Fallen Duet: Brody & Lola: Free Fall & Down Fall (Easton Family Duet Boxsets Book 1)

by Abigail Davies

“Hut.” My fingers trailed up to my neck on instinct. “What are you doing here?” I begged my voice not to betray me because if he sensed any kind of weakness, it wouldn't be good for me. He’d zone in on that and use it to his advantage.

  “Figured I’d come check out my sister’s new digs.” He didn’t look away from me, his gaze focused entirely on my face as he said, “Nice place.”

  “I...thank you.” My feet implored me to move, to twirl around and run out of here, but it was exactly what he wanted. So instead, I stepped forward, determined to pretend this was just a normal day. “Do you want a drink?”

  “I’m good.” He sat up straighter, and tilted his head. “Were you ever going to tell me your new address? Or do you like the thought of me chasing you down?”

  “No—”

  “I think that’s it.” He clicked his fingers and pointed at me. “You like me chasing you down. It makes you feel like you’re wanted, huh?”

  I shook my head and pulled a bottle of water out of my refrigerator. “No, Hut. That’s not it at all.”

  “Then what?” He stood up so fast the chair toppled over, and I gripped the bottle tighter, my shaking fingers about to betray how I felt about him being in my apartment.

  I didn’t want to think about how he’d found me, or the fact he was on his own. And with that came clarity. Brody had been around for the last week, so did that mean the case was over? Or was he taking another break?

  “You know what,” I answered Hut, trying to push all my thoughts aside. “You hurt me.”

  “Fuck’s sake, Lola!” He stepped forward. “I said I’m sorry for that.” He swiped his hand through his hair, and for the first time, I noticed how frazzled he looked. He was always good at projecting a certain image to everyone, but he let it slip every so often around me.

  “Actually”—I leaned against the counter, not willing to get any closer to him—“you didn’t.”

  “Yeah I—shit, I didn’t.” He let his head tilt back and stared at the ceiling. “I’m sorry.”

  He was saying the words, but it was too late. He’d done too much damage, and I wasn’t sure we could come back from it. Over and over again I forgave him, and he did the exact same thing. You can’t expect the outcomes to be different if the process was the same.

  “Okay,” I whispered, not knowing what else to say.

  Hut looked at me, a small smile on his face, and my brain begged me not to take that small smile as he wanted me to, but my heart crumbled. This was the same guy who had sat with me when I had nightmares, the same guy who had supplied me with snacks when we were growing up and protected me from seeing what our parents did.

  “Did you hear?” he asked, taking a couple of steps and leaning on the back of the sofa. We were only about five feet apart now, but his tone was light.

  “Hear what?”

  “I got busted again.” He grinned wide as if he was talking about a game he’d won. “That’s not the best part, though.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and my stomach dipped. He wasn’t here to see how I was or check out my new place. He was here because—

  “It was Brody that arrested me.”

  “Brody?” My voice betrayed me, the soft, breathy sound telling more than the one word.

  “Yep.” He uncrossed his arms and gripped the edges of the sofa. “Your boyfriend tried to get me—”

  “He’s not my boyfriend.” I ground my teeth together.

  “Really?” He left that hanging in the air, but I knew if I denied it too much, he’d take that as a silent omission. I could tell him the truth: that I hadn’t known who he was until after he came back from his gran’s funeral, which I realized now was just another lie. But Hut wouldn’t hear the fact I didn’t know to begin with. He’d only hear that I knew at some stage and didn’t tell him.

  “Really.” I shook my head and placed my bottle on the counter. “I told you that weeks ago. Nothing happened between us. I didn’t know he was a cop.” I raised a brow. “Is that why you’re here, Hut?” I laughed, but the sound was shaky. “You’re here to see if I knew who he was when you didn’t?”

  “Lola.” His deep voice was a warning, but I didn’t heed it.

  “Or are you pissed because you didn’t work out who he was and what he was doing?”

  Hut pushed off the sofa, and I tracked each of his movements as he stepped closer. His shoulders were tense, his nostrils flared, and his eyes narrowed, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. He’d done this. He’d caused all of this.

