Attachment Strings (23 page)

“You’re afraid he won’t take kindly to getting his fingerprints taken?”

I muttered, “I’m absolutely sure he’ll have a fit.”

“A bit on the temperamental side, your boy, huh?”

Irritated, I replied, “Why do you always call him
boy
? It’s creepy.”

“It is?” Parker blinked at me owlishly.

“Yes, it is,” I snapped back.

“I don’t think it’s creepy. He’s a very good-looking kid.”

“He’s not a kid
either
!”

Parker chuckled, took my elbow, and guided me toward our car. “He is a kid to me. He’s what? Over a decade younger than me and he looks like he’s barely legal.”

“He’s twenty-three,” I protested.

“He doesn’t look like it.” Parker warded my oncoming protest off by raising his voice. “How about you call him now? See how he’s doing. I’m sure you’re itching to know they are all right.”

Sliding behind the wheel, I grumbled, “I’m not
itching
to call him.”

Parker rolled his eyes. “Okay, you’re not itching to call him, just
desperate
.”

I flung a notepad at him. He dodged it, picked it up, and threw it inside the car. “I’ll give you some privacy for… hmm, let’s say the next three minutes.”

I showed him the finger, which gained me a stuck-out tongue. I shut the door. Speed-dialing Alex’s number, I frowned when the answering machine clicked on. An icy feeling seemed to coat my inner organs, making it difficult to breathe for a few seconds.

Why didn’t he pick up the phone?

T
IME
crunched to a halt. Detached, I stared at the phone in my slightly trembling hands and wondered why I saw my hands trembling but didn’t feel them.

A rap at my window startled me so badly that the phone fell from my grasp. At least this cleared a bit of the fog I was in, though the icy feeling in my gut remained. As I patted the floor searching for the phone, Parker opened my door and asked, “What the hell happened? You look like a wax figure.”

“He’s not picking up the phone,” I mumbled.

Finally, I found the phone and straightened up in my seat. My voice sounded odd and for a moment, I didn’t know the reason for it.

Parker laid a hand on my shoulder and shook me. “Pull yourself together, man. Did you call him on his cell phone or did you call Chandler? Maybe they went to the store or something.”

I blinked at him, then replied, “He and Sean wanted to meet up with Sean’s bus driver at four-thirty.”

“Where?”

“Steel Pier Amusements,” I answered. “But I told him that wouldn’t be a good idea for today.”

Parker snorted, laid both his hands on my shoulders, and turned me toward him. He was surprisingly strong. Either that or I was too off-kilter at the moment to react like I normally would. He shook me again, this time with much more vigor. “Jeff, chill out. Your boy will be fine. Call Chandler.”

I did as Parker told me and dialed. Chandler picked up immediately. I could hear seagulls screaming in the background when he came on the line. “Chandler.”

“Chandler, it’s Woods. Where
the hell
are you?”

Did I sound desperate? I didn’t specifically care if I made a fool out of myself, although that would probably haunt me later.

“We’re at the Boardwalk, walking toward Steel Pier Amusement Park. And before you start shouting, yes, I know it’s not the best place for them to be. Mr. Fisher wasn’t inclined to listen to my objections. He claimed to have a meeting there and that he was definitely going.”

I breathed in and out several times to calm my racing heart. Chandler sounded clipped and annoyed. I didn’t blame him for that.

I said, “Would you hand Mr. Fisher the phone?”

“Sure,” he responded.

I heard him talking to Alex but couldn’t understand the words. Chandler’s voice held a lot of exasperation when he explained to me, “Mr. Fisher says he doesn’t want to be yelled at by you.”

“For fuck’s sake!” I exploded. “He’s jeopardizing his brother’s life!”

“That’s what I said to him. He insists on going out anyway because we don’t know if the danger is real. He doesn’t want to play into the hands of whoever wrote the letter,” Chandler replied.

“I’m going to throttle him.”

“You’d better think about that action. I’d look the other way if you want to chew him out, though,” Chandler said, his voice now holding more amusement than annoyance.

“I’ll meet you at the Pier in about twenty to thirty minutes. Mr. Fisher has to get his fingerprints taken at the station today.”

“He’ll be thrilled about that.”

“Right now I really don’t care.”

Chandler chuckled. “See you in a few.”

I clicked the phone shut and rolled my stiff neck muscles to relieve a bit of the tension there. Parker leaned against the car while he peered at me for what seemed like an eternity. After some time had passed, he simply asked, “I take it they are okay?”

“Yes.”

“Will Alex still be okay after you’re through with him?”

I glanced up at Parker, barely noticing that my hands still trembled slightly, and growled, “No. Definitely not.”

Parker’s eyebrows rose almost to his hairline while he fought against a grin. “God, you’ve got it
really
bad.”

I grunted, which he could interpret as an agreement or not. I didn’t care. I stuffed my phone back into a pocket and willed my racing heart to beat in a less frantic staccato. “Get into the car.”

The car was ready before Parker had a chance to round it. Impatiently, I drummed my fingertips on the dashboard while he climbed in. I floored the accelerator as soon as he closed the door, and Parker cursed.

“Buckle up,” I told him.

Parker burst out laughing. When he had himself under control again, he wheezed, “Buckle up? You race off like the devil incarnate and then tell me to buckle up?”

“I’m a very reasonable devil.”

Parker dissolved into another fit of laughter. I ignored him as I mentally searched for the fastest route to the Boardwalk. Parker interrupted my musings by saying, “Are you that anxious to wring his neck or do you just want to see for yourself he’s okay?”

I wanted both, although I was indecisive about the precise order of things. Reluctantly, I admitted, “Both.”

“I take it they weren’t supposed to go out?”

“Would
you
advise them to go out?”

