Second Chances: A PAVAD Duet (7 page)

“
I got to go, my team meets
on the third floor.” Dan wanted to hug her. To touch her, prove to
himself that she wasn’t a part of his imagination, but was really
truly breathing in front of him. He forewent the hug, settling
instead on squeezing her elbow. “You look good, kiddo. Real
good.”

“
Thanks. You look pretty
good yourself.” She smiled, a tentative expression that told him
how conflicted she was. “For a dead man.”

Dan laughed. “Get to work,
kid. We’ve got bad guys to catch.”

He watched his
purple-headed daughter turn left and head to the stairs. Dan headed
back to the elevators. It was time to restart his day.

And to think, he’d almost
taken an extra day off. Because he’d wanted to search down a new
lead on his daughters’ whereabouts. If he’d stayed home, how long
would it have taken for him to realize his daughter was one of the
basement nerds?

Dan never ventured into the
lab, he had no need to. Anything they needed was often forwarded
through email. Or the team sent Josh down to retrieve it. It could
have potentially taken him months to know his daughter was in the
same building.

Dan was still shaking his
head when another favorite redhead caught him just inside the
Complex Crimes Unit’s doors. Carrie wrapped long skinny arms around
his neck―something she normally didn’t do, as she was reluctant to
touch people―and hugged him tightly. “Are you ok? Ok?”

Dan squeezed her back, this
child of his heart. She was almost as precious to him as Kelly and
her sisters. “Sure am, kiddo. Never been better.”

“
Good. Paige was worried,
too.” Carrie nodded once, before sinking back into her chair. Her
desk was the only one with multiple computer screens. She carried
at least two with her at all times, just in case one went down.
Computers were the girl’s gift and her obsession. She’d saved
multiple lives with her skills, and Dan wondered if she truly knew
how valuable she was. To those other than her husband, that
was.

“
I’ll talk to her tonight,”
Dan said. “I’m ok, kiddo. Honest, you and Paige don’t need to
worry. This old guy can handle anything that comes his
way.”

She nodded. But it touched
Dan that the two young women worried about him, had made him a part
of their small family. He’d never forget how he’d felt a few months
back learning that Carrie and Paige had grown up together on the
streets of Nashville, orphaned foster kids who’d simply slipped out
of the system. Made their own way through the world at the tender
age of fifteen. How they’d hitched rides between Nashville and New
Orleans, how they’d sang on street corners for money. How they’d
narrowly escaped worse on multiple occasions.

It was still hard for him
to fathom. He knew had been hard for them, probably harder for
Paige than the slightly younger Carrie. Carrie was autistic, a bit
different, and Dan had seen Paige go to extremes to protect
her.

And Dan had seen the scars
from much, much worse on the darker haired girl. Had seen the
nightmares still in Paige’s eyes. Had heard little things slip from
both her and Carrie, things that told him that Paige had fought
hard to keep Carrie safe, sometimes at a great cost to herself. Now
Carrie had Lorcan; Dan just wished Paige had someone, too. Other
than Alessandra Brockman, her partner. Paige had seemed so alone
since Carrie had married.

Paige and Carrie―they were
his girls, too. He wondered what Kelly would think of them, how the
three would get along. They were of an age. Paige and Kelly both
shared the same taste in clothes.

It would be interesting to
find out. In the meantime, Dan had work to do. It was good to be
back.

Ally didn’t see Dan
Reynolds for the rest of that week. She’d heard through the rumor
mill that his entire team had been called out for a serial arsonist
case in Seattle, and occasionally hints of that case would hit the
division. It sounded like a tough one and Ally would admit she felt
the tiniest touch of worry. Strictly on Kelly’s behalf, of course.
She wasn’t the only one worrying. Agent Lorcan prowled around the
division with a dark expression in his strange green eyes. Ally
would pass him and his team on her way in each morning. She’d heard
it was the first assignment his wife had been on since they’d
married. Apparently the other team leader wasn’t taking her absence
well.

