The Puppeteer (24 page)

After a few minutes she seemed to be done retching, so Ty flushed the toilet and helped a still-shaky Dani to sit on the closed lid, head down. When she looked steady enough, he stood, grabbed a glass, filled it with water, and handed it to her. She looked up and then took the glass from his hand and took a sip.

“Are you okay?” he asked, kneeling beside her again. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and nodded.

“Um, out of curiosity, could you be pregnant?” Ty asked. That got Dani's attention. She looked up and gazed at his face, as if looking at a complete stranger, and then frowned.

“Why would you ask that?” she said, her voice quiet and hoarse.

“The sickness came on so fast. I remember my sister telling me about it. One second she'd be fine, then the next she'd be on her knees. And it has been a couple of weeks since that night. I know we used condoms, but they aren't foolproof,” he added.

Dani looked at him for a long time, as if it were taking her a very long time to process his statement. And then she shook her head. “I get those shots, too. Four times a year. Between the two, I don't think I'm pregnant.”

Ty took a deep breath and let it out, surprised by his lack of emotion at her response. If it had been any other woman, he would have been relieved there hadn't been an ‘accident.’ But with Dani, he wasn't relieved, nor was he disappointed.

“Are you okay? Do you think you can make it to the bed?” he asked, moving to stand over her.

“I'm fine…I just…I saw…oh god,” she said before sliding off the toilet, flipping the lid, and retching again. Her shaking was so intense she couldn't hold herself up, so Ty curled behind her and held her steady. When she finished, she went limp in his arms and, if it weren't for the subtle fluttering of her eyelashes, Ty would have thought she'd passed out.

“Hold on, honey,” he said as he slid from behind her, wrapped a towel around her shoulders, and propped her in the corner. Her head lulled back and Ty considered calling Drew for medical assistance. But then she closed her eyes and he could see her take control of her breathing again.

Working fast, he stepped into the bedroom, gathered up the photos and pulled the blankets back. Returning to the bathroom he handed Dani another glass of water and she dutifully took a small sip. He rinsed the towel again and used it to wash her face. When he was done, he picked her up, cradled her against him, and carried her to the bed.

“The pictures…” Dani mumbled.

“They're on the bedside table,” Ty soothed as he placed her on the bed. Then he stripped down to his t-shirt and boxers and slid in next to her, pulling the covers up over them. Drew could do whatever he wanted, but there was no way Ty was going to leave Dani tonight.

“I need…Drew. To talk to Drew,” she mumbled.

“Tomorrow, honey. Not tonight. You're not going to do anything tonight but rest.” To add emphasis to his statement, he pulled her close against him, hoping some of the heat from his body would stop her shakes. Tucking the covers around them, he felt her resist and then, as he soothed her with meaningless words and gentle strokes to her hair, her body relaxed. All but a single hand that gripped his shirt throughout the night.

Chapter 17

“WHERE IS SHE?” TY DEMANDED
as he flung open the door to the study. Drew stood at his desk, looking grim faced and pissed. Ty couldn't have cared less. It was eight in the morning and he had no idea how long Dani had been gone from their bed.

“Back off, Fuller,” Drew replied. “This isn't about you.”

Ty held back from decking the man. He knew something about Dani and like hell would he let Drew keep it from him. He advanced on Drew, who didn't back down. As Ty approached the desk, he glanced down and saw a photo with a red circle drawn around a man in the background. Ignoring it, he raised his eyes and met Drew's gaze.

“If it's about Dani, it has everything to do with me.” His words were quiet but his tone made it
very
clear to the man exactly where he stood when it came to Dani.

Drew stared at him for long time. Ty watched the muscles tick in his jaw and saw the deliberation in his eyes. Drew wasn't happy about something but he didn't think it had to do with him or Dani, not directly anyway. He looked like a man who'd just had his plan shot to shit and was being forced to rely on plan B—when there was no plan B.

“Where is she,” Ty repeated again.

