False Pretenses

Part 21

Chapter 20

“What is she doing here?” I whispered, standing in the same spot as earlier.

Gabe gave me a small push towards Hodge and his companion.  “She’s here for a reason,” Gabe whispered back.  “Just give them a chance to talk.  Plus, they do have burgers…”

“Fine,” I huffed, putting a smile on my face.  It wasn’t as if I didn’t want to speak to the woman.  It was just that I was confused.  “I just wanted to know why Caroline was here.”

Gabe sent me a pointed look, but the true worry in his eyes is what made me smile at him.  “Just give them a chance, Dee.  If at any time—”

“I want to leave, I can.”  Reaching up, I cupped the unhurt side of his face.  “You’re a good guy.”

He scrunched his nose at me.  “Don’t let anyone hear you say things like that.  I’ll lose my street cred.”

A laugh escaped my mouth as my hand dropped.  Cupping his hand in mine, I tugged him towards Hodge and Caroline.  “As if you have a street reputation.”

“How do you know I don’t,” he asked, tugging on his hand to make me take a step back.  My body hit his, but instead of him taking a step back, he wrapped his arms around me from behind.  “I mean it,” he whispered.  “I’m here for you.  Any time you think it’s too much for you, we can leave.”

I turned, looking up at him.  His expression was masked, but I knew that deep down he actually cared.  Even if he were trying to get close to me for his job, he still cared.  With a small kiss to his chin, I escaped his grip.  “I’ll be fine.  I am a big girl now.”

“I know,” he mumbled.  “Believe me, I know.”

Ignoring his comment, I walked towards the table Hodge sat at.  When he made a move to stand, I waved him off.  “Don’t get up for me,” I said with a smile.  “It’s nice to see you again.  I was almost afraid that you wouldn’t be here.”

“I wasn’t going to come,” Hodge said with an honest shrug.  “Caroline talked me into it.”

I turned towards her, but the words I meant to say died in the back of my throat as I saw the expression on her face.  The woman looked close to tears, happy tears.  “Are you okay?”

“I just,” Caroline started before laughing at herself.  “I never thought I would see you again.”

“I saw you a couple days ago,” I mumbled, confusion hitting me hard.  Dropping down in the seat across from her, I frowned.  “I don’t understand.”

A hand gripped mine, and for the first time, I realized Gabe had taken the seat beside me.  “Don’t forget the burger.”

I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes.  “Believe me; I won’t.”

He laughed, the sound making my nerves calm.  “You won’t mind if I start eating mine while you talk?  Just in case we have to leave in a hurry; I’ll need both my hands to drive.”

“Go ahead,” Hodge answered with an amused expression.  “You always did eat your fair share, Julian.”

My eyes stayed on Gabe.  I had to admit; I was a little shocked that not even Hodge knew Gabe’s real name.  But to be honest, I liked it this way.  It felt as if the two of us had a secret, one that would be kept to ourselves for as long as needed.

“So,” I mumbled while looking back towards Hodge, “I have some questions.”

“I don’t mind answering,” Caroline said, her face full of excitement.  “I have some questions myself.”

“Let her start,” Hodge said in a loving tone.  “The girl has lived her entire life with questions.  You’ve only had yours for a couple of days.”

With a sigh, Caroline nodded her head.  “Go on.”

“Why doesn’t Mitch want me around you?” I blurted, staring at Hodge to let the man know I was speaking to him.

He smiled at me.  “The truth?  He’s afraid I’ll take you from him.  He’s afraid that I’ll take the person he was training to be just like him.”

“But you work together.”

“Worked,” Caroline mumbled.

I straightened in my chair as worry ate at me.  “What do you mean worked?  You can’t quit working with Mitch.”

“Julian did, I did, and Hodge can too,” Caroline replied with a shrug.  “You could if you wanted to too.”

My head was shaking before she could even finish her sentence.  “I can’t.  Not right now.  This mission that I’m on, something is off about it.  It doesn’t feel right.  I may request to be reassigned, but I plan to figure out what is happening here.”

Silence met my answer.  Glancing around the table, I realized that they all stared at me with various degrees of disbelief on their faces.

“You can’t get a reassignment,” Gabe mumbled as he set his burger down on the plate below him.  “You just got here.”

“We just found you,” Caroline continued.

“And we’re not willing to let you leave now,” Hodge finished, determination in his voice.

I looked at each of them, feeling the same confusion as before.  “Who are you people?”

Gabe threw an arm around my shoulder.  “I’m exactly who I told you I was.  This is the first job I’ve ever worked with Hodge and Caroline, although I have heard rumors of them.”

“Rumors?”

A chuckle escaped Gabe’s mouth.  “They had an office romance, a child, and then split because Mitch made them.”

“The child didn’t make it,” Hodge whispered under his breath.

“Or so we thought,” Caroline continued, staring at me.

Leaning closer to Gabe, I wished that he could shield me from what I knew would come next.  “What happened to the child?”

“She’s sitting in front of me,” Hodge said as Caroline let tears fall down her cheeks.  “After all this time,” Hodge mumbled, “here you are.”