WATCHING (13 page)

“
Just be her friend is all you can do. Hopefully, she
’
ll eventually heal
.
”
They sat in silence for a while. The temperature was still falling but Hell had turned off the engine to preserve their gas for the hours when the temperature would turn bitingly cold. He
’
d also cut the lights to save on the battery life.

“
Have you ever been in love, Hellbrook
?
”
Her words came out of the darkness and were soft and hesitant.

“
No. I don
’
t think I have. Not to that extent
.
”
And he hadn
’
t. For one of the few times in his memory, he felt a twinge of loss at that. He
’
d had relationships, but none that had deepened past the point of mutual liking and respect. He
’
d come close once, with a blonde stock broker in D.C. but then he
’
d formed the CCU and she
’
d been unable to deal with his frequent absences, and he
’
d not understood her lack of support.

“
I never thought I would. Not after what had happened to me and not after the example of my parents
’
marriage. But Bryan, he was too hard not to love
.
”

Bryan again.
“
Was it hard to date for you
?
”

He hadn
’
t expected her to answer, but something about their situation and the night around them had loosened both their tongues. Created an intimacy he couldn
’
t explain.
“
Yes. Major trust issues. Still have them, to some extent
.
”

“
You are very controlled. Were you always that way
?
”
he asked.

“
Yes. Remember who my parents are, after all
.
”

“
Your dad defines the word control
.
”
Icy, rigid control that Hellbrook had a difficulty understanding.

“
I can still hear the hostility when you speak of him
.
”
She shivered audibly, pulling the blanket tighter around her as she leaned against the side panel. Her feet could stretch out and touch the other side. Hell had to keep his knees bent. If they turned, sat against the seats and stretched their legs out toward the rear hatch he might be able to straighten out a bit. But that would involve them sitting side by side, in the dark, close and even more aware of each other than they were right then. Hell doubted she
’
d go for that.
“
What started this...issue...between you and my father? Dan told me it had to do with a case that went sour. He couldn
’
t give me all the details
.
”

“
I don
’
t think it really matters now, do you? You
r
father and I don
’
t get along
.
”
He was not going to tell her that her father was responsible for the death of a good agent. Tell her he thought the senior Dennis
’
s reputation was built on other more
deserving agents
’
backs. That was guaranteed to stir up a quarrel he was not ready to face.

“
I think it
’
s a bit more than not getting along. You despised me by simple association
.
”
She honestly believed that. He could hear it in her matter-of-fact tone.

“
I don
’
t despise you
.
”
And he didn
’
t. Hadn
’
t. He hadn
’
t liked the fact that she was Dennis
’
s daughter or the fact that she was assigned to his team against his will when he had stacks of transfer requests from agents wanting and waiting for years to get one of the coveted few spots on the CCU. Yet, she
’
d been put there, without Hell
’
s input at all, for reasons he was never given. It still burned, but not as much as it had months ago. Or even a week ago.

“
Could have fooled me
.
”
Sarcasm dripped from her words again.

“
You
’
re not going to drop it, are you
?
”
He tried to stretch his right leg but was unsuccessful. Dammit, he was too old, too big, to be crammed into this damned tin can.

“
Not any more than you
’
ve dropped the subject of what happened to me
.
”
Her voice held a challenge that he was hard-pressed to resist. Her cool aloofness pricked at something inside him and always had.

“
And yet you
’
ve not told me the entire story, have you
?
”
He
’
d wanted to shake her up, ruffle those sleek little feathers, until he had her hot and breathing heavy. In any way he could. Always had, from the very first moment he
’
d seen her, standing in a PAVAD conference room, looking cool and sophisticated in a navy pantsuit, with a wild mess of dark curls hanging down her back.

“
I will
.
”

“
What
?
”
Had he heard her right? His leg twitched again and he bit back a curse.

“
I
’
ll tell you. My father is one of the greatest men I
’
ve ever known, Hellbrook. Nothing you ever say can change that
.
”

“
I wouldn
’
t want to change that. He
’
s your father, and everyone can see that you are his princess. He loves you immensely
.
”
Pampered princess of PAVAD. How many people threw that in her face? Made things hard for her just because of who her father was? He had. How many others? Was that just another reason she kept things so rigidly to herself? She was close to the people on his team, especially Dan. But there was always a barrier between her and the others. Was that because of him, or because she was protecting herself?

