Redemption

Chapter Twenty-Five

The apartment was quiet when Bobby entered. He'd expected to hear the radio or the television, but all he heard was silence; the pure reflection of his entire day. The Palmerro lead was a dead end from the beginning and he'd had to suffer through it with Myles at his side.

They'd arrived at the, for lack of a better word, manor and spoke to Richard Palmerro's ex-wife. She was a woman who seemed too big for her own britches and, obviously, how had had money all of her life. She gave the agents all the information she knew, but she did it with an air about her that said she was better than them. Even Myles cringed at the thought, because he came from a family like hers. Of course, all blue bloods were the same; he was lucky that he'd chosen his line of work or he would be just like her.

Speaking to the former Mrs. Palmerro was less than enlightening. She neither knew nor cared where her ex-husband had been. All that mattered was that he was out of her life for good and that he was still paying her alimony.

With a groan, Bobby hung up his coat and scanned the opened area of the apartment. There was no sign of Danni, yet both her motorcycle and her car were sitting out front. It wasn't like her to just take a walk around the streets, but these days, he wasn't sure he knew her as well as he thought. Still, he knew he wouldn't go anywhere without her bike or her baby. She was still in the apartment; he just needed to find her. "Danni?" he called out.

"Yeah?" he heard her ask from the sofa.

His brow furrowed in confusion, he approached the couch to find it empty. She was sitting on the floor, her back against the cushions, and the journal she'd discovered from Stern's office resting in her lap. "What are you doing on the floor?" There was an amused tone to his voice and he gave a smirk as he looked down at her to see her so engrossed in that book.

She barely looked up to acknowledge him, though she lowered her reading glasses just a smidge when she did. "I was falling asleep on the couch and I wanted to read this." She'd said it impatiently as she went back to the passage she was reading before she was so rudely interrupted.

"What is it?" He seemed clearly interested as he took a seat beside her. He noticed how reluctant she was to move it into his line of sight, but with one sincere glance, she gave in. He would read it one way or another; she just didn't want to see it before her plan came into motion.

She took a deep aggravated breath before she told him all about it. "It's a journal that Robert left for me. It was in a secret compartment in his desk, so he probably didn't want the FBI looking at it." She tried to pry the book out of his grasp, but he held on tight. She had to let him continue to scan the pages, while she continued to speak. "I never knew about all of the terrible things he'd done. I've heard about them, but not in such great detail. He really was trying to redeem himself… for everything."

He stared at the perfect penmanship of the late detective. There was so much detail into the drug deals Stern had been a part of, along with old, money-laundering stories. "How far back does this go?"

"At least fifteen years, but it's all in summary. He started writing it a few months ago. Bobby, he definitely knew that he was begin targeted, but," she paused as she flipped to the front of the book, "to protect Marie and Caitlyn, he destroyed every warning he received. He said that whoever is doing this has a list of victims and that someone we know is on it."

He tried to swallow the invisible lump in his throat, but it was no use. The fact that someone close to them was on that list was terrifying. "How did he know that?"

She managed to turn back to the page she'd read it on and scanned the handwriting before she found it. "He saw it for a split second one day when they came face-to-face. He didn't say who it was, but that we should keep our eyes opened."

Bobby looked at her incredulously. Why should he believe anything of what Stern wrote? So the man finally felt guilty about what he'd done; it certainly didn't help him in the end, now did it? "You really believe this?" He just wanted to make sure. She was a good judge of character and he knew he could believe it if she did.

She nodded with sincerity in her eyes. "I do. I believe this so much that I even asked Martone to have my team assist yours."

"No," he said, bluntly as he stood up and headed toward the bedroom.

Her brow crinkled in confusion as she watched him retreat. She quickly got to her feet and followed him. The look in his eyes had been firm, but she had to contest his answer. She wouldn't let him tell her what to do. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"I'm not going to let you," he said definitely as he unknotted his tie and hung it up with the rest of them.

"What do you mean you aren't going to let me? Bobby, my friend is dead and I'm not just going to sit around and do nothing." She crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at him while he continued to undress in front of her.

He'd begun to unbutton his dress shirt, but he stopped to look directly into her eyes. He rested his hands upon her shoulders and gently squeezed them. "It's too dangerous, Luv. I don't want you to get hurt."

She shrugged his hands off of her and her glare increased. "It's too late for that."

"I meant physically, Danni. I don't want to lose you." The sincerity in his eyes was almost too much to bear, but she wouldn't crumble from his gaze; he knew that for a fact. When she finally did fall apart, he was afraid that he wouldn't be there to pick up the pieces. He didn't want her to keep pushing him away. He wanted to console her, but he couldn't do that when she acted like she wasn't affected by this.

"You won't lose me. With my team helping, we could crack this. We knew Stern a lot better that you and with the journal that he left behind, it's like he wants us to help."

He hadn't noticed that she still carried the journal with her, but when he did, he plucked it from her grasp and tossed it onto the bed. "I like to worry about you." His tall frame towered above her and it usually made her feel so small compared to him, but the emptiness inside of her made her feel nothing. He gently slid his fingertips over the soft skin of her cheek and into her silky hair. He wanted her to look him directly in the eye, even if that meant he had to force her. "And if this was just any case, I'd say 'let's do it', but it's not."

She stared at him with uncertainty. She had no idea what he was talking about. What did he mean this wasn't just any case? "What do you mean?" Her voice was soft as she stared up into his handsome blue pools. Her heart was pounding riotously in her chest as thoughts of Bobby being the one on that list raced through her mind. She didn't want it to be true. "Bobby, what aren't you telling me?"

He'd been hesitating to tell her, but he knew there was no use stalling. She would find out one way or another. If it wasn't from him, it would probably be from Sue. He let out an exasperated sigh as he took her hands in his and took a seat upon the bed. "There's been some chatter among terrorist cells about Stern's death. We've gotten some reports about codes and an unoccupied cell has become active again. His death was just the beginning. If it was so easy to dispose of him, they would show no mercy when it came to you. I love you and I don't want to see you end up like the others." His eyes clouded over with tears, but he knew he had to be strong for the both of them. If he showed a sign of weakness, it would be the only incentive she needed to fall apart.

"I'm not like the others," she said as she took a seat next to him. She rested her hand upon his cheek and forced him to look in her eyes. She didn't say anything else as she snaked her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. She wanted him to know that she wanted to see this through to the end. She knew how to take care of herself and she was more than willing to fight for what was right. He just needed to see that.

"You got that right," he muttered into her hair. She never heard him, but she did feel the soft wisps of breath dance upon her skin as he said them. He hugged her tighter and closed his eyes. He wanted to remember everything about her, the way she was at this very moment. He knew there was no use fighting her decision. He couldn't argue the fact that she was so willing to put herself in harm's way for the good of everyone around her. It still didn't mean he didn't have to like it.