“This is about Henry, not me.”
“Really? So, you’re not scared? You’re not afraid that they’ll find out that he’s still alive? Afraid of what they’ll do when they find him?”
“I know exactly what they’re going to do, Jakob.” Slamming the oil bottle down with more force than necessary, I grabbed the vinegar. “Henry told me. Or to be more precise, he asked me if I knew what the Nazis did to traitors. To his family, he is a traitor.”
“But he is safe, Caden. Nobody knows that he is still alive, and there’s a chance that they will deny his brother the parole.”
“Even so…” Putting the vinegar down, I turned and looked at Jakob. “He’ll always be in danger, and I don’t know what to do about it. I work with victims all the time. I help them to get justice or to start a new life. Do you know what my last case was? Abigail, a young mother with two sweet kids. Her husband was an enforcer for a local gang. He beat her up so badly that she nearly died. I helped her file for a divorce, get a new identity, and worked with the assistant DA to get the husband arrested with her testimony. She’s living in Idaho now. I helped her to get away and to start a new life. Her husband will never find her. But Henry’s family?”
“They have power, and I get that. But no one has ever looked for Henry, why would they start now?”
“I don’t know.” Sighing, I rubbed my hand over my eyes. Jakob was reasonable and pointed out the same point Ian had. Nothing suggested that they had any clue that the FBI faked Michaels's death. “I just have this bad feeling in my gut, and I can’t shake it.”
“Because of instinct or because you truly care about Henry?”
“Both?” Watching Jakob cut the tomatoes and mix them with the salad, I thought about it. “On the one hand, I care so much for him. But on the other hand, I have experience helping people get away from religious cults. I get that these are different dynamics.”
“Do you want me to see who was involved in the trial? Maybe check to see who will be at the hearing?”
“You’re not with the NYPD anymore.”
“You’re right. I’m not. You know that Sam and I are starting a private investigation office.” Jakob grinned at me and winked. “Congratulations. You’re our first clients.”
“Jakob…”
“Do you remember the name of the FBI guy?” Frowning, I nodded. “Give it to me. I’ll call and talk to him tomorrow, and then we’ll see what we can do, okay?”
“I…” I wanted to protest, but having his support lifted a massive weight off my shoulders. “Thank you, Jakob.”
“Hey, we’re family, we keep each other safe, right?”
“Yeah, right.” For a moment, we just smiled at each other in silent understanding, and then I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Charlie came out of the blanket fort, looking confident without a care in the world. That was until he spotted Jakob. “Speaking of keeping each other safe. Don’t touch the cat; he doesn’t like people.”
“What?” Jakob turned around and bent down the second he spotted Charlie. “Oh my, aren’t you a cute guy? Come here, kitty.”
“Jakob, seriously, don’t…” Before I could finish my sentence, Charlie hissed, puffed out his fur, and attacked Jakob's outstretched arm with an impressive jump before he turned and fled into the nursery. “Touch him.”
“Holy fucking shit.”
“Daddy!” Hearing Jakob curse like that had Sam scrambling out of the blanket fort. As soon as he saw the blood on Jakob's arm, he paled and rushed over to us, shooting accusatory looks at me. “What did you do? Why is Daddy bleeding? Oh my God, are those cuts?”
“Calm down, Sam. I warned him not to touch Charlie,” I defended myself while I turned around to grab a clean kitchen towel. “Here, put this on the scratches, while I get the first aid kit.”
“What’s going on?”
As I reached for the first aid kit, I stopped when I heard Henry’s voice. Sam’s sudden flight out of the fort must have alarmed him. He stood there, looking confused between the three of us. I waved my hand, so he looked at me and held up the first aid kit.
“Jakob tried to pet Charlie. It’s not that bad. He just has some—” Again, I was interrupted. This time, because Henry turned on his heels and ran into the nursery.
“Charlie? Charlie, are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
Well, Henry had priorities, and they did not include Jakob.
“I’m bleeding, and he is worried that I hurt that damn cat?” Jakob asked while he stared after Henry and Sam fussed over his arm.
“He loves his cat,” I stated and handed over the first aid kit to Sam.
“That little devil attacked me. I’m bleeding.”
“Oh, for goodness, sakes. It’s not like you got attacked by a tiger,” Sam said and rolled his eyes at his Daddy. “Charlie hates people. You shouldn’t have touched him.”
“Your Daddy was naughty and wasn’t listening.”
“Weren’t you going to go look after Henry and his little devil?” Jakob growled while Sam laughed. “And you, Little Man, shouldn’t laugh at your Daddy.”
“But you were naughty, and now you’re acting like a big baby. It’s kind of funny.”
“Keep being a brat, and there will be no cartoon or cuddles before bedtime. Guess who’ll be laughing then.”
That was my clue to leave them alone and find my Boy.
Henry sat in his rocking chair, with Charlie curled up on his lap. I crouched down in front of them and carefully scratched Charlie behind his ear. He was purring, so it couldn’t be so bad. When I looked up, Henry was watching me.
“You okay?”
“I was just worried about Charlie. Is Jakob okay?”
“Yeah, he’s going to live. Even though he’s acting like he got mortally wounded by a tiger.” That had Henry chuckling, and I grinned. “I warned
