“WHY WAS he so obsessed with you in the first place?” Owen was stunning, but so were a lot of men. Lucas wasn’t some innocent. He knew that this sort of thing happened in life, even if it did sound like a movie script. Owen sat with his chin resting lightly on Mia’s head.
“Have you heard of Keith Romescu?”
“The mayor? Sure,” Lucas said.
Owen nodded. “I used my mother’s maiden name, Michaels, when I was modeling, but my real name is Owen Romescu.”
“Your dad’s the mayor of Fort Collins?” And he understood how Owen would never fit in with his dad’s openly right-wing lifestyle.
“I’m sure Damien intends to use that to his advantage at some point, and I was never reckless enough to tell him he was wasting his time. I’ve been dead to my parents a long time, so threatening to kill me won’t make any difference.” He pressed a kiss to Mia’s head. “And they would never acknowledge the child of a junkie, so Mia, as a possible grandchild, isn’t any sort of enticement.”
“But she’s okay now?” Lucas blurted out the next thing that occurred to him.
“She seems to be. Every checkup is normal, even if her weight remains on the lowest percentile for her age. Of course, there could be emotional or behavioral issues as she gets older.” Owen shrugged. “The last pediatrician I took her to told me to enjoy her and stop looking for problems.”
Lucas relaxed. “I was a complete basket case when Tory got pregnant, all through her pregnancy, and every second after.” He tilted his head, trying to explain. “I think cops, doctors, first responders of any sort are the same. We always think the worst can happen because we’ve often seen it.” And he had.
He glanced over at the clock. “I think I ought to stop off at Jacko’s and give him his shopping, maybe take him for a beer.” He paused. “That sounds awful, but what I mean is that I need to get Jacko alone, and Christine won’t think anything of the two of us going out for a brew.” He chuckled. “Come Thursday, she’ll probably be calling me and begging me to take him out.”
“Why?” Owen smiled.
“Because every time he gets four or five days off, he decides to start a project and practically turns the house upside down while doing it.”
“Why is that so bad? He’s getting things done, right?”
“Oh, he gets nothing done.” Lucas grinned. “He starts it, gets stuck, and doesn’t finish it until some of us guys get invited around for a poker game or a barbeque. Then he suckers us into finishing the job.”
“Don’t the Amish call that a barn raising?” Owen was grinning back.
Lucas scrubbed his chin. He hadn’t had a shave yet, and it annoyed him. “Yep, I guess.” He stood up. “Why don’t you lay her down and try to get some sleep?”
Owen nodded, and then they both froze at the knock on the back door. Before either of them could react, the kitchen door opened and Jacko stepped in. “I was just going for the Jeep and I thought—”
His words cut off as he took in Owen and Mia. He froze in complete shock, then looked at Lucas. “Oh hell, man. What did you do?”
Lucas swallowed, taking in the horror-struck expression on Owen’s face and the appalled one on Jacko’s. Without waiting for an answer, Jacko stamped his boots and then walked over to the coffeepot. “New dog?” he asked, glancing back at where Bailey was curled up at Owen’s feet.
“It’s Larry Jacobson’s from the end house. He died in his sleep last night, and I’d promised him I would find the dog a home.” Lucas grabbed on to the subject with both hands while he decided what he should really be saying.
“Lucas found me in the park last night,” Owen said, saving Lucas the bother. “He let us stay while I figure things out.”
“They’re in danger,” Lucas added. “So you need to go and not be seen here.”
Jacko squinted at him while he filled a mug. “And you’re a superhero, of course.”
Lucas stood, walked over to Jacko, and put a hand on his shoulder. “This is different, buddy. This is about keeping your family safe.”
Jacko gazed at him, the unspoken “but you’re my family” in his eyes. “Convince me all that smoke hasn’t addled your brain.”
