“No. I’m going to call Commander Adkins and brief him now. He can run it up the chain,” Noah replied. “I’ll be right back.”
When Noah left the room, Silas watched his retreating back intently. When Noah closed the door, Silas stood and walked around the room until he was positioned just outside of it. He heard as Noah asked for the commander and said he’d hold. Silas feigned interest in the artwork that hung outside the bedroom in the elaborate suite.
“Silas, how long has it been since you were able to be yourself for Christmas?” Shadow asked.
“Too many years to count,” he replied vaguely.
“Yeah, I’ll bet it’s rough when the years start blurring into one,” Shadow replied. “How long were you undercover for this last case?”
“About three years,” he replied, purposefully keeping his answers short. The last thing he wanted right then was to encourage a long-winded conversation.
“Do you usually jump from one case immediately into the next?” Shadow persisted.
“We have a mandatory decompression time in between,” Silas answered and noted he’d let his irritation slip through his cool façade.
“I bet you’ve had to drastically change your appearance before, huh?”
Silas turned and completely faced Shadow. “Yeah.”
Noah walked out of the bedroom, slipped his phone into his pocket, and stopped when he saw the stare-down between his brother and one of the men he considered his brother. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” Shadow smiled in triumph but didn’t move his gaze from Silas. “Just talking with your brother about undercover work.”
“I’m sure you two have plenty of stories to share,” Noah replied.
“How’s that?” Silas asked.
“I’m former CIA,” Shadow replied.
Silas looked disgusted and glared at Shadow. “Is that right?”
“Get everything squared away?” Shadow asked Noah.
“Yeah, turned it over to Commander Adkins. He’s scheduling a meeting with the Joint Chiefs to brief the President,” Noah replied.
“Good. Let them handle it. We’re out of the mix now,” Shadow replied and cut his eyes to Silas.
“Couldn’t agree more,” Noah replied.
Silas left Noah and Shadow and walked off to his room alone. When he was out of earshot, Noah crossed his arms over his chest and quirked one eyebrow up at Shadow. “Let’s have it.”
“What?”
“Don’t what me. You’ve never tried to get out of a mission before, never handed it off to someone else to finish. What’s the deal?” Noah demanded.
“After all the years we’ve worked together, I never thought I’d have to ask you this,” Shadow started. “But if it comes down to it and you have to choose, whose side would you pick? Mine—or your brother’s?” Shadow asked.
“Why would I have to pick sides between you and my brother?”
“Trust me when I say I recognize the signs of a spy. Your brother isn’t here only for Chaise’s wedding. I don’t know what his angle is, but you need to be prepared to make that choice when the time comes,” Shadow replied.
Noah nodded. “Understood.”
He walked to Brianna and took his seat next to her, but his mind was a million miles away. Faced with a problem he’d never even considered, he decided to do a little digging of his own. His first interrogation subject was Sara, his mother. He pulled out his phone and tapped a quick text to her. When his phone alerted him of the response, part of him didn’t want to look.
Noah: Meant to ask earlier, how’d you finally get ahold of Silas?
Sara: I didn’t. He called me.
Noah closed his eyes and contemplated his next move. Now that he’d confirmed the first lie, he knew he had to keep digging.
Noah: Didn’t realize he called you that often.
Sara: He doesn’t. This was out of the blue. Perfect timing.
Noah stared at the text for longer than he should have. The others were busy watching TV, talking, or napping, but Brianna could read him like a book. He felt her fingers in his hair before she started to play with the top of his ear. He couldn’t help but smile. Of all the body parts she has to choose from, she picks my ears to play with, he mused.
“Something’s wrong,” she stated. “I know you.”
He handed his cell phone to her and let her read the message. Her natural inclination to ask probing questions would kick in as soon as she read it, and she’d know exactly where his mind was. She looked up, and when her eyes met his, he knew that she completely understood what he faced.
“What are you going to do?” she asked, understanding thick in her voice.
“The only thing I can do. I’m going to confront him.”
“I’ll go with you, if you want. For no other reason than to support you, but I’ll be by your side,” she replied.
“I love you,” he answered. “But I don’t want you there if it turns ugly.”
“Now I’m going for sure.”
“Bri.” He looked down at her protruding belly. “If anything happened to you or the baby, I’d go to prison.”
“Fine. Just know one thing—that excuse will only work for so long. If anything happens to you, I can’t be held accountable for my actions.”
He chuckled at her bravado. “I’d expect nothing less from you, babe.” Before he got up, he leaned in and kissed her passionately. “Wait here. I’ll be back.”
Shadow watched Noah rise and leave the room. He felt eyes on him and turned to see Brianna pinning him with her stare. She raised her eyebrows and inclined her head toward the door Noah had just walked through. When he didn’t move fast enough, she mouthed the word “Go!” and made a jerking motion with her thumb stuck out. Shadow bit his lip to keep from laughing out loud and silently rose from the couch.
He stepped into the hallway outside the suite and instantly heard raised voices. He moved quietly toward the door and listened to the conversation.
