CHAPTER TWENTY

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- NOW -

“THIS IS ALL off the record, of course,” Nathan said, and I couldn’t help but want to slap the pretentious look right off his face. Kellan stayed silent, his face set in an impermeable mask. Nathan eyed him consideringly for a moment before continuing, “We have reason to believe that Mario Mansten was being held in the house belonging to Antonio Rossi–“

“We already know all of this,” I interrupted, my temper rising, “and what’s beginning to really piss me off is wondering how long it is that you’ve known.”

Kellan reached across the small distance between our armchairs, slipping his hand into mine, and surprising the hell out of me in the process. He gave it a reassuring squeeze, and I took a deep breath, calming myself.

“He was removed from the property three nights ago. This displacement was witnessed by one of my officers,” Nathan told us. My hand tightened against Kellan’s. “I assure you, up until then, we were completely ignorant of Mario’s presence within the house.”

“How did he look? Was he okay?” I swallowed hard, all the weeks of waiting and wondering suddenly piling up in front of me. A keen sense of panic engulfed me at this news.

“He appeared a little worse for wear, but he was standing upright, walking himself,” Nathan said.

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Dad was alive. It was the news I’d been waiting weeks to hear. He’d been there maybe this whole time. He was alive. Or he had been three days ago.

God, I hoped that they were just moving him somewhere else. That he was still okay.

I couldn’t believe that we’d missed him by just three days. If only we’d broken into Antonio’s house sooner... he might have been with us now.

Relief and fear encompassed me in equal measures. I wanted to move. I wanted to jump up and down. I prayed that Dad was okay, wherever he was.

“Where did they take him? Where is he now?” I asked him, my knee bouncing up and down with each question. He had been alive just three days ago, but things could have easily changed since then.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to follow the vehicle,” Trace said, speaking for the first time.

“So you don’t know where he is,” Kellan said flatly, shaking his head. “Now that you know he is alive, what course of action do you plan on taking?”

“Mario’s whereabouts are, as of yet, unknown to us. But as soon as we have the relevant information, we will of course act upon it,” Nathan told us. Leaning forward, he placed both his hands on the desk. I eyed him distrustfully, his words sounding too empathetic coming from a man who’d been so detached just moments before.

“More eyes watching the warehouses would help us retrieve that information – which is where you come in,” Trace said, shifting in his armchair so he was facing us. “My men are kept too busy to really explore everything going on in the warehouses. They are also new recruits and are watched closely by others.”

“What do you want me to do?” Kellan asked for the second time, not looking pleased by all the talk around.

Trace leaned forward. “We have reason to believe that the LSG are in league with Cosa Nostra. There wasn’t sufficient evidence of this on the flash drive, nor is this common knowledge to lower folds of the LSG. But if we could get microphones into the warehouses, the information we could obtain would be invaluable in not only shutting down the LSG but Cosa Nostra too.”

“How on earth is Kellan supposed to do that if even your agents can’t?” I demanded to know. It seemed to me that Kellan would be risking an awful lot.

“It isn’t a case of capability, but legality,” Trace explained. “Our agents are well trained, but they cannot plant a microphone without a warrant.”

“Think about it. This could drag on for months, but if we can get a wire in there, we can dismantle the whole operation much sooner. There are too many missing pieces of information in the flash drive, there’s nothing concrete linking the LSG to Cosa Nostra. We want to shut them both down – for good,” Nathan said earnestly. “We can do that, and we can find out where Mario is.”

I looked at him in disgust. He’d only tackled that bit about Dad on at the end as an afterthought. He didn’t care about him. He was entirely focused on the big picture. He was a man on a mission. Nothing would stand in his way – least of all putting Kellan in harm’s way.

“We can stop this from ever happening again. From anyone ever having to go through what you have these past few weeks,” Nathan continued.

“I’ll do it,” Kellan said, just as I’d known he would. It wasn’t in his nature to back down from a dangerous, impossible situation.

* * *

I was quiet as we left the office.

“Kellan? April?” a surprised voice asked. I glanced up to see Max further down the hallway, just stepping out of the elevator. He was in uniform, a navy blue police jacket adding even more bulk to his already heavy build.

“Hey,” Kellan said, looking surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just about to ask you the same thing,” Max said, looking between the two of us. A bright smile remained on his face, turning slightly flirty as he glanced at me. Kellan stiffened beside me, a subtle tensing of his body. “I gotta keep it hush, but I wasn’t going to stand by and do nothing after I found out about what was going on, you know?”

