I returned my attention to the group, still smiling from the introductions, and I watched their faces fall as they read my expression. “Guys, we have to get you out of here.”
Dom nodded gravely. “That’s the truth.”
“Did you send your family out of town? I tried to call your wife at Rosemont, but they said she had a sick sister.”
“It’s a cover story. She knows the drill.”
I felt relieved. “And I guess you heard about Wiki.”
“Yes.” Dom’s eyes narrowed. “He must have been with them all along. For the record, I didn’t know we were running Milo.”
“I know that,” I said, meaning it. “But for the record, can they flip Milo without telling us? The victim’s family?”
“Yes. It happens more than they’ll admit.” Dom frowned. “But I can’t figure out what’s going on.”
“I’ll fill you in, but first tell me what happened at the house, when Milo and the others came. How did you get Lucinda and Ethan out?”
“I was in our apartment, keeping an eye on the monitor. I saw something funny in the woods out back and just then I got a call from Wiki. He said he was calling from the fish store and started in with his usual science class—you know, mollusks, shellfish—but he sounded nervous. I thought, ‘Something’s wrong.’？” Dom’s expression tightened, suppressing the anger he must have felt at Wiki’s betrayal. “I realized he was trying to distract me from the monitor.”
“So what did you do?”
“I kept on talking, I didn’t want him to suspect anything. I went to the house and got Lucinda and Ethan.” Dom glanced in their direction. “To their credit, they moved fast and we rolled out.”
“That’s amazing.” I wanted to hug him again, but didn’t. “I’m so grateful, Dom. Thank you.”
“Hey, all I did was follow procedure.”
“For once, I’m good with that.” I had a nagging question. “What about Moonie?”
Dom glanced at Ethan, pursing his lips. “Sorry, he took off after a rabbit while we were leaving. We called him but he didn’t come back. We had to go.”
“I get it,” I said, pained, but Ethan looked down. I ruffled his hair and drew him close to my side. “Don’t worry, honey. We’ll get him back somehow.”
“You think?” Ethan looked up, hopeful.
“Bet on it,” I told him, confident all out of proportion, for some reason.
Dom continued, “I brought Lucinda and Ethan here to let the dust settle. Nobody at work knows about Uncle Tig. I didn’t know where you were, but I knew I’d mentioned him. I was hoping you’d remember.”
“And I did.” I smiled, all proud of myself. Lucinda beamed, and our eyes locked, but I looked away, at Dom. “Not just another pretty face, eh?”
“Ha! Have you seen a mirror?” Dom laughed, and everyone joined him, including me, then I got serious.
“We need a plan, and I think I have one.”
“I have one, too.”
“It might be the same one.” I met his eye. We both knew what had to be done, but neither of us said anything. I didn’t know how to talk about it in front of Ethan.
Tig interjected, “Dom, whatever you need, you know I’m in.”
Skeet nodded. “Me, too. All for one.”
Richardson smiled grimly. “One for all.”
I felt touched. “So we have the Sexy Black Musketeers.”
They all laughed, and Dom nodded. “Jason, you need to brief me.”
“Will do, but we have to do this tonight. The shit is hitting the fan.”
“O-kay!” Dom broke into a grin. “I like the new Jason.”
“Me, too,” I said, smiling back.
Lucinda looked over, but she wasn’t smiling.
I didn’t ask her if she liked New Jason.
I was trying not to care.
Chapter Sixty-One
We sat around the kitchen table on stools, orange crates, and the dorm-size refrigerator, and I brought everybody up to speed. I started with Hart’s hit-and-run by Phil Nerone and my finding Contessa dead in her apartment, then in the composting plant when Milo killed Phil Nerone and Bryan Krieger, and finally my meeting with George, which caught Dom up short.
“You met with George Veria?” he asked, his lips parting in surprise.
“Yes, at his cabin.” I smiled. “What, did you think I beat myself up?”
Dom laughed.
Lucinda recoiled and Ethan winced, but I continued.
“Anyway, I’m off the hook with him now. I convinced him it was Milo who killed Junior, not me.”
Dom blinked. “And he let you walk?”
“Why not?” I said, smiling, and Dom smiled back, so I continued my update. I told them about how George got me thinking about Gitmo, then looking through my photos and finding them deleted except for the duplicate of my birthday photo.
Lucinda interjected, “Honey, I know that photo, I remember it.”
Dom looked over. “You remember a photo from 2003?”
Lucinda nodded, her expression bittersweet. “I remember he looked good, that’s all. I was sorry I didn’t get to spend his birthday with him.”
I let the awkward moment pass and resumed my update, telling them about Senator Ricks and how the photo busted him, proving he was lying when he claimed he wasn’t involved in the Doha interrogation and death. When I was finished, I met Dom’s eye. “So it all goes back to my time at Gitmo.”
Dom nodded, gravely. “Right.”
“They want that photo and they want me.”
Lucinda looked stricken, putting an arm around Ethan, who kept his head down. During my recap, I’d downplayed the violence of the past few days, but the boy wasn’t stupid.
“Buddy.” I reached over, touching his arm. “I know this is scary—”
Ethan looked up. “I can handle it, Dad.”
“Good.” I turned to Dom. “If Milo isn’t going to stop until he finds me, the plan is obvious. We have to let him.”
Dom nodded, tense. “Yes. We draw him out, set a trap. Obviously, not here. I know a place from my undercover days, down by the airport.”
Lucinda recoiled, aghast. “Wait, what? You’re going to use Jason as bait?”
“Not exactly,” I answered, though she was right.
“Are you crazy? It’s too dangerous. You’ll get yourself—” Lucinda stopped, glancing sideways at Ethan. “Jason, I don’t know why you have to be there. Why don’t you just let Milo think you’re going to be there, but stay here?”
“I want to be there. This is my fight, not theirs.” I gestured to Dom and the others.
“But they’re professionals!”
Tig chuckled. “I’m no professional.”
Skeet grinned. “That’s the truth, I’ve seen you shoot.”
Richardson laughed. “Me, I’m better than a professional.”
“There we go.” I smiled, grateful. “Thank you, gentlemen.” I remembered they were armed and turned to Dom. “I need a gun.”
“No. You’ll be safely out of the way.”