Boomer's Fall Page 20

  “You don’t do it now do you?”

  She couldn’t tell if he was angry, put off or turned on. His face was blank and his voice was steady.

  “No. I quit when I got pregnant with Raya.” This began chapter two of her story, the disturbing chapter that would make all the difference.

  “So you worked as an exotic dancer for a while.”

  “Yep.” Okay he was processing all the information, rolling it around in his head. That was okay at least he hadn’t jumped up and walked out right away. That was something.

  “You never,” he waved his hands around fumbling for the word he wanted to use.

  “Had sex for money?” she finished for him. “No never. Dancing around naked for guys is one thing but I never sold my body, Ben. The place was classy. There were bouncers all over the place to make sure we didn’t get assaulted and Buck, that’s the owner, didn’t allow prostitution in his business. He knew what the consequences were and wasn’t about to pay them.”

  Ben sat quietly for a few seconds, staring at the table. She couldn’t take it. If he’d gotten angry she could have dealt better but this long, stretched-out silence was getting to her.

  “Oh come on. You can’t tell me you never went to a strip club before,” she snapped. “You’re ex-military. I thought all the military guys went to those places. Hell seventy-five percent of the men in this world have been in one. Don’t tell me you have double standards.” She crossed her arms over her breasts and glared at him.

  “I’ve been in them, yes. I was just thinking that I never gave much thought to the women who I was watching. I never thought about their lives outside the place. You give it a whole new perspective.”

  Her mouth dropped open.

  “You enjoyed doing it?” he asked sheepishly.

  She sighed, slumping her shoulders. “At the time I did. I liked the money more than anything. It felt good not having to decide if I was going to pay the rent or eat. Believe it or not I was frugal with my money and put most of it away in a savings account and kept enough to live off. Toward the end I was getting tired of it and thinking about going to school to learn a real trade.”

  When he gave a quick, short laugh and smiled at her she didn’t know whether to get angry or laugh with him. Then he reached across the table and took her trembling hand.

  “We’ve all done things at one point in our lives that we might not be too proud of, Hannah. God knows I have. But I believe that no matter what it is it helps develop us into who we are today. And I say you’re one hell of a woman so if dancing naked is part of who you are so be it.”

  Part of a heavy weight lifted off her shoulders. He’d accepted that much of her. He listened, he thought and he realized that no one was perfect and everyone had skeletons hidden in their closet. Her heart did a slow roll in her chest and squeezed tight. The first sparks of love had begun to flicker. Now all she needed to do was get him to understand the rest.

  “Wow, I thought you were going to tell me something devastating like you were part of some terrorist cell. That was nothing at all.”

  The floor dropped out from under her. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t tell him the rest. Her head spun like a top. She had to reach up and grab it to make sure it wasn’t spinning off her shoulders.

  “How ‘bout I go get Raya and we’ll do something together today?”

  His words sounded miles away. She nodded her head in response not sure what she’d just agreed to. When he stood, leaned over and kissed her lips she simply sat there frozen.

  “Hey, you okay?” he asked.

  “Fine.”

  “Okay, I’ll go get Sunshine and be right back.”

  When she heard the door close she ran to the bathroom and vomited. As she sat on the floor waiting for her stomach to calm she sobbed. She was going to lose him. There was no doubt about it. When he found out he’d walk and she and Raya would never see him again. That thought made her retch once more. The only part of her life she wanted to forget was about to lift it’s ugly head and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Boomer knew something was wrong with Hannah when he returned. She wrapped her arms around Raya and held on for dear life and avoided his gaze. When Raya asked what they did last night she simply smiled and told her they went out for dinner and hugged her again. Even the child knew something was wrong and asked.

  “Nothing’s wrong, honey. Ben wants to do something fun today. What should we do?” she signed.

  Raya hopped up and down and signed that she’d like to play at the park. Boomer thought that was good idea. Some fresh air for Hannah might snap her out of her mood.

