24

Maxine pleaded with Ed on the phone to come out, but he refused. My heart pounded against my chest. I was worried about my mother and Jake, too.

Maxine turned to the police officer standing next to her. "He ended the call," she said. My heart sank. If Maxine couldn't talk reason into Ed, no one could.

Crash!

I flinched at the screeching noise.

Glass shattered in the distance and then two gunshots rang out. Maxine screamed next to me while the officers grabbed my arms and pulled me away. "Get back, get back."

We ran behind their cruisers and they drew out their guns, aiming straight for the small garage on the other side of the barn.

Jake!

My thoughts jumped from imagining Jake shot through the chest to my mother on the ground bleeding. I couldn't catch my breath as my heart hammered against my ribcage as though it would soon break through.

Please, God. Let them both be okay.

Jager shouted something to the officers, but I couldn't hear it over the whooshing in my ears. The world tilted on its axis while I waited for something—anything to happen. What might have been minutes felt like hours as we waited for Jake or Will to respond.

That was when I saw him.

He carried my mother in his arms like a dark warrior. Her fuchsia suit pressed against his black T-shirt.

I didn't hesitate. I ran toward them, my arms pumping at my sides as I crossed the gravel road and raced through the tall grass field.

Jake's face was covered in dirt and there was blood seeping from a cut on his arm, but he didn't stagger or flinch as he carried her.

"She's all right," he said when I reached them.

My chest heaved from the exertion and the stress. I wiped my hair from my face and turned to my mother. Half her face was buried in his chest, but her eyes were open.

"Mom, it's me. I'm here."

She nodded. "I'm glad, baby. I'm glad."

I exhaled. Hearing her voice released a flood of emotions in me that nearly made me stumble. "Whoa," Jake called, reaching for me with my mother still in his arms.

Jager came up behind us and took my mother from Jake. Upon seeing his arms free, I launched myself into them.

I slammed my body against him, wrapping my arms around his neck as he held me tightly. His strong arms held me and the world stopped spinning. "Thank you," I whispered. "Thank you."

He lifted me by the waist and I hooked my legs over his hips, raining kisses all along his face.

He grabbed my face and stared at me. "You came back," I said and smiled at this brave, stubborn man.

"I came back to you," he said with a grin. I knew what he was waiting for and I was ready to say it. "I love you Jacob Devereux; you infuriating, reckless, courageous man."

He laughed and I bent my head, pressing my lips to his. He kissed me back playfully at first, and then more fervently, as though all the fear and emotion we'd both held back came flooding through that kiss.

I loved this man. Although I'd been angry with him at first, I loved him now. I didn't know exactly when it happened. But I couldn't deny it any longer.

I felt warm and safe in Jake's arms as the wind whipped my hair back and forth between us. He set me down on the ground, but his mouth didn't stop kissing me. I giggled when he walked and kissed me, nearly carrying me backward toward the car.

"Devereux," a deep voice shouted and he turned.

"Good work, Jake," said the commissioner.

A pause. Jake's heart beat steadily against my ear. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate that."

Jake raised his arm and shook hands with Commissioner Rodriguez. The handshake lasted about a second or two longer than necessary, but it felt like an unspoken apology between them. I would have to ask Jake about that later.

Right then, I needed to find my mother.

Jager had brought her inside Jake's truck. She sat in the backseat with Maxine next to her, holding her hand. I wasn't sure if my mother would be angry with Maxine for the role she played in this, but for now, she hadn't taken her hand away.

I sat on the other side of my mom in the backseat, and she squeezed my knee. Covering my hand over hers, we stayed like that the whole ride back to her apartment.

"Will can walk you upstairs while I drive Maxine back home."

I nodded and kissed Jake on the cheek before helping Will guide my mother into the building's elevator.

When we entered her apartment, she kicked off her shoes and went straight to her bedroom. I followed hesitantly, unsure if she wanted to be alone.

She curled into the bed on her side and lay there quietly. I turned to let her sleep.

"Don't go," she called back in a soft voice. "Not yet."

My throat swelled, and I had difficulty swallowing the lump that had formed. I'd never seen my mother like this. She was always the one who took care of us. It was terrifying, but I got on the bed next to her, wrapped my arm over her shoulders, and stayed with her until she closed her eyes.

I closed mine too, but I didn't sleep. All the events of the day flickered through my mind. Different scenarios, different ways things could have gone wrong, and in each one I couldn't imagine going on without either my mother or Jake in my life. They'd both been a pain in my ass, and now I couldn't imagine my world without them.

I held my mother a little tighter.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," she whispered.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Mom," I said. "I should apologize for not taking this situation more seriously from the beginning. But I was stubborn and wanted to prove I didn't need my mother anymore."

"No. You were trying to be an adult. I haven't really allowed you to be your own person. I know that. It's just that in my mind, you'll always be my little girl. You and me against the world forever."

My body stiffened. I didn't want it to. It's just she started saying that after my father left and while the words were meant to be reassuring, they always made me feel empty or a little lost.