Lucas bristled internally. He had no choice. What did Jacko expect him to do? He forcibly put a brake on all his protestations. Jacko was just looking out for him. He glanced over at Owen and dropped his arm. Something flickered in Owen’s eyes, but Lucas couldn’t put a name to it. Owen stood with a still-sleeping Mia. “I’m going to take her upstairs.” Lucas turned and put his mug down on the counter.
“I’m going with Jacko to get his Jeep. I’ll lock the door. Don’t open it to anyone,” he instructed. Owen just shot him a woeful look and cuddled Mia closer.
“Go on.” Lucas gestured to the dog. “You’re on guard duty until I get back.” Bailey immediately got up as if he understood every word and padded out after Owen.
“Buddy, Lucas, he has to go.”
Lucas bit off a justification. He knew Jacko was concerned. “I was actually coming over to talk to you about what to do.”
“You mean, apart from dialing 911?” Jacko said incredulously.
“Don’t be naive,” Lucas snapped. Then seeing Jacko’s shocked expression, he regretted it immediately. “I’m sorry. I know you’re just looking out for me, but he was compromised. It’s likely someone in the Marshals Service is involved and setting him up. He doesn’t know who to trust.”
Jacko shook his head, but he smiled ruefully. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to bring your work home?”
Lucas chuckled in relief, pulled on his jacket, and pushed his feet into some boots he had by the door. Jacko drained his coffee, picked up his bags from the store, and walked out. Lucas grabbed his keys and took a step after Jacko, and then the expression in Owen’s eyes came back to him. A small shiver of something ran down his spine. He paused. “Jacko, I’ll be there in a minute,” he called, then turned around, closed the kitchen door, and took the stairs two at a time. Without knocking, he strode into the bedroom Owen was in. He took in the startled expression on Owen’s face as he turned around at the noise of the door opening, and the half-packed bag he had just thrown some things into. Mia was asleep on the bed, and Bailey was curled up next to her.
Owen was going to run.
Lucas leaned back against the wall and shoved his hands into his pockets, because his first instinct had been to reach out. “I won’t stop you if that’s what you really need to do. Just please promise me you’re doing it for the right reasons.”
Owen had frozen for the space of a few seconds, but he tossed a pile of diapers onto the bed. “What if my idea of a good reason and your idea aren’t the same thing?”
Lucas searched Owen’s face. “You think you need to leave because you are putting other people in danger.” Owen’s slight flush on his normally pale cheeks told Lucas he was right.
“You heard what Jacko said.”
Lucas pushed away from the wall and closed the distance between them. “I’m an adult, Owen. I can look after myself.”
“So am I,” Owen snapped out angrily.
“No one is saying you can’t.” He glanced at Mia pointedly. “You are only in this position because of her. Because you took responsibility for something that wasn’t your fault—”
“It was—”
“No,” Lucas interrupted and closed the remaining gap between them, sliding his hands onto Owen’s arms. “It was Damien’s fault and his alone.”
Owen looked up, the couple of inches difference in height making it necessary, but he didn’t try to pull away. Their eyes met. Lucas felt the softness of Owen’s exhale on his skin. “But don’t we all take responsibility for things that sometimes aren’t ours to shoulder?”
Lucas heard the irony in the question and acknowledged it. He nodded slowly, all the while breathing in the man he was almost holding in his arms. It wouldn’t take much.
The sound of an impatient car horn from below broke the spell, and Lucas let his arms fall. Owen took a step back but kept his eyes on Lucas. “I promise to stay until you get back, at the very least.”
Lucas smiled. It was something. “I’ll be as quick as I can.” He turned reluctantly and headed downstairs and back outside, then locked the door and got into Jacko’s compact.
“Sorry, but I don’t have much time before I have an airport pickup.” Jacko looked apologetic. “If you could drive this back to my place when we’ve got the Jeep, I’ll drop you off.”
“I didn’t want you involved—especially at the moment—but I’m out of ideas.”
Jacko glanced at him as they pulled out onto Main Street. “Why don’t you start at the beginning?” He laughed shortly. “And if you use the same poker face you did this morning, giving me all that BS about buying baby food, at our weekly game you’ll be rolling in cash.”