  “You think I don’t know what is happening around me?” he asked, but I didn’t think he wanted an answer. Too bad.

  “No.” I shook my head. “I don’t think you have a clue what is happening. Or maybe you do, and you just don’t care. How long did it take you to work out I’d moved out, huh?”

  “Too fuckin' long.” He was two steps away from me now, and I should have backed down, but the fight in me was strong today—the strongest it had ever been. I was sick and tired of sitting back and letting everyone walk all over me. It was time I took a stance, and this was the first step. “You left, just like everyone else. The one person who was meant to always be there, and you fuckin' left!”

  My head reeled back at how loud he shouted, but I pulled in a breath and centered myself. “There’s only so many times I can take what you give and not walk away, Hut. You’re my brother, and I love you, but that doesn’t mean I don’t hate what you’ve become.”

  “Hate?” He stepped closer, his hands clenched at his sides. “You hate me?”

  “No...yes…” I let my shoulders sag, my body giving up its fight that had been so prominent only seconds ago. I was tired. Tired of this. Tired of always fighting. For once, I just wanted a normal life where I wasn’t amid liars. “I don’t know, Hut.”

  I swallowed and stared into his light-brown eyes, searching for any sign of the boy I used to know. The one who was gentle with me even if he was rough with everyone else. It had changed along the way somewhere, but I couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment.

  “It doesn’t matter how much you run,” Hut started. “You could move to the other side of the world.” He stepped back and shook his head like he was trying to get rid of his thoughts. “I’d always find you.” His voice was soft, and he closed his eyes.

  Maybe I was being too harsh? Maybe I should forgive him for what he’d done? “Hut—”

  His eyes opened, the light-brown now dark and stormy. “That’s a promise, Lola.” His voice was deeper now, more reminiscent of the Hut who had been present the last couple of years. “You can say and do whatever the hell you want, but you’ll never get away from me.” He moved back another step, allowing me to take a breath. “I’ll destroy anyone and everyone you love so you’ll have no choice but to come crawling back to me. And that includes your boyfriend.”

  I gritted my teeth and widened my eyes, trying like hell to keep it in, but it was a sore subject. He had no idea what had gone on between Brody and me, no idea what had transpired, and no idea that I was preg—

  “He’s not my boyfriend!”

  Hut stilled, not a part of his body moving as he stared at me. It was the first time I’d raised my voice at him. He didn’t even blink, and for a second, I wondered what was wrong with him, but then his arm lifted, and his fist reeled back.

  I saw it coming before I felt it, I tried to move out of his line of sight, but it was no use. Hut’s fist connected with my cheek and eye—the same eye he’d cut when he pinned me to the stairs—and the healed skin broke again.

  “That’s your one and only warning.”

  I pressed my hand to the side of my face and laughed. “That was your one warning?” For some reason, I thought that sentence was the funniest thing I’d ever heard. “Jesus, then what was everything else, just the goddamn prelude?”

  “I’m warning you, Lola.”

  “No, you’re not warning me. I’m warning you. If you don’t get out of my apartment right now, I’ll call the cops.” I pa
used and tried to hold in my flinch when he moved slightly. “I’m guessing you’re on bail, and if they come here and see this”—I pointed to my eye—“you’d be hauled back inside.”

  “You wouldn’t.” Even I could hear the question in his tone. He wasn’t really sure what I’d do, and to be honest, neither was I. We were in new territory.

  “You want to test that theory?” I asked instead, cursing myself when I raised my brow. There was one thing Hut didn’t hold back on, and that was the force of his punches. Goddamn, it hurt.

  “Maybe you should.” He shrugged, the action so carefree, but I could see how frustrated he was from the way a muscle in his jaw ticked. “I don’t think you have the guts to do it.” His eyes narrowed. “Do it, Lola. Do it.”

  My shaking hands reached for my cell, but I hesitated, and he saw it. He always knew when to call my bluff, and no matter how much I wanted to call the cops, I couldn’t.

