“No, thanks,” I found myself saying. “We’ll go back to the house in Delaware and lay low. I’m not disrupting my family any more than they have been.”
“Jason, as a favor to the department, I would request that—”
“No, but thanks again. Nice meeting you all.” I rose, brushing down my bloody clothes. I nodded goodbye to John, who nodded back from behind the steno machine.
Forman looked up, blinking. “What if we have questions before the presser?”
“Call me. You know where I am.”
Dom rose beside me. “I can field calls for him and take him back to Delaware.”
Forman stood, smoothing down his tie with a frown. “Jason, if you wait until the press conference, you can meet the Director—”
“I have to go find my dog,” I told him.
Chapter Sixty-Nine
“Jason!” Lucinda rushed out of the brick rowhouse, throwing open her arms, and I caught her, holding her close, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. Two cops stood in the doorway, smiling.
“Let’s keep the drama to a minimum,” I heard myself say, without knowing why. It wasn’t because the cops were there.
“Dad!” Ethan hugged me, and I pulled him close to my side.
“Everything’s okay, buddy. Everything’s okay.”
“Can we go find Moonie?”
“Sure we can,” I told him. All that, but what he cared about was the dog, and I understood why. “Let’s go home.”
* * *
—
We headed south under cloudy skies on the route we had taken that first day, except I was driving and Dom was in the passenger seat, since his shoulder was hurting. Lucinda and Ethan fell asleep in time, and the only sound was the steady rumble of the van and the gentle snoring of my wife, which made Dom smile.
He said, “I love me a woman who snores.”
I smiled back. “Me too. Does Denise?”
“Totally.” Dom chuckled.
“Thanks for doing this. Sorry to put you out.”
“Not a problem. She and the girls are going to stay at her sister’s for a few days.”
I glanced at the dashboard clock. “Think we’ll make it back in time for the press conference?”
“I don’t care. They’re all the same. Blah-blah-blah joint effort law enforcement God country apple pie.”
“It bugs me that they’re not giving you credit.”
“First off, you’re the one who busted GVO, Jason. You met with George. You figured out the Gitmo connection.”
“Only because I was the Gitmo connection.”
“Anyway, I don’t need credit. I have a bigger ask in mind. I want out of The Babysitters Club.”
“Why?” I asked, but I wasn’t completely surprised.
“I missed the action. I need the action. I realized it in the past few days.”
“What do you want to do instead? Go back undercover?”
“No. It’s too hard on Denise and the kids. I promised her. I want to be in the field.” Dom glanced over, his eyes twinkling. “In layman’s terms, a good old-fashioned FBI agent, out of the Philly office. I think I’m ready.”
“Ready?” I almost laughed. “What are you talking about? You’re a bona fide hero.”
Dom hesitated, his smile fading. “I didn’t tell you everything that happened with my partner, undercover.”
I blinked, caught up short, but didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to pry. I had yet to figure out if we were friends. Rather, I knew I was his friend, but I didn’t know if he was mine.
“The day my partner was killed, I was supposed to go to the buy, but I had car trouble.” Dom shook his head. “Typical undercover issue. It’s always the little things that get you. Cheap-ass car goes with the cover. The engine doesn’t turn over that morning. It’s too cold out. So my partner goes instead.” He winced. “It messed me up, that it was supposed to be me. After he died, I went back undercover, on a new job. But I was hesitant, a split second behind. It wasn’t grief. I was scared. Like, phobic. That’s when I got out.” His lips flattened. “I joined The Babysitters Club, and all this time, I’ve been hiding. It’s ironic. I haven’t been protecting my applicants, I’ve been protecting myself.”
My heart went out to him. “I get that, though.”
Dom straightened, turning to me. “I’m changing things because of you.”
“What?” I asked, surprised.
“I was stuck in The Babysitters Club, like you were stuck in the program. It’s no good. You can’t stay stuck, you have to move on. Like you did. I decided to move on. I have to forgive myself for not being there, when he died. I have to set it down. I carried it long enough.” He nodded, his eyes flashing with new animation. “I’ll always mourn the man. But grief is one thing, and fear’s another. I’m moving on.”
“Well, jeez.” I felt touched. Maybe I was his friend, too. I could think of only one thing to say. “Damn, I wish we had a Tate’s.”
“Now you’re talking!” Dom said, bursting into laughter.
Chapter Seventy
The sky had cleared by the time we got to the house, and I pulled up in front, scanning the area for Moonie. I had half-expected the dog to be on the front step, but he wasn’t anywhere in sight. Lucinda had called the local shelters on the way down, but no dog fitting his description had been turned in.
Ethan threw open the back seat door. “Moonie! Moonie!”
I turned to him. “Check out back.”
“Okay!” Ethan ran toward the house. “Moonie!”
Lucinda emerged from the van, glancing around. She looked tired, her hair in disarray and her dress rumpled. “It’s weird, coming back.”
“I bet.” I didn’t move to comfort her, my feelings bollixed up. I had tabled thinking about us until we were safe, but I couldn’t ignore it any longer. Maybe I was compartmentalizing, but the walls of the compartment had collapsed.
“Moonie! Moonie!” Ethan shouted, behind the house.
“Are you sure we’re safe now?” Lucinda asked Dom.
“Absolutely.” Dom placed a hand on Lucinda’s shoulder. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“Thanks, Dom.” Lucinda gave him a brief hug, evidence of a new closeness, and I didn’t mind. If I couldn’t comfort her, Dom could. He was good at telling my wife I loved her when I couldn’t.
“GVO is defunct, thanks to your husband, who keeps trying to give me all the credit.”
“You deserve it,” I interjected.
“No, you do,” Dom shot back.
Lucinda smiled at me, shaky. “So do you, honey. You got us out.”
“Moonie!” Ethan called from the backyard.
Dom turned from Lucinda to me. “You know, I can go get you guys some food.”
I sensed he was trying to give us time alone, which was the last thing I wanted. “You don’t have to run our errands anymore. Later I can wash up, change, and go.”
“I don’t mind. I’ll run to the store, and you guys look for the dog.”
“I’m worried he’s really gone.” Lucinda met my eye. “Jason, I wish you hadn’t promised Ethan.”