by Selena Kitt
“Unless he finds out she isn’t your cousin.,” Leanne said, watching Wendy’s face as she squinted at the photograph. Her words made me sick to my stomach.
“What is that?” Tyler asked, as Wendy handed the photograph of a younger, skinnier Arnie across the table, so he could see it. “Is that… holy fuck.”
“You didn’t believe her, did you?” Leanne asked her son, seeing the shock on his face.
“I didn’t know what to believe.” Tyler stared at the picture in his hand. “FBI shows up and wants to talk to me, what am I supposed to say? I said I’d have lunch. So here we are.”
“Did you know he was involved?” Wendy asked, glancing over at Leanne.
“No. I didn’t know him back then.” Leanne shook her head. “And I didn’t have this picture until last week.”
“This could be very useful.” Wendy took the picture from Tyler, looking at it again. I could practically see the wheels turning.
I had barely recovered from the fact that she wasn’t Alisha McKenna—but I suddenly had the feeling that this woman was far more dangerous and wielded much more power.
“Look, I told you,” Tyler said, talking to Wendy, but keeping his voice down. “I don’t care what you’re holding over my head. I’m not getting in the middle of this.”
“Holding over your head?” My eyes narrowed at the agent. “What are you holding over his head?”
“She threatened to leak the truth to the press,” Leanne said softly. “That’s it, isn’t it? That Tyler was the one who really pulled the trigger?”
“I don’t care.” Tyler shook his head. “Leak away.”
“Okay, listen.” Wendy sighed, putting the old photograph on the table. “This is proof, right here, that Arnold was involved, even back then.”
“Well…” Tyler hesitated, frowning at the picture. “I don’t know.”
“What more do you need?” the redheaded agent asked, her brow knitting with frustration. “I can understand having some loyalty—but doesn’t this show you that this man was clearly involved? He was involved then—and he’s involved now. These are children we’re talking about. Children like Jessica Finlay.”
Wendy touched the iPad she’d put on the table, waking the screen up, where Jay was being led out of Arnie’s office, his arm around her shoulder. I made a little noise in my throat when I saw it, looking up at Tyler.
“What does she want you to do?” I asked.
“Wear a wire.” Wendy zoomed in on the iPad screen, on Jay’s face. She looked both hopeful and scared. It broke my heart. “We need a confession.”
“He won’t tell me, anyway.” Tyler squeezed my shoulder, looking over at Wendy. “I get why you came to me—I’m the only one you’ve got leverage over. But I don’t think he’d say anything, even if I walked in there with this picture. Why would he?”
“Tyler’s right.” Leanne spoke up. “He could come up with a million reasons why he was there that day. Trouble is his meal ticket. He wouldn’t jeopardize that.”
“I can try,” Tyler offered, frowning. “If he really is… what you say he is. I can try. But I think I might do more harm than good.”
“You may be right.” Wendy tapped her finger on the old photograph thoughtfully.
“I’m sorry,” Tyler apologized.
“He’ll tell me.” Leanne’s words were so soft I almost didn’t hear her.
“Mom.” Tyler’s voice had a warning in it. “No.”
“Think about it.” She looked across the table at her son with her one good eye. Beside her, Wendy was listening very carefully. “If I take this picture to him—if I threaten him with exposure. If I tell him I know he’s involved, and I ask him for money—a little blackmail in exchange for my silence? That would be enough, wouldn’t it, to put him away?”
“No,” Tyler growled, his arm tightening around my shoulder. “I won’t allow it. It’s too dangerous.”
“It could work.” Wendy chewed on her lower lip, then she turned to Leanne. “You’d be willing to wear a wire?”
“Yes.” Tyler’s mother ignored his protest. “I’ll do it.”
“Let me make a call…” Wendy got out of the booth—Leanne moved so she could climb out—while Tyler went off on his mother.
“You are not doing this!” he snapped as Leanne slid back into the booth while Wendy walked away, already on her phone. “Do you hear me?”
“Tyler, stop.” Leanne picked up the photograph of Sarah, half-smiling at the camera, licking her ice cream, and her one good eye filled with tears. “I was a horrible mother. I know that. I was an addict, and I sacrificed everything for that addiction. Even my children.”
