“I’ll get on it,” Jord announced as he stood up. He moved over to the station and typed away at the computer.
“Good.” I heaved out a breath. “I better get back to Hut. Did you have any luck with finding Jace?”
Kyle shook his head. “Nope. He’s disappeared off the face of the earth. Last sighting of him was at a gas station over on eleventh.”
“Did you go and talk to the staff there?”
“We’re heading that way after this,” Ryan said, checking his gun and clicking the safety on. “If he’s dead, that’s another thing we can use against Hut.”
I winced at the thought of Jace lying in a ditch somewhere. But Ryan was right. If he was dead, we could use it to our advantage.
I pushed my chair back, the legs scraping on the floor. “Keep me updated.” My cell vibrated in my pocket, and I didn’t even need to look to know it was most probably Hut sending me a message. He was being a needy little shit now that he was down two crew members.
“Will do,” Ryan said as he and Kyle headed out, leaving only me and Jord.
The vibrating of my cell stopped as Jord turned around on his chair and leaned his forearms on his thighs.
“So…”
I raised a brow. “So?”
“That thing we talked about before you went away for the week.”
Lola. I wanted to say I’d forgotten about the conversation we’d had, but that was before…
Before she knew who I was.
Before she didn’t warn me not to touch her.
Before I’d destroyed everything I had that I never knew I wanted.
“Right.” I cleared my throat, looking anywhere but at him. I hadn’t told any of the guys that she knew who I was, much less that she was keeping it a secret. I wasn’t going to confront her about it.
At least, not until this was over anyway.
But then, what good would it do? It wasn’t like I could go to her and we could live happily ever after. She lived with a stepbrother who controlled who she saw—or he thought he did—and I had a wife at home, a wife who deserved better than how I’d been acting.
“What does ‘right' mean, Brody?”
I met Jord’s stare, hoping he couldn’t get a read on me. “Nothing, just that I’m not sure how we should proceed—”
“Bullshit.” He stood up, his towering height would be frightening to anyone else, but as he was only a couple of inches taller than me, I didn’t bat an eyelash. “Something happened.” He pointed at me. “Tell me what happened.”
“Nothing—”
“Brody.” He paused. “I’m not Ryan or Kyle. It’s me, the guy who shared a dorm room with you all through the academy. The first person you told when Moira was pregnant, and the man who threw your bachelor party even though I thought you were making a mistake.”
I tilted my head to the side. “You thought I was making a mistake?”
“Not the time to talk about that right now, B.” He leaned against the desk and crossed his arms over his chest, straining the fabric of his T-shirt. “What happened?”
“Shit.” I scrubbed my hands over my face, wishing everything that had happened was a figment of my imagination, but it wasn’t, and I only had myself to blame. “I was on the last day of leave.” I stumbled back and sat on the edge of the table. “Cade has been having tutoring sessions with one of the waitresses at Sal’s.” I looked over at Jord and could see the questions in his eyes. “So I went to go and pick him up, and there she was, sitting opposite my son after buying him a burger, and listening to him telling her all about his dad, the DEA agent who’s married to his mom.”
“I—”
“It was Lola.” I pulled in a breath. “Lola was his tutor.”
Jord’s mouth opened and closed several times, but from the unsurprised look on his face, he already knew. “Jesus, B. She could have blown the whole case in a matter of seconds. What the hell were you thinking going back in there and not telling us she knew about you?”
I couldn’t tell him all I was thinking about had been to see Lola again, to try and explain to her something I couldn’t even make sense of myself. I couldn’t tell him that I’d needed to see her face again.
I ran my hand through my hair. “I was thinking it was a risk I was willing to take so we could end this goddamn case.”
Jord’s nostrils flared. “So she knows who you are?”
“Yeah, and she’s not said a word to Hut.”
“And how do you feel about it?” Jord knew something had happened between Lola and me—the whole team knew. I hadn’t confirmed it, but they knew me better than anyone else.
