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“Can I see this video?” I ask, thinking of my little text. “And why the hell am I the last one out?” I’ve just spotted Eli sitting in the back seat of a nearby car, the window down, his fingers drumming as he whistles. He’s forgotten about his tears. Poor Eli. Or maybe he’s lucky.
“Let’s do that in the car,” Liam says, turning. “The video, I mean.”
“Hey, wait a second.” I walk after Liam. “You’re hiding something.”
He pauses and tilts his head ever so slightly.
“If it’s about Sam, I want to know.” I have to know would be more accurate, but I can’t reveal too much about myself. Can I? Would Mom or Eli or this man judge me? “Please.”
Liam massages his forehead. “Sam has his reasons for doing what he does. I don’t always pretend to understand them. All I know is he’s a good man. The best man I’ve ever met. Loyal and fierce and a damn fine operator.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“You’ll have to ask him.”
I sit in the back seat, taking Mom’s phone when she offers it. Pushing myself against the window, I play the video, not letting myself feel the awful pain that Mom got a video while I got a text. That’s how I know this is real, that it even entered my head so soon after what I just saw. My dad’s killer has been taken down.
“Did Paul leave the police station?” I whisper, pausing the video.
Liam starts the car. “No, miss, he didn’t, and he won’t.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Watch the video, Katy,” Mom says softly.
I press play again. Sam is driving, and Jackal is visible in the frames’ background. Where the heck is he going? The city is receding, and the road is lengthening.
“Mrs. Jones,” he says, “I’ve sent you a photo of a man who will soon be with you. He’ll explain everything that’s happened. He’s going to take you to your daughter. I have it on good authority that Paul has already confessed.”
“Did you know what he’d confessed to?” I ask Mom, pausing the video.
“No. That part confused me, but Liam told me on the way here. He’s the man who killed my husband.”
“Yes, Mom.”
“And now he’s going to jail.”
“Yeah, I hope so.”
Eli hums from beside us, eyes closed, fingers drumming.
I resume the video. “But he may have associates. I’ve hired trustworthy people to explore this possibility. In the meantime, I want to ensure that you and your…” He stops and clears his throat. That familiar fire flares into his eyes. “Daughter are safe.” He swallows. “Please cooperate with Liam. I would also like you to arrange for Eli to see a doctor. If he needs care, I’ll provide it. Please don’t worry about the apartment or finances. Just try to relax, and please, take care of Katy.”
He grabs the phone. The video ends. Right at the end, when his hand moves toward the camera, I swear I see a tear in his eye. I back it up. I pause it. I can only see one-half of his face. His eye is gleaming, filled with passion and emotion, just like when he called me his.
“Why is he doing this, Liam?” Mom asks. “For me? For Eli? For Katy?”
“There are angels and devils in this world, Mrs. Jones. Sam has always liked to think of himself as a bit of both. Or maybe he’s had to think that way, to deal with… certain things.”
Like killing his own father… This has been a twisted day for fatherhood. I wish Sam were here so I could hold him, even if he didn’t want to talk. I’d just keep him close.
“But he’s an angel when you get right down to it. He could be ten times as wealthy if he agreed to work for the bad guys, but he never has. He never would.”
“So where’s he going, then?” I whisper.
Liam glances at me in the rearview, sighs, and focuses on the road.
“You’ll never tell me, will you?”
“No, miss,” Liam says, “and Sam would never tell either, not if I asked him. It’s how we’re wired.”
I give Mom her phone back, stare out the window, fold my arms, and think about Sam.
CHAPTER 24
Sam
But where are you?
I sit on the deck, the sun already set, the moon hanging like a blue coin in the clear lake water. A light breeze comes off the trees, through the forest, across from the direction of the city, almost like she’s calling to me somehow.
That’s more superstitious crap, but it’s who I am. It’s what she’s brought out in me—that scared kid wondering if he’d ever find his place.
I stare at the text sent earlier today. I’ve been staring at it ever since I arrived here. I’m not sure what I’m doing, but I know it’s selfish as hell. I should be at her side right now, holding and comforting her about what she learned.
