“How long were you married?”
He didn’t turn around. “Not long enough, lass. Not nearly long enough. I still miss her every day. Just as I miss my son.”
Summer set her cup and saucer in the dishwasher, then walked over to stand behind him. She touched a hand lightly to his shoulder. “Good night, Pop. Thanks for the tea.”
He patted her hand. “Thanks for the company. It was just what I needed tonight.”
Summer left him alone with his memories.
As she climbed the stairs, it occurred to her that this was a house filled with memories. Maybe that was why she felt so comfortable here.
Or maybe it was simply because of the man asleep in the upper apartment.
Whatever the reason, she felt more at home here, with Cam’s family, than she did with her own. Maybe because this was a cohesive, unified family, while her own had been four individuals sharing the same address. Though her life had been sprinkled with exotic travel and cushioned with fine art, she’d always felt a yearning for something simpler. Until now she hadn’t recognized what her heart had sought. Home. Family. And the pleasures of sharing.
Using the moonlight as her guide she let herself into Bren’s old room and slid into bed, then let out a gasp as the mattress sagged under the weight of another.
“Cam.” His name came out on a whoosh of air.
“Sorry.” He pressed his lips to her cheek, sending heat curling along her spine. “I didn’t mean to scare you. What were you and Pop talking about for so long?”
She snuggled into the circle of his arms, feeling the last of her worries dissolve. With her mouth to his she whispered, “Fighters. And lovers.”
“Really?” He ran wet, nibbling kisses along the soft column of her throat, feeling the need for her, sharp as a knife, slice through him. “Which am I?”
She felt herself sinking into that soft, warm cocoon he always managed to spin around them. “I think I’m about to find out.”
Hearing voices downstairs, Summer showered and dressed quickly before descending the stairs. When she stepped into the kitchen, she found Kate seated at the table, calmly eating, while Cam was carrying on a heated argument with his grandfather.
“I don’t have time for eggs and sausage, Pop. I’ve got a call in to the firm to see what they’ve decided to do about the McGonnagle-Carlson case. Everything hinges on whether or not we go to trial. On top of that I’m expecting a report from Chief Newberg on what they found out at my place. And I’m about to phone Tio’s grandmother to see if I can take the boy up to the prison today to talk to his dad.”
“All the more reason you need fuel, boyo.” Without missing a beat Kieran continued turning eggs in a skillet.
Summer paused in mid-stride. “After all the days Tio’s missed, you’d take that boy out of school again?”
Cam could hear the disapproval in her tone. “Since this involves him and his father, they have a right to know what’s going on. I’m hoping Alfonso can shed some light on this matter.”
“Why would he? If he’s guilty, he’d be incriminating himself. If he isn’t, why should a convict care what goes on outside his cell?”
“Think about it, Summer. These threats were designed to make Alfonso Johnson look like he can still pull strings while serving time, like some mob boss or gang leader. I’ve begun to believe that he doesn’t come close to fitting either image. I believe he cares deeply about his son. If that’s true, and someone else is orchestrating all this, Alfonso has to feel frustrated knowing he can’t be there to protect his family.”
“What about you? And us?” She deliberately kept her voice low, to hide her conflicting feelings. Even while she feared for him, she felt a flash of annoyance that he hadn’t said a word to her about his plan to visit Alfonso again until now. “Who’s going to protect you, Cam, if you persist in this?”
He closed a hand over hers. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. As for you, that’s why you’re here. Pop promised to stick close to you until this thing is resolved.”
Her eyes narrowed fractionally. “You don’t really think I’m going to just stay here locked safely away and allow myself to be…baby-sat while you’re going about your routine.”
“Yeah. I do.”
She put her hands on her hips. “If you’re going to take Tio to see his father, I’m going with you.”
“Why would you do that? You know you can’t stand the thought of going up there.”
“That’s right. I can’t. But Tio is my responsibility. And I intend to see to him. I’ve already alerted my supervisors to the threat that’s been made. Now I’ll let them know that I’m accompanying the boy to prison to see his father.”
Cam was already shaking his head. “I won’t have you—”
“You can’t stop me. Besides, without my approval in this, Tio will have to repeat his grade again next year. Do you want that?”
Cam sighed in defeat. He knew, by the sparks in those eyes, that she meant business. “All right. Call your superiors and explain. I’ll phone Tio’s grandmother and make arrangements to pick him up there.”
As Summer reached for her cell phone, Cam huffed out a breath and watched his grandfather set down two plates heaped with scrambled eggs, sausages and toast, followed with tall glasses of orange juice. “It seems while you and I were momentarily distracted, Pop wasted no time winning his argument by default.”
Across the table Kate merely grinned. “This same argument has been going on since you were five, Cameron. I don’t know why you should think you’d win now.”
He gave a sigh of disgust before settling himself at the table beside Summer.
As he dug into the mountain of food he said, “This is why all the Lassiters work so hard. Otherwise our arteries would get so clogged, we’d be moving at a snail’s pace.”
Kieran filled coffee cups, then sat at the table with his own breakfast. “Eggs have been getting a bad rap, boyo. They’re a natural source of protein.”
