Kestrel (Hart Briothers #3) (29 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Kestrel

Walking away from Carter is the hardest thing I’ve ever
done. I have to do it, though. Until we find out who is behind this attack, I
will not put her through any more danger.

Kolson and I depart for New York with Mom’s body on the
plane. The funeral will be simple, as per her wishes. Kade will fly in for one
day only. Stunned is the only word that can describe his reaction.

Only the three of us attend her service. A funeral home
handles the cremation and we have her favorite minister say a few prayers. Kade
is stone-faced as he stands between Kolson and me. I have so much on my mind I
can barely sort out the fact that my brother is next to me for the first time
in years. But I put my arm over his shoulders and one thing I do notice is that
he’s very muscular. He must be channeling his energy into working out.

When the minister finishes his prayers, an astounding
thing takes place. Kade breaks into his own rendition of Amazing Grace. I
haven’t heard him sing in so long, I turn to him and smile. It’s odd that I’m
smiling at Mom’s funeral, but I know she would be, too. The song is perfect, as
is Kade’s voice. Clear and strong, it resonates across the lake over which we
stand. We are at one of Mom’s favorite places in Central Park—Oak Bridge
on the Upper West Side, which spans Bank Rock Bay in the lake. It’s a blustery
cold January day, with snow dotting the grounds nearby, but the song is perfect
and it would please Mom to no end. Once Kade finishes, we sprinkle her ashes in
the lake, and then walk back with heads bowed, to our waiting limo.

“I’m going to Denver in the morning with Kade,” Kolson
informs me.

“Oh?”

“I have a meeting set with Drexel Wolfe and his firm.”

Drex Wolfe owns a one-of-a-kind PI firm in Denver. He
has connections with the FBI and it’s rumored even with the CIA. He helped us
before, in bringing Langston down, and I’m sure he’s the man to find out who’s
behind the shooting.

“No. Gabby needs you. I’ll go. Besides, it’s my house,
my deal,” I say.

“Yeah. You’re right. I need to be with my wife. He’s
expecting me, so I’ll let him know that you’re coming instead.”

“Fine.”

“And Carter?”

“What about her?”

“How did she take everything?”

“Like you’d expect.”

“I’ll check on her for you.”

“Thanks. My only hope is she doesn’t hate me.”

“If it’s any consolation, Gabby didn’t hate me when I
left her.”

“True.
But Carter’s face.
The
way she looked. She didn’t say a word. I almost went back and brought her with
me.”

“No. She’s safer there, without you. Drex will find who
did this. He’s fast, too.”

Kade finally asks, “Are either of you going to fill me
in on this?”

I give him the abridged version and he rubs his chin
thoughtfully. “I know a shit ton of my brain cells have been fried, but I don’t
know, man. I think your girl should be with you. If the mob wanted to strike
back, why wait so long? It’s been over a year now. Why not fire back sooner? I
think you’re on the wrong trail. Besides, wouldn’t they go after you on their
own turf? Up here?”

Shaking my head, I say, “I disagree. I think they want
to strike when we least expect. When we’re comfortable. And have our guard
down.”

Kade shrugs. “You know best. This Wolfe. Sounds like
he’s good. He’ll figure it out.”

I nod. “Yeah. And Carter’s protected.”

The next day, Kade and I fly to Denver.

“You look really happy, Kade.”

“I am. For the first time I can remember, that is. But
I’m still not ready. You know. To rejoin the world.”

“I get it. Whenever you are, you always have a home.
Just so you know.”

His eyes connect with mine. I’ve always thought his eyes
were so knowing
. Like they could see behind
everything. Ice blue irises trap mine and he doesn’t blink as he nails me with
his gaze.

“Stop blaming yourself.”

I let the air out I’ve held prisoner in my lungs.

“It’s hard. I’ve always felt like there was more I
could’ve done for you.
That I missed something.
That I
let you down … let you fall between the cracks.”

“It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t Kolson’s fault. It was
the Dragon’s. I was too fragile for what he did to me and needed the escape.
I’ve learned that. But I should’ve chosen a different escape than what I did.
You and Kolson tried. You did your best. Honestly, you two were the best
brothers I ever could have had. And look at me—I’m alive and well now
because of you two. After all that shit. So let it go, Kestrel. None of it was
your fault. You were just a kid, like I was.”

“I envied you sometimes. I wanted to shoot that stuff
into my veins, too. But I wasn’t brave enough.”

Kade let’s out a bitter laugh. “Well, be thankful for
that. Coming off that shit was sheer hell.”

“You look strong.”

“Working out will do that. When you try to beat the shit
out of your demons, it builds muscle. You should know that.”

Now it’s my turn to let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, yeah.
That I do know. So, you sang at the service. Are you doing that again?”

“Oh, a little here and there.”

“Playing any music?”

Kade smiles. “I’m actually teaching. Volunteering at a
church. Ironic, isn’t it? The former drug addict is giving music lessons at a
Catholic church.”

We both chuckle.

“Hey, I think it’s great. Are you singing in the choir
yet?”

Now he really laughs.

“You won’t believe it, but they asked me to. I had to
refuse. Somehow, I think it’s sort of sacrilegious.”

“Why? Do they know your background?”

“Yeah.”

“Then if they don’t care, why should you?”

“I don’t know. It just seems a bit hypocritical.”

“Well, I can see why they’d want you. You sounded
amazing. And I’m sure you still play beautifully, too.”

“It all came back. Like riding a bike. I thought maybe
the drugs destroyed it all, but they didn’t.”

