The Puppeteer (32 page)

Ty wasn't the only one who witnessed the internal struggle playing across Drew's anguished features. Karen sighed as she stepped forward and hugged her son. “We all did the best we could. We all did what she would let us. Maybe we all could have done a little more, but maybe not. If she's in there talking with Sammy now, it's a start.”

“How long have they been in there?” Jason asked. Ty couldn't help but notice that not only was Jason concerned about Dani, it was obvious he was now worried about his wife as well. About what she was hearing behind that closed door.

Ty glanced at his watch. “About fifteen minutes,” he answered. The five of them shared an uneasy silence for a few more minutes before Sam opened the door. Her eyes were red but she also wore a tentative smile.

Ty felt a moment of envy when her eyes sought and found her husband.

“You okay?” he asked, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around her. Sam nodded against his chest, sniffed, and then pulled back.

“She's tired,” she started. “But I know she wants to see everyone, if only to make you all feel better.” Sam's grin was broader this time. “I think it will be too much if everyone goes in so Karen and Andrew, why don't you go in first. I'll stay out here with Jason and Drew.” Then turning to Ty she added, “I don't think I need to say this but she asked that you go back in first. And stay. With her,” she tacked on. Ty wasn't going anywhere and he wasn't going to let Dani exhaust herself to make everyone else feel better.

“Give me a few minutes?” he asked as he reached for the door. He saw the family open their mouths to protest but Sam cut them off.

“Of course. I'll send Karen and Andrew in a few minutes.” The smile she gave him was affectionate and knowing and he didn't have to wonder if she knew how he felt about her sister.

“Ty?” Dani's voice was weak in the dim light of the room.

“I'm here,” he replied stepping forward and taking her hand. He sat next to her on the bed and they looked at each other.

“How do you feel?” he asked. Dani took a deep breath and let it out. He wasn't asking about her physical health and they both knew it.

“After so many years of not talking about what I saw that day, it was hard to tell you. But it was harder to tell her. Not only does she now know what happened to mom and dad, she has to live knowing I kept a secret from her all these years.” Ty squeezed her hand in support and she looked back at him.

“We're close. I know we're supposed to be close because we're twins and all, but we're even closer than most, I think. My parents' deaths might have had something to do with that, but I think we were like that even before they died. I just always remember telling her everything, of being there for each other. Once I got over being sick, once I decided to rejoin the land of the living, Sammy and I rebuilt our relationship. She knows everything about me, but still, I held that part of me back. I didn't trust her enough to tell her.” The sadness in Dani's voice was palpable. Wanting to make it better and needing to be beside her, Ty shifted her and slid onto the bed. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he held her with her head tucked against his chest.

“I think you did what you thought was best. You didn't want her to hurt like you did,” he said.

“I know. But she did. She did hurt. I thought she wouldn't be able to handle what I would say so I decided I was
protecting
her by not telling her. But all along I was protecting myself from not having to confront both what happened that day and my own feelings. And in the meantime, she's spent years wondering what happened.”

“But you told her now,” Ty said, stroking her hand that lay flat on his chest. “It's a start.”

Dani sighed and moved closer to him. “Yes, it's a start. She wants us to ‘see someone’ together.” Ty felt Dani smile at this statement. “She said it's time to stop living in an ‘emotionally barren world.’ Her words, not mine.”

Ty chuckled at this. Dani and Sam were more alike than not. If the situation was reversed, Ty had no doubt Dani would be not-so-gently prodding her sister to do the same. Given the details of what Dani was dealing with, Sam's insistence might seems callous, but Dani had been living with everything locked up long enough, the time for babying her was long over.

“How do you feel about that?” he asked. Dani thought about this for a long moment, tracing unseen patterns with her finger across his t-shirt.

“If she'd said something like that a month ago, I would have laughed at her. But now,” she paused, looking for the right words. “But now, I know she's right because, up until about month ago, I
was
living in an emotionally barren world. Meeting you has changed me, I'm not sure why, but I do know how. It's made me realize how much I've cut myself off from other people.”

“You don't know why?” Ty teased, knowing this conversation wasn't easy for Dani and not wanting to press her. “It's not my stunning good looks?”

Dani laughed and raised herself up to look him in the eye. “Well, you
are
easy on the eyes, Fuller,” she said with a smile. “But in all honesty, I've been with other good looking men, smart men, capable men and, before that frown becomes permanent,” she grinned at his scowl, “not a single one made me want to look at my life and see what I'd been missing. Not a single one made me acutely aware of
my emotional deficiencies, and not a single one ever inspired me to change them. You do. So, I guess I can see her point,” she continued, reflecting on Sam's comments. “My life
was
emotionally barren. Now I think I might be getting there. Or at least letting myself contemplate getting there. With you.”

Ty studied the woman who held his eyes. She was the same strong, capable woman he had met a few weeks ago in the bar. The same woman he'd taken home. The same woman he had spent that one amazing night with. But her eyes were now different. They were open and exposed and showing him her vulnerability. Her vulnerability and her desire to start trying to live a different life. Not altogether different, but different enough to allow him—to allow herself to want him—as a part of it.

“Ella,” was all he could say as he framed her face and brushed his lips against hers in a gentle promise.

“I see you're not quite as immobile as I was led to believe.” Drew's dry voice startled the couple apart.

Rather than rolling back onto her back, Dani tucked herself on her side next to Ty and grinned. Drew was eyeing Ty, no doubt debating whether or not to suggest Ty leave so Dani could rest.

“How could I possibly be immobile with this hunk of manliness lying next to me,” she shot back, making Ty laugh out loud and Drew roll his eyes.

“I take it you're here for the long haul?” Drew asked Ty.

Ty stroked Dani's back through the blankets and looked at her. “I don't know, am I here for the long haul?” he asked with a smile playing on his lips. In response, Dani snuggled even closer.

