Chapter Sixteen #2
At first, he didn’t speak. Cas was trying so hard not to hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it. Only, that control was hard found right now.
Chris stood there and blocked the man from running roughshod in his morgue. Not far away, Chrissy, Tony, and Jaxon were watching with worry.
And ready to text Elizabeth at the first shove.
They knew a man on the edge when they saw one. Chris would be no match for the man, even with Saint RIGHT THERE.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Caspian. Please know that my heart hurts for you,” he said with that calming, soothing voice he used whenever someone was about to see their deceased loved one or when he was doing a notify.
Caspian didn’t like this.
That sounded like a man who had seen some shit, and he hated what he suspected.
Rayna most likely had been tortured.
He’d bet on it.
“I need to see her.”
Chris wasn’t playing this game. Elizabeth had asked him to make sure the man didn’t get broken further, and he’d do that. What wouldn’t they all do to protect the man?
Clearly, everything.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you see her.”
He moved menacingly toward the man, but Chris was no pushover. He’d been doing this a very long time.
Instead, he put out his arm, stopping Saint from doing what he’d planned on doing. The last thing he wanted was to see his personal security hurt. Saint was a Marine, but Uriel was an Archangel.
They were two different animals, cut from the same cloth. If Caspian hurt Saint, Raphael would lose his shit, and the last thing anyone needed was that fight.
Elizabeth didn’t need their family torn apart at the seams. They were already fracturing as it was.
Deep down, Caspian was a man on the edge. Chris knew that he’d put his hands on Elizabeth, and that told him how far gone he was.
Someone had to be the voice of reason, and at that point, they were all struggling to stay in control. He was NOT the only one having an issue with pain, suffering, and worry.
He’d literally been holding the skull of the man he considered his father.
Today was a shitty day all around.
On a shittier case.
“Before you put your hands on me, Caspian Carter, know this. I might forgive you for abusing me, but I will NOT forgive you for shoving my wife! You need to get yourself in control before you lose EVERYTHING else too!”
That seemed to stop the man.
Gone was the calming tone, and in its place was the sound of a pissed off father, reprimanding one of his kids for doing something incredibly stupid.
Well, that tracked.
Pushing Elizabeth had been just that.
Immediately, Saint and Raphael backed down, since they were pretty sure that Chris was going to be able to defuse this.
Chris wasn’t done.
“We understand you’re hurting, and we want nothing more than to carry that for you.
Only, you can’t hurt the messenger. Can you break me?
Yes. You’re bigger, and a Marine, but do you want to let him win like that?
He took your girlfriend, but do you want him to take your family?
Because I pay Archangel Security, and I will ABSOLUTELY have Ivan terminate you for putting your hands on the people in this family.
If you don’t get in control, and now, you will find yourself on a transport back to DC without a home.
I don’t play when it comes to abuse in this family! ”
And that did the rest.
At the word ‘abuse’, he reined it in.
FAST.
Caspian stood there, and he unclenched his hands. Maybe it was the idea that he was an abuser, or the tone in Chris’ voice when he told him he’d be family-less and homeless, that did it.
“I don’t know how to do this,” he whispered. “She was taken from me. She was mine, Dad. Help me. Please,” he added, and that softened the man.
Chris moved closer and put his hand on the bigger man’s arm with the gentleness of a parent who had also had loss in his life, and understood.
“Come and sit,” he said. “We’ll go into my office. Saint, stay here with Chrissy, Tony, and Jaxon. Raphael, join us.”
The man didn’t question it.
All Raphael knew was he’d been right. Chris had this under control.
As Chris led them into the office, Saint knew the plan. When he’d gotten the text, he’d warned Chris, and he’d instructed them as to what needed to be done.
So, they got their asses moving as quickly, and quietly as possible.
Together, they pulled the body bag from the one drawer, placed Rayna on the table, and rolled her into the body elevator.
Then, he sent her down where Caspian wouldn’t look for her if he came out of that room like a bat out of Hell. He’d assume the elevator was just in place in case any other bodies came into FBI West.
If he went around to look, they would have time to bring it up and stash Rayna again.
“We good?” Tony whispered.
Saint nodded.
“Fingers crossed that he’s not thinking straight. It’s all in Chris’ hands now.”
That it was.
Inside the office, Chris sat him down, and got him a cup of tea. Then, he sat beside the man so they could have a very uncomfortable and painful conversation.
“You have questions?” he asked.
