by A. L Long
When we got to where I had left my car, I noticed that the Black Tahoe was still parked just ahead. This told me that the men after us were still somewhere around. It also told me I had no time to waste. Heading in the direction of where I left Josh, I held tightly to Charlie as I pulled her behind me in an effort to get there as quickly as possible. I wasn’t sure how badly Josh was hurt, but I needed to get to him as quickly as possible. Reaching the woods, it was then that I wished I had a flash light. We could barely see anything with the leaves blocking the only light that we had. Remembering the vicinity of where I had left him, I slowly moved in that direction. Then I wished I had my phone for nothing more than to give me some light.
With Charlie close behind me with her hand in mine, I knew we were getting close. Charlie took in a deep gasp and squeezed my hand to the point I could feel the blood begin to constrict. Looking over to where she was looking, I saw what she did. It was like everything I knew had flashed before me. There, still leaning against the tree, was Josh, only this time there was no movement. Letting go of Charlie’s hand, I ran to his side to find that I was too late. Taking his face in my hand, I could feel my chest tighten. Everything came crashing down. Memories of two brothers ran in slow motion as I screamed, “NO!”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Charlie
If I could have taken the pain away from Ryan, I would have. He was hurting and no matter how hard he tried to hide it, I could see it as clear as day. There was something that I needed to tell him, but it needed to wait until later, because for now, all that Ryan cared about was finding the men who did this to his brother. Our saving grace in this whole mess was that Josh had told me where he had hidden the money. It was the one place that only he and Ryan knew about, so when I told Ryan, he knew exactly where it was.
Hidden away underneath the floor boards in the guest house where Josh slept, concealed by one of the twin beds, there it was just like Josh said. Gallo’s men were long gone so there wasn’t any chance that they would be around to stop us from going to the house. Not only that, but Peter and Ash kept an eye outside while Ryan and I went in to get the bag.
When we met up with Peter outside the house, he took the bag from Ryan and ordered in no uncertain terms, “Go to your brother. I will take this back to the shop where it will be safe.”
There were no words from Ryan, only a saddened, lost expression on his face. When he handed me the keys to his Charger, I got in behind the wheel and waited for Ryan to take his place beside me. Just as I backed up and was ready to drive forward. Ryan grabbed my arm, making me stop the car. There was something about the way he grabbed me that had me concerned. Looking over to him I asked, “Ryan, what is it?”
“Those motherfuckers are going to pay for what they did.” His face contorted with a look of hate and disgust as the muscles in his jaw began to flex.
He was angry and he had every right to be, but the look on his face was that of a man who wanted revenge. I wasn’t sure that this was the way to handle it, but I also knew that this wasn’t the time to argue with a man ripped to pieces. The only person that would be able to talk him out of this was Peter. Even though I knew Ryan would never forgive me, I needed to let Peter know the truth before Ryan ended up sharing a spot next to Josh in the city morgue.
****
Several days had passed since Josh’s death, and Ryan was becoming more and more distant. He wouldn’t even accept my offer to help with his brother’s funeral arrangements, but then when I told him that he couldn’t do this alone, after arguing with him for an hour, he finally gave in. So many times, I wanted to tell him about what Josh had told me while we were in the woods, but there was never a good time. I knew that I needed to let Ryan know, and if I did, maybe it would give him a little peace.
After spending an hour at the city morgue getting more and more pissed off, we were finally on our way home. Ryan was not himself, which was understandable. I tried to comfort him, but all he did was push me away. I was at the end of my rope. He was hurting and I understood that, but the way he was treating me was uncalled for. The mix-up at the morgue, although tragic, could have happened to anyone. His anger needed to stop, otherwise he would be losing the best thing in his life.
Knowing exactly where he would be, I walked to Josh’s room to find Ryan sitting on his bed holding a small box. Hesitantly, I debated on leaving him alone with his thoughts, or fessing up to what I knew about them. Taking a chance, I took in a breath and slowly sauntered to where he was sitting. Taking a seat beside him on the bed, I looked over to the box he was holding and was about to say something when he spoke. “Even though he wasn’t my brother by blood, he was all the family I had.”
