Chapter Eleven
The next few days were a whirlwind of stolen kisses and hushed sighs. Julie was in paradise despite the danger surrounding them. They couldn’t get enough of each other. Every six hours they checked in with Gus, who was sometimes accompanied by Easton, Kinley, Sasha, or a mix of them all. Isaac continued to cook breakfast with Sabrina in the morning, because she seemed to love being in the kitchen creating meals with her new friend. They played endless games of Chutes and Ladders and watched Encanto on rerun until they all could sing along note for note with Mirabel and the other main characters. After a while, each time they caught one another humming the tunes, the person singing had to take dish duty at the next meal.
Julie was lying on her stomach, hip-to-hip with Sabrina, gently encouraging her to participate in the puzzle they’d started. She was trying to develop some semblance of a routine to help her adapt to her new environment, but the stress and changes going on around Sabrina were overwhelming. The puzzle lay half pieced together on the floor.
“It’s your turn, Sabrina.” She glanced at her in time to see a tear roll down her soft cheek and disappear against a strand of straight pale hair. There was a pang in her heart. She was intimately aware of the staggering loss of a parent. The way it left part of you hollow. As the days went by without Mr. Vesey being found, she was more and more aware that she might be responsible for filling the role of parent permanently. She knew she could never replace Sabrina’s father, but she’d do her best to be a supportive role model and loving caregiver. Loving Sabrina came as naturally as breathing, but she didn’t want her to go through life without the bond she had with her father.
“Dad?” Sabrina’s voice was muffled with tears. Her striking jade eyes were trained on the floor, pale hair curtaining her face.
She wrapped her arm around the girl’s slight shoulders and gave her a hug. “There’s a group of people working very hard to try to find him. I know it’s tough, and you’re missing him a lot.”
“Burrito game.” Sabrina whispered and leaned into her embrace. There it was again. That spear to the heart as the child mentioned her favorite game she liked to play with her dad.
She knew better than to make promises, but she desperately wished to offer Sabrina something more. Some assurance that her life would go back to normal and her nurturing father would return. Despite the current evidence suggesting otherwise, Mr. Vesey wasn’t the type of man to take risks with his daughter’s safety, let alone engage in illegal activities. She never had a clue he was working as a deep cover agent.
With one last squeeze and a kiss on the top of her head, Julie stood up and grabbed a throw blanket from the couch and laid it out on the floor. “Do you want to play it with me?”
Sabrina nodded and scurried up, a smile returning to her lips.
Julie kneeled down on the rug near the blanket. “Hmmm … let’s see. I’m making a burrito. What should I add?” She glanced at Sabrina, and a small smile had formed on her lips. “How about some lettuce?”
“And cheese,” Sabrina shouted, pretending to sprinkle cheese on their makeshift tortilla shell.
“What about some tomatoes?”
Sabrina wrinkled her nose. “Rice.” White rice and some shredded cheese were probably the only thing she’d tolerate from the list they were building, served separately of course.
“There’s something missing … what could it be?” she tapped her chin, like she was thinking hard about the last ingredient. Sabrina circled her waist and rocked forward, a peel of laughter breaking from her lips. The little girl knew what was coming. “Maybe … Sabrina! Her pale hair swayed as she scrambled over the floor pretending to scurry away. Julie scooped her up, placing her in the center of the blanket. “Now I’m gonna roll you up in a tortilla shell,” she said loosely draping the blanket over Sabrina. “And nom, nom, nom.” She tickled Sabrina, tightness constricting her throat as laughter filled the room.
They were both breathless laughing when she glanced up to find Isaac and Rowan watching her. Rowan had a smile on his face, but Isaac’s expression was something else entirely. For a moment, she swore his eyes glistened with tears, but Sabrina had popped out of the makeshift burrito shell and noticed the men. She shot across the room, grabbing both of their hands and pulling them into the center of the living room. Right away she made Rowan lay down in the blanket and proceeded to try to roll him up. Isaac’s arms came around her shoulders, and the warmth of his breath tickled her skin as he kissed her temple. He led her to the couch and sat, pulling her onto his lap.
