by A. L Long
Sitting on the lounger, I swung my legs onto the soft cushion and stretched out. I knew this was going to be my favorite spot. I didn’t need to see any more. If I could, I would have made this area my bedroom, but that would be impossible, especially at night if it decided to rain. Crossing my legs at my ankles and placing my hands behind my head, I closed my eyes and began to relax, enjoying the sun’s warmth on my face.
I could feel a dip in the cushion, knowing that Ryan had taken a seat next to me. Before I could open my eyes, his lips were on mine, heating my body even more. Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I took in his masculine scent and welcomed him in. His large hands fell to my waist, pulling me in closer. The warmth of his arms around me was so male, so comforting. I could feel my body begin to sink into his embrace.
Without warning, he took hold of my legs and swung them around. I was no longer stretched out on the lounger as he lifted me high enough that my body straddled his. I could feel the strength of his arousal as he pulled my body closer to his. The warmth of his breath whispered against my cheek as he confessed, “I need to take you, but not here,” before standing and carrying me bear style to the glass door.
Even though my eyes were closed, reveling the feel of his mouth ravishing mine, I knew the minute we stepped inside. The cool air hit my sensitized skin and I could feel my body jerk at the change in temperature. Raising his mouth from mine, he gazed into my lust-filled eyes. Nodding my head, I made it perfectly clear that I was good. No sooner than his lips resumed their position, the faint sound of my phone began ringing from my bag that I carelessly threw on the leather couch before making my escape to the patio.
As much as I wanted this moment to continue, I knew it could be Nick calling, and speaking with him was more important than my pleasure. Regretfully, I released my legs from around Ryan’s waist and planted my feet on the hardwood floor. Jogging over to where I had placed my bag, I fumbled through it until I found my phone. It was Nick and I just missed his call. Swiping the screen to get to my contacts, I dialed him back in hopes that he would answer. When he finally answered, he mumbled with a strange tone to his voice, “Charlie, I need your help.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Ryan
When Charlie got the call from her brother, I knew my time with her would have to be put on hold. Her brother was in trouble and he needed our help. Even though I was more concerned for Charlie, asking her to stay behind while I got him wasn’t an option. There was no way she would have listened anyway.
As we left the apartment, Charlie was still on the phone with Nick. I thought the best way to keep her calm was to keep her mind focused on him instead of my driving. It was actually amusing how she was giving me step-by-step directions on his location. If that was what it took to keep her busy, I was all for it, as annoying as it was.
I did have to admit, Nick’s directions to his location were spot on. Within thirty minutes we were picking him up and taking him back to the shop, where we could debrief him and find out what he knew. Even though he looked a little shaken, he didn’t seem to be hurt. At least not any worse than the first time they came after him.
Keeping my eyes on the road, I heard Charlie ask, “Nichols, what happened? How did they find you?” I could hear in her voice that she was on the verge of hysteria.
“I don’t know. While you were gone doing your mother hen thing, I ordered takeout. I had no idea that the person on the other side of the door wasn’t the delivery guy. I knew the minute I opened the door something was off about him. Somehow my adrenaline must have kicked in, because I was able to close the door on him,” Nick paused to take a much-needed breath. “The bad part was it didn’t do me any good. Within minutes he bashed down the door and came after me. Luckily, I still had a mean left hook and was able to escape.”
Interrupting him, Ryan asked sarcastically, “I’m taking it you got a good look at him.”
“Hell yeah. I will never forget that face, or the tattoo on his neck,” Nick responded.
I called the shop to let Peter know that we had Nick and that we were on our way there. As I looked back to Nick, I could only imagine what he must have gone through. I was concerned for him, but somehow, I knew he would be able to take care of himself. At least he did in high school. I also knew that this was different and he was no longer a kid, and the men after him weren’t kids either. They meant business and would stop at nothing to make sure that he was out of the way. He was one loose end they couldn’t afford to let go. Why the hell did he have to be in the alley in the first place?
When we reached the shop, Charlie and Nick couldn’t have got out any faster. Charlie was first, assisting Nick from the backseat way before I had the engine turned off. I wasn’t sure what the rush was. Closing my door, I saw Chavez coming toward us. Hopefully he had some good news. Rounding the car, I walked up to him with my hands stuffed in my pockets, waiting for him to share what information he might have.
“We picked up a clear shot of the men in the alley,” Chavez confessed looking over to Nick before asking. “I take it you’re Charlie’s brother?”
“Yeah, Nick Winters,” Nick said, holding his hand out to Chavez.
Breaking their introduction, I stated, “Nick got a good look at the guy that came to his house. Hopefully we will get a take on who this guy is from what you have.”
Heading inside, Chavez directed us all to the back room, where he had the surveillance footage from the alley set up. I kept my hopes up that we would have an ID on the guy. Knowing who the guy was would bring us closer to finding some answers. As we gathered around the computer where Chavez already had the footage ready for us, he pressed the enter key and it began to play. Nick startled all of us by blurting out, “Him! That’s the guy. He was at the house and he’s the same guy that slit that poor guy’s throat.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, needing him to make a positive ID.
