Hot Water (32 page)

After listening to Ty’s story about his and David’s journey, chasing after some phantom hit man targeting me, I’d been ready to take David and run away to a desert island where Masterson could never find us.

Eventually Ty’s logic prevailed, although I was still angry at him for bringing David into all this. But he was right, there really was no one else I could have trusted David with—if Ty had taken him back to Scotia, Masterson might have found some other way to get to him.

Once we finished arguing we started talking, and my jangled nerves smoothed out. For the first time in days, I was able to relax. Something about the hypnotic monotony of the interstate. Or maybe it was the man beside me.

I tried not to think about that. About anything.

We’d just settled into a congenial silence when Ty’s phone rang. Elizabeth. I answered. “It’s me.”

“You would not believe the night I’ve had,” she started, her voice pitched with excitement. I stifled my laugh. “I hope you guys are on your way back, because the judge wants to talk to David in chambers at two.”

“I’ll tell Ty.”

“Tell him the judge wants to hear from him as well—and he’d better be ready to do a bit of tap dancing. Masterson had everyone up in arms, practically accused Ty of kidnapping David.”

“He’s not in trouble, is he?”

“I think I smoothed most of it. But you all need to get here on time. Don’t piss this judge off.”

“Okay, thanks.” I hung up. “Elizabeth said the judge is expecting David there at two.”

Ty inched down on the accelerator. “We should just make it.”

“What do we tell the judge about what happened since yesterday?”

“Couldn’t we just lie?” David asked from the back seat.

“No!” Ty and I said together. I twisted in my seat to make sure David got the message loud and clear, only to find him grinning.

“Just kidding,” he said.

“You’re in enough trouble, young man,” I lowered my voice to my most fierce mama-bear growl. “You might want to just sit back and be quiet, let the grownups think in peace.”

He squinched his nose at me, knowing that I wasn’t as angry as I sounded—how could I be? I was so relieved he was okay. And even more worried about what to do about Masterson and this invisible hit man he’d sent.

I mean, really, a hit man? Is this what my life had become, a Tarantino movie cliché?

“I still think we should have gone in separate cars,” I told Ty.

“No. We stick together.”

There was no way I was about to waltz into that courthouse with a target on my back, a hit man on the loose, and my son in the line of fire.

But I couldn’t say that, not with David within hearing distance. Instead I jerked my thumb back at David, rolling my eyes at Ty until he scowled and finally got the message.

“I don’t want to risk David being late for his meeting with the judge,” I said, covering our real, silent conversation. “Drop me at your place and I can take your truck to the courthouse after I get cleaned up. That way no one will be able to track me.”

Ty didn’t like my plan. But we had no choice. Neither of us would risk David.

“You get cleaned up at my place,” he suggested. “I’ll drop David off and come back for you.”

I knew what he was feeling—wanting to be in two places at once. I’d felt that way my entire time in South Carolina.

“No.” Ty was the best person to keep David safe. “You stay with David.”

He gripped the steering wheel tighter but grudgingly nodded.

“What did you tell your boss when you talked with him this morning?” I asked, glad to change the subject.

“Just that I found David hidden in my vehicle and that it was late, he was asleep—which he was at the time—and I’d make sure he got to court on time.”

“Pretty much the truth, then.”

“Except for the part about being five hundred miles away in the middle of a hurricane.”

David popped his head forward between the seats. “Why can’t we tell the judge about what I heard Mr. Masterson say on the phone? Can’t you just arrest him? He’s a bad man, shouldn’t he go to jail?”

It occurred to me that David read way too many books that had happy endings. After everything he’d been through in his real life, he knew that good guys didn’t always win. Yet somehow, he still believed that we—me and Ty—could make the world right again.

I only wished I was up to the job—I never, ever wanted David to feel powerless like he had been when he’d seen his dad killed. I wanted him to believe in a world where justice did triumph, where everyday folks like me and Ty could be heroes. Where men like Masterson got what they deserved.

“We have no proof,” Ty finally said the words aloud.

David flopped back into his seat. “I thought that’s what you’d say. And nobody would believe a kid like me, right?”

“It’s not that they wouldn’t believe you,” Ty continued, somehow knowing just the right thing to say. “It’s that our legal system requires more evidence than only what one person says before they send someone to jail. Otherwise anyone could say anything about anyone and lie, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.” David blew out his breath. “So, what do I tell the judge? He’ll ask me why I ran away and if I tell him the truth about what happened, Ty will get in trouble.”

I had little faith in the legal system to give us justice. And whatever happened today would decide the fate of my family. But I couldn’t ask David to lie.

I squeezed Ty’s arm. His muscles tensed enough to stretch the seams of his shirt sleeve. “I know how much your job means to you. But he has to tell the truth.”

Ty nodded. “Of course he does.” Then he did that half-joking, half-serious lop-sided grin of his. “Isn’t that what I said like an hour ago? Trust me. It’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, Mom. You should just listen to Ty. He knows what he’s doing.”

Nikki made a sound of agreement—or maybe she was simply happy because David had found a good spot to scratch between her ears. But I knew when I was out-ranked and out-numbered. Even if I had a very bad feeling. Not because I didn’t trust Ty and David with the fate of my family, but because there wasn’t one damn thing I could do about it.

I was the one powerless. And I didn’t like that at all.

