Page 66 of Breaking Storm

I’ve been walking off the anger, not paying much attention to the darkness. Clouds partly smother the moon, so I use the flashlight on my phone to get home. Sliding open the kitchen door, I find Sean sitting at the table, drinking coffee. We acknowledge each other with a nod. I toe off my shoes, pour myself a cup of coffee, and sit across from him at the table. Aside from the ticking clock in the living room, the rest of the house is silent.

My hands embrace the coffee cup, trying to figure out how to start the conversation. I owe Sean an apology. It wasn’t my place to tell anyone about his sexual orientation. Whether they’re friends or strangers, Sean is the only one who decides who and when to share the information.

I sip my coffee, sit back, and say, “I’m sorry.” His eyes meet mine as if waiting for more. “I was wrong to say anything about you. It’s your life. Your choice.”

He bows his head as an acceptance, and shocks me by saying, “Teagan’s dad died.” My body slams into the table, spilling coffee on my hand. “While you were gone, Leo called Teagan and told her William died of a heart attack.”

I fall back into the chair, mouth ajar. “Damn! How’s Teagan?”

Sean sighs at my comment. “Sad. But not over her dad.” Our eyes meet. “It’s not a surprise she didn’t have much of a relationship with him. She’s sad for hurting you.”

My attention deviates from Sean. “That she did.”

“Joe.” I look at him. “We all make mistakes.Say thingswe don’t mean,” emphasizing ‘say things.’ “Do things we don’t mean or want to do. We’re all guilty of it.”

“Yep! Even so, it still hurts.”

“Don’t I know it.”

I scrub my hand over my face. “Sean, I really am sorry. I messed up. It will never happen again.”

He smiles. “Good. Then you can accept Teagan’s apology.”

I gaze over my shoulder at the stairs, then back at him. “In a bit.” I scoot forward. “Did Tea say anything about the wake and funeral?”

“Leo suggested she come, and she agreed.”

“Then we should talk about provisions if something goes wrong.”

“You think it might?”

“Could. James is out there somewhere. If he gets wind of William’s death, he most likely will come sniffing around Malone’s Disciples to see who he can recruit. He’s burned too many bridges in Cooper’s Crew.”

“True. James is all about power.”

Like always, Sean and I discuss escape plans in case something goes wrong. In my home safe, I remove IDs for myself and Teagan. When we got married, I had gotten several new IDs for her. I grab mine and hers and toss them into the duffle bag we brought, along with several burner phones. Sean will stay back with my mom. If something goes wrong, he’ll have the funds to take my mom and disappear. We have code words for our status and locations along with various phone numbers for the phones.

Sean retrieves the duffel bag he has, tossing in the other burners. He has access to the LLC money account. We stash the bags by my office door, locking it, inputting the security code, and retire to our rooms.

I find Teagan in her pajamas, reading in bed. She slaps the book closed when I enter, putting it on the nightstand.

I clear my throat. “I’m sorry to hear about your dad.”

She picks at the cover. “I’m not.”

Our eyes steady on each other, exchanging an agreement. I head to the washroom when she jumps off the bed, comes over, and takes my hand.

“Joey… I’m—”

“I get it.”

Her head lowers before she hugs me at the waist. The anger has dissolved, but the deception still lingers. I kiss the top of her head and wrap my hands around her upper arms to remove them. She steps back so I can go into the washroom.

After a shower, I lay on my back in bed, hands clasped behind my head, staring at the ceiling. Teagan is in the same position.

I ask, “When is the wake?”

Her voice cracks as if she had been crying. “In two days.”

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