Greyson

by Dale Mayer

  At that, Greyson looked at her slowly. “And why would he do that?”

  “Because he knew that the marriage was over,” she said. “My ex-husband wanted me out of the house too.”

  “So this brother-in-law, he helped you move here?”

  She nodded slowly. “Yes, I said a good friend helped me. That was him.”

  “He’s been in the house?”

  She nodded again.

  “When did you last see him?”

  “It’s been a long time,” she said. “We had a bit of an argument, and, when he left, I didn’t see him again after that.”

  “And the argument? What was it about?”

  She looked at him, the color rising in her cheeks. “He—he wanted more than I could give,” she said slowly.

  “Okay,” he said, “so potentially he helped move you out here, thinking that he could move into his brother’s position. You had a fight, and he left. What would have triggered his return to your world?”

  “You’re grasping at straws here,” she said hopefully. “It was long ago, at the very beginning of our separation. I can’t imagine that he would do anything like this.”

  “Maybe not,” he said, “but you don’t know that.”

  She shrugged, and said, “No, I don’t. I don’t know anything about this. None of it makes any sense to me. And it still doesn’t. Not at all.”

  “What’s the brother’s name?”

  “Jensen,” she said, “Jensen Barrack.”

  “So it’s George and Jensen?”

  She nodded. “Just the two of them in their family.”

  “What did he do for a living?” he asked.

  “He was in the military,” she said. “He came home on leave, then saw how things were in my marriage and offered to help me move out, so I accepted. I’d seen him many times during the couple years I was married, and we were good friends. He was closer to my age than my ex-husband anyway,” she said. “Besides, we’d always been friendly.”

  “What did your ex-husband think about the relationship?”

  “I think he always looked on his kid brother as a bit of a screwup.”

  “Interesting,” he said. “So how does this Frank guy fit in to the brother?”

  “I don’t know that he fits at all,” she said. “Why would he?”

  “Well, he has a military background too,” he said, pondering it. He pulled out his phone and started sending messages again.

  “You’re always on that thing,” she said. “I just can’t imagine what you have to talk about.”

  “Looking for connections between Frank, the guy who kidnapped Danny, and your brother-in-law,” he said. “And by the way, are you actually divorced?”

  She nodded mutely.

  “Was the baby ever brought up at all?”

  She shook her head. “George didn’t mention him to the lawyers when we filed for divorce. A lawyer friend of mine handled it all for me, drew up the paperwork just like I wanted. I get Danny. George gets everything else. Even after George contacted the attorneys about three months ago, stating he now wanted Danny, the paperwork didn’t change. And I was totally happy about that.”

  “Smart to deal with the attorneys instead of your ex,” he said. “Saves on the acrimony, I’ll bet.”

  “I just wanted to be free,” she said. “The paperwork all got finalized not that long ago. I just got my copy.”

  Maybe it was something in her voice, or maybe it was her words, but he stopped, looked at her, and said, “How long ago did you get the paperwork?”

  She frowned and looked at the calendar on her phone, trying to remember. “Maybe a month ago?”

  Greyson rubbed his face, thinking of the possibilities. “And just over three weeks ago you have a fender bender with somebody who says it’s a threat from your ex-husband?”

  “Yes,” she said, “but surely that’s a coincidence.”

  “No, not that close together,” he said. “I don’t have a lot of faith in those. Not the good kind of coincidences anyway.”

  “So what then? Fate?”

  “A trigger,” he said, staring off into space. “I need some information,” he said. “Why don’t you lie down and get some more sleep?”

  “I don’t think I’ll sleep now,” she said with feeling.

  He walked over to the bed, gently sat on the edge, so as not to disturb a sleeping Danny, leaning back against the headboard. “Just relax and get some sleep while you can,” he said. “I’ll let you know if anything major’s happening.”

  She curled up on top of the bedding. With a muffled exclamation, he got up off the bed and grabbed a blanket from the footboard and gently spread it over her.

  She smiled and said, “Now I feel like a two-year-old.”

  Immediately he whispered a reply, “But you don’t look or feel like one.”

  Her eyes flew open as she stared up at him. “Were you just flirting with me?” she asked.

  “Nah,” he said, “I don’t know how to do that.”

  “Well, I’ve got news for you. You were flirting with me,” she said, smiling.

  “And if I was?” he asked, but his tone was one of curiosity.

  She chuckled. “It’s been a long time,” she said, “but I have to admit I might just flirt back.”

  “Feel free,” he said. “It’s been a long time for me too. I’m not exactly sure what that even looks like anymore.”

  Jessica fell asleep with a smile on her face.

  Greyson watched over the two of them, wondering at his heartstrings being pulled to the extent that they were. Something about Kona had started it, and then this beautiful woman and her extra special son were added bonuses. It’s not at all what he expected to see in his life.

  But then again he hadn’t come with any expectations, so maybe that’s why he’d been fully open to it. But no way in hell he would let anything happen to the two of them. Not while he wanted not only to make sure they stayed safe, but but also to know if this relationship between them had the basis to go any further. He thought it had a lot of potential and could go a long way. But, when danger was involved, he had to stay focused. At least in his mind he did. He knew a lot of guys who would have taken her to bed already. But he didn’t just want to take her to bed; he wanted more.

