Leap of Faith (La Flor #1) (30 page)

Several hours later, we get a phone call from the detective. Our biggest fear is a reality—Dean is out. His father called his friend and his lawyer, and now that little prick is out, scot-free. My daughter isn’t going to get the justice she deserves because Dean’s father has enough clout in this area and a judge in his pocket. Apparently, that puts him above the law. Neither the pictures taken of Rylee nor the fact that’s she’s in the hospital and in pain will change the fact that Dean won’t pay through the legal system. He’ll face no jail time—only a slap on the hand and a “don’t do that again.” More like “don’t get caught again.”

Zane and I are furious. We agree not to say anything to Rylee just yet; there’s nothing she can do and it’ll only worry her.

“I knew this would happen,” Zane says in the hallway outside Rylee’s room.

I refuse to be more than a few feet away from Rylee, especially since that monster is out; I’m not risking leaving my daughter alone. He doesn’t say anything else, just holds me tight as I shake from anger and silently plan my next move. I want to call in the team but I can’t risk it just yet. Things need to be planned out and there can be no backlash for this to work.

“I want Dean to pay,” I say. “I want him to suffer the same pain he put my daughter through. I want him to feel what’s it’s like to feel helpless—to pray for your life. No man should ever lay his hands on a woman, much less my daughter.”

“I know,” Zane tells me. “That little shit deserves to be torn apart limb from limb. He’ll get what’s comin’ to him, I promise you.”

“Zane, honey, we can’t do anything rash,” I tell him. “Rylee doesn’t want you gettin’ in trouble and I need you with me. You calm me and I need that so I can help her. We both need you.”

“I won’t do anything just yet.”

“I’m holdin’ you to that, honey,” I tell him. “I need to let the guys know what’s goin’ on and then we need to plan.” He looks at me strangely. I can’t tell him just yet, but I can give him hints. “Honey, we’re in this together—you and me. I love you.”

“I love you too,” he replies without questions. “Go make your phone call and I’ll keep watch over our girl.”

I move to him and give him a peck on the lips before making my way to a more private area for my conversation with Gunner. I find a place and make the call. When he answers, all I say is five words.

“He’s out. He’s ours now.”

Then, I hang up the phone. Gunner knows what that means. Now, it’s time to get Rylee home and prepare. Like Zane said, that boy’s gettin’ what’s comin’ to him.

It looks like my family life and my work life are finally going to collide.

Zane

That little fucker is out. I can’t let Faith know just yet, but that little shit is going to bleed for hurting Rylee. She’s not my daughter, but she’s mine nonetheless. I’ll protect my girls till the end of time.

It’s time to let the ghost come out and play. For years, I worked hard to atone for all the horrible things I had to do for my country. Who knew one day those skills would be used for vengeance and to protect my family.

Life has a funny way of taking you full circle.

I’ve spent years working to erase and forget the ghost I used to be—now, I will embrace it.

The next day, Rylee is discharged. It’s time to take her home and get her settled. The next week is going to be a painful recovery, and Rylee’s going to go insane not being able to play ball or go about her normal routine. As soon as she hears we’re coming home, Josilyn immediately says she’ll come over every day after practice to keep my baby girl company—she knows if she tries to skip class or practice, she’d get a talkin’ to from all of us. I’m glad Rylee has made a best friend for life in her.

The forty-eight hours Rylee was in the hospital, Josilyn was there with her. We sent her home at night, but the next morning she was back. She felt guilty for leaving Rylee with Dean, but we quickly explained that she couldn’t have known. No one could’ve known what that boy would do to Rylee. We trusted him, thinking him a good guy, but we couldn’t have seen what was beneath his façade.

Right now, Skylar’s in school, Rylee’s resting and Zane’s at home with her. So I make a quick run into work for a meeting with the guys. Arriving in the conference room, I’m surprised to see them all seated around the table, waiting for me and scarfing down Whataburger.

“Hey,” I greet them. “She’s home and resting. Zane’s with her and Josilyn is coming over immediately after practice. Being on bed rest is killin’ Rylee—y’all know how she is.”

“Just wait till she’s feelin’ better but still unable to play due to doctor’s orders,” Gunner tells me.

Everyone knows our girl’s love for soccer and how she’s been practicing or playing with a soccer ball since the day her father gave her that first ball—a ball she has kept over the years and is now in a glass case in her room.

“Tell me about it,” I reply. “She has her ball right next to her and I think she slept with it last night after we tucked her in.”

“How is Skylar and what did she say when she finally saw Rylee?” Damon asks.

“She’s doin’ well now. She was upset when she saw her the first time. We sat her down and explained to her that there are some really bad people in this world. People that sometimes hurt other people and that’s what happened to Rylee. She was hurt by a very bad person and now needs our help getting’ better. I had to tell my daughter that before touchin’ her sister, she had to ask Rylee’s permission.”

My voice quavers. I quickly compose myself and continue, “Y’all know what she said? With a serious face she told me, ‘That person needs to pay, Momma. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of my sister,’ before quickly runnin’ off to her room and returnin’ with Alf. ‘I’m gonna give her Alf until she gets better. He keeps me safe at night and he’ll keep her safe too.’”