“You don’t need another reason to give me all your money,” Lucas joked, because Jacko’s enthusiasm certainly outstripped his skill.
By the time they had gotten the Jeep, delivered the compact to Jacko’s, and were on their way back to Lucas’s place, Lucas had told Jacko a condensed version of the story, and Jacko was stunned. “My uncle G is flying home from vacation today, but I can try and call him between connections. He lands this evening, and I said I would collect him, but I’ll try and get ahold of him before that.”
Lucas nodded. He liked Jacko’s uncle. He was a vice cop and might just be who they needed to help Owen.
Jacko cautioned Lucas to be careful, to keep Owen and Mia inside and not risk them being seen. He also asked if anyone knew they were there, and Lucas said no. He discounted Helena.
Lucas wasn’t thrilled about involving anyone he didn’t know, but he trusted Jacko and Jacko trusted his uncle, so it seemed the best way to go. To be honest, it seemed the only way he could go. He was fresh out of ideas. He couldn’t involve the locals in this, and Owen wasn’t comfortable with the Marshals, so trusting Jacko’s uncle seemed the best of all the bad options.
Then to break the tension, they chatted briefly about the firehouse and who they might get to replace Karen. Jacko would be leaving as well in the new year—he’d applied to go into arson investigation. It was a good career move and definitely offered more money. Christine also liked the idea of him not being away for days on end when it was wildfire season.
He was someone else who was moving on when Lucas seemed to be going around in circles.
Jacko dropped him off, and Bailey met him at the kitchen door. He took the dog out onto the patch of grass across the road, promising him a better walk later, and then went into the kitchen.
And inhaled.
Damn, the house smelled wonderful. Owen walked into the kitchen from the hall. He was holding Mia, who leaned over so quickly to get to the dog, Owen had to grab her. He chuckled and put her on the floor. Bailey immediately came up to her and lay down.
Lucas inhaled again and glanced at the oven. “That smells fantastic.”
Owen flushed, and Lucas gazed at him for a second. He looked better and had some color in his cheeks. It suited him. Lucas quickly dragged his gaze away.
“I didn’t ever cook much, but we had a housekeeper that used a lot of old family recipes. This was easy, so I remembered it. You pretty much had everything.”
Lucas didn’t think he had anything that would be vegetarian and smell that good, but he managed not to say that out loud. He didn’t want to sound like some sort of caveman. But he was starving. “How long?” he asked hopefully.
“Ten minutes,” Owen answered.
Lucas washed his hands and opened the bottom cupboard. “Water obviously, but I have beer.” He reached in and pulled out a bottle of wine he liked. He looked at Owen. “Or I could open a bottle of Cab.”
Owen snorted. “This isn’t a date.”
Lucas turned back around to the cupboard so fast, he nearly got whiplash. There was a silence that hung over the kitchen. Lucas took his time straightening up and finally turned around. Owen stood frozen, as if he couldn’t believe he had said that.
“B-bee,” Mia squealed, and Owen hurried to rescue Bailey, who was in danger of having his ear pulled off. Not that the dog seemed to mind. But it gave them the distraction he needed.
A date. A date with Owen. And then as the kitchen grew quiet, he remembered a time when he’d been at home, more years ago than he cared to think about, trying to patch up his best friend Niall’s split lip before either of their moms saw. Not that his mother would have minded—she would have insisted on seeing to it herself—but she might have mentioned it to Niall’s mom. And they both knew it would be bad if his dad found out.
“Next time Rachel and her crew corner you, tell them you’re gonna get me.”
Niall scoffed. “Like you’d hit a girl.”
“She’s not a girl. She’s a bitch.”
Niall hissed as Lucas liberally dabbed antiseptic on the cut.
“Then say something else.”
“Like what?” Niall moaned. “They never touch me if anyone else is there.”
“Then we’ll have to make sure I’m always there,” Lucas promised, but Niall caught his wrist and shook his head.
