See Part One for disclaimer:
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Lee sat inside on the couch waiting for Amanda to return so they could leave for his apartment. He pictured the present that awaited them lying on the bed. It was a beautiful silk nightgown that he had come across while working solo in New York City a few weeks earlier. He had gone up there for the day on Billy's request and was supposed to make contact with a source from Russian. The original meeting point had changed for security reasons. Unfortunately the man never made contact so after calling Billy he found himself in New York City and decided with nothing else to do he would try and find something for Amanda's birthday.
He had been walked past shops for hours. His feet hurt and all he had wanted was one of Amanda's back massages. Just as he was about to give up he had looked up into a shop window. There before him was a breathtaking nightgown. Going inside the shop he had made his purchase and as he left he felt very satisfied with how her birthday was going to turn out. The nightgown along with the other present he had purchased would make for a fine birthday celebration.
Leaning back against the couch he closed his eyes picturing his wife's slender frame in the silken treasure he had waiting for her. He couldn't wait to get to what was underneath the delicate material it was almost as if he had purchased a birthday present for himself instead. He wanted to slip the nightgown off her and make love to the woman who had given him so much pleasure.
Just as he was allowing himself to get lost in his thoughts a sound rang out cutting through the night. Reaching for his gun he raced to the front door. As he opened it he heard the squeal of tires and taking aim he fired a shot at the black sedan that was speeding away.
"Joe!" He heard Amanda's voice and looking down he found her with Joe lying with his head on her lap. "Joe stay with me." She ordered him as she tried to apply pressure to the gun shot wound that had hit him in the chest.
"I'll call an ambulance." Lee said as he quickly assessed Joe's wounds.
"No…Lee…" Joe said gasping on his final breaths of life. "Take…care…of my boys…" and with the final words the life was extinguished and Amanda sat stunned holding Joe's lifeless body. Lee looked at Amanda here eyes holding the horrors of what had happened. His hand reached out and gently rested on her shoulder trying to think of something, anything to say. Finally he heard Amanda speaking to him.
"Don't let the boys see." Amanda choked out the words and looked up to Lee as she tried desperately to put on a brave face.
He didn't want to leave her side he needed to be with her. Yet he also knew he couldn't allow the boys to take in the horrors that lay on their front steps. The truth of what had happened would be hard enough for tem to consume but to find his lifeless body lying in their mother's arms that would be far too much for anyone to handle. He was having difficulty with it himself he couldn't fathom how two young men would feel.
Entering the house in a fluid motion he got the door shut and reaching for the phone he dialed the Agency's number just as Dotty and the boys tore down the stairs. "My gosh Lee, that sounded like a gunshot."
Lee stopped them placing a firm hand on Dotty's shoulder dropping the phone unceremoniously onto the floor as he gathered the boys up in his arms to keep them in place. His eyes were haunted as they met those of the concerned Dotty. "Don't ask questions, just do exactly as I say." He managed to say his eyes boring through her trembling body. His tone alone set her body shivering with fear. "Take the boys upstairs into your room, on the backside of the house, and don't let them leave. Do you understand me?"
She blinked her voice caught somewhere in her throat, "Amanda…" she managed after a heartbeat.
"Amanda is fine." Lee pressed his eyes speaking more than his words could. She knew something had gone terribly wrong. "Just take the boys upstairs, I need you to do this…boys please listen to your grandmother and stay put." He repeated himself hearing then the faint voice filtering from the discarded phone receiver. "Do it now." As he watched them leave his heart ached as he watched the fear etched on the faces of Jamie and Phillip as they ascended the stairs followed closely by Dotty. It wasn't until he was sure they were out of earshot that he picked up the receiver to relay the message.
"Lee!" He heard Billy's voice shout before he even had it to his ear.
"Billy, we need a team at Amanda's."
"What happened?"
"Amanda's ex was just shot…Look Billy I'll explain everything when you get here." Hanging up the phone Lee took a moment to compose himself before he went out to Amanda. In that moment he knew that his family needed him and he could only hope he was up for the challenge. He wasn't sure if he was ready to handle what fate had just given his family. But ready or not he would have to face it head on.
