She shrugs. “You’re my little boy, Fox. Whatever you’ve done— whatever you’ve had to do— it doesn’t matter to me. I’m still going to love you.”
“Don’t be too sure about that, Mom,” I mutter.
She stands up and leans over to kiss my cheek. “Try me.” I smile. “If you must leave again, check-in every so often. For me.”
“I will. I promise.”
She wanders from the room and I take a slow sip from my cup before setting it down. I stand up and move over to the bed.
Dani.
You’re free now. Free to go home and forget. Free to walk around in public again without hiding your face. Free to move on from all of this.
From me.
I lean down and lay my forehead against hers. I don’t have to worry about waking her. She’s so sedated right now, she won’t wake up for several hours but I shouldn’t wait that long. There’s just one thing I have to do first; something I swore I’d never do to her again.
“Goodbye, Dani.” I kiss her soft lips. “I love you.”
I reach into my pocket to feel for the flash drive as I step outside into the hallway.
“Leaving again, I hope.” Bennett stands near the door with his arms crossed. I don’t blame him for the hostility. He watched me shoot his daughter. He also watched Mrs. Clark and I save her life afterward but this is Bennett, after all.
“Yeah,” I say.
“Good riddance to you,” he mutters, passing around me to enter Dani’s room.
“Bennett.”
He pauses in the doorway and I hold out my hand. His eyes fall and he stares at it for several moments before giving me a silent handshake.
I turn around and head for the exit.
***
I’ve lost track of how long I’ve been sitting here. It has to be more than twelve hours.
At least twelve hours of sitting in this chair with my hands locked in cuffs attached to the metal table in front of me. Seems a little overkill for dealing with a man that turned himself in but I’m not about to voice the complaint. Not that I could since I’ve spent the last three hours staring straight ahead with no one to talk to.
I guess they have their hands full with that master file. Decades of names and numbers to sift through and corroborate. I heard the helicopter pass overhead a few hours ago. That was most likely the F.B.I. consult they would have asked for. I expected more of an interrogation from them by now.
The door opens and Detective Lawrence steps back inside. He looks about as tired as I am with fresh bags under his eyes and grease forming in his shaggy, brown hair. He’s lost that gotcha look he had several hours before when the man that kidnapped a movie star wandered into his precinct with his hands on his head. “Mr. Fitzpatrick…” he mumbles and sits down in front of me.
“Long day, Detective?”
He reaches into his pocket. “Your lawyer is here…”
“My lawyer?” I repeat.
The door bursts open. “There you are! Fox — don’t say another word.”
Boxcar strides into the room and slams his briefcase down on the cold table. He wears an old, wrinkled suit but at least he combed his hair. “Detective, I told you to release my client! Mr. Fitzpatrick is being illegally detained and I demand you set him free.”
“He confessed to kidnapping—”
“Has the family pressed charges? Better yet, the young woman has denied the entire thing — said she was with him of her own freewill the whole time.”
Lawrence narrows his eyes. “We still have him for his involvement in a terrorist organization.”
I open my mouth to speak, but Boxcar holds up a hand to shut me up. “Oh, yes… that so called master file you have on… who are they? Spider whatever?”
“Snake Eyes.”
“Sounds like bullshit to me,” Boxcar says. “And tell me, Detective, have you found Mr. Fitzpatrick’s name anywhere in that file?”
I look at the detective but I follow Boxcar’s lead and stay quiet.
Detective Lawrence leans forward in his chair. “No,” he admits. He points at my chest. “But he’s got the tattoo.”
Boxcar rolls his eyes. “I have a tattoo of Tweety Bird on my ass, Detective, but I am not, in fact, a Looney Tune. Either you charge my client with a crime right now or I will sue the shit out of you and this entire department.”
I bite my cheek to keep from smiling.
Lawrence’s eyes twitch with anger as he stands up. “You’re not that great of a lawyer, are you?”
