| |
WHEN THEY TURNED THE corner to approach the gate, the media swarmed and Steve sent a tired glance at CJ sitting next to him in the backseat. The afternoon had drained his strength and the flight home left him will little to no energy.
“You want to open the gate?” Cleary asked from the front seat, meeting Steve’s gaze in the mirror.
Steve nodded and sent the silent signal and the iron opened to a driveway full of red and blue lights. He yawned and wiped his face, shaking the exhaustion away. He had one more fix to take care of and then he could sleep for the next two weeks if he wanted.
“Can you close the gate,” he said to CJ when the car stopped, and CJ complied. He waited until the iron clicked closed before climbing out of the car. He steadied himself and scanned the array of cars, zeroing in on the one with an occupant in the backseat.
The flare of anger bloomed, giving him renewed energy and he navigated the maze until he reached the squad car. Even though he knew there wasn’t a reasonable explanation for the murders, he wanted to know why this bastard chose to ruin his stepdaughter’s life and he yanked the door open, leveling a glare at the banged-up man he sent careening through the wall a few hours ago.
“Why?” he asked, and the man chuckled.
CJ put his hand on Steve’s shoulder. “You won’t get an answer,” he said.
“What made you think you had the right to do what you wanted with that sweet girl?” Steve asked, ignoring CJ.
“I own her,” he growled and sent a smug smile in Steve’s direction. “I’ll always own her now that she has my mark carved into her back.”
Steve crouched down. “I fixed her. Your fucking carvings are gone, and her skin is as perfect and unbroken as my son’s.”
His smile faltered.
“You never owned Raven’s spirit,” he said and stood. “I understand the police found enough evidence in your shop to put you on death row.”
“Fuck you, Agent Williams,” the Windwalker snarled. “I’m filing a police brutality lawsuit against you.”
Steve laughed. “I’m not a cop anymore and as a private citizen, I have every right to defend my family against a crazy fuck like you. Besides, I was physically in Washington D.C. until about an hour ago.” He stood and closed the door on the Windwalker’s dropped jaw.
Inside the house was utter chaos until he cleared his throat. Heads swung in his direction and an eerie silence settled on the room. Jennifer was the first to move, the blanket dropping from her shoulders as she crossed the room and threw her arms around his neck, covering his face in frantic kisses.
Steve smiled and planted a welcome kiss on her lips before pulling away. “Save that for later when I have some energy.”
Jennifer smiled and turned her gaze to the couch where Raven and Tom sat, still looking shell shocked, their hands clasped together in a death grip that neither the police nor the EMTs could dislodge.
CJ stood behind Steve and he let out a low whistle when he got the full view of the room.
Steve turned, meeting his gaze. “Homicide scenes aren’t pretty,” he said, hearing CJ’s shocked response to the blood painted walls. “It’s going to take a lot of scrubbing to get this place back in shape.”
CJ nodded. “Thank god there are services for that,” he replied.
Steve turned back to the family room. Detective O’Keefe squatted in front of Tom for a moment and then he stood with the ankle tracker in his hand. He offered an apology to Tom along with his hand. Tom stared at it a minute before bringing his gaze to O’Keefe’s. After another moment, he accepted the offered hand with a nod.
O’Keefe turned, meeting Steve’s stare and he crossed the room, stopping in front of Steve.
“I don’t have any idea how you pulled this off...” he trailed off. He hung his head trying to formulate the words.
“It’s okay, you don’t need to apologize,” Steve said. “You were just doing your job.”
O’Keefe turned and surveyed the room. “They should have died. The amount of blood alone...” he started again and shook his head. “But neither of them have so much as a cut.”
Steve heard O’Keefe’s scrambled thoughts and smiled. “I can’t give you a logical explanation, Jim.”
“I just can’t grasp this,” he said waving at the room.
“Just chalk it up to a miracle and let it go,” Steve said.
O’Keefe met his gaze. “One of these days I’ll have to take you out for a beer and get the whole story,” he said.
“You’ll need something a whole lot stronger than beer.”
O’Keefe laughed and gave Steve a pat on the back before he left. It took another hour for the police and emergency personnel to leave and when they did, Steve crossed to the gate, facing the press.
“My family has had a pretty hard couple of weeks and I would appreciate it if you folks would pack up and go home.” It wasn’t said as a question, or even a request, but a command that they were compelled to follow. He scanned the press core, watching as they packed up their belongings and dispersed.
“Thank you,” Steve said and closed the gate.
“Why didn’t you do that at the beginning of the week?” CJ asked when he stepped through the door.
Steve shrugged. “It still isn’t right, but I’m damn tired and I just want the noise to stop so I can get a good night’s sleep,” he said and turned his attention to Tom and Raven, still sitting on the couch.
He gave CJ’s arm a squeeze. “Thanks for doing whatever you did today. I’m not sure they would have gone so easy on me without your father’s display and he would never have shown up without your bluff.”
“I wasn’t bluffing.”
He studied CJ for a moment. “Yes, it was, because when it comes right down to it, you are a great deal more like me than you realize. The safety of innocent people would have won out over your anger.”