"What is it, sweetheart?" she asked, sitting up on the bed. I straightened beside her and she held my hand as we stared out the window.

"It's nothing," I said. Now wasn't the time to discuss my father. She'd been through so much. I shouldn't burden her with the past.

"You can talk to me. You really can. When I was tied up in that barn, despite the fog in my head, one thing was very clear: I wanted to build on our relationship. I want to communicate instead of lecture you. And maybe I can listen from time to time," she smiled weakly and patted my hand.

"That would be nice, Mom."

I imagined how different my life would be if I weren't arguing with my mother. If I didn't feel the need to push back all the time and listen instead. So much energy was lost in us arguing.

"Now, tell me what's bothering you," she said.

I tilted my head up and stared at the ceiling. My body started to panic whenever I thought about my dad and I didn't want to bring him up because I didn't want to hurt my mother, but I also knew bringing him up always made me cry.

"It's about dad," I said.

"Your father?" She sat up and turned to look at me. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"A lot, I think."

My mother shook her head next to me, but she settled back down, still holding my hand.

"Why did dad leave?"

"I've told you why many times."

"Yes, you said he couldn't handle being second to a successful woman."

"That's right."

"But I don't think that's the whole truth. Why did he leave me?"

My mother's hand trembled, and I squeezed it. My stomach twisted and turned, and I wanted to vomit. I was sure she felt just as sick as I did bringing up the past.

"Mom? Why did he never try to contact me after the divorce?"

"I've told you. He remarried and moved on with his life with his perfect new family." Her voice held the same contempt it always did when she spoke of him.

"Yes, that's what you've told me. You moved us to a new city and said that my father has a new family now and he doesn't love us anymore."

My mother stiffened beside me and I wanted to stop, but now that this dam was broken, I couldn't push the water back in. It came rushing out like a raging river. "Do you know how that sounds to a little girl? That her father doesn't love her anymore? That he loves his new family? I thought I was unworthy of love. I thought I was incapable of it. I've been so angry with him that I resented you. But you haven't been innocent, have you? In your need to hurt him, unintentionally or not, you hurt me, too."

My mother squeezed my hand, and a sob escaped from her lips, but she quickly covered it up. "I'm sorry, Mom," I said, pulling her into my arms. "I shouldn't have said that. We don't have to talk about this now."

My mother wiped her face with her free hand and shook her head. "We do. We do have to talk about this now because I want to get it out so we can move forward. I want to move forward with you, sweetheart, and this has come between us and I want to fix it."

I nodded and tears rolled down my cheeks. I buried my face in her shoulder. I'd wanted to ask her about this so many times, but I was too afraid to bring it up. Afraid that she would blame me, afraid that she would remind me that he had left and loved a new family and not us, afraid that she might not love me, either. I was afraid of being rejected, left in the dark, all alone.

Oh my god. That was why I had such a hard time forgiving Jake for driving away that night. It was a shitty thing he did, but it cut me deeper than I wanted to admit. And now I understand why.

"Did he ever try to contact me, Mom?"

She nodded and sniffed. "Yes. But I told him never to contact me again. That I never wanted to see him for as long as I lived."

I had suspected something like that, but my heart never wanted to believe it. But instead of feeling worse, I felt better. My father hadn't rejected me. He had tried to reach out.

My body stopped shivering, and I felt calmer now.

"I forgive you, Mom," I said and tears fell down my face in earnest now, even though I felt lighter in my soul.

My mother let out a painful sob, and she pulled me into her arms. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I never thought how rejecting him would hurt you. I thought we would be better off without him. But I know I did it for selfish reasons. I wanted to be rid of him. But you, you deserved a father."

The lump was still there in my throat, and I nodded, accepting her words and her apology. "I know." I clasped our hands together. "I understand. And I forgive you."

Because forgiving her felt like the first step in forgiving my father, too. I had been angry with him at first, then when I remembered the good times, I didn't want to be angry and so I blamed myself. But now that my mother had accepted the fault in her actions, I no longer blamed her. She had been hurt, and she reacted badly. I could understand that.

"Let's get some rest," I said. "We'll call Dad in the morning."

My mother stiffened beside me but quickly acquiesced. It was a big step for her, admitting she was wrong and allowing me to take control of the situation. It would go a long way in helping us heal. My heart knew it as well as my head as it beat steadily in my chest and the lump disappeared in my throat.

I closed my eyes and slept like a baby in my mother's bed.

***

A warm caress on my cheek filtered through my senses as I gently left the dream world for the real one. I blinked a few times, slowly absorbing the large man looming over my bed. Jake's somber face crystalized, and I smiled. "Good morning," I said with a croak.

He smiled. "It's more like, good afternoon."

I turned to the empty space beside me. "Where is my mother?"

"She showered and dressed a while ago. We all agreed it was best to let you sleep. But I couldn't help checking in on you. Did you sleep well? Have any bad nightmares?"

Remembering a pleasant dream of me playing cards with my father, I smiled. "No, actually. None at all."

