Unauthorized Return (Unauthorized Series Book 4) (8 page)

Aria drew in a breath and covered her mouth with her hand.

He knew they were ugly. "We were on a live fire exercise. Someone zigged when they should have zagged and a bullet smashed through my lower leg, exploding my tibia and fibula."

Aria's eyes were still wide. "That happened during training?"

Coleton nodded grimly. "Yep, one of the instructors accidentally shot me. I spent weeks in the hospital and had pins put in. I even have a bit of a metal rod in there." He banged his fist on his lower leg. "I'm part bionic man."

"You don't have a limp or anything."

Coleton smiled sadly. "They did a good job with me. When it was all over, they gave me the option of going back to training or getting out of the military for good. My heart had never been truly into being a soldier. I really just wanted to gain my independence and get away from my father. So when they offered me a deal I took it."

"A deal?"

"They offered me an exit package of $650 a month for the rest of my life for my pain and suffering, or $165,000 in a onetime lump sum."

Aria leaned forward, her eyes bright. "Which did you take?" she asked in a breathless whisper.

"I took the lump sum and used it to start my business."

"You have a business?"

"I do. I employ some of the top minds in the app-creating industry. We mostly make games."

"Like games I would have on my phone?"

Coleton nodded. "Exactly."

"And that's where your money comes from?" she asked, unabashedly.

"Only all of it," he said. He didn't mind her questions. He wanted to share himself.

She shook her head slowly and disbelievingly. "So you've never taken a dime from your father?"

"Not since I was a kid."

A slow and genuine smile broke across Aria's face and Coleton was struck by the beauty of it. It made her cool blue eyes turn warm, and completely eliminated the attitude she always seemed to have. She leaned even farther over the table. "Anything I might have heard of?"

"Have you ever heard of Hive Town?" Coleton asked, giving her the name of his company's most recent release. He hadn't designed or worked on an app since he left Westwood Harbor ten months ago, but his designers and coders were still hard at work for him. Luckily he had a great manager who was only increasing his assets.

Aria shook her head. "I don't actually play games on my phone, but I promise I'll look it up as soon as I get my phone back. Do you have a phone?"

Coleton shook his head. "It blew up in the car."

Aria nodded and a comfortable silence fell over the two of them.

"So what do we do now?" she said.

"Spades."

They played four more hands and even though Aria had gotten the hang of it and seemed to be slightly better than he was, he managed to win two of them. Lunch time came quickly and as hunger started to distract him, he asked her if she would like lunch.

"I would love some lunch, but I can put something together."

"Don't be silly. If you're willing to do the dishes, I'm willing to cook."

"Deal," she said.

Coleton pushed his chair back from the table and stood slowly. "I'll be back," he said in his passable Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, watching her face carefully to see if she thought it was stupid.

She looked surprised for a moment and then laughed merrily. He loved the laugh. It was deep and throaty and he couldn't get enough of it. He would do whatever he could to hear another one.

"That's pretty good," she said.

Coleton walked to the refrigerator and started taking out the fixings for sandwiches. "When he became governor, I figured I better practice. I knew it would provide endless opportunities for anyone who could do a decent impression."

"Do another one," she said and he smiled. She was bossy, and he loved it.

"You'll get more from being a peacemaker than a warrior," he said, his voice unnaturally deep and accented.

She laughed again. "He said that?"

"He said a ton of things you wouldn't believe."

"Another," she begged.

He thought for a moment, trying to tease out a good one, his hands pulling rolls from a bag, his back to her. "Love stories are built around people's idiosyncrasies."

She didn't respond and he stiffened for a moment. He chanced a glance at her over his shoulder and saw her cheeks were colored lightly. Was she blushing? She smiled weakly at him. "He said that?"

"The man is a mystery."

She shook her head. "How do you remember these things?"

"It's a gift I guess. I've always been able to recall quotes and poems and song lyrics. Especially something that moves me or seems unusual or beautiful." He finished assembling the two sandwiches and brought them to the table.

Her face turned thoughtful and contemplative and she graced him with a rare smile. Then she said something that really surprised him. "I remember something you said."

He looked at her questioningly.

"You said
I’ve always known my father would kill me eventually, and I guess I just got tired of waiting around for it to happen.
What did you mean by that?"

Anxiety gripped Coleton's heart and he waited a moment before speaking to allow the iron fist to loosen. "There's this dream that I have. I have it at least twice a month. I've been having it since I was young. Maybe eleven or twelve. In it, my father advances upon me with a gun in his hand. The gun is bigger than any gun I've ever seen in my life. He points it at me and tells me either I do what he wants or I'm dead. I yell at him that I will never do what he wants and he shoots me. In the dream, I always feel the pain of the bullet entering my heart, and the coldness of my blood draining out of my body. And then I wake up."

