Sean ran his facial recognition program in the background to identify the golfers Kane photographed with Vasquez while he analyzed the blind account information from Jesse’s phone. Locating it would be next to impossible … but not impossible. He might be able to trace it with a virus, if he could break the coding of the tracker program. It was possible, he thought, if he had Madison’s cooperation.
The alarm beeped once.
Sean glanced at his tablet, hit VIEW on the front camera. He’d heightened the settings so that if anyone stepped onto the property, he would know.
Jack. He wasn’t alone.
Madison was with him.
Shit.
Sean went to the door and took a deep breath. Why was Madison here? Jack wouldn’t have brought her without giving him a heads-up, would he? Why hadn’t he texted him when they landed?
Jack knocked and Sean opened the door. Sean didn’t say a word. He didn’t really trust himself right now.
They entered and Jack said, “We were on the same plane.”
Sean closed the door.
“You could have texted me,” Sean mumbled.
“Where is Jesse?” Madison demanded.
“Playing video games.” Sean motioned down the hall. “End of the hall to the right.”
He felt defeated. Lost. Madison hesitated, then brushed past him and strode down the hall.
Sean went to the kitchen. Jack followed and asked, “What have you learned?”
“I know how we were tracked. The parental tracking app on Jesse’s phone. Every time Madison—or someone with access to her phone,” he added pointedly, “checked Jesse’s location, the information was sent to a blind account. I tried to track that account but it’s fluid. I sent everything to Stockton, but it can only be tracked real-time.”
“Where’s Lucy?”
“Working.”
Jack frowned.
“She’s fine. She has a complicated case, she can’t step away. And what can she do here? Worry with me?” Sean looked out the window, but wasn’t looking at anything specific. “So you brought Madison here.”
“It was either bring her or she’d come here without me. I didn’t know she was on the plane until I saw her at the airport. I’m sorry I didn’t give you a heads-up, Sean. I should have.”
“This whole situation is fucked, Jack, and I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do.”
Sean was rarely at a loss, but since last night he didn’t know how to talk to Jesse or Madison or convince either of them that Jesse was safest here, with him.
And though Sean wanted Carson Spade to be guilty, it simply did not make any sense that Spade would go after Jesse. Even if just to scare him, or scare Sean. Was it to get them back into WITSEC?
If they go back to WITSEC, you’ll never see Jesse again. At best, once a year.
Is that what Carson wanted? Simply to hurt Sean? Sean wouldn’t put it past him.
Still, it didn’t make sense. There were less dangerous ways to get Jesse away from Sean.
Spade had been a criminal; he still was, as far as Sean was concerned. He did a lot of things that made no sense considering he had a wife who loved him and a stepson who used to admire him. For money? For power? Or because he hated Sean for helping take him down? For exposing him as a criminal to the people who loved and trusted him?
Sean knew that a guy could do the wrong thing for the right reason. Some people felt trapped and the only way out was to work for criminal organizations. Some people, like Michael Rodriguez, would be killed if they didn’t cooperate with drug cartels. Kids didn’t think they had a choice. People did a lesser evil to avoid a worse crime.
That wasn’t Carson Spade.
Spade was a lawyer and accountant. He came from a solid middle-class family, had an Ivy League education, and could have made a damn good living legally in any number of industries. He chose to work for the cartels. He didn’t work for them by mistake; he didn’t start working for a business and later learn that he was laundering money for drug dealers. He went in eyes open and willing.
That was why Sean would never trust him or believe that he would change.
Madison walked into the kitchen. “I’m taking Jesse back to Sacramento. He’s upstairs packing now.”
Sean turned, stunned. “No.”
“You have no say in this, Sean. You have no rights here. He was nearly killed last night on your watch.”
“Because of your husband!”
“I’m not listening to this. I trusted you, Sean. Against my better judgment, I trusted you with my son.”
“He’s my son, too.” Sean was hollow and torn apart inside. He didn’t know how to stop this from happening. He felt like his life was spiraling out of control and he’d never find his footing again.
“Not legally, Sean. I’ve talked to a lawyer. With your background there is no way a court will give you any rights if I contest it.”
“You promised me I could see him.”
“If Jesse wants to see you, you can visit him in Sacramento one weekend a month.”
“You lied to me for twelve years. You kept Jesse from me, lied to him, lied to everyone! I will fight you on this, Madison.”
Madison glanced at Jack and frowned. “We don’t need to have this conversation in front of your brother-in-law.”
“What? Think your perfect reputation is going to be in tatters?”
“You were a criminal hacker, Sean. You think you have friends in high places who have wiped your files? Think again. My father also has friends in high places, and when the court knows that you were once a hacker, that you have violated the law right and left, that you have a dangerous job, you’ll never see Jesse again.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You can’t deny that you went to Mexico last year and killed people in front of my son!”
“You hired me to find Jesse, and your husband brought him into that dangerous situation. I saved his life!”
“That will not matter, not to the court, especially when I told you not to go to Mexico. You defied me then and put Jesse in danger. I’m his mother. I raised him. I’ve tried here, I’ve really tried, but I can’t do this anymore. It’s tearing apart my family.”
