Forced to Change Ch. 28-29

Chapter 28

My heart felt as if it were about to break free of my chest. I paced the bathroom floor in a panic, even though I'd been told to lie down in the tub. Who does that? Jared had been scary creepy. One second we were about to make love, as he put it, the next he was everything Carter had said about him. A killer, an assassin, a murderer. I wasn't sure if it was the threat of an intruder or the look on his face that sent me running for the bathroom. From head to toe he was a dangerous man, yet still protective, my personal warrior. It was dizzying to witness.

Long minutes passed, then I heard the distinct sound of a gunshot. My heart stopped beating as a million thoughts raced through my head. Was Jared okay? Who was out there? Who had shot at whom? These people that were trying to kill us, would they come for me next?

By the second shot I was so distraught I prayed. I don't know why I still prayed in times of crisis. It was so clear that God hated me. Could this be another punishment, losing Jared just as I was falling in love with him? That thought stilled me. Cold and hot emotions poured violently through me, until I was sure insanity was a good possibility.

No, I'm not a victim. If Jared could believe that about me, so could I. I opened the bathroom door determined to face down the attackers. Going down without a fight wasn't an option. I only needed a weapon, something to protect myself.

I climbed down the ladder and searched the kitchen, channeling my panic into anger, which fueled each action. Fight, no matter what.

Finding a huge knife in a drawer, I stepped toward the door. My heart was beating again, pounding out of my chest. I took a deep breath, raised my trembling arm with the knife above my head and waited. I was ready to kill anyone other than Jared who came through it.

The door opened and I recognized the man filling the frame. It was Joe, the nighttime security guard from work. Relief poured through me and my hand dropped to my side.

"Joe?"

Jared was a step behind him, but Joe took one look at me, then smiled and raised his hands.

"Hello, Ms. Katie." He smirked, giving me a wide breath as he stepped past.

Jared took one look at me and his face went through a range of emotions: amusement, desire, and anger. His shoulders relaxed, though.

"You're not dressed. You're supposed to be upstairs," he said firmly.

My mouth dropped open and then I closed it. "I heard gunshots."

"She brings a knife to a gunfight. That's so cute," Joe commented, laughing. I scowled at him.

Joe's eyes bounced back and forth between us until Jared moved to where I couldn't see him anymore. I could only see Jared, his piercing green eyes and handsome face blocking my view of my work buddy. Jared's hand traced down my arm to my wrist, running little electrical shocks through my skin as his fingers closed around the knife and pulled it from my hand. His touch affected me so much I let him take my weapon.

"Go get dressed," Jared said. "Then we'll all talk." He leaned down and kissed me quickly on the lips and my entire body flushed. I blinked up at him, not realizing when I closed my eyes. Probably when his lips touched mine.

"Okay," I whispered and took a small step back. A soft smile lingered on my lips.

"Hi, Joe." I waved at him as I passed. I climbed the ladder, tugging my t-shirt down in the back as I went up the steps.

I found a set of clean clothes on the end of the dresser. There was a black long-sleeved cable knit sweater, jeans and lingerie, a bit sexier than my daily wear and underneath them was a pair of pink bunny-eared slippers. I smiled brighter at that, grabbed up the clothes and slippers and went into the bathroom.

Chapter 29

"You got it bad, kid," Joe said, a silly grin on his face. His size was threatening but the grin offset it. He grinned even when he was working. As long as I'd known him, Joe had always taken the motto 'grin and bear it' literally.

"Beer?"

"Sure. Anything wet will work." Joe took a seat at the breakfast bar, watching me as I walked to the refrigerator. I handed him a beer and opened one for myself. He took a long pull, set it on the counter, and sighed.

"How bad is it?" I asked, chugging.

"Most men, when they see a pretty girl they want to fuck, they buy her flowers or ask her out." Joe's eyes crinkled as he smiled.

"Joe." I forced my anger into the one syllable.

"Dad. Not my kid, though, nope. My son? What does he do? Kidnaps and takes her to the house he built to kill her and commit suicide in. And you wonder why I think I'm a lousy father."

"Joe." Again the word was pure anger through my lips.

"Dad. Give me that much." Joe said. "Please."

After a staring contest that would have put a determined child to shame, I said, "Dad. It just happened."

"Well, it was a way to go. I'll give you that." Joe smirked. "Now, say 'I'm a sadistic control freak with parent issues' and you'll be admitting your problem. Go ahead. Try that one on for size."

"Joe. If she ever knew the truth. If she knew half of what I've done..."

"Let me ask you one question. Answer honestly and I'll drop it."

"What?" I asked.

"Are you going to kill her or love her?"

After another staring contest I finally said, "It's not that simple."

"Really it is."

"I'm not doing this with you again."

"You just gotta decide. Flip a coin if you need to." Joe grinned.

"Fine. You were right. Happy? I'm not going to kill her. I can't. You're right. I'm wrong."