“You can’t always be there, Lucky.”
Lucky. Niall was the only one of his friends who ever called Lucas that. He used to get a funny feeling in his chest every time he heard it. It was special. Niall looked at the alarm clock next to Lucas’s bed. “I have to go.”
“Why don’t you say I hit you?” Lucas suggested. Niall’s dad wouldn’t care about that. But he’d sure hate the thought of Niall being hit by a girl.
“Because everyone would know I was lying,” Niall said softly. “You don’t hit anyone, and you’d never hit me.”
“You could say we were practicing boxing or something,” Lucas offered.
“Then you’d get into trouble from your dad,” Niall added.
“I don’t care,” Lucas said. And he didn’t.
Niall laughed and flung his arms around him, and Lucas stood there in shock. And just as Niall realized what he was doing and went to step back, Lucas tightened his arms around his friend. They stood there another few seconds before Niall said he had to go home or he’d be late for dinner and that was never a good idea.
But Niall had still done something to make his father angry, and he’d missed school for a few days.
Three years later, Niall had gotten hit again… by his dad. That time the blow had been too hard, and Lucas hadn’t been there to save him.
It seemed like he was always too late to save somebody.
“Sit down,” Owen said gently, and Lucas blinked. Owen had sat Mia in the highchair Jacko had pressed on him before he dropped him off back home, insisting it was only gathering dust in their garage. He had given him a ton of other things he said they were storing for his sister-in-law, who would never notice the things were gone.
Jacko had said that wryly, and Lucas felt like shit. Jacko had always been there for him. But when his friend had mentioned how upset Christine was that her sisters were getting pregnant so easily and they’d been trying for what seemed like forever, he’d never pressed for more. He remembered Jacko excitedly telling him about some sort of fertility treatment, but Lucas had let the words wash over him.
He avoided talking about kids… which made him a selfish bastard and a crap friend. He could do better, was better, and he needed to stop having his own pity party and start thinking about others.
He pulled out a chair across from Owen and helped himself to the cheesy goodness in the dish in front of him. “Are you sure you found all this in my kitchen?” he joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
Owen grinned and put a little of the casserole on a small plate for Mia, then pushed it to one side to cool. “It’s just vegetable lasagna.” He paused. “And I’d love a glass of wine, if the offer’s still open.”
Lucas met Owen’s eyes, and something passed between them. An apology almost. He let his eyes rove over Owen, feeling like he had been given permission to look. “I like your hair darker,” he said absentmindedly.
Owen looked surprised, but then he smiled a little. “I had it white-blond for modeling, and Damien encouraged me to keep it that way.”
“So this color is another fuck you?” Lucas chuckled.
Owen’s smile widened, and he accepted the glass from Lucas. “It’s also circumstances, but yeah, I guess.”
Lucas hummed in appreciation at the food as he tried not to shovel it in with indecent haste.
“What did Jacko say?” Owen asked, checking the soft veggies were cool enough before moving the plate over to Mia.
“He’ll talk to his uncle. He thinks he might know someone he can trust in the CBI.”
Owen looked up, the question in his eyes.
“Colorado Bureau of Investigations. They investigate major crimes and have a lot of resources that the locals don’t have.” Lucas reached across the table and clasped Owen’s trembling hand. “We had to tell someone.”
Owen glanced down, and Lucas followed his gaze to where his hand was completely covering Owen’s. Lucas snatched it away as if he’d been scalded and picked up his fork. Why the fuck did he keep touching Owen?
Mia let out a peal of laughter, and Owen rolled his eyes. Mia had dropped a piece of half-eaten carrot on Bailey’s nose, and the dog was trying to lick it off. Lucas grinned.
“You’re supposed to eat your own veggies, Mia,” Owen admonished and surreptitiously added a lump of cheese to the carrot that disappeared down the dog’s throat. Bailey sighed and lay down immediately next to the little girl’s chair. Mia banged her spoon on the table and promptly threw some zucchini at the dog, which landed on his back. Lucas inhaled quickly and looked away, trying not to laugh.
