by Ali Parker
"Mitch has one, and you have the other one." I glanced down at it. "Are you going to take it to the police? That's the only reason I brought it in here. My brother seems to trust you."
"Of course I am." He shot up out of his chair and moved to pace the floor just behind his desk. "Un-fucking-believable. All of these years I thought it was an accident. They ruled it as the gas stove blowing up the house. It wasn't an accident?"
"No. I don't think so." Something felt off, but maybe I was over-thinking things. The guy wasn't in tears or showing any other emotion than shock.
"I'll take care of this." He paused and glanced up at me. "Thank you for coming to see me. I've never been able to put this behind me. Maybe after the cops reopen the investigation with this new evidence that will change."
"Good." I walked toward the door and paused as he called out to me.
"Ian?"
I glanced back. "Yeah?"
"Thanks again. Tell your brother thank you, and you guys be safe. If Mitch knows you have this evidence against him, he'll stop at nothing to take you down."
"I'm aware. Thanks, Mr. Thomas." I walked out and texted my brother. I wasn't so sure I felt the same way about Brant that Cole did, but I'd done what my brother asked me too. Only time would tell if he or Jeremy would push Mitch toward justice faster.
One of them needed to before I decided to do it my damn self.
Chapter 18
Chloe
"There you are." I turned from the stove as Ian walked back into the house just after lunch. The worried look on his face caused my stomach to tighten. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know. I just have this weird feeling that we're walking right into the middle of something." He walked into the kitchen and pulled me into a hug before leaning down to kiss me softly.
"Where did you go this morning?"
"To see Brant Thomas."
"My father's old running mate?" I lifted my eyebrow, a little surprised by his confession.
"Yeah. Cole wanted me to give the guy some evidence we had that showed your father at the scene of the crime."
"What crime?" I pressed my hands to Ian's strong chest and tried to read the expression on his face, but came up empty. He was struggling.
"The fire that killed his family." He shook his head and released me. "We watched some of the video from that night, and it was disturbing."
"What did you see?" I pressed my hands to my hips as he turned and walked to the breakfast nook.
"The fire of course, but then your father and Pauly walked up beside the camera. The angel was off as if whoever was recording did it from down by their side." He pressed his face into his hands and let out a soft growl.
"Pauly?" My heart hurt at the thought of Pauly being involved in something so horrible.
"He didn't have a choice, Chloe." Ian sat down and brushed his hair from his face. "Your father had him by the balls."
"Still." I turned back to the stove and worked on finishing the grilled cheeses I was cooking. "Three kids died in that fire."
"And he didn't know those kids, but he knew and loved you. If your father threatened him with the same thing he's threatening me with right now, I'd let the whole fucking world burn down before I let anything happen to you."
"That's not right and you know it." I glanced over my shoulder and gave him a look of disapproval.
"I know, but it is what it is." He glanced around. "Did you look at the photo album I left for you?"
"What photo album?" I plated his sandwiches and walked them over to him before starting on my own. I hadn't expected him back so soon, but it was a nice surprise.
Too bad the conversation between us had gone from planning for the future to trying to dismantle my father again. Not that I didn't want him to pay for all he'd done, but trying to go up against someone with the type of power he had seemed like a death wish. Everyone who'd ever gotten in his race to the top ended up six feet under.
"Cole brought me a photo album and a note to you from Pauly yesterday at the pub. I told you this morning, but you were half asleep."
"Oh. I don't remember hearing you say anything about it." I lied through my teeth. Some part of me didn't want to see the pictures or hear what Pauly had to say. I wanted to tuck all of the fear and pain away and pretend like it never happened. It was the way I'd survived since my mother died, but Ian was forcing me to grow up and face the music. I loved and hated him for it.
"It's on the coffee table for you, baby." He picked up his sandwich. "Thank you for lunch."
"Of course. I assume you're going with me to the event my father's doing in town this evening?"
"Absolutely. I'm going to try and get a hold of Jeremy to see if we can meet up before the event. I want to give him a few copies of this zip drive as well."
"Are you still hoping that he'll do the right thing?"
"Yes. Him or Brant one. Cole is betting on Brant, but I don't know. He was weird today."
"Weird?" I plated my sandwich and walked over to take a seat next to Ian. "What do you mean?"
"He wasn't nearly as emotional as I would have thought he would have been." He shrugged and took a large bite of his sandwich. "I lost my first girlfriend to overdose over ten years ago and I can still feel the sickening pain of holding her while she died. It breaks me in half and leaves me fucked up royally. But Brant lost his whole fucking family and he paled a little during our conversation, but that was it."
"Maybe he's learned to control his emotions." I wasn't sure he was ready for me to dig into the death of his first girlfriend, but I wanted to. I wanted to know the depths of his heart, of who he was and what demons he was trying to overcome.