"Now say, 'My old man knows more than I do. He's smarter than me even with my incredible memory crap.'" Joe sipped his beer. "Fine. You still need to learn how to take a fucking joke, kid."

I laughed, except there was nothing funny about the sound. My gun was in my hand aimed at Joe.

"Geez, I'm just messing with you." Joe was relaxed. His brows danced as he stared at the gun in my hand. "Use it or put it away."

I sighed and tucked the gun away. He was right, again. Once upon a time I would have shot him and not given it another thought. Not today, though. I really didn't want to explain the mess to Katie.

"Believe me when I tell you I know what you're going through. You got a plan?" He took a drink from his beer.

"Hiding," I answered simply.

"That'll work for a bit, but after that?"

"Running then more hiding?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Uh huh. Well, since you got everything covered I guess you don't need my help."

"I need help," I whispered.

"Damn straight you do. What the hell were you thinking? Leaving bodies like that? And Carter? Carter? You killed Carter?" Joe whistled, finished the beer and shook his head.

"How much damage control did you have to do?" I handed Joe a second beer.

"All of it," Joe said. "Spotlessly clean. It wasn't easy, but I've been on top of things pretty much since you snatched her. Mind explaining to me how you got yourself into this mess? What the hell are you trying to do to yourself, kid? Are you trying to end up like Hank? Hell, I thought I'd finally done right by you. I figured you'd take out the brothers and finally ask her out on a date. Stupid dream, huh?"

My head dropped and my shoulders slumped. "How cleaned up is it?"

We stared at each other for a moment. Joe drank most of his second beer down in a few gulps before he answered.

"You don't need to worry about Carter or anyone else from the group. You made a good call there. It was time he was retired."

'Retired' meant there had been a kill order for Carter. I'd done someone a favor by killing him.

"You can relax. Any fallout from this will lead back to me." Joe shook his head. Oddly enough, or rather in Joe fashion, the grin never left his lips the entire time we talked.

He ran a hand over his scalp. His buzz cut was so short he barely had hair to run his fingers through. He took a final drink from his beer.

I raised my chin and stared at my dad, seeing him as my father for moment, not a co-worker. I wasn't even upset he would collect the bounty for Carter. He'd done the hardest part of killing a person, the cleanup.

"Thanks," I said after another long pause.

"Well, hell. Almost makes an old man warm and fuzzy," Joe said. His eyes crinkled at the corners. "It was the least I could do. I owed you that much."

"I love her," I said, finally filling the silence that followed Joe's statement.

"Yes. It's about time you admitted that to yourself." Joe set his empty beer bottle on the counter. "I got something for you. I may have good information on Jorge Riaz. I had a mind not to tell you. I was thinking of going after him myself. Only I figured if I failed, at least you should know, so you can get the brother. Couldn't find shit on him. Sorry about that."

"Noel's dead." My voice dropped to Arctic temperatures. Cold and deadly. I moved back to the refrigerator, opened it and grabbed another bottle.

"You know that for sure?" Joe asked, accepting his third beer.

"Yes. Jorge Riaz?" I said, still sipping from my first beer. My head cocked to the side.

"Well, how about that? Gonna tell me how you know?" Joe asked.

"No. So Jorge?"

"I have half a mind not to tell you," Joe said and took a gulp of his beer. "Don't look at me like that. Consider me selfish because I want things to stay good for you. I care, even if I have been a lousy father."

"Jorge Riaz," I said, my voice low. I set the half-empty beer on the counter and placed my hands on either side, staring at Joe.

"Shit, kid, relax. Think about this. You've got a good thing here. The woman you love is upstairs. No one is after you two. Wouldn't you rather just live your life?"

"Jorge Riaz," I said.

"I spent years chasing down your mama's killer. I was blinded by rage and revenge. I spent too much of my life with hatred as the only thing driving me. And that's just what's driving you. You're not seeing the big picture. If I wasn't busy with this life, I could have been a father to you. I'm trying to help you. Don't you..."

I cut him off. "We both know you're lying. I remembered that night when I killed Carter."

"Oh. Well," Joe took a sip from his drink. "So you know who killed your mother now?"

"Yes," I said.

"Well how about that," for the first time since I'd known him the grin on his face disappeared. "Do I get to know who? Carter? Carter."

"Yes."

Joe sat quietly sipping his beer. "This Jorge Riaz thing. Just let it go, kid. Wouldn't you rather..."

"You know what Jorge did. You read the same files I did. How can you sit there and ask me to drop this when you know what kind of man Jorge Riaz was? I say 'was' because I'm going to kill him. We don't need to debate this, Joe. You're either with me or against me." I crossed my arms over my chest and gave Joe my blank, stone face, the one that lacked all emotion.