Cam winked at Summer. “You’d think he owned stock in chicken farms.”
The old man merely grinned. “Who’s to say I don’t?”
Chapter 15
Summer sat on one side of the metal table, holding her hands in her lap to hide the fact that they were trembling. She couldn’t help remembering her first and only visit here, when Alfonso Johnson had ordered her out. There had been such hatred and loathing in his eyes when he’d learned her reason for the visit. No one, he’d shouted, had the right to take his son from him.
Now she was back, trusting that Cam was right in this matter. But a part of her was terrified that all the rage bottled up inside this prisoner would simply explode.
She knew there was a guard outside the door and a panic button on the wall to her left. Still, she couldn’t help wondering how long it would take to push the button and get the guard to react if anything went wrong. She could imagine a man as violent as Alfonso Johnson reaching across the table and grabbing her by the throat, choking the life out of her before she could be saved.
She felt a hand close over hers and looked up in time to see Cam wink.
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to relax.
The door opened, and Alfonso Johnson was escorted into the room. As he took a seat at the table his dark gaze flicked over his son, then narrowed on Summer and Cam before returning to the boy.
“How you doing, Tio?”
“Good.”
“How’s school?”
“Okay.”
“You going to be held back because of this visit?”
The boy shook his head. “Miss O’Connor fixed it with the teacher.”
Alfonso turned an angry look on Summer. “Why are you meddling?”
Before she could speak Cam interrupted. “We needed to talk to you and figured, since we were coming out here, you’d enjoy a visit with Tio.”
“Talk to me about what?” The man fixed that cold stare on Cam.
“Someone’s gone to a lot of trouble to
get our attention. You know anything about it?”
“Why don’t you tell me about it.”
“Threats were left on Summer’s phone. My home was trashed. Someone went to a great deal of trouble to blame you.”
Alfonso shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
Cam’s tone went deadly soft. “It had better be the last.”
“You threatening me, law boy? You think, because you’re the expert here, you can hurt me worse than I’ve been hurt? Look around you. The law took away my freedom. Took away my name. But nobody…” He lowered his voice for emphasis. “Nobody is going to take away my boy. Especially no lying female who’s trying to pin this rap on me.”
“Are you saying you know who’s behind this?”
“Same one’s been behind every bad thing ever happened in my life. A man loses his heart to the wrong woman, he’s going to pay, big time.” Alfonso glanced at his son, then, seeing the pain in the boy’s eyes, clamped his mouth shut and shoved back his chair. “I got nothing more to say. Sorry you came all this way for nothing.”
“It wasn’t for nothing.” Cam stood, as well, and seeing the boy’s shoulders droop in defeat, lay a hand gently on his arm. “There’s nothing worse than a son being separated from his father.” He looked up, staring into those world-weary eyes. “That’s something else I’m an expert on.”
Something flickered in Alfonso’s eyes before he turned away. In this place, everybody knew about the hard-eyed lawyer whose police-officer father had taken a bullet for his partner.
Seconds later the door opened. In tight-lipped silence Alfonso was escorted to his cell, while Summer and Cam walked to the visitor’s entrance with Tio between them.
Cam glanced in the rearview mirror. Despite Summer’s attempts at conversation, Tio hadn’t spoken a word since leaving prison.
“I figure, since we’ve already blown off half the school day, we may as well take the rest of it, as well. How about some lunch?”
In silence Tio turned his head and stared out the side window.
Summer made an attempt at a smile. It had been harder than she’d expected, watching the father and son together. Though they’d been separated by mere inches, the width of a narrow table, it may as well have been miles. There was no loving embrace. No goodbye kiss. The coldness of it, the harshness of it, had left her heart aching for man and boy.
But despite any lack of public affection, there was a bond there. A thread that prison walls and years of separation couldn’t break. Shouldn’t break.
She forced a lightness to her voice she didn’t feel. “Lunch sounds good.”
“There’s a place a few miles up the highway. Tio and I stopped there last time.” Cam turned his head slightly. “Remember?”
The boy ignored him, choosing to look away.
With a sigh Cam returned his attention to the road. As he did, he caught sight of a silver truck parked along the shoulder. When he drew alongside, the truck suddenly swerved onto the highway. It was only Cam’s quick thinking that saved them from impact.
“Crazy driver.” He glanced in the rearview mirror to find the truck coming up behind them at breakneck speed. As he shouted a warning the truck hit the rear of Cam’s sports car, sending it veering across the grassy median, into oncoming traffic.
Cam gripped the wheel and managed to steer between cars, the drivers looking terrified as they sped around and past him on either side. When there was a break in traffic he pulled to the side of the road, where the car came to a shuddering halt.
“Are you all right?” He leaned over to touch a hand to Summer’s.
“I’m…fine.” She struggled to catch a breath through a throat that had been clogged with panic.
“Tio?”
In the back seat the boy was white-knuckling the door handle, too terrified to speak.
Summer drew in a shaky breath. “That was no accident.”
Cam’s eyes narrowed with concentration. “I know.” He tossed her his cell phone. “Call the police.”
Just as Summer began dialing, Cam looked up to catch a flash of silver out of the corner of his eye. The truck had hit the brakes and spun in a half circle before driving across the median straight toward them.
