"Would you be telling him anything you haven't told me?"
"No."
"Then feel free to talk to him early in the morning. I'm sure he'll be calling you if you don't call him, anyway."
He took her hand and walked with her to the top of stairs. "Don't come down with me," he said.
"I have to. I need to turn the dead bolt after you go."
At the bottom of the stairs she waited for a kiss. Instead he cupped her face with one hand, brushed his thumb along her cheek, then left.
She locked the door and leaned against it. She didn't know how long it would take before Johnson could be arrested. Days, maybe. Weeks, even. A case would have to be built. They would have to live in limbo until then, but at least some of her questions were answered.
And now there was a big one ahead. What will happen between her and James? She couldn't begin to guess. All she knew for sure was that, as crazy as it seemed, she'd fallen in love with him.
Seventeen
The ringing phone dragged James from a deep, dreamless sleep. He grabbed it on the second ring, glancing at the clock at the same time. Five minutes before six.
"Venus called in sick."
He threw his legs over the side of the bed. "When?"
"Just now." Caryn's voice was hushed, as if afraid she might be overheard.
"Did you talk to her?"
"No. Raphael did."
"What'd she say was wrong?"
"He didn't pass that along."
"Okay. I'll try to get in touch with her. Don't worry, okay? She's probably reacting to everything that's happened."
"Sure. Can I call you later?"
"Of course."
He hung up, found Venus's number and dialed it. An answering machine picked up. "Venus, it's James. Are you there? … Pick up, please." He waited a while longer before setting down the receiver. He didn't like his gut feeling.
He yanked on some clothes and headed downstairs, deciding to go see her, even though her apartment was a half hour away in clear traffic.
It wasn't clear traffic today. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, took a few side streets. He planned ahead for the day. After he talked with Kevin later, he would go to the office and work out the details with Cassie and Quinn, probably include Nate and Sam by conference call. Next step would be notifying the D.A. of Johnson's county, and while James would leave the job in their hands, he wouldn't back out altogether. For himself, as well as Caryn and Kevin, he would stay involved. He'd figured out how to have good working relationships with the police and district attorneys through his career. They might not encourage outside participation in an investigation, but they always appreciated good evidence.
He was almost at Venus's apartment when his phone rang.
"Paladin."
"It's Kevin."
"Hi. I was going to call you later-"
"Um, I think we're kinda in trouble." His words were rushed, his voice low.
"We?"
"Venus and me."
"Where are you?"
"In my apartment."
Make a U-turn, head east.
"We just came from Venus's place, when we realized what we'd done was kinda … " The words faded.
"What are you doing there?" The traffic jammed again. C'mon. C'mon.
"I was waiting last night for you. I sorta heard you talkin' to Mom about, you know, your plan to trap Johnson-"
Every curse James had learned in his life echoed in his head. That stupid scenario he'd created for Caryn. That damned stupid scenario. "What'd you do?" He passed a car on the right. A horn blared.
"I went to see Venus right away. We decided to just do it, you know? Take care of business, like you planned. But-" his voice dropped "-I'm a little scared now. I don't even have a gun. We've been stupid, I think. Can you-"
"I'm on my way, Kev. Now listen to me. You and Venus get out of there. He knows where you live, too. Are you on your cell phone?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. Just hold on a minute. Don't move until I tell you to."
"Okay."
The fear in his voice shook James to the core. "It's going to be all right. Hang on."
He put Kevin on hold long enough to call the police and have a unit sent out, then he clicked back in. "Okay, Kev, just keep talking to me. You and Venus leave the apartment right now. Get in your car and just drive."
"Where to?"
"It doesn't matter. Just drive."
"Okay. Venus, come on … . Okay, we're leaving."
James heard Venus scream, not long and loud but enough to show fear. A door slammed.
"What's going on, Kev?"
"He's here! Johnson!"
"Did he see you?"
"I don't know."
"Go out your back door and upstairs to your mom's. Get into a closet and stay quiet. Do not do anything-do you understand me?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry … ."
"Just go. Keep your phone on. I'm two minutes away." James kept his phone propped between his shoulder and ear as he navigated the last few blocks. It seemed like an hour-
"He's breaking in, man! He came up the back and knocked out the glass in the door."
Fear gripped James. "Just be quiet. Both of you. He doesn't know you're there."
"My car's right out front!"
For once, the kid had parked in plain sight instead of getting the lay of the land. "Don't talk unless you see him face-to-face." James pulled up in front of the duplex, threw open the car door and rushed around the side of the house to the backyard, slowing down to tiptoe up the stairs. "I'm putting my phone away. Do not, I repeat, do not leave that closet. Whatever happens, let me deal with it. Got it?"
"Yeah," he whispered.
James tucked the phone in his pocket. He debated whether to draw his weapon. Even though Venus insisted, as Baldy also had to the police, that they didn't carry, James couldn't be sure this time. Johnson was looking to save his own life-Venus's testimony could help put him away. Maybe not for life, but for a long time. He was desperate. He had to get her away. He was probably taking her into hiding with him.
He made it to the top stair. He heard the siren then, from a distance, getting louder and closer fast, then a sudden silence. They were there. Backup had arrived.
The door burst open, hitting James dead-on. A short, slender guy shoved him, sending him tumbling. He had a brief sensation of air beneath him, seeing the side of the building flying past, and then he slammed into the ground. Pain shot through him. He tried to move. More pain.
Johnson ran down the steps, tried to leap over him. James caught his leg, yanked it out from under him. He landed facedown. From his scream and the way he grabbed his face, James figured he'd broken his nose. Good, he thought, as two police officers, weapons drawn, came around the corner.
"He's your man," James said. As the world began to tilt, he passed out.
There was a commotion outside James's E.R. curtain.
"You are not stopping me," he heard a woman say. Mysterious. He smiled through his pain-medication-induced euphoria. Then she was there, beside him, her face close to his, tears in her eyes.
"Are you all right?" she demanded.
"Life is good," he said, maybe slurring the words, he wasn't sure, but that was about all that seemed important at the moment. No, there was something … . "I got my priorities straight."
She laid her face against his chest and cried. He patted her back. His hand kept slipping, though. "There, there."
She laughed, a watery kind of sound. "You said you weren't going to get any more scars."
"Do bones get scars? I don't think I lied about that."
Her expression turned solemn. "How can I thank you, Jamey? You were ready to lay down your life for my son."
"My son, too."
Fresh tears sprang to her eyes. She kissed him, the sweetest kiss he'd ever known.
"All right, Mr. Paladin," said the E.R. nurse, swooping in. "Time for a little ride to surgery." She and another aide tugged on his gurney, pulling him out of the curtained cubicle.
"I love you, Caryn," he said as they wheeled him away.
He thought he heard her say she loved him, too, but everything was too hazy. He would let himself think so, anyway, because it would be his last thought before going under. It was a good thought … .
James asked that no visitors be allowed into the recovery room. He needed the fog to clear in his head before he talked to Caryn. And Kevin and Venus.
He had no idea what would happen next. Had Caryn said she loved him? He still wasn't sure. But there was still Kevin to deal with. While he'd matured a great deal in a short period of time, James didn't want Kevin to accept him just because he'd helped him out of a jam. Like anyone, James wanted to be accepted for who he was, not for what he'd done.