“Yes. I would bet my life on it, but where is the other guy? There were two of them there,” he questioned.
Looking over to Chavez, confused, I knew he was hiding something the minute he blurted out, “He was the only guy the cameras captured.”
It was clear that there was someone else with him and standing close by based on the shadow cast by the reflection of the street lights. Changing the subject, I asked, “Is there any word on the victim?” turning my attention to Chavez.
“Yeah. It just came in this morning. The guy’s name was Jason Carlson. He’s been in and out of trouble since he was a teenager. Robbery, theft, stolen goods, you name it, he’s done it. The funny thing is he never served much time. If I had to guess, he was probably an informant. It’s hard to say without digging deeper into his past.” Chavez shared.
Convinced that we had the information we needed to begin putting the pieces together, I suggested that we leave Mike to his work while I took Charlie and Nick back to my place. Even though there was only one house guest that I preferred, I knew that for the time being, Nick would be safe at my place until I could figure out different living arrangements.
Just before I got through the door, I heard Chavez behind me. “Ryan, hold up for a minute.”
Letting Nick and Charlie know that I would be out in a minute, I waited until they were out the door before turning to Mike. “What’s up, bro?”
“I wasn’t exactly forthcoming about what was captured on the surveillance footage. I’ve got something to show you.” Mike’s demeanor changed to concern as he spoke.
When he clicked the mouse to move to the next frame that he neglected to share earlier, there it was as clear as day. My brother was standing about ten feet from the guy with the knife. I was filled with shock, but mostly confusion. I never thought it would be Josh. I was completely speechless. Running my hand through my hair, I looked over to Chavez and pleaded, “Don’t share this with anyone until I can figure this out. Not even Peter.”
****
I wasn’t in the mood for conversation on the way home, espec
ially after learning that Josh was in a lot more trouble than just selling fake paintings. He was part of a murder, and even though he didn’t slice the guy’s throat, he was just as guilty for being there. Before I got in my car to take Charlie and Nick to my place, I took a chance and dialed Josh on his cell. My efforts were once again wasted when the call went directly to voicemail. I was beginning to have an unnerving feeling about this whole thing. Josh and I had always been able to communicate, and not answering his phone was something he never did. Then again, he was never in this much trouble before either.
I must have been in the zone, because when Charlie said, “Ryan?” I didn’t acknowledge that she was trying to get my attention. It was only after she yelled, “Ryan! Watch out!” that I woke up.
My thoughts were so focused on Josh that I nearly hit a pedestrian crossing the street. Had I been paying attention, I would have noticed that the light was red before I went through it. Coming to a jolting stop, the force caused Charlie to jet forward. Her reflexes kicked in and her hands sprung forward protecting her from hitting her head on the dash. Even Nick braced himself by latching on to the back of my leather seat. Taking a second to relax, I watched the guy walk safely across the street before I continued driving. Being stopped in the middle of the intersection was not a good place to be. Not only was I blocking traffic, the horns that were honking notified me that I needed to move out of the way.
Finally reaching my building with no other incidents, I pulled into my parking spot next to Josh’s Nissan 370z. As we headed up the elevator to my rooftop apartment, Charlie looked over to me and asked, concerned, “Ryan, what is going on with you? You’ve been so far away ever since we left Jagged Edge.”
“Leave it alone, Charlie,” I snapped.
I really didn’t mean to jump on her like that, but I was irritated beyond hell. My brother just got on my last nerve and I didn’t care what it took, I was going to find out where he was and kick his ass if it was the last thing that I did. Pulling her closer to me, I kissed her on the forehead and said, “Sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I have a lot on my mind and you didn’t deserve that.”
“It’s okay, Ryan. We’ve all been through a lot lately. I’m here if you need me,” she responded sympathetically.
“Okay. Enough already. Maybe staying with you wasn’t such a good idea. You two need your privacy,” Nick chimed in, feeling uncomfortable with our display of affection for each other.
“I would like nothing better,” I began. “But unfortunately, at this point, there isn’t another option.”
Upon entering the apartment, Nick spared no manners. He plopped down on my leather couch, grabbing the remote like he owned the place. It was a good thing he didn’t ask me to bring him a brew. That would have been the last straw. Looking over to him as he made himself comfortable, I watched as he pulled himself up enough to look over the back of the couch. He was ready to say, or should I say ask, something when I said, “If you want anything, help yourself. I’ve got something I have to do.”
I headed down the hall to Josh’s room to take one more look around. There must have been something that I missed. Even though Peter was already here, he didn’t take the time to search Josh’s room for clues, nor did I ask him. Maybe if I found something, it would give me some sort of clue as to where he was and what he was really into. I knew about the money, but I had a feeling that was only half of the story. When I got to his room, it was just as Peter said. Most of Josh’s things were gone. Looking around the room, I began pulling the drawers of his dresser open, hoping that maybe he left something behind. Other than finding a few lonely socks, there was nothing else left in any of the drawers. Feeling like I was at a loss, I dropped down on his bed. Hearing something fall to the floor underneath it, I knelt down beside the bed and lifted the covers. On the floor was a small box wrapped in duct tape, which I assumed was used to hold the box to the frame. Reaching under the bed, I pulled the box my way before picking it up. It wasn’t much of a box. It reminded me of one of those old boxes that housed expensive cigars.
