He smiled. They'd had other, longer, talks later, but that's all she'd said. "Yes, I'll marry you. I want to be your wife." There had been so many other things to consider, their jobs, when and where they could take a honeymoon, what size wedding they wanted, and more serious things, like children. Before, when she'd confessed that specialists had told her she couldn't have children, it hadn't seemed to matter as much, but now she was worried. She wanted children, she wanted Mark to have grandchildren, and she hadn't wanted him to miss out on being a dad. It hadn't mattered though, not to him anyway, and he'd finally told her so, but she hadn't believed him.
"Steve." He turned to see his father in the doorway; he'd been out for two hours. "I brought some clothes. For you and for her."
"Thanks, Dad."
Mark sat. "Steve, Cheryl can figure it out on her own, but it would be quicker, we could find who hurt her sooner, if we knew who you talked to, which cops you turned in, and why."
"Robert Duvall, Kevin Greenwood, and Paul Draper killed that witness they were supposed to protect, you know, the call girl that witnessed the commissioner's murder? And I turned them into Michael Bruno and Dennis Kerns."
*****
Cheryl sat at her desk, going through Steve's files, trying to remember anything that had to do with another cop, when Mark came into the room. "I need to talk to you." She nodded and led him down to the interrogation room.
"Is something wrong? Steve? Jaden?"
"Steve's fine, under the circumstances, and Jaden's actually ahead of schedule. She may wake up any minute, but I'd like to have these guys arrested before she does, for her and Steve's sakes."
Cheryl nodded. "How can I help? I didn't know what to ask him before." Mark repeated what Steve had told him. "Duvall and Greenwood have today off and I'll check on Bruno and Kerns, but Draper was on a stakeout all night last night and had court all day today."
"One down, four to go."
"I'll call when I know more."
"Thanks. I really need to be there with Steve when she wakes up." Cheryl nodded and smiled slightly as Mark left.
He walked out to the parking lot, thinking over the case in his head. He stopped to call the hospital on his phone when his car blew up not three feet away from him.
*****
Madison hurried from her car to where Mark was standing, bag in hand. "Amanda's with Steve. Are you all right? What happened?"
"Car blew up."
She frowned as she began to doctor the scratches on his face. "Do you think they know you're on to them or they're still trying to get at Steve?"
"I don't know. I just…I don't know." He hated saying that, to anyone, even her.
Cheryl ran out of the station. "I heard. Are you okay?"
"Scratches. Nothing I couldn't have gotten shaving." He tried to joke. Then, more seriously, he asked, "What did you find?"
"Kerns and Bruno showed up today, but Bruno almost got fired a few times already. I'm looking for the calls, see if he placed one to Greenwood."
"Not Duvall?" Mark asked.
"Duvall turned up dead in his apartment."
"Murder?" Madison asked.
"Heart attack, natural." Cheryl answered.
"So it looks like Greenwood and possibly Bruno." Mark said and Cheryl nodded. "Any addresses?"
"No. Steve and Jaden worked BBQ Bob's last night?"
Mark nodded. "I had rounds. Amanda might have been there, but since I don't recognize any of the names, I doubt she would."
"That still leaves us with two questions." Madison said.
"Just two?" Mark asked, only half-kidding.
She nodded. "How did they know about Steve and Jaden? Was the car because you're getting too close or because of Steve's going to the IAB?"
*****
Steve stroked Jaden's hair out of her face and kissed her forehead again as she moaned, coming out of the stupor she'd been in. He smiled when she opened her blue eyes at him.
"Steve?"
"Hey, baby. It's okay. I'm here. It's all okay."
"Hurts."
"I know, baby. I know." He pressed a nearby button for the nurse and Amanda to come in.