“I don’t fuckin' know,” I groaned. “She won’t talk to me, no matter how much I try—”
“Good,” Jord interrupted. “Concentrate on the case. Forget about her.”
Forget about her. It was easier said than done.
Chapter Twenty-Four
LOLA
“Knock, knock!” Jan’s voice vibrated through the door, followed by the actual knocking, and I laughed. Only she would announce herself first and then physically knock.
“Coming!”
I placed my paintbrush into the makeshift tray I’d been using and headed over to the door. Sal had given me two days off with pay to get my new place up to standard—his words, not mine. And he’d been coming over before or after his shifts to help me. So far, we had the bedroom painted and carpet cleaned. Sal hung the blinds while I placed the new sheets and the comforter on the bed. I hadn’t been able to afford much, but the light-gray matching set had been on sale, and I just couldn’t walk away from it.
I’d cleaned the kitchen—you don’t even want to know the things I found in the drawers and cupboards—and Sal cleaned the bathroom. Now all that was left was the living room.
I pulled the door open and flashed a smile at Jan. “Hey.”
Jan waltzed inside, her arms full of bags and fabric. “Good morning to you, too.” She glanced around, frowning at the paint I’d been using to paint one wall. It wasn’t out of fashion that I was only doing one wall a light-gray to match my bedding in the other room, but a lack of funds. I could only afford one can, and I figured it’d work.
“You’re painting already?” she asked.
I closed the door and moved over to her, staring at the wall I’d nearly finished painting the edges of. “Yeah, I had to get up to pee at five and couldn’t get back to sleep after.”
She chuckled, placing all the bags down on the sofa. “You can’t hold your pee in anymore? What are you, seventy?”
I laughed along with her but answered honestly. “I actually can’t. It’s ridiculous. I’m nineteen and have to get up to pee several times in the night. And don’t even get me started on my feet. They’ve been hurting so bad after my shifts.” I ambled back over to the wall and picked up the brush, finishing the last bit of painting.
“Maybe you’re like a backward Benjamin Button? You’re aging far before your time.” Jan sat down on the sofa, pulling things out of the bags. “I’m sure I saw a wrinkle next to your eye just now.”
“What?” My hand automatically moved to my eye, my fingers feeling around. “Oh, hardy har. You’re in the wrong profession, Jan. You should be a comedian, not a waitress.”
“If only.” She sighed. “I was meant to be rich, the world just didn’t get the memo.”
I wiped my hands over the shorts I’d worn to bed last night. “What do you think?”
Jan waved her hand at the empty space of wall inside the rectangle I’d created. “You missed a spot.”
I rolled my eyes and picked up the small roller, dipping it in the paint and pressing it against the off-white wall. “You know you didn’t need to bring anything, right?”
Jan scoffed. “Hon, you’re doing me a favor. All this stuff is just sitting around my apartment gathering dust. If you don’t take it, then it’s going in the trash.”
“Are you sure?” I hated to admit I could use a few things to brighten th
e place up, but it was the truth, and there was nothing I could do about it—not yet anyway.
“Yep.” I heard Jan move around the room, clanking following in her wake. “Besides, this gets me out of my daughter’s hair.”
I raised a brow. “Your daughter kicked you out of your apartment?”
“In not so many words.” She shook her head and continued to pull things out of the bag. “Apparently I’m too loud, and she can’t concentrate on her homework.” She threw her hands up in the air. “The girl is nine going on ninety.”
I’d met Aria once very briefly, but honestly, I wouldn't have even noticed her had Jan not announced her when they came in for a birthday breakfast to celebrate her turning thirty-two. She was quiet and had her nose stuck in a book, and I couldn’t help wonder if I had been like that at that age.
I chuckled and turned to concentrate on finishing the wall, going as high as I could. Sal would have to get the top bit for me. Once I’d finished, I stood back and stared. It looked good, but I wasn’t sure how it would dry. Only time would tell.
