10. Cash

10

CASH

The moment I stepped off the plane in Kentucky, I knew I had a shadow. Rae was never one to stay behind when she smelled a story. I'd practically led her to the trough when I realized what was actually going on.

I stopped and turned around, staring right at her. "Are you coming?"

"How did you?—"

"Rae, I saw the look on your face when I left."

"Did you really think I'd let you go off on your own when your brother just practically committed suicide?"

"Did you think I was going to do something crazy?"

"No, but there was always the possibility you'd put Betty on the box."

We headed out to the rental I'd reserved and an hour later, we were pulling down the driveway of my parents' house. "I haven't been back here in years."

"Why?"

"Just never got around to it."

"Yeah, I'm not buying that."

"I'm sure you already know my whole life story. Why don't you tell me why I haven't been home."

"Well, that's pretty obvious. You went home for years to see your mom, but when she died, you stopped coming home. Your father was in the military and he was never around. This is the last place you saw Rafe before you went off to basic…It's not really that hard to figure out why you don't like it here."

"I had no idea I was so damn predictable."

"There's a difference between being predictable and easy to read." She shoved the door open and stepped out, heading toward the house.

"What are you doing?" I called out.

"Well, clearly, you came home because you realized Rafe left you something. And it must be pretty important because the moment you realized it, you left. Which means you need this information right away. So, I'm going inside to retrieve said information so we can save your brother's life and keep you from turning into some crazy psychopath like Fox."

"That's ridiculous. I would never sing show tunes," I said, slamming the door and marching up to the house.

"You've been to the theater with him multiple times. It's a given that if you go crazy, the first thing you'll do is sing a murderous number and dance with the man."

I grumbled as I marched up the steps. It didn't matter what happened. There was no way I would start singing show tunes. I pulled out my keys, pretty sure they still worked after all these years. As I slid the key in the lock, I was swarmed with memories of walking into this house every day for years. I pushed the door open and walked inside, smelling vanilla—the same scent my mom always had floating through the house.

It looked exactly the same as the last time I was here, except there was a thick coat of dust on nearly every surface. Our pictures were on the mantle over the fireplace and photos of every single person in our family lined the wall going upstairs. My dad had never changed the upholstery on the couch, so the plaid cushions remained.

"This is not at all what I thought I would find."

"It's just a house," I retorted.

"Yeah, but I expected guns and deer heads or something."

I ignored her comment and walked over to the mantle, staring at the American Flag in the glass triangular case. It was my grandfather's and my dad had kept it on the mantle since the day after Grandpa's funeral. Right beside it was the Medal of Honor I'd received on my last deployment. I never felt right having it, so I sent it home to my mother. I never expected her to display it, but she said it reminded her of all I sacrificed and that should be remembered.

I carefully took it down, thinking more about my mother than how I earned this.

"This is what you came home for?"

"Rafe mentioned it twice to me. In all the years I've known him, he only mentioned it once. He never cared about shit like this."

"So, why did he mention it?"

"He was trying to send you a message."

I spun, dropping the case to the ground and pulling my weapon at the sound of the deep voice. Though his hair was graying, I would recognize my father anywhere. Sighing, I lowered my weapon and bent over to pick up the case.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Well, it's still my house."

"It doesn't look like you've been here in years."

He glanced around, nodding slightly. "I come back every few months to check on the place."

"Why didn't you just sell it?"

"I couldn't let go of your mom." He finally met my eyes again and looked to Rae. "Who's this?"

"You already know who she is."

"Rae—"

"Dennon," my father said, cutting off Rae before she could finish. "My son only hires the best."

"Well, he hires some idiots. Dash, for one."

"Dash is not an idiot," I grumbled. "He's just as talented as you are."

"You only say that because you have to. God forbid you hurt his feelings." Rae walked forward, holding out her hand. "I have to say, you're nothing like I thought you would be."

"Old and decrepit?"

"No, better looking than Cash. Although I have to say, you could have done better with Rafe."

He smiled at that, but his smile slowly faded. "I assume you're here because Rafe finally told you."

