A Beautiful Funeral
Page 48

“It was the last raid, Pidge. There aren’t any Carlisis left. The rest are soldiers. Grunts. They’re being held without bail. They’ll be in the system for a year before they’re sentenced, and then they’ll spend thirty years in prison by the time they serve for every count.”
“And Mick?” I asked, feeling my throat tighten.
“Immunity, as we promised. As long as he stays away.”
I nodded, satisfied. “And now?”
Travis cleared his throat. He was getting a little emotional. It had been five weeks since the funeral. Liis had been staying with us, and it was difficult watching her wait.
“He’s coming home.”
“Today?”
Travis nodded.
“Does Liis know?”
“I thought we’d let him surprise her.”
My hand flew up to my mouth. “And your dad? What about the twins?”
“They’re on their way home.”
They were just here two weeks before, visiting more often to check on Jim. The funeral had taken a toll on him. He’d lost weight and had grown more frail every day. Travis’s smile faded as he watched our sleeping son, the burden of the truth on his mind. He was here, but he was a million miles away, worrying about his father’s and brothers’ reactions.
“They’ll understand,” I said, kneeling in front of Travis.
“No, they won’t,” he said, not taking his eyes off Carter. “They’ll hate us.”
“Maybe for a while, but they’ll get over it. They have to.”
Travis looked up at me with tears in his eyes. “Was it worth it?”
“It probably seems all for nothing now that everything is fine, but before, when we weren’t sure? It happened exactly the way we’d hoped. They backed off. It bought us time to form a plan without being targeted.” I touched his arm. “It was a good plan. Difficult from start to finish, but it worked.”
Travis nodded and then returned his gaze to our son. “We have to go soon. He’s on his way.”
“On his way here? Now?”
“He hasn’t seen Stella since she was two days old, Pidge. He can’t wait any longer.”
I couldn’t argue with that. “When?”
Travis looked up at the clock on the wall. “Two hours.”
“Oh, my God. He’s really coming home.”
“He’s really coming home.”
Liis was standing over Carter’s crib, her daughter surrounded by blues and greens. Stella had been using Carter’s nursery while they were staying with us. I was glad. Stella’s presence made my son’s room feel less empty.
Liis tucked her dark hair behind her ear. It was six inches shorter than the last time I’d seen her, just a couple of hours before.
“You cut your hair,” I whispered, feeling stupid for stating the obvious.
She turned to me flatting the strands against her head with her palm. “Yeah.” Her eyes filled with tears.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. I’d never seen Liis cry until she arrived at Jim’s to tell us all the news. Now, it seemed she cried every time she spoke. “You don’t like it?”
“I just,” she sniffed. “I wasn’t thinking. I’ll look so different when Thomas sees me. Stella will look so different. If I’d kept it the same, it wouldn’t be so shocking for him.”
“He’ll love it,” I said, reassuring her. “He will. You don’t look that different. He’ll notice, but he’ll love it.”
She turned toward the crib. “Maybe it will grow out by the time he comes home.”
“I hope not,” I said. She looked at me. “Your hair grows slow.”
She breathed out a laugh. “True.”
I gestured for her to follow me to the living room, and she complied, looking back at Stella once more before padding to the hallway. She swiped the baby monitor receiver off the dresser and then closed the door behind her, leaving it open a crack. Val was in the kitchen, the potato chip sack crinkling as she fished inside it. Agent Hyde was standing by a living room window, always on alert.
“Chill, Hyde,” I said. “You’re making me nervous.” Her dark eyes narrowed, and then she returned to her watch. She pulled the curtain back and then shifted her stance, readying to act. I realized she wasn't just her usual overcautious self. “What is it?”
“I don’t know,” Hyde said.
Travis checked his phone and then patted Hyde on the back. “Calm down. We’ve got a team headed this way.”
“Why?” Hyde asked.
Travis shrugged. “Got some news they want to tell us in person, I guess.”
Hyde and Liis traded glances, and Liis took a step toward Travis. “Is it Thomas? Is it over? How did your trip go?”
“Trip went well. Maybe they’re coming to congratulate me.”
Travis’s ability to lie had increased tenfold during his time with the FBI. The second year of our marriage, the guilt of lying to me was all over his face, but he got better at it. Just before I told him I knew the truth, I could barely discern a meeting from a raid. He had no choice but to learn quickly. Most undercover agents were away from home for months at a time, if not longer. Travis was hiding in plain sight. He’d already been offered a position with Benny, so he just had to say yes. The Carlisis knew that he would come home to Eakins often, but the downside was he also knew Travis had family—and how to control him.
Travis had been careful, but we knew it was only a matter of time before they found out. But the years passed, and Travis seemed to be untouchable. Soon, he was one of Benny’s most trusted men, going from bodyguard, to shaking down local clubs, to advisor. The FBI watched with excitement as Travis climbed the ladder of one of the largest, most dangerous crime families in the nation. Travis got a promotion from within the FBI as well. Five years after his recruitment, Travis went from asset to agent, and five years later, Thomas was sure they’d gained enough evidence to nail Benny. He didn’t factor in Benny’s wife, Giada. She was a paranoid woman, and she didn’t trust Travis. That was when the Carlisis learned the truth, and everything after that happened very fast. Thomas called to inform me that they’d lost contact with Travis, and it was very likely his cover had been blown. That night, Thomas said Travis was taken to an unknown location, but they would find him soon. The next night was our anniversary; the night Benny and a few of his men were killed. It could have been Travis. We were lucky that time, and I wasn’t sure how much longer my luck would hold out.
I’d handed him intel on my father, and in return, Travis promised to never lie to me again. He looked me in the eye the night he came home, his eye swollen, his brow and lip cut, and told me he was okay, and I chose to believe him. It took him being run off the road and nearly murdered to admit that he’d been the one to pull the trigger.
Lying was the hardest habit to break, especially when we believed we were protecting those we loved.
Now, he was standing in our kitchen, skirting around the questions Liis and Agent Hyde were asking. I watched him speak half-truths without blinking an eye, and I wondered just how much he knew that I didn’t. How many times he’d been able to keep secrets because I didn’t want to believe he had any.
“Congratulate you for the trip?” Liis asked. “So it’s done, then?”