“Did Carson put you up to this?”
“Do not talk to me about my husband. You have no idea how you’ve hurt me.”
“That’s rich, coming from you.”
Bandit ran into the kitchen and stood next to Sean. At least one living creature came to his defense.
“Just stop, Sean. Stop. I’m too tired and upset to have this conversation. Talk to my lawyer. We’re leaving.”
“It’s too dangerous. The men who ran Lucy and Jesse off the road, they tracked Jesse through your parental tracking app.”
“You have no proof of that.”
“I backtraced his phone and found out that every time you checked on Jesse’s location, the information was piggybacked to a blind account. I can prove it—give me your phone and I’ll show you how it worked.”
“You are a liar, Sean Rogan. I haven’t checked on Jesse’s location—that app was for finding his phone only, if he lost it. Or if, God forbid, he was missing.”
“You want to see the log? Of the twenty-six times your phone logged in to view Jesse’s location, including an hour before he was run off the road?” Sean wasn’t backing down, not on this. Not when his son’s life was in danger.
“You falsified it.” Her voice sounded strong, but cracked at the end.
“I sent the information to the FBI. They can verify it. Do you want to ask Carson? Do you think your husband is somehow a saint? He’s behind this, and I will prove it.”
“He’s a better man than you. We are leaving.”
“You can’t! Dammit, you’re in danger. Hell, Madison, I don’t care what happens to you. You’re blind when it comes to Carson. But you’re Jesse’s mother and he loves you, and that means something.”
She stood there fuming, her eyes wide. “I don’t give a shit about you, either. And you’re not Jesse’s father, not legally, and after this he’ll realize he can’t trust you or anything you say. I will destroy you, Sean.”
“You’re not leaving here—not without a marshal as an escort. Not without protection. Dammit, Madison! If it’s not Carson, then someone hacked your phone.”
“You’re paranoid.” She turned and started down the hall again. “Jesse! We’re going.”
Sean started after her and Jack stopped him. “You can’t, Sean. You can’t lay a hand on her.”
“I can’t let her leave! We don’t know what’s going on, and he’s safe here.” His whole life was crumbling around him. He couldn’t lose Jesse now, not when he’d just found him. His eyes burned, but he forced himself to get his emotions together. It wouldn’t do Jesse any good if Sean lost it with Madison.
“I’ll go with them,” Jack said. “I’ll protect Jesse with my life. You know that, right? You can’t make this situation worse. We’ll find a way to fix this, but right now you have to let them go.”
Sean didn’t want to, but Jack was right. Madison was Jesse’s mother. She had every legal right and Sean had none.
“I’ll call Jimenez and see if he knows anything. Tell him what’s going on. Have him send marshals to meet you in Sacramento and take custody of Madison and Jesse.”
“Keep me in the loop. Once we’re at the airport, we’ll be relatively safe, but I’ll sit with them on the plane, make sure they are handed over to the marshals.”
“Have Madison remove the battery on her phone. I’m keeping Jesse’s—it’s the only evidence I have that someone tracked him.”
“Talk to him before he leaves. Tell him—well, just tell him what he needs to hear.”
Sean had no idea what that was, but he couldn’t let his son leave without knowing that he will fight for him.
Madison stomped back into the kitchen. “Did he come in here? He’s not in his room or the game room.”
Sean pushed past her and ran down the hall. Jack ran upstairs. Sean searched every room, then went to his computer and brought up the security panel.
Jesse had disabled the security—with Sean’s passcode. The kid had watched him multiple times. Sean had given him his own code, but it wouldn’t have disabled the whole system. It was so he could go out back without setting off the alarm. But Sean’s code overrode everything.
He’d left fifteen minutes ago—while Sean and Madison were arguing in the kitchen.
Sean flipped through the cameras. Jesse had gone out the back door and through the side gate.
And then he was gone.
* * *
Jesse took some pride that he was able to slip out of Sean’s super-secure house without anyone knowing. Of course, it was because Sean had told him how the system worked and gave him a passcode, and Jesse memorized Sean’s because Sean used it so much. He’d once thought that Sean was paranoid about his system, but then he thought about the boys at St. Catherine’s and what they’d gone through. And that his stepfather had worked for some really bad people. And that the US Marshals had gone through all the ways those same bad people could find them if Jesse broke the rules.
But now that he was walking, he didn’t feel as great or proud of himself. He was sore from the accident, but he also felt sick that his mother had come to take him home.
He didn’t want to leave. He was angry with his dad for calling his mother in the first place, angry that he seemed set on sending him home … but then he’d heard Sean stand up to his mother. He couldn’t believe what his mother had said to Sean, especially since he knew that she was lying. She either lied to Jesse, or she lied to Sean. He didn’t know.
What did Sean really want? Did he want him here … or not?
Jesse felt like a spoiled brat, but he didn’t know what to do, and his mother hadn’t asked him if he wanted to go home. She told him they were going back to Sacramento. And that maybe he shouldn’t see Sean anymore.
