Chapter 10 #2
Chewing distractedly, he glanced at the door and wondered when Gwen would return.
She’d left the house after storming out of the kitchen.
Colin didn’t understand why she was so angry, though he was beginning to get used to being confused around Gwen.
What difference did it make if Rowan told him to leave the party, or it was David?
As if on cue, the door opened and Gwen entered the room with Becky’s little Pug on a leash. Lucy was dancing happily at Gwen’s feet while Gwen tried to unsnap the collar. “Oh, what a good girl. Did you enjoy your walk?”
Colin stared at Gwen, his pulse racing in anticipation of their exchange. I could spend the rest of my life looking at this woman, even if she is mad as all hell.
She met his eyes. “I’m sorry, Colin,” she said, with a tone that implied she was not sorry at all.
“Thank you. Why were you so angry?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I loved David very much.”
“Gwen, did I ever imply otherwise?”
“If he asked you to leave, then he was aware of your intentions.”
Colin took a sip of his water, deliberately weighing his words. “They weren’t just my intentions, Gwen.” Her eyes darkened and realization dawned on Colin. “That’s it, isn’t it? You’re upset because David knew there was something between us.”
“There was nothing…”
He raised a hand to stop her protest. “But that’s it, right? You’re upset because David knew.”
“Yes.”
She looked like she was about to cry, and Colin felt a momentary concern. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Gwen. You never cheated on your husband.”
She shrugged. “I know. But if he asked you to leave…”
“I get it.” Colin watched her win the fight for composure, gently rubbing her eye with her knuckle. Even under duress, she was lovely. How many years had he been missing this woman? Wishing for one more chance to find a way into her life?
No, not just into her life. I want it all. Everything.
His mouth had gone dry, and he felt his eyes glued to her face, waiting for her to glance his way like a dog waiting for a morsel to drop from the table above. When she did finally raise her lashes and meet his stare, she smiled prettily.
The words were out before he could think better of them. “Someday, Gwen, we’re going to be together.”
He watched as the remark affected her, eyes dilating and a soft pink glow moving into her cheeks. Her rounded bottom lip hung separate from its partner, teasing him with its invitation, even as her words belied her face. “No, Colin.”
“Not now. I know you’re not ready. But when you are, I’ll be here.”
Her gaze dropped to the paperwork on the table. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“Going through the papers Barr gave me.”
“Were you able to get copies of everything you lost in the fire?”
“Not even close. These are just the transcripts from the trials Jerry testified in.”
“What have you learned?”
“I found this.” He opened a binder.
She shook her head. “What am I looking at?”
“A document from discovery. It wasn’t used in the trial, but just got stuck in the file with everything else, looks like. It gives an address for Jerry Ahearn’s aunt Bernice. Apparently, he was living with her for a time before he turned himself in to the feds.”
“I don’t understand what this means.”
“I’m just thinking, if Jerry felt safe enough to hide out there all those years ago, maybe he felt safe enough to return there. Especially if Walker was right and Jerry’s back in the fold.”
“What did your contact at the Marshal’s office have to say?”
“He hasn’t heard anything definitive, but he thinks it’s possible. Jerry’s testimony put away two of the top three guys, then the third one died a year later of natural causes. There’s been a lot of upheaval. Nearly everyone he betrayed is no longer with the company, so to speak.”
“But still, you think they’d trust him after he testified against their own people?”
Colin tilted his head to the side. “You have to remember, even within the organization there’s a struggle for power.
Jerry turned against some people, but not all.
According to Deputy Barr, Jerry may have played his hand strategically.
Everyone he testified against was old blood.
He actually helped the new boss take over. ”
Gwen leaned forward and rested her chin on her hand. “You mean, he might even be considered a faithful servant to the organization.”
“Maybe, yes.”
“When are we going to the aunt’s house?”
“What you mean ‘we’, Kemo Sabe?”
She dropped her chin and looked at him through her lashes. “I’m coming with you, Colin.”
He began gathering the papers back into a neat pile. “No.”
Gwen stood, pushing her chair into the table with uncharacteristic force. “Yes.”
A reply was quick to his tongue, but Colin met her fiery eyes and paused.
She was the one who came to him, suspecting David’s death was not an accident.
She was the one whose quick thinking and acting had gotten them this far.
Besides, he would call less attention to himself at the bar if he wasn’t alone.
“I want to stop at a bar my contact told me about first. And you can come, Gwen, but promise me this. If I believe it’s too dangerous for you to do something, you’ll listen to me and step back. ”
“Deal. Where are we going?”
“Flynn’s. A bar in Southie.”
“Fabulous.” She checked her watch. “I could use a pint to wash down those purple pancakes, couldn’t you?”