“B-bee,” Mia cried and threw another piece of carrot, which Bailey caught and swallowed. Mia howled in glee, and Lucas burst out laughing.
“I think you’ve got a new convert to veggies.”
Owen rolled his eyes again. He glanced down at Mia, who yawned and then stuffed some pasta in her mouth. “I don’t think she’ll have any trouble sleeping tonight, even though she had a long nap this afternoon.”
Lucas nodded to the bags in the corner. “Jacko sent some other things. They were in his garage. There’s a bath seat, a car seat, and a whole bunch of other stuff.”
Owen glanced down at the table. “Thank you.”
“It wasn’t my bath seat,” Lucas teased, “but I know what you mean.” Lucas looked at Mia, who seemed to be finished. “Why don’t you get her settled and I’ll finish up in here. I have quite a big movie collection, if you’re interested.”
Owen nodded and stood, then reached over and picked carrots out of Mia’s hair. “I think you need another bath, sweetie,” he pronounced.
“And I’ll take Bailey out,” Lucas agreed and stood up himself. He quickly covered the lasagna and put it on the side to cool but left everything else. It was just getting dark, and he wanted to take Bailey through the park before it was too dark to see.
He turned back as Owen seemed to pause, and Mia extended her chubby baby fingers to him. Without thinking, he closed the gap and gently took hold of her hand. She immediately curled her fingers around one of his own. “I’ll be back soon,” Lucas said solemnly.
Mia tugged, and Lucas grinned at her antics.
Owen shook his head in bemusement. “I think you have a new fan.”
Lucas met Owen’s eyes. He couldn’t have looked away if his life had depended on it. “Do I?” he asked softly. If there’d been a little more lilt to his voice, it could even be considered challenging. But then Owen’s eyes narrowed, which snapped Lucas out of whatever the fuck he thought he was doing. He grabbed the leash Helena had brought around, even though he doubted Bailey would need it, some old plastic bags from under the sink, and chuckled as Bailey sat up, looking immediately interested. “Come on, then.” His breathing was a little fast. The chuckle had been forced to alleviate the tension, but Owen had already gone upstairs. What am I doing?
Bailey wagged his tail and stood patiently while Lucas clipped on the leash. Then they walked out the front door and toward the park. Still turning things over in his mind, he waited while a blue Explorer passed in front of him, and then he crossed the road. It was quiet, not surprisingly. He knew he owed the dog a decent walk, but he just didn’t dare risk leaving Owen on his own too long. He huffed out a breath. Didn’t dare or didn’t want to? What was it about Owen? His phone rang as he walked around the duck pond, which would soon freeze over.
“Hello,” Lucas answered.
“I just spoke to my uncle before his connecting flight.” Jacko didn’t waste time, and Lucas heard the urgency in his voice. “Lucas, do you actually know who this guy is?”
Lucas stopped walking. “Who, Owen?”
“No.” Jacko sounded worried. “No, not the kid. Do you remember that warehouse fire three years ago that we got pulled in on because it was so big?”
“Of course.” It had been much closer to Fort Collins, but they had needed all the extra engines they could get. It had been a huge place, but what had made it a million times worse was that it seemed to have been some sort of crack den or house for illegals.
“And do you remember the attempted prosecution of the owner?”
Did he? Three years ago, he hadn’t exactly been firing on all cylinders, and he certainly hadn’t been following the news. He’d spent the two months after the accident in some sort of fog. Everyone had carried him. He knew that, and the only thing that had jolted him out of his misery had been when Cassidy had announced that Lieutenant Mills was retiring and he was offering the job to Lucas. Lucas had been stunned. There had been at least two firefighters with more seniority than him, and Cassidy had even offered to keep the post open for another month while Lucas made a decision. He had been lucky with his friends, especially Jacko. He heard the sigh down the phone.
