by Megan Lowe
I give her a small smile. “I’ll take that.”
Chapter 38
Mav
A few days after he was murdered, we buried Phil. Aubrey and Josh were working through everything together rather than separately, which was good. They were going to need each other if they wanted to get through everything that was still to come. I’ve been trying to do as much as I can, but even that has its limits. Still, anything and everything I can do, I am doing, hoping in some small way that it helps ease Aubrey’s pain.
Josh was ordered to do community service and attend Gamblers Anonymous, which he is taking very seriously.
The police released the house the same day as the funeral. I had a professional cleaning company go through it. There wasn’t too much to clean up, but it was still something I didn’t think any of us wanted to do. Afterwards we went back there, but neither Aubrey nor Josh wanted to stay. I don’t blame them. I wouldn’t want to live in the house where my pa was murdered either. So we’re all still in my flat. It’s a tight squeeze, and Aubrey and I have learned to be quiet. We only needed one brother overhearing us for us to learn our lesson, but the arrangement works. Their house is on the market and has been for about three weeks now. There’s been a lot of interest, which is good. The prime location and rental potential is a strong selling point. We’re all back at uni and looking to finish off the year strong.
Speaking of strong, the bike Rome and I were working on when Aubrey and I were down in Booker arrived about a week after everything with Phil went down. It feels weird to be riding after everything. I mean, my bike caused so much trouble. And do I really need more on my plate? I don’t even know if I’m still at the level I need to be in order to be competitive.
Nonetheless the thrill I get when I ride is still there. My new bike rides like a dream, but I still miss my old girl. The police don’t have any leads on it or Connor. It seems after everything happened with Phil, the fuckhead went to ground, and no one can find him. The police don’t seem disheartened though. They seem confident that he will surface eventually and when he does, we’ll be waiting for him. It doesn’t mean it’s not a sore spot for me, because of the pain it’s causing Aubrey to know that her grandpa’s murderer is still out there. But every time I think about going rogue and trying to track him down, I think about what Rome told me and I stand down. Still, it’s killing me that he’s still out there.
Aubrey and I are lying in bed after making love, and yes, we do make love, and no, I’m not ashamed of it. I love my girl and would do anything for her, even if that means handing over my man card. Truth be told, I haven’t really had it since I first laid eyes on her.
“Where do you think he is?” she asks as she traces one of the tattoos on my chest.
“Who? Connor?” I ask. She nods. “If he’s smart, he’s long gone from here.”
“Do you think he’s sorry? That he even thinks about what he’s done?”
“I want to say yes to all of it, but in reality, I think probably not. He’s a bad guy, Aubrey, and unfortunately you, Josh, and your grandpa had to find that out the hard way,” I say.
“Do you think he’s crazy?”
“I think that’s too convenient an excuse. I think when it comes to really bad guys, and he is one, that they’re just plain evil. He’s just like a guy from back home that had this thing going with Reed. Sometimes people are just evil. There’s no rhyme or reason for it, they just are.”
“I keep thinking about how we all got so sucked in by him,” she says, and I can see the guilt in her eyes.
“You look for the good in people. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. In fact, I think if people did it more often, we might all be better off.”
“I don’t want this, what happened with Grandpa, to change that.”
“Then don’t let it,” I tell her.
“It’s hard though. I keep wondering ‘are you going to screw me over?’ every time I meet someone new. I hate being so distrustful.”
I hug her tight. “It’s a natural reaction, I guess, but you choose whether or not to act on it.”
“You make it sound so simple,” she says.
“Sometimes it is. It’s just letting it be that way.”
She looks up at me, her eyes filled with love. “When did you get so smart?”
“The moment I laid eyes on you and knew you were the one for me.” She rolls her eyes. “Hey! It’s true!”