"Told me what?"

"The real reason he's been going after The Syndicate."

I shook my head, releasing a huff of laughter. "Fuck, I knew there had to be something he was hiding from me."

He nodded to the case in my hands. "I'm assuming it's all in there."

"You know what it is?"

"You should read what he has to say."

"I should have heard it right from him," I seethed. "Why the fuck is it so hard for you two to just tell me what the hell is going on?"

"He didn't want to involve you. He knew it was dangerous. You know your brother always tried to protect you."

"You've got that the other way around."

"You always thought you were protecting him, but as you got older, Rafe was always doing whatever he could to keep you safe. It's always been that way."

"And he thought he could keep me safe by not telling me what he was really up to?"

My old man walked further into the room, rubbing the back of his neck. Whatever this was, I needed to know. I was tired of being kept in the dark. I'd dealt with that my whole life with him.

"Cash…what you're about to find out is bigger than you could ever imagine."

"So, you knew all along what Rafe was up to."

"Son, he was trying to protect you."

"Funny how you use the term son now."

Rae glanced between the two of us, her curiosity piqued. "So, you two don't actually speak."

"Not much over the last ten years," I muttered, running my hand over the back of my neck. "He's always been too busy for things like family."

"There were other matters to attend to."

"There was always something more important," I snapped.

My father tried to be there for us, but he was gone so much when I was a kid, coming and going as his job dictated. And then as we got older, it was like he felt we no longer needed him, so he didn't come around anymore.

"Look, there's something bigger going on here than what affects our family. I've been trying to convince Rafe for over two years to give up this obsession of his."

"Two years?" I couldn't believe my ears. "I've been trying to get ahold of you since I got out of the military and the most I got out of you was a voicemail promising to visit when you had time."

"There are things you don't know."

"There's always something I don't know," I argued. "I shouldn't be surprised that you kept in contact with Rafe."

"He's more like me," he said quietly. "You have all these lines you won't cross, but Rafe…"

"Yeah, he's your little puppet."

My dad stayed quiet.

I pulled off the back of the case that held my medal. "Well, let's figure out what Rafe had to say."

An envelope was attached to the back of the panel with my name on it. I stared at the writing for a second, preparing myself for whatever he left behind for me. I had a bad feeling about this, but delaying the inevitable wouldn't do a damn thing.

I tore the envelope open and unfolded the paper inside.

Cash,

It sucks you have to find out this way, but you know me well enough to know that I never apologize for anything I do. I know you've never understood my obsession with The Syndicate and I can't blame you for hating me for the years where it seemed I was working against you. There was always a bigger purpose. The reason I sent Johnny, Jack, and Jason to you wasn't because I needed you to look after them. It was because I knew you would need their help when the time came.

That time is now.

I know you'll want to do everything you can to help me because we're family. But you can't do that. There will be some hard decisions for you to make, and Jack will know best what I want. I need you to listen to him and do as he says.

For years, I've been systematically taking out The Syndicate, but it's not for the reasons you would assume. I couldn't give a rat's ass about their criminal activities. The Syndicate first crossed my desk when I was working for the bureau. It made for interesting reading material, but didn't pique my interest until I came across a grainy picture of a woman with Zavala in Europe. It was one of the few times he'd left his island, and that's the only reason I took interest in The Syndicate.

Her name is Isabelle. She married Zavala when she was only twenty and has been living on his island ever since. But she didn't marry him willingly. Isabelle was taken from her home thirteen years ago in the middle of the night after Zavala saw her at a restaurant and became obsessed with her. She brushed off his advances and refused to see him, but Zavala still pursued her.

That's when Zavala made his move. He stole her and took her to his island, refusing to let her leave. You know what stands between her and escape. Since I discovered she was there, I have studied Zavala, trying to figure out a way to free Isabelle. For two years, I studied the island and tried to find a way to free her. When it became clear that there was no way to get her off the island, I focused my efforts on taking down The Syndicate. As they grow weaker, so does Zavala. I have done everything in my power to force him off the island.