“Lucas, the owner was, is a guy called Damien Malvetti. He’s up to his armpits in drugs, prostitution, sex trafficking, trafficking of illegals, and the warehouse—” Jacko stopped, but Lucas knew what he was going to say.
“People died?” His voice sounded raw.
Jacko was silent for a few seconds. “Yes,” he growled. “Illegals. Seven families, all locked in one room.”
Lucas closed his eyes against the sudden nausea, knowing where this was going.
“Anyway, Malvetti managed to get out of it, blaming the whole thing on a manager, who coincidentally was found swinging at his home, along with a suicide note confessing to everything, the day after the fire.”
Lucas sighed. “And they believe it?”
“That’s why there’s been a big investigation into Malvetti over two years. They think they’ve got almost enough on him to peg him for multiple murders and a host of other charges. Uncle G tells me there was a huge multiagency sting. But so far, he’s dodged everything except the murder. A lot of it depends on their star witness.”
Owen.
“The kid currently holed up at your place has the cops, FBI, Marshals, DEA, CBI, and a ton more three-letter agencies all searching for him, to say nothing of Malvetti’s crew, who need him dead.”
Dead.
“I didn’t tell my uncle you had him, obviously, or the cops would be there now. But it would be safest for everyone if you let me come and get him after I pick up Uncle G. The kid’s toxic.”
Lucas frowned. It was hardly Owen’s fault. “And you’d take him where? He has no idea who’s dirty and who isn’t. Someone’s already tried to kill him once.”
“Without his testimony, the case will disintegrate. He’s the key… which means he’s in more danger than anyone can imagine. Malvetti is out, and I understand he wants his daughter back.”
Lucas was silent for a second. Was Mia Malvetti’s daughter? Owen hadn’t actually said. “How is that even possible?”
“I’m told Owen has a temporary care order, but if Malvetti gets off, the kid might go to him. There’s no paperwork on this kid at all.”
“No, I mean how is he not behind bars?”
“Because without Owen’s testimony they have no proof.”
“Who knows he’s with me?”
“No one, Lucas. But your rescue wasn’t a secret, and the captain told me at the hospital that the locals are jonesing for a story. You know the sort of thing—brave firefighter and tiny baby. There’s a chance Malvetti may come to check. The safest thing for all of you is to hand him over. Like you said, if you call anyone else, you don’t know who would show up. And it isn’t safe for you to just turn up at the local precinct with him. I can take him to the CBI.”
Lucas paused. The urgency, the worry was obvious in Jacko’s voice. Should he?
Jacko cleared his throat “You can’t save everybody.” The words, an echo from another lifetime, seemed to be following him around.
“Let me ask him. I will call you back.” Jacko reiterated he was on his way to the airport but he could come straight over afterward, and since it was nearly dark and Bailey seemed done, he quickly walked to the edge of the grass and looked up to make sure there were no cars coming down the road.
“Mr. Attiker?”
Lucas eyed the man who had gotten out of the luxury long-wheel-base Lexus LS that had been parked up the street. He only knew what it was because he had thumbed through some magazines while he was waiting for a dental exam a few weeks ago. “Yes?”
He gestured to the back seat. “Could we have five minutes of your time?”
Lucas couldn’t help the short bark of incredulous laughter. It was exactly like some damn movie script. “And who’s we?” He didn’t move, and Bailey whined softly.
He watched as a man immediately climbed out of the back of the car. The guy was around six four, lean, with tanned dark skin that looked natural. Lucas took in the suit he was wearing. At the same time, he registered it would have probably cost as much as the car. He knew who he was looking at. The urge not to shoot a panicked glance at his own house was nearly overpowering.
“Mr. Attiker? I’m Damien Malvetti.” As if there had been any doubt. They clearly knew who he was, which meant they knew what he looked like. Not that it was a secret.
Lucas plastered on a polite smile and extended his hand to take the offered one. “What can I do for you, Mr. Malvetti?”
Damien smiled. “I believe I owe you a huge debt of gratitude for saving my daughter’s life.” So Damien did consider Mia his, after all.