As he headed back out he stopped in the hall closet and grabbed a blanket. Glancing up the stairs his thoughts wandered to what the boys must be thinking he knew what they were going through, or at least would be going through after they found out the events that had occurred only minutes earlier. Neither of them knew how rough the upcoming months were going to be but Lee had promised their father that he would take care of them and that was one promise he refused to take back. The way he saw it he was the only father they had now and he was planning on taking the responsibility with everything he had.
Going outside he heard Amanda's sobs from her position and the anguish in her eyes told volumes of the pain that he knew must be searing through her body. She sat holding Joes's lifeless body in her arms staring as if she were trying to will him back to life not wanting to believe that he was gone.
"Amanda," Lee said softly kneeling down and trying to bring her at least partially back to him. "Amanda, come on…let's go inside." He said as he tenderly touched her shoulder and coax her away to the safe haven of the house.
"Lee…" Amanda said between sobs as she tried to begin piecing together the events that had happened.
"Yeah, Amanda, it's me…come on." Taking her blood-covered hand in his he slowly helped her to her feet. As she moved beside him Lee gently placed the blanket over Joe's body. Turning to her he said, "Come on, let's go inside." Weaving his arm around her waist he guided her inside. Her clothes were covered in blood and as she entered the family room walking in shock almost in a trance.
Sitting her down on the couch he knew his first duty was to find some answers but he needed to calm her down. "Amanda, can you tell me what happened?" He asked softly trying to get Amanda to focus. Cupping her chin gently in his hand he turned her face upward to meet his. "Hey, it's all right, you're safe, please Amanda…talk to me."
Nodding her head she finally began to acknowledge Lee's presence pulling herself out of the trance. "Well…we…we were talking and Joe…he was telling me that he was all right…you know…with us…he told me he could tell that you loved me…then…then there was a shot…I heard it and I dove to the ground…I watched him fall next to me and I thought …I thought…Lee he didn't move…I went to him and…Oh Lee!" She exclaimed burying her head in his shoulder as he held her tightly and listened to her sobs. Seeing her like this was killing him his heart was being ripped open as he sat helpless. The only thing he could do was hold her tightly in his arms and praying for some answers.
"I'm sorry," Amanda said minutes later taking a deep breath as she sat up and looked up at Lee.
"Hey, you don't have anything to be sorry about." Reaching up he gently brushed her cheek with his fingertips trying to console her and make her feel safe and reassure her that he was still there and wouldn't leave her. "Amanda, do you think you are up to going up stairs and washing up. The boys are upstairs in your mothers room, I thought it would be better to get everything under control before we talk to them."
"Thank you." She said finally beginning to sound a little more like herself. "Yes…I better get cleaned up." She responded looking at her hands and found Joe's blood on her clothes. As her thoughts became a little clearer she knew she needed to try to pull herself together. Unfortunately the only thing she could think of was Joe's body lying in her arms. Her head still rang with the sound of the shot and the smell of death hung over her. Feeling Lee's hand resting on her shoulder she looked up into his eyes. She loved the man before her so very much and in the trauma she was facing she had a silver lining Lee was still there for her and the boys. Taking his hand she rose with his help.
"Amanda, it's going to be all right.' He said seeing the uncertainty that dominated in her eyes.
"I wish I could be so sure." Placing his hand on the small of her back he guided her to the stairs. As they moved upward Lee could hear the mumbled voices of the agents outside. A fleeting wave of calmness swept over the experienced agent yet the unseasoned man who held the responsibility of being a father to two young men could feel the insecurities welling from deep inside. A part of him wanted to be with the agents outside where life was certain but his duty belonged to them and even though he was fearful for the outcome as he looked to his wife he knew his love for her and her family was so intense that letting them down was not an option.
As they made their way to Amanda's room she calmly made her selections and looked to her husband who had long ago became her pillar of strength and she was now attempting to tap into his reserves. She knew she needed to be strong for the boys and she desperately wanted to hold fast so as not to cause worry for Lee. As she looked towards him her body cried out to rush into the safety of his arms but she couldn't allow herself to be that selfish. For an instant she looked into his eyes and saw his love noting the devotion and once again reeled in the knowledge that the man before her was her husband.
"Amanda, Billy is going to have questions and I need to get down to him…are you going to be all right?" Pulling her once again into his arms wanting to give her a little something to hold on to until they were able to be together again.