“Watching you with her,” Isaac rumbled. “It makes me wish for things I shouldn’t.”
“Don’t do that,” she said quietly. She could read Isaac well enough to know he was thinking about the children he’d never dared to hope for, mistakenly thinking he wouldn’t be a good role model. Sabrina and Rowan were playing, both laughing hard, still she kept her voice hushed. “If Mr. Vesey is gone, we’ll care for Sabrina together. You’ll be an amazing influence in her life and down the road, we’ll give her brothers and sisters.”
His hands tightened on her hips at her words. “Just like that? You’re not afraid of—”
She squirmed in his grip, angling her body. “Look at me,” she snapped, angry because his trauma made him question the honorable, brave person he was. “You are nothing like her. Your mom was sick, Isaac. Addicted. That in no way excuses what she did, not even close. I hope she dies a thousand deaths for what she put you and Easton through, but you are not her. You’re honest, courageous, honorable—way too much sometimes.”
“I want to be the man you see me as.” He ran his hand down the length of her hair, and she leaned into his touch. God, he was going to shatter her if he pulled away again.
“What I see, Isaac, is who you are.” She placed her hand on his cheek, so he wouldn’t look away. “Straight through to your soul.”
On a shriek, Sabrina evaded Rowan and ran toward the couch, jumping into Isaac’s arms. “Hide me,” she giggled. Once Sabrina said the words, her smile faded and the laughter twinkling in her eyes died. She seemed to go to a different place in her mind. “Hide in the closet,” she whispered to no one in particular. “If he comes, hide in the closet. The closet is safe.”
Isaac’s expression was stricken, but he gently touched her face, gaining Sabrina’s attention. “Who were you supposed to hide from, sweetheart?”
“The man.” Her light brows drew together wrinkling her forehead.
Rowan had padded over to the couch and sat with his body positioned toward Sabrina. “Did the man have a name?”
Sabrina shook her head and nibbled on her bottom lip. She opened her mouth, like she was going to say something and shut it again. “Uncle Dale.”
“Okay, you don’t have to worry. You’re safe here,” Isaac said.
Sabrina curled her fingers into Isaac’s shirt and buried her head into the crook of his shoulder. His gaze lifted to meet hers, then shifted to Rowan.
“I’ll call Gus,” she murmured, slipping off the couch and heading toward the office. Rowan was right on her heels as they walked into the room where her and Isaac had been exploring their physical relationship in stolen minutes after checking in with their family every six hours. She wanted him, but she wasn’t going to push him until he was ready. He’d been through extreme trauma. Something she didn’t want to add to in any way. Isaac hadn’t tried to take the words he’d given her back. His admission that he cared about her was precious, and she’d been so afraid he would come to his senses and go back to denying them the chance at a relationship.
“Does uncle Dale mean anything to you? Do you think he hurt Sabrina?” Rowan closed the door behind him and pulled out two chairs by the phone.
“I think that’s what Mr. Vesey was afraid of. Honestly, from what I saw he was a really good dad. He didn’t seem like someone who would put his daughter in harm’s way if it could be helped.” Julie sat down in one of the chairs, even as Rowan continued to stand. “The task force director who came to our house introduced himself as Dale Mancuso. I don’t know if the man is the same person Sabrina was referring to, but I think Easton would want to know.”
“Isaac has been briefing me on the updates your family has been providing.” Rowan sat, feet planted wide. “I know they suspect someone on the inside leaked your location before the car crash. It very well could’ve been this Dale character, or Mr. Vesey himself, although why would he arrange for both his daughter and her teacher to be in an accident and possibly killed? It could also be someone from the outside, making it look as though there’s a mole within the agency, so everyone’s attention is focused somewhere else.”
Julie sighed and swept a hand through her hair. “I keep hoping for news on Mr. Vesey. I can see how much it’s hurting Sabrina not to have him here. As much as I love her and would take care of her in a heartbeat, I want her to have a happy ending. She already lost her mother. Losing both her parents would be such a blow. It’s such an isolating feeling to suddenly have no adults in your life to keep you safe. To care about you.”
