“I don’t.” Sean’s words leached bitterness. “But even I can tell you’re not giving us the entire story. When the government people informed us of your supposed death, they also mentioned this drug cartel. If you actually were kept a prisoner, I’m assuming they had a reason to think you had their money, though I can’t imagine what that might have been. So why don’t you enlighten me?”
“I can’t.”
“Can’t? Or won’t?”
His friend’s accusatory tone stunned him. “You know me better than that.” Shaking his head, Tucker started to walk away. But something—Confusion? Anger? Hurt?—on Sean’s familiar face made him stop. “I don’t understand why you’re acting like this. None of what happened to me was my fault.”
“Maybe not, but still…” Sean gave him a hard look. “What are you hiding?”
This time, though Sean was right, Tucker countered with an accusation of his own. “Why are you so suspicious?”
“Because I care about Lucy and Eli, damn it. If you being here jeopardizes their safety, we have the right to know.”
As if Tucker was the outsider. Though he tried to pretend it didn’t bother him, truth was, it did. Hurt like hell, in fact.
“I’m here because this is my home,” he said simply. “Where I used to live, remember? And Lucy was my girlfriend and you were my best friend. And whether you like it or not, Eli is my son. I’m back now. Here to stay. You’d better get used to that.”
“You can’t live here with her anymore. She’s my fiancée now.” There. Sean had actually said it. Tucker supposed he should be glad it was all out in the open.
And so it was. Tucker struggled to control the sudden surge of rage. The last thing he’d expected had been to come home to this.
“I realize that,” he replied, his tone steady, even, and completely rational.
“Great.” Unaware of Tucker’s internal struggle, Sean placed a hand on his shoulder. Though he meant to be brotherly, Tucker couldn’t restrain himself. He knocked it off.
“Look,” Sean said, his voice ringing with disapproval. “There’s no need to be like that. Circumstances have changed. Obviously. No matter how you feel about the way things are now, we can still be friends.”
“Can we?” Seeing red, Tucker crossed his arms to keep from doing anything he’d regret, like punching Sean in the face. “Tell me this then. What kind of friend moves in on his best buddy’s girlfriend?”
Flushing, Sean took a step back. “I’ve always loved her,” he said. “Only as long as you were around, she never noticed me. I saw my chance and took it. You can’t blame me for that. It’s been a year,” he said, shrugging. “You were dead.”
“A year is not long enough.” Tucker spoke through clenched teeth, trying to keep his rage under control. “Not nearly long enough. What happened to loyalty? To love?”
“Maybe you’re asking the wrong question,” Sean answered quietly. “Maybe you should wonder what was wrong in the relationship between you and Lucy that made it so easy for her to find solace in my arms barely one year after your so-called death?”
Talk about a knife slipped under the ribs…
Stunned, Tucker could only stare. Sean was right. Lucy should still be in mourning, if she’d truly loved him. She’d gone from “I’ll love you forever” to “I loved you for a year and now I’ve got to move forward with my life.”
How easy had that been for her? Had she even mourned him at all? Obviously there must have been some cracks, some flaws that he hadn’t seen a year ago. He thought back to their last conversation before he’d left for Mexico and the allure of exotic coffee.
They’d fought about his wanderlust. And, while he’d known she wanted more from him, he hadn’t been certain he was able to give it to her. She’d made no secret of her desire to start a family. He hadn’t hidden the fact that he didn’t feel he was ready.
Now, he couldn’t believe how much it hurt that she’d done so without him. She’d moved on. While he was still stuck in the past, running like hell to catch up.
Damn it. Events had once again spiraled out of his control. Lucy and Sean—picturing them together made him feel like the two of them had jointly ripped his heart from his chest and danced on it.
He’d do better to focus on something he could be in charge of. Finding out if he’d been set up, or if his capture and subsequent imprisonment had been simply a huge, cosmic accident.
He was betting on the former.
And there was the missing money. Who had taken it and had they arranged for Tucker to take the fall for them?
Sean still watched him, rocked on the heels of his feet in an adversarial way, as though he thought Tucker might take a swing at him at any moment and he wanted to be ready.
He was right, Tucker thought with grim amusement. Because it took everything he had not to. Taking a deep breath, he ruthlessly pushed his emotions away and got himself under control.
He could do little to change the past. Right now, he needed to focus on the future.
Before being released from their custody, the DEA had given him a decision to make. He’d told them he’d have to think about it. Ironically, finding Lucy and Sean together had helped him make up his mind.
He needed to make a phone call and let them know.
Since he’d been told not to use the landline and didn’t yet have a cell phone, he’d have to get out of the house. Pearl Street Mall was just a few blocks away and he knew neither Lucy nor Sean would find it unusual if he said he needed to take a walk to clear his head and help him think.
“I need some fresh air,” he told Sean. “Tell Lucy I’m going for a walk.”
Sean nodded, making no move to stop him.
Once outside, he took a deep breath. What a train wreck that had been. During his imprisonment, he’d pictured his and Lucy’s reunion a hundred, no a thousand times. Never, even in his wildest dreams, had he imagined this.
Out of shape and cursing his body’s weakness, he started off slowly toward Pearl Street. He’d barely gone a hundred yards and he found himself out of breath. Once he’d been used to the high altitude, but no longer. The lack of oxygen combined with his still-weak physical state made him take much longer to walk even a single block.
Finally, he reached the crosswalk that heralded the entrance to the outdoor mall. As it was a holiday, Pearl Street Mall was packed with tourists. Most locals avoided the area like the plague on a day like today.
Finding an actual payphone in the cellular age was more difficult than he expected, but finally he located one on the east end.
Punching in a number from memory, he spoke quietly to the man who answered. “I’ve thought about your proposition and I’ve decided to do it. Let’s set up a meeting and you can give me the particulars. I'd like to get started immediately.”
Chapter 3
Still holding their son close to her chest, Lucy watched out the front window as Tucker strode up the sidewalk. She watched as he faltered and nearly stumbled, and ached to go to him, to help him. Her chest felt tight, the back of her throat clogged with emotion. She couldn’t cry, wouldn’t cry, at least not now, not in front of Sean.
“Are you all right?” Sean asked softly from behind her. Ah, she couldn’t hide anything from him, he understood her so well. Not surprisingly, since he’d known her as long as Tucker.
She drew a shaky breath, centering herself before answering. “I think so. This has