Ty and David dropped his mom off at Ty’s cabin up the mountain behind Ty’s mother’s house. Ty hadn’t wanted to leave her, but she’d out-stubborned him as usual.

“The hit man is five hundred miles away—how could he know where I am?” she’d argued. “You just concentrate on getting David to the judge on time. Don’t worry, I’ll be right behind you.”

David thought they might kiss through Ty’s open driver’s window, there was a strange moment where they both seemed to want to, but it passed and Ty pulled out of the drive once Mom was inside with the door locked.

As much as David wanted them to stay together, he was glad to have a few minutes alone with Ty.

On the way to the courthouse David tried his best to straighten the creases from his clothes. At least he’d be walking into the judge’s chambers on his crutches instead of sitting in his wheelchair. He wanted the judge to see him as someone worth listening to, not just a little kid dependent on others.

“What’s he going to ask me?”

“Probably just what it’s like living with your mom, how you like it here compared to D.C., stuff like that.”

“He’ll ask me about D.C.?”

“He might. Why, is that a problem?” Ty glanced back in the mirror.

David swallowed. He wasn’t supposed to know about their being evicted or the few nights when his mom had miraculously allowed him to spend the night at a friend’s house and he’d realized the next day that she’d slept in the car. She always found a place for them. But sometimes things got a bit scary.

“Is it a lie if you tell part of the truth but not everything you know? Like what if you told what happened but not why it happened?” What if he got his mom in trouble by talking too much? Maybe he shouldn’t say anything, act like he was just another dumb kid.

“David. You know the answer to that. You need to tell the truth. No matter what happens, it won’t be your fault. And your mother won’t ever stop loving you.”

Nikki stuck her nose through the grate and licked David’s ear. He giggled, feeling better. Then he turned to the other subject on his mind. “You love my mom, don’t you?”

Ty made a sputtering noise that turned into a laugh. “You got me. Guilty as charged.”

“So how come you two—I mean—”

“Well, when we were kids she and your dad were together. And then she was gone. And then your dad died.”

“But what’s stopping you from telling her now? You’re not chicken, are you?” David knew he was playing dirty with that last, but damn it, he knew Ty could make his mom happy, and wouldn’t that be the best thing for everyone?

Because if David had both a mother and a father, no judge could separate their family and neither could Mr. Masterson.

It was so very simple. And obvious. Why couldn’t the grownups see that?

To his surprise, Ty didn’t answer or make a joke of it. Instead he grew thoughtful, gave a little nod. “You know what? I think I am chicken. Sometimes when you want something so bad for so long, it’s easier to let it slip away than to reach out and grab it.”

David leaned forward, enjoying this change in the power balance. Here he was, giving advice to a smart guy like Ty.

“Hey, Ty.” He made his voice go low like the older kids at school goofing around in the locker room. “Grow a pair, why don’t cha?”

I waved to Ty and David. Then I kicked as much mud as I could from my shoes before stepping into Ty’s impeccably kept A-frame log cabin. Now that I knew David was safe, all I could think about was a long, hot shower and clothes that weren’t so stiff with mud and sweat that they could walk on their own.

“You made good time, AJ,” a man’s voice came from the living room beside me.

I whirled. A man, medium built, mid-thirties, medium brown hair and eyes, stood holding a semi-automatic pistol on me. Time felt like it was spinning out of control as I caught my bearings.

“I’ve seen you before,” I stammered, surprised that I was speaking my thoughts aloud. In my head, this was all happening in ultra-slo-mo, but out here in the real world everything seemed spinning way too fast. “You were at the plant. You dropped your water.”

“Almost had you there.” A smile curled his lips, revealing his upper teeth. “No worries. Once I knew where you were headed, I just made sure I got here first.” He glanced past me out the window. “I’m glad David is going to make it to court on time.”

“How—” I stopped myself, trying not to sound too slow. “You had a bug in Ty’s car.”

“Yep. Technology. So very helpful in my line of work.” He waved the gun. “Let’s go, we’ll take Ty’s truck. Just like you two planned. Only we’re going to make a little stop along the way.”

THIRTY-FOUR

Ty and David arrived at the courthouse just in time for their appointment—but were told Judge Mabry was busy. While they waited, David leaned against his crutches, soaking in the nineteenth-century architecture: so many small details, like the scales of justice, carved into the cornices. But Ty paced, more nervous than David had ever seen him.

“You want something to drink?” Ty asked.

“No thanks. I’m fine.”

Ty made another circuit of the wide corridor. Finally he seemed to make up his mind, coming to a stop before David. “Would you be okay waiting by yourself?”

“Sure. Where are you going?”

“I thought I’d go pick up your mom, give her a ride to court myself.”

David fought an eye roll. Grownups were so oblivious.

“And—” he prompted Ty. “Are you going to tell her how you really feel?”

Ty looked down at his shoes as if checking to see if they were tied. “Uh, sure, maybe, you know, we could talk.” Ty straightened, and David knew that was the best he would get.

“Ty. My mom needs more than a ride to court. She needs to know that this,” David waved his hand at the marble and wood and solemnity of the courthouse, “could never happen again. The best way to do that is if I have a father.”

Ty jerked his chin up in surprise, blinked, then sank down onto the bench beside David. “You mean,” his voice broke, “you want me to ask her to marry me?”