“Sometimes you’re too sweet for your own good,” she says, and leans over to kiss me. I keep her lips pressed to mine and shift her so she’s straddling me. Blindly I fumble for a condom and manage to get it on while never releasing her lips. I’m a talented guy, what can I say? She sinks down on me, and my eyes roll back in my head. I’ll never get over the feel of being inside her, of her accepting me into her body, being so closely connected. It’s not long after that that both of us are screaming our releases.
“Fuck,” I gasp as she lifts herself off me and collapses on the bed next to me.
“Mmm,” she purrs, and stretches, rubbing against me.
“Watch it.” I playfully slap her arse. She lets out a moan and my dick twitches. I get rid of the condom and drag her to me so we’re face-to-face. We’re still lying like that, starting into each other’s eyes, when my phone rings about ten minutes later.
I grab my phone, my eyes still not leaving Aubrey’s. “Hello?”
“Mav? It’s Detective Brennan, I’m working on Phil James’s case.”
“Oh hey, what can I do for you?” I ask, sitting up.
“I’ve been trying to contact Josh and Aubrey James, but I haven’t been able to get a hold of either of them.”
“Oh, um, Josh is at community service. They don’t let him have his phone on him, and Aubrey’s been busy. Her phone’s probably at the bottom of her bag,” I say.
Aubrey sits up at the mention of her name. “Who is it?” she mouths.
“Detective Brennan,” I mouth back.
“Huh?” she replies.
I cover the speaker of the phone. “Brennan,” I whisper.
“Oh,” she says.
“Mav?” Detective Brennan asks.
“Huh? Sorry, what was that?”
“I asked if Aubrey was with you?”
“Oh yeah, she’s here,” I say.
“Could I speak to her, or could you put me on speaker?”
“Sure, give me a sec.” I put the phone on speaker. “You’re on speaker,” I tell him.
“Great, thanks.”
“Hi, Detective Brennan,” Aubrey says.
“Afternoon, Aubrey. Listen, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you and your brother.”
“Sorry about that. My phone’s somewhere at the bottom of my bag, I think,” she says.
“So Mav said. Look, we’ve had some developments in your grandfather’s case.”
Beside me Aubrey tenses. “You have?” she asks in a small voice.
“We have,” he confirms. “But we might need your and your brother’s help.”
She nods. “Anything you need.”
“Mav, if you’re willing, we might be able to use you as well.”
“I’m more than okay with that,” I say.
“Good to hear. How quickly do you think you can get down here?” he asks.
I look at my watch. “Josh finishes his community service in forty-five minutes. We can go pick him up and be there fifteen minutes after that.”
“That’ll work,” he says.
“We’ll see you then,” I say, and end the call. Aubrey looks at me, her eyes bright, truly bright, for the first time since her grandpa was killed. I hold out a hand. “Come on, sweetheart, we’ve got a scumbag to catch, and we can’t do it naked.”
Chapter 39
Aubrey
I feel light for the first time since Grandpa was murdered. Flying off the bed, I race into the wardrobe and throw on whatever clothes I can lay my hands on first. Behind me, Mav chuckles. While I’ve grabbed an ugly green skirt I had no idea
I even owned, and a garish orange top, Mav is dressed in a pair of black shorts and a grey shirt. He looks totally irresistible, while I look like I played lucky dip at the op shop and lost.
“You ready?”
I nod, then stop. “Do you really think this could be it?” I ask. I don’t want to get my hopes up—it has been a month since everything happened—but I find that I can’t help it. Mav comes over to me and wraps me in his arms. There’s no place I feel safer, and every day I wake up wrapped in them I thank God I decided to give him a chance.
“I know you’re trying not to get your hopes up, but we have to be positive. I don’t think Detective Brennan would’ve called and asked us down there if he didn’t think there was a good chance of something coming from this.”
I nod and snuggle further into his chest. “I just want it to be over so badly, you know?”
He kisses the top of my head. “I know, sweetheart.”
“Come on,” he says after a minute. “If we’ve got to get Josh, we need to get going.” He takes my hand and leads me to the car.
