Through Smoke: The Troubled Heroes Series (27 page)

Michael raked his hand through his hair and let out a nervous laugh.  “It does seem selfish how we all mourn like we do.”

She patted his hand and smiled.  “It’s not selfish.  All humans do it.  If you didn’t mourn someone you’d be heartless, and that’s ten times worse than being selfish in a situation like this.”

He felt a tear trail down his cheek and quickly wiped it away.  “Thanks Mom.  You always know just what to say.”

“Just give it time, hon. You are a strong man.”  Her brow creased.  “How are things going with Casey? I still have yet to hear from him.”

“Still comes and goes.  I really never have a chance to say much to him.” He wanted to change the subject.  She always could see right through him when he wasn’t telling the complete truth.  Standing up, he walked to the back door and paused as he stared out the screen door.  “I just want things to get back to normal.  I want to wake up in the morning, go to work, do my job, come home and be normal.”

“Michael, there’s no such thing as normal.  If that were the case, this wouldn’t be called life.”  She paused. “Listen to me, I sound like Dr. Phil.”

Michael laughed, trying to find the humor in everything.  “And here I sound like the world’s biggest crybaby, like everyone is out to get me.  I need to man up.” 

“Oh hush, you’re not a crybaby.  Vent away.”

He pulled her in for a tight hug.  “Thank you, Mom.  I needed this talk and I can’t just go to anyone for it.  I love you.”

“I love you too, Hon. Things will get better soon. They have to.”

If only she knew the whole story, she wouldn’t be so optimistic about it all. 

On his way back home, he stopped off at a corner floral shop and bought a small bouquet of wildflowers for Eva.  He wasn’t sure if her evening plans involved coming over, but regardless, he would find a way to get them to her.  She had been a rock through all of this, dealing with his neurosis and he owed her so much.  Flowers were barely the tip of the iceberg of things he wanted to do in return for her help.

It was a little after six thirty when he finally got home.  He also wanted to cook for her, but wasn’t really good at anything.  Sifting through the cabinet, he found a package of spaghetti and some sauce.  It would have to do.  He didn’t have time to go grocery shopping and spaghetti was always a winner with most people.  He started a pot of water boiling and reached for his phone.  He texted Eva to make sure she would be coming over before he did all the work.  She responded quickly and said she would love to come over.  He of course left out the part about dinner and flowers. 

He toasted some garlic bread, seasoned the sauce, and boiled the noodles.  He was in the middle of tossing a salad when she came through the door.  She looked tired.  Her hair was in a messy ponytail and her uniform shirt wasn’t tucked in. She threw her purse on the coff
ee table, finally take notice of
the work Michael had done in the kitchen.

“Mikey!  What are you up to?”  Her exhausted look was replaced by a vibrant smile that made his heart skip a beat. 

He held out a bottle of wine.  “Chilled, just like you like it.  The food isn’t much, I haven’t really had time to go to the store.”

She walked around the bar and pulled him in for a kiss.  Her hands were on either side of his cheeks and her lips trailed from his, down to his neck.  “Are you kidding me? This looks delicious! It smells great!” She grabbed the bottle of wine and poured them both a glass.  “What possessed you to do this?”

He shrugged and sipped on the Merlot. It was a little drier than he liked, but it was Eva’s favorite so he wouldn’t complain.  “I had a good chat with my mom today.  Just got me thinking about things.  You deserve it.” 

Eva’s eyes scanned the room, finally seeing the bouquet of flowers.  “Flowers too?  Damn Mikey, are you wanting something?”  She arched her eyebrow and sniffed into the arrangement.  “Can’t go wrong with bluebonnets.  Kinda makes me wanna go to Texas.”  She kissed him again.  “You’re amazing.”

He scoffed and put the final touches on the meal.  “Sit down and eat.  I think your starvation has blinded your ability to judge people.”

The meal wasn’t too bad, and throughout it, Michael remained quiet and let Eva do most of the talking.  It was nice to let loose and treat her to this, but he found his mind still reeling with everything happening in his life.  Just seeing her happy cheered him up, even if it was just for a few hours. 

“This is really good.  Thank you for this.”  She reached across the table and squeezed his hand.  “You sure you’re okay?”

He took another sip of the wine, fighting the urge to pour more.  “I’m good, why?”

“You just seem kinda quiet.”

“Detective Matson called me this morning.”

Eva stopped chewing the bite of food in her mouth.  “Yeah?”

“Yeah.  Same old bullshit and run around.  We’re gonna have to do this ourselves, I think.”

Eva scooted her plate away and patted her stomach.  “I don’t think I can eat anymore.  I’m gonna pop. We’ll get this all figured out.  I’ve been looking over my shoulder.  We just gotta keep our eyes open.”

Michael shook his head.  “It shouldn’t be that way.  We shouldn’t have to be terrorized like this.  The cops should get the complaint and take care of it.  It’s like they are rolling their windows down and waving at Viper.  He’s outsmarting them.  We can’t live like this.”  His temper was getting the best of him.  It wasn’t exactly the evening he had in mind with her.  “I’m sorry, it’s just consuming me and will until it’s all over.”

“It’s okay, Mikey. I understand. We got this.  He won’t outsmart us.”

             
“So far he has.”  His resistance to the wine didn’t work and he found himself pouring his third glass.

“He’ll screw up.  They all do eventually.”

Michael stood up and began putting the food away.  “You are new to the McGinnis family and our traditions, aren’t you?” 

She began helping him, bringing him the dirty dishes to be washed. “I don’t think I’m following you, Mikey.”

“Just what I mean.  We’re destined to have bad luck.  Dad dies young.  Brother is hooked on every drug imaginable.  I’m an alcoholic, right on the fast track to follow in my dad’s shoes.”