Cam stomped on the gas, desperate to return to the other side of the highway before there was any more traffic to bar his escape. The car bumped across a grassy mound, slammed onto the highway and took off at high speed with the truck in hot pursuit.
If they were on a racetrack, Cam had no doubt he could outrun the truck. His little sports car would leave that vehicle in its dust. But this was a busy highway in the middle of a workday. Ahead were cars meandering in both lanes, blocking his escape. As he came up behind the first line of cars and began to slow down, he could see the truck speeding up.
Again he shouted a warning. When he felt the impact he had to grip the wheel with all his strength to stay on course and keep from hitting the car in front of him.
When there was another break in traffic he sped up and swerved between two cars. Behind him the truck stayed doggedly on his tail, nipping at his bumper, sending the little car swaying from lane to lane.
Cam looked at the miles of concrete looming ahead of them. In the distance he could see the cloverleaf leading to overhead ramps for exits and entrances. All around them were cars filled with drivers and passengers. Though he was desperate to save Summer and Tio, he knew he had to do it without doing harm to innocent bystanders.
He glanced in the rearview mirror, his eyes narrowing with sudden determination. The lessons learned so long ago were never far from his mind. Since he couldn’t avoid the inevitable, he’d play it smart.
“Okay,” he muttered aloud. “You want to fight? Fine. But you’ll do it on my terms.”
At the next break in traffic he hit the accelerator, and the little car shot ahead. The truck sped up but even at top speed couldn’t catch them until they were forced to slow down behind a stream of cars.
Threading his way between them, Cam struggled to stay on track when they were once again hit from behind. When he skidded off the highway, his wheels spewing dirt, the truck was right behind him, bumping him again and again. He managed to get the car onto the highway, and they shot ahead, the truck fighting to keep up.
Cam kept just ahead of the truck until he caught another break in traffic. Then he veered sharply right, toward the ramp leading to the highway exit.
Sensing that he was about to get away, the truck’s driver accelerated. With a mighty roar of engine he barreled up behind Cam’s car, determined to drive it into the concrete wall.
As he headed toward the wall of concrete, Cam heard Summer’s scream. He wanted desperately to soothe her. To comfort her. More than anything, to tell her that he loved her. But he needed to focus all his concentration on what he was about to do.
With the truck hugging his bumper he struggled to hold the wheel steady as the concrete loomed ahead of him. At the last moment, with split-second timing, he turned the wheel, and the little car shot up the ramp.
Behind him there was a terrible explosion as the truck smashed head-on into the retaining wall.
Cam managed to bring his car to a shuddering stop on the shoulder, where he sat perfectly silent, feeling the steering wheel still vibrating in his hands. They’d come so close. So perilously close to death.
For the longest time they sat without moving, without speaking, as they struggled with a mixture of fear and dread and relief.
It didn’t seem possible for anyone to survive such a crash. But as Summer turned to look, she saw a figure crawling from the wreckage.
“Cam. There’s someone back there.”
She released her seat belt. On trembling legs she stepped from the car. Cam and Tio joined her, and the three of them raced to the fiery vehicle, where someone was struggling to free the driver.
As they arrived, fingers of fire shot out, sending the figure stumbling backward. Flames engulfed the wreckage, trapping the dri
ver inside.
The one who’d been fighting to free him caught sight of them and pulled out a handgun. “You killed him.”
They froze. Though it was impossible to tell, through the blood and smoke, who this survivor was, the voice was unmistakably female.
“He killed himself with his reckless behavior.” Cam carefully stepped in front of Summer and Tio, shielding their bodies with his.
He groaned in silent protest when Summer stepped beside him and confronted the woman. “Why were you trying to kill us? Did Alfonso send you?”
“Alfonso?” The woman gave a rasping laugh. “Oh, yeah. He sent us, all right. To hell and back.” Her voice lowered with feeling. “The only place he’d send me is to one of those miserable detox centers. The only thing he was ever good for was preaching about living a good life while fetching garbage.”
“Don’t you talk about him like that.” Tio started forward, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. “Don’t you say another word about my dad.”
“You little fool. When are you going to stop defending him? I’m the one gave you life.”
Summer stared in absolute disbelief. “You’re… Jobina Johnson? Tio’s mother?”
“Yeah. And I know you. You’re Goody Two-shoes. The one who was supposed to get me custody. But all you did was shuffle papers. Galt warned me I’d never get custody.” She waved the pistol at Tio. “Get over here, boy.”
Before he could obey Cam caught him by the wrist and drew him behind him. “You can’t have him.”
“Who’s going to stop me? You?” Jobina swayed slightly and gave a high, shrill laugh that had the hair at the back of Summer’s neck bristling.
In an aside Cam whispered, “Take the boy and run while I distract her.”
Summer shook her head. “I’m not leaving you.”
She watched as the woman took aim. “No!”
Even as she shouted a warning, the bullet ripped through Cam with such force, he clutched his chest and dropped to the grass.
Summer bent to him, stunned by the river of blood spilling down his shirt. Her eyes filled with tears, and she had to hold back the sob that rose up in her throat.