  “Come on Sunshine, let’s get mom out of here for a little while. I think she needs to swing and slide down the sliding board. What do you think?”

  Raya squealed and ran off to get her mother’s coat.

  “You okay?” he asked wrapping his arms around her.

  “I’m fine, Ben.”

  When she laid her head on his shoulder and hugged him, he couldn’t help feeling like it was the beginning of the end. Dread lurked in the corner of his mind and heart. He did his best to ignore it.

  All three played at the park together. He pushed Hannah and Raya on the swings, caught the little girl when she came flying down the sliding board and hung upside down on the monkey bars. Hannah laughed and joked but he could still see something in her that wasn’t right. His dread spread.

  They returned to her apartment early when Raya started coughing and started running a fever. Boomer tucked her into bed while Hannah poured medicine for her. After she was settled and resting they went to the living room for what he hoped would be a nice talk. That idea soured when someone knocked on the door. He looked at Hannah who was standing there pale, staring at it.

  He was sure it was the old boyfriend returning for trouble and figured she did too by the way she was trembling. His anger spiked. No one was going to bully Hannah anymore, not as long as he was around. Boomer stormed to the door and yanked it open, his jaw and fists clenched.

  “Whoa, big boy. It’s just me.”

  Boomer’s angry face vanished when he realized it was Kong, Ricochet and Sam.

  “You look like you’re ready to kill. What’s up?”

  “Hey guys. What are you doing here?” he asked stepping back for them to enter.

  “You were supposed to check in, ya dumb ox,” Ricochet snarled.

  Boomer slapped his best friend on the shoulder and laughed. “Sorry, buddy, I’ve been kinda busy.”

  “Where’s Raya?” Sam asked politely.

  “We just put her to bed. She came down with a fever. Come on in. What’s going on?”

  When they all looked at each other he felt that impending dread close in.

  “I’m sorry, Boomer, we have to talk to Hannah.”

  Boomer looked at Sam. Her face was anything but friendly. His instinct to protect kicked in. “What for?” Sam didn’t answer, she just kept staring at Hannah. “I asked what for?” he said taking a step backward.

  “Did you tell him?” Sam asked Hannah.

  “Tell me what?” He was getting angrier by the second. Something was going on and no one would tell him what it was.

  “No,” Hannah whispered.

  “Boomer, why don’t we step out into the hall? I’ll fill you in on what’s been happening at the base while Sam talks to Hannah.

  “No. You have something to say to her you say it in front of me,” he demanded.

  “It’s okay,” Hannah said taking a seat. “It’s time he knew.”

  Boomer turned to her and glared. “Knew what?”

  “You all might as well sit down.”

  “I don’t want to sit down.” The dread became overwhelming. He had to move, so he began pacing. He kept telling himself it didn’t matter what the problem was, everything would be fine. No matter what he would stand behind Hannah. This couldn’t be happening again. Two women in a row couldn�
�t blast him could they?

  “You want to tell him or should I?” Sam asked.

  “I will. I’m sure you all have plenty of questions too.”

  Boomer noticed Kong and Ricochet put themselves between him and Hannah. Not a good sign to start with, he thought to himself.

  “Ben, I didn’t finish telling you the whole story of my past,” Hannah began. “The man who took all the kids hostage and who you four took down, I know him.”

  “What?” It couldn’t be true. His mind couldn’t comprehend what she was telling him.

  “I know him, Ben,” she repeated.

  Thousands of questions erupted inside his head, so many he couldn’t sort through them to voice them.

  “Keep going, Hannah, tell him everything.” Sam bit the words off, short and precise.

  “He’s Raya’s father,” she whispered.

  Her words were like taking a blow to the chest. He could hear her but wasn’t quite able to understand what she was saying. It was as if an invisible wall was standing between them.

  “Why didn’t you tell us this the other day, Hannah?” Sam asked between her teeth.

