She typed in a message to that effect, sending it along with a silent pulse of the alarm to bring Owen’s attention to the screen. He nodded without speaking, and she watched as he brushed Kelly’s hair back from his forehead, his palm pausing briefly to check the boy’s temperature. How does he know to be such a— Dad felt wrong, even as a thought, but she couldn’t think of anything else that was as appropriate.
He stalked from the room, and she saw from the camera he must have left the door ajar, light seeping in from the hallway. She tracked his progress through the house, not surprised when he wound up in the kitchen, standing in front of the refrigerator with the door open. At least he had food in it now.
Speaking to the air, which meant to her, he said, “Give me a couple of minutes, Alace. I’ll call you on vid when I’m ready.”
She tipped her head slightly. His tone was tolerant, pleasant, but the words were dismissive. Why would he want her out of his security system?
She keyed into the screen mounted on the cabinet beside the refrigerator. What are you going to do?
His face was hidden from the camera positions she had available, and that restriction was uncomfortable. Effectively blinded, she couldn’t sort out what he was thinking just from the side of his head.
He didn’t respond, so she pulsed the alarm on the screen.
Owen’s laugh was sharp and bitter sounding. “Oh, I hear and see you.” He didn’t move, still posed in the refrigerator opening, one hand resting on the corner of the upper freezer, the other gripping the door handle, knuckles standing out white and strained. “But you aren’t hearing me.”
I hear you. You want privacy. But this impacts us both, Owen. She stared at what she’d typed out and slowly backspaced over everything except the first sentence. She sent the message and then closed the program override allowing her the level of control she’d been using. She then closed the terminal window within a remote session, and finally shut down the computer, leaving the battery in place for now, since she wouldn’t be leaving the room.
Tablet in hand, she levered herself out of the chair, shuffling towards the bed. Eric flipped back the covers and slipped from her side back to his. She smiled at him and gratefully crawled into the heat his body left behind.
“All done for now?” He helped with the pillows, propping them behind her back so she could rest comfortably in a semi-upright position. The pregnancy-induced reflux had been bad over the past couple of months, and they’d quickly learned that lying flat was a sure way to guarantee she’d be woken up in unpleasant ways.
“Until Owen calls. We need to talk through some stuff, then I can be done for a while. I’ve already uploaded everything pertinent, most of which he already knows.” She glanced at Eric. “How much do you want to know about this one?”
Eric sat silently, lips pressed tightly together. Her husband worked for the county as a prosecutor, and there had already been so many times when his ethics had him begging off from deeper knowledge about the gigs. Intellectually, he understood every effort she and Owen put forth was for the greater good, and he could and did always support her. But in an abstract way. The actual implementation of the plans was where he typically waved off more information. She trusted him implicitly, and for her it was never about whether he’d have to testify against her someday. There would be no true plausible deniability for him, not with his moral standards. Her private fears had more than once surrounded the possibility he was afraid he’d see the truth of the person she was inside. Dark, vengeance-driven Alace was a different beast from the tamed-down version curled up in his bed.
Trying to rein in those doubts wasn’t easy, and at times like these, it was harder than others. When she was in the midst of a job, the unwavering conviction of rightness was palpable. It was what drove her forwards and enabled her to make the decisions she did without flinching. It would only be later, after the adrenaline rush was past, after things had been solved to her satisfaction, after the decisions had been made and accepted—when she’d stare at herself in the mirror and wonder what Eric saw when he looked at her.
“Tell me everything you’re comfortable with, Alace. There are kids involved, and it’s bad, right?” She nodded, holding his gaze. “Tell me everything then. We can’t let kids be hurt.”
Her eyes slipped closed, that word—that single, fucking, fucking word—standing out in the darkness behind her lids like a neon sign. We.
Without questioning his sincerity, she launched into the story. “Owen and I took down a trafficking ring a few weeks ago. That was the last gig we worked.” Eric’s eyes narrowed, and she nodded. “Yeah, the one on the news. The base of operations was outside Philly, and after everything was said and done, Owen wanted to take off for a few days. It was…” She swallowed and wrinkled her nose at the bitter taste climbing the back of her throat. “Intense. But Owen saved dozens of kids. Those were only the ones they’d been holding, too. He saved countless others from the same kind of fate by not letting the bad guys walk away.”
“You saved them, too. Don’t sell yourself short, Alace.”
Affection for him welled up in her, and Alace blinked away sudden tears. “Don’t be nice to me right now. I can’t take it. Too many feels.” The brilliance of Eric’s grin made her laugh, which caused the baby to do a tight somersault inside her. “Oh, don’t make me laugh, either. I don’t think she likes it.” Eric caressed the swell of her belly with his palm, his touch slipping up over the curve and back again, coming to rest on top. “So, yeah, it was intense from either side of the equation. But worth everything.” She traced a fingertip along one edge of the tablet, wedging her nail into the space where the case came together. “I got into their systems before we razed the place, leaving ample information for the authorities to put things together, but I downloaded their client list, including all past auctions. I didn’t leave any information about clients, nothing but the bastards who’d been kidnapping and selling. They were all handled, so no worries about them escaping the system, you know?” She cut a glance to Eric. His gaze was fixed on her belly, but from the troubled expression he wore, she knew he wasn’t seeing her. The media had been all over the story since it broke, and broadcast images of the burned-out building included shots of the rows of cages where the kids had been kept. There’d been dozens of videos showing family reunions, complete with tears and wailing, as well as a multitude of angry questions for the various departments in charge of the investigation. Alace didn’t feel badly about how hobbled those investigators were. Not having faith in the system freed her from sharing any of the relatives’ expectations.
“Casey Marquette is working the case.” Eric angled his face so he could look at her. “We went to school together. He reached out a few days ago asking for any pro bono hours the county or state would allow. A couple of the kids that were rescued are from here, Alace. I’m going to be working their cases locally, taking statements, and coordinating with Casey’s office.”
“Well, shit. I didn’t know that.” She rested the tablet on her chest and stretched out her arm. He clasped her hand, threading their fingers together. “Do you want me to stop here, then?”