“You lied to me, and I know it,” Noah yelled.
“What does it matter how I got here? The point is I’m here,” Silas dodged.
“No, that’s not the point, and you know it.”
“What are you asking me, Noah?”
“Are you working this case behind my back? Are you still undercover?”
“What makes you think that?”
“Stop answering my questions with a question. Be a man. Hell, be a brother. Answer me,” Noah roared.
There was dead silence and Shadow readied himself to kick the door down. If he was correct in his assumption about Silas, there would be one hell of a fight but there was no way Silas would fight fair. Even with his brother. Shadow wouldn’t take any chances with Noah’s life.
“I think you’d better leave now,” Silas replied. He was a little too calm and collected in Shadow’s opinion.
“No, Silas. I think you’d better leave now. I’m afraid you’ve worn out your welcome,” Noah replied.
“You really want to do that to Chaise during her honeymoon? And to Mom and Dad during Christmas, when they’re already going through enough?” Silas replied.
Shadow knew Silas had used the only tactic that would get to Noah. He waited for the reply from Noah that was inevitable. Not that he blamed him, but he knew that Silas was only using their family as leverage over Noah. That was something that Noah would never do.
“Maybe you should’ve thought about that before you made us part of your undercover case without our knowledge. We work in dangerous conditions all the time, but we work as a team. One doesn’t run off half-cocked and get us all killed. This is my family you’re putting in danger. Two of them are your sister and your brother-in-law, not to mention your sister-in-law and your niece, but none of that seems to matter to you,” Noah shouted. “Mom and Dad would be ashamed of you.”
Shadow was pleasantly surprised at Noah’s response. “You go, brother.”
“Wait,” Silas finally answered.
“Have a seat,” Silas continued. “Let’s talk.”
21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“Good morning,” the nurse called as she entered the room. “How’s my favorite patient today?”
“I bet you say that to all of your patients,” Steve answered with a smile.
She stopped and dramatically dropped her bottom jaw. “I can’t believe you’d say such a thing to me,” she chastised him playfully. “And on New Year’s Eve of all days.” She tsked him and then giggled. “How are you feeling today, Steve?”
“I actually feel better today. I’m hopeful that the treatments are working. I can tell a difference in my energy level over the last few days.”
“That’s great. What about your diet? Are you eating well? Keeping your food down?” she probed.
“This week has been much better for that. I’ve eaten more and gotten to keep it down for the most part.”
“The lab tech will be in this morning to draw blood. As soon as those results are ready, the doctor will be in to talk to you. Do you need anything while I’m here?” she asked.
“A sixteen-ounce T-bone steak, medium, loaded baked potato, salad with ranch dressing, and a large sweet tea,” he joked.
She pretended to write it down on her hand. “Got it. You wait right here for me to bring it back to you.”
This had been their daily game since Steve was admitted to the hospital a few days before Christmas. Sara and Steve still hadn’t told their children that he’d had a reaction to the first dose of medication and had to be hospitalized. Dr. Stanton adjusted the amounts, and Steve had better tolerated it since that time. The lab work would tell them if the adjusted dosage was working. If not, they would have to start from square one again.
“Thank you, Heather,” Steve replied. “You’re the best nurse. You always make me smile. Can you work every day? Nurse Allison is the devil.”
Heather tried to keep from laughing at Steve’s comment. The harder she tried, the more impossible it became. “Okay, I’ll give you that one. If you need anything, just hit the button. I’ll be back to check on you in a bit.”
“Will do.” He smiled.
Steve couldn’t bring himself to tell Silas, Noah, and Chaise about it during her honeymoon and their Christmas vacation. When he’d virtually walked Chaise down the aisle, he was sitting in the hospital room praying no one would notice the wall behind him. He’d sat on the side of his hospital bed wearing a suit jacket, shirt, and tie, and propped the iPad up on the tray table. He’d refused to eat anything that day in hopes that he wouldn’t become ill again. He’d made it through the ceremony and partly through the reception before he’d disconnected and let exhaustion overtake him.
But on that particular day, he’d noticed a marked improvement in his energy and his appetite. He could finally joke about food without it turning his stomach. He could smell food without his skin turning a bright shade of green. At last, he dared to hope that the treatments were working and he’d soon be free of the cancer that had taken up residence in his body.
Throughout the day, Heather checked on him several times and brought his next dose of chemotherapy. His breath still hitched in his chest every time they hung the bag of IV fluids that contained his life-giving, cancer-killing toxins. Sara returned from her day of pampering that Steve insisted she do for herself.
“How’s my favorite husband?” Sara asked. It had become a joke by extension that started after Heather asked about her favorite patient. The playfulness of the simple question helped make them both feel better about the situation.
“I’ll ask him when he comes out of the bathroom,” Steve quipped.
“Oh, look who has a sense of humor today. You must be feeling pretty good,” Sara said enthusiastically.
“Sara, I really do. I’m afraid to say it out loud, but I’m actually convinced my labs will come back with positive news,” he replied.
