Page 17 of Breakaway (Sexy as Sin Series #11)

CHAPTER 17

Turk

It’s been three days. They still haven’t found Slack.

Clark has hired extra security for the team practices. They were scheduled to have a home game but thankfully the league postponed it due to a major storm front hitting the opposing team’s location and they couldn’t safely travel.

Dad is with us now at my place which has become command central. Dad and I clean up the breakfast dishes while Cat makes more coffee. “He’s here. I can feel it Dad snaps. But where?”

Cat pours him more coffee and tops off hers and mine.

I wrap an arm around her waist and whisper. “I need my sugar.”

Leaning down, she kisses me. I know some would say this is fast, but this woman is my life, my future.

My family has always been openly affectionate. I worried how Cat would accept it. At first, she was a little stiff, but today she hugged Dad back and didn’t blush when I kissed her in front of him. I can’t make up for the affection she missed growing up. But I can shower her with all my love from this day forward.

Dad sighs, and a contented smile crosses his lips as he savors his coffee and a full belly. “Your mother is angry at me right now because I won’t let her come over to meet your girl. I promised her you’d facetime her again later.”

“She’s safe, right?” Cat asks.

“Yes. Two of my retired buddies are with her and she’s got her shotgun. Trust me. That woman doesn’t miss with that thing.”

“When this is over, I want you to teach me how to use a weapon,” she says looking at my dad. “I hear from Tatum and Turk you’re the best.”

Dad glows at her words and the praise. “It will be my pleasure, Caitlyn.”

She studies him for a minute. “You always call me Caitlyn. Why?”

He nods my way. “You’re his Cat. To my wife and I you’re Caitlyn.”

She blushes, but nods understanding his personalization. I try to explain. “Mom is Meg to him. But Madge to the rest of the world.”

“I should call her Madge.”

Dad shakes his head. “Oh hell no. You best be calling her Mom the way this is going. Or she’s likely to skin your man.”

Cat chuckles. “So, she truly does rule the house as Tatum has told me in the past?”

Laughing, Dad and I both nod.

Cat puts a slice of the left-over cake in front of him. “Technically, it’s Mel’s coffee cake.” She pauses. “Is Tatum still with Mel?”

He nods as he forks a bite. “If they haven’t killed each other yet.”

“What?”

He glances at me and smiles. “Their words are ‘stubborn contrary woman’ and ‘overbearing pigheaded moose’. I’m staying out of it.”

Cat laughs. Truly laughs. Musical. Light-hearted. The most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. I vow right then and there to make it my job the rest of our lives to hear that sound every day.

Dad eats half his cake, then takes a sip of coffee. “The DA and department have stacked up enough evidence, thanks to his kill book, to put the bastard Slack away for life. If we could just find him. It’s like he’s got some secret hidey hole no one knows about.”

Cat freezes. “That’s it. That’s where he is. My grandmother’s house. Heide Carr. She’s not related to him and nowhere in her will was his name mentioned. She had to move to assisted living. She’s willing the house to me when she passes, it’s one of the things he was trying to steal from me. As long as he lies low, no one would notice he was there. It’s a big house on a quarter acre. A nicer part of town.”

I pull up the house on the internet as Dad calls his contact at the precinct. “It’s a busy neighborhood. They’ll need to be careful. And there’s a shit ton of doors he could sneak out if they aren’t all covered. It’s classified as an historic home.”

Dad leaves to meet with his contact at the precinct. Cat retreats in on herself and starts manically cleaning the kitchen.

“Talk to me babe. What’s wrong?”

“I feel like I should be there. What if someone gets hurt. This is all my fault.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. How is this your fault?”

“I stole those books.”

“Babe, you exposed a killer. A drug dealer. A rapist. If you hadn’t, you’d be dead just like your parents as soon as he got tired of playing with you. He chose his lifestyle.”

“What if someone dies? What if he gets away?”

“This isn’t the movies. We trust that the men and women on the force will do their job. They’ve called in the swat team and they will take precautions.”

“Now, remember the brownies you promised me two nights ago. Another of Mel’s special recipes? I’ll help.”

“How can you eat like this?”

“Because I have you now to help me burn it off at night.”

The longest three hours of my life pass as I try to keep Cat’s mind off of everything that could go wrong. When Dad calls me from the entrance, I’m surprised there is an officer with him.

“Ms. Carr, I’m sorry to inform you that a person we believe to be your stepbrother was killed during a shoot-out earlier this evening when police attempted to apprehend him for questioning. As his only living relative we’d like you to confirm his identity.”

Her face has gone ashen and her hands tremble in her lap. “You’re sure it’s him?”

“Ma’am that’s why we need your confirmation.”

“Now? Can I do it now and get it over with?”

“Yes ma’am. He’s been transported already.”

Dad stands and pulls her into his arms. “You won’t be alone. We’ll be with you Caitlyn. Turk and I both.”

I worry the whole time if it’s bringing back memories of finding her mother and stepfather. I keep my hand on her waist. She’s trembling when they pull back the sheet. From pictures I’ve seen I know it’s him.

“He’s not as bloody,” she whispers so softly I’m sure I’m the only one who heard. I know then she’s likening it to her parents.

“Any identifying marks that you know of ma’am?” the officer asks.

Exhaling, she nods. “There’s a cigarette burn that my stepfather did to him when he was nine or ten, behind his ear lobe on the left side. H-he also has a perpendicular tattoo on his groin that goes up toward his belly button of the words, Big Boner.”

“Cat?”

She curls into my chest and whispers, “He showed me on my fourteenth birthday.”

I’m glad he’s dead, or I’d have to kill him myself. I understand the rage fathers feel when their little girls are abused by strangers. How they could want their own justice.

Looking over her head as I hold her in my arms, I quietly ask, “Dad can you call Barb. See if she can meet us at my place?”

He nods.

“Honey, we’re taking you home.” With my arm wrapped around her I get her into the back seat and Dad drives.

Halfway home, still not looking at me, she asks, “Who’s Barb?”

“A friend of my family. She plays bridge with my mom once a week. She’s a retired trauma therapist. You’ll like her.”

“I don’t have any money.”

“Family doesn’t need money. We just need you to be well.

Barb is waiting when we get to my apartment, and we ride up the elevator together. After she and Cat are settled in the living room she shoos me and dad out, saying she’ll text when she needs us.

“Let’s go down to the gym. They’ll be fine and you need to work off some steam.”

An hour and a half later Barb texts and we go back. She meets us at the door. “Cat’s sleeping. Let her. Stay close in case she needs you. She’s strong, Turk, let her lean when she needs to, but mainly just be there for her.

“She told me she’s got a game in three days. She’s worried about letting the team down. I’m sure you can help her with that, too. A little ice time might be therapeutic. I’ll be back in four days, sooner if you need me.”

After she leaves, I turn to my father. “Dad, I…”

“Go watch over her. I’ve got everything else, son.”

I just need to be close to her if she needs me. I start out sitting beside her on the chair. Then lying next to her without touching. Before long it’s as if her body knows I’m there and will keep her safe, she curls into me.

That primal trust brings a knot to my chest. I swear, I’ll always be there for her.