Page 36 of Complicated Past

“Let’s give it a try live. I’ll call your cell and see if it looks and sounds convincing,” he said to Clara before addressing Kendra. “We’re just going to do one run-through because we don’t want you to sound rehearsed. You should sound nervous and scared. But it’s important to draw attention to the necklace. If you do that when you tell her it will be okay to do what they want, sheshouldget the message.”

After a successful run-through with Clara calling Linc’s transformation to look and sound like Malloy as scarily realistic, it was time to do this for real. Linc messaged Walt to have him bring Jalen to meet them at the house where Malloy had held Regina.

They drove to just outside the city on a road where the homes were spaced far enough away from neighbors to provide privacy, though they’d surely noticed the earlier police presence. If Malloy had a partner who drove by then or now, this whole plan would tank.

A chill gripped Linc the moment he walked in, despite the home’s normal appearance. Kendra kept close to his side, as if she felt the darkness too.

“It’s likely Tawnya’s been here before,” Clara said as they passed through the foyer. “He kept Mrs. Feldman in the walk-in closet in the main bedroom. We need to use another room for Kendra and Jalen.”

“Nice. Stick an old woman in a dark closet,” Linc muttered.

“If Malloy survives, he’ll be spending decades in a cell. No way he’s skating, even if he cooperates.”

“Good,” Kendra said, eyeing Linc like she could guess what he’d like to do to Malloy if he walked free.

They checked out the other bedrooms.

“This one works. I’ll film you and Jalen on the futon there.” Thankfully, they wouldn’t be real hostages—which could have happened. That thought ripped through him. If he’d blown off Bri’s message or the chief hadn’t let him come, Jalen could have been taken. What would Bri’s chances of getting home have been then? She’d sacrifice herself, even her grandmother, for Jalen. Now, she needed to know it was safe to go along with the smuggling plan.

Walt arrived with Jalen a few minutes later.

“Missed you, J-man.” Linc lifted him into his arms. “I appreciate you and Tammy helping out.”

“Happy to. He’s good at following orders, so he’s welcome anytime.” Walt and Jalen exchanged a salute.

“I’ll let you know.” With Walt now in a non-deploying position, if this play didn’t work to get Bri home safely, or she ended up facing charges and jail time in Mexico, maybe the Shulers would consider fostering Jalen. They’d let Linc see him and stay involved in his life. He prayed it didn’t come down to it, but it would be a loving home where he’d have family and stability, which was more than Linc could give him.

“Beckham’s my new friend. We went to the park bof days. I hurt my knee.” Jalen pointed to the bandage.

“Sorry about that,” Walt said. “No stitches needed, so I didn’t call.”

“No worries. You’re tough like me, right?” Linc tickled Jalen’s tummy.

“Tough guys.” Jalen flexed his little bicep.

“See you again soon.” Walt gave Jalen a fist bump in farewell, both adding the finger waggle explosion.

“We’re going inside and see Ms. Kendra for a minute. I’m going to make a video of her, and I need you to sit with her but not say anything. Can you do that for me?”

“Why?”

“I need to send it to somebody.”

“To Mommy?”

“Yes.”

“I wanna tell her I miss her.” Jalen teared up, his tough guy façade crumbling in seconds.

“You can tell her that at the end.” He couldn’t risk Jalen mentioning Uncle Linc being here, so recording it would be the safest option versus live. He took Jalen inside before the hole in his chest expanded. Maybe he wasn’t meant to have his own family, but he would do whatever it took to protect Jalen and Bri.

After Jalen showed Kendra the bandage on his knee, Linc got them on the futon.

Once he positioned himself to film, Jalen smiled big and waved to the camera. That wasn’t going to work. “Pretend I’m a scary monster,” Linc said.

Instead of looking scared, Jalen pretended to shoot him with an imaginary gun. In other circumstances, it might have been cute. However, cute was the antithesis of what he was going for here. He didn’t want to have to tie up and blindfold his nephew.

“How about you pretend Uncle Linc told you that you can’t watch your show and you don’t get a snack,” Kendra suggested.

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