Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Hendrix
I wasn't a fan of having the FBI in my house, but when Special Agent Rogers asked to meet, I couldn't leave Maisie alone. She was still trying to cope with the loss of her brother and it wasn't going well. I’d never seen her so sad and I didn't know what I could do to help. She was a shell of the woman I loved.
"Thank you for meeting me here." I led us to the kitchen table so I could keep an eye on Maisie. She was curled up on the recliner with a blanket wrapped around her. She hadn't even stirred when there was a knock at the door.
"No problem. I wanted to offer my condolences anyway. I was the one who brought Matthew in, so I feel responsible for his death."
"He died a hero, saving one of my best friends."
"I heard. I'm sorry regardless."
I glanced into the living room to see if our discussion was disturbing Maisie. Nothing. Not even a flinch.
"Can you give me a little insight into the case?" For Maisie's sake I wanted to have all the answers. I knew there would come a time when she would want to know what happened. I wanted to be able to give her that information.
"We can't be sure that one of the men your team killed was The New Beginning silent partner. We never had a confirmed identity, and without Matthew, my case has disintegrated."
I expected to hear more venom in the man's voice knowing that twelve years of hard work went down the drain.
"You don't sound that upset about it."
Special Agent Rogers shrugged. "I'm not getting any younger. I didn't want this case to begin with. It was punishment for screwing up in the past. I never expected it to take twelve years and I guess, over time, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I would never solve it. Matthew was great but whoever's behind the organization is better. They keep their circle small."
"And the marshal assigned to Sarah and Olivia?"
I wanted to know if the man was on the take. If so, I would be hunting him down.
Rogers blew out a breath. "He got careless. When my team pulled him in for questioning, he admitted to leaving them alone more often lately, at Sarah's insistence. Nothing malicious but trips to the store, an hour here, an hour there. Apparently Sarah begged for some type of normalcy for her daughter and he felt obligated to give it to her after so long. The marshals thought they were doing a good thing by keeping the same agent all this time, but we know from experience that can cause complacency. I think that's what happened here. Sarah wanted to go to the store alone and he allowed it, thinking it was safe after all this time."
I could see that. Over a decade of things being quiet would cause anyone to become lax in their duties.
"There's another thing I need to discuss with you."
Rogers nodded like he already knew what I was going to say. And clearly he did because he spoke first. "Custody of Olivia. I read your after-action report. It was Matthew's dying wish that his sister have custody. I'm working on it. It helps that Sarah didn't have any family. She was in the foster care system before she got hooked up with Atlas and his followers. Matthew's parents are the only other living relatives and I can tell you for a fact no judge is going to give them custody. They've only gotten more extreme in their beliefs since their kids left. I wouldn't subject any kid to that mess."
I let out a relieved sigh. I’d been worried there for a minute.
"I'm going to be honest with you though. Get a lawyer. A good one. Maisie's going to have an uphill battle because of her name change and her history, but I'll put in a good word."
That reminded me. "Whatever happened to Atlas's body?"
Rogers suddenly looked uncomfortable. "I got rid of it. I know a guy who does cremations. He was willing to look the other way for me. When Matthew called and said what his sister had done, I knew I needed to do something and fast. I'm not proud of the decision I made but I stand by it. I read the reports about their parents. I know the life they lived growing up. There was no way I was letting her go to prison for an impulsive decision."
Another weight was lifted off my shoulders. Maisie would never need to worry again about that part of her life coming back to haunt her.
"Thank you. I truly mean that. I'm forever in your debt. I know Maisie would be worried about that coming up while she's trying to get custody of Olivia."
"She has nothing to worry about. I'm going to pull every string I have to make sure Olivia comes here. I want that little girl to have a good life. Better than the one I gave her all those years ago when I forced her mother into witness protection. I know the bureau thought it was the best decision at the time, but it always felt wrong to me. No one deserves to live their life in hiding forever."
I couldn't agree more.
"I appreciate you coming out." I stood from my chair and held my hand out. As much as this conversation relieved several of my stresses, I needed to get back to Maisie. For her sake, it was important that I pulled her out of this rut.
Rogers took the hint and rose from his seat as well to shake my hand. I led him to the front door. "I'll keep you posted on Olivia, but in the meantime, get that lawyer. She's in foster care now with a good family but I would rather see her here with you guys."
"I'll get it taken care of."
We said our goodbyes, and after shutting the front door, I headed straight for Maisie. She was in the same position I left her when I answered the door earlier. Her eyes were open but they weren't focused on anything.
I squatted down until I was eye level with her and leaned in close to her face.
"Hey, sweetheart. Did you hear what Special Agent Rogers had to say about Olivia?"
I brushed some of her hair off her face. It was clean only because I forced her into a shower this morning and washed her myself. She hadn't wanted to leave our bed but I knew she would feel a little better being clean, even if she wouldn't admit it. Unfortunately, she went straight from the shower to the recliner and hadn't moved since.
Maisie didn't respond, so I continued on.
"He's going to help us get custody of Olivia. It’s what Matthew wanted. I have to get a lawyer though, so I'm going to ask Maverick to help me find a good one."
No response.
"Come on, sweetheart. I know you're taking your brother's death hard, but Olivia needs you. She watched both of her parents die recently. She's going to need someone strong to help her through that and to raise her."
"It should be Matthew raising her." Those were the first words she had spoken since I'd been home and they were full of pain and her voice cracked with emotion.
An uneasy thought filled my head. "Do you blame me for what happened to Matthew?"
It had been my team who allowed him to go with us. It had been my friend whose life he saved. I had assured Mav that I would be responsible for Matthew and I failed. I would understand if she blamed me.
"No."
One word but there was no conviction behind it.
"Sweetheart, you're killing me here." I winced at my poor choice of words. "What I meant was, I hate seeing you like this and I understand if you blame me and my friends for Matthew's death. What I can't handle though is you shutting me out. We're supposed to be a team. I want to fix this but I don't know how."
It was several long minutes before she spoke again and what she said nearly knocked me on my ass.
"I don't blame you because I'm too busy blaming myself."
I stood back up and crawled into the recliner with her and pulled her into my arms so that her head was resting on my chest. "How could you possibly blame yourself?"
"Matthew was in that position because I killed Atlas. Sarah and Olivia were kidnapped because I was selfish and wanted to know what happened. If I had just let everything go, none of this would've happened and Olivia would have both of her parents right now.”
I played with the ends of her hair. She’d mentioned more than once that it comforted her and right now that was all I wanted to do.
"If I have learned anything in all my years, it's that you can't play the what-if game. There's no telling how things would've worked out. I'm not a very religious man but even I can believe that things happen for a reason. We have to trust the system."
She gave me her beautiful eyes, and even though they were full of pain, I could see the flicker of hope trying to peek through.
"You really think she was meant to be here with us?"
"I think we're going to keep her parents’ memory alive, and love her enough that she's going to have a fulfilling life."
Maisie snuggled deeper into my chest and I knew in that moment everything was going to be okay.
"I hope so. I can't wait to meet her. I've missed out on so much and I know Matthew did too. I want to do this in honor of him."