  And that was a whole different story. He frowned at that because he wouldn’t have thought he was looking for a long-term relationship. He was a bit of a mess, though she didn’t appear to care. But then she didn’t know all about his prosthetic, and that might be a turning point for her. But then again, maybe not. She looked like the kind of person who wouldn’t care about the more superficial elements in life.

  He shifted on the bed, wishing he’d brought his laptop with him. The phone was great, but his laptop would have been a lot easier.

  Messages were coming in rapidly. He sifted through them and found that both the brother-in-law and Frank knew each other in the military. Also confirmed by Frank’s phone contents. That didn’t necessarily incriminate Jensen, but it could be just that Jensen had spoken about his brother’s ex-wife, and that had been enough to trigger something in Frank’s psyche. Particularly if Frank came home with any psychological problems. The situation was something Frank could glom onto and almost see himself as being Jessica’s next partner or something like that. Or maybe Frank hated women and blamed her for breaking up with Jensen’s brother. Or maybe he didn’t need any more motivation than money.

  But then came the kicker email.

  He read the message that came through from Badger and immediately hit the Talk button. He slipped off the bed, walked over to the window. “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely sure,” Badger said. “Her ex-husband, George, passed away not long ago.”

  “What from?”

  “A brain aneurysm,” he said. “He was at a seminar and collapsed to the ground. He was gone thirty-six hours later.”

  “So the paperwork must have already been signed at the time.”
r />   “It’s possible,” Badger said, “but you know what? That’s a really good point. It’s possible the brother forged the documents instead.”

  “Somebody better look into that,” he said, “and see if there’s a will. Because George has a son, and he left a wife behind. Depending on when he died, they were separated and may or may not have been divorced.”

  “A judge would still have to make the divorce final,” he said.

  “But how long has he been dead?”

  “Three months.”

  “Huh. Maybe it was waiting for the forged paperwork to come in that triggered this whole thing.”

  “Taking over the life his brother had? Including the same wife? That’s pretty sick, even for some of the guys we know.”

  “But you also know what it’s like when your life goes to shit and when all you can do is focus on one piece of it, and then you become obsessed,” he said. “I knew a case like that when a guy came back. He was so obsessed, thinking that his wife was having an affair, that she wasn’t allowed to go to the grocery store. She wasn’t allowed to do anything, including talking to her girlfriends, because he was pretty sure they were just a front for her to have an affair behind his back. He ended up killing her.”

  “Yes, unfortunately,” Badger said, “the news is never short on cases with similar stories,” he said, “but we’re a long way away from determining that’s the problem here.”

  “Ditto,” Greyson said. “We need intel.”

  “I’m on it,” he said. “You keep her safe.”

  “They’re both sleeping. Actually all three of them are sleeping,” he corrected, turning to look at the bed.

  “You need sleep too. Remember?” Badger said.

  “I won’t while I’m on guard duty,” he said. “The guy was here tonight—twice—and he’ll be back. We know that.”

  “You’ll be ready,” Badger said. “This isn’t exactly what we intended when we sent you over to look for Kona.”

  “No, but Kona was on a mission herself. And it was to keep these two safe. I can hardly take Kona away from this. She chose her mission and did so based on her military training,” he said. “So, in this case, all I can do is step up to the plate and help her accomplish it.”

  “That all sounds good,” Badger said, “but remember. It sounds like you’ve got a personal stake in this now too.”

  “I hadn’t expected it,” he said, “but, yeah, you’re right. I think I do.”

  Badger chuckled. “Kat said you would. Apparently we’ve had an incredible run of luck on these K9 files. Every unattached guy we’ve sent out has come back with a partner.”

  “Well, I didn’t really expect to come back with a partner,” he said. “Matter of fact, it wasn’t what I was looking for at all.”

  “Don’t think it matters much,” he said, “because you’re following the same track too.”

  “No, no, no. You can’t go there yet,” he said. “I don’t think that’s true. All I’m doing right now is dealing with one very scared woman who’s already had her child kidnapped once.”

  “On the other hand,” Badger said, “it’s pretty easy to see that Kona has already picked her out for you.” And, with that, he hung up.

  Greyson stared down at the phone and said, “No, no, that’s not cool.”

  A murmured voice behind him said, “What’s not cool, honey?”

  He stiffened at the endearment, then smiled as he turned to see her blinking owlishly up at him. He walked over and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. “Go back to sleep, sweetie.”

  She sank back down again, smiled, and said, “Okay.”

  He could see that she hadn’t even surfaced enough to really be awake. He leaned over, gave her a gentle kiss on the temple, and wondered if Badger was right. Greyson had already acknowledged that he’d like to see where this would go.

  He walked to the end of the bed, where Kona stared up at him, her huge chocolate-colored eyes questioning what he was doing.

  He bent down and gently stroked the dog’s neck. “You had quite the hand in this, didn’t you?”

