All He Has Left(41)

It was humid, and she was sweating profusely.

“No, it’s fine,” he said. “Wasn’t sleeping anyway. You’re getting close.”

“Liar,” she said, frowning.

“Probably doesn’t feel that way, but I can see it. Want a spot?”

“I guess.” She sighed. “I may never get around without it.”

Jakes stepped onto the tumble track and got on one knee. He put one hand at the small of her back. She didn’t need much. Just a little support. He’d done this a thousand times over the years. He still remembered the first time she got her back handspring. She was eight. She ran around the backyard for five minutes in celebration.

“Just barely touch me,” Piper said.

“I know. You got this.”

With him spotting, Piper exploded upward, easily got around, and landed on her feet.

“See?” he said. “I barely did anything.”

“Then why can’t I get it on my own?”

“You will. But sometimes it helps to have Dad here.”

“Well, you won’t always be here for me.”

“Yes, I will,” he quickly responded.

He was surprised by how forcefully it came out. She looked back at him. They both seemed to be aware that he was talking about more than just spotting her.

“I will, Piper,” he repeated. “Always. Let’s go again.”

Piper got into position. Jake placed his hand at her back. But he pulled it away at the last minute. She hit her back tuck completely on her own.

“I didn’t touch you,” Jake said, grinning.

She seemed shocked. “For real?”

“It was all you, baby. Don’t think about it. Just do it again.”

She got into position, jumped, spun, and nailed it again. This time she turned back with a huge smile on her face.

“Again,” Jake said.

She did it again. Then a fourth time. And a fifth time. They were both beaming. Then she nearly jumped into his arms with more joy than he’d seen from her since before the accident. This was who they used to be. This was who he hoped they would be again.

“Always,” Jake whispered.

Jake pushed that memory aside as he approached the garden area. It was Sunday, and the weather was decent—chilly but not unbearable—so the children’s play spaces were busy with littles running and climbing all over while parents mostly sat on benches nearby. Jake hadn’t given Brent any specifics on exactly where to meet here. That was intentional. Jake wanted to be able to survey the landscape without him being spotted first. Not that Brent should recognize him. Jake wore a USA baseball cap covering his hair and broke out a pair of sunglasses for the first time. He’d also put on a black hoodie with the Texas Tech logo on the front that he’d taken from the coaches’ locker room. He wanted to keep mixing up his looks as much as possible in case the police or FBI had information about a particular outfit. He hadn’t seen anything mentioning facial hair or wardrobes while reading the online news.

Jake also had a secondary reason for not giving Brent a specific meeting spot. He wanted to be able to monitor whether the attorney brought anyone with him. Would he show up alone? Or would he bring company? While the governor’s chief of staff could’ve chosen to ignore Jake’s text threats altogether, Brent could also be taking them very seriously. The prospect of dealing with a security detail would likely push Jake to abort and leave him back at ground zero.

Staying on the outskirts of the children’s garden, Jake began to slowly circle the entire area and as casually as possible study all the people. Still no sign of Brent. He checked his watch. It was a few minutes after eleven already. This made him uneasy. If the guy didn’t show up, what was next? He’d have to somehow hunt Brent down. That would not be an easy or quick task. Jake kept walking, watching the kids, examining the adults on the benches, feeling more panicked with each minute that clicked past eleven. Then he spotted the governor’s chief of staff. Brent stood by a collection of water fountains that sporadically sprang up out of concrete where kids would play in their swimsuits during the summer. It was way too cold for kids to be in the water today. Brent was about Jake’s height, clean-shaven, with slicked-back black hair. He wore a long black trench coat over what looked like a dark suit with a tie and black dress shoes. Brent was the epitome of a high-powered attorney. The man’s eyes were on his phone, and he was typing something out.

Jake’s burner phone suddenly buzzed.

I’m here. Now what?

Before approaching, Jake took a long look all around Brent, searching for any suspicious characters. He had images of Secret Service types standing at a distance with sunglasses on and wearing earpieces. But he didn’t spot anyone who looked like that. Hopefully, Brent had come by himself. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Jake made his move. He circled the water-fountain area and stepped in closer to the man. When he did, Brent set his sights on him.

“Brent,” Jake acknowledged in a tone that showed he knew the man.

The attorney’s eyes grew narrow. “Who the hell are you?”

The fact that Brent didn’t immediately recognize him was encouraging. His disguise had worked. Jake reached up and pulled off his sunglasses. He needed to quickly get information and get the hell out of there. He figured revealing his identity was the fastest way to do that.