Ally thought that was
sweet, and a part of her envied the younger woman. To have someone
love you like that was beautiful. A part of her wondered if Jack
had ever loved her that way.

Life in the lab was no
different in St. Louis than it was in Indianapolis. The two teams
from Indianapolis were joining the two remaining teams in St.
Louis. Most of the St. Louis agents were accepting. Some were a bit
hostile, especially the assistant lab director.

Luckily his hostility
seemed focused in Marianna’s direction―and Sam’s. Ally couldn’t
quite put a finger on why Sam―the team’s computer and video
analyst―rubbed the man the wrong way, but she did. Poor Sam, Ally
knew the younger woman didn’t understand it, either. Ally could
understand that he resented Marianna―after all, she was his new
boss, and since he’d been acting lab director until Marianna
transferred in, a bit of rancor was expected.

But Sam―Sam was young,
quiet, sweet, never did anything to anger anyone. Even Sam’s
ex-husband Eric―another member of their teams―loved Sam. Barely a
week in, and Sam was already walking on egg shells around Dr.
Richison.

It was starting to concern
Ally, and as Sam’s direct supervisor she’d have to find a way to
resolve the problem, without jumping Aitcheson’s head and going
straight to Marianna. That wouldn’t do anything to help the two
groups get along.

Ally’s sigh was long as she
rounded the corner to her office just outside the main lab. Kelly
and Merrick Cody were hard at work processing a car that the CCU
had sent back. Apparently, their arsonist had torched it with a
strange accelerant that the local police labs couldn’t―or didn’t
have time to―identify. That fell to Kelly to analyze, after Cody
took the car apart.

The two women worked well
together, and were good friends. Maybe Cody could get something out
of Kelly. God knows, Ally had tried all week. Kelly hadn’t
mentioned her father in the last seven days. Every time Ally
mentioned him, or even tried to bring up the subject the younger
girl would hide in Ally’s spare bedroom until Ryan or Aislin
distracted her. Kelly was good, and Ally half suspected her friend
was paying the children to keep Ally from asking too many
questions.

Kelly had called her sister
Emma. And other than stating that Emma was ok with things, nothing
else had been said.

It was driving Ally insane.
Kelly needed family―why else would she be so attached to Ally’s or
Marianna’s? Or so attached to Cody, Sam, and Payton?

The younger woman had made
a surrogate family out of the people she worked with, becoming so
entrenched in the peripheries of their lives that Ally was
beginning to fear it wasn’t entirely healthy. Ally loved her; Kelly
was like the little sister Ally had always wanted. But she also
knew Kelly couldn’t bury her head forever.

Something was going to have
to be done―about Kelly and for Kelly. Ally paused just outside the
door as she heard a childish voice and a man’s deeper timber. It
was voices she recognized―Marianna’s middle son Ted walked with the
director of the division, Edward Dennis.

Ted was as dear to her as
her own son, and had spent countless hours with Ryan. He was a good
kid, a little rambunctious like all Marianna’s sons were, but he
was bright and loveable. And apparently bonding with
Dennis.

The man’s hand rested on
the boy’s shoulder as they walked, and Ted didn’t seem to mind.
That surprised Ally―none of Marianna’s sons were too comfortable
with men. But apparently Ted was ok with Dennis.

As the pair drew nearer,
headed toward Marianna’s office, Allison gasped. “Teddy, what in
the world―“

“
Aunt Ally. It’s nothin’.”
He mumbled the words, dropping his chin to his chest. It did little
to prevent Ally from seeing the bruising forming around his right
eye.

“
What happened, sweetie?
And are you hurt anywhere else?” Doctor eyes combined with those of
a mother scanned the child quickly.

“
Some jerks at school. And
I’m ok.” He seemed uncomfortable with her fussing and she backed
away. Ryan was going through the same stage. It made her a bit
wistful. The two were growing up fast. “But I’m supposed to report
directly to my mom when I get here each day.”