Drew swallowed and, for a fleeting moment, Ty could see pain in the man's eyes. But then Drew shook his head and turned away.

“She said she was going to the shooting range. At least that's what her note said. I didn't see her this morning.”

Ty didn't take the time to respond, he just turned and stalked out.

He found her where the note said she would be. He watched her for an hour. She stood three lanes down from his observation point, oblivious to the comings and goings around her. He'd never seen her quite like this before. Yes, he'd seen her intense and focused, but this—this was the stuff of demons. The target at the end of the shooting gallery had a face, if only in her mind. And Dani blew it away time and time again.

When he couldn't take it anymore, couldn't stand to watch her hurt all alone, he pulled on his ear guards and entered the range. The next time she stopped to reload, he stepped behind her, pulled both their ear guards off and out of the way, and wrapped his arms around her waist. For a split second, he could feel her gratitude that he'd come as she relaxed against him. And then, in an instant she pulled away and continued to reload.

“That's enough, Dani,” he whispered in her ear.

“You have no idea,” Dani shot back. Ty raised his hands and cupped them over her forearms, pulling them back down to her sides. She stood there, rigid in his arms.

“Then tell me, Ella,” he whispered against her hair. And it triggered something in her. Her arms dropped to her sides, her head fell back to rest on his shoulder and her eyes closed. And he just held her.

“I'm so tired, Ty. Take me away somewhere.” Her voice was nothing more than a whisper but it was etched with so many years of pain that even Ty had to close his eyes under its weight.

“God, Dani,” was all he managed to say.

They drove for hours. Through country roads, along the coast, everywhere Ty could think of that might soothe Dani. She didn't talk for a long time and when she drifted off to sleep, Ty called Drew to let him know she was with him and that they wouldn't be back to the house for a long while. It was the first time in his life, and probably Dani's, that he'd put off his duty for personal reasons. He could argue that he'd pulled the two of them that day because Dani wasn't fit to fulfill her duty and he'd be telling the truth. But it wasn't the reason. He was making Dani, and her health and mental state, the priority in his life and he felt, bone deep, it was the right thing to do.

He pulled into a deli, picked up a few sandwiches and drinks, and made a call, all while Dani continued to sleep. A few minutes later, he drove to the marina, parked, and woke Dani with a gentle touch.

She looked around and then asked, “Where are we? What time is it?”

“We're at a marina north of town, I have a friend who has a boat here. It's close to five and little early for dinner, but you haven't eaten all day. I thought we could just sit on the boat for a while and watch the water?”

Dani turned her gaze to the water, watched it for a while, then nodded and opened the door.

Twenty minutes later, Ty handed Dani a glass of iced tea and slid down to the deck of the boat where she was sitting, legs hanging over the edge, arms over the first rung of the safety railing, staring out at the Atlantic Ocean.

She glanced at the glass and then looked up to study Ty. After a few minutes she mumbled her thanks and took a sip.

“How are your shoulders?” he asked. The amount of shooting she'd done that morning was bound to have an effect on her arms and shoulders. Not to mention the fact that she'd followed the spree with several hours of sitting inert in a car.

In response, she rolled her shoulders, testing them. “They'll be a little sore tomorrow, but I should be okay.”

Ty let a few minutes pass before he asked. “Will you? Be okay?”

The silence stretched between them, but Ty didn't doubt she would answer. Finally, she spoke.

“When I was thirteen, my sister Sammy and I were supposed to have a sleepover at Lucky Adams' house. My mom loaded us up into the car and drove us down the road. It was summer and we were in the Hamptons, as usual. By the time we got to the Adams' house, I was sick as a dog. One of those sudden virus things, I guess.” She paused, staring out at the harbor.

“Anyway,” she resumed, “I came back with my mom, lying down in the back seat the whole time, I was so sick. When we got home, I went straight to bed. Sometime later, I don't know how long, I woke up and heard voices. I knew my dad was coming for the
weekend, so I thought it was him. I wanted to see him. Even though I felt so sick, I still wanted to see him.

