Make Me Melt

by Karen Foley

  Caroline rose to her feet. “What is it?”

  “The men recanted.”

  She put out a hand and grasped her father’s bed rail for balance. “What do you mean?”

  Jason’s eyes were so sympathetic that she knew he didn’t want to tell her what he’d learned. “Miguel Gonzales and Roberto Calvo are two of Sanchez’s top men, and, yes, they initially confessed to shooting the judge.” He scrubbed a hand over his hair. “But after questioning, they retracted their story.”

  She shrugged, giving him a bewildered look. “So what? They probably think they can get away with it. I’d recant, too, if I thought it would gain me my freedom.”

  “No, it’s not like that,” he said. “Believe me, I wish it was that easy. These men were coerced into a confession.”

  “How?”

  “They were beaten and their families were threatened. They believed they had no choice but to confess or they would be killed.”

  Caroline stared at him in astonishment. “But who would do that? Who would have that kind of power?”

  “Eddie Green.”

  “And you think he had those men beaten?”

  “I do.”

  “But why? It makes no sense.”

  “He and the Sanchez gang have been in competition for years. Eddie used to control the entire Hunters Point region, until the Sanchez gang moved in about six years ago. There’s been a territory dispute going on since then. Eddie considers Hunters Point his terrain, but the Sanchez gang has gained a strong foothold.”

  “So Eddie thought he could intimidate these men into confessing, and force them out of Hunters Point?”

  “Something like that. With Sanchez behind bars, Eddie probably thought he could further weaken their faction by getting rid of the top leaders.” Jason blew out a hard breath. “But there’s nothing to indicate these men were anywhere near Sea Cliff the night of the shooting.”

  “If Eddie wants them gone, why beat them? Why didn’t he just kill them?”

  “He knew they wouldn’t be convicted. He was sending a message to Sanchez that his men are weak, and that at any time, Eddie can get to them.”

  “So this had nothing to do with my father and everything to do with a gang war?” Caroline couldn’t keep the dismay out of her voice.

  “I’m sorry. I wish I had better news for you. Eddie Green saw this as an opportunity to send a message, but you’re right—it has nothing to do with your father’s shooting. Eddie was the one who called in the tip on the license plates and led the police to Sanchez’s men.” Jason pulled her into his arms, pressing her face into his shoulder and soothing his hands over her back. “It was all just a game to him.”

  “I just want this to be over.” Her words were muffled against his body. “I want it to end.”

  “Caroline.” The voice was weak and raspy.

  She lifted her head and slowly looked toward the bed where her father lay. “Daddy?”

  William’s eyes were slightly open, and he was looking directly at her. With a cry, she pulled free from Jason’s arms and hurried to his bedside, bending over him and grasping his frail hand in both of hers.

  “I’m here, Daddy. I’m here,” she said, aware that her face was wet with tears.

  “Caroline.”

  “It’s okay.” She smoothed her hand over his brow. “I’m here, and everything is going to be fine.”

  She looked over her shoulder to where Jason stood at her side. His expression softened as he looked at her father, and he put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently.

  “Do you remember what happened, sir?” Jason asked.

  William Banks’s face wrinkled in concentration, and then he gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

  “Don’t worry,” Caroline reassured him. “I just want you to rest now.” She glanced at Jason. “Please, go get the doctor.”

  He crossed the room and opened the door, speaking quickly to the guards who stood outside before closing the door and coming back to the bedside.

  “Someone will be right in,” he said, but his eyes were on Judge Banks.

  “Always knew you should be together,” the older man said in a thin, gravelly voice.

  “Daddy,” Caroline protested, embarrassed. “We don’t need to talk about this right now.”

  The door opened, and a doctor and two nurses entered, rolling a tray of equipment with them. The doctor looked at Caroline and gave her a quick smile.

  “I told you he’d progress quickly,” he said to her. “You’re welcome to stay in the room while we examine him.”

  Caroline looked at her father, but he had closed his eyes again. “No,” she demurred. “We’ll let you do your job. We’ll be right back, Dad.”

  Jason and Caroline stepped out into the corridor, where Deputy Mitchell and the other guards stood. She sagged against Jason, feeling a little weak from the force of her relief.

  “He’s going to be okay,” she said, looking at him. “He’s really going to be okay.”

  Jason supported her, letting her lean against him, with a strong arm around her shoulders. “I hope you’re right.”

  In that moment, Caroline knew she wouldn’t be returning to Virginia. She’d call Arthur MacInness, and let him know that she was leaving the law firm. He’d understand. Then she’d let Patrick Dougherty know that she wouldn’t be coming back. She only hoped that the lawyer who had taken over her cases was working out. She knew from firsthand experience how difficult it was not to get involved with the kids once you’d heard their stories.

  But her life was here now, in California. Her father needed her. And she needed Jason.

  “I’m staying here,” she murmured.

  He nodded. “Absolutely. I’ll have one of the men grab us something to eat from the cafeteria.”

  “No,” she said, looking up at him. “I’m staying here, in California. I’m not returning to the East Coast.”

