But when Evaleen set her mind to something, she made things happen.
Henrik was huddled in the corner, by himself, his fingers curled in his hair. As Edgar approached, Henrik seemed to shrink.
Sighing, I glanced down at the envelope and decided to open it. Much had changed in over a week and I wondered if what he had to say was even relevant anymore.
Dear Tiffany,
I know you hate me and I don’t blame you. Even if you never want to see me again, I wanted you to know that you are a wonderful mother. David couldn’t ask for a more caring mother that only had his best interest at heart.
I brought my hand to my mouth, forcing the cry back as I continued to read.
It’s me that’s a terrible friend. I assumed the worst in you when I first met you. I thought you would reveal all my secrets so I kept them hidden. I spied on you like a coward, assuming you needed me to protect you and your son when it’s clear how intelligent and strong you already are.
The tears ran down my face as it was hard to believe he saw me this way. Would Jagger say the same right now, as I allowed a deranged woman to take my son at gun point? Probably not.
That’s right, I spied on you. You see, I was too spineless to tell you that I planted listening devices in your apartment because you were the best person I had ever had the chance to fall in love with. I was afraid you would get hurt because I let you into my fucked-up world. And then I was too afraid to tell you I removed those devices.
If you are going to hate me I wanted you to know that I love you. I may not know how to give you my heart without breaking a few pieces first, but I wanted to write you so that if you should ever need some comfort, some help, and anyone to fall at your feet, then I will be there.
I promise to love you always. I will be there to protect you if you should ever give me the chance. And I will always admire your quiet strength.
Forever Yours,
Jagger Chance
I stared at the paper, rereading it a few times. He was admitting to me about the spying well before I found out. While that gave me some comfort, it wasn’t enough to forgive him. He never should have done it to begin with. But it made me realize Jagger was as new to love as I was to letting my son be independent. We both stumbled and made mistakes.
I folded up the letter and put it into my purse. Looking around I saw Aria—standing alone in the front—staring out the window.
We should be together. I got up and went over to her.
“Hey. How are you doing?” I put my hand on her shoulder.
“I’m going to kill her. I’ve decided, if she hurts anyone, I will kill her,” Aria said with a vacant stare in her eyes.
I took her hand in mine. “Come. Let’s cheer Henrik up.” I guided her toward the back where Henrik and Edgar were.
“May we sit?” I asked.
Henrik nodded but then turned his head to face the wall.
There was silence for a minute. The kind of quiet that feels like a boulder on your heart. That heaviness wasn’t new to me, but it was to them. The waiting. The not knowing if the person you loved most in the world would be alive or dead when it was all done.
I had to guide them through this.
“Well, this sucks,” I said.
That got their attention. Their eyes landed on me as if I just burp-sung the national anthem.
“You think?” Aria said.
“Don’t, Tiffany. Whatever you are planning to do, just don’t. I’d rather sit in my misery,” Henrik said, knowing me too well.
“I was just remembering a few years ago when I took David to the Art Institute of Chicago.” I smiled and noticed I still held their attention so I continued, “We were walking through one of the gallery sections and some people stared at him. He was in a wheelchair and I remember being angry that grown adults would stare at a child in a wheelchair. I remember one guy, who looked old enough to be a grandfather, pointed and laughed.”
I took a breath, willing back the tears. “David had recently got his communication device. He commented that he was glad they were looking at art from all around the world. They needed it. They needed to see things that were different so they might begin to understand the world better. He would always say the wisest things, that boy.”
“Did he realize the man was laughing at him?” Aria asked.
“I think so because as we passed by that guy David let out the biggest fart and then used his device to tell me who ever smelt it dealt it.” I chuckled.
That brought some smiles and a few giggles to the table.
“Morgana farts in her sleep,” Henrik said turning his body to face us, “a lot. And it’s not just once in a while. I would say she does it most nights of the week.”
“At least you can trap them in the covers. When Alex farts, he considers it a challenge to get me to smell them. He always wants a hug after he farts. Only I don’t realize he has farted until I’m trapped in his arms and he won’t let go.”
We were laughing and enjoying our memories of the people trapped in that building. It wasn’t that we weren’t scared and desperate to know they were safe, but we needed to remind ourselves of the good too, not just the bad. Something to help us through.
That’s when the door to the café opened. Aria stood, her eyes wide as she watched Alex walk into the room.
“Thank God,” she whispered before she raced over to him. That huge man opened his arms and allowed her petite body to crush him with love.
Everyone in the café stood. Most of the customers who had been here when we invaded left long ago. A few remained to help bring us coffee and pastries. They stood as well as hope lined their faces.
Popping out from behind Alex the giant, was a little redhead in a disheveled wedding dress.
“Morgana,” Henrik said and I had never heard such relief and love in one word.
He got up and ran to her, falling to his knees and wrapping his arms around her waist.
That’s when I started to really see them. They each had blood on their clothes, yet none of them appeared to be wounded. Not even a scratch.
“Where’s David?” I asked and couldn’t help the tremble in my voice.