“Definitely here for the long haul,” she answered. Ty raised his gaze to Drew, who was watching Dani like he'd never seen her before.

“You heard her. And we all know what Dani's like when she wants something,” Ty grinned at the look of confusion in Drew's expression. Not confusion about him and Dani, but about how he should react. He could see it in Drew's face, the need to protect her like an older brother, the role he'd had for so long, warring with the realization that maybe the best way to help her was to encourage her to open up with someone else.

Drew made a noncommittal grunt and sat down. “Sammy decided I should come in first. I think she figured you wouldn't have as much time to assault me with work questions with my mom and dad waiting to talk to you.”

“So, talk quick,” Dani prompted, though her body was feeling the strain of fatigue. Drew must have seen it too because he hesitated before starting.

“I'm sure Ty gave you the basics of the weapon Frey used. It's still at the lab and the lab techs are having a field day with it. You know Cotter is fine. Getz and the Eagle's Wing folks are all locked up. I'm heading up there tonight to do some follow up.”

“Any update on Sonny?” Dani asked, her eyes closed but still following the conversation.

Drew shook his head, and then added, “No,” when he realized she couldn't see him. “He wasn't talking when I left this morning. I'm going to see him again tonight. We'll see.”

“Tell him about my parents, Drew.” When Drew didn't answer, she continued. “I told him already. When he was in the boathouse. I told him Frey had killed my parents. He must have seen the truth in my face because he's the one who showed me where Frey had gone.”

“He what?” both men demanded at the same time. Drew sitting up and Ty drawing back to get a better look at her.

“He told me,” she said over a yawn. “Well, he showed me, with his eyes anyway,” she corrected, and then told them how Sonny had pointed her toward the cliff where Frey and Cotter had taken off.

“Interesting,” Drew said, relaxing back into the chair.

“Sounds like he was beginning to crack,” Ty added, lost in thought, exploring the possibilities in his mind.

“Tell him everything, Drew. I think if you tell him everything, and I do mean everything, he'll come around. Tell him about my parents, about what Frey said to me in the cave, about his father and the work he did for us. Don't leave a thing out. He's a smart kid, he'll know if you're only giving him partial information and he's been played enough that he'll back off if he senses it.”

“I don't know what Frey said to you in the cave,” Drew said, hesitant to even raise the point when Dani had just regained consciousness.

“Drew,” Ty warned. Dani sighed and patted his chest.

“It's okay. I'm tired but as long as I don't move much, I think I can tell you everything.”

“Dani,” Ty switched gears in protest.

“Just give me a minute,” she said closing her eyes and taking a minute to rest before telling them everything Frey had told her. When she finished, she opened her eyes and looked at the two men. She looked pale and exhausted and Ty felt a wave of irritation that Drew had let her talk herself into that state.

“That's enough,” Ty cut Drew off as he was about to say something. Ty didn't know what he was going to say but, whatever it was, it could wait. He saw a muscle twitch in Drew's jaw, but Ty couldn't have cared less about how pissed off Drew might get.

Drew gave a curt nod and stood. Walking over to the other side of the bed, he bent and kissed Dani's cheek. Dani grabbed his hand as he straightened away. “I know I let him get away.” The raw emotion in her voice tore at Ty. Drew looked at her, a moment of confusion crossing his expression, and then he frowned and shook his head.

“No, Dani. There was nothing you could have done short of shooting him on sight. Judging by where the weapon fell, we think it just tumbled out of his hands. He had it ready and the moment you made any move toward him, he was ready to set the weapon off. I don't recommend talking to people like Frey,” he commented with a wry smile, “but in this case it was the right thing to do. He was going to do what he was going to do. This way, we at least have some additional information about him.”

Ty watched Dani study Drew, looking for any falsehoods. She gave him a soft smile. “Thank you.”

“Get better Danielle Gabriella,” he ordered. “I'll send my parents in,” he added as he stepped out.

Chapter 22

TWO DAYS LATER, DANI WAS SITTING
in her bed after her morning walk when Cotter strolled in. Looking fit as a fiddle, Dani noticed. A young woman followed him in and, when the door closed, they both stepped forward.

“Dani,” he smiled at her.

“Cotter, I'm glad to see you,” she smiled back and eased herself back up onto the bed. She'd sent Ty out to get some real coffee and pastries and so, for the first time, was attempting to climb into bed on her own. And Cotter stood watching. Somehow he'd convinced hospital staff to let him wear sweatpants rather than the hospital gown, though it was clear, from his wristband and the nurse hovering out in the hall, he was still a patient.

“You look annoyingly healthy,” Dani grumbled.

Cotter grinned. “Guess who's more fit now?”

“Dad,” the young woman said, stepping forward to help Dani with the blankets. “You know you looked this bad a few days ago, too,” she chastised.

Dani looked at the woman who handed her the blankets and stared. “I, uh, I didn't even know you had a daughter, Cotter,” she managed to say. She'd worked with the man for five years and had had no idea.

“Not many people I work with do,” he answered. It wasn't a slight on either his daughter or the people he worked with; Dani could understand wanting to keep your private life separate from your professional life, especially in their line of work. Hell, she'd done the same thing.

“Josie, this is Dani, Dani, Josie.” He made the introductions and Dani shook the younger woman's hand.

“Are you keeping him in line?” Dani asked with a smile.

“As much as he'll let me,” Josie answered.

“Ha,” Cotter barked. “You say that like I'm giving you a hard time. I've been nothing but a pussy cat since I've been here.”

“Which has been all of three days,” Josie rolled her eyes. She held up her hand to halt his further protest and talked over him. “I know you wanted to talk with Dani about something, so once you sit your butt down, I'll leave you to it.”