  For a moment he just stared at her, uncomprehending. Then his whole expression changed. “Caroline, your father won’t be in the hospital forever. Eventually, he’ll be well enough to return home, maybe even go back to his job.”

  “I know. Even if he does decide to go back to work, I’m not returning to Richmond.”

  “What changed your mind?”

  “I have too much for me here,” she said softly. “Everything I care about is here in California.”

  He tilted his head, waiting. “Not just in San Francisco?”

  “In San Francisco, and in San Diego.”

  He bent toward her and lowered his voice. “If we weren’t being watched by every man in this hallway, I’d kiss you right now.”

  Without looking at the other men, Caroline raised herself on tiptoe and planted a kiss directly on his mouth.

  “Consider that a down payment,” she said, smiling into his eyes. “That’s the first thing I’m looking forward to, once this whole thing is over.”

  “What is?”

  “The right to kiss you whenever I want, without anyone passing judgment.”

  The door to her father’s room opened, and the doctor stepped out. “He’s in a considerable amount of pain, so I’ve increased his morphine,” he said. “But I’m really pleased with his progress, and we’ll be moving him out of ICU within the next day or so.” He looked at Jason. “He has no memory of what happened to him. He said the last thing he remembers is going to bed the night before. That’s pretty common with a traumatic event.”

  “Will he regain those memories?” Jason asked.

  The doctor shrugged. “It’s hard to say. He might, but I’ve seen cases where the patient never recalls the incident.”

  “You’re not making my job any easier, doc,” Jason said.

  The doctor gave him a sympatheti
c smile and slapped him lightly on the back. “The judge says you always get your man, so I have no doubt you’ll catch who did this to him.”

  “Can I see him?” Caroline asked.

  “Of course, but we just sedated him.” He gave Jason a sympathetic look. “You’ll have to save your questioning for later, Marshal.”

  Jason nodded.

  In his room, Caroline stood by her father’s bed and watched him sleep. “I remember when my mother died, and I refused to leave my bedroom for six days,” she said thickly. “I was just a toddler. I wouldn’t even go to her funeral. I thought maybe if I didn’t leave my room, I could still believe she was somewhere in the house.”

  Jason stroked her back. “The judge said you had a pretty tough time after she died.”

  “He left me just long enough to go to her service, but otherwise he never left my side. Even after the funeral, when we had a house filled with people, he stayed in my room with me. He never lost his patience with me or tried to force me to come downstairs or tell me that I had to face the truth.” She turned and looked at Jason. “He was just there, ready to give me whatever it was that I needed.”

  “He loves you very much.”

  “I want to be here for him,” she said. “Until he’s ready to leave this hospital, I want to be sure he has everything he needs.”

  “All he needs is you, Caroline.”

  She nodded, blinking back tears. “I know, but would you mind if we go over to the Sea Cliff house? I’d like to pick up some of his personal things and bring them back here. He’d be happier, I think.”

  “Sure. The investigators are finished at the house, so I see no reason why we can’t do that.”

  * * *

  JASON HAD BEEN RIGHT—the crime tape was gone. Pulling into the driveway of the home, nobody would ever guess that the house had been the scene of a horrific crime just days earlier.

  “I sent a cleaning crew out here yesterday,” he told her, shutting off the engine. “You won’t see anything in the front entrance to upset you.”

  Caroline nodded. “Thanks.”

  Jason glanced in his rearview mirror; Deputies Black and Mitchell had pulled in behind them. “Let’s give them a few minutes to secure the house, and then we can go in.”

  They sat in the car while the two men did a quick sweep of the property and the house before coming out to the porch to wave them in.

  “All clear,” Jason said.

  Caroline hadn’t been inside the house in years, and entering the large kitchen, she was immediately struck by how little it had changed in her absence. She realized it was one of the things she loved about being home—she could always count on it feeling familiar and safe.

  “There’s nobody else in the house,” Jason said, coming to stand beside her. “The staff won’t return until your father is discharged and sent home. Unless, of course, you want them here sooner.”

  Caroline shook her head. “No, that’s not necessary. I’ll see that their wages are paid for the time they’re not working, but there’s no point in them coming to the house. They may not even want to. Until the shooter is caught, I don’t think I’d want to come back here.”

  “You’re safe,” Jason assured her.

  Caroline knew without being told that the two deputies had taken up positions near the front and back doors of the house, and that nobody would get past them.

  “I’m going to run upstairs and pack a small bag,” she said.

  “I’ll come with you.”

  She paused. “You don’t have to, Jason. You said I’m safe.”

  “Call me old-fashioned,” he murmured. “I take my job seriously.”

  She was acutely aware of him following her up the wide, curving staircase to the second floor. She was filled with bittersweet memories of the times when Jason had stayed in their house during his college years, but had never seemed to notice she existed. She’d been so head over heels crazy for him.

  She still was.

  “Have you ever been upstairs?” she asked now.

  “Sure.”

  She glanced at him. “I think there was a reason my father put your room down on the first floor.”

