Page 139 of Fighting For Light
“Is it possible the bullet was meant for Fred?” Cordelia asks.
We all look at her, and her hand squeezes mine tighter. We were all thinking about it, but no one wanted to verbalize it.
“It’s the only logical explanation, which could mean a very long list of people. Fred Coldwell has a bad habit of making enemies. He either pissed someone off enough they were willing to off a public official or, if we’re lucky, his own people are turning against him.”
“The Costas,” Liam grits out, looking away from us, his brain working overtime as he sifts through details.
“We need to get that bullet. It’s a lead,” I suggest.
“I agree,” Emerson says. “We will get some testing done on the bullet, then we’ll go from there,” Emerson says.
We’re all quiet for a moment, and then Liam looks up with a heavy look on his face. “Do you think…” he trails off like he’s trying to work up the nerve to say the words because they hurt. “Do you think he tried to have her killed?”
I look at Liam, and his eyes flick to mine before returning to his feet.
“You do, don’t you?” Liam says, his voice breaking at the thought.
It wouldn’t surprise me. Nothing about Fred Coldwell does. But I think there is a part of Liam that hoped our father would change one day, especially when we left him. There is still a little boy in him who had to grow up too fast because he didn’t have a choice. After the long list of things Fred did to us and Mom, it broke all of us in different ways, but it broke something in Liam’s mind. It’s why he is the way he is. The possibility of our father killing Mom is higher than I’d like to admit, purely because it would make perfect sense for him to do it. Sob stories sell. There is a saying in politics; never let a good tragedy go to waste. It’s not only reprehensible, it’s something our father subscribes to wholeheartedly.
There was a gang war going on in his district when he was up for re-election in Congress. Of course, it was perpetrated by the people who work for him or he works for. When the news reported a major shooting of ten gang members killed at their stash house, you better believe he milked those poor souls’ deaths as much as he could. Congressman Coldwell was there to clean up the streets and end the violence. And people believed him. They never looked further.
In the aftermath of Mom getting us out from under his thumb, I learned something about people. They are selfish, and they are sheep. But there are those few, far and between, like my wife, her father, and my family, who see the forest through the trees. Cordi sees the good in people—in me when I can’t even see it myself. Maybe there is reason for Liam to hope, but for me, that hope died out a long time ago when he hit our mother for the last time. I don’t know that I’ll ever be what society considers a good man, but I don’t know that I want to be. Because a good man wouldn’t have done whatever it takes to end the enemies of his family. I will go to the ends of the Earth for them if I have to. That includes getting rid of the biggest threat to us all.
“I think we need to consider all options, Liam,” I suggest gently.
He blinks rapidly, and his jaw hardens.
“I understand. After we get the bullet, I’ll see if I can dig anything up. Whoever it was might have been hired again instead of an inside job.” I glance at Emerson, and he nods, knowing who I’m thinking about.Maybe they didn’t get rid of their hitman after all.
63
Cordelia
Emerson and Liam walkback into the hospital, and Kai silently hands me his phone. I dial my dad and force air into my lungs while waiting for him to answer.
“Cordi, honey? Are you okay? I saw…” he trails off.
“Yeah, Dad, I’m fine. Kai is good. But um…Esmarie was shot. She will be okay. Is Theo alright?”
He curses.
“How the hell did that happen? What did the doctor say?” he asks.
“I’ll have to tell you later. But, is Theo okay?” I ask again.
“Yes, he is. He’s been a perfect trooper. But I shouldn’t be surprised. He is my grandson.”
I smile into the phone and glance at Kai. He’s watching me carefully, studying my face for any sign of something bad.
“Okay, thanks, Dad. We need to stay here with Esmarie for a little while, and then we can meet you somewhere to come get him.”
“Well, we’re at—“ My chest seizes.
“I don’t want to know right now, Dad,” I tell him, cutting him off. The other side is silent for a moment.
“I understand. Call me when you’re ready. We’ll be just fine.”
I almost burst into tears, but I swallow them down. Dad can’t know how bad this really is, though that ship may have already sailed.