“I don’t want to go back.” He didn’t want to leave San Antonio. He didn’t want to see Carson. He missed his mom, but right this minute he didn’t. Right now, he was so mad at her he wanted her to leave.
“It’s dangerous for you here! If anything happened to you—dear God, Jesse, you’re my entire life. You’re the only person I care about. I need you with me.”
“Then stay here. I have two more weeks with my dad. I don’t want to leave before I have to.”
“Aren’t you listening to me? It’s too dangerous for you here! Sean is wild. He’s never changed. He’s irresponsible and he and his brothers are reckless. Dangerous. They brought this on themselves, and you’re the one who’s paying for it.”
Jesse glared at her. “That sounds like something Carson would say.”
“Don’t call him that. He’s your father.”
“No. Sean is my father. I’m changing my name to Rogan.”
She looked like he’d hit her. He probably shouldn’t have said that when he was mad.
“Mom, please—don’t make me go. Stay here, sure. Okay? But I want my two weeks. Dad and I are going to see the Astros next weekend. I don’t want to miss that. And I’ve made friends, and I promised to teach this kid named Tito all the ins and outs of Destiny, and I don’t want to disappoint him. And—”
His mom started crying. He hated when she cried. “Jesse, please. I need you with me. At home. We’ll arrange another time for you to visit. Later, when the police figure out what’s going on. It’s Sean’s fault, sweetie. He probably didn’t mean for things to get out of control, he never does. He means well, but he’s irresponsible. He hasn’t changed since college, he’s never going to change. Please, honey, don’t argue with me, don’t make this any harder than it has to be, just pack your things and we’re leaving. I already have tickets for us.”
He’d told her he would pack. And he’d started to … but he felt trapped. He didn’t want to see Carson. He didn’t think that Carson had anything to do with the accident, but he really didn’t know. Sean was so certain …
Then he heard them fighting in the kitchen. He knew if he went with his mother she would never let him see his dad again. She hated Sean. Carson hated Sean. And Jesse was thirteen. He had no rights at all.
Yeah, leaving was a bratty thing to do. But how else could he get his point across? He was a kid. He couldn’t do anything without his mom allowing it. And his grandfather hated his dad, too. He had a lot of money and he would use it if Sean tried to fight for custody. That wasn’t fair to Sean, or to Lucy. Jesse knew how his grandfather operated. He would sue Sean and continue to sue him and the costs would pile up and there was no way Sean could afford the fight. Especially since he’d put so much of his money into a trust for Jesse. Jesse didn’t want it, but Sean told him it was his responsibility as a dad, and had he known about him from the beginning, this was the money he would have paid Madison anyway for child support.
“It doesn’t matter that Madison and her family have money. It’s the principle of the situation. I’m your father, I want to take care of you in every way I can.”
Jesse didn’t want to wait five years to have a relationship with his dad and Lucy. He didn’t want to never see his uncle Kane again, or Uncle Duke and his baby cousin Molly. He had a family here. His mom was his family, too … he didn’t want to leave her. But why did he have to make this choice? Why did his mom have to be stubborn about this?
His mother would change her mind only if they didn’t leave while she was angry. She allowed Jesse to spend part of the summer with Sean because she was so relieved they were out of WITSEC. She’d hated the program and felt trapped. But right now she would go back and Jesse would have no leverage, no way to convince her of anything. And Carson had influence over her. He was talking about moving to Hawaii! His mom loved the idea. To get away from everything that had gone wrong in their lives and start fresh. That’s what she’d said, to start fresh.
Jesse didn’t want to live in Hawaii. Sure, it was fun to visit and they had a house there and everything, but he didn’t want to live there. He’d be even farther away from his dad.
Carson just wanted to get them away from Sean and the Rogans.
Jesse had explored Sean’s neighborhood a lot over the last month. It was hot and sticky out in the middle of the day, but he’d brought water in his backpack. He drained a water bottle and realized fifteen minutes had passed. They’d probably know he was gone by now, and he really didn’t want to go back until he figured out what his options were.
But he wasn’t stupid. He needed a place to go and think.
He walked to the bus stop. The bus was just pulling up. The scrolling display read: DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO. RIVER WALK. GUADALUPE STREET. BIRCH & VINE.
That would get him within a mile of St. Catherine’s. He climbed in, put change in the box, and walked to the back. He sat and stared out the window.
Jesse didn’t know what to expect. He didn’t know what he expected to do or say. Maybe to just be with kids his own age who had it worse than him. Jeez, that sounded ridiculous. None of those boys had parents who cared about them, and he had two—two parents who hated each other, but loved him. If he knew where Lucy was, he’d go there—she always listened to him. Really listened. Sometimes he didn’t understand her advice, but she made him think, and she didn’t talk to him like he was immature or a little kid. She talked to him like an adult. He respected that.
Of course, he wasn’t acting like an adult now. He was acting like the immature little kid his mother thought he was.
Jesse wanted everything to go back to the way it was before Wednesday when he and Sean were followed. When his mother wasn’t worried, when he and Sean were having fun, when Jesse wasn’t scared that he would never see his dad again.
He closed his eyes and tried not to cry.