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The streets were packed with cars and once we got through the gates it was nothing but wall-to-wall people. It seemed like everyone in the county had the same idea as us. We moved with the traffic, jostling back and forth as we made our way toward the Ferris wheel.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up just before my father moved in front of us and stopped us in our tracks. I barely noticed the people who bumped into me from behind.
My dad wore shorts and a T-shirt and his head was covered with a baseball cap. He looked like everyone else enjoying their evening out.
He smiledlike him showing up was an every day occurrence and he stuck his hands in his pockets. “I just wanted you to know I wish I could be at the wedding. It would be nice to walk you down the aisle.”
Jack tensed beside me and I felt him shift as he reached for his gunand handcuffs.
“You’re leaving?” I asked, wondering why I found the news so disappointing.
Jack made small movements and kept his gun down by his side so as not to cause panic around us. “I have to take you in, Malachi. Don’t make this harder than it has to be. Turn around and put your hands on the back of your head.”
My breath caught in my throat as Jackgave the order. My dad just smiled at Jack and didn’t make any move to do what he’d been asked. Then he looked back at me with a twinkle in his eye.
“I just wanted to say goodbye, honey. Andto tell you not to trust anyone. There’s more going on here than meets the eye. I’ll be back when I can. You two be good. And maybe think about giving me some grandchildren.”
“Don’t do this, Mal,” Jack warned.
I knew my father was a wanted man—a criminal—but I didn’t know how I’d feel if I had to watch the man I was going to marry arrest the man who had raised me. Fortunately, my father took the situation into his own hands.
My dad looked at Jack’s gun and raised a brow, daring Jack to use it. Then he winked at me and disappeared back into the crowd as if he’d never been standing there.
“Son of a bitch.” Jack put his gun away and started pushing through the crowd, trying to follow behind him, but it was no use. Malachi Graves was gone. Again.
I grabbed onto the back of Jack’s shirt so I didn’t lose him too, and we finally made it back to the entrance. My chest hurt and my palms were sweaty at the thought we might catch him.
“You know I have to take him in, right Jaye? I don’t have a choice in this,” Jack said. He ran a hand through his hair, obviously frustrated, and he kicked at an empty popcorn bucket on the ground.
I sighed and tried not to let my relief show that my dad had escaped.“I know. I just wish it didn’t have to be you.”
“Unfortunately, I’m the only one who knows he’s alive at the moment, so the task falls to me.Hurry and get to the car. Maybe we can get a road block set up before he slips through.”
I caught him by the arm before he could start moving. Panic had settled somewhere in my stomach and I wasn’t comfortable with the determination I was seeing on Jack’s face. “You can’t call this in, Jack. Not until we know the reasons why he had to fake his death. You told me how we handled this was my decision.”
“And I stand by that. But he stood right in front of me. He’s playing with us, wondering how far we’ll go to catch him. You can’t expect me to stand by why he does that.”
“Yes, I can.”
“Jesus, Jaye.” He kicked the popcorn bucket again and then started moving toward the car. I knew he wouldn’t betray my father. At least not yet.
I followed himback to the car, but I knew there was no point in searching for my father. We wouldn’t find him. It was impossible to find ghosts.
I stopped when we got to where the car had been, and it took me a minute to process the fact that it wasn’t there. An empty parking space was all that was left and there were no cars going in either direction on the street.
“Sometimes I really dislike your father,” Jack said, standing beside me with his hands on his hips as he looked at the empty space.
My lips twitched once before a terrible thought struck me. “Oh, my God. The boxes! That’s what he came back for all along. He wouldn’t be saying goodbye if he didn’t have them.”
“They’re locked in the safe inside the house, and up until a couple of hours ago Wolfe was there.” Jack got on his phone and asked for a patrolman to come pick us up.
“Do you really think that will matter?” I asked once he disconnected.
Jack started to say something and then stopped as he thought it through. “Shit. We need to get back to the house. But you’re probably right. I bet they’re long gone.”
We wasted precious minutes waiting to catch a ride, and we rode in tense silence all the way back to Bloody Mary. By the time the patrolman pulled into Jack’s driveway, I knew for sure we wouldn’t find the boxes in the safe. Jack’s car was parked in thegarage as if it had never been anywhere else.
Jackwaved the patrolman away and then pulled his weapon. We entered the house, and I followed behind Jack while we checked each room for signs of my father. The house was empty. I didn’t need to walk through it to know for sure.
