CHAPTER 19

ERIC

"Whoa, Isa, slow down," Eric attempted to ease his sister's worry. "I'm okay, everything's okay."

He could hear the fear in her voice, and he wryly chuckled to himself; of his four sisters, Isabel would be the most prone to panic. Clara, his oldest sister, was calm and steady. Gabriela, who lived in Tampa with her family, possessed the most edge of all his sisters. Isabel took after Carmen with her nurturing temperament. And then there was Marisol. The bright light, the grace and ease of the family, gone too soon.

Eric had always been closest with Mari and Isa, as they were nearest to him in age, although by the time he reached high school, both the girls were already off to college. Regardless of how much responsibility Eric bore in taking care of his family, protecting them and supporting them, he would always be "baby brother."

"Where are you?" came Isabel's voice over the line again.

"We got stuck at HQ for a while," he explained, "but we made it out and now I'm working a case." He skated over the fact that they almost died, and that HQ was currently under feet of water, and that he just spent the last hour diving in hazardous conditions tracking down the possible murder weapon used in what looked to be an execution-style killing.

"You're working a case, right now? In the middle of all this?"

Eric heard Isa's incredulity and chuckled out loud this time.

"Crime doesn't stop for bad weather, hermana," he said. "In fact, it gets worse. Which is why I want to know every detail of what is happening at that arena right now."

Isabel sighed. "It's fine here. A little tense," she said. Dropping her voice low, she added, "but the kids seem to think it's a grand adventure and don't know how serious things are. Hopefully it stays that way."

Eric offered up a silent prayer for Isabel to be right. It was one thing for Eric to lose his condo. The most important thing he owned was currently wrapped in a plastic evidence bag in a duffle under the seat of the boat where he stood anchored in Bal Harbour. His childhood photos and mementos were at his parents' house. Anything else he owned he could replace.

But the kids? For them to experience loss at such a young age? They'd only ever known the innocence and happiness of the homes in which they were raised. His stomach physically ached at the possibility they could understand that sort of heartbreak so early in life.

Thinking about his parents' house brought Eric back to the present. "Isa, I haven't heard from mami or papi, but Horatio sent a unit to check on them. It shouldn't be too much longer until I hear word back."

"There's literally no news, Eric. We have no idea what's going on outside the arena, and the authorities aren't giving us any information. What do you know?"

Eric quickly filled his sister in on the little he had learned in the last few hours, asking her to keep it to their family for now. The last thing the tinderbox needed was a match, and rumors of a city destroyed would certainly spark fear and unrest among the crowd.

"Look, Isa, the storm amped up so quickly it took everyone by surprise, but between the National Guard and the state and county, things are slowly getting organized. The weather is moving out this afternoon. The only unknown right now is the ETA on restoring the cell towers and power grid."

"Are we talking hours…or days?" Isabel asked.

"Days, maybe weeks in some areas," he responded candidly. He heard her groan and sought to appease her a little. "They're already working on high priority sectors. Everything's going to be fine."

"Ever-optimistic, baby brother," she laughed.

"What can I say, I have faith in the good of the world," Eric replied with a grin before it faltered. "Isa, are you still by Calleigh?"

"Clara and I currently have her in a death grip."

A genuine smile spread across Eric's face at this. An image formed in his mind of his sisters holding on protectively to the love of his life, and a warmth blossomed in his chest he hadn't felt before. His family knew and loved Calleigh as his friend. Soon, he'd get to introduce her to them as something more, and the mere idea lifted his spirits.

"Can you let her go for a minute so I can talk to her?" he asked through his grin.

"Do we have to?"

Eric's chest rumbled with another laugh. "Let her go, Isa. I need to talk to her for a sec."

The next voice he heard on the line was Calleigh's.

"Hey, I'm here."

"Hey," he said softly. "Any chance you can stick around the arena a little bit longer before you head to evidence lockup?"

"Maybe 15 minutes or so."

Calleigh sounded apologetic and Eric knew she'd stay longer if she could, but sitting on evidence was never a good idea.

"Thank you, Cal. Hang on a sec," Eric said, as his eye caught Wolfe signaling for his attention.

"We're headed out. Let me call you right back when we get to your house. If I have a chance to go in, do you want me to grab anything?"

Calleigh sighed. "There's a small lockbox upstairs in my office with my passport and important documents. I have the key. Can you just snag the box from under the desk?"

Eric hadn't even thought about his papers with everything going on. He'd barely been home the last couple of weeks, instead keeping a low profile at a seedy motel. A pang of guilt sliced through his stomach as he thought about the last secret he was keeping from Calleigh. The biggest secret of his life.

Eric resolved to have a sit-down conversation with Calleigh. Not now, but soon. He feared for her safety, but he feared the consequences of lying to her even more.

"Eric?"

Like Calleigh earlier, Eric had found himself quiet and lost in thought.

"Yeah, I'll grab it if I can. We'll be there in a minute, assess things, then I'll call you back."

Calleigh's voice came over the line soft and low. "Thanks, Eric."

A lump formed in Eric's throat as he felt her pain from miles away. It was the same pain and fear he felt at the possibility of losing everything, and he would do anything for her not to feel it.

"Querida, just hold tight. Who knows what we'll find," he paused at her sigh and could picture her nodding in his head. "Reassure Isa for me, will you?"

Now he could hear her smile. "Of course. Call me back."

"Promise. Ten minutes," he replied, and they both hit 'end,' knowing this was just the beginning.