Even though my brother fucked up royally, I’m proud of the way he’s bounced back. The court ordered him to complete two hundred hours of community service, so he’s working with underprivileged kids, teaching them how to use computers. He also helps the elderly become computer literate if he’s got time after his session with the kids. The court also ordered him to attend weekly Gamblers Anonymous meetings, but he’s going twice weekly. He’s extremely dedicated to working the program and beating his addiction.
When we get to the community centre, he’s high-fiving the kids as they leave, a smile on his face.
“I know he’s here because he fucked up,” Mav says, looking at my brother, “but you’ve got to admit this is good for him.” I nod. Before Mav came along, Josh was a loner. Then he had Mav, but lost him to me. I feel guilty that he felt like we pushed him away, but I think we’ve achieved a balance now. Living together in such close quarters helps.
“It’s good to see him interacting with people. I guess in a way we both kind of broke away from society because of our family. Josh was never made to feel good enough, and I was always doing the wrong thing. When you’re constantly being beaten down like that, I guess it’s just easier to hide away,” I say.
Mav grabs my hand. “I get that.”
In so many ways, Mav and I are similar. He hid himself away from his family because he wanted something different, because he wanted to be something different. I hid away because I was always doing something different, even if it didn’t feel like that.
I squeeze his hand. “I’m glad we found each other, though.” He gives me his breathtaking smile and leans over to kiss me. We’ve just deepened the kiss when Josh bangs on the roof of the car.
“You two just had two hours to yourself. Don’t tell me that wasn’t enough,” he says.
“It’s never enough,” Mav says, and sends a wink my way. Josh chuckles as he gets in.
“So Detective Brennan called,” he tells my brother. Josh freezes and his face goes white.
“Oh yeah?”
Mav nods. “He said there’s been a break in your grandpa’s case and they might need your and Aubrey’s help.” Josh looks to me, a worried expression on his face.
I reach for his hand. “I know it’s scary, but this is what we’ve been waiting for,” I tell him.
He nods. “I know, it’s just—”
“You don’t want to see Connor again,” I finish for him.
He nods again. “Yeah.”
“It’ll be okay. The police are involved, and they won’t let anything bad happen,” I say.
“They can’t guarantee that. Connor’s a bad guy. He murdered Grandpa in front of me. You really think he’s scared of the police?”
“What’s the alternative?” I snap. “Do we not help and let him go free? He murdered Grandpa, Josh. He has to be punished.”
His shoulders slump. “I know. It’s just going to be really hard for me to see him again.”
I squeeze his hand. “I know, but once Connor’s arrested and he goes to trial, then it’ll be over. That’s got to be better than spending the rest of your life wondering where he is.”
“You’re right.”
I give him a smile. “You know I’m proud of you, right? Of everything you’ve done since Grandpa died.”
He gives me a small smile. “Pity that’s what it took to get me here.”
I nod. “I know, but that’s the way it is. I know it’s tough and a struggle, but you’re doing well. Hopefully with all this Connor stuff behind us it’ll be that little bit easier.”
He shrugs. “Maybe.”
“Hey,” I say, and get his attention back on me. “You have Mav and me in your corner, and no matter what we will always support you.”
Mav nods. “Absolutely.”
That gets another weak smile. “Thanks, guys.”
I squeeze his hand once more as Mav pulls in to the police station. We’re taken back to an interview room—I guess. It’s not one of the ones they use to talk to criminals in, at least I don’t think it is. It doesn’t have windows, so that’s got to mean no one else is watching, right?
A few seconds later Detective Brennan comes in. He’s a tall guy, my guess is six-five, six-six, with blond hair, blue eyes, and a solid build.
“Hi guys, thanks for coming in,” he says as he sits and organises the stack of paper he has with him.
“No worries,” Mav says. I think he realises Josh and I are too nervous about why we’re here to do much talking.