“
I know. For a while, I didn
’
t think I deserved it
.
”

“
Georgia...you don
’
t have to tell me
.
”
Now he wasn
’
t sure he wanted to know what had happened to her.

Chapter
15

****

“
My parents have despised each other since before I was born, I think. That
’
s probably an understatement
.
”
It was an understatement, but she wasn
’
t going to get that deep with Hellbrook. She wasn
’
t entirely certain why she was even telling him in the first place.

“
Look, it
’
s none of my business
.
”
It was almost humorous the way he tried to back-peddle. Served him right; he got what he asked for. He wanted to know the details, why not? She wasn
’
t ashamed of what had happened to her-it wasn
’
t her shame to bear. It was the bastard
’
s who
’
d tried to hurt her.

“
No. I
’
ll tell you what happened and why my father has had the largest influence on my life and why there is no one on this earth I respect and admire more. In exchange, you tell me what happened to cause you two to hate each other
.
”
After all this time, she deserved to know what it was about her and her father that was responsible for Hellbrook
’
s actions toward her. Before she left the CCU, she at least wanted to know the truth.

If that meant an equal trade-off, her story for his, then so be it. She
’
d bare it all for him. Then she could put Hellbrook and his attitude behind her. If had been something she had done, it would have been one thing. But Hellbrook had held a grudge against her before she
’
d even joined his team. Georgia wanted answers.
“
You started this line of questioning, sir. Now man up
.
”

He must be cramped, he
’
d twisted his leg three times in the span of a minute. Poor, pitiful Hellbrook, so damned big he couldn
’
t get comfortable. Georgia smirked in the darkness.

She heard his sigh before he continued.
“
I will, if you agree to stop calling me sir all the time. No one else on the team does
.
”

“
No one else on the team is the pariah of PAVAD in your eyes
.
”

“
You
’
re not the pariah...you
’
re the
princess
of PAVAD
.
”
There was no real hostility in his words and that surprised her. She was pretty damned certain he
’
d coined the nickname that she hated so much.

“
I
’
ve heard that before. Never in a good way. Some people, and not you, have the belief that I
’
m only here because of my father. Stephenson, for instance. But that
’
s not true
.
”

“
Settle down, princess. I apologize if I ever made you feel that way. And Stephenson is a lazy slob
.
”
His words were quick and Georgia could hear the sincerity behind the apology. It was a first in her memory of the their acquaintance he
’
d apologized to her
—
and actually meant it.

“
I accept your apology, Hellbrook
.
”
And she didn
’
t half mind that he
’
d called her princess. There was no rancor behind it. Not this time.

“
Good
.
”

“
Anyway. My mother married and had a child
—
me
—
to further her political career. She told me so herself. But that
’
s not at the crux of this story. My parents signed a weird prenuptial back in the seventies that guaranteed full custody of any offspring to the parent who did not file. I
’
ve never been able to figure out that, but they did. I think it was to preserve the modest trust funds both sets of grandparents had started for their grandchildren before they died. I was the only grandchild so it would all come to me. It was controlled by my parents until I hit thirty. Because he didn
’
t want to lose custody of me
—
he
’
d been responsible for the majority of my care since I was born
—
he never filed. Because she didn
’
t want to lose access to the fund she controlled, my mother never filed. He kept me, she also kept her conservative, family-values constituents
.
”
And Georgia had benefited by remaining with the one parent who
’
d loved her. She understood-she
’
d marry the devil himself if it meant she could keep Matthew. She would do whatever it took when it came to her songs well-being
—
it was what a parent did. A good parent.

“
That makes sense. They both benefited by staying married
.
”
His tone still told her he didn
’
t want to hear the full story. Georgia got a fierce pleasure knowing that she had him in her control. He couldn
’
t escape her. It was so reminisce of the times he
’
d pulled her aside to lecture her on some failure of hers. She
’
d been forced to stand and listen because he was the superior agent. But out here, in the dark woods of South Dakota, neither could escape. She liked the power that gave her.

“
That
’
s not the word I
’
d use. At least not for my father. As far as I know, my father was never unfaithful to my mother. He takes oaths very seriously. But I doubt my mother could say the same
.
”
She continued the story, wishing only that she could see her boss
’
s face.