Boxcar doesn’t answer. He stands there like a wall, patiently waiting for the detective to make his move.
Finally, Lawrence withdraws a set of small, silver keys from his pocket. “Mr. Fitzpatrick…” he mumbles as he unlocks my cuffs. “You’re free to go.”
“But I—”
“Fox, do as the man says…” Boxcar interrupts me and gestures to the door with purposeful eyes.
I follow him with confusion, completely amazed that no one bothers to shoot me as I walk towards the exit. The sun strikes my face as I step outside and I take a deep breath of fresh air. I enjoy it for a few seconds before turning towards Boxcar. “What the fuck was that?”
His face splits with a long smile. “I owed you one, so I figured I’d give you two.”
“What are you even doing here? I thought you’d be in Hong Kong by now.”
We start walking towards the parking lot and he places a shocked hand on his chest. “My friend tells me he’s about to turn himself in and I do nothing? What do you take me for?”
“The guilt tore you apart, eh?”
“I made it all the way down to Florida before I had to turn back…” he admits.
I look over my shoulder at the police station. “And why didn’t they find me in the master file?”
“Oh, please.” He waves a hand. “That was kid stuff. I just had to access the F.B.I.’s private network and wait for them to plug the damn thing in. Didn’t take but a minute once they did.”
I laugh. “Thanks, Box.”
“Look, I know you feel like you deserve to be in there but there are plenty of people in this world that disagree. I can think of one in particular that’s going to be very excited to see you.” We pause next to his rental car and he fires a disappointed stare at me. “But let me guess… you don’t plan on going to her?” I scratch an itch in my beard, saying nothing. “Dude… that’s cold.”
“She’s better off—”
“With you,” he completes. “She’s better off with you.”
“I’m not worth throwing her life away for.”
“Don’t make that decision for her. At the very least, tell her you’re a free man. She deserves that.”
“She deserves more than I can give her.”
He pauses, his eyes sidetracked by memory. “Fox, since the day I met you there’s been one constant truth in the world: I’m the coward and you’re the cool guy. Don’t mess that up.”
I nod at the station. “I think after what you just did in there, you’ve earned a day at being the cool guy, Boxcar.”
His lips curl. “That was pretty cool, wasn’t it?” He takes a quick breath, enjoying his moment. “But still… you don’t want to be the coward that loses the girl. Believe me. I know.”
“She’d take you back in a heartbeat, you know that,” I point out.
“Yeah, well…” He shrugs. “Maybe I’ll head out west soon. My great aunt just died so I’ve got some junk to pawn off.”
I shake my head. “Classy as ever, Box.”
“Some things never change.” He tosses his briefcase into the backseat. “Come on. I’ll take you back to your farm hideout. I hear you’ve got some bodies to bury.”
I take one last look around, filling my lungs with fresh air, before lowering myself into the car.
Chapter 22
Dani
I stare out the window at the waving and screaming crowd as our car slowly rolls out of the LAX parking lot.
&n
bsp; “Roxie! Roll down your window!”
“Tell us what happened, Roxie!”
“What do you know about Snake Eyes?”
“Is it true your stepbrother was involved with them?”
“How did you survive?”
“Damn vultures…” my father groans. “Don’t worry, Roxie. We’ll get you inside before they snap a single photo. I won’t have you in a sling all over the damn internet.”
“It’s okay, Dad.”
“This is a nightmare,” he continues. “I’m getting you home and you’re going to stay there until you’re completely healed and your hair grows back. Lena’s waiting at the house with a stylist so we can do something about the color. Oh—” He reaches into his bag and pulls out a black DVD case. “The producer sent over a screener of Night Trials 3. Wants you to watch it tonight and get back to him.”
I take the case and toss it into my purse. “Okay.”
“Hopefully, Bruckberg will agree to a house call…” He reaches into his pocket for his phone. “Damn stepbrother of yours ruining everything, as usual. At least now he’s in jail…”
I watch the world roll by my window. “He saved my life, Dad. Yours, too.”