Everyone clears their throat. Alf was Jake’s stuffed animal when he was a child and he kept it throughout the years. It was passed down to Rylee and when Skylar was born, Alf became her link to Jake. She’s treasured that ugly thing, thinks it’s the most precious thing in the world, and from the time she was handed that animal, she’s never shared it with anyone. For her to give her sister Alf, even temporarily, shows how much love is shared between my girls.

“So, how are we approachin’ this?” Jax asks the question everyone is wondering.

“Well . . . there’s one thing I want to discuss with y’all before anything else,” I tell them nervously. Here goes. “I want to let Zane know what I really do at work . . . about us. While we were at the hospital . . . um . . . I discovered that Jake and Zane had met before and that Zane was . . . well, he was one of
those
soldiers.”

I pause and take everyone’s face in. They’re silent, registering my words.

“What do you mean, he met Jake before?” Gunner asks after a little while. “We never served with him.”

“Well, y’all remember the last time Jake was deployed and he was injured?” At their nods I continue, “Apparently, Zane was one of the men with him—a ghost attached to his company for a mission. Jake saved his life and when Jake was shot, Zane is the one that kept him from bleeding out until they were picked up.”

“Fuckin’ hell,” I hear Gunner say. He turns to the guys. “I can’t believe I didn’t put two and two together. His eyes . . . it’s those eyes Jake told us about. Zane’s the one we always have an openin’ for in case he comes askin’ for a job—Jake’s orders.”

Even though I already know this, it shocks me I was never informed about it. Shoot, I’m amazed everyone is taking this in stride and not upset that Zane kept it a secret from all of us.

“What do you mean, the one he told y’all about?” I ask.

“One night when we were all together—it was that time we all flew in to see Jake after he got back. He was talkin’ about his last mission. That one really did a number on him and he didn’t want to burden you. He always tried to keep the job at work and away from home,” he tells me. “He mentioned meetin’ a ghost and he swore us to secrecy. The ‘ghost with purple eyes’ he called him. We all thought he was crazy, but he swore up and down it was true. He said the ghost kept him together when he thought he was dyin.’ Jake said that because of that, he would always have a place in our company if he ever needed it. Jake said he would one day come to us and we would accept him. After his death, I received a letter from the lawyer. The letter pissed me off and I put it aside, never thought of it again until now. Understand that I wanted him to be wrong, Faith.”

“What was in the letter?” I ask Gunner, curious to hear why Jake’s last words would tick him off.

“Even though I only read it once, the words were burned into my memory. Jake knew about my feelings for you,” he tells me with tortured eyes. “He knew that I loved you and now that he was gone, it was for me to help you until the ghost came to take over. He explained how he met the ghost and about extractin’ a promise from him to take care of you and Rylee if anything ever happened to him—that he trusted him to keep his word. He couldn’t explain why, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He said one day I’d meet the love of my life, but she wouldn’t be you. You were meant for some else, someone that would come into your life after he was gone. I didn’t want to believe him. To me, it was now my job to take care of you. In my mind
I
was gonna keep this company alive and
I’d
wait for you until you healed. You threw all my plans out the window when you took up his dream. You loved him so much you put aside your career to ensure that his dream remained alive.”

Hearing this, I’m stunned. Jake must’ve known something—he had to. But I wonder how? Is that why he came back changed from that last tour? He’d always shown me affection but after returning, it seemed like he couldn’t get enough of me. Everything we did as a couple or family was documented on video or pictures. Those last months he was with us, we have more pictures and videos than we had all the years before. Could this be the reason for all those conversations we had—the ones I hated?

“Faith. Faith, are you okay?” Gunner asks me, bringing me out of my thoughts. At my nod his continues, “You mourned him for years, Faith, and I waited. Then, I went to Dubai. That’s when you started to move on, and then Zane came along. Jake was right; you were never meant for me. I can’t believe I didn’t put this all together. Zane’s eyes are fuckin’ different and will weird you out if you aren’t ready. They’re fuckin’ purple, for goodness sake; when have you ever seen a person with purple eyes? He’s the ghost Jake spoke about. He’s the one that was supposed to come for you and Rylee, and he has.”

My mind’s in turmoil. Did my husband know something and didn’t tell me? But how could he have known?

“What the fuck are tryin’ to say?” Damon asks. “Are you sayin’ Jake knew he was gonna die?”

I flinch at his words, but it’s the same question I want to ask—a question I forgot to ask Jake.

“I don’t know,” Gunner replies. “I just know he changed after that last tour. It felt like he was tryin’ to get as much of us as possible—he called more and he asked us all to visit him. He missed us, he said. I thought it was the mission, but maybe it was something else. All I know is that after gettin’ back, Jake took out that huge life insurance policy on himself, sayin’ he wanted to make sure y’all were taken care of.” He looks at me. “And he started takin’ pictures of everything. That alone was strange because we all know that man hated takin’ pictures—Faith was constantly on his ass for it.”

I nod. I remember thinking he was crazy when he told me he took out that lucrative policy. He wanted us set, was his reply.

“I don’t know either,” I tell them. “I remember the last day we were together. He made me promise that if anything happened to him, I wouldn’t give up. He said I needed to live again if anything went wrong with our plan. That I had to keep my heart open. He was more lovin,’ and he came home at a reasonable hour from work, incurrin’ the wrath of his battalion commander a few times. He didn’t care—‘My family always comes first,’ he said.”

“But how could he have known?” Zeke asks. “I mean, why didn’t he say something to us? How could he—”