Aria looked at him closely, and he could see the concern in her eyes. "And what? You think it's really going to happen? Like it's some sort of prophecy?"

Irritation flared behind his eyes for a moment but he let go. He knew he was sensitive about this. "Do I think my father is going to eventually kill me? Yes I do. He's just that ruthless. There has never been anyone that he wanted to kill that he wasn't able to."

Aria reached across the table and grasped his hand. Coleton's heart sped up at the touch. He wanted to cover her hand with his, but didn't quite dare.

"Until now," Aria said, warmth in her manner. "He's not going to win this time. He's going to be put away for the rest of his life. We're going to make sure of it. We are going to fight him, and we're going to win. I know it."

Coleton shook his head. "No one ever wins against my father. No one ever fights against my father. He's too scary. Too connected. Too ruthless. "

"You're going to win. We're going to win. Your father's time is over."

Coleton felt her words in his heart but he couldn't quite believe them. He had never even been able to stand up to his father. Never in person. He'd always run and hid from his father and even to this day, that's what he was doing.

No you're not
, a small voice said in the back of his mind. You aren't hiding. You are just trying to stay alive long enough to stand up to him. That's what you will be doing next Tuesday on the stand. You will be standing up to him for the first time in your life.

Coleton felt the truth of these words and they loosened something that had been tight inside him since he first found out the truth about his father. Was she right? Was he going to make it out of this alive and a free man?

Aria watched Coleton put his last card on the table. She knew he had her this time. She threw down her own card and shook her head. "You win. Nice job."

She stood and stretched. "My butt is getting sore. I have to stand for a little bit. Let's take a break."

He nodded and Aria walked into the living room, checking the clock as she went. It was already late afternoon. The time was flying by now that they had something to do. The sound of that same baby crying drifted in from somewhere.

"Do you notice that baby is always crying?" he said from behind her.

Aria turned to look at him. His face was pinched with worry.

"I wonder what's wrong with it. I wonder if there is anything we can do?" he said.

Aria shook her head decisively. "No one can know that we're here. There is nothing that we can do."

Coleton looked at her glumly and nodded. She could tell he didn't like her decision.

He sat on the couch. "It's just always crying. Don't you feel bad for it?"

"Of course I feel bad for it, but it's not our fight. We need to focus on our situation."

Coleton put his own gaze on his knees and dangled his hands between his legs. She didn't like the look on his face. "Babies shouldn't have to fight," he said softly.

Aria fell silent and walked around the living room for several minutes. He was right of course, but so was she. She bent backwards slightly and stretched her chest and her stomach. How many more days did they have in this apartment?

Someone beat aggressively on the wall from the next unit and a man's voice yelled, "Shut that goddamn kid up!"

Aria winced. That didn't sound good. She looked at Coleton and weighed their options. They weren't in Westwood Harbor. No one should recognize them.

She nodded at Coleton. "Okay, go."

Coleton smiled and stood up immediately, making his way over to the door. She followed him outside and immediately the crying got louder. Coleton walked to the next apartment and listened carefully, then raised his hand and knocked on the door.

Several moments passed and the door did not open. Coleton knocked again. Aria sat down on the green plastic bench between their apartment and the one next to it, watching the parking lot, but with one careful eye on Coleton.

She heard the door Coleton was knocking on open and the sound of the baby crying get even louder. It tugged at her heartstrings. The poor pathetic thing sounded weak and in pain.

"Hi," she heard Coleton say. "
""
I was, ah, just visiting a friend and I heard your baby crying."

Smart
, Aria thought.

A woman's voice came from the doorway. Aria couldn't see the woman but she sounded young. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. He's just - he'll stop soon. He's just hungry."

"Don't be sorry," Coleton said soothingly. "I'm not complaining. I just was wondering if there was anything that you needed. Do you have food for him?"

The woman didn't answer for a moment and then Aria heard the door close. She looked over at Coleton quickly and saw that the woman had come out onto the concrete slab to stand in front of Coleton. Girl, not woman, her mind amended. Aria's eye traced the girl's face and body. She couldn't be a day over sixteen. The baby she held on her shoulder looked sad and too thin.

"I have food," the girl said, "but he won't eat it. He takes two sucks and then spits it out and cries some more," she said and Aria could hear the desperation in her voice.

"Why won't he eat it?" Coleton asked.

The girl didn't answer for a moment and when she finally did speak, Aria could tell why. She was almost crying. Aria could hear the impending tears in her voice and see them in her stooped shoulders.