  Boomer watched her sit there, twisting her fingers and shaking her legs as tears dribbled down her cheeks. He didn’t feel any pity for her, in fact he felt nothing at this point. It still wasn’t real.

  “I asked you a question and I want an answer.” Sam’s voice was low but lethal.

  “I was afraid,” she sobbed.

  “That’s not good enough,” Boomer bellowed. He didn’t know where the anger came from, suddenly it was just there. When she jumped he felt a touch of satisfaction in a very cold place inside his heart. “You’ll need a better answer than that.”

  “It’s the only answer I’ve got,” she replied.

  Anger brewed and bubbled inside him, it was out of control now. He couldn’t stop it if he wanted to and right now he didn’t want to. He let it spread through his body, seeping into every nook and cranny until there were no good feelings left.

  “That’s fucking crap and you know it.” He began to pace back and forth. “You didn’t think it was vital to let the Feds or us know that you knew who this man was? A man who wanted to kill innocent children not to mention your own child. The fucking guy that stabbed me.”

  “I thought you had him in custody. I thought it was over. What difference did it make if he was locked up?”

  Boomer stormed over to the couch, grabbed her by the arms and lifted her to her feet. “You didn’t think I had a right to know?” he shouted in her face. “That’s the kind of thing a guy wants to know about the woman he’s sleeping with, Hannah.”

  He wanted her to know how betrayed he felt. He wanted her to see the pain in his eyes. Kong and Ricochet stepped up and wedged their bodies between them until Kong could pull Boomer away.

  “Back off, Boomer,” Kong ordered.

  Ricochet kept pushing him until he was almost on the other side of the room, then stood next to him in case he tried to move. His vision was narrowed to a pinpoint on Hannah’s face. He had thought she was different. He’d thought she’d been open and honest with him but she was like all the others.

  “So you knew Parker escaped?” Kong asked calmly.

  “Not until later that night. When I got back here, I could tell he’d been in the apartment.”

  “How?” Sam asked.

  “There was a beer bottle on the coffee table, his brand and I could smell him.”

  Those words pierced through him like a knife. She could smell him, what the fuck did that mean? He had been here in this apartment the night before he arrived.

  “Why didn’t you tell me before I left? Why didn’t you tell Boomer he was here?” Sam snarled. “Does he have a key, is that how he got in?”

  “Fuck.” Boomer growled low and long. “That was him pounding on the door wasn’t it?” He made a move toward her but Ricochet stopped him by stepping in his way. “It was him wasn’t it, Hannah?”

  “Yes.”

  Boomer threw his arms up in the air, walked toward the wall and slammed his fist through it. God, he was such a sap, the ultimate dumb ass for women to use.

  “Why, Hannah? Why bring me here, why offer to help with my recovery when you knew he’d be coming back and I might find out?”

  Hannah turned away and sobbed.

  “Answer me.”

  “Because I thought you could protect us. I knew if you were here and he showed up Raya would be safe,” Hannah cried.

  So that was it. She didn’t care for him or about him, she simply used him to keep herself and her daughter safe. Was there something stamped on his forehead that said sucker? He’d had enough. He’d been made a big enough fool for the day. All he wanted to do now was get the hell out.

  “I would have protected you anyway,” he told her and then turned and stormed out the door, slamming it behind him.

  “He doesn’t understand,” she muttered.

  “No he doesn’t, none of us do,” Kong said. “Why don’t you make us understand?”

  “I tried to tell him this morning. I started to but I was so scared.”

  “Hannah, we need to know what you know about the man.” Sam stood and walked toward her, wrapping her arm around her and pulling her down on the couch. “Please.”

  “I met him when I worked as a dancer at a strip club.”

  “Shit, does Ben know about that?” Ricochet barked.

  “Yes.”

  “Go on, Hannah,” Sam urged.