“I agree. So let it be said, so let it be done,” she replied.
“You look beautiful, babe,” he said as she took her seat beside his bed. “I can’t wait to get out of here.”
“Thank you,” she replied sweetly. “I can’t wait for you to get out of here either. I miss sleeping with you.”
“When this is over, you won’t be getting any sleep for a long time.”
“Steve,” she gasped. “I kind of like this side of you. Can we get some of that medicine to go?”
He laughed heartily. “If that’s what it takes.”
“I heard from Chaise today. They’re back home, settling in to married life like they’ve been married for years,” Sara told him. “Colton talked to me for a little while, too. I can see why Chaise loves him so much. He’s really a great guy.”
“It’ll be nice to have everyone over for birthdays, holidays, and Tuesdays,” Steve replied wistfully.
“Tuesdays?”
“Yes, Tuesday doesn’t get enough attention. It’s the forgotten weekday, and it needs to be celebrated. We’ll have all the kids over every Tuesday,” he decided.
Sara stared at him dumbfounded for several seconds. “Who is this man, and what have you done with my husband?”
“I’ve replaced him with the new and upgraded version. We’ll have Super-Steve-Tuesdays from now on. It’s part of my new leaf. So, what else did Chaise have to say?”
“She asked about you, of course. I still didn’t tell her that you’re in the hospital. They won’t be happy when they find out,” she replied.
“We’ll tell them one way or another when my labs come back. We’ll know more then. Is Silas still home?”
“Yes, he is. I’ve never known him to stay put for so long. When he comes home between cases, he’s usually there no longer than two or three days before leaving out again.”
“Maybe he’s getting out of it and planning to stay home for good now. It’s time for him to settle down anyway. He’s been on so many undercover operations, he has to be risking crossing paths with the same people again,” Steve replied, worry etched in his expression.
“Wouldn’t that be wonderful, Steve? To have all of our kids and grandkids close to us?”
“It definitely would be.”
* * *
“I’m never speaking to you again, so don’t even start,” Chaise yelled at Silas.
“I’ve apologized a hundred times. What more do you want me to do?”
“Well, I don’t know, Silas. I’ve never used my sister’s wedding to spy on my siblings and see what they’re up to. I haven’t put my family’s lives in jeopardy without even telling them. And I’ve never hurt my brothers the way you’ve hurt me. So you tell me, Silas. How do you make up for something like that?”
“Baby girl, I’d never let anything happen to you.”
She whirled around to face him with fire shooting out of her eyes. “That’s the difference between us, Silas. I’m not thinking of only myself. My husband was there. Noah and Brianna were there, too. She’s pregnant, Silas. And everyone else who I love and who has helped me through some really hard times was also there. You used all of us. How could you do that?”
His lack of response only infuriated Chaise even more.
“You’re not my brother. I don’t know you anymore. Is this what years of pretending to be someone else has done to you? Is the Silas I love dead and gone, only to be replaced by someone who treats his family the same way he treats criminals?”
Chaise walked away and left Silas standing alone on Noah’s deck. Her words cut him to the quick, and he realized that was the first time he’d felt anything in a very long time. He turned to follow her, to try to talk to her again, but stopped when he realized he wasn’t alone.
“Did Chaise ever
tell you how we met?” Bull asked.
“No.”
Bull nodded and his gaze drifted to just over Silas’s shoulder as he remembered that day. “She was in trouble, and she was looking for Noah. She came to his wedding, lurked in the shadows, and we cornered her as soon as Noah and Brianna were safely on their way to the airport.
“She was in trouble with some very bad men who were running drugs and selling girls as sex slaves. They wanted her to join the ranks of women who had disappeared. After meeting her, I knew there was no way in hell I’d let anyone hurt her. The leader of this group had her brought to his island home. He was determined to make her his personal sex slave for a while before he disposed of her. One of his guys roughed her up pretty good on the way to deliver her to the boss. Then, the guy’s father wanted to take his revenge out on me by killing Chaise.
“You’re probably wondering why I’m sharing all of this with you right now. I’ll be glad to tell you.” Bull took a step toward Silas. “I don’t give a flying fuck if you’re her brother, Noah’s brother, or Steve and Sara’s son. If Chaise gets hurt because you’re too fucking stupid to realize that even undercover cops get tailed, I’ll kill you just like I did those other bastards.”
Bull stared him down, willing him to make a move or say the wrong thing, but Silas looked too shocked to do either. “I never knew she was in trouble like that.”
“Can’t say that I’m surprised about that,” Bull replied bluntly.
“How did she get dragged into that?”
“She was trying to find a missing girl.”
“I need to talk to her. To apologize.”
“You’ve done that. Now you need to leave her alone. You hurt her when you brought this to our wedding but didn’t have the balls to tell us you’re still working undercover. She trusted you. Saying you’re sorry doesn’t build that trust back,” Bull stated and walked away.
Silas walked into the house and found Noah and Shadow in the office. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” Silas asked Shadow.
Wicked Nights Page 21