“
Georgia..
.
”

“
A deal
’
s a deal. And I want to know what
’
s between you and my father
.
”
Her thoughts suddenly changed from the thrill of their role reversal to the details of that day. Her tone changed, lowered, flattened.
“
The summer I was sixteen, my mother came to our house for a
family vacation.
Meaning, that it was close to campaign time. Four years earlier she yanked me out of school and dragged me to D.C. with her
—
the political clime was focused on education and she thought it would look good to have her daughter being home-schooled because she thought the educational system needed reformed. But that
’
s another story. Her arrival was an inconvenience
,
but my father had threatened her to leave me alone this time
.
”

“
Here. You
’
re shivering
.
”

He held something out to her and she took it without thinking. She started to protest and hand it back when she realized it was his leather coat. His hand pushed hers away, insistent.

“
Thank you. My dad had become Unit Chief and was working long hours, establishing a rapport with his new team. Sometimes his colleagues would drop by the house, bring files, that type of thing
.
”
She
’
d thought nothing of it at the time. Her entire childhood had been mixed with FBI agents. It was the norm for her.

“
Yes
.
”

“
So my mother became acquainted with some of them. One, in particular, came more frequently than the others. I didn
’
t realize why, of course. I was too involved with school, softball, and dance. Other typical teenage girl things
.
”
Involved with avoiding the woman she really didn
’
t know, really didn
’
t like. She
’
d resented the intrusion into her life back then.

Things were great between her and her father, he was a wonderful parent. Her mother made things tense for all of them. Still did. Georgia hadn
’
t seen her mother since Bryan
’
s funeral when she
’
d made a tasteful entrance for the reporters that had followed her from the capitol. Long enough to try to get a photo op with Georgia and little Mattie.
“
One day after my mother and her lover had argued, he
—
this
guy
I barely knew other than that he worked with my father
—
was waiting in my kitchen when I got off the school bus. I couldn
’
t drive yet. My dad didn
’
t think I was ready. This
man
was big and strong and I knew he had to have at least one gun. So I didn
’
t fight him
.
”

“
You shouldn
’
t have. If you knew he was armed, you did exactly what you should have
.
”
His voice was tight and once again she wished she could see his face.

“
That
’
s what my father told me, and I realize that now. It took me a while. Anyway, my dad came home early that day. Something he rarely did. Thank God he got there when he did
.
”
If he hadn
’
t, Georgia didn
’
t want to think of the alternative.

“
He stopped him
?
”
Hellbrook
’
s voice was harsh.

“
The man was taking off his underwear when my father shot him. He
’
d gotten home in time. The
rapist
had his gun out, had it pointed right at me. I wasn
’
t moving. I was terrified. But my dad came in and I saw him and I fell to the side. Relief, terror
,
I
still
don
’
t know. I knew I was safe then. But my dad shot him
;
his blood got on me. It killed him instantly
.
”

“
Good. Although I wish the bastard had lingered a bit. Suffered
.
”
His voice was so rough, Georgia shivered again. Sometimes, Hellbrook could be a little terrifying. Intense.

Her next words were frank.
“
Without my dad, I don
’
t know what would have happened to me. Either that day or in the years after. It took me a long time to heal. Years. And there are times when I feel that I haven
’
t healed at all. When it
’
s still raw and right there. Other times it seems like a real lifetime ago. And I was a lucky one. My father stopped it
.
”

“
Thank God
.
”

“
Yes
.
”
Although it had taken her years to feel that luck whenever she thought about that day. She
’
d never known what made her father come home that day. She was glad he had. He
’
d cleaned her up, removed the blood. Called his boss and had a tense discussion that Georgia couldn
’
t remember. Then it was over. Her father had called his younger sister to come get Georgia. She
’
d spent three
week
s with her Aunt Carolyn in Boston.
“
So about this thing between you and my father..
.
”

“
Georgia
.
”

“
Don
’
t try to get out of it. I told you my biggest secret
.
”
And it had been surprisingly easy to tell him. She wondered why.
“
The least you can tell me is what happened. Your relationship with my father has colored our relationship since the very beginning. I want to know what had such an impact to last so long. It
’
s been how long
?
”