We’re both quiet for a bit,
then
I say, “Kade, I don’t think you’ll even return to the East coast. You seem to
have found your place out there. And I’m happy for you. The great thing is you
have your trust fund and you know Kolson and I will back you financially in
whatever you choose to do.”

“Oh, I won’t take from you after they deem I’m safe to
live on my own. I’ll be a rehab counselor or I’ve even thought of opening up a
place for transitioning from inpatient services to outpatient. You know,
getting former addicts back to the real world, instead of throwing them to the
wolves. It’s really scary to someone like me, thinking you’re only one step
away from having access to drugs again.”

“I think it’s a great idea. But don’t those places
already exist?”

“Yeah, but there aren’t enough of them. Your transition
from inpatient straight back to your regular life is some scary shit. For many
people that’s fine. For me, not in a million years would that work. I would
head right back to my favorite dealer and start buying again. The temptation is
too alluring. I need a more controlled environment.”

“I see. I think you should go for it.”

We talk about his ideas and how it could work, what kind
of facility he would need, the financing and before we know it, the pilot tells
us we’re approaching Denver.

Our jet lands and two cars are waiting. One is for Kade
to take him back to his place and the other is from DWI (Drexel Wolfe
Investigations).

Kade and I hug and part ways.

A man named Troy Huffington introduces himself. “Call me
Huff or I won’t know who you’re speaking to.”

“Good to know.”

We drive into downtown Denver and he pulls into an
underground parking facility. The security is tight.
Very
tight.
He first goes through a checkpoint. They ask for my ID. Then they
hand me a temporary ID. After we pass through that, we have to drive through
another electronic scanner that requires his handprint. There is a third that
requires his handprint with a simultaneous scan of his ID. That finally allows
us access to the parking area. We park and walk to the elevator. He stands in
front of a camera and apparently it scans his face for recognition. Then the
doors open.

“You must have Fort Knox up here.”

“We might,” he alludes.

It’s a smooth ride to the top. When we walk out, once
again we face a ton of hoops to jump through before we can access the inner
sanctum of DWI.

“Need a pit stop?”

“Why, do you need a DNA sample?”

He laughs. “No, just thought I’d swing you by.”

“Nah, I’m good.”

The receptionist greets Huff as we walk through. Eyes
are on us.
Women, mainly.
He leads us directly to a
sliding glass door and when we enter, I feel like I’m on a movie set. It has
more technology than the security at HTS and that’s really something.

Drex Wolfe stands and greets me. “Kestrel. I wish I
could say it’s good to see you.”

“Same.”

“Hi, Kestrel. I’m so sorry about your mother.”

I turn to see Gemini, Drex’s wife and business partner
standing there. Together, not only do they make a formidable team but they also
make quite a couple. She’s exotically gorgeous and he’s—well, let’s say
everyone takes notice of Drex when he walks into a room. He not only owns it,
he analyzes it, takes it apart, then reassembles it. Admittedly, I’m envious of
the man.

“Thank you, Gemini. It’s been a rough few days.”

“I’m glad to know that your girlfriend and Gabby are
going to be fine. And you, too.”

“Yeah, thanks. I’m good. Gabby was the worst. Carter is
already out of the hospital. But I’m worried about her. I’m afraid her
association with me is going to harm her again.”

“Well, that’s what you hired us for, right?”

Drex asks, “What kind of protection does she have?”

I fill him in and he calls out to Huff. “Hey Huff, get
in here.”

Huff is there in seconds and Drex explains the
situation. The three of them murmur amongst themselves and finally Drex says,
“Get Dane down there. Today.” Drex turns to me and says, “I need everything you
have on Carter. Work place, home, car, every single thing you can. Tell Gem.
Friends’ names and so on.
We’ll fill Dane in on the way so
when he gets there, he’ll have her file. He’ll be dark and she won’t know he’s
there.”

“Dark?”

“Undercover. I don’t want him to be out in the open.
He’ll melt into the background. But he’s the best and he’ll keep her safe.”

“But her bodyguards—”

He interrupts, “Are okay, but not as good as Dane. Trust
me.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“Now on to the other stuff. Start from the beginning.”

We go through every single detail over and over and
over. Until I want to scream. But he’s thorough. His men are already delving
into things, running searches on business connections, Charleston connections,
the mob, you name it.

“How long before we have answers?” I ask.

“I can’t say. But my gut tells me we’ll get this one
figured out fast. Unless …”

“Unless what?”

“Never mind. One thing I need from you is business as usual.”

“I moved Carter out.”

“Understandable. What about you?”

“They’re working on the place now. Making it livable
again. The whole front was destroyed. Windows shot out and so on.”

“Oh, I understand. My home was blown up once.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“Nope. I wouldn’t kid about that. Did the police say
anything about the evidence?”

“Not to me, but I can ask my attorney.”

“Why do you have an attorney?”

I explain what happened. He scrapes his teeth over his
lower lip and then cocks his head to the right.

“Uh oh.” Gemini sighs.

“What?” I ask her.

“He’s pissed.
That look
. It’s
not a good one.”

I sit silently and observe. Drex calls in another guy,
Nikolai, and he relays what I’ve just told him.

“Nikolai, do you think you can squeeze into the
Charleston PD database? I want to see if they have any information on the
evidence in there.”

“Won’t they know?” I ask.

“Nope. It’ll ping from Siberia or something,” Gemini
says.

Nikolai taps the keyboard for a few minutes and says,
“Law enforcement is getting wiser and wiser. They’re hiring better people to
set up their security. It’ll take a few minutes to get in. I’m breaking their
encryption now.”