One Wild Night

Jade had been on her way to visit the orphanage home Amos had told her about when she received the news of Jero's death, so she had rushed down to the hospital first.

"How do you feel?" Jade asked after she returned from the doctor's office to meet Candace.

"Exhausted," Candace confessed as she embraced her and just held on to her.

All the fight had left her the moment the doctor had declared Jero dead. Although she still had so much anger and resentment left in her, but what was the point of being bitter at a dead man?

"Why don't I take you back to the hotel, and then I will make some calls to discuss what is to be done with the body?" Jade asked, and Candace gave her a nod.

"Let's do that," Candace said weakly as she let her lead her out of the hospital and to the parking lot.

"You know, I realized how futile it was to have stayed back here with him. Imagine yelling at a dying man. They must have all thought I was crazy," Candace said with humorless laughter after they were seated in the car.

"Did staying back with him make you feel better or worse?" Jade asked as she started the car and drove out of the parking lot.

"I don't know. I'm indifferent. Maybe I stayed back because a part of me wanted to watch him suffer. Or maybe it was because I wanted answers. I wanted to know why he was that way. I don't think I feel better or worse," Candace said, and Jade sighed.

"Everything will be okay. And you can return to Jamal now that Jero is dead," Jade said with a small smile, but Candace shook her head.

"I can't do that until I'm sure everything is over. I want to see the cartel lords go to jail. I want to be able to start afresh with Jamal and Andy without worrying about them showing up," Candace said, and even though Jade didn't exactly agree with her decision, she decided not to say anything about it for the time being.

"How did it go with Matt yesterday?" Jade asked, wanting to change the subject, and to her surprise and relief Candace smiled.

"He was quite the gentleman as always. Did you invite him here?" Candace asked, and Jade shrugged.

"That was two days before Jero was hospitalized. I wanted him to talk you out of your dangerous plan," Jade explained, and Candace smiled sadly.

"You must have been very worried about that," Candace said, and Jade gave her a nod.

"Yes. I was. Look how things turned out. I guess we were both just worried about things that were never going to happen," Jade said with a smile, and Candace smiled back at her.

"Thank you for being here, Jade. You have no idea how much it means to me," Candace said, and Jade gave her a nod.

"It's fine. By the way, do you know anything about the orphanage being run at Sacred Heart Catholic Church at Westside?" Jade asked, and Candace looked at her curiously.

"Yes. That is the orphanage home where I was raised. Why do you ask?" Candace asked curiously, but before Jade could respond, Candace's phone started to ring and she hesitantly received the call when she saw that it was from an unsaved number.

"Hello! Am I on to Candace?" The male voice at the other end of the line asked, and Candace turned to Jade as she placed the call on speaker.

"Yes, this is Candace. May I know who I'm speaking with?" Candace asked without responding to the question.

"It's Bill. I left you a package at the hotel. It's from Jero."

**********

Lucy had just concluded a meeting with the members of her team and was dishing out some instructions to one of the ladies when the main office door opened and Aaron walked in.

"Aaron!" Lucy exclaimed in surprise when she turned to see who had walked in and saw him.

"Are you okay? Is everything alright?" She asked as she hurried to him when she noticed how pale he looked, and took his hand as she led him into her office, away from the curious eyes of her team members.

"Why are you here? Did something happen? Did Sara bother you again?" Lucy asked immediately she closed the door behind them.

"No, she didn't. I don't think I can wait until Monday as I planned. I have to talk to Harry today. I think he knows something," Aaron said as Lucy made him sit down on one of the chairs in the office.

"What happened? Did he say anything?" Lucy asked with concern as she took the seat beside him and held his hands.

"He didn't, but I know he is upset. I wanted to talk to you about it before going to his office," Aaron said, and Lucy sighed.

"Did he tell you why he is upset?" She asked, and Aaron shook his head.

"He said we can't have a normal weekend when he knows that I'm lying to him," Aaron said, and Lucy sighed.

"That is true. I think you should go with your gut and tell him now. At the rate everything is going, I don't think you will have another chance to do so after now," Lucy said, and Aaron gave her a nod.

"I think so too. But what if he gets more upset?" Aaron asked with a worried frown, and Lucy shook her head.

"Just trust him, Aaron. Harry is a reasonable man. The longer you keep this away from him the worse it will get. You won't be doing either of you any good by keeping it away from him much longer considering how upset he is already," Lucy said quietly, and Aaron sighed.

"I guess you are right. Keeping secrets from him is upsetting him already," Aaron said, and Lucy squeezed his hands reassuringly.

"Everything is going to be fine. Maybe not immediately, but eventually. I could escort you to his office and wait outside until you're done speaking with him if it would make you feel better," Lucy offered, and Aaron gave her a weak smile.

"You would do that?" He asked, and she gave him a nod.

"Sure. I will give Tom a call to find out if they are done with their meeting and if Harry is in his office, then we can leave," Lucy said as she reached for her phone which was on the table, and dialed Tom's line.

Away from there, Tom pinched the bridge of his nose as he stood from his seat and met Harry's questioning gaze, "I don't know who..."

"Don't. Do us both a favor and don't lie to me, Tom. I'm tired of hearing you lie to me. Please be straight with me," Harry pleaded, and Tom sighed.

"I can't," Tom said weakly, and Harry shook his head.

"So you admit that you have been lying to me since yesterday morning?" Harry asked with a mirthless smile.

"You know that I won't lie to you if it wasn't necessary. Whatever I'm doing is because I care about you," Tom said, and Harry shook his head.

"I would never lie to you whether or not it was necessary. You know that" Harry said, and Tom ran a finger through his hair.

"I wish I could tell you what's up, Harry. But I can't. I promised that I wasn't going to say a word to you. You have to hear whatever it is directly from your dad. Please try to understand me," Tom pleaded, and Harry held his gaze for a moment, but before Harry could say anything Tom's phone began to ring and he received the call when he saw that it was from Lucy.

"I hope I'm not interrupting your meeting?" Lucy asked immediately after the call connected.

"You are not. The meeting is over. Is there a problem?" Tom asked as he looked away from Harry who was still staring at him.

"Not exactly. Do you think Harry is in his office? Aaron is here to see him," Lucy said, and Tom raised a brow.

"Aaron is here to see him?" Tom asked, and immediately Harry heard his father's name, he raised a brow.

"Yes. He wants to tell him about Sara. Can I escort him to Harry's office now? Or is Harry busy?" Lucy asked, and Tom shook his head.

"I'm sure he would want to see him. You can take him to his office," Tom said and returned his attention to Harry after Lucy hung up.

"My dad is here?" Harry asked, and Tom gave him a nod.

"You should go to your office. He is here to tell you everything you want to know," Tom said, and before he could finish speaking Harry headed for the door.

"Harry?" Tom called, and Harry paused and turned to look at him.

"Try not to be too hard on yourself or Aaron," Tom said, and Harry walked away without saying a word.

Tom sighed, not sure if he should follow Harry to his office or just let the father and son take care of their business.

He was worried. Very worried. But at the same time, he was relieved that Aaron had decided to finally open up to Harry and not keep things to himself anymore. It was better for them all this way, he thought as he walked out of the conference room and headed for his office to go check on Jamal before his next meeting.