  “I didn’t know what he did I swear, not for at least five months. When I did find out I was too stupid to understand what it all meant. He started having me help him.”

  “With what?” Kong pulled a small notebook from his pocket and started writing down all her information.

  “I ran errands for him, delivered packages, just meaningless tasks. Then one day I got curious and looked inside a fat envelope. There were fake passports, driver’s licenses and papers written in a language I couldn’t read. One time he sent me to New York to take pictures of the train station, airport and all the important buildings in the city. When I got back he took all the information and met with about five men. I was supposed to be working that night but called in sick and listened to them. They were discussing what to blow up that could make the biggest impact on the country. That’s when I finally knew what he was. The next day I found out I was pregnant and knew I couldn’t raise a child around a man like that, so I packed my bags and ran.”

  “Does he know Raya’s his?” Sam asked gently.

  “I don’t think so. He didn’t even know I was pregnant.”

  “So you think he wasn’t aware that one of the children he was so willing to kill was his?”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  Sam began to feel sorry for the woman. She’d made a mistake in her choice of men and was paying the price now. She could see the deep gut-wrenching pain in her eyes over losing Boomer.

  “Do you have any idea where he’d be? Does he have any haunts in the area we might be able to find him in?” Kong asked.

  “I can give you a list of addresses he used to frequent but I don’t know if he goes there anymore. The day I walked out was the last time I saw him until the other day.”

  “That would help,” Kong said handing her the notepad.

  “Hannah, why did you put his name on Raya’s birth certificate?”

  “I was told it was the best thing to do in case I needed financial help down the road. I didn’t want to but I was stupid and taking all the advice I could get.”

  Sam ran her hand down Hannah’s back as she wrote down all the addresses she could remember. The woman’d had a rough time of it but that didn’t excuse her bad decision to keep such important information from them or use Boomer the way she did.

  “Thanks,” Kong said taking the notepad. “I’ll go call this in to Cannon so he can get started on it.”

  Ricochet began to follow him out the door and stopped. “He was use
d once before, Hannah, a long time ago. He still hasn’t gotten over it. He wouldn’t have judged you if you’d been up front with him.” He nodded to Sam and left.

  “I didn’t mean to use him, Sam,” she said as tears rolled down her face. “I wanted to help him with his recovery. I wanted to get to know him better. It just all went bad fast.”

  “Give him some time. Maybe if he thinks about it a while, he’ll see it differently.”

  “He didn’t even say goodbye to Raya,” she sobbed.

  On cue Raya walked into the room as the door opened and Boomer walked through. When he saw the little girl he walked over to her and knelt.

  “Hey Sunshine, how are you feeling?” he signed.

  “Better.” She looked at her mother and then back to Boomer. “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “I have to go, Sunshine. It’s time for me to leave.”

  “No. You can’t go,” she said wrapping her arms around him.

  Sam’s heart broke. Poor Raya was going to be the one to pay for this mess.

  “I have to, honey.” He reached into his pocket and removed his wallet. He opened it and pulled out a card. “If you ever need me you can reach me at the number on this card,” he told her and then put it in her hand.

  Tears welled in Sam’s eyes. It was so obvious this little girl adored him and he her. Then he hugged her tightly and Sam swore she saw tears in his eyes. Hannah’s body was shaking as she cried.

  “Ben, please don’t go like this,” Hannah pleaded.

  Sam thought for a second that he’d stay and listen for Raya’s sake, instead he gave the little girl a peck on the cheek, stood and walked to the door without so much as a word to Hannah. He paused as he reached for the doorknob, looked at the floor and then continued through.

  Raya ran to her mother and crawled in her lap. “Don’t worry, Mommy, he’ll come back,” she signed with shaking hands.

  Hannah held onto her daughter and fell apart.

  * * * * *

  “Cannon’s got surveillance on all the addresses we gave him. He’s also got someone watching the school. If our man shows up we’ll get a call,” Kong said spreading a map out on the bed.