Placing my arms around him, I whispered softly, “I know. He told me.”
Ryan shifted his body so that he was facing me. “What do you mean, he told you?”
“When we were in the woods together, he confessed to me that he knew you weren’t his real brother,” I began. “He found your mom’s journal. He knew about his real mom. He told me that you were the best thing that ever happened to him and that it didn’t matter because as far as he was concerned, you were brothers.”
“So, you know everything.” Tears began to take hold as he spoke. “I couldn’t save him, Charlie. He was slowly dying inside and I couldn’t even save him. He was my little brother and I was supposed to protect him.”
“There is no way you could have known how sick he was. Just like you couldn’t have known that he was going to get shot,” I argued.
As much as Ryan tried, he couldn’t hold back his emotions. His head came down on my shoulder and all I could think about was taking his pain away. Pulling him into my body, I whispered to him like I would a small child. “Shh… it will be okay, baby. It will be okay.”
Ryan slowly pulled away from me and looked into my eyes with remorse. I knew he felt guilty for letting go of what we had back in East Bank. Rubbing his thumb along my jaw, he pleaded, “Please don’t ever leave me, Charlie. You are all that I have,” before he placed his mouth over mine.
There was no way I would ever leave him. From the moment I laid eyes on him so many years ago, I knew that this was going to be the guy I was going to love forever. Maybe this was the reason there was never anyone else. Closing my eyes, I took in his warmth as our kiss deepened. If our closeness was what he needed, then I was all for it. It had been a very emotional couple of days and Ryan needed to know that he was loved.
Breaking our kiss, I began trailing soft wet kisses down his neck. His head tilted backward, allowing me the access I needed to satisfy my powerless resistance. He was perfect in so many ways as I took the bottom of his shirt in my grasp and lifted it up over his head. It was then that my core was conscious of his virile masculinity. My mouth began to explore his chest, surveying every inch. There was a tingle in the pit of my stomach as I boldly took his hard disc into my mouth. The salt of his body coated my tongue and I became more aware of what my teasing was doing to me. My core was rippling with excitement and in need of his touch.
In one swift move, my body was lifted from the bed and placed back down on the other side of him. Pushing to my elbows, I watched Ryan’s magnificence appear as he lowered his jeans down his muscular legs. Unable to control my own desire, I quickly removed my top, keeping my gaze on him. His look was hypnotic as his eyes locked with mine. A tingle radiated through my body as he grasped the waistband of my skirt and began lowering it down my legs. I knew that he would find my panties soaked from the surge of wetness left behind from the effect he was having on my body. His lips were on my stomach and his fingers found their way under the lacy band of my panties, gliding them down my aching limbs that I could no longer ignore. When his kisses trailed lower to my core a strange inner excitement entered. My clit throbbed with need as I felt the wetness of his lips sink lower.
With a flick of his tongue, my breathing became uneven and my body jolted at his touch. As he dipped two fingers inside me, my mind wa
s reeling in the here and now. He owned my body and he knew just how to work it. The caress of his tongue between my folds made me come undone as he increased the movement of his fingers inside me. I knew that my breathing had stopped for just a moment to allow my body to spiral in ecstasy. Before I could regain control, Ryan was inside me, filling my sensitized body with even more pleasure, recapturing the release that I hadn’t fully let go. More demanding than before, my screams of divine sweetness came crashing through, feeling Ryan’s sweetness fill my soul.
****
“Nick,” I shouted, as I sat straight up in the bed, looking over to Ryan, who was still sound asleep as I nudged him awake.
His eyes popped open with a shock. “Charlie, are you okay, baby?” he gasped.
“Nick. He can help us. He has a lot of high-end people on his clientele list. We could set a trap.” I knew it wasn’t the greatest idea the minute I said it, but it was better than doing nothing.
