Page 51 of King

He kisses me and smiles as he wipes my cheeks with a finger.“I’m just as impatient as you are, but you know it’s the right thing to do – for all of us.”He pats my belly with affection.“Call Fogarty once the operation is over and we’re both free once more.Sit down with someone in the FBI and go over what you know.They care about their own Agents and are probably working to bring those responsible to justice.We just can’t always know the details or timeline.”

I nod, knowing in my gut that he’s right, but it is so hard…

“Okay,” I say and force a smile.“I’ll be a good girl and obey.But I’m still mad about how long it’s taking.”

I let him put his arms around me, determined to wait it out with him.One day, this will all be behind us, and we will be living on Fire Island, raising our child and taking walks along the beach.

Together, we can see this through.

The next weekis so boring that both Harrison and I are almost at our wits’ end.

I take a week off after Fogarty tells me that it will be enough.Someone in the FBI speaks with the head of the medical department and gets me some kind of special dispensation so I can take yet another week away from my current rotation.

When the week is almost up, on Friday morning, Harrison and I make a trip out to the cemetery.He wants to visit the graves of his father and brothers.Afterwards, we’ll travel to the graveyard where my mother and stepfather are buried and visit them for a while.Then, I want to make a special stop at Sherri’s grave.

I want her to know that for now, some kind of justice has been meted out.

Hopefully, it’s a way to ensure we stick to the plan and let the FBI do its job.

It feels sonice to be finally free after almost seven days of near captivity in our apartment.Just being outside feels great, and I want most of all to walk through Central Park and sit by the lake and absorb the late-afternoon sunlight before it completely disappears.We take Harrison’s SUV and drive to the cemetery where his family is buried, and for half an hour, we walk through the graves, stopping to pay our respects to those in his family who were buried years and decades earlier.Almost everyone is in this particular graveyard.Finally, we arrive at the new graves, one for Liam and one for Ronan.Ethan was supposedly brought back to New York and buried in the grave so he could be reunited with his family, but of course, I know he was always here.

Harrison stands at the base of Liam’s grave, and I know his younger brother’s death hits the hardest.It’s the one he feels most responsible for, although he also feels guilt over Ethan’s death.

“If I could have started earlier, maybe all three would be alive, but I was so stubborn, thinking I could just ignore things and be happy with my own personal success.”

“It’s not your fault, Harrison,” I say and squeeze his arm as I stand beside him.“They were adults who made their own choices.They were bad choices, but there comes a time when people have to take responsibility for themselves and their mistakes.You did what you could when you knew, and that’s what counts.”

He shakes his head, and I know that no matter what I say, he will always feel guilty for Liam.They grew up together, and as his older brother, Harrison felt responsible for his care.

We leave the cemetery and drive to the one where my mother is buried and where Sherri is as well.It’s not in my family’s plot in Brooklyn.She’s interred with my stepfather, who is buried in his own family’s plot nearby.

I stop at Sherri’s grave and leave a rose, hoping that if she’s watching from above, she knows I tried to get her killer justice.

Afterward, we go back to the apartment and have the rest of the weekend before we have to return to work on the following Monday.

“What do you say we take the ferry out to Fire Island and spend the weekend there?One last couple of days before it’s back to work?”

The idea sounds wonderful, and I smile and slip my arms around his neck.“Sounds perfect.Can you get hold of John and see if the cottage by the water is available on such short notice?”

“I think he’ll probably be only too happy to rent it to us, considering it’s off-season.”

“Good,” I say and kiss him, then stand in his warm embrace, letting all the cares of the past few months melt away.

I pack my bags, and before I’m finished, Harrison comes in and sighs.“The cabin we got before is being renovated, but John has another one, a bit more remote, that we can have for the weekend.”

“That’s fine.As long as the ocean is outside our door, I’ll be happy.”

“Good.It’s all settled.”

I smile and close up my suitcase, glad that we can escape everything for a few days before we return to reality.

We driveto the ferry that takes people to Fire Island’s more remote area and then take a pedicab to the cottage by the water.It’s so wonderful to be back, and I can’t wait to unpack and then go for a walk along the shore before the sun sets.

We walk hand in hand along the beach, the roar of the waves, the cry of the gulls circling overhead.It could almost make me forget the worst things that both of us have been through since we met.

Almost.

“This is nice,” Harrison says when we arrive back at the cottage, and he lights the fireplace.“We could make s’mores and watch the game if you want.”