Chase headed toward me, shaking his head. “He’s asking for you.”
No shit.
With rain still coming down, I peered into her eyes. I had a choice to make. This one wasn’t as easy as I’d wanted to believe.
Yet there was only one choice.
“Stay here, baby. I’ll be right back.” I backed away, exhaling as I did. When I turned around, I took a deep breath and walked straight toward him.
Bloodied and ripped apart by a true predator, he held the same imploring look but for an entirely different reason.
“Take care of my brother for me. Will you? He doesn’t deserve to die for what he did.”
There was a line that had been crossed over a year ago, but up until now, doing so had never been personal. I’d felt a sense of urgency, same as the others, but I’d performed our missions based on friendship, trust, and the need for justice.
Now, all I could think about was how much the lines had been blurred. So much so, I couldn’t recognize myself any longer.
“I was wrong,” he added just before coughing up blood.
“What were you so wrong about?”
“You’re nothing like me. You’re a just man.”
“No. You weren’t wrong, Steven. Not at all.”
Pop!
I stood on the deck of my house staring out at the ocean. The dark stormy night had given way to a beautiful sunrise with the promise of a glorious day. Warm. A light breeze. Gently rolling waves.
Everything that someone would call paradise.
Yet I felt nothing inside. Nothing but a coldness that would take time to dissipate. I’d saved a life but in doing so, had taken another. Was I justified in doing so? Some might argue given I was no longer a man of the law that I had no place. That I should be arrested. There was no way of hiding what had happened with Steven or his mother. Hell, with Jameson either.
The city would soon be rocked by yet another scandal. I could take the heat. I honestly didn’t give a shit. I only cared for a single reason, the beautiful woman whose life I’d saved.
Alexia had been so quiet, huddled under a blanket all during the time the cops had remained on scene.
There’d been dozens of questions asked, but at the end of the interrogation, the police had left, satisfied justice had been done.
I half laughed as I stood studying the water. Sensing a presence, I was surprised when my old partner joined me on the deck.
“Carrie,” I said, and the tone brought a smile to her face.
“A very nice woman let me in. I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course. Just surprised to see you.”
“How is Alexia doing?”
Shrugging, I wasn’t certain how to answer because I honestly didn’t know. “As well as can be expected. She’s safe. She’s alive. She just found out her boss harbored a fugitive for years. She was almost killed with a machete after being kidnapped again by the same man who avoided being on death row because some people didn’t want to either admit a mistake or were following the mayor’s directions. But I’d say in all, she’s doing pretty well.”
She leaned against the railing, staring out at the ocean just like I’d been doing. Five seconds passed. Another ten.
“Not that I don’t enjoy your company, but did you drop by for a visit, or did you have something on your mind?”
She turned slightly, chuckling under her breath. “The other girl who was kidnapped is doing just fine. I thought you’d want to know. She was taken to the hospital for observation, but you saved her life along with Ms. Martino.”
“I’m glad and thank you. What else? I know that’s not it.”