“Mom.” Tyler’s voice was hoarse. “Don’t.”
“It’s the least I can do.” She lifted her ravaged face to his, the unblemished, still-pretty side wet with tears. “Your uncle’s dead, and your father’s in jail, and yet it’s still happening. They’re still hurting kids.”
“Jay,” I said softly. The thought of her with Arnie—Arnie, who we trusted, who had always said he was looking out for us—made me sick.
“Yes, like Jay.” Leanne leaned in to take Tyler’s hand, which was balled into a fist on the table. “Tyler, I want to do this. I saw the way he looked at her. He’s dangerous. He’s very, very dangerous.”
“I can’t fucking believe this.” Tyler looked down at his mother’s hands, cupped over his fist. “He did this? He really did this?”
“He’s been doing it for years.” Leanne used one hand to swipe at the tears on her cheek. “I think that’s how he knew how to find you. He and Dante knew all along. They kept tabs on all three of you. They used you.”
“You guys were quite a meal ticket,” I whispered, the realization sinking in like a lead weight in my belly. “He created Trouble, Ty. Isn’t that what you told me? He put the band together…”
“I’ll kill him,” Tyler snarled, and I grabbed onto him to keep him from getting up and taking off.
“No!” I cried, and Leanne did too, at the same time.
“Let me do this,” Tyler’s mother pleaded. “He’ll tell me—and he’ll go to jail. Just like your father.”
“I’d rather kill him,” he spat, but he stayed in his seat as Wendy approached.
“It’s a go.” She stood beside the table, looking at the three of us. “If you’re still willing?”
“Yes,” Leanne assured her.
“No!” Tyler cried.
“We’ll make sure she’s safe,” the agent assured him. “I promise you.”
“Mom.” Tyler was the one pleading now. “It’s too dangerous. Don’t do this. You can’t do this.”
“I can.” Leanne stood, giving him a sad, twisted smile. “And I will. For you and Robbie and Sarah. And for little Jay. And my grandchildren. I am going to do this.”
“Come with me.” Wendy grabbed her briefcase, shoving the iPad and photograph inside, before taking Leanne’s arm and starting to lead her away.
“Ty.” I whispered his name, grabbing on to him when he went to bolt. “No… let her go. Let her… please…”
“Katie, I can’t,” he choked, and I put my arms around him, holding him close. “What if something happens to her?”
“She wants to do this. For you. Let her be your mother.”
I watched Leanne following the agent, and I knew exactly what she was feeling. I wasn’t a mother—I didn’t know if I ever would be one, given how Tyler felt about having kids—but since Jay had come to us, I knew how it felt to be protective, to feel like you’d do anything, even sacrifice yourself, to save a child.
“I have to tell Rob.” Tyler put his arms around me for a moment, breathing deep, trying to stay calm, I knew.
“It’s okay,” I told him. “I’ll come with you. I’m here, baby. I’m here.”
“Thank God.” He held me so close for a moment I thought he’d break my ribs.
~*~
It happened fast, but it felt so slow.
Ro
b and Sabrina didn’t believe us, not at first. Tyler had to call Wendy, who texted him a copy of Leanne’s photograph. There was sweet little Sarah and her ice cream—with her father, Dante, in the background, and the man who had created Trouble standing right beside him.
“Arnie.” Rob would have thrown Tyler’s phone if Sabrina hadn’t grabbed it. “I’m going to kill him!”
“That’s what I said.” Tyler snarled at the photograph when Sabrina gave him back his phone.
When we told them what Leanne was going to do—the she was going to put on a wire and confront Arnie, to get him to confess, and perhaps implicate others—they didn’t believe that, either. At least, Rob didn’t. Not until Wendy showed up at their house, except this time she wasn’t alone. Her partner was a tall, dark-haired guy with angular features who said his name was Jordan and they both flashed their I.D.
“Did you find Jay?” was the first thing I asked. “Can you bring her here?”
“Jessica Finlay,” Wendy told her partner, Jordan.