Ally hid a smile, having
heard Marianna worrying over just what exactly the director had
intended for her wayward son. Ally had thought the punishment was
ingenious. Ted loved his computers, and to have to know he’d not be
able to touch them for five full weeks was an entirely appropriate
punishment, both age appropriate and situation
appropriate.

Still, Marianna was a bit
overprotective of her boys, and Ally understood that. Understood
why.

Edward Dennis was just as
coldly powerful as Marianna’s ex. More. This man welded power like
it was nothing, and made Harold Glendower look like a child. Still,
Ally already knew that Dennis was cut from an entirely different
cloth than Glendower. She just wondered if Marianna knew
that.

Ally watched the two walk
down the hallway, thinking that maybe Ted’s hacking the FBI
computer system would be a good thing for the boy. If a man like
Edward Dennis was taking an interest in him, surely it would have
good results. At least for Ted.

Dan was exhausted. The
Seattle case had knocked them all for a bit of a loop for a while
there. Thank God they’d caught the bastard in the act. Managed to
save two kids in the process. Their mother hadn’t been so
lucky.

Dan would never forget the
expression on the father’s face as he handed him the four-year-old
little girl. The man’s eyes had shown relief that his children were
safe, and grief that their mother wasn’t. They’d been divorced for
three years, but it was obvious the man had still loved his
ex-wife.

The little girl had been a
strawberry blond, her curls so much like all three of his girls’ it
had brought back memories for Dan. This time, though, he didn’t
have the same pain. Always before he’d wonder, worry, dwell, on
just where his children might be. But now he knew.

He’d come up with a game
plan over the last week or so. He’d definitely give Kelly her
space, let her get used to him being around again. But not too much
space. He was anxious to reconnect with Emma, as well. And baby
Gracie. He’d often wondered what her smile looked like―she hadn’t
even had teeth the last time he’d seen her.

He couldn’t wait to have
all his girls in one place, one place where he could see them. But
he also knew that he’d have to respect the fact that they didn’t
know him. Beth had robbed them all of that.

Tonight, though, he just
wanted to get home, relax, and soak in the jet tub that had come
with the place. He hurt, nothing new at his age, but in the last
twenty years he’d been shot with a total of eight bullets. That was
bound to catch up with a man sooner or later.

He was damned lucky to be
alive and he knew it. And now he actually felt it.

He was the last one of the
team into the bullpen. Carrie had wasted no time finding that
husband of hers―in fact, Lorcan must have heard they were returning
because he met her at the lobby doors. She didn’t even get inside
before he was rushing her away. Dan didn’t understand it, Carrie
was a sweet kid―why was she with a guy like him? Lorcan was shady
to Dan. The kind of guy he’d expect to find in a back alley―not in
the middle of Carrie’s living room, petting the damned
cat.

Still, if he made the girl
happy, Dan had no problems with him. He'd keep reminding
himself of that until he actually believed it.

Josh was a few steps ahead
of Dan and he hurried up to catch the boy. “Josh!”

Josh turned, pushed his
glasses back up his nose. He was a good looking kid around the age
of thirty, but the look in his eyes made him appear so much older.
Dan sighed, remembering how the kid had been when he’d first joined
the unit. He had a quick sense of humor, a fast mind, and a steady
manner. Bright, too. But lately, he’d blended in to the background.
All because two different bastards had gotten the jump on him―and
came damned close to killing Carrie and Georgia. Josh hadn’t
forgiven himself for his perceived failure yet―Dan knew it would
take time.

But the kid was too young
to waste his life due to misplaced guilt. He’d barely let Carrie,
Georgia, or K.D. out of his sight the entire Seattle investigation.
And it was starting to interfere with all their job
performance.

Something would have to be
done, and Dan knew it would have to be him to confront Josh. He was
closer to the kid than Hellbrook, cared a good deal about the boy.
And if he was honest, knew the kid looked up to him
some.

“
Dan? What is it? I need to
file my report.”