“Yeah, yeah…” he murmurs. He holds his phone to his ear. “Yeah, hi. This is Bennett Roberts. I’m returning a call… Why? I was kidnapped in fucking Iowa, that’s why…”
I block out his voice. You’d think he’d give me more than a week off after getting shot but I guess that’s asking a little too much.
My new phone buzzes in my pocket.
Are we keeping the hair? My boss needs to know… ;)
I smile. Such a strange new friend I’ve gained from all of this. I send a reply to Darla while my father’s voice gathers volume.
“Yes, I’ll hold…” He scoffs to himself. “Remind me to find you a new bodyguard, too— and to get a proper background check done this time…”
“Okay, Dad.” I stare out the window and my eyes catch the pink neon sign on the corner.
Fawn’s Pawn.
I lean forward in my seat to get the driver’s attention. “Excuse me. Pull in here, please.”
“Umm, Roxie?” Dad says. “What are you doing?”
The car rolls to a stop in the small parking lot. “I just have to make a quick stop,” I say, grabbing my purse and stepping outside.
“No, you don’t—” He pauses as a voice starts in his ear. “Yes, Mr. Bruckberg. I’m here—”
I close the door behind me and walk quickly towards the shop with my head down.
Caleb grins at me from across the counter. “Of all the pawn shops, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.”
“Hey, Caleb…” I greet. “How are you?”
She raises a brow at me but keeps her smile. “Better than you, I’d wager…” Her eyes dip down. “How’s the arm?”
I jiggle it slightly in the sling and a twinge of pain tickles my nerves. “Drugs help.”
“That’s my motto,” she jokes. “Looks like our boy is still quite the shot.”
“How did you know it was him?” I ask.
“Oh, you know… friends in low places.”
“You didn’t hear it from him?”
She pauses and drags her teeth along her pink lips. “Not directly. From what I hear, he’s not looking to talk to anybody at all right now.”
My eyes drop to the counter. “I hoped I wasn’t included in that.”
“Oh, honey,” she smirks. “Of course, you are.”
I breathe a laugh. “Still…”
Caleb looks at me with sympathetic eyes. “I’ve known Fox for a long time — not as long as you have — but I think I can safely say that I know him a little better than you do.” I nod. “And if there’s one thing I can tell you about him with absolute certainty… it’s that he’s stupid.”
“Stupid?”
“So stupid.” She cracks a grin. “I mean… the guy can shoot the cherry off a cigarette from across a football field but he can’t see what’s right in front of him?”
“Sounds about right.”
“Dani, I can ramble on all day about how stupid men are — and, believe me, I have — but the hard truth is… we’re not any better. Especially if we don’t do anything about it.”
I exhale, thinking of him locked away from me. “I would if I could but… he’s slightly out of my reach at the moment.”
Caleb hesitates with narrow eyes. “Well, I probably shouldn’t be telling you this but… he might not be as out of reach as you think.”
“What do you mean?” I study her face and she smiles wide. My heart leaps. “You mean he’s…? Where?”
“There’s only one place a self-imposed exile enthusiast like him would go.” She presses her lips together. “You’re a smart kid, you’ll figure it out. And when you do… tell him I want my damn gun back, please.”
I step back from the counter. “I will.”
“Like, really. It has some sentimental value.”
I turn around and put my hand on the door. The black car sits in the lot with the engine running, just waiting to take me back into a world of broken dreams.
I spin towards the counter. “Do you have a back exit?”
Caleb grins.
Chapter 23
Fox
A knock strikes my door and I look at the clock. It’s just after noon which means Mrs. Clark probably has some errands for me to run.
“Coming—!” I sit up in bed and throw a shirt on before moving towards the door. My fingers brush through my beard. It’s gotten thicker over the last few days. I can expect a light scolding from Mrs. Clark about that…
I open the door and my heart skips a beat.
