Page 51 of Grimm
“How’s she doing?” I asked. I stood and started packing my shit up so I could get home to my little girl.
“She’s fine, Mr. Stevens. I gave her some fever reducer, and now she’s asleep. She was stuffy and had a scratchy throat. Don’t worry, it’s probably just a cold.”
I released a breath. I hated when Siobhan got sick, but a small cold I could handle. My panic subsided a little.
“I’ll be there in a few minutes, Rachel.”
“Oh, there’s no need. I have a night class tonight. I can stay until you get home.”
“Are you sure? I hate to put you out more than I already have.”
She laughed. “It’s no problem. Like I said, she’s asleep, and I’ll catch up on some of my schoolwork. Everything’s fine.”
“Thanks, Rach.” I sat back down in my office chair, leaned back, and pinched the bridge of my nose. “You’re a lifesaver. I’ll see you around six.”
Normally, I stayed at the clubhouse later than six, but with my little girl being sick, I’d already put Rachel out enough. It was only fair I came home at a decent time. Club business could wait until tomorrow.
“Six it is!” she said in her usual chipper voice.
I ended the call and sighed. “I’ll never understand how someone can be so damn happy all the time. I need to give her a fucking raise.”
Rachel Underwood was an angel walking the earth. She was the daughter of one of the brothers and was getting her nursing degree. Whenever I needed help, and she could spare her time, she’d babysit Siobhan, which, lately, had been more than I’d liked. It wasn’t often Siobhan came to the clubhouse. A lot of shit went down here no child should see, but if things continued the way they’d been going, something would have to give.
“Everything good?” Caesar asked, worry in his eyes. “Is my goddaughter all right?”
“Yeah, your goddaughter is fine.” I raked my hand through my hair. “Siobhan was running a fever. Rachel picked her up from preschool, took her home, and gave her some medicine. She’s sleeping now.”
“Something you should be doing.” Caesar narrowed his eyes at me. “Take a break for a while and get some fucking sleep. I can handle shit here.”
He could handle shit, and I did need to sleep. But what could I do? The nightmares hadn’t stopped. As time passed, I’d been able to function during the day, pushing that day to the back of my mind. But nights… nights were a different beast. Whenever I did sleep, that day played on a loop, and I couldn’t escape no matter how much I wanted to.
“Did you need something?” I asked, trying not to let my irritation show. I needed fucking rest. Not just sleep but peace from the dreams. I twisted my wedding band on my finger, trying to calm down. It always brought me calm. “Or did you only come in here to bust my balls about not getting enough sleep?”
“Maybe both,” he said, laughing.
“Well, get the hell on with it. I got a lot of shit to do other than sit here looking at your ugly mug.”
All humor left his face. “Jacob,” he said, calling me by my first name.
My spine stiffened. Rarely was Caesar serious unless it had to do with club business, and he never called me by my name.
“What is it?” I asked.
These past few weeks had been hell on the club. We hadn’t completely averted a shitstorm with asshole Samuel Allen and his involvement in the skin trade yet. We needed peace.
“Does it have to do with Allen? I know the cops are still hung up on trying to pin some of this shit on Hannibal, but there’s no way they can do that. Not with the evidence we handed the G-men.”
He waved his hand. “No, shit is pretty much locked up tight despite what the cops want. His lawyer is fucking top-notch, and she says she’s got it all under control. They’ll all be going away for a long time, and Hannibal will be okay.”
“Good to hear. Then what is it?” I asked, leaning back in my chair, steepling my hands. “What’s got you all serious?”
“I know you hit a dead end, so I had a friend help me look for any footage from that day.”
I knew what day he referred to. The worst day of my life. Although my background was in IT, I’d scanned hours of footage. I’d done all I could do to find out what happened, but nothing ever panned out. The cops would only say it was a freak accident.
Their explanation never sat right with me. The police always hated Demons United. In the beginning, I believed they’d ignored what happened as a middle finger to me. Then I thought I was losing my mind, but the circumstances of that day always drove me crazy.
Why was Dani there?