Lucas didn’t see the point in not acknowledging who he was talking about. “You’re welcome. But I understand they are missing?” He tried to imbue the right amount of concern in his voice.
Damien sighed. “I’m sure the police have explained that my boyfriend has certain mental health issues that make us all extremely worried. They are both in such a vulnerable position.”
Lucas wanted to scoff, but that would indicate a level of knowledge he wasn’t supposed to have, so he went with professional. “No. Medical information is confidential, so I wouldn’t have expected them to say anything. But I’m sure the police will do all they can.”
Damien nodded and rubbed his hands. “As I said, I owe you a huge debt, and I always settle my debts.” Lucas wondered if that statement had been meant to sound like a threat or a promise. It could go either way, which was what Damien possibly intended. “Perhaps you would be so kind as to invite me in and we can discuss how I can properly contribute to helping your station with a suitable donation to express my thanks?”
Lucas shook his head and tried not to look like he wanted to throw up. “I’m sorry, but I’m just going to work. But please call the main reception tomorrow and ask to speak to the duty lieutenant or the captain.” He nodded at Bailey. “I was just taking him out before I go.”
Damien tilted his head to the side, as if giving Lucas’s answer some thought. “That’s odd. When I inquired, I understood your crew was off until the weekend.”
Lucas shrugged. “Wildfire season hasn’t finished. To be honest, we’re lucky to get one day off.” He paused, hating to say it, but it was the truth. “Besides, I tend to let the guys with families take their time off.” He watched. No surprise met his comment. But then, he knew Damien Malvetti probably had his life story. “How did you find me?”
“I was hoping you might be able to help me,” Damien replied, ignoring the question. “Did Owen mention where he was headed?”
“Owen? You mean John?” Lucas tried to sound reasonable. “I had barely minutes with him during an emergency situation. It was only after we had arrived at the ER and he and his daughter had gone to pediatrics that I found out from the marshals that he’d gone missing.” That wasn’t a lie. “I really wish I could tell you more.” That definitely was.
Damien looked disappointed. “Perhaps I can leave my card in case he gets in touch.”
Lucas tried to look agreeable, so he took the card and pushed it into his pocket. “I’m assuming you’ve been in contact with the police?”
Malvetti raised a skeptical brow. “Unfortunately I seem unable to avoid talking to them.”
Lucas would just bet how inconvenient that was. “Look, I’m sorry, but I really have to go.” Bailey obediently got to his feet.
Malvetti stepped back but made no attempt to get in his car. Lucas had no choice but to walk back to his cottage while the man watched. Not that it made any difference. He knew Malvetti would already have his address. Once he’d disappeared from view, he paused until he heard the sound of the Lexus driving away. He didn’t want to actually have to complete the deception and drive to the station.
He grabbed his keys from his pocket and let himself in the back door just in time to be met by Owen clutching a sleeping Mia and the diaper bag. He was practically shaking.
“He’s gone,” Lucas said immediately, understanding he’d seen the car.
“But he knows.”
“Impossible.” Lucas took the diaper bag from Owen’s tight fingers and put it on the floor. “He found out where I lived. I told him the marshals had told me you’d gone missing.” Owen visibly trembled. “Look,” Lucas soothed. “If he was at all suspicious, do you really think he would have left?”
Owen sank onto the nearest chair. “What did he say?”
Lucas briefly wondered if he should filter it. “He thanked me for saving Mia’s life—” Lucas winced, and he realized Malvetti had never included Owen in that, just Mia. “—and he was hoping I might know where you were.”
Owen looked at him. “And?” he asked pointedly.
Lucas sighed silently. “And he asked me if I knew you had mental health issues.” Owen dropped his gaze to the floor, and Lucas’s heart jumped. He had thought Malvetti was making shit up, but…. He waited.
Owen stared at the floor for what seemed forever. “When I was fourteen, I thought I was in love. Absolutely and completely besotted with a boy at school. He was—they call it cutting.”