I gathered up my supplies, moving a couple of feet into the kitchen and stumbling. “What the…” Jan had hung a couple of prints on the wall with some generic quotes written on them, and some twinkle lights over the top.
I spun around, seeing what she was doing, and blinked. She’d covered the sofa in mismatched pieces of pastel-colored fabric, but it somehow worked. She was pulling the fabric taut on one of the covers and hot-gluing it into place.
“Holy shit, Jan.”
“I know.” She pressed down on the edge of the cushion and placed it in the middle. “I’m a genius.” She stepped back and looked down at the sofa. “You need a couple of throw cushions. I’ll make you some.”
“Make me some?”
“Yep.” She rifled through the bag and pulled out a shower curtain and some stickers. “Now for the bathroom.”
“The bathroom?”
“What are you? A parrot.” She hip-checked me on the way past to the bathroom. “I had these pretty shell stickers left from when Aria was making her school project. I figured they could brighten up your tiles above the sink. Why don’t you make us some breakfast while I do this? I’ll leave the shower curtain for Sal to hang. God knows he’d turn into The Hulk if we did any ‘fixing things.’”
It suddenly made sense why Sal had brought her with him yesterday. She was scoping out the entire apartment and seeing what it needed. They were sneaky, sneaky people.
My eyes started to water. How had these people come into my life and not thought twice about helping me? Neither of them knew exactly what I had lived in, but I had a suspicion that Sal had told Jan his theories. They were as thick as thieves, both in and out of the diner.
“Okay,” I finally managed to whisper, sniffling back the tears that threatened to break free. I’d been an emotional wreck for what felt like weeks, any little thing setting me off, and I had no doubt it all started with finding out who Brody really was.
I pulled a package of bacon out of the refrigerator, along with some eggs, and warmed a pan on the stove. I didn’t have much to provide in the way of breakfast, but you could never go wrong with bacon and eggs.
Jan whistled some random nursery rhyme tune as I whisked the eggs. She always seemed to be singing or whistling something around the diner, and I wondered if she was even aware she was doing it.
Shaking my head, I reached for the package of bacon and then opened it. My mouth watered at the thought of crispy bacon, and I couldn’t wait for it to explode on my taste buds and send my mouth into food heaven.
The meat sizzled and popped as soon as I placed it in the pan, but instead of watching it cook and waiting without patience, I gagged at the smell. My rumbling stomach turned, and I had to dart into the bathroom, making it to my knees in front of the toilet just in time to throw up.
Jan squeaked, covering her own mouth and rushing out of the bathroom. I already knew she wasn’t good with vomit because she always made anyone else but her clean it in the bathrooms at the diner, but I didn’t even have it in me to apologize.
As soon as I was finished, I flushed it all away, closed the seat, and laid my head on the lid. I was exhausted. The kind of exhausted that came on so suddenly you weren’t sure you’d be able to move a muscle even if you put every ounce of energy into it.
“Hon?” There were two raps at the bathroom door. “Are you okay?”
“I…” I blew out a breath and lifted my head. “Yeah. I’m good now.” And I was. The roiling in my stomach had gone, and that feeling of food being stuck at the top of my stomach disappeared.
Jan opened the door, her brows low on her forehead and her lips twisted up on one side. “That’s not the first time you’ve been sick in the last couple of weeks.”
“I know.” I winced and placed my palms flat on the floor. I didn’t want to remember throwing up in the bathroom at work and what had caused it. “I’m fine, probably just the paint fumes.” I pushed up off the floor and leaned on the toilet, my head spinning in the process. “I’ll be okay in a few.”
Jan stared at me, her gaze tracking over my face and down my body then back again. “Lola?”
“Did you take the bacon off the stove?” I asked, turning to face the sink and running the cold water. I cupped my hands under the tap and dipped down, sighing when it hit my face.
“I did, but...Lola?”
I pulled the towel off the rack and wiped my face. “Hmmm?”
“Are you…” She trailed off, not finishing her sentence.
I frowned as I turned the tap off and folded the towel up. “Am I what?” I asked, turning to face her fully.