Right at that moment, Jagger came through the door. His face not like the others. Both Morgana and Alex looked tired, but appreciative to be there.
Jagger eyes were heavy, and he seemed to have a hard time bringing his gaze up to mine. And his shirt . . . it had the most blood. Alex and Morgana were staring at me, frowning.
I shook my head as Jagger stepped closer.
“No. No. Please, where’s David?” I ran up to him, grabbing his arms, shaking him.
Jagger pulled me close. “I’m sorry, Tiffany, I never meant for this to happen.”
Pulling away I forced the man to look at me, grabbing his chin and pulling it down. “What happened? Tell me.”
“David was shot,” he whispered.
And just like that, my world spun beneath my feet. The pounding in my ears grew until I couldn’t hear what anyone was saying. I didn’t even realize but Jagger had sat me back in a chair.
“How?” I kept repeating over and over again.
It was as if my brain was stuck and couldn’t think past that one question.
“I didn’t see him. I swear, I didn’t see him,” Jagger said as he knelt at my feet.
I shook my head. “What do you mean?”
He took a breath but held my gaze. “I shot him.”
It took a few seconds for those words to sink in. But when they did, all the fear and sorrow I felt died, only to be replaced with anger. A fury so fierce, I couldn’t control what my body did.
I pushed him over. “You piece of fucking shit.”
The words flew from my mouth without thought as I stood. Jagger scurried to his feet and held up his hands. “Tiffany, I don’t think—”
Then I punched him in the stomach. “You shot my son. The one thing in this world you knew I loved more than anything. You took him from me.
” My words wobbled with tears but deepened, being fed by anger.
I felt a hand on my shoulder but shrugged it off.
“Tiffany,” Henrik said from behind.
“No. God damn it, no! You got the woman you love back. What do I have? I have nothing now. Well, fuck that.”
“Tiffany, language,” Henrik whispered.
“That doesn’t matter anymore. I worked hard to raise that boy and even made sure no one cursed around him.” I shook my head as a jagged laugh made it past the tears. “Jokes on me. All the hard work. All the not cursing and he’s still dead.”
“They don’t know if—” Jagger tried to speak but he didn’t deserve to say anything right now.
“Shut the fuck up. Haven’t you done enough? You lie and you spy and now you take a little boy’s life.”
I was so busy screaming that I didn’t hear the bell over the door chime as someone entered the café. It was only when a warm hand came to rest on my arm that I turned with total expectation to halt any sympathy someone wanted to send my way. I needed to be angry. It was time for me to have my say.
But when I turned, the fury, the sorrow, it melted into overwhelming relief. Like a thousand pounds had been lifted and I could breathe again.
“David,” I choked out the word.
He didn’t have time to respond as I pulled my boy into my arms. David lifted his arm to wrap around me. I held him even when he tried to pull away.
“No, just a little longer,” I said and knew the blanket he was wrapped in was drenched with my tears.
“Please, Mom. I need to sit,” he said and that was the only thing that took me away from my son, his comfort.
“Of course.” I pulled out a chair and helped him into it.
“I thought you had been shot?” Henrik said as he took a seat next to David.
I pulled a chair to the other side of David and ran my fingers through his hair. I could see blood on his clothes that peeked out from beneath the blanket.
“Yeah, that was cool.” David smiled and glanced over at Jagger.
“Not really cool when I thought you were dead.” I didn’t really gaze over at Jagger in the same admiring way as my son did. My look was more like throwing knives—most likely knives dipped in poison.
“I tried to tell you that the medics were out there looking at him to see how badly the wound was. I came in here to tell you so you could go to the hospital with him if need be. But you—”
“Didn’t let you speak.” I sighed and bit my lower lip. “How about next time you start your speech with my son is alive before you tell me he’s been shot.”
Jagger nodded. “Noted.”
“So, if you’d been shot, shouldn’t they be taking you to the hospital?” I asked and gazed around David’s body trying to find the wound.
David pulled off the blanket and winced as it fell from his arm. There, on his left upper arm, the sleeve had been ripped off. A large, white bandage was taped to his upper forearm and shoulder. Streaks of dried blood ran down his arm.
“The bullet just grazed my skin. It only had to be cleaned out and bandaged. I don’t think Emma Hawthorne was as lucky,” David said as he glanced over at Alex.
“Yeah, they took my mother to the hospital,” Alex said.
“I’m sorry, Alex,” I said.
He shrugged. “She’s still my mother and I don’t want to see her hurt, but she kind of brought all this on herself.”
Truer words had never been spoken.
“I think it’s time to head home, David. It’s been a long day,” I said.
“Can Jagger come? He saved us,” David said.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my ninja-in-training.” Jagger smiled and put his hand on David’s shoulder once David stood.
“Hey, Henrik. Can you walk David out? I need to discuss something with Jagger for a second.” Henrik nodded and I watched the love of my life regale Henrik with all the tales of the day.
Once they were out the door, I turned to Jagger. He stood tall and I knew he was bracing himself for my wrath. I knew he wasn’t going to like what he heard but I wasn’t about to rip him apart.