“I managed to crawl out of my bed and make my way to the top of the stairs. And then, I don't know what happened, instinct kicked in? Something didn't feel right. I was terrified but didn't know why.” Dani shivered as a soft breeze blew across the boat. A bell rang in the distance.

“I froze in the hallway and listened. I heard my dad talking to someone and the tone of his voice scared me even more. He was angry. Not screaming and yelling angry, but the kind of angry you get when someone disgusts you. I didn't know what it was then, but after doing what I've been doing for as long as I've been doing it, now I recognize it. It's the kind if tone you use when someone is so disgusting that their mere presence on the planet is offensive. And I don't just mean people who don't bathe. I'm talking about traitors, backstabbers, turncoats, that kind of thing.” She turned to Ty for acknowledgment. He brushed his fingers across her check, tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and nodded. He did know the type. All too well.

“I was terrified, but wanted to know who my dad was talking to. After a few minutes, I gathered up the courage to peek around the corner.” Dani paused and took a deep breath before continuing. Her face was pale and her arms were wrapped around herself, trying to stop her body from shaking.

“And I saw a man with a gun. I'd never seen a real gun before but I was old enough to know that's what he held in his hand. I don't know how long I stood there before I realized I needed to do something. I was shaking so hard that I was afraid I would press the wrong buttons on the alarm system. But some angel was looking over me that day. I crawled down the hall to the upstairs alarm pad. I pushed in the silent alarm code and then snuck into my parents' room and dialed 911. I don't remember doing all that, but I've been told it's what happened. I do remember telling the 911 operator there was a man with a gun in my house. I remember her telling me to stay on the line. And then I remember standing at the top of the stairs, holding the phone, watching.

“The argument was getting more heated in a quiet sort of way. My dad sat down and I thought it wasn't a good idea for him to
relax around a man with a gun. In retrospect, I know he was trying to convey that he wasn't concerned about anything the man with the gun could do to him. Whether he believed that or it was a bluff, I have no idea. But then my mother walked in.” Dani's voice broke. She closed her eyes again, took a few deep breaths, and then gathered strength.

“I can imagine he, the man with the gun, saw my mother as both a threat and an opportunity to prove to my dad that he was serious. My mom had about as much time as it took her to take in the fact that my dad wasn't alone before the man shot her. Execution style, in the middle of her forehead.”

Ty swore under his breath and took Dani's hand in his. She didn't resist, but she didn't welcome him either. He didn't take this as a rejection. He knew she just didn't have the energy to do anything else but talk.

“Everything happened so fast after that. My father jumped up and the man turned his gun on him and shot my father in the same way. I must have screamed or something because he turned and looked straight at me. I didn't remember anything about his face but his eyes—until today. But his eyes were burned into me. Even from the top of the stairs I could see they were ice blue and expressionless. He looked at me like he'd done nothing more than take the trash out. No sign that he'd just killed two people. No sign that he cared or that the two lives meant anything to him. He just stared at me and raised his gun in my direction.”

Dani stopped talking and gazed out at the ocean for a long time. She shook her head like she was still trying to puzzle out what happened that day. “I don't know,” she said. “The next thing I remember is coming to in the hospital with Sammy and Karen, Drew's mom, at my bedside. I guess I'd been conscious the whole time, but I was in shock. I don't remember why he didn't shoot me. I don't remember the arrival of the police, or even being taken to the hospital. Some sense of preservation must have kicked in and blacked it all out. I remember coming to and seeing Sammy and Karen, eyes red and swollen, and I knew it wasn't a dream.”

“Oh, honey,” Ty said wrapping his arm around her shoulder. This time she leaned into him as the boat swayed beneath him.

“I can imagine that the police arrived right as he was deciding whether or not he had time to come after me. I must have run because the police report said they found me curled up on my parents' bed. Maybe he figured it wasn't worth the risk? I wondered for a long time if I was grateful for that decision or not.” Dani pulled her legs up and curled them at her side as she leaned more fully onto him.