“No, of course not. What’s that for a dumb question?” Parker retorted. “Why did Chandler go along with it?”

“
Mr. Fisher
didn’t listen to Chandler’s objections and told him he would take off whether Chandler approved or not.”

My grip on the steering wheel became painful and my jaw muscles already hurt from being clenched so much in the last few minutes.

“You know what? I’m glad you’re pissed off at
him
and not at me. You’re one seriously scary man when you are
that
pissed off.”

“
Mr.
Fisher might think better of pulling those stunts in the future after I’m through with him.”

“Hey, now calm down a bit! We’ll be at the Pier in a few minutes; you can collect him and take him to the station. Most guys become subdued very soon after experiencing the hustle of a police station.”

“I just don’t understand it!” I slapped my hands on the wheel in utter frustration. “He’s scared about his brother’s security but still insists on going out and presenting him on a silver platter! Where’s the logic in that?”

“Maybe he watched too many movies in which people stood up against their fears and takes his behavior as courage? Or maybe he’s pissed off at being trapped at home and the threat doesn’t seem as serious anymore?” Parker mused.

“Whatever the reason is, he won’t do it
again
.”

Parker cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. “And how are you going to make sure of that? Your relationship, if that’s even the right word to describe what’s going on between you, seems to be on the, uh, rocky side. He won’t take your dominant behavior too kindly.”

“He doesn’t have to take it kindly. I’m a cop and he’s acting stupidly, endangering his brother’s life like this.”

“Is this really about the kid or do you fear Alex will be getting between the perp and Sean when push comes to shove?”

“What are you accusing me of?” I countered.

“I’m not accusing you of anything. I’m searching for a reason why you’re driving like a lunatic, yelling and close to tears. As you said, you’re a cop, and I’ve never seen you this out of it.”

“I’m not…,” I started, then trailed off. All right, I was slightly out of it.

I took my foot off the gas, slowing the car to a less dangerous speed. Parker expelled a breath and said, “Thank you.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

“Be careful at the Pier. You don’t want Chandler to suspect there’s anything going on between the two of you.” Parker’s warning was unnecessary. Before I could tell him that, he cut me off. “Just wanted to remind you before you lay into your boy. You never know how he’ll react so all hell could break loose.”

“Damn it, Parker! I’m just so fucking angry!” Scared, too, but I didn’t want to say it aloud. The intensity of my feelings would be in the open, and I couldn’t deal with that right now. To my relief Parker didn’t comment further; he only nodded.

The next few minutes went by in silence until Parker broke it by asking, “Want me to throw you into the ocean to cool off before you talk to Alex?”

I glanced over at Parker before I allowed a small, reluctant smile to appear on my face. After reining my temper in, I answered, “No, but thanks for your offer.”

“You’re welcome.”

I
PARKED
the car before I set off toward the Boardwalk with Parker close on my heels.

“You know you don’t actually have to
run
, right?”

“I’m not running, I’m walking,” I replied, totally ignoring the fact Parker was right.

“You’re not walking, you’re at least trotting.”

“What am I? A horse?” I countered without slowing my pace.

“Maybe. I’ve read that stallions who get into protect-the-herd mood do—”

Parker bumped straight into me when I came to an abrupt stop, which effectively cut him off. “Hey! Watch it!”

“All right! I get it!” I snarled.

I turned around and started walking, consciously forcing myself not to trot. Parker’s innocent question caused me to gnash my teeth together, hard. Soon, I’d need new teeth.

“What do you get?”

“That
you
think I’m not acting reasonably.”

“I never said
that
,” Parker replied. “I think more along the lines of how very, very badly you’ve fallen in love.”

“I’m just concerned about their well-being, which is part of our job description, don’t you think?”

Parker snorted as he bumped his shoulder with mine. “Yeah, right. Cut it out, Jeff.”

“I’m not going to cut it out, Parker. In case you didn’t get the meaning of that statement I’ll put it into easy words for you:
back off
.”

Parker had shown himself to be too insightful while also lacking the tact to leave me alone. Telling him bluntly to shut up might do the trick.

“Okay, I’ll back off,” Parker surrendered.

I glanced at him in suspicion. “For how long?”

“A few minutes at least.”

“Asshole.”

“I’m hurt.”

“I’m sure David will be thrilled to soothe you.”

Parker chuckled. “Calm down. No reason to bring out the big guns. I won’t pester you anymore.”

“I really need to meet that guy of yours.”

Weaving through the pedestrians, we quickly reached Steel Pier Amusement Park where we immediately fended off several guys offering us the chance to win gigantic stuffed animals. Parker’s mouth twitched after I told another guy to leave us alone. I glanced around, searching for Alex and Sean. It shouldn’t be that difficult to spot them, what with the wheelchair and all that. Irritated, I asked, “
What
?”

“Why don’t you try winning a horrible teddy bear? Maybe Alex would like one? Or Sean?”

“Why don’t you try your luck and win one for David?” I snapped.

Parker looked at me in bewilderment for a few seconds before his face lit up. “I could do that.”

I groaned and cuffed the back of his head. “And you keep telling
me
how bad I’ve gotten it.”

“We’re both caught by a severe bout of lovesickness, I guess.”

Parker’s chuckle was too infectious to resist. When we were both serious again, I circled around, frowned, and said, “Where the hell are they? I can’t see them!”

My cell phone chose that exact moment to ring. As I picked up, Chandler informed me, “Look straight forward to the end of the Pier.”

I did as I was told. “You’re kidding.”

“No, I’m not. Mr. Fisher met with Mr. Bernard, who seems to be Sean’s bus driver, and they decided it would be fun to go on a helicopter ride with the boy. Hurry up and rescue me.”

We walked over to the end of the Pier at a brisk pace while I asked Chandler, “You don’t like flying?”