  Kona’s tail thumped back and forth several times.

  He smiled. “It’s all good,” he said. “Maybe, just maybe, you’re better at picking people than you thought.”

  Kona gave a light bark and nestled against his hand.

  “I know we didn’t know each other either,” he said, “but apparently finding you just may have brought me an instant family.” That reminded him of the rest of his family. It was just after seven-thirty a.m. now, and Greyson knew his grandparents didn’t sleep much, so he quickly picked up the phone and called his grandpa.

  “Where are you, boy?”

  “Do you need your truck back?” he said with a smile.

  “Nope. I just want to make sure you’re safe.”

  “Well, I’m still with the dog … and the woman. She’s got stalker trouble and her child was even kidnapped,” he said, with a humorous note of disbelief.

  There was silence on the other end, and then his grandfather spoke. “Is she pretty?”

  “Very,” Greyson said, chuckling.

  “How old is the boy?”

  “About eighteen months.”

  “Perfect age,” he said. “I presume you’re keeping the dog, and I suggest you keep her too. Bring them by. I’d really like to meet them.” And with that his grandfather hung up.

  When his phone vibrated seconds later, he stared down and saw his grandfather again. “What did you forget?” he asked.

  “I forgot to tell you that you can keep using the truck. Don’t feel guilty about it, and don’t you bother renting another one. That’s just a waste of money, and you’re a family man now,” he said. “You need to save every penny. Speaking of which, you need a new career too.” He hung up again.

  Greyson stared at his phone in amazement. Just because he was here with her didn’t give him an instant family and didn’t make him a family man, no matter what his grandfather said. But when the phone rang again, and he answered it, this time it was his grandmother.

  “I’m absolutely thrilled for you, dear,” she said, her voice high and girly. “We’ve been waiting for this for a very long time.”

  Greyson shook his head, trying to forestall his grandmother’s words. “I just met her, Grandma.”

  “Yes, I know,” she said, “but it’s perfect. It’s absolutely perfect, and the timing is wonderful. I couldn’t be happier, and, like your grandfather said, bring her by, we can’t wait to meet her and her son.” And then she hung up on him too.

  He stared down his phone and muttered, “Has the world gone mad?”

  “Absolutely,” Jessica said, staring at him. “What were those conversations? I heard a part of them, but they didn’t make sense.”

  Tongue-tied, he stared at her, until she asked again.

  “Who was that?”

  “Well, the first two were my grandfather,” he said in a dry tone as he walked toward her. “The last one was my grandmother, calling to tell me how she’s absolutely thrilled that I have an instant family.” He watched as Jessica’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline.

  “Pardon?”

  “That’s what I was trying to explain to her,” he said, waving the phone in his hand. “But she didn’t want to listen.”

  At that, Jessica started to laugh. “Well, they got the wrong end of the stick.”

  “Well, they did and they didn’t,” he said, as he sat down on the bed beside her. He reached out and laced his fingers with hers, then lifted her hand so he could stare at her beautifully manicured nails. “They’re right in one sense,” he said. “I’m definitely interested.”

  She looked at him, wordless, but her eyes were huge.

  He smiled. “Obviously the circumstances are less than ideal,” he said, “but, since I first saw you, I can’t stop thinking about you.”

  “Since you first saw me, I’ve been a pain in the”—she darted a glance at Danny, making sure he
was sleeping—“ass,” she whispered, “and you’ve done nothing but look after me,” she corrected.

  “Oh, I know,” he said, agreeing, “but I did it because I wanted to. And now that we’re one step closer to being out of this dangerous nightmare, though obviously not in the clear yet, I don’t find myself wanting to leave.”

  She squeezed his hand gently. “It’s probably the circumstances …” she said, not finishing her sentence.

  But he noted the doubt in her voice, and he was hoping that he read some interest in her gaze—and a little hope of her own. “Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a relationship,” he admitted. “Having a bad accident, being injured, and going through months and months of therapy to finally get my physical body back again isn’t easy on relationships.”

  She squeezed his fingers again. “I’m so sorry you had to go through all that.”

  “Me too,” he said, “but I’m on the other side of it now. When I was injured, I pushed my grandparents away.” He stared out the window, realizing just how much that must have hurt them. When he turned back and looked down at her, he could see understanding in her gaze. “How come you’re not telling me that was a terrible thing to do?” he asked.

  “Because, during my separation, divorce, and the whole move away from my ex-husband,” she said, “I didn’t tell my mother or my sister either.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because my mother is all gaga over my ex, and, to this day, Mom still wants me to call him up, apologize, and go back to him. And my sister? Well, my sister tries to get out of being in the middle because she can’t handle my mother either. She told me to leave him a lot earlier.”

  Chapter 14

  Jessica laughed at the look on Greyson’s face. Something about this conversation in the early morning was both soothing and intimidating. Because, like him, it had been a long time for her. Her husband had been her last relationship, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to go down that path again. At least she wasn’t until she met Greyson.

  “It’s funny the way we react when we’re under stress, isn’t it?” he said.