Her lips twitch with a light smile hidden just beneath the surface. “Hi, Fox,” she says, her voice just above a whisper.
“Dani.” I say her name aloud for my own benefit. For all I know, I fell and hit my head and I’m hallucinating her face on Mrs. Clark. Black hair. Blue eyes. Perfect skin.
She licks her lips. “Sorry for dropping in on you like this — but to be fair, you didn’t even tell me you were here.”
“How did you know I was?”
“I got an anonymous tip,” she answers. Her eyes shift. “From someone who’d really like her gun back.”
I drop my head and laugh. “Sounds about right.” My eyes linger on her beautiful face. “You kept the hair.”
She pushes a lock behind her ear. “It kind of grew on me… literally and figuratively, I guess.”
“I like it.”
“I know you do.” The smile stays on her lips as she reaches into her purse and pulls out a DVD case. “So, I’ve got a screener for Night Trials, Part 3. I figured we can curl up with some popcorn and check it out.”
“You came all the way out here to watch a movie with me?” I ask.
She lowers the case to her side. “Not really, but…” Her eyes stay on mine, soft and perfect. “I just really needed to see you again, Fox.”
My gaze drops to the sling. “You’re not mad?”
“What?” She smirks. “That you shot me?”
I wince. “Yeah.”
“A little…” she tilts her head, “but it could be worse, right? It’s not like you’re not going to make it up to me.”
“Am I?”
“You better.”
My heart beats a little faster. “Does your dad know you’re out here?”
“I’m sure he’s noticed I’m gone by now,” she chuckles. “He won’t be happy about it but… he’ll live.”
I exhale slowly. “Look, Dani…”
“Fox, I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear about all the different responsibilities I left behind or all the different reasons why you think we can’t be together, legitimate as they may be. I just want to be off-the-grid for a little while. With you.” She pauses, her eyes glistening. “Is that too much to ask? If it is, I’ll leave and never come back. I’d just like to hear it from
you. I think I deserve that much, don’t you?”
Here she is. My perfect Dani. Staring back at me with that spark in her eyes.
“Yeah,” I say, my heart slamming against my ribs. “Of course, you can stay.”
“Thank you.” She holds the DVD up again and smiles a little wider. “Movie?”
I shake my head. “I can’t watch that, Dani.”
“Oh.” She shrugs and slides it back inside her open purse. “We can watch something else if you want…”
“No, I mean… If I watch that without Mrs. Clark, she’ll go mental.”
Dani shines in the afternoon sun as she laughs. “In that case, she’s more than welcome to join us.”
“You’ve got a deal then,” I say.
Her knees bounce beneath her. “So, I came all the way out here for more than a movie. You going to kiss me or what?”
I smile. “I would, but… we have an audience.” I gesture over her shoulder and she looks back just in time to see Mrs. Clark drop the curtain back down.
“Oh…” she chuckles softly. “Doesn’t she have a hobby?”
“Spying on me is her hobby,” I joke.
“Well, she has good taste.” Her eyes peek around my shoulder. “Can I come in?”
“Please.” I step to the side and she walks forward into the cabin. My nose instantly twitches, overwhelmed by that stunning apple aroma. My mouth waters for her as I close the door.
I turn around and there she is, standing beneath me with those perfect, expectant eyes.
Dani. My beautiful Dani.
“So, do you want to watch it now, or…?”
“It’s a little early for a movie,” I note.
“I agree.” She tosses her purse to the floor and rushes into my arms.
I give her a firm kiss, cupping her face in my hands to hold her there, never wanting to let go.
“Fox.”
I rest my lips on her forehead. “Yeah?”
She trembles in my arms. “I love you, too.”
My laugh overwhelms me. “Dammit, Dani…”
“What?” She smiles wide, biting her lip.
“I’m never going to let you out of my sight again.”
“You wouldn’t be much of a bodyguard if you did.”
Bodyguard: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance (Snake Eyes Book 1) Page 15
