Page 61 of Renegade

“Not so good, which is why I kind of insisted on darkening your door when I know you just got off work.”

He frowned at me, then reached out, squeezing my bicep. “It’s okay, Trigg. I figured it was important which is why I told you to come over. Come on. Sit down. Candy’s at work and we have the house all to ourselves.”

“Thanks.” I followed him into the living room with my cup in hand and sat on my favorite sofa. It had fluffy cushions in a bold tropical print of orange and white hibiscus flowers. The couch itself was made of curving, beige bamboo which matched the table and end tables with gleaming glass tops. A singlerolltop desk of light oak sat in the corner. The rest of the room was decorated in the same bright tones with a Hawaiian theme, making it look happy. I got choked up which wasn’t normal for me but telling him something he’d probably be confused and upset about at the same time, broke any barriers of dismay I’d ever felt before.

“Something’s happened.” I was looking at my mug as he settled into the padded club chair across from me.

He leaned forward. “What?”

When I said nothing, he prodded.

“Trigg. What happened, brother?”

“John’s not dead.” I stared at him, and he looked back, confused.

“John who?”

“John Sutter. He’s alive.”

Confusion passed over his features as he shook his head. “That’s not possible,” he said, frowning deeply. “He can’t be alive. If he was, he would’ve found us. Reached out. Hell, he would have told the whole team he’s still alive.”

“I’ve seen him.”

Vonne sat back, eyes as wide as saucers. “What are you talkin’ about? When?”

“A few days ago. Raven and I have a new case, and he turned up at the restaurant where we were meeting with our new client for the first time.”

“So, you’re tellin’ me that he just waltzed into this restaurant, come on over to you, clapped ya on the back and said ‘hey’? Is that what you expect me to believe?”

“He didn’t expect me to be there, and he didn’t say anything to me. He turned and ran, and I chased him.”

“You’re tellin’ me that John Sutter ran away rather than talk to you? John Sutter?”

“I don’t think he expected to see me.” I hedged, twisting my hands together. “Look, it’s kind of a long story, Vonne.”

He glanced down at my coffee cup and then stood up abruptly, reaching for it. “Well, I guess you’re gonna need a refill.” With that, he walked back to the kitchen as I sat on the couch and waited.

It took the better part of an hour to describe everything that had happened to Raven and I over the last few days. I told him about the man from McNulty’s building and the woman who’d approached us at the Getty. I also told him how she claimed it was John who’d pointed a gun at me. I even said I’d met with Mark Evans, explaining who he was and how I knew him, his son, and the other men who’d helped Raven and I on another case. I didn’t leave anything out, including how I was dreading coming to him after his last interaction with John the day he’d died.

“Do you remember Damon Thorne? He used to be CIA but he’s retired now. Apparently, the other men know him. He was there when we met with Mark Evans this morning,” I said.

Vonne nodded. “Yeah, I remember Thorne. Nice guy. He’s retired but—” He sat back rubbing two hands over his face. “I can’t believe you met Mark Evans. I mean I know he’s retired now, and probably knew Thorne from the CIA, but he was the Associate Director of the CIA, man. It’s just wild that he’s been helpin’ you on this. I guess it’s good to know men in high places, Trigg.”

“I didn’t know he was Jarrett Evans’ father until I told them what was happening. You know they helped me out on that job when Raven and I first met.”

Vonne nodded. “Yeah, and for what it’s worth, I feel real bad that you had to ask for the help of other folks before comin’ to me, Trigg.” He looked sad and I felt terrible for not trusting him the moment John turned up. He was my brother, and I’d let him down. I felt like total shit about it.

“I never should have done that, buddy. After everything you did to help Raven and all the times you patched me up over there, I should have trusted you before anyone else.” I sighed. “I fucked up.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “No…well, yeah. You should have come to me, asshole.”

The small smile on his face made me nod. “You’re right. I honestly feared your reaction to hearing that John is alive. I know you and he didn’t part on the best of terms but I should have trusted you to do the right thing.”

“Trigg…you’ve been carryin’ a heavy burden on your shoulders about all this.” He reached up and scrubbed over his face again, then stared at the carpet. “You know I carried a lot of guilt over how I reacted back then. But he had a bullet hole in his thigh and to this day, I don’t think he should have been cleared for duty. Still don’t know how he got the doc to sign off on it.” He sighed. “But I ain’t gonna let that stop me from findin’ out how he survived out there or help you with these CIA folks.”

“Thanks, Vonne. I just don’t know where to go from here, though. If Mark Evans can’t come up with anything on that woman, I don’t know how we’ll ever find John.”

“You can’t think he’s really workin’ with them, right?” he asked.

---