  “Just leave,” I said, tired this time. I’d had enough of him, enough of this. It was the main reason I moved out of that house.

  “Why? Is your boyfriend coming?” He paced the length of my small living room, picking up things and placing them back in the wrong place. “Don’t want him to know that I’m here?” He turned his head, a wicked smirk curling at the corner of his lips. “Want me to be your dirty secret?”

  I shivered, and not in a good way. His intense eyes were focused entirely on me. I didn’t want his attention. I didn’t want anything to do with him right now. Maybe I should call his bluff?

  Decision made, I picked up my cell. “I’m being serious, Hut.”

  His nostrils flared, and he stalked toward me. My muscles tensed at his quick reaction, and I braced myself as he stopped next to me. “You don’t have the upper hand here, sister.” He paused, his breath fanning over the side of my face. “You think you know what has happened, but you have no idea. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to, where you work, who comes over here.”

  “I—”

  “That redhead sure seems feisty.” His lips morphed into a grin, one that said he’d just won his own little game. “I bet she’d like it rough, huh? She seems the type.”

  “Leave,” I ground out.

  “I am.” He took one step away and parted with, “This isn’t over though, Lola. I’ll be watching.”

  I heard his promise loud and clear, but I didn’t allow my body to crumble in front of him. I kept my back straight and my attention on him, right until the door clicked closed behind him. Only then did I allow myself to fall to pieces.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  BRODY

  I threw my keys on the table next to the front door and huffed out a tired breath. Being able to come home every day after work was something I was starting to dread. It wasn’t because I was so used to being away on a case, but more because I didn’t feel like I was coming home.

  Moira was barely here, and when she was, she wasn’t actually present. I was starting to wonder what it was like when I wasn’t here. Was she the same as this? Had Cade been left alone most of the time? Or was it because it was summer?

  I had way too much going on at work, with Ford undercover and a new case I was consulting on, to have to worry about what was greeting me at home. I should have realized not wanting to come home was yet another sign, but I was determined to do everything I could to make it work.

  “Cade? Moira?” I called as I walked down the hallway.

  “In here!” Moira shouted back.

  I headed toward her voice, and my eyes widened. She and Cade sat at the table, a home-cooked meal filling half of it.

  “What’s this?” I asked, pulling out the chair where the last place was set.

  “I thought we could have a proper family meal,” Moira answered, a smile on her face. “We haven’t done that since you’ve been back, and it’s been nearly three weeks.”

  She was right. Anytime the three of us were together, it seemed to end in an argument, mostly from Moira with resentment for me being away all the time. But then, I wasn’t sure whether it was that or because I was back and hadn’t gone out on another case since.

  “This looks good,” I said, my stomach grumbling at the smell of the lasagna, though I doubted it had any real meat in it. We all helped ourselves to food, piling our plates high and digging in.

  “So…” Moira picked up her glass of red wine and took a sip. “How’s work going?”

  “Good as can be,” I grunted out, putting another forkful of food into my mouth. It may not have been meat, but it tasted pretty close. It wasn’t too bad, actually.

  “What about the case you were working? Is that over now?”

  I frowned over at her. “You know I can’t discuss cases.” We’d been through this years ago when she’d asked, and not once since I’d explained it to her had she wanted to know.

  She waved her hand in the air and chuckled. “Oh, I know. I just figured because this one was so close to home”—she tilted her head—“it was in Cresthill, right?”

  “I...yeah.” I blinked, wondering what she was getting at.

  “Hmmm.” She picked her glass up again and took another sip, leaving me sitting there wondering what “hmmm” meant. Was she trying to get at something? I never brought my cases home. I never talked to her about any of them, so why was she so interested now? I may have mentioned in passing that this case was in Cresthill, but for her to specifically ask about it raised my suspicions.

  “How was work, Cade?” she asked, cutting a small piece of lasagna on her plate.

  I couldn’t stop staring at her, and when Cade started to talk about lacrosse practice and his shift at the diner, I didn’t take anything in. I knew Moira better than anyone—at one stage I had anyway—and she was doing what had always worked for her before. She’d drop a little information, just enough to leave you wondering, and then you’d call her out on it. It was a tactic she used instead of outright saying what was on her mind.

