Shaw smiled, convinced he’d won. “As I told you,” he spread his empty palms. “As long as Mr. Fitzpatrick obeys the terms of the deal, no one has any interest in harming his sister or anyone connected to him.”
“So no one will be shooting at him anymore?”
“Shooting at him?” Shaw’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s been shooting at him.”
Cain laughed, pulling up his short sleeve once again to show his bandaged arm. “I beg to differ. Sunday morning, outside a fucking pancake restaurant, your goons shot up the parking lot. Almost killed a little girl.”
Shaw blinked. “My goons?”
“Your friends, then. Your business associates? I’m not quite sure what the polite term for the hitmen on your payroll would be,” Cain said, cold and calm.
“No one authorized any kind of attack on you, Cain. I didn’t even know where you were until…” Shaw turned pale, swallowed, his eyes wide.
“Until when?” Cain’s eyes narrowed. “When did you know where we were?”
Shaw licked his lips. “When my associates informed me.”
“Have they been watching me?”
“For your safety, I…”
Cain snorted. “For my safety, of course. What have you been doing for my safety?”
“We have your cell phone traced,” the senator said. “Whenever it pings a cell tower.”
“We?”
“My… associates,” he repeated.
“Well, that’s fucking awesome,” Damon said, heart racing, mind sputtering. “Your associates traced us to that fucking motel in Pennsylvania, and then they came to kill us. They tracked us here. Did they follow us when we dropped off Chelsea?”
Cain looked stricken. “Damon, I am so…”
Damon grabbed Cain by the shoulders and shook him, hard, forcing him to meet his eyes. “I swear to God, Cain, if you apologize for something that had nothing to do with you…”
Cain squeezed his eyes shut.
“Do you hear me, Cain?” Damon shook him again, and Cain nodded, but tears tracked down from his closed eyes. Damon grabbed him behind the neck, pulling Cain’s face into his shoulder.
He looked at Shaw over his son’s head. “What have you done?”
Shaw shook his head. “You’re wrong. You’re lying.”
“I’m lying? Your son has a gunshot wound in his arm, for Christ’s sake.”
“Cain is supposed to be protected.” Shaw tossed the papers down and pushed himself back from the desk, all his confidence gone. “Cain is… Cain is to remain safe. That’s non-negotiable.”
“Well, it seems to me that your associates negotiated without you, Senator Shaw,” Damon spat.
Shaw pushed his lips together, and watched Cain trembling in Damon’s arms. His jaw firmed.
“Cain. Tell me, yourself, son. Is that what happened?”
Cain lifted his head, his eyes red and shattered. “You want to know what happened? You want to know? You found out Damon was alive at the fundraiser, you went after his sister and terrorized a preschooler.” He shook his head. “Damon and I moved Chelsea to a safe house, but you used me… used my phone… to track us. Your associates shot at us. And who the hell knows what’s happening to Chelsea and Molly!” He turned to Damon, panic in his gaze. “We need to get in touch with Eli,” he whispered. “We need to make sure they’re okay!”
Damon gripped his shoulder tightly, trying to reassure him. But in truth, he was more than a little panicked himself. His sister. His niece.Fuck.
“You’re wrong!” Shaw passed a trembling hand over his face. “You’re… you’re wrong. I didn’t know Damon was alive until the day after the fundraiser when I was informed by security. I didn’t know you were with him. I didn’t…” He wandered to the window, shaking his head. “I haven’t authorized anything involving Mr. Fitzpatrick’s sister and niece.”