It's become clear to me that the only way to get her off the island is to find a way to get myself taken there. Zavala has a plane on the island. If I can get her to that plane, I can fly us off the island. It's not a perfect plan—or really a plan at all, but it's all I have.

Cash, Isabelle is our sister.

There's a lot you don't know about Dad. I only found out about Isabelle because I came across a job Dad was working. He was undercover and had a wife we never knew about. Isabelle was the product of that relationship. Though their marriage was never legal because of his marriage to Mom, Isabelle is still very much our sister. And she needs our help.

I know right now you're cursing me for not bringing this to you sooner, but if I had and explained my reasoning, you would have insisted on being the one to go to the island. At one time, I might have allowed you to do that, but you have a wife and kids. They love you and need you.

Libby can and will live without me. She's stronger than Eva and will eventually understand my choices. I'm asking you to take care of her. I know I don't have any right to ask this of you after all I've kept from you. I've wanted to tell you for years, but I couldn't until I found a way to get to her. And then you were so fucking happy with Eva that I didn't want to drag you any further into this mess.

Stay safe, brother. Protect the family and make sure Zavala never gets his hands on Isabelle again if I'm able to free her.

Guy

I crumpled the paper in my hands as anger surged through me. With a single look at my father, I knew he never wanted Rafe to take this on. "Why did you let him?"

"Your brother never let anyone tell him what to do."

"You should have gone after her yourself."

"I tried, but even with all my connections, Zavala is untouchable."

"You're fucking Shadow!" I shouted. "You topple governments. You take out arms dealers and crooked politicians. How the fuck is it that you've managed to screw this up so badly?"

"I know you're mad at me, but I've been working to get her back for years!" My father shouted, losing his temper. "Do you think it doesn't kill me to know that sick fuck has my little girl? He married her against her will. He—" My father spun away from me, bending over as he sucked in a breath.

For the first time in my life, I saw my father falling apart. He was always so strong—so unyielding to anyone. Nobody fought him because they knew they would lose, but this was one battle he couldn't win, and the reality of that was just sinking in.

"Her mother and I have been trying for years to get her back," he finally said with only a moderate level of calm. "We've gotten close a few times, but…the last time nearly killed her mother, and that's when I knew…"

"Knew what?" I snapped.

My father looked into my eyes, and the fear and sorrow I saw staring back at me nearly gutted me. "I loved your mother with all my heart, but…Claire…"

"That's her name? Claire?"

I wanted to be pissed. He'd cheated on my mom when she'd only stood by him through every deployment—every job where he left her for months. She was taking care of his kids while he was off playing house with another family.

Yet, as I stared at him, I saw how truly upset he was over what happened to not only his daughter, but what might have happened to Claire. It was hard to be so angry at him when I knew he was hurting. Besides, Mom was gone. Being mad on her behalf didn't do anything for either of us. Not when my sister was out there, needing for all of us to work together.

"Is she it?"

"What?"

"Claire—is she the only one? The only other family we have out there?"

His eyes dropped and hatred washed over me. "No. I never married the other woman, but that doesn't mean she didn't think it was more."

"And did you have kids with this other woman too?"

He nodded. "A son."

"Fucking hell," I hissed under my breath. What a clusterfuck. "Does he know about us?"

"Not in that sense."

I didn't understand his meaning, but before I could ask, Rae intervened.

"Well, if we're going to get Isabelle back, we're going to have to provide all the support we can to Rafe. Hoping to get to a plane isn't a very solid plan."

"No, it's not," I agreed. "As of right now, it looks like Zavala trusts Rafe. At least a little. We made sure Zavala took Rafe with him, and now Zavala is indebted to Rafe."

"If he doesn't kill him first," Rae muttered. "We don't know that he didn't shoot him as soon as they got on that plane."

"We need to find out where Raven was taken. If anyone can get us on that island, it's the fucker she's with."

My father turned to me. "I need to call Libby. She doesn't know."

"I can guarantee she does now," I retorted. "But call her anyway."