Heir of Ashes (The Roxanne Fosch Files #1)

Chapter 28

I met Tommy by the gate, and we hugged longer than was proper, but he seemed to understand I needed it. I didn’t answer his question about who lived in that big mansion, and he let it slide.

We went out for dinner and talked about the past. Well, he talked about his past; I mostly skirted around mine. I mentioned that Elizabeth had lied about my father and that I had to leave when I was twelve. I didn’t elaborate, letting Tommy believe I’d been with my father all this time. Tommy, bless him, sensed I didn’t want to delve deeper and didn’t press me. Instead, we focused on his experiences with Vicky, their high school and college years. They had drifted apart during college but stayed in touch and occasionally got together.

After dinner, Tommy and I went to his newly-acquired house in East Sacramento. He talked about converting the garage into his workspace and showed me around his nearly bare house, with tools and half-finished projects scattered across the living room and kitchen table. He showed me the rocking chair he was working on, a gift for his sister, and a large armoire he was building for the master bedroom.

We brewed some coffee and sat outside on the porch to drink it. It was cold and late, but neither of us complained. The sky was mostly clear, and we watched the millions of stars shining brightly.

“Remember when we’d lie on the grass and see who could make the most figures from the stars?” I asked.

“Hmmm. And clouds. I won most of the time.”

I chuckled at the exaggeration. “You most certainly did not. I was the one who came up with most of the shapes. You and Vicky would hardly make one or two.”

“That’s because we let you,” he said, smiling. “Do you remember what the winner’s prize was?”

A kiss.

“Vicky would always have a boy in mind and, well, I liked it better when you came on to me.” He laughed, a sheepish grin on his face. “So, you see, I always won.”

“Pervert,” I said indignantly but smiled at the memory.

An hour later, a black sedan pulled up in front of the house. Vincent climbed out of the driver’s side, and I got up. So did Tommy.

“What? Who’s he?” Tommy asked, frowning at Vincent, standing by the car, one arm casually draped over the roof, the other resting on the door.

“My ride home,” I said, hugging him before descending the three steps.

“Looks like government issue,” he observed. “You in trouble?”

I stopped at the bottom step and looked up at him. He was still frowning at Vincent.

“No,” I said, “no trouble.”

Vincent waited until I was seated before climbing in. I didn’t turn to look at Tommy as we pulled away.

“You have anywhere else to go?” Vincent asked.

“No. That’s all,” I replied.

“So, did you follow me here, or do I have a transmitter implanted?” I asked him once we neared the airport.

“Sort of. Phone GPS. Roland freaked out when you went to the airport. I promised I’d keep an eye on you to see if you were trying to bail out.”

“Thank you,” I said after a moment.

He raised one eyebrow but didn’t look at me. “For what?”

“For letting me do what I had to do.”

He nodded, and we continued the rest of the drive in silence. Tomorrow marked the beginning of my new life.