Eva’s expression was enough for Michael to know that she still wasn’t on the same page as him.

“Things don’t ever work out for us, Eva.  Things always go south in a hurry.  Why is Viper any different?”

Eva didn’t answer.  Instead, she went to the table and grabbed the remainder of dishes and set them down in the sink.  Her silence made him feel guilty.  What started out as a nice, romantic evening turned ugly within seconds, all because he was taking his stress out on someone who didn’t deserve it.  He wiped his hands clean and pulled her in for a tight hug. 

“I’m so sorry, Eva.  I keep saying that, but I mean it.”  He felt her hand run through his hair.  “We gotta do something about it.  We gotta do something.”

Chapter Seventeen

That night, Eva couldn’t sleep.  Not only did she have a lot on her mind, but also Michael was restless.  There were moments when he would talk in his sleep as well as toss and turn.  She would check from time to time, and it appeared he was asleep.  For a moment she considered going to the couch.  She had grown fond of spending nights with him. Rolling over, she leaned into his chest and felt it rise and fall.  Some breaths were calm and steady, others quick as if he were running.  His heartbeat raced. 

What he told her at dinner rang through her ears.  The McGinnis family was full of bad luck.  She had never given it much thought until he put it into perspective, listing everything that had happened to them.  He had basically pleaded with her that they had to do something.  They were like sitting ducks, just waiting on Viper to take them out.  That was what was mainly keeping her awake.  She was waiting for an idea to hit her blindside.

“No, I don’t want to. Go away.” 

Eva turned to see if Mikey was awake, but he was deep in sleep, his words coming out in mumbles but audible enough for her to make them out.  The edges of his hair were drenched in sweat.  He needed his routine back, regardless of the situation.  He was going crazy at home and she could tell he was wasting away.  He had way too much time to think about stuff and that wasn’t healthy for anyone.

She was thankful when six rolled around.  She was going in for her fourth consecutive shift and could use the sleep, but that obviously wasn’t being accomplished.  She did her best to stay quiet as she showered and got ready, lightly kissing him on the forehead as she left.  Michael’s eyelids fluttered a little and he mumbled.  Smiling, she kissed him on the lips and made her exit.  He finally appeared to be resting better and she didn’t want to mess that up.

The morning air was cool and crisp.  The city was slowly awakening as morning commuters walked to subway stations.  It was mornings like this that put her in a good mood.  She couldn’t imagine living anywhere other than New York City.

Eva was jolted from her thoughts when she felt someone grab her from behind, pulling her into an alley.  Their free hand covered
her mouth.  Her
adrenaline began to pump.  He
r gut reaction was to kick whoever it was, but their grasp on her was strong as they
pushed her against the wall.

“Damn, you’re even prettier up close.  But then again, I got an eyeful the other night.”  His breath was stale and she tried turning her face away. He dug his fingertips into her cheek and made her face him again.  “Fireman knows how to pick them, especially after what I saw you do for him.”

“What do you want?”  Eva’s words came out in short pants.

“I want you to give him a message for me.  You tell him I’m well aware of the cops tailing me.  You let him know exactly what happened today.  The angrier he gets the better chance he’ll fuck up and I’ll have him for good, you hear?”  His hand moved down to her neck, clenching it tightly, cutting off her air.  “You do this for me or I’ll make sure you die slower than I had planned originally.”

His hand loosened, allowing for her to take a deep breath in.  “Tell him yourself, or are you too chicken shit to do that, Viper?  Too coward to show your face.”

Viper grinned, exposing his yellow teeth.  “Oh, you’re feisty too.  That makes you so hot.  I like that.”  He began to walk away, looking over his shoulder.  “You tell him for me, honey.  Oh, and have a great day saving the city.”

It took her a second to
re
gain
her composure.  Smoothing her hands over her hair, she debated with herself on whether or not to tell Mikey.  Viper was right.  The madder he got, the more he would act out of anger and screw it up.  If Michael knew Viper had laid his hands on her, things would go south in a hurry.  What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, even if it were Viper messing with her. But at the same time, this was what they needed to get enough evidence to arrest Viper.  She definitely had to think about this.  The cops were doing them no good so far, so would they in this situation too?  She ran her fingertips down the side of her neck, feeling where it was already sore.  She’d definitely have some marks there, so she adjusted her hair to cover it.

Despite the confrontation, Eva was only a few minutes late. Everyone was hustling around, getting ready for the day.  Thankfully no one noticed her flustered demeanor and she went straight to the bathroom, digging out some concealer from her bag.  It didn’t fully cover up his finger marks, but it was enough to take the dark color off.  Her next mission was to talk to Captain Rooker.

He was reading the newspaper in his office and she knocked on the doorframe before entering.  He looked up from the print, a small smile forming on his lips.  “What can I do for you, Crisante?”

“Sir, I was wondering when McGinnis will be allowed to come back to work.”  She knew that in house relationships were frowned upon.  All the Captain knew, hopefully, was that they were just friends.

“How is McGinnis doing?”  He folded the paper up and sat it down on his desk.

Eva contemplated his question.  If she answered it a certain way it could really be bad for Mikey.  “I think he really needs to get back on the truck, Sir.”

Captain Rooker leaned back in his chair.  “What makes you think that, Crisante?”

“This is what he is.  Right now he’s at home, meandering around the house with too much to think about.  With all due respect, that will drive anyone crazy, dead friend or not.  When you take what defines a man away, he’s left with nothing, making him more crazy than anyone thought he was before.”  It came out more emotional than she had intended, but after the way her morning had started, she couldn’t help it.