“Baby, you need to calm yourself. It is going to take a lot more than setting a trap. Things like this don’t happen the way they do in the movies. It takes a lot of extensive planning. Every detail has to be worked out. We will figure this out. Now go back to sleep.”
My shoulders slumped forward as I realized that Ryan was right. He had been doing this type of thing a lot longer than I and knew more about what needed to be done. I just wanted these men caught. Not only for Josh’s sake, but for Nick’s too.
Placing my elbows on my knees and my hands on my cheeks, I took in a deep breath while staring at the picture on the wall. It made me wonder how Josh managed to get himself into trouble in the first place. Certainly, there had to have been someone that introduced him to Morris Gallo. He couldn’t have just walked up to him and asked if he sold fake paintings.
Looking over to Ryan laying back against the pillow with his arm resting under his head, I leaned back on one elbow and asked presumptively, “How do you suppose Josh got involved with Morris Gallo? Someone had to have introduced Josh to him.”
I could tell that the wheels were beginning to spin in Ryan’s head. It was as though what I said switched a light on. “I think you’ve got something, babe. Get dressed. We’re going to the shop.”
My heart was filled with satisfaction as I pushed from the bed to get something to wear from my bag. While I was hunting, I could hear Ryan put on his jeans. Taking one more look at his delicious body from the corner of my eye, my tongue slid across my upper lip thinking how lucky I was. All I wanted was to shed a little bit of happiness in his world, and if it meant giving him a trace of hope in locating Gallo, and putting him and his cronies behind bars, then it was well worth it. I just hoped that there was another person involved. It did make sense that there would be.
Slipping my t-shirt over my head, I heard the bedroom door open. When I looked in that direction, Ryan stopped short of the hallway and looked back at me and said, “Thanks, babe.”
He didn’t need to say any more. I knew exactly what he meant.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Ryan
The last couple of days were a complete blur. I kept thinking about the look on Josh’s face back at Willow Crossing. I wanted to do something special for him, so when Peter suggested that we plant a tree in front of the shop and dedicate it to him, I was all for it. Standing in front of the tree that would grow into something beautiful were all of the guys: Peter, Cop, Hawk, Sly, Ash, Gainer, and Chavez. Even the girls showed up. Lilly stood next to Peter, Brie next to Cop, Isabelle next to Hawk, Nikki next to Sly, Juliette next to Ash, Emma next to Gainer, and Gabrielle next to Chavez, and of course, Charlie next to me. Even Nick showed up, but only because Charlie would have killed him if he didn’t.
Holding the only remains of Josh in my hands, I went over everything that I wanted to say on behalf of my brother. There really weren’t any words to express how much I missed him. Lowering my body to one knee, I removed the lid from the container and said, “You may not have known this, but you were the best brother I could have ever asked for. Even though we weren’t blood, I considered you as such. I will never forget the day Mom and Dad brought you home. At first, I didn’t want you around. I guess you could say I wanted Mom and Dad’s attention all to myself. I didn’t even want to hold you when Mom asked me, but the minute I did, I knew then that I was your big brother and I was going to protect you. I may not have been there for you, but I promise you, bro, I will see to it that your death will not be forgotten. I will find the men that did this, if it is the last thing I do. I love you Josh. God, I’m going to miss you”
I felt a comforting touch as Charlie placed her hand on my shoulder. Standing to my feet, I began spreading Josh’s ashes around the tree. When I was finished, Peter handed me the plaque the guys made for him. Placing it in front of the tree on the pedestal where it would rest, I read the words, “Brother, Friend, and True Soldier, never to be forgotten, Josh Emery Hyatt,” before standing to my feet and saluting his memory in sync with the rest of the guys. I knew from this day forward that every day we entered the shop, he would be right there to greet us.