“There’s no chance you’re pregnant, right? Because you’ve been really tired, your feet are hurting, and you’re throwing up because of the smell of bacon.” She leaned against the doorframe.
I barked out a laugh and shook my head. “No. No, I…” My breath stalled in my chest. No, I couldn’t be. I was feeling out of sorts because my life had been turned upside down. Brody, the man who I thought would be it for me, had turned out to be a liar and cheat. I’d only just managed to get away from Hut without him finding out. It was all the changes. It had to be.
My hand fluttered over my lower stomach, and I blinked. We hadn’t used anything, and neither of us had mentioned it. When you’re in the throes of passion and what you thought was love, it didn’t occur to you to be safe. How had I been so stupid?
“I don’t know,” I finally replied on a burst of breath. I looked at Jan, seeing her small smile, but it didn’t make me feel any better. “I don’t know,” I repeated. I couldn’t remember when my last period was. All of the days and weeks seemed to have merged together. It had been two months since Brody and I had slept together, right?
Jan stepped forward and grasped my arm. “Come and sit down and I’ll go and get a test from the grocery store a block over.” I followed her, my legs feeling like they weighed a ton. “Sit down.” I did as I was told and stared at the wall I’d just painted as my ass hit the sofa cushions. “I’ll be back.”
I couldn’t formulate a reply as the door closed behind her, all I could do was hold my stomach and wonder. Wonder what would happen if I was. Wonder what the next step would be. Wonder where I’d end up. I’d managed to avoid Brody since he came back to work in Hut’s crew, but I wouldn’t be able to avoid him forever if I was pregnant.
Pregnant.
My god. This wasn’t in the plan. This wasn’t how things were meant to go. But then, weren’t all the best things that happened totally unexpected?
The door swung open and clicked closed, and I finally turned. Jan held up a bag, a grin on her face. “I hope you need to pee.”
BRODY
The street was silent when I pulled up outside Hut’s house. There was no music ringing out from any of the houses, no people walking on the sidewalks, and not a single car driving down the road. It was quiet. Too quiet. They always said the calm came before th
e storm, and I couldn’t help wonder if there was one on the horizon.
I turned the engine off, the car shuddering to a complete stop, and glanced around. Ryan and Kyle were around here somewhere watching the house while I’d caught a few hours’ sleep at my apartment, but it had been interrupted by Hut’s phone call not long ago.
It wasn’t unusual for Hut to call me at odd hours throughout the night and day, but the frantic tone he had when he told me I needed to “get my ass to the house right now or else” was out of character.
My immediate thought had been that he found out who I was, but I disregarded that right away. If he knew I was undercover, he wouldn’t wait for me to go to him. He’d come and find me without a doubt.
I’d relayed all this to Jord, who said he’d tell Ryan and Kyle, but I needed to figure out where they were just in case something went down that I couldn’t come back from. There was no use in me sitting outside, wondering what was about to go down.
I pulled in a deep breath and got out of the car, my feet carrying me toward the front door of Hut’s house. The screen door was wide open, along with the main door, and then I heard crashing, things being thrown at walls.
“What the…” My voice trailed off as I took in the living room. The sofas were turned over, the TV smashed to pieces, a leg missing off the small table that sat next to one of the sofas. And then there was Hut, standing in the middle of the wrecked room, his chest moving rapidly as he pulled in breaths.
Ford and Quinn lingered by the kitchen door, and I glanced over at them, silently asking what was going on.
“She’s gone,” Hut announced. “Fuckin' gone!” He bent down, picked up the table, and flung it at the wall. I managed to jump out of the way just in time for it to smash right where I’d been standing and fracture into smithereens.
“Who’s gone?” I asked, my stomach dipping. There was only one she he could be talking about, but I had to be sure.
“Lola,” Ford told me, his face carefully blank of any expression.
Fallen Duet: Brody & Lola: Free Fall & Down Fall (Easton Family Duet Boxsets Book 1) Page 25