“Yeah,” Kellan said. Max had taken it hard when he’d first found out about all the crooked cops on the force, but he seemed to have bounced back with a new sense of determination.

“Are you just coming back from seeing Uncle Nathan?” Max asked.

“Yeah, we’ve just seen him,” I said, working hard to keep my voice even. I thought I did a pretty good job of hiding how I felt, but there must have been something telling on my face.

“Listen,” he said, a small frown appearing between his brows, “this operation means a lot to Uncle Nathan. No matter what you think about him, he wants to bring the LSG down, which is for the good of everyone.”

But what concerned me the most was wondering what he willing to sacrifice to get there.

* * *

We met up with Phoenix at Pete’s Diner.

It was going back there, looking across the street at my old workplace and knowing that I was never going back there.

As we walked past a postbox on the sidewalk, I noticed Kellan take an envelope out of his pocket. “For my mom,” he explained, seeing the questioning look on my face.

I paused beside him, sure that my mouth was slightly ajar at his words. I was glad that he had his back to me as he deposited the envelope into the postbox. It gave me a second to compose myself.

“You’ve never mentioned your parents before,” I said hesitantly, never having dared broach the topic before. I knew that Kellan had been raised in foster care, but I hadn’t had any idea that he was in contact with his mother.

“Not much to say.” He shrugged. “I’ve never met my father. I have no memories of him. I lived with my mom until I was ten.”

“You did?” I said, having never heard any of this before. I’d guessed things from him telling me that he’d started school at ten. But up until then, I’d assumed he’d been in care at a much earlier age.

“I didn’t know you were with her for so long.”

“Long enough to almost fuck me up for life,” he said lightly, though his words were anything but. She’d really been that bad? I’d deduced as much from the fact that she’d kept him from school, but it was still heartbreaking to hear.

“Dad grew up in foster care, too,” I said, “though he never speaks about it.”

Kellan nodded. “It isn’t relevant to who he is. He built a great life for himself, despite his less than ideal start in life. I don’t think anyone else could have gotten through to me like he did when I was a teenager. I saw what a great person he was, what a great life he had, despite him starting out like me. It made me believe that I could achieve more in life for myself too.”

He gestured towards the diner, and I started to walk again.

“I’m glad. You should have always known that you could do anything you want,” I told him, curious as to why he would stay in contact with her after she’d done such a number on him. “Do you talk to her often?”

“Not really.” He shrugged. “Just send her cash every now and then.”

“You’re a good man, Kellan,” I said with honestly.

“I’m not.” He shook his head. “If I was, I’d do more than just send her a check. I’d go and see her like she’s been wanting me to for years.”

“Why don’t you?” I asked, knowing he’d have a good reason.

He paused before he spoke. “I think it’s easy for children – no matter how old they are – to forget sometimes that their parents are just human. At the end of the day, they make mistakes, the same as anybody else. Mario did the right thing – at least you have that now – but it’s when parents keep on making the same mistakes that you have to step back and keep your distance. My mother has been making the same mistakes all her life.”

“Still,” I said softly, “for you to help her out like this when you don’t even get along, despite everything she’s done... it says a lot about you, Kellan. Especially now while you’re not even working–“

“That’s temporary,” Kellan said stiffly. “In fact, I plan to go see Buck, my bondsman, to find out if he’s got any new cases for me.”

I opened and closed my mouth, realizing that somewhere along the line I’d managed to offend him. I shook my head.

Male pride... it was something to behold.

I walked into the diner first, hearing the familiar bell above the entrance ring as I opened the door. I saw Phoenix immediately, sitting at a booth in the corner. My mind flashed back to one of the last times I’d been here, when I’d had lunch with Axel. Things had been so much simpler back then, and I could remember feeling relaxed and happy as I teased my best friend. I wondered if I’d ever get that kind of lightness back. I wondered if I wanted it.

Kellan’s hand came to rest on the small of my back, and as I glanced at him, I realized I didn’t. Kellan had brightened the darkest times of my life considerably. What I’d learned, what I’d found, was too valuable.

I spotted Poppy, depositing some plates on a table, as we made our way to the booth. I hadn’t realized that seeing her would make me so happy. I’d grown accustomed to seeing her on a daily basis, and felt a pang of guilt over how relieved she looked to see me.

