She couldn't do that anymore. She had to keep her distance. For their sake and hers. She snorted as she imagined Malia's frustration at Ridley's thoughts. They were the same as they'd always been. She hadn't changed her mind. She wouldn't. She couldn't. None of them really knew or understood the threat her father was. And Malia still saw Ridley as a hero. She'd never seen Ridley as a victim.
And Ridley planned for it to stay that way.
Ridley shoved the papers into the file folders and then stuffed it all into her bag. She couldn't stay here right now. She needed fresh air. A new perspective. She needed the place she found herself drawn to over and over again lately.
Chapter 8
Ridley
RIDLEY SETTLED ONTO a bench at the park across the street from Tony's old apartment, her bag tucked into her side, the files on her lap. The complex looked almost the exact same as the old photos she held up. The trees were taller, the paint fresher, the landscaping a little less neat and lush. They needed to hire different landscapers.
It was hard to believe anything horrible had happened here in this idyllic location with the beach down the street and a lovely park at her back with a well-kept playground and bike and jogging trails.
Hell, if she didn't know what had happened here, she'd be tempted to move in. It was a lovely location, one that probably cost a pretty penny. How had Tony afforded it? He and Maddox's parents weren't rich and Tony had worked part-time while he went to college.
He wouldn't have been poor, but few places in Hawaii were cheap. Maddox wouldn't believe his brother was involved in anything shady, but how else did he afford it? His X-ray powers would've been a hot ticket item. For the Legion and for local knaves. It wasn't common and was extremely useful.
A shadow crossed in front of her and Ridley stiffened before she recognized the scent behind her. "Maddox? What are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing." Maddox circled around the edge of the bench and sat beside her.
"Uh...I came to get a better picture in my head. I wanted to get a better feel for the area, see if it sparked something." The pictures wrinkled in her hand as her fingers curled.
"Did it?"
"Nothing yet." Or any time before that. She had no idea why she kept coming here, drawn to this place.
Maddox released a sad sigh as he crossed his legs at the ankles. "I come here sometimes to remember him. It makes me feel closer to him. It helps me remember the times I used to visit him here. But it sucks because then I remember the way he was found."
"You were the one who found him?” When she read that in the reports, it made her heart hurt.
She couldn’t imagine the pain that caused him
Maddox cleared the hoarseness from his throat. "I was."
"I know it doesn't mean shit and there's nothing anyone can say to take away that pain. But I'm sorry for it. It fucking sucks."
"It does." Maddox smirked. "I usually tell people it's okay, but I know you have no interest in me blowing smoke up your ass so you can feel better."
A dark laugh puffed from Ridley. "It's annoying right? Everyone's platitudes because they have no idea what to say and you end up being the one who has to reassure them."
Maddox's smirk morphed into a real smile. "It's better when you have people in your life who understand that." He left unsaid how it's better when those people don't just understand your grief, but your pain.
"Is that why you chose your particular team?" They certainly all understood his pain and his grief.
"Mostly."
"I think Reese or maybe Cormac mentioned you collect broken people."
Maddox snorted. "Had to have been Cormac. He says that shit all the time."
"Is he wrong?"
Maddox shook his head. "No. He's not."
"Is that why you chose me?" Ridley faced forward as she asked the question, wishing she could stuff the words back into her mouth.
"I recognize the pain and loss in you no matter how gifted you are at hiding it."
She needed to change the tone of this conversation before she did something embarrassing. Like cry. Or kiss him. "Bullshit. It's because of how hot I am and my powers are damn impressive."
"That didn't hurt."
Their laughter faded into a comfortable quiet as they stared across the street at the apartment complex, the warm breeze carrying the scent of the ocean over to them, the sun bright and happy shining down on their shared wounds, children laughing and playing at the park behind them.
"I can't believe you've spent all this time looking into this."
"I told you I would." How many times did she need to reiterate this?
"I know, but I thought it would be more like I'd come to you with a lead and you'd help me track it down. I never expected you to come to me with a new lead." Maddox looked down at her with a warm smile and impressed, grateful eyes.
"I had the time and I know what it's like to suffer from unanswered questions." And it had helped keep her mind off of missing the shitheads.
"You know, I thought about calling you."
Ridley stiffened, unable to stop the question bursting from her stupid mouth. "Why didn't you?"
"We thought...I thought you wanted to be left alone."
Ridley blew out a breath, deciding to admit a little honesty in return for his. "Just because I didn't want to join your little merry band of misfits and give up helping women and put you all in more danger than you're already in just from knowing me and knowing who my father is, didn't mean I never wanted to see you all again."
"You could've called too."
She nibbled on her bottom lip. "I know. I was waiting for something helpful before I did. And you were all so upset when I wouldn't move in and join the team. Especially Reese. It seemed all or nothing."
"Reese just needs time. He has issues."
She smothered a snort. Issues didn’t even begin to cover it. Though she empathized. "I know. He told me how his mom started a new family and his father basically checked out on him and his sister."