  He grinned up at her. “Absolutely. Although, until you were about fifteen, you were just this cute little annoyance.”

  Caroline laughed, recalling how she used to spy on Jason, thinking he wouldn’t notice. “And after I was fifteen?”

  He expression was rueful. “I’m ashamed to admit that I did check you out. But I never would have crossed that line with you. It was just hard to ignore you when you seemed determined to wear as little clothing as possible.”

  They’d reached the second floor, and Caroline paused on the landing. “I was determined to make you notice me.”

  “Oh, I noticed,” he said, laughing. “And the older you got, the more I couldn’t help noticing.”

  “You seemed so different from any of the boys I went to high school with.”

  “Yeah, I was a lot older.”

  She studied him now. “No, it had more to do with your attitude. You seemed a little dangerous, and I always wondered, after you left, if I’d ever see you again. You were a little bit like a wild creature, always on the verge of bolting for freedom.”

  “I felt a little wild back then.”

  She turned and continued down the carpeted hallway until she reached the door to her bedroom. After opening it, she stood back so that he could see. “This is where I did all my fantasizing about you.”

  The room was spacious and airy, with sweeping views of the water. The canopy bed was draped with sheer curtains, and the walls were covered in posters, while decorative minilights dangled from the ceiling. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves contained her youthful collection of novels, music boxes and stuffed animals, and Caroline knew that if she were to open the wide closet doors, all her old clothing and shoes would still be neatly lined up.

  “You never thought to redecorate?” Jason asked wryly. “I don’t think this room has changed since you were fifteen.”

  She smiled. “Nope. I told my dad that he could convert it to another guest bedroom, but he said he liked it just the way it was.” She paused. “He said it reassured him that there was still innocence and goodness in the world.”

  “I understand what he meant.”

  “Do you ever want to do something different?” she ventured.

  “Nope.”

  “But you could be a trial lawyer with your background,” she said.

  “Can you honestly see me striding through a courtroom, making impassioned speeches?” he asked. “I spent ten years in law enforcement before I was appointed to the marshal position. This is where I belong.”

  Caroline nodded. She knew exactly what he meant. She recalled that moment when she realized she was meant to work with underprivileged children. She’d had a sense of complete fulfillment. While corporate law might be more lucrative, she would never find it more satisfying.

  “What about you?” Jason asked. “Ever see yourself as a trial lawyer?”

  She gave a surprised laugh. “Me? No. I’ve thought about using my trust fund to set up a foundation for needy kids.” She sensed his sharp interest. “I really enjoyed the pro bono work I did in Richmond for the child welfare office. I felt like I was making a difference.”

  “That’s a noble endeavor,” he finally replied. “What about working as a child advocate here in San Francisco?” He gave her a wry grin. “Trust me, if I’d had someone like you on my side back when I was a kid, things might have been very different.”

  Caroline sobered. “But then I might never have met you. You wouldn’t have ended up in my father’s courtroom, and you certainly wouldn’t have spent time with us while you finished college.”

  “And you wouldn’t have
spent half your time watching me when you thought I wasn’t looking,” he said, his tone teasing.

  Her eyes widened. “You knew I used to spy on you?”

  Grinning, he pulled her into his arms. “Like I said, I knew everything about you.”

  They stared at each other for several long seconds. Jason swallowed, and his gaze dropped to her mouth.

  She placed her hands lightly against his chest and pressed her lips sweetly to his. The moment their lips met, heat flared. With a rough groan, Jason captured her face between his big hands and slanted his mouth across her own. She didn’t resist when she felt the intrusion of his tongue against hers, and then there was only a slow burn that made her nipples ache and her center throb.

  She wound her arms around his neck, speared her fingers through his hair and reveled in the hard, solid feel of him, flush against her from chest to knees. He slid a hand to the base of her spine and pressed her forward so that she could feel his growing erection beneath his jeans. In another second, she was going to drag him into her childhood bedroom, throw him across the pristine white bedspread and do all the things that she’d ever fantasized about doing to him.

  The sound of a car door slamming nearby startled them both, and they broke apart, their breathing a little labored. Stepping past her, Jason moved swiftly into her bedroom and over to the side window. She followed him, and they both looked outside.

  A car had pulled into the driveway of the house next door, and a woman had climbed out of the passenger seat. She wore a plain beige uniform with a white collar and cuffs and white service shoes. As they watched, the car reversed slowly and backed into the street before driving away.

  “That’s the neighbor’s housekeeper,” Jason noted.

  She remembered the woman from that first day, when she had insisted on seeing the spot where her father had been shot. Now the woman carried two large shopping sacks in her arms, and Caroline could see a long loaf of crusty bread and a leafy vegetable poking out of the top.

  “She must be the cook,” she murmured. “Or maybe she does both. Looks like she has something good planned for dinner.”

  They watched as the woman climbed the steps to the back door and then pulled out her house key, struggling to balance the two sacks of groceries and her pocketbook. She glanced once over at their house and gave a quick nod of acknowledgment. Caroline knew that one of the deputies stood guard on the back porch, so she must have just become aware of him observing her.