Caleb and I began cleaning up the mess. As we worked, I brought up an issue that I knew we needed to deal with sooner rather than later.
“Caleb, I need to call Ronan to tell him about Jennings.”
Caleb stiffened. He was in the process of scraping some food from his plate into the garbage can. “Why?” he asked. “Jennings won’t help me.”
I hated that he even thought that there’d been a chance Jennings would have helped him. The man was a predator, just like Caleb’s father.
“He needs to be held accountable for what he did to you,” I began. Before Caleb could object, I said, “But going to the cops is too risky. If Jennings feels cornered, he might tell them it was you the morning of the shooting.”
“It’s over, Jace. It doesn’t matter anymore. Sending him to prison won’t undo what he did.”
I was tempted to bring up the fact that it was very likely that Caleb wasn’t the only kid Jennings had hurt, but that would only add to Caleb’s guilt and shame.
“We need to tell Ronan so we can try to figure out if Jennings is the one who put that hit out on you.”
Caleb set the plate in the sink. “You don’t think it was my dad?” he asked. He almost looked hopeful.
“Honestly, it could be both of them. We won’t know unless we do some digging. But I need Ronan’s help with that. He’s got resources that I don’t.”
“What will you do if you find out it’s one or both of them?” Caleb asked.
I dropped my eyes. “We’ll deal with that when we know for sure,” I said.
Caleb appeared in front of me and gently grabbed my face and forced me to look at him. “What will you do?”
I held his gaze. “We’ll make sure they can’t hurt you or anyone else ever again.”
Caleb settled on one of the benches that were on either side of the small table. “He’s my father, Jace,” he whispered.
I knelt in front of him and cupped his cheek. “Your safety, Eli’s… that will always come first. You understand that, right? That man isn’t your father anymore, Caleb. He stopped being that the moment he touched you and your brother.”
Caleb managed a nod. “Does that mean we’re going back to Seattle?”
“I think we have to. You’re due back there next week for the pre-trial hearing.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t tell the prosecutor about the letter. He’s going to be so mad.”
“No, he won’t. He’ll understand, Caleb. We all do. And people will believe you. Your father is desperate to keep you from talking. He’ll say anything at this point.”
And do anything.
But I kept that part to myself.
“Promise me things won’t change, Jace. Promise me that everything you said last night—”
“I promise, Caleb. I meant every word. I’m not going anywhere.”
He pushed into my arms. I stood, taking him with me. “I need to make the call,” I said.
“Okay.”
“Everything will be okay, Caleb. I know I said those words to you before—”
“I believe you.”
I relaxed and kissed him. I released him and went to my room to get my regular phone, since I wasn’t worried about hiding our location anymore. I returned to the kitchen and sat down. I watched Caleb moving around the kitchen as I waited for the phone to power on and find a signal. I couldn’t help but think how nice it wasjust to have him there, puttering around. I had no clue what was going to happen next in terms of our relationship, but I wasn’t having even a single doubt. I loved him more than I feared losing him. I’d just have to figure out how to keep him safe. I’d do better by him than I had Maggie.
My phone beeped in my hand, a surefire sign it had found a signal. Message after message began appearing on the screen. Most, not surprisingly, were from Mav. I sighed because I knew I had a lot of bridges to repair, starting with him. He wasn’t going to like that Caleb and I were together. He hadn’t said as much, but I knew he didn’t think I was good enough for the young man he considered a brother.