“That’s something we have in common. Something all four of us have experienced in some way or another.” Rowan said, face blank of emotion. “Isaac always talks about you on missions. I should’ve put it together that there was something different about your relationship. He told me what a breath of fresh air you were. That after losing both of your parents you still gave him and the others strength to move forward. I have never seen him so much as look at another woman while we’ve been on leave. I knew he must be tangled up with someone. I just had no idea it was you.” He smiled now, and the expression lightened his blue eyes. “Trust me. I would’ve reminded him that you weren’t related by blood and told him to go for it.”
She couldn’t help but smile back. “It feels like he’s really going to give us a chance this time, but part of me can’t help but worry that he’ll get cold feet again. Think he’s doing something wrong by being with me.”
“I don’t think Isaac has ever had cold feet when it comes to you. He feels a moral obligation to keep you safe—even from himself. I know we just met, but I feel like I know you from all the stories Isaac has told me, so I’m going to be honest with you. There will probably be a time, maybe several, that Isaac will be reminded of something that happened in his past and draw into himself, but you’ll be there to stop him. Isaac would die for you—make no mistake. He loves you. A weak woman wouldn’t be able to handle that insecurity, but you’re anything but weak. You’re Isaac’s perfect match. The person who can lift him up. In exchange, he’s going to give you the world. You know that, right?”
Julie nodded, not trusting herself to speak with the lump currently wedged in her throat. She didn’t want to tell Rowan that she had given up on Isaac mere days ago. That was the reason why he came after her. The reason he decided to stop dragging his feet. Maybe he eventually would’ve gotten there, but it might’ve been too late for them. She took a breath in through her nose, then exhaled. “Let’s make this call.” They both turned toward the desk, now hip-to-hip instead of facing each other, and Julie picked up the phone. She dialed the number from memory as she usually did when they called. The phone was picked up on the second ring.
“This is Easton.” She could picture him straightening his glasses. His short hair mussed from repeatedly raking his hands through it as he tended to do when he was stressed.
“Hey. It’s Jules, and Isaac’s friend who has been helping us is here, too.”
“It’s okay, you can tell them my name.” Rowan leaned in closer to the speaker. “This is Rowan, Isaac’s teammate.”
“Heard a lot about you, man. Thanks for everything you’ve done. Where is Isaac?” The concern in his voice was audible. She might be in danger, but her entire family was living this chaos together. “Is he okay?” His voice was a whisper that barely hissed past his teeth.
“He’s fine. Sabrina was clinging to him like a monkey, so we decided to make the call. Julie has something she wanted to share. “
“Sabrina mentioned a hiding spot. Her father told her to hide in the closet when Uncle Dale came to the house.”
“Do you know if she has an actual uncle?” Easton asked.
“Not to my knowledge. When I first started, I suggested making a book with familiar faces of all Sabrina’s family members and teachers. Mr. Vesey said it had only been him and his wife before she passed.”
“We have a Dale working at the bureau working your case. He was there the night they were going to drive you to the office for questioning. It might also be a different Dale either within the Bureau or the brotherhood. This is something good to work with. Thanks, Jules.”
Even though the information could lead to a dead end, she wanted to help. “Any updates?” she asked.
“Yeah, actually. They found the car, but Vesey was not in the trunk. There was blood on the exterior and on the ground. Looks like he might’ve been able to drag himself out of the car. It’s also possible someone else dragged his body, but the way the ground was disrupted, it looks more like the first scenario.”
Julie’s breath hitched. “So he might be alive.”
“He might be.” Easton’s voice held less hope. “Either he was at one point or he managed to get out of a tough situation. Still, we don’t know if he’s involved with the mafia beyond his duties with the bureau. Don’t trust anyone.”
“What about Agent Nilsson?” Rowan placed his elbows on his knees and loosely steepled his hands. “Has she been found?”
“No. Her trail is colder than Vesey’s.”
Rowan’s forehead wrinkled. “Could they be working together?”
“I would say anything is possible at this point. I’m going to look into Dale Mancuso. Have my tech team explore other deals within the agency and the brotherhood. Thanks for giving this to me.”
By the time they said their goodbyes and hung up the telephone, Julie’s head was spinning with possibilities of who might’ve betrayed who and why.