He turned, crossing the room, and took a seat on the coffee table opposite Raven.
“They took photos, right?” he asked Tom and got a nod in return.
Raven kept her head lowered until Steve took her hand and then she met his gaze. Tears streaked her cheeks in a steady stream and a brush of anger crossed his skin. He closed his eyes, suffocating the urge to lash out at her stepfather. It wasn’t his place to enact justice or vengeance for all the pain the Windwalker caused, but it was Steve’s place to heal and he opened his eyes.
“This isn’t your fault,” he said and her chin quivered. He gave her hand a squeeze. “Your stepfather doesn’t own your spirit. You do.”
“He carved...” she started, and her voice hitched in her chest.
“I know, but I promise it won’t be there for much longer.” He traded a glance with Tom before meeting her gaze again. “I just need you to understand that being damaged doesn’t mean the same thing as being ruined. He may have abused your body, but only you have the power to let him crush your soul. It’s your choice.”
Her gaze hardened. “He never had the power to crush my soul.”
Steve nodded. “I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt,” he said, and leaned forward to plant a kiss on her forehead, sending a jolt of healing power to erase the hideous carvings from her skin. He prayed it would also erase the wounds in her soul.
Her gasp was followed by a whine of pain, her eyes clamped closed and her body went rigid. Tom pulled her into his arms, rocking her through the pain until she slumped in his grasp.
Steve met his gaze. “This isn’t going to be an easy road,” he said nodding toward Raven, “She has a lot of dark days ahead of her, but I guarantee if you stick with her, it will all be worth it in the end.”
Tom pressed his lips together and nodded, blinking a fresh set of tears from the corner of his eyes. Steve gave his knee a pat.
“Why don’t you take her upstairs and stay with her until she comes to.”
* * * *
TOM LOOKED DOWN AT her limp body snuggled in his arms. Sorrow, relief and a new hope blended, setting a mist over his eyes and he forced a smile, sending a nod in Steve’s direction, he stood and carried her up to the guest bedroom. He got her situated under the covers and ran his hand over the smooth skin of her stomach, marveling at Steve’s miracle.
His gaze drifted to her face and the peace in her expression; a vast difference from the pain carved into her features all day. He wiped the stray hairs out of her face and leaned over, pressing his lips to hers like a modern-day Prince Charming, expecting her eyes to open.
The chuckle from the doorway caught his attention and he snapped a glare toward CJ.
“It will take more than a kiss from you to wake her up,” he grinned, and Tom flipped the bird in his direction, stifling a smirk.
CJ’s smile faded as his gaze bounced from Tom to Raven and back.
“You really scared the shit out of me today,” CJ said in all seriousness and Tom sat up straight, seeing the first hint of tears in his brother’s eyes.
Tom covered Raven and shut off the light before he stepped into the hall and met CJ’s gaze. Instead of saying something sarcastic as he normally would, he gave CJ a hug, patting his back and pulling away.
“Have you seen the disaster that’s my room?” he signed and swung the door open. CJ joined him at the entry.
They stared at the blood covering the floor and the standing walls and then their gaze landed on the giant hole in the outside wall. Tom opened his mind, allowing CJ to access the last two days, from the near tag in the auditorium to the fear filling his soul at the sight of the bastard attacking Jennifer.
“She lived with that for the last few years?”
Tom nodded. Hell, I thought I was damaged. He let out a laugh.
“And Tanya?”
Tom shrugged, he had no idea what happened to her, last he knew, she followed the asshole when Steve blasted him from the room. Maybe she’s latched onto the Windwalker.
CJ chuckled, “I hope she haunts him until he drops dead.”
“Me too,” Tom signed and then met CJ’s gaze. What happened in court?
“Dad made an appearance,” CJ answered. “But only after I threatened to blow the courthouse and everyone inside to pieces.”
“Really?”
“Ah, man, it was epic. He came down with wings and all and laid down the facts. He also wrote a detailed letter explaining his position, and get this, the letter was dated the day after Emily died.”
The shock of that statement hit as pronounced as the ripple of an earthquake when standing over the epicenter. “He knew?”
“Tom, he knew everything. Every god damned thing.” CJ shook his head in awe. “Maybe he really was a fallen angel.” He took a deep breath and shrugged. “Anyway, to make a long story short, they threw all the charges out except one.”
Worry flared in Tom and he turned, meeting his brother’s gaze.
“Don’t worry, his sentence didn’t include jail time or fines, but he did lose his job because of what happened in Georgia. They said it was reckless and he should have never brought me down there, despite what I can do.”
“He’s no longer in the FBI?” Tom asked and closed his bedroom door.
“Nope,” CJ said and faced Tom. “So, where are you sleeping?”
Tom glanced toward the guest room. “With her,” he signed.
CJ grinned and poked Tom. “Yeah, right, like Jen and Steve would ever allow that.”
Tom glared at him. “I’m not going to screw around with her; I just want to be there when she wakes up.”
CJ’s smile faded, and his eyebrows arched. “Holy shit! You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”
Tom glanced toward the door and nodded. “She’s the one.”