“We’re working on it, ma’am,” he assured me.
Working on it. Great.
“But where is she?” I asked. “Is she with him?”
“She’s safe,” Wendy said. “We’ll bring her here as soon as we can.”
“Is she with the FBI?” I couldn’t let it go.
“We’ve got some questions for you,” Jordan interrupted me. “For all of you. Where’s Sarah?”
We hadn’t told Sarah yet.
Sabrina called her, and she came with Anne. By then, Celeste and Jesse had been informed, and Daisy had started doing what she did whenever anything happy or sad happened—she made us all food.
They wanted to talk to Rob, Tyler and Sarah alone, so I went upstairs to help Sabrina get Lucy and Henry up from their nap.
“I’m sorry, Katie,” Sabrina said, lifting Henry from his crib. Lucy was already calling for me, so I went to get her. “I should have listened to Rob—he kept telling me I was overreacting. I shouldn’t have sent her home.”
“It’s okay.” I kissed Lucy’s cheek and she put her arms around my neck. “I don’t blame you.”
I didn’t ask her what had happened, what Jay had done. Whatever it was, Rob knew Jay hadn’t meant to do anything wrong. That’s what mattered.
Now all I could think about was getting Jay back, safe and sound. After that, we’d deal with whatever came. One thing at a time.
We stayed in the nursery for a while, letting the kids crawl and toddle around, until Daisy called on the intercom to say she had food ready.
Downstairs in the kitchen, Tyler and Rob were talking at the table. Sarah hugged me as we came in and ended up taking Lucy from my arms. Tyler held out a hand to me and I went to sit beside him. Daisy put food on the table, but I couldn’t even look at it. The smell of it made me nauseous.
“What’s happening?” I asked Tyler softly.
“Come on.” He took my hand and led me out of the kitchen. We went out the glass patio door, where it was a perfect California day. The sun was still shining, reflecting off the pool out back.
Tyler sat in one of the patio chairs, under an umbrella, and I sat beside him. He took my hand, squeezing it.
“It’s going to be okay,” he told me. “Whatever happens, we’re going to be okay.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” I watched the water, the little points of sunlight almost blinding. “I heard what Wendy said about the guys.”
“You did?” His eyebrows went up. “Sneak.”
I shrugged. It wasn’t on purpose. I’d been on my way downstairs for a sippy cup for Henry. Wendy and Jordan had been meeting with Rob, Tyler and Sarah in the living room. That’s when I’d overheard Wendy saying that they suspected that at least two of Trouble’s other band members were involved, and knew what Arnie was doing.
“But they don’t suspect you or Rob?” I asked, glancing toward the house. “Right?”
“No.” His thumb moved over my wedding ring, shifting it back and forth. “They know we’re not involved.”
“Trouble.” I shook my head, trying to absorb it. “It’s…”
“Over.” Tyler let out a sigh.
“I’m so sorry, Ty.” I squinted up at the sky, trying to judge how much time had passed. It seemed to have stopped, while we could do nothing but sit here and wait.
“I was already out,” he reminded me. “Rob… it’s killing him.”
“Yeah.” I gave a little shiver. “He finds out both his agent and probably two, if not all three, of the guys left in his band are involved in a child prostitution ring. I’d say that’s a pretty bad day.”
“I just wanted you to know that Jay’s okay.”
“What?” I sat up, looking at him. “How do you know?”
“Arnie had her put up in an apartment in L.A.” His mouth tightened for a moment, then he said. “I guess he keeps them there, at first. While he’s…”
“Grooming them,” I finished, my hand tightening in his. “Jesus, Ty. He really is…”
“Yeah.” He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes for a minute. “Listen, they checked to see if Jay’s mom had called the cops. There’s no missing person’s report. Nothing’s been filed.”
I gaped at him. “Nothing? At all?”
“No.” He sighed. “Which is actually good news, for us. We still have to talk to a lawyer, but I think we have a good shot. Better than I thought.”
“A good shot…” I swallowed, trying to catch my breath. “At… what? Exactly.”
He looked at me, puzzled. “Well, keeping her. What else?”
