Page 16 of After 5
When Caiyan was under the influence of the Thunder key, he had given me the key to his apartment and asked me to marry him. The proposal went belly up, but he showed me a side of him I had never seen. One that might want a wife.
I wanted those things eventually, and I thought I wanted them with Caiyan. The possibility of never seeing him again made my heart constrict. We had to find him soon.
Marco fiddled with the leather bracelets on his wrist. I knew he had feelings for me, and I tried not to lead him on. It had been difficult transporting for him and working side by side without any physical contact. The touch that used to spark hot between us died down to a simple simmer. I wanted to be Marco’s friend, not his lover, but a small part of me wondered how it would have been to be with him.
Chapter 3
After we were dismissed from the meeting, I cornered Jake while he was logging out of his computer. “I’d like to speak with Toecheese.”
Jake paused. “I can’t hold him much longer. I’m going over to question him, now. You can watch from the two-way mirror in the interrogation room.”
“No. I want to talk to him alone, in his cell. He knows others will be watching, listening, in the interrogation room. I want to speak to him in private. Since I saved his life, he might give me a clue to the Mafusos’ plans.”
“Jen, it’s not safe.”
“He’s in a padded cell. How dangerous could he be? I can protect myself from him. Besides, he won’t have anything but his hands, and you can cuff him if you think it’s necessary.”
“OK, but I’m securing his hands and feet, and I’ll watch through the window.”
“Hands only, and you won’t watch.”
Jake sighed. “Why is everything a battle with you?”
I shrugged.
“Hands and feet, I won’t watch, but you’ll tell me everything.”
“Deal,” I held out my hand to seal the deal, and he ignored it. Instead, he made a call to alert the guards on duty of my impending visit.
I turned to leave, and he grabbed my wrist.
“Don’t think that because you saved his life, he’s indebted to you. Keep your distance, he’s still dangerous.”
“I will,” I said.
He released my wrist, stood and picked up his laptop. “And after you speak to him, I need to debrief you. Meet me in my office. General Potts is in with Marco now, so you get me.”
General Potts wasn’t always on base, but when he was, he demanded to debrief the defenders. He liked receiving his intel from the horse’s mouth. He’d embellish the details and report to Washington. It was fine by me, because the snooty secretary who followed Jake around like a lost puppy had to serve the general’s needs when he was on base.
Jake and I parted ways. I turned left toward the stark white area used to detain the prisoners. The WTF annexed holding cells from Gitmo for the captured brigands. They couldn’t be combined with the prisoners at Gitmo for fear they would figure out the location.
If we were lucky enough to force them to remove their keys, they were given a nice, comfy, padded cell, but not much human contact. Currently, all cells were empty except the one occupied by Toches and the one containing the Cracky brother.
The WTF normally exchanged the brigands for something important, like the crown jewels, but so far, we haven’t caught anyone important enough to exchange for Caiyan’s key. I assumed the WTF was trying to barter Toches for the key. I doubted Gian-Carlo would bite. He didn’t like Toches for reasons beyond my paygrade.
If he knew I’d rescued Toches, he’d know we didn’t have probable cause to hold him. Giving up a valuable possession like Caiyan’s key would be in vain, and Jake knew he didn’t have much time until the Mafusos would demand his release. The shifty brigand would be free in a matter of days.
I peeked through the tiny, round window. Toches stretched out along the bunk in his cell. A taller man would have to bend at the knees to fit on the bed. His wrists and ankles were cuffed like Jake promised.
Toches in present day clothing appeared different from the man I dealt with in my travels. Gone were his scraggy locks from Salem, and in their place were a tidy beard, dark hair, and beady eyes that stared at the cracked plaster ceiling. He reminded me of the Head Gamemaker, Seneca Crane, from the first Hunger Games Movie.
Since I didn’t apprehend Toches, he retained the key he wore, and he wasn’t shy about hiding it.
I motioned for the officer to open the door. According to Jake, the staff wasn’t in the loop. They rotated every twenty-four hours, so having a new guest was not always a concern for them.
When I entered, the chains clanged as Toches sat up and swung his legs around to sit on the side of the bed. He leaned forward, elbows on knees, and interlocked his fingers.
“I wondered who was coming to call after they shackled me like a terrorist.”