"It's just that ... well, it hurts his tummy. He's allergic to it I think. But it's all we can get him. The doctor told us to give him the non-allergenic formula but we can't afford it."

The girl's voice broke on the last few words and she did begin to cry. She buried her face in the baby's clean onesie and cried a few precious tears before forcing herself to stop.

"Won't the state pay for it?" Coleton asked.

"No," she replied, looking around suddenly and catching Aria's gaze. "They only pay for the stuff that hurts his tummy."

The baby's cries tapered off slightly and he seemed to fall into a fitful sleep on the girl's shoulder.

"How much does the non-allergenic formula cost?" Coleton asked gently.

"Sixty-four dollars a can," the girl replied.

Coleton shook his head. "And how many feedings are in it?"

"I don't know," the girl said, tears threatening again. "We've never been able to buy one."

Coleton didn't say anything for a moment and Aria peeked at him again. He was hugging the girl and she was letting him. After a few moments she began sobbing openly.

Aria watched the two of them, amazed by Coleton's sensitivity. She didn't think she'd ever met a man, especially one who wasn't a father, with that much sensitivity and thoughtfulness.

When the girl stopped crying, Coleton stood her up gently and patted his pockets. "I wish I had a tissue to give you."

"That's okay," the girl said with an embarrassed laugh and snuffle.

"My name is Trey," he said.

"I'm Joanne-Marie," the girl said and Aria heard a genuine smile in her voice.
Amazing.
"And this is Roger," she said indicating the baby.

"Nice to meet you," Coleton said and Aria was even more amazed to hear that he sounded like he meant it.
Who was this guy?

"Joanne-Marie, if I gave you some money for the formula would you have a way to go to the store and buy it?"

Joanne-Marie took a step backwards and held her free hand up. "Oh no, I couldn't take your money."

"But it's not mine. I actually work for the State Department and we are supposed to do random health and welfare checks. That's why I came here when I was leaving my friend's apartment. I heard the baby crying and I thought there was something the health and welfare department could do for you. There is a brand-new program that does spot checks in neighborhoods and gives people one-time cash bonuses for emergencies. I can see that this is an emergency for you. That's what this money is for. If you don't take it and I can't find anyone else who needs it, it will just go to waste. We have to give the fund back if we aren't able to spend it."

Aria bit back a smile. Where in the world had that story come from? She heard hope in Joanne-Marie's voice when she spoke again.

"Really? How much could you give me?"

"Enough for many cans of formula."

"Well, if it's from the state, we already get a little bit of help from them, I guess a little bit more wouldn't hurt. I could call my friend Cindy to come get me and take me to the store. She doesn't work today."

"Of course! If you guys need it you should take everything you can get. You won't always need it. Things will get better. Now I know this is a sensitive question and you don't have to answer if you don't want to. Is there any chance that you could breast-feed Roger? Sometimes that agrees with baby's stomach better than formula."

The girl shook her head swiftly. "Oh no. I took the pill that made my milk dry up. My boyfriend doesn't think breast-feeding is right."

Coleton nodded sagely. "Okay." He dug in his pocket for his wallet and Aria saw him take out what looked like everything that was in there. She bit her tongue and kept herself on the bench by sheer force of will.

"Here you go, Joanne-Marie, I hope this helps you."

"Don't I need to fill out some paperwork?"

"Nope. The emergency funds are all paperwork free," he said with such sincerity that Aria almost believed him.

"Thank you," Joanne-Marie said, and then she actually looked at the money. Aria could hear her breath catch in her throat.

"Oh my God," Joanne-Marie muttered. "This is ... this is a lot of money."

"It's all on the government. Take it and use it in good health."

"Thank you, Trey. Thank you!"

Coleton sketched out a little salute to her and retreated from the doorway. Aria watch Joanne-Marie as she stood there and stared at the money, her eyes wide.

Coleton called his goodbye and walked down the concrete walkway, past Aria. He didn't say a word, just kept walking, past their doorway too.
Smart
, Aria thought again.

After Joanne-Marie retreated into her apartment, Aria stood and walked around the building to where Coleton was waiting. "She's inside, hurry up," Aria said to him and jogged back to their door, both of them slipping inside.

Aria turned and looked at Coleton. "Did you give her all of your money?"

Coleton nodded, his face worried.

"That was over a thousand dollars!"

"She needed it," Coleton said simply.

Aria shook her head in exasperation. She knew Coleton was right, but she still couldn't imagine giving a complete stranger over a thousand dollars. "What are you going to do if she comes home with no formula and a new TV or maybe some drugs?"

Coleton shrugged. "It's her money now. I think she'll do what's right."

Aria shook her head. She had plenty more questions and accusations, but she tried to do the opposite of what she wanted to do.