"That right there is how and why Carter got to you so easily. He was the weapon that killed your mother, but some one else ordered him to do it. It's why I let him live. I still don't know who told him to do it. He didn't do it on his own."

I let that sink in for a moment. I knew the hand that killed my mother was Carter. Joe was right, I didn't know why. He didn't know why and I'd blow his last chance at finding out for sure.

"I wasn't thinking about that when I was killing him. I needed to protect Katie from him."

"Oh I get it. But I get to be angry about the fact that I have no idea why your mom died. And now, I'll never know." Joe finished his beer. He looked down at the empty bottle for a long time then he looked up and met my intense stare. His stupid grin returned to his face. "You love her, right?"

"Yes," I said firmly.

"Then you've told her everything. She knows all your secrets, kid?"

"No," I whispered. "I can't tell her that of all the people in her life her father was involved in her being kidnapped and abused for six months. It would hurt her too much to know."

"That's not the whole story. Donnelly..."

I cut him off. "Yes, I know Donnelly paid to have her rescued and the Riaz brothers killed. Carter was working for Jorge. Still, Kenneth was the only connection prior to the kidnappings. He and Lana planned it."

"That's info and all, but not the whole story, kid."

"Seriously, Joe? How delusional are you really? You sit there trying to make the choices for my life that you would have made if you'd been me. But I'm not you. This is your fault. You've spent all this time encouraging me. You made me think that if I just kept an eye on her I'd find Jorge and Noel. You've been manipulating me since we met.

"Well, Noel's dead. And as for Jorge, he will be as soon as you give me what I need to find him. You need to stop standing in my way. Stop trying to make me into you. I was a grown man when I met you. Don't think you can start parenting me now and all will be forgiven."

"Dammit, kid. It's like you're as broken as I am. You're going to rush ahead without all the facts and end up dead. I'm trying to help you. Why can't you just let me do that?"

"You're not broken, Joe."

"Hmmm. You'd be surprised," he said.

I swallowed hard and balled my hands into fists, sighing. "You've been where I am. Think about this, Joe. If Carter were still alive, what would you do to the man standing between you and the monster that killed my mother?"

Joe whistled. "Well now, since that has always been you, what do you know I've done?"

"Me?"

Yes, you. How do you think Carter convinced me to not kill him in Cantana. You. He told me who you were. Up until then I thought you were dead. Then he told me you planned to kill me because you thought I killed your mother. The only thing that saved your life is the fact that you hadn't killed Katie when I got into that room. You owe that girl your life. Despite all that, even though I'm your biological father, you'd do it? You'd kill me?"

"In a heartbeat," I said.

"Huh, funny that." Joe shook his head and looked down at his hands for a second, then he raised his eyes to me. We stared at each other. Silence was our way of communicating. We guessed each other's thoughts instead of saying what was in our heads.

For every minute I'd known Joe, he played the long game. He worked every angle to come out on top. His story changed to suit his needs and now, after six years it was changing again. He was always out for himself, no matter what he tried to tell me. Well, I was sick of it and him—and his meddling in my life.

His annoying grin grew bigger. "How closely did you look at Donnelly after Cantana?"

I threw up my hands in frustration. "Not a lot there. There's some surveillance set up on the house. He had family money from his wife. Since he didn't do anything after Cantana, I'm pretty sure he's harmless."

"Anything else?" Joe asked.

"There was a bit of money laundering but that turned out to be nothing."

"Oh, it's something. Something that leads right to the heart of the kidnappings." He stared at me and I stared back.

Joe continued, "Did you know Katie works for Donnelly's lawyers? I had access to what you need."

I paled just a little. "But Carter and Jorge were working together."

"Paul Donnelly Sr. should have been number one on your radar. He's always been the money man." Joe smirked, although I didn't feel any part of the conversation was humorous.

I picked up my beer and took a long pull. The pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. "Are you saying he was behind it? That...wait, no. Everything pointed to Kenneth." I drank quietly, my mind focused, my rage hot enough to burn the back of my neck. "I blamed the wrong man?"

"You didn't know better. I made the same mistake."

"I should have known better. You. You've known all this time? What you're saying is Donnelly set up the kidnappings? What, for the money? Did he and Kenneth work together?"

Joe shook his head. "Kenneth was set up to take the fall by Carter for Donnelly. If you'd known differently would it have changed a thing? No. This is why I didn't tell you what I found until now. Nothing's really changed. I tried to warn you in Cantana. Where Carter was involved there's always more to the story." Joe stood up and holstered his weapon. I'd been so angry I'd missed the fact that he'd pulled it out in the first place.

"Now, that pretty young thing is going to be back down here in a few minutes, so we might want to move on to a softer subject matter. We can discuss the particulars later. Just consider my warning. You don't have to go after Jorge."

I had a tough decision to make. I could tell Katie about Donnelly or keep it from her. For the first time in my life, I put aside my own desires and factored in another person's needs. I was feeling more human all the time.