“April!” she exclaimed when she saw me. She hurried over, her blonde ponytail bobbing up and down as she enveloped me into a surprisingly strong hug for someone of her small stature. “Where’ve you been, girl? I haven’t seen you around in over a week.”

“I got fired,” I told her, figuring it was the simplest and easiest explanation.

“You got fired? Because of all that time you missed?” she asked indignantly. “You should sue them for wrongful termination!”

“That’s the least of my worries right now, Poppy,” I said, with a weary sigh. “I’ll find another job... eventually.”

“I guess,” she said, looking reluctant to drop the subject. The cook rang the bell to signal an order was up, and she hurried over to deliver it to a waiting table. “Take a seat. I’ll bring some menus over,” she called over her shoulder.

We made our way to Phoenix, who’d been staring out of the large, expansive windows with a pensive expression on his face. “Oh, you’re here,” he said, jumping slightly, as I slipped into the booth across from him.

Kellan sat down next to me, his leg brushing against mine and creating a delicious friction between my bare leg and his jeans. Our eyes met over the table, and he pressed his leg firmly, deliberately against my own.

“Here you go.” Poppy appeared, producing two menus. She paused, noticing Phoenix sitting with us. “Sorry, I’ll go grab another one.”

“Thanks,” Phoenix said quietly, the tips of his ears turning red. His eyes were wide as he stared at Poppy’s retreating form.

I glanced between the two of them thoughtfully.

The next half hour was... interesting. As we carried on with the meal, I noticed Phoenix becoming more and more quiet, his eyes occasionally darting towards wherever Poppy may have been in the diner at the time. I also noticed that she stopped by the table more times than normal.

“Is everything okay? If ya’ll need anything, don’t hesitate to ask,” Poppy said for the third time as she passed by. She was beaming nervously and looked a little disappointed when Phoenix didn’t say anything.

“Have you got any plans this weekend, Poppy?” I asked her suddenly, changing the direction of the conversation completely. Phoenix sat up a little straighter, his ears perking up.

“Not really.” She fidgeted, straightening her skirt and tightening her ponytail.

“Well, Phoenix–“ I started to say, pausing when Kellan kicked me under the table. I glanced up at him to see that he was regarding me with a half-amused, half-cautious expression.

“Here,” Poppy said when I hesitated, taking a small piece of paper out of the pocket of her work-belt. She slid it across the table towards a very pink-faced Phoenix, not even making eye contact with him. Her face was as flushed as Phoenix’s. “I thought... maybe call me?”

Phoenix nodded wordlessly, though there was a light in his eyes that hadn’t been there earlier.

I couldn’t believe that Poppy had been so forward. I was sure that she’d surprised even herself. In all the time I’d known her, and the number of idiots I’d seen hit on her, she’d never given anyone her number.

They were both smiling as she walked off.

I’d almost forgotten how easy it could be to embrace an attraction and do something about it. They made it look so simple. Then again, there wasn’t a mountain of history between them like there was with Kellan and me.

As we left the restaurant, Phoenix was practically bouncing on his feet. “She’s really pretty, don’t you think? She’s more than that. She’s beautiful,” he said, not waiting for an answer. I’d never seen him so animated. He looked down at the piece of paper clutched tightly in his hands. “When do you think I should call her?”

“Whenever you want, mate. No need to play games and wait. Call her,” Kellan said lightly, his arm brushing against mine as we walked side by side.

“Yeah, I will,” Phoenix said, carefully folding up the paper and putting it into his pocket. “I think I’ll call her as soon as I get back home.” He glanced at the watch on his wrist, pulling out his car keys.

“We’ll see you there,” I told him.

Kellan seemed introspective as we made our way back to where his car was parked. I didn’t mind. I was lost in my own thoughts.

What Kellan was planning to do for Nathan was dangerous. What would happen if he was to get caught planting a bug inside one of the warehouses?

“You’re really going to do it,” I said as we got into the car. “Plant the microphone for Nathan?”

“It’ll help take down the LSG. It might help us find Mario,” Kellan said. “How could I not?”

“I guess. But do you really think that they’ll share whatever information they retrieve with us?” I asked, skeptical.

Kellan looked at me, a wicked glint in his eyes as he started the engine. “I won’t need any information from them – not if I plant a bug of my own.”