“Oh Ty.” I threw myself at him, and the tears I’d been holding in since I found Jay gone finally came in a huge rush of emotion.
“Shhh.” He soothed, rocking me in his lap. “Hey, come on, what’s this? I thought you’d be happy?”
“I am happy,” I choked. I’d been so afraid for Jay—afraid we’d lost her, afraid we wouldn’t be able to help her, that we wouldn’t be able to save her. The thought that we really might be able to keep her, as ours, I’d shoved so far back in my mind, I’d barely dared to hope.
“You mean it?” I asked him in a near whisper. “She’s a handful, you know. I mean, taking on a teenager… you’re really up for that? I know she sort of came out of nowhere, and we didn’t have time to think or talk about it, let alone plan, but…”
“Katie.” He pressed his finger to my lips, giving a little shake of his head. “Stop. You love her. I love you. That’s all.”
I put my arms around him and kissed him, tears and all. Tyler kissed me back, holding me tight, tighter. I let out a little gasp and he let me go, meeting my eyes.
“Hey.” He smiled, cupping my face in his hands, wiping my wet cheeks with his thumbs. “You think Jay will be okay with a little brother or sister?”
“Yeah, right.” I gave a little laugh, but Tyler didn’t laugh with me. I blinked at him, trying to find my voice. “You’re… you’re kidding. Aren’t you?”
“No.” His gaze searched my face. “Don’t you want to?”
“Wait a minute.” I shook my head, as if to clear it. “You’re serious? You’re talking about having kids? Like, yours and mine? Sperm and egg? A little Tyler junior?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “Unless… you don’t want to…?”
“Are you kidding me?” I half-laughed, pressing my forehead to his, closing my eyes. “My uterus has had a vacancy sign on it since I met you.”
“Well, okay then.” He chuckled. Then he sobered up. “You know, I used to be scared that if I had a kid… it would get this damned family curse…”
“You’re not cursed.” I took his hand, kissing the back of his knuckles.
“Sometimes it feels like we are.” He sighed. “Just when I think things are looking up… I feel like the wizard.”
“The wizard?”
“Of Oz.” He laughed at the puzzled look on my face. “It’s one of the movies I remember watching with my mom, when I was little
.”
The thought of Leanne made me feel cold and I snuggled closer to him. I didn’t like to think what she was facing, with Arnie, right this very moment.
“The wizard?” I asked again.
“Yeah. Remember that hot air balloon he had?”
I nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“I feel like I’m always trying to get it off the ground, you know? And just when I do… just when it starts sailing through the air... wham! Something happens and I’m falling again…”
“It’s not a hot air balloon.” I tucked my head under his chin. “It’s a roller coaster.”
“Life?”
I nodded. “Our life. It’s a roller coaster. Up and down. Up and down. Curves here, curves there. Sometimes you see them coming—sometimes you don’t.”
“Huh.” His arms tightened around me. “Yeah… I guess it is more like a roller coaster.”
“Make sure we’re buckled in,” I said with a smile. “Then we can hang on and enjoy the ride.”
That made him laugh and he kissed my cheek. “I wouldn’t want to take this ride with anyone else.”
“Me either,” I agreed, clinging to him.
The glass patio door opened behind us and I glanced over, expecting Daisy to be there, asking if we wanted anything to eat. But it wasn’t Daisy.
It was Jay.
“Ty,” I whispered, shaking him so he would look, and he did, just as I scrambled off his lap.
“Jay!” I cried, and then she was running to me, putting her arms around me, sobbing and apologizing, all of nearly unintelligible.
“I didn’t know where else to go,” she gasped as we hugged and rocked on our feet. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”
“I’m just glad you’re safe,” I told her. “We’re just glad you’re home safe.”
“We are.” Tyler was there, too, putting his arms around us both. “You’re safe, Jay. You’ll be safe with us, I promise you.”
His words made me cry, so then both me and Jay were crying and apologizing for crying, and then were laughing because of all the apologizing, and that’s when the back door opened again.
“Hey.” Rob called out to his brother. “They arrested him. Nick and Jon, too.”