Maddox patted her leg. "He doesn't share that story easily. If you're going to disappear on us again, maybe try and keep things professional?"
She swallowed the hard lump in her throat so her voice would come out steady. "That's the plan. I never meant to disappear, but I can't join you guys. Why can't any of you get that? I can't be what you four need. Not a teammate, not a lover. At best, I can be a friend and occasional ally."
"Why can't you?"
"Why can't I what? Be more than a friend or ally?"
"Yes."
Frustration shoved a long rant out of her. "Because there's four of you? Because I might need to drop everything and go on the run again at any moment? Because if my father ever finds me and I'm involved with you four, you're all dead? Because I already have a job and a mission I'm not willing to give up? I've explained all of this. It's not like they aren't valid reasons. This isn't one of the novels I like to read where I'm the poor, broken girl running from her past who needs some rich hot guys with magic powers to save her from her demons and get her out of her hovel. There's nothing wrong with girls like that, don't get me wrong. I would never judge someone for needing help and safety and a way out. Everyone needs those things sometimes. But that's not what I need or am looking for."
Maddox gaped at her for a moment in silence. "Is that how you think we see you? Like you're some damsel we want to rescue? If anything, it'll be you doing the saving, babe. We're not looking to save you or pay your way or treat you like a princess who needs to be protected. We're looking for a partner. Someone who fits with all of us, who understands us. Someone our way of life won't get killed. Someone who won't tear us apart and break up the team. Someone who won't get jealous because we put our squad first. You're all of those things."
She threw her hands into the air. "How do you know? We spent a couple weeks together two months ago. We might have worked pretty well together, but it doesn't guarantee a happily ever after."
"Nothing guarantees one of those. You and I know that better than most. As do the others. But never trying definitely guarantees we won't get one."
Ridley sighed. "I don't know what you four are hoping to get from me."
Maddox turned in his seat to face her and stare at her with serious eyes. "A chance, babe. That's it. We aren't scared of your father. You're worth the danger. We don't expect you to let us pay your way and give up your work. I don't have all the answers and I don't intend to. It's something we'd all have to work out together. But I want to try. And so do the others even if two of them aren't willing to admit it right now. The question is, are you? If you aren't interested, just tell me and we'll stay friends and occasional allies. I'll leave it alone. But you need to decide if we're worth the chance for you. We could hurt you. This could all end badly. It's your choice though. Always. Just keep that in mind."
Ridley tore her eyes away from his and focused back on the messy landscaping. "Let's just focus on your brother for now and see where it takes us."
Maddox sighed, but didn't push. "Fair enough. So, what do you think?"
"About what?"
"About how the killer was able to get out of here without being seen?"
It took a moment for Ridley to change gears from the personal back to business. "I have a couple ideas, but unlikely for someone with poison powers alone. The murderer could have worked with someone else. Time of death was the middle of the day. Someone should have heard or seen something even without security cameras that weren't installed back then."
"How'd you know they have cameras now? You can't see that from here."
Shit. Fuck. Damn. "Uh, this isn't my first time here."
Maddox’s brows shot high on his forehead. "What?"
"I've come here a few times over the past few weeks and checked the place out."'
Maddox looked over at her with surprise and curiosity, but didn't push with more questions about why and how often. "I really am grateful that you've been looking into this. Especially since it brought you back into our lives."
"I just hope what I found leads us somewhere."
"Me too. The dead ends are getting old." Maddox shoved hair out of his face.
"How did your brother afford this place?"
Maddox grinned. "You aren't buying the Legion's bullshit, are you?"
Ridley rolled her eyes. "You know better than that. Don't even get me started on their shoddy work on this case. But I am confused on how he managed it. This is prime real estate right here. And based on the info and photos I found on this place, it hasn't undergone a serious facelift. There are even a couple tenants who are still here from before. I have a list of them. We need to talk to them."
"Didn't you read it in the files? We already did last year when we came back here."
"I know,” Ridley said. “Can't hurt to try again. Especially with photos of Misner and Wallace."
"Maybe you and Reese can take that job."
Ridley glared at him. "Don't push it."
Maddox chuckled before sobering. "He could afford it because of rent control. He took it over from one of our aunts after she moved to the mainland."
"Do you have any family left here or did they all move?"
"What we had left all moved. Everyone's in Seattle now." He glanced behind them at the kids playing on the playground. “I have cousins I barely know now who I missed growing up.”
"Do you plan to move there to be close to them once you've got the answers you're looking for?" She missed her mother so much with a constant ache. She knew how hard it was to be away from family. Especially after a loss.
"No. I need sun and sand, not rain and fog. Cormac would probably like Seattle, but the rest of us prefer it here or California. What about you? You think about finding somewhere new once your father is taken care of?"
She couldn't afford to dream like that. She’d allowed herself to do it once with her move to Hawaii. "My father will always be a threat. There's no closure with him until he's dead. And considering his power is invulnerability, that won't be for a long time. But no. I don't ever want to leave this place for good."
