Shovel was never supposed to get this close.
All he was supposed to do was get to the front door. They were supposed to apprehend him…except Shovel had my other kids…the ones that were supposed to be in Galveston, eight fucking hours away.
So my partner had held off, and now the piece of shit had us all, with me helpless to do a goddamn thing about it.
This whole charade had been fucked.
I’d been undercover for years now.
It was never supposed to go on this long.
I wasn’t supposed to get married.
I wasn’t supposed to have kids.
And I sure as fuck wasn’t supposed to have another wife.
Yet, I did every single bit of it for my fuckin’ country…and look where I ended up.
Having four of the people I loved most in this world under the hands of a madman who couldn’t see past his own fuckin’ rage.
Thank God Rosenthal and the rest of my backup finally made it through the door, causing Shovel to freeze.
Because if he’d been even seconds later, I would’ve killed Shovel with my bare hands. Carved his heart out with only my fingernails.
“Freeze, put your hands up!” Rosenthal screamed.
Shovel smiled, and slowly lifted his hands up away from Sam’s belly.
My throat convulsed as I thought about how much worse this could’ve been.
What he could’ve done to my other kids had he not been hell bent on revenge.
“I’ll see you in hell,” Shovel said as Rosenthal and another officer put him into handcuffs.
“No you won’t, because there is no escaping to hell for you yet. You’re going to live a nice long life, in a maximum security prison with no chance of parole, and I’m going to make sure you fucking enjoy the fuck out of it,” I smiled.
Shovel glared as he saw that I was serious, and I stood, not sparing him another glance.
My family needed me.
But I knew one thing for sure.
I needed them…but there were still others in the club just like Shovel.
My job wasn’t done…but my time as a good, attentive father, was.
And I’d pay for that decision every day for the rest of my life.
***
“I’ve got every available resource, computer geek, and field agent on the lookout for Shovel. Trust me, he’ll be found, and when he is, I’ll give him to you,” Rosenthal explained.
I nodded and stood.
“Crotchet needs to keep off my case. You need to contain him – and keep him contained – and he needs to understand just what he’s dealing with here. Maybe it’s time you share those files with him,” I said softly.
Rosenthal’s eyes held mine and then he nodded once.
“Maybe you’re right. I’ll do that after you leave.”
I nodded and offered him my hand, which he took.
His grip was just as strong now as it was thirty years ago.
“Be careful,” he said.
I shrugged. “Got nothing left to lose, friend. Careful’s not in my repertoire.”
I’d lost everything thirty years ago…and even now with my kids half understanding what I’d had to do, it still wasn’t enough to undo thirty years of damage and probably never would be.
Chapter 7
Is that your flashlight or are you happy to see me? Oh, that’s really your flashlight? Bummer.
-Coffee Cup
Sawyer
“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” I said, plopping down in the seat across from Silas.
He winked.
“Was here first, girlie,” he mumbled, leaning back against the booth he was in and taking a sip of his beer.
He was right.
I’d seen him the moment I’d crossed the threshold.
“What are you doing all the way out here?” I asked softly.
We were nearly an hour away from our hometown, in a place called Longview.
I knew why I’d come here. I just didn’t know why he had.
“I think it’s a little delicate for your ears,” he chuckled, taking another drink of his beer.
My face flamed as I realized just why.
He was looking for a hookup.
At a bar that was not in his hometown.
Shit!
“Ahhh,” I said, stumbling over something to say and coming up empty.
He grinned, and my nipples started to harden.
“That’s why I’m here, too. Figured I had a better chance with a man that didn’t know my life story,” I murmured embarrassingly.
That, and I just wanted to feel something.
After a little bit of experimentation, I realized that alcohol just made me feel even worse about myself.
Made me relive the nightmares over and over until my drunkenness wore off.
This was the next logical step. Getting lost in someone’s body for a couple of hours.
I was pretty enough.
And my outfit was perfect.
Black five-inch heels. Short skirt. Low cut top.
It was the exact outfit that women wore when they wanted to pick up a man.
When he didn’t say anything, I took that as my cue to leave.
“Anyway…good luck,” I said stupidly.
Jesus, but the man didn’t need luck.
Every female eye in the room was aware of Silas.