Page 20 of Nick

“No, nothing’s broken.” Alex nods and returns to his own drink. He looks more at ease than I’ve ever seen him. There was always a tension surrounding him, but it’s gone now. “You’ve changed.”

He smiles at me. “Dad is home full time now and only leaves a few days a month. He divorced Alicia, and my engagement is over, all thanks to Summer.”

Wow. I quirk an eyebrow for him to continue.

“She called my father and told him about the engagement, Alicia’s antics, and me trying to take responsibility for everything. He immediately flew home, and we had a long discussion. He served Alicia with divorce papers the next day and broke off the engagement with Reesa. Summer always insisted he would be more concerned about me than our family image, and she was correct. I will forever be grateful to her.”

Go Shortie. Speak of the devil. She walks out of the room and says hi, going straight for a mug of tea as my eyes track her movement.

“What time are you going to visit Jake and Ray?” Alex asks.

“I’m not sure. We still need to fix our house, which will be a lot of work,” she replies.

“What?” I ask. Fix her house?

“The men who came to kidnap me kinda went nuts when they couldn’t find me and tossed the place,” she shrugs.

“Fuckers,” I mutter.

“Everyone is welcome here as long as needed,” Alex adds as Troy and Zander enter the condo, freshly showered. Alex gets up to get coffee for them as they join us.

“Morning darling. Thanks, Alex,” Z says as he’s handed a coffee. “We need a plan for the day. Can we get the others out here?”

Troy and the lawyer are with me today, and Shortie and Seb will be together. I zone out of the rest of the details. My mind seems sluggish after the first sound sleep I’ve had in months.

Mr. MacLeod is waiting for us outside the station when we arrive. We’re escorted to the same room as yesterday, where Kinsley is waiting. I ask about Cash and his sister first. They’re both here in another room already. Cash is going through endless questions and information like I am.

Today comprises identifying more people and more statements. I’m not a patient person, so going back through all the evidence, including some from yesterday, is boring as fuck. Other than not telling them I killed Patrick, I’m open about everything else. Kinsley seems to think I should know more than I do, despite my telling him that the business was very compartmentalized and on a need to know basis.

He still seems suspicious of me not knowing who Fitzgerald was, I think. Mr. MacLeod reminds him that there is a reason the FBI couldn't bring them down and had no concrete evidence before now. Artur and Fitzgerald were smart business people, despite the field they worked in.

The FBI’s own internal investigations are complicating and slowing things down too. Instead of a large group of agents working on this, there's only a handful that Kinsley trusts. He does reveal that authorities arrested Deke last night along with several others of Patrick’s crew, and only Fitzgerald and one other survived the night of the kidnapping here.

I spend three more full days helping the FBI before I’m let go. Cash made a deal and won’t serve time as long as he testifies and stays away from hacking. He’ll be under FBI surveillance until the trials conclude. After the trial, he’s going to move back to his hometown in Illinois with his sister.

Chapter 15

It’s been a busy few months. I met Jake, and he seems like a nice guy. We get along well, and he's pretty outgoing. He started training with me in MMA to help his coordination. He's a hard worker and getting stronger every week. Watching him and Shortie is something else. You can't deny their connection. Jake fits right in with us, like Shortie did when she moved here.

We went camping again on Labor Day at a different campground near Savannah. This time it was peaceful, and Shortie bought a new tent for Seb and E.

I’m working full time at Finn and getting my GED. I spend as much time as I can studying with Jake since we’re the only two left in high school.

Shortie, Alex, and Bay started college here, while Seb's at Columbia and E's at the local culinary school. Everyone is living at home except Seb. We finally convinced Troy to take the primary bedroom back before Seb left for Columbia.

It wasn't much of an adjustment coming back into my old life. Despite the guys and Shortie in college, we still hang out all the time. Not much has changed except where they go during the day.

The trial is ongoing in Tennessee. It’s a federal trial spanning charges in both Tennessee and South Carolina. It’s a huge case for the bureau and will be a career making win for Kinsley. They are holding a closed trial, which means my and Cash’s testimony will be anonymous.

Despite locking up or killing all the players, Mr. MacLeod insisted we remain anonymous. Not a bad idea.

I spent several days in a room with Mr. MacLeod and a court official, answering questions from the prosecution and defense. I identified dozens of people and businesses, outlining their involvement and what, specifically, I witnessed.

It turns out that the Tuesday night clients were from several surrounding states outside of Tennessee and included business tycoons, a senator, a governor, and some very prominent wealthy families.

Cash had it much worse. He’s been stuck working closely with the FBI for months. He and Amy have remained in a long term hotel under FBI guard. I visited them once, about a month after I came home, to make sure they were being taken care of. Cash assured me they were fine, and I even got a small smile from Amy, although she didn’t speak to me. I hope the girl can get the help she needs when this is all over.

The FBI mess has been harder to follow since our contact, Eddy, chose to line his pockets instead of doing his job, but Troy heard his former friend and his boss are serving time in a federal prison.