"You've made a home here."
"I have." She hadn’t really thought about it that way before, but it was true.
"Is that partially why you're so scared to get anywhere near the Legion?” Maddox asked. “Not just that your father could find you, but that you'd have to run again and you don't want to."
Ridley shifted in her seat, uncomfortable with how much Maddox saw, how much he understood. "Yes. He already took my childhood and my mother from me. I don't want him to take this too."
Maddox twisted his hair into a bun on top of his head, finally tiring of the breeze blowing it around his face. "You know, you weren't the only one doing research the last two months."
Her brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
He hesitated and then met her eyes. "I mean, we looked into your father. We looked deep into him."
Her heart skipped a beat "And?"
"And, we have the beginnings of an idea of how to take that piece of shit down."
Chapter 9
Ridley
MADDOX’S CLAIM STILL rang through her mind the next day as she fought to keep her focus on the bike she was repairing.
"The shitheads are here, Rid." Malia opened the door to let them in.
Ridley tossed her wrench onto the floor and grabbed her rag to wipe the grease off her hands. She rose and stretched the kinks out of her back, walking over to the entrance to greet Maddox and Beckett.
They smiled at her, something warm in Maddox's eyes as she nodded in hello. "Time already?"
"Yeah. Where's your computer?" Beckett asked.
Ridley gestured behind her. "It's in the office. You can set up in there so you aren't in the way of Malia. I started a pot of coffee for you. There's creamer in the mini fridge."
Beckett squeezed her arm as passed her on his way towards the office. "Thanks. When you get back you'll be all set up."
"I wiped my history,” she warned him.
Beckett laughed. Hard. "Oh, that won't stop me, beautiful."
She narrowed her eyes on him. "Stay out of it, nosy."
"Like I care about your porn stash." Beckett wasn’t usually one to tease and joke. Always the mysterious one, keeping her on her toes.
"You totally want to know what secret kinks I have."
His amber eyes heated. "Trust me, Rid. Nosing through your hard drive isn't the way I want to find out. There are much more enjoyable ways to discover those."
Ridley glared at him as she shrugged into her jacket, ignoring the shiver his words sent through her. "And if you go looking in places you shouldn't, you'll never get to find out the fun way."
Beckett and Malia's laughter followed Ridley and Maddox out the door. Ridley frowned at the SUV parked in front of her place. "No bike today?"
"Nope. I figured you could drive. Beckett needs the car here in case we need him for backup."
"All right. Where are we headed?"
Maddox pulled out his phone. "Misner is still at the Legion office so we're going to head there and take over for Reese and Cormac. They've been following him since five this morning. While we watch him, they’ll break into his place and see what they can uncover.”
Ridley approved of this plan. She loved it when they broke the law. "The main office?"
"Yeah."
"Hop on then." Ridley tossed him her extra helmet and slid on her own.
With the helmets on, their identities would remain hidden until she cast an illusion over them.
Maddox waited for her to settle herself on the seat and turn the bike on before he climbed on behind her. She smiled inside her helmet, happy that he didn't ask or demand to drive the bike, trusting her to handle his weight. Which was substantial. Maddox was fucking massive. But she'd be fine.
Maddox ignored the strap across the seat for passengers to hold onto and instead, he wrapped his arms around h
er waist and cuddled so close their helmets banged together. Ridley rolled her eyes as she pulled onto the street, aiming away from her poor section and town and towards the wealthiest.
Which was right where the Legion main office was located. And where most of them lived. Strangely, not Misner or Wallace. They both lived in the more middle-class section of the city. Ridley wasn't sure if it was suspicious or not, but it was certainly interesting that neither one of them lived near the rest of their colleagues. Kind of like Maddox and the others.
Traffic was better than normal, so they reached a parking garage on the street of the office in less than twenty minutes. She missed Maddox's warmth when he hopped off the bike. She liked having him on the back of her bike more than she should have.
"We're doing that again. Soon." Maddox smoldered at her as he handed over the helmet.
Ridley shivered and sucked her cheeks between her teeth to hide her smile. "Where are we meeting the other two shitheads?"
"They're at a cafe across the street from the office. Lunch is my treat."
"Good. I'm starving." She cast an illusion over both of them, making them appear to be a couple millennials out for a lunch date.
Maddox grinned. "Another good reason to move in with us. Beckett's cooking."
Ridley huffed. "I'm not moving to the North Shore."
"We have the extra room and it wouldn't cost us any extra. Hell, you could pay rent if you wanted to."
She shook her head, tempted, but no. "It's not about that. It's about the location." Mostly.
"It took us weeks to find a location that perfect. It's impossible to find a place with any sort of privacy on this damn island. We even have our own private beach. How could you not want to live there?"
Part of her did want to. She loved their home. It was beautiful and peaceful and oh so very tempting. "Dude. My garage opens at seven in the morning. I'd have to leave earlier than six to get there and get everything ready."
Boom (Aces and Knaves, #2) Page 4