Raphael could hear movement outside the door, and he could hear the flurry of activity. As he guarded the door, he had a pretty good idea as to why Chris wanted him in there.
They had to be moving Rayna.
“Yes,” Caspian said. “I’m sorry I just made it seem like I was going to hurt you. I am fighting hard to control this, but I’ve never lost anything I loved,” he said, softly. “I don’t know how to be the Caspian I was.”
Oh, Chris understood, and he wouldn’t use what had happened to hurt the man further. Instead, he’d do all he could to help him.
So, he kissed the man on the cheek, reassuring him that all was good between them.
He’d said what needed to be said, and Chris was the king of letting shit go.
They all knew Caspian was just hurting.
They couldn’t hold that against him.
“Don’t worry about that,” Chris offered. “You’ve had a brutal day, and you’re upset. I’m sorry that I had to raise my voice, but you were dangerously close to losing everything. I don’t want to see that happen, Son.”
He stared into the cup of tea.
In that moment, he was ashamed.
“I’m sorry that I shoved Elizabeth,” he stated. “I just...I just had to hurt someone, and it wasn’t fair. I know this isn’t her fault. I just couldn’t think.”
He let him talk.
Sometimes, the best way to battle grief was to be heard. They really believed that all of the Marines who worked for them were family. Why wouldn’t he try to help them through this?
“I need to apologize to her, but I need to know what he did to Rayna. I need to have that closure, because it will decide if I go out there and destroy him, or I let Elizabeth handle this. Please just tell me.”
Oh, well, that was exactly why they were doing what they did. It was to save Caspian. Rage made monsters, and he knew the man wouldn’t be able to live with that. Caspian was a gentle soul, and they wanted him to retain that.
Not lose it to Devon Slater.
So, here became the dance of deceit. Hopefully, Caspian would buy it.
“Please let me see her, Dad.
Chris picked up his tablet.
“When I said I couldn’t, there was a reason, Caspian, and not the one you think.”
He looked up.
In that moment, to save this man, Chris lied his ass off.
“We don’t have her body here, Caspian. We released her to the tribe. While we loved Rayna, she wasn’t ours. She belongs to her people. They have very specific ways of handling their dead. They don’t allow autopsies, and they have to be prepared for the Happy Hunting Grounds a certain way.”
Well, that was mostly the truth.
A tear dripped down his face.
“She’s gone?” he asked, knowing that her father would never let him see her.
Lance RunningWolf hated his guts.
“Unfortunately, yes. Once the notify was done, he wanted her moved,” he offered, PRAYING that the man wouldn’t speak to the Reservation Chief.
Chris was hoping the man’s dislike would keep Caspian away from him.
If he saw him, the shit was hitting the fan.
Chris continued.
“But I did fill out the Certificate of Death. Would you like to see her via film? I can give you that much to help you say goodbye.”
Slowly, he nodded.
And Raphael stared at the man.
What was this?
Was Chris crazy?
Elizabeth had told them all NOT to let Caspian see what had been done. This was the opposite. Was he trying to shove Caspian over the edge?
Truthfully, Caspian needed this to be able to say goodbye, and to see what Devon had done to her.
“Yes, please,” he whispered. “Did she suffer?”
Here’s where Chris protected the other victim in this. Caspian had lost someone he loved, and the family of a victim always needed compassion.
“No, she didn’t. It seems that your concern about her was perfectly timed. He didn’t get a chance to do anything to her. Elizabeth got there before that could happen.”
There was that audible sigh of relief that came from Caspian. In that moment, he was damaged, but not as badly as he could be.
Chris looked up and saw Raphael watching him.
He simply signaled by nodding.
“I would love to have given you time to say goodbye,” he said. “But tribal laws…she was found there. We don’t have jurisdiction even if we suspect it was part of our case.”
Oh, the lies continued.
Caspian found his words.
“How did she die?” he asked.
Because he’d never want anyone he loved to know that, Chris lied even more.
“I didn’t autopsy her, but if you like, I can give you my opinion since I’ve seen many deceased individuals.”
He nodded.
“It looks as if he tried to ambush her at her cabin. They fought, and your sweet Native woman held her own. Even in the end, she was tough, badass, and was a hero. She might have even injured him.”
He looked up.
“Really?” he asked.
Chris nodded and wiped the tears from his cheek with a tissue from the table.
“She probably kicked his ass. From what I was told of the scene, she didn’t go down easily. Elizabeth said she fought and could have overtaken him had she not died.”
He needed to know.
“Then how did she die?”
Chris sighed.