"Yeah, I will be all right." She responded trying hard to control her voice not wanting Lee to note her uncertainty in the words she spoke.
"I'm going to be downstairs." His loving overtones spoke volumes as he gently touched his lips to her forehead and held her for a moment longer. Amanda nodded silently and turning she moved slowly towards the bathroom. Lee watched her go and he knew she was trying hard to be strong and it killed him to know that she was hurting and he could only stand by watching. Lee knew what death like this felt like he had dealt with it more times than he wanted to consider. He knew the heartache that accompanied the loss of someone special. Many times in his career he had dealt with families telling them of their loss, but this was so much greater…so much harder.
As he heard the water begin to flow from the shower he slowly turned and walked into the hallway. His eyes came to rest on the family pictures that filled the wall before him. There were pictures of the boys as infants being held by Amanda and Joe. They were now his responsibility it was now his job to help Amanda finish raising them. He had wanted to be a friend to the boys someone they could come to when they needed to talk. From the moment he had met Amanda he knew how much they meant to her and over the years he had grown attached but he never had planned to be a father to them.
"Lee…" he heard Dotty's soft whisper from behind him and he turned knowing she needed to filled in on the events that had transpired. "Lee…what happened?"
"Dotty…" he started in a whisper not wanting the boys to overhear their conversation knowing it would be bad enough when the time came to tell them. "It's Joe…"
"Oh dear God, is he hurt…at the hospital? What happened?" Dotty's voice began rising with each question and Lee pulled her into Amanda's room to quiet her down.
Standing there for a moment he absentmindedly ran his had through his hair as he searched for the words knowing there was never an easy way to tell someone that a person they cared for had been killed. As his eyes met hers he shook his head and continued, "No he isn't at the hospital…Joe was shot…"
Dotty's eyes contained confusion as she searched Lee's face for the answer. Suddenly the realization came to her and she moved slowly to the bed where she sat down as her knees began giving out and the tears came to her eyes. All of her thoughts were of the two boys who were just getting to know their father. "No…" the response was almost inaudible as Lee sat down next to her and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"I need you to stay with the boys until everything is…"
"Amanda?" Dotty asked cutting Lee off as she became worried for her daughter needing to see her to know that she was all right.
"Amanda is fine…physically, she's…she's getting cleaned up…but right now the boys need you…" He repeated as the first strains on his heart became evident and he felt himself being pulled in many directions. The need to get things cleaned up downstairs was eminent and yet the boys, Dotty…Amanda, they needed him too.
"Take care of things…I will keep the boys upstairs." Dotty spoke the words and placing a gentle hand on Lee's face she continued through her tears, "I'm glad you were here, Amanda is going to need you…we all are going to need you."
Lee watched as she stood and left the room. For so many years he had watched her from afar and when the time had come to meet her he had been frightened by her eccentric personality. But in an instance he had overcome his fears of Dotty who had welcomed him into their lives as if she somehow knew his true connections to the family. She was truly a remarkable woman and he knew that she would be his ally helping the boys and Amanda through their grief. As he heard the door to her bedroom open and shut he rose from his spot on Amanda's bed and went down the stairs in search of Billy. It was time for him to put on his agents hat while his heart remained upstairs.
Exiting the house Lee found several agents as well as Billy assessing the scene. Lee noted that Joe's body had already been removed and all that remained was the stained concrete step. As he silently tried to make sense of everything Billy came up to him to try and get more details. "Lee, how is Amanda?"
"She's really shaken up, I had her go inside and get cleaned up…the boy's don't know yet. What have you found?"
"Not much…can you tell me what happened?"
"Amanda, walked Joe to the door as he was going home, they said a few things to each other and then the shot. I heard it from the family room an came out in time to see a black sedan drive away."
"Pretty sketchy."
"You aren't kidding."
"Melrose!" An agent came up to Lee and Billy handing them a note. "We found this attached to Mrs. King's mailbox."
"Thanks." Looking at the note Billy handed it to Lee. As he read the words his stomach lurched in fear as Joe's murder took a new turn. "We better tell Amanda." Billy said as they solemnly made their way inside. Neither was completely sure how they were going to break the news to Amanda.
To be continued…