"Good. Once you're dressed, there are a few things we need to discuss. Will and Christian are already out there with your mother. Join us whenever you're ready."

Jake sounded serious. His face lost all the good humor it had held when he had first awoken me. "I'll be out in a few minutes. I'm just going to take a quick shower."

Jake caressed my cheek one last time and then left. I pursed my lips as his gesture seemed strangely like a goodbye.

What had I missed while I'd been sleeping?

I showered quickly in my mother's ensuite and dressed in the clothes I'd worn earlier. I quickly blow-dried my hair and stepped out into the living room where my mother, Jake, and the other men were waiting.

"I'm sorry for keeping you," I said, walking up to Jake, who stood pacing near the dining room table.

"It's no problem. We were just tying up some loose ends, anyway."

"All right," I said, hesitantly. Then I sat down on the couch next to my mother. "What's this all about?"

Will checked something over Jager's shoulder on the computer and agreed to something he said. "Oh, nothing. Since we were all here, we thought it best to debrief on everything that happened and discuss next steps all together."

Feeling relieved that it wasn't anything more serious than that, and definitely not as serious as Jake's face had shown earlier, I settled more comfortably into the couch. "Sounds like a good plan," I said.

"Great. So, as Jager has just confirmed with police, Chapman was taken into custody and charged with several counts including kidnapping. He has a bail hearing tomorrow morning. Maxine is cooperating with the police, and since your mother has no objection, they will not be charging her in this case. Instead, she will be a witness for the prosecution."

I was a little surprised by this, but then again, maybe not. Maxine seemed genuinely remorseful.

"In an unexpected turn of events, Mr. Chapman has requested you as his defense attorney."

"What?!" I shouted incredulously.

"Yes," replied Will with a smirk. "We found it amusing as well. But he said he has heard that you're a great trial lawyer."

"You can tell Mr. Chapman that despite his compliments, I will not be representing him."

"I'll relay that to the police," said Jager. "Unless you want to tell him yourself?"

A shiver ran up my spine remembering the gunshots. "No. I don't ever wish to lay eyes on that man again."

"Fair enough," said Will. "Which brings us to our final discussion. Our services."

Jake's services were definitely a more pleasant topic. I smirked in Jake's direction, but he wasn't looking at me. He was staring straight ahead at Will with a blank expression.

"Now that Chapman is behind bars, and his uncle joining him there soon, we have no reason to believe there is any imminent threat to the governor or any members of her family. Ed Chapman's computer has been confiscated and from what our police sources tell us, he was the one sending the threatening emails. We also recognize him as the delivery man and I'm sure we'll find his fingerprints in Nikole's apartment."

Except for the part about Chapman's uncle, the rest I had concluded as well.

"So, we feel that our services are no longer needed for this case. As of today, Jake and Christian will be reassigned to new cases. It's been a pleasure serving you both, and we hope you are satisfied with our services."

"More than satisfied," I said and smiled.

"Yes," said my mother. "You gentleman did a wonderful job."

Christian grumbled something under his breath, and Will coughed. "Chris still isn't too happy with himself. But he'll get over it."

My mother stood from the couch and extended her hand. "Thank you, gentleman. For not only finding me, but risking your lives to save mine. I will be forever in your debt."

I stood up, too, and hugged Will and Jager. Christian was a little standoffish, but only slightly more than Jake. When I put my arms around him, he hesitated to hug me back, but only for a second. Then he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. He rubbed his cheek on top of my head and my anxiety melted away. I'd been worried there for a minute, but all felt right again. Everything was back to normal.

Crap.

"How much of this does my boss know?" I asked Jake.

"We filled him in. We managed to keep this from the press, but after Chapman's bail hearing tomorrow, I think everyone will know."

"I don't mind," said my mother. "I can spin this to my cause. I'm not worried."

I frowned. I didn't think my coworkers would feel the same about all the publicity, but it was a part of me, and I wouldn't be ashamed of it any longer.

"I think I'll go into the office this afternoon and speak with Marty and some of my colleagues. They should hear it from me first."

I grabbed my purse and kissed my mom on her cheek. "I'll call you later, Mom."

"Love you, sweetheart." She kissed me back.

As I walked toward the door and grabbed my coat, I turned and looked for Jake. He walked toward me, leaned over, and kissed my cheek. "I'll see you later," he said.

"Aren't you coming?" I asked.

He looked back at Will and Jager. "I've got to get on top of a few work things, but I'll call you later."

Oh.

This is what Will meant when he said they were being reassigned.

"All right. I'll speak to you later," I said.

He pulled me into his arms and squeezed tightly before letting me go.

It felt strange walking down the hallway on my own. I'd done it a thousand times before Jake had come into my life, but I couldn't believe how quickly I'd become accustomed to it, as though a part of me was missing without him there beside me.

I shook off the needy feeling and rehearsed what I would say to my boss, Marty. I had a lot of explaining to do and probably a little groveling, too.

But it was over. The whole ordeal was over.