Lucas nodded and sat down on the chair next to him. His gaze fell on Owen’s arms. He’d worn long sleeves every time he had seen him, except when they were bathing Mia. And to be honest, he’d been too busy with the baby. Besides, he’d said it was a friend who was cutting, not him.
Owen settled Mia in the baby seat in the corner of the room and pulled off his sweatshirt. Lucas’s breath seemed to catch in his lungs. Owen folded it over his lap and then held his sleeve and pulled it up.
But you said a friend. Lucas almost didn’t want to look. The sleeve got higher until it passed his elbow, and as he turned his arm over, Lucas could see the faint scar. It was only about two inches long, but it had to have been deep at the time. Owen swallowed. “I didn’t want to die. I was ignorant and stupid and trying to make a point. I wanted him to understand how I felt every time I saw a new cut on his arms. In a fit of temper—fueled by what I thought was righteous anger—I took an art knife and cut myself.”
Lucas managed to take a breath.
“Except I had been way too angry, and the blood was….” He shook his head. “Thankfully, my friend shouted for help. He was used to cutting himself, so he quickly managed to stop the bleeding, even though it looked bad at the time. The school completely panicked, and my art teacher—we were working on a project—called the paramedics. I was taken into the ER.”
Lucas looked at Owen’s hand, barely visible under his own. He didn’t remember reaching out, but this time even being conscious of his actions didn’t make him take it away. He wasn’t sure how he felt, but Owen needed the comfort. Who am I trying to fool? Owen was staring at his hand but not attempting to pull his fingers away either.
“Both my parents arrived. Mom was crying. I tried to make out it was an accident, but it was obvious that no one believed me. The place I cut took some reaching.”
“What did your friend say?” He brushed his thumb over Owen’s wrist, and he would swear he felt his pulse jump.
“He wasn’t there. The teacher sent him home, but neither of us could say anything. Lee’s parents were even more obsessed with appearances than mine, and they didn’t know he cut, so trying to say I was making a point was completely impossible.”
“What happened?”
“I was admitted.”
“That’s shit, but you might have needed a transfusion, I guess.” He tightened his fingers a little and kept up the small stroking movements with his thumb. Owen didn’t pull his fingers away.
“It wasn’t that sort of hospital.”
Lucas stilled and looked up into Owen’s haunted face. “They didn’t.”
Owen nodded. “They didn’t believe me, even though I’d never done anything like that before.”
“How long were you in?”
Owen moved his hand and Lucas let go. “Three months.”
Lucas’s lips parted. “Three months?”
Owen nodded. “I had to have a private tutor for a year, and when I was released, all my friends were really skittish around me. My parents never let me out of their sight. Dad made out that I had lost so much weight because I was borderline anorexic, when it was really—”
“Because you wouldn’t eat meat and they were starving you into submission,” Lucas finished. Shit, some people. He thought of Jacko and Christine, who were desperate for kids, and A-holes like Owen’s mom and dad who didn’t deserve any.
“Can I ask you a question?” Owen said quietly.
“Of course,” he said, swallowing.
“It’s just—” He looked uncomfortable.
Maybe I shouldn’t have held his hand?
“The picture you showed me of Stephen. It’s obvious you look at it a lot….” His voice trailed off, and he glanced at the bare walls. “It doesn’t—”
That wasn’t the question Lucas had expected. “Tory took them,” Lucas said, trying to sound like it was no big deal. “She was having an affair, and she left me for the guy. She took everything with her.” He stood, unable to think about it. Tory hadn’t just left. She had stripped the house. Taken his home, his reason for being. Every toy, every photo, every keepsake. He’d come home after the accident to an empty shell.
It was as if she’d ripped his soul away. And it was the reason he didn’t have a family anymore—some had died and some he wished were dead.
“The only reason I have the pajamas was because they were in an old suitcase.”
After all these years, he still didn’t know what he’d done to make her hate him so damn much. She hadn’t simply wanted to start a new life for herself. It was like she’d wanted to end his.