  She knew I didn’t beat around the bush, and it had worked on me so many times over the years, but this time, I was keeping my mouth closed. If I started talking about Cresthill, it would lead to Lola, and that was the last thing I needed to talk to Moira about.

  “One of the cooks said that she’s always showing up with black eyes and bruises.”

  My ears perked up at Cade’s words.

  “That’s what happens to girls who are from Cresthill.” Moira shook her head. “Had I known that was where she was from, I’d have never allowed her to tutor you.”

  “What?” Cade scrunched his nose up. “What are you talking about? If it weren’t for Lola, I’d have failed out of math and probably English too.”

  Moira shrugged, but her gaze flitted over to me, and it hit me light a truck. She knew. She goddamn knew. All the pieces were falling into place, clicking and locking, until I had the whole picture in front of me, as plain as day.

  “How do you know she’s from Cresthill?” I asked, trying to keep my voice smooth. If she picked up on the slight tremble, she’d hone in on it.

  “She told me a couple of days ago when I gave her a ride home.” She took another sip of her wine and raised a brow. “Did you meet her when you were on the case?”

  “I…” I had no idea what to say. I could sit here and deny it, pretend like nothing had happened, but that wasn’t fair to Lola. Something had happened. Something I’d had no control over. Something that was tearing me apart. And not because I’d lied and cheated, but because I couldn’t see her, touch her, witness that laugh that always had a grin forming on my face.

  I missed her. Goddammit. I missed her.

  “Lola said that she fell over and hit her face on a door, but there was no way that would cause her to have a black eye.”

  My muscles tensed, my nostrils flaring, and I slowly turned to face Cade. “What did you say?” I ground out. He frowned at my tone, but I didn’t care, because he was talking in broken sentences, and I was just now starting to understand what
he was saying.

  “Lola came to work with a black eye.” He frowned and stabbed some food on his fork. “She said she fell over but—”

  “Motherfucker!” I stood, my chair sliding back on the floor as I pulled my cell out. I scrolled to my contacts, clicking on her name, and pressing call.

  “Brody?” Moira stood, her eyes wide. “Don’t.”

  I stayed silent, not willing to answer her as the call rang out, and she didn’t pick up. Shit! It had to be Hut. He’d found her, and she hadn’t come to me. She hadn’t called to tell me. She hadn’t leaned on me. I thought she would. I thought she knew she could rely on me, but had I really given her that impression? I’d told her she wasn’t enough. I’d lied right to her face, and now she was in danger again, and it was all because of me.

  “I gotta go.” I took a step away from the table.

  “Don’t you dare,” Moira warned, her voice like a shot of ice to my back. “Don’t you dare walk away from this family dinner to go to her.”

  I turned around, my chest heaving. I needed to go to her. I needed to see she was okay. Just this once. I’d give myself this one time, and then I could put it all behind me. Right?

  “I have to,” I told her, the truth spilling from my lips without a second thought. She knew what was happening, she’d pieced her own story together in her mind, only it wasn’t a story. It was the truth.

  “No, you don’t.” She stepped forward and gripped my biceps, her long nails digging into the material of my shirt and making me wince. “Please don’t do this, Brody,” she whispered. “I know what you did. I can see it written all over your face.”

  “Moira…” I huffed out a breath and swiped my hand through my hair. “I...I’m sorry.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “Sit back down, we’ll finish this meal, and then we can talk it out.” Her gaze batted between my eyes. “We can work it out. We can put it behind us. You were on a case and missed me. That was all it was. We can move past this.”

  I blinked down at her, wondering if she really thought that. If she really thought I’d touch someone else because I missed her. It was so far from the truth. I hadn’t really thought of her at all, not when it came to Lola. Lola made me forget who I was. Who I was meant to be. She made me feel like the best version of me. She made me smile uncontrollably. She made me laugh. But most of all, she made me feel like me.