“My son is here and his mother,” Jack said, his jaw clenched tight. “I can hardly take them up to Canada with me. Cabrini thinks Jonathan is his grandson. I don’t think he’d let them go. He constantly tries to convince Callie she should move back to New Jersey with him. He doesn’t like having to travel a few hours to see Jonathan. There’s no way he’d let her go any farther.”
“She’s not in Jersey anymore?” Steve looked curious. “I haven’t kept tabs on her since she wasn’t giving us any more info. Where is she now?”
Jack trusted Steve but too many things had happened to tell him everything. He already knew more than he should. Not that he couldn’t get information on her with the Bureau resources if he wanted to. “It doesn’t matter where she is. She’s not helping us with Cabrini. It’s far too dangerous for her, especially now that she has a son to think of and protect.”
Steve pursed his lips and Jack knew he needed to persuade the agent to help him. He needed to know what evidence they had on Cabrini and do some digging into who could be working for him. Reaching into his pocket, he scrolled through his phone, hoping he could get some sympathy help.
“This is Jonathan.” He kept his emotions in check when he gazed at the picture of his son. It wasn’t always easy. The feelings were so strong. “I hate that I can’t be with him. You’ve got two kids. Can you imagine if someone took them away and you couldn’t see them except a few times a year? And they could never acknowledge you existed.”
Steve’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the picture. “He looks just like you. How has Cabrini not noticed yet?”
“Angelo had dark hair and strong features too. I guess you see what you want to see. Plus it’s been over two years since he’s seen me. Maybe he’s forgotten what I look like.”
Steve snorted. “Not fucking likely. You killed his son. People like Victor Cabrini don’t forget things like that. All right, I’ll help you. But if you get made by any of the guys from the Bureau, don’t mention my name, got it.”
“Thanks, Steve, not a word. I don’t plan on getting caught though. How can you get me the info?”
Steve reached into his wallet and pulled out a card. “Give me time to collect the information without anyone else knowing. I’ll get you everything I can. Call me in the next week or so and we’ll set up a meeting. You can name the place.”
Steve looked up and tilted his chin. “That’s Gerry, my new partner. You better split. He’s a good guy and he’s curious about your situation. Asked if he could help. But maybe now isn’t the time to introduce you two.”
Jack shoved the card into his pocket and eased past the bushes with a muttered, “Thanks.”
* * * *
“You mean Jack slept here after the party?” Heather stared at her friend, her eyes wide, a grin splitting her face. “Was it as good as before?”
“Heather.” Callie glared at her. “I said hestayedhere, I didn’t say we slept together. He slept on the recliner.” It had been two weeks since Jonathan’s party and she kicked herself each night when she climbed into her lonely bed.
Heather frowned and her brows knitted together. “Why?”
“What do you mean, why?” Callie got up to refill her teacup, but mostly to keep her friend from seeing her pink cheeks.
“You’ve been in love with the man for years. You have a child together. He’s gorgeous and you haven’t had sex since Jonathan was conceived.Whydid he sleep on the recliner and not in your bed?”
Taking her time to stir sugar into her cup, she responded, “Actually, Jonathan was conceived about a month before Jack left. I hadn’t realized I was pregnant yet.”
“You’re evading the question, Callie.” Heather pinned her with an intense gaze. “Are you telling me the man had no interest in sleeping with you?”
Callie sat down still stirring her tea, hoping to avoid the conversation altogether. Why had she even mentioned this to her friend? Heather was tenacious when she wanted something, like information. It had come in handy in the past. But Callie had never lied to her. She’d been too important in her life for far too long.
Callie looked up. “Oh, I’m sure he had an interest, but he didn’t act on it.”
Heather sighed. “Honey, listen, you either need to get over him or do something to get Victor out of your life so Jack can come back in.”
“How in the world am I supposed to do that? Victor Cabrini has judges and senators in his pocket. Plus cops and FBI agents. He’d kill me in a second if he knew I was trying to get evidence on him. If he ever found out I ratted him and Angelo out to the cops before, I wouldn’t last very long. And then where would Jonathan be?”
Reaching over, Heather patted her hand. “I noticed you didn’t even consider the option of getting over Jack Holland.”
Callie looked at Heather, glaring at the mischievous twinkle in her eye. “You did that on purpose.”
“Yeah, I did. I needed to see how serious you were about Jack. I don’t expect you to go digging into Victor’s private files. Definitely too dangerous. Although if there’s ever anything you overhear when you’re visiting…”
“Oh, right, I’ll just cruise into FBI headquarters and let them know. I’d probably end up talking to the agent who works for Victor. That wouldn’t be signing my death certificate or anything.”
“Too bad you didn’t know any other FBI agent you could trust?”
Callie sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “If you’re talking about Jack, forget it. He doesn’t trust anyone in the agency anymore. They basically turned their backs on him. And he can hardly do something by himself while he’s on the run. It’s a hopeless situation.”
