part0090

T he two young women at reception seemed uncertain how to react when he flashed his badge. After a little gentle prodding from Savage, they were able to direct him toward a small room, isolated from the rest of the building by one-way glass, with a few tables, chairs, and a handful of vending machines. It actually looked like a teachers’ break room, but it seemed classes were over for the rest of the day, and as such, it was empty for the moment. He settled himself in his seat, made sure to look busy on his phone, and even enlisted Anja’s help to hold some official-sounding conversations.

After about a half-hour of waiting, movement from outside the room caught his attention. The coach guided Abby to one of the couches outside in the lobby. He couldn’t tell what was said, but he could guess from the way she had her chin jutted out like she dared the man to do something. It was what she always did when she knew she had done something wrong but wasn’t ready to admit it—a habit she had acquired from her mother, along with her freckles and fiery red hair.

A few minutes later, a blue Mercedes SUV pulled up outside and a face that had Savage already on edge stepped out. Andy looked like he’d come directly from work, although he couldn’t tell if that was how he dressed for business or if the suit and tie were merely his general look. The coach was outside to greet him. Devers looked angry at first and then confused as he looked inside. He had obviously been told there was a member of the police force waiting who had asked to talk to him.

A couple more words were exchanged that he couldn’t make out, but they looked like they had something to do with why this detective had come to his daughter’s school instead of to his place of business.

Stepdaughter, he reminded him mentally as he adjusted his clothes, and without thinking, brushed his hair quickly into place from when he’d ruffled it before. He needed to look good in front of the ex’s new man. It was simply something he needed to do.

Andy followed the coach inside and told Abby to sit when she stood as he needed to do something really quickly before they could leave. It looked like there might be some bribery involved—probably ice-cream—that kept her in her seat as he followed the coach into the waiting room where the operative was still seated.

“Brian Jackson,” Savage said and painted on his most charming smile as he removed his sunglasses and offered Andy his hand to shake. The lawyer’s face paled immediately and his eyes widened when he realized who he was about to shake hands with.

The coach noted the sudden shift in his face, but his expression clearly indicated that the tall, thick-set man had no desire to be caught in the middle of anything complicated. This was between the cop and the parent, and he didn’t want anything to do with it.

“Mr. Devers, I’m sorry I had to reach you through your daughter’s school, but after I share what I came here to say, I’m sure you’ll understand,” Savage said quickly and tightened his grip on Andy’s hand to convey a subtle warning. “Do you mind if we take a minute to talk? Alone?”

The last word was directed indirectly at the coach to encourage him to leave the room. He looked around a little helplessly. “I’ll make sure Abby has some water. She played her heart out in practice today.”

“Of course,” the lawyer said. He still looked more than a little stunned as the other man made his way out to check on the child who waited outside.

“Please, take a seat,” Savage insisted and pointed toward the chair opposite the one he had claimed for himself. His choice would allow him to keep an eye on his daughter.

Andy looked like he was in the process of working through shock, but he recovered quickly enough that he already had questions lined up when Savage took his seat across from him.

“H…how?” Devers asked and leaned forward in his seat. “How…the fuck are you here? You’re supposed to be dead. As a doornail. As in I went to your fucking funeral.”

“Reports of my death were greatly exaggerated,” he responded with a polite smile and offered his fake badge to Andy, who took it numbly and shook his head like he couldn’t believe what he was looking at.

“Don’t worry,” Anja said into his earpiece. “I’ve made sure none of the microphones or the cameras in the room are working.”

“What…what are you doing here? Are you here for Abby? Is this some kind of threat? Do you want to be with your daughter again?” He rambled a little as if the filter between his head and his mouth had suddenly gone missing. Openly anxious, he ran his fingers through his thick black hair.

“Don’t worry, Andy,” Savage said and tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. “I’m not here to stage any kind of…to take my family back. Abby doesn’t know I’m here. She can’t know I’m here.”

“I…don’t understand.” The man blinked slowly and looked like he still tried to decide whether his visitor was a ghost or not. “You’re supposed to be in a military graveyard in Maryland. I went to your funeral.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” the lawyer asked quickly, then paused when he remembered he’d been assured this wasn’t an attempt to reclaim his family. “I mean…how can you keep your death a secret? Jules still cares for you, obviously, and hell—Abby spent three or four months after your funeral saying you faked your death. How fucking ironic is that?”

“Who gets to decide that?” Andy snapped. “You? They were hurting for months after news of your death reached them. I remember that because I was here to make sure they both stayed in one piece.”

“The US government decided that.” He deliberately made his voice hard. “The biggest killer of them all decided it needed me to retire and faked my death to cover their asses. The last thing I want to do is hurt Jules and Abby by getting you all in their crosshairs, do you understand?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but are you really surprised that I don’t really give a shit about what happens to you?” Savage demanded, spurred on by a hint of annoyance. It was a lie, but it seemed plausible enough that he didn’t question it.

“Because I need help.” He leaned forward and propped his elbows on the table between them. “I can’t go into too many details about it, but the long and the short of it is that I’ve done covert work since my death, working undercover to eliminate some really shady motherfuckers. As it turns out, those shady motherfuckers realized who I am, put the pieces of my life before death together, and found out I have a family that might be used as leverage against me.”

“I know,” he said and raised his hands. “I know, this is all my fault. This is my business, and I have no right to endanger you three because of my actions, but the fact of the matter is that it happened. They are in danger because of me, and I’ll do everything I can to keep them safe, but…” He paused and closed his eyes, hating the fact that he was about to say this. “I need your help to make it right.”

His companion nodded cautiously. He appeared to understand what had been said, and despite everything, he appeared to believe him too. Savage really needed to give the man credit for taking it all in stride as easily as he was. He didn’t know what he would have done when faced with the specter of his fiancé’s dead ex who showed up and told him they were in danger because of him.

No…not fiancé anymore, he realized when he saw the wedding ring on the man’s finger. It still had a faint gleam, which told him it was relatively new to his finger.

“Oh, thanks.” Andy was momentarily distracted and ran his fingers over the ring. “We were engaged anyway, and it had been a while. We decided to go for it and elope. Just us, my parents, her parents, and Abby. She was the maid of honor and the ringbearer. I…have pictures, if you want.”

“That’s fair.” Andy chuckled. “Look… I don’t like this, Jerry. I don’t like you faking your death and then showing up less than a year later to say my family is in danger. But I can move past it. All I want is for them to be safe here. We’re building a life. I don’t want anything to come between Abby and everything she wants to accomplish, do you understand that?”

He nodded and ground his teeth at the man’s apparent insistence on describing them as his family. Of course, he wasn’t wrong to use it. They were his family, and if what he’d seen of the man’s finances was any indication, he had put more than enough time, effort, and money to earn the right to say it. But it still ground on his nerves.

“She’s really good,” he said finally and glanced quickly to where Abby still waited for them—no, for Andy, rather. “I managed to watch some of her practice today.”

Andy couldn’t help a small smile, a gesture that burned Savage to his very core. He wished he could hate the man, but there was genuine sentiment in his smile. It seemed to say that he knew Savage loved Abby too and would do anything to keep her safe.

He drew a deep breath and forced the distractions aside. “I’m still assessing the threat at the moment. I have a team focused on the people responsible, but since they’re on the other side of the country at the moment, I decided to look in on you guys myself. Just…take Abby home. Make sure Jules makes it home safe too. Keep an eye on them. Be paranoid about security—a little more paranoid than usual. I might call you from a blocked number, so greet me as a friend or a family member Jules won’t want to be involved with. You know the type. Stay alert and I’ll be in touch.”