“Thank you for helping everyone get away from that monster. I know it isn’t your job, but I want to thank you anyway for coming when I asked.”
His eyes softened and he took a step forward. “Anything for you, for David. I would do it again and again if it meant you two are safe.”
I took a breath and chewed on his words for a bit. He was telling the truth. He had come to care for David and, in his own way, he really did love me.
“But, I don’t think we can see you anymore. All that has happened today made me realize it’s best to move forward. You helped me get past what lingering guilt I had about my husband, but I need more than that. You lied. You shot my son. It seems to me you do things with good intentions that can hurt people. And, as a mother, I can’t have someone like that around my son. Goodbye, Jagger.”
I clasped his hand, staring at his blood-stained fingers as they gripped mine. But then I let go. I turned and walked out, determined never to look back.
THIRTY-THREE
Tiffany
2 Months Later
“I liked it,” I said as we stepped out of the petite apartment building and onto the street.
“That one was too small. Plus, it had a weird smell,” David said as we turned the corner of the street and walked away from the fifth apartment we had looked at this past week.
It had been two months since the first time Henrik and Morgana tried to get married. They did it again a week later, but just a small affair at city hall. Then we all went out to dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant where the owner—a small woman with rather large hips—kept fawning over Morgana.
Which Morgana didn’t mind as the woman made her a special “bridal” cake. Just for her. I think if Henrik and Morgana ever divorce, Morgana had her eyes on the owner.
“You said the last one was too big, as if that should ever be a problem in a home. Now this one is too small.” I shook my head at my very independent son who seemed to find something wrong with every place we went to. At this rate, we’ll never move out of our current apartment and our lease was up at the end of the month.
“I’m just not feeling these apartments. We need something that says we’re wise and know a thing or two about the world.” David fanned his hands out as we walked by shops.
I rolled my eyes. The entire wedding event went straight to my son’s head.
Since David was shot he felt the need to show the scar to everyone he met. His friends all thought he was the coolest person in the world. I had to finally put an end to it when he tried to show his scar to the checkout woman at the grocery store. I kept getting weird looks from adults, as they seemed to assume I was somehow involved with him being shot.
“What about this place?” David came to a stop and pointed at what looked like a gym.
There was a sign in the window that said apartment for rent. Before I had a chance to get a good look, David grabbed my hand and pulled me along. How could a boy grow so much and gain such strength in a matter of a few months? He was now taller than me.
David opened the door and we stepped inside. There were floor mats, a large punching bag that hung from the ceiling in the corner, and some things I recognized from what David had used in PT. I wondered what sort of gym this was.
“No one is here, David. It’s noon. They’re probably at lunch. We should go.” I tried to tug my son back toward the door.
“Wouldn’t they lock the place before leaving it. Come on, Mom.” David gave me his perfected I’m smarter than you because I’m a teenager voice.
“That’s true, but—” I stopped talking and perhaps, stopped breathing as a man walked through a door from the back and into the room.
“Jagger.” I found my breath and voice once his green eyes found me.
He stopped the moment he saw me. The man hadn’t changed. His body s
till firm and thick like a tree trunk. It suddenly seemed hot in the gym as I stared at the black T-shirt that hugged his chest. I had to take off my red scarf and navy wool coat for fear I might pass out.
“Tiffany. David. What are you two doing here?” he asked and I had to glance away at the flicker of hope I saw in his eyes.
“We’re here for the apartment for rent,” David said before I could stop him.
“Actually, I think we should look somewhere else.” I turned to my son to indicate we were leaving. “David.”
“I want to see it. I think it would be cool to live over a gym.” David pulled away and stepped closer to Jagger.
Jagger’s eyes bounced between me and my son. “Maybe your mom is right. I’ve told you before, David, your mom wouldn’t like this.”
“Before?” I tilted my head to my son—whose cheeks turned crimson and eyes fell to the floor. “What does he mean by that, David?”
“Uh, nothing.” David shook his head and tried to walk toward the door before my arm reached out to stop him.
“No, it’s something. Tell me.”
“Ugh, fine.” David’s head fell back as he groaned. “I found out Jagger opened his ninja gym and I came here to sign up for classes.”
My eyes widened, and I glanced over at Jagger. “You let him sign up for ninja lessons without me knowing about it?”
Jagger held up his hands. “No, absolutely not. I told him he had to get your permission first. There’s even a form that requires a parent’s signature. Which he tried to hand back with the worst forged signature I’d ever seen.”
“David!” I said.
David turned to me and threw his hands in the air. “Come on, Mom. I just want to learn to be a ninja. This is, like, my dream. And Jagger is so cool, and you refuse to let me call him.”
I stepped closer to my son and lowered my voice. “He shot you. Why would I let you near a man who could have cost you your life?”
“That was my fault,” David yelled.
“David, don’t blame yourself. I had been trained in what to do in that situation, and I knew to look first and then pull the trigger. Obviously, I didn’t do that. It was my fault.”
The Spy Ring (Cake Love Book 4) Page 20
