’s shoulders slumped and he nodded, his face shrunken. “We’re doing everything we can to keep that boy alive,” he whispered. “We don’t know whether he’ll ever open his eyes or have another coherent thought.”
“In that case,” Riley suggested, “you and I both know that the last thing you’ll need is a dog like that to look after. But listen. I’m not here to take Cain away, but I am fully aware that the dog is currently in trouble. Somebody put out the call to the military that the dog was missing.”
Derek frowned at that and then reluctantly offered, “Probably Timmy then.”
“So, Cain went missing before Timmy’s accident?”
“Yes, he did.”
Riley nodded as he thought about that. “Do you think the two incidents are related?”
The older man’s eyes widened. “I don’t know why anybody would care,” he began. “I get that, for you, this is a special dog, but, for most people, a dog is just a dog.”
“Yeah, for most people. However, if things are being done down in the tunnels and that War Dog, who has specific training had, let’s say, cornered somebody who was moving drugs,” he suggested, his gaze going from one man to another, “or had found a cache of something that nobody else really knew or understood was down there, maybe the dog’s life was much less valuable because the dog found something illegal—which would easily bring other people back to that location. ”
The old man stared at him in surprise. Then he turned to the four men with him and muttered, “I never even considered something like that.”
The men immediately shook their heads.
Jackson agreed. “No, I can’t say I did either.”
Derek added, “It’s not exactly something that would make us very happy.”
“Then you’ve also got to consider,” Riley added, “that should Timmy have been in that area looking for the dog, he may have found the dog but also may have found some illegal stash. And what would somebody do to keep that out of other people’s hands or to keep that knowledge secret?”
Derek grimaced, then slowly nodded. “You bring up some really difficult points,” he admitted, “but they’re valid. I hadn’t even considered that.”
Jackson sighed. “Most local people have nothing to do with the tunnels down here, but they are and always have been used for nefarious dealings,” Jackson noted.
“And, yeah, there have been stories of our older generations being a part of that too. Maybe Granddad Beltran had a hand in that himself. He bought the land and built the pub and would get angry at anyone bringing up selling the place. He always said the business was a gold mine, but what it sat on was worth more.”
“They have a hell of a name for that too,” Derek noted.
Rory interjected, “But that doesn’t mean that’s what’s been going on.”
Riley shrugged. “No, it doesn’t, but … I can go through other avenues, and I can certainly access the tunnels down there without your permission.
So owning the pub doesn’t give you ownership or domain over the tunnels, not even the ones directly below the pub.
Keep in mind that the entrance you unearthed today—private and shielded well from prying eyes.
That’s not the only one down there. The tunnels are dangerous avenues but doable nonetheless.
Granddad Beltran has been no fool in that regard.
And he was king of the hard-asses himself so he might believe the stories he heard.
However, I would like permission to go through your particular entrance. ”
Derek stared at him for a long time. “You’re pretty serious about this, aren’t you?”
“Absolutely. At what point do you give up and decide that the dog’s just gone?”
Derek shook his head. “Not until I know what happened to him and to Timmy.” He frowned, then looked over at the other men.
Rory shook his head vehemently. “We don’t need strangers around here.”
The other guy snapped, “We’re good.”
“Gerald, is it?” Riley asked but got no response. He studied the man for a long time. “But, if it’s no skin off your nose, why do you care? Aren’t you Derek’s nephew?”
“So what if I am? It’s been our space for a very long time,” he noted, “and we don’t need anybody else digging around there. I don’t know why Derek even let you come today, but now that you know nothing is there for you, you just need to take off and go home.”