“Okay, like I said on the phone, we’ve had a break in your grandfather’s case. We’ve been keeping an eye out for Connor, and for a while he kept quiet and went underground, but it seems he’s either sick of that lifestyle or he thinks the heat is off him, so he’s been popping up here and there.” We all nod. “Now the problem is we don’t know when he’s going to show up until he’s already gone.”
“So you want Josh and Aubrey to help lure him out,” Mav says.
“Exactly,” Detective Brennan says.
“What makes you think he’d fall for that?” I ask.
“I’ve dealt with hundreds of guys like Connor. In the end, they all have one thing in common. Ego. He’s been on the run for a month and he thinks he’s gotten away with everything, so he’ll be looking to get back to his old ways.”
“But it’s been a month. Won’t it seem odd we’re reaching out now?” I ask.
“Maybe, but it’s worth a try.”
I look to Mav. “What do you think?”
He shrugs. “It’s up to you.”
“What would you do?” I ask.
“I’d give it a go. I think it’s worth a shot. I mean, if you could lure him out, or at least give the cops a line on him, then that’s got to be worth something, right?” he asks.
I nod. “Josh?”
He still looks pale and scared, but beneath that is determination. “I want to get him, and if I can help do that, even if it is in a small way, then I want to do it.”
I turn to Detective Brennan. “What do we have to do?”
Chapter 40
Mav
The plan was that Josh would reach out to Connor first, and then if that didn’t work, Aubrey would try. While I wasn’t crazy about Aubrey’s involvement, I knew that if Josh couldn’t coax him out, the police would need a backup plan and she’d want to help if she could. Hell, I’d reach out to the prick if I thought it would help.
Luckily for us, Connor’s dumber than we thought, or his ego’s bigger. Whatever the case may be, when Josh reached out, he jumped. During his time away he’d gotten smarter, but also more desperate, and he asked Josh to meet him with cash upfront before he took any more bets. I’ve heard living off the grid can severely deplete one’s savings, so I’m not surprised he needed money. Plus, given Josh’s track record, it was the smart thing to do.
They had organised to meet up in a park at one in the morning.
I went with him because a) Josh doesn’t have a car, and b) I’m not leaving him alone with that fuckhead. We’re both wearing wires, exactly like every cop show you’ve ever seen, with Detective Brennan and some others nearby.
“You okay?” I ask Josh as we wait.
He shifts from foot to foot. “Yeah, just nervous, I guess.”
I nod. “Me too.”
He turns to face me. “I know I haven’t really said it, but I’m really, really thankful for your help, Mav, with everything.”
I pat his shoulder. “It’s nothing.”
“No it’s not, it’s everything. You didn’t have to. You could’ve just left me to sort all this shit out on my own, but you didn’t.”
“That’s not what my family does, not how we operate. Once you’re in with us, you’re stuck with us,” I say.
“So does that mean you and Aubrey are gonna get married?”
I give him a sideways glance. “What are you, a six-year-old girl? Hoping we’ll ask you to be flower girl?” I joke.
He shoves me gently. “Fuck off, I was aiming for page boy.”
I burst out laughing. “Well, we haven’t talked about it, but I know where I see us going.”
“If it’s worth anything, you have my blessing.”
“Thanks, man.” I hold out my hand for him to shake, which he does.
As that’s happening, a car’s headlights shine on us. It comes to a stop and Connor and two of his goons get out.
“What are you doing here?” he asks me.
“If you think I’m letting Josh meet you alone, you’re dumber than I thought,” I reply.
“Just can’t imagine you supporting Josh’s extracurricular activity, that’s all.”
“Oh, I don’t support it,” I tell him, slowly walking towards him. “I just really wanted the chance to confront the guy who murdered Aubrey’s grandpa.”
A smug smile comes over his face. “A pity about that. I liked the old guy. But I had to do something, couldn’t let Josh here think he could get away with not paying his debt.”
“So you took an innocent life? How on earth does that compare?” I ask.