****
A week had passed since Josh died and we were no closer in finding Morris Gallo. Sitting in the conference room, I held the small piece of paper that I found in the cigar box and just stared at the numbers, 5156935623, 6185428635, 6758963152. There were a total of eight sets of ten digits. I had no idea what they even meant. While I sat scratching my head, ready to give up, I caught a scent I would know anywhere. Spinning my chair toward the door, I saw Charlie standing in the doorway wearing a floral print sundress and wedge sandals with her hair braided to one side, and looking like an angel from heaven. Slapping my hands down on my lap, I let her know exactly where I wanted her to be. As she sat on my lap, I could feel the pressure of her ass pressing against my member. If it hadn’t been for the fact that we were in the conference room, I would have sprawled her out on the long table and taken her.
When her gaze left mine, and veered over to the table, I knew that she saw the scrap of paper with the numbers written on them. Knowing what she was thinking, I said, “I have no idea what these numbers mean. It was in the box of stuff I found under Josh’s bed.”
Picking up the small piece of paper, she drew her brows together, concentrating on the numbers. With her index finger she began counting the numbers in each group. “Umm… ten numbers,” she muttered, tapping her chin. “What has ten numbers… Let me think.”
Before I could suggest anything, her body was up off my lap and her hand was held out. Uncertain of what she was asking, I asked, “What, Charlie?”
“Give me your phone,” she requested eagerly.
As she picked up the note, she began punching what I assumed were the first set of numbers. I knew exactly what she was thinking. Taking hold of her hand and grabbing my phone from her hand, I disconnected the call and gave her a disgruntled look. “If these are phone numbers, there is a better way to find out who they belong to other than calling them. The last thing I need is for the owner to know who was calling.”
I gave her a tender kiss on the lips and she rose from my lap. I took hold of her hand and led her down the hall to the back room where all of the Jagged Edge research equipment was located. As soon as I opened the door, I spotted Chavez working away on the computer, bouncing his head to the left and to the right, keeping sync with the music that was resonating through his headphones. When I flicked the light switch off and then on again, his head turned my way. It was the only way to get his attention without scaring him to death.
Making our way to where he was seated, I watched him remove his headphones and place them next to his computer. He was just about to stand when I said, “No need to get up, bro, this shouldn’t take long.” I handed him the note with the numbers written on it and continued. “Can you do a reverse search on these numbers to see who they belong to?”
“Sure thing, bro,” Chavez replied, taking the small piece of paper from my hand.
I
knew there was a way that a reverse search could be done with those numbers, and given Chavez’s expertise with computers, he would know just how to do it. Standing behind him as he did his thing, his fingers were like lightning, tapping the keys lightly, entering each number. When he was finished typing the numbers into the correct fields, he sat back and folded his arms across his chest and said, “Now we wait. It should take about twenty minutes.”
It seemed like more than twenty minutes for the system to break down the numbers, but I had faith in Chavez. He was the expert, after all. I could think of a lot of things that I could do in twenty minutes, but for now a nice hot cup of coffee sounded good. Leading Charlie out of the room, we headed to the kitchen. When we got to the front room, the guys were lounging around conversing with Hawk. It was so nice to see him back in the States, even if it wasn’t under the best of circumstances. Given the way he looked and the way he was dressed, I could see that he managed to get settled into his new role as prince of Kierabali. I never thought in a million years that I would ever see Hawk in a designer suit.
Shaking my head, I chuckled at the thought and proceeded to the kitchen.
****
After getting the information from Chavez, it was nice to finally be back at the apartment. The first thing I did was pour myself a whiskey and a glass of wine for Charlie. Chavez only came up with one name from the list of numbers that I gave him. It turned out that the other numbers were from burner phones and were untraceable. If that wasn’t bad enough, our one lead turned out to be registered to a bogus name with a bogus address, and there was no way to track the payment made on the phone service since the owner paid cash. Slinging the last of my drink back, I could feel the burn as it slid down my throat. Pouring another, I headed out to the patio. It was my oasis, a place where I could think about things.