As I flipped the lid back, I wasn’t sure what the contents meant, but it must have meant something for Josh to hide it under his bed. There were a few old postcards with a picture of Catalina Island on the front. Flipping one over, I saw it was sent from a girl named Trish. I was pretty sure it was from the same Trish that I knew. She moved there when Josh was in the seventh grade. It nearly broke his heart. She was his best friend growing up and he was never the same after she moved. Placing the cards on the bed, I continued sifting through the rest of the items in the box. There were a few things inside that didn’t make any sense for him to keep, like a small scrap of paper with a bunch of random numbers written on it, which I stuffed inside my pocket just in case it meant something, and a rusty hairpin with fake diamonds, two of which were no longer there. Shuffling through the rest of the contents, I came across a picture of him and me in front of a cabin that my parents used to rent during the summer. I would never forget those days. We used to have so much fun.
Putting everything back in the box except the picture of us, I knew it was a long shot, but it was better than sitting around waiting for something to surface. Going to my room, I packed a small bag and headed back to the living area to let Charlie and Nick know that I would be gone for a couple of days and that I would have one of the guys stop in to check them.
Before I could get out the door, Charlie said, “Wait,” as she walked towards me. “I’m going with you.”
“I can’t let you do that, baby. It would be better if you stayed here with your brother,” I advised.
“No way, Ryan Hyatt. You are not going to do this to me again,” she stated as she crossed her arms at her waist. “I am going with you or you can just say goodbye right here.”
I had never seen this side of her. There was no way I was going to lose her again. I was such an ass the last time, and I wasn’t going there again. Pulling my cell from my pocket, I dialed Chavez to let him know of my plans in case something bad happened. I also didn’t trust Nick staying at my place by himself, so I asked him to take Nick somewhere safe. Chavez was the only one I could trust with this, and he was the only one who knew the truth about my brother being in that alley. Chavez would keep it to himself until I was ready to tell the guys, and right now, I needed some answers before sharing my brother’s situation with them. Peter would more than likely be the most pissed about my decision, but he would also be the most understanding.
We all hung tight at my place until Chavez called back. It was a long hour later when he called back to let me know he had found a place for Nick to stay, a place where he would be safe. After we picked up a few things for Charlie and Nick at his place, I didn’t mind taking a little detour to get him to his new digs. It was better than the alternative of having him stay at my place. As soon as we pulled up to Nick’s new home, I noticed Chavez on the porch rocking back and forth in an old rocker like he owned the place. Once Nick got out of the car, I put the car in reverse and we were on our way. I only hoped that this wasn’t going to be a wasted trip. Something in my gut told me that Josh would be there.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Charlie
When Ryan told me that we were heading to Willow Crossing, I had no idea where that was. All I knew was that it was about an hour drive, and it was where he and his brother used to go when they were kids. It seemed really odd that with everything that was going on, he wanted to take a road trip to reunite with his childhood. Something must have triggered his need to go there. It was sudden and not like him, unless it had to do with his brother.
Keeping my eyes forward, I was hoping that he would give some indication as to why we headed to Willow Crossing as I asked, “Ryan, you said that Willow Crossing was where you and your brother went as kids. Are you thinking he might have gone there?”
For a moment the air between us was silent, but then I heard a big intake of air from him, and just like me, he kept his eyes glu
ed to the road. I was just about to ask again when he answered, “Yeah. I found an old picture of us in his room and I thought it was worth a drive to see if he might have gone there. I’m at a loss as to where he could be. This is my last hope.”
“If he is there, what are you going to do?” I asked hesitantly.
“I’m going to find out what is going on with him once and for all.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, and for now, I thought it best to quiz him about it later. He had enough on his mind and didn’t need to be grilled about it. Even though I didn’t push the issue, thoughts were rolling around in my head wondering what the real reason was for this trip. I knew that his brother was very sick, but that didn’t explain him needing to know what was going on with him. He already knew that part. Leaning my head back in frustration, I kept silent until we finally reached our destination, based on the sign welcoming us.
As Ryan pulled up to the main office where I assumed the reservations were made to rent either one of the cabins or guest homes, I took in the enormous house, thinking how beautiful it was. When we got out of the car, I took a few more moments to take in the scenery. It was beautiful. I could see why Ryan’s parents loved this place so much. It had a peaceful feel about it, being hidden away from the rest of the world. Isolated. Just my kind of place. In the distance, I could see a lake that was surrounded by tall green trees lining the water with complete privacy. The water was crystal clear with not a single ripple in it. As I looked further, I spotted two young boys who couldn’t have been older than their early teens fishing on the bank supported by a wall that was made with stone, which I was sure had to have been meticulously laid one stone at a time. The air was what won me over. It was so crisp and clean and when I took in a deep breath, I could feel my lungs jump for joy.