He snorted. "I guess, but with something that traumatic, it's honestly impossible to keep that type of pain hidden."
"You miss her?" I reached over and ran my hand down his back, realizing how hunched over he was.
"No. I hate myself for introducing her to the kind of life that killed her, but I don't miss her." He glanced over at me. "I fucked up royally and now she haunts me every time I close my eyes."
"Ian," I whispered and moved closer, pressing my head to his shoulder. "You were just a kid."
"Yeah, but I knew better. I let drugs be the answer to pulling myself off the street. Cole chose hard work and making something out of himself, but not me. I took the easy route and started to sell on the streets."
"Was she on the streets too?"
"No. She went to school with me." He brushed his fingers down his face and pushed his plate away. "I forced her to be everything I needed her to be, and soon she was just like me. Doped up, fucking for fun and not giving a shit about anything. Pretty soon she didn't even care about me. She just wanted another hit."
"That was the drugs that did that, Ian. It wasn't you."
"No?" He glanced over at me, the darkness in his eyes almost frightening. "If I never would have introduced her to that life, she'd still be here today. I deserve every ounce of shit life throws my way and then some."
"You can't keep punishing yourself for her death forever."
"I'm not sure how to stop." He pulled away from me and got up.
I left my lunch there and followed him into the living room. "What's on the zip drive? Have you watched all of it?"
He dropped down on the couch and reached for me. "No, I haven't had time, and the small part I saw in Brant's office told me everything I needed to know. Jeremy had the files tucked away because the evidence on them would pin your father to the scene of the fire without fail."
I crawled into his lap, straddling him. "Why don't you just turn it into the cops?"
"Because your father would make sure I suffered greatly if he ever found out that it was me who turned him in. I figure it's easier if I can get the men he's taken from in the past to step up and tear him down. He ruined Jeremy's career after the last campaign and he was involved in Brant's family being burned alive. One of them, if not both, have more than enough to prosecute him."
"And what about my mom? Did you find out anything about her death?" I ran my hands over Ian's chest and cupped the side of his throat as he squeezed my thighs softly and shook his head.
"No. I don't know what happened with your mom, but my suspicions are that Mitch was involved." He leaned over and looked at something behind me. "That album is full of pictures of your family, but there's not one of Mitch in there."
"Maybe Pauly stop caring about my father when my mother died."
"I think that's highly probable, but why? Did he force Pauly to kill your mother? Who was in the other car the night she died? Was he having an affair with her?"
"I don't know." I leaned forward and rested against him.
"I'm sorry." He kissed the side of my neck and pulled me in tighter. "I shouldn't be talking about this shit with you. I just want resolution and freedom, but I have no control to make it happen. My rap sheet is a mile long and no one with any sense in their head is going to take me seriously down at the police station. Not only that, but I can't get involved and have something happen to you. I won't."
I sat up and brushed my fingers by his cheeks. "Ian, this isn't just about me and my safety. It's about all the people out there that are voting to make this monster President. We're going to have to take a risk and do whatever we have to do to bring him down. If he takes office, it will be impossible."
"It's someone else's fight, Chloe. Not ours." He gripped my arms and pulled me back toward him. "I just want us to be together. We'll see what the fuck happens with Jeremy and Brant and then go from there. If they don't come through for us, we'll run."
"You don't seem like the kind of man that runs from things." I wanted to push him to be the guy I knew he could be, and yet I totally understood where he was coming from. Living a life where the two of us could just be together no matter the costs felt like something I would want to fight for too.
"I've been running my whole life. I'm not sure how to do anything else." He kissed me hard, forcing me to open myself up and let him in. I groaned at the feeling of him pressed against me and ignored the deep desire inside of me to heal him.
The only person that could heal Ian was Ian. Leaving the future up to chance wasn't the way to do it, but he would figure that out on his own. My job was to stand beside him and offer a safe place to land when he needed it. The revelation of that caused me to melt against him. I was safe. I was loved. I was his.
Chapter 19
Ian
"I'm heading out to meet up with Jeremy. He answered the text I sent a few minutes ago. I'll be back in a couple of hours and we'll go to the event together, alright?" I leaned down to kiss her a few more times before I had to go.
"Be careful. I'm still not sure I trust him." She gave me a stern look.
"This isn't about trust. It's about giving the right ammo to the right people and hoping that they have the balls to use it." I pulled my keys from my pocket and walked to the door. "I can't imagine Brant nor Jeremy not prosecuting your dad."
"I guess, but Jeremy has had the evidence on that zip drive for a really long time, Ian. Why hasn't he used it yet?" She stood up and walked toward me.
"I don't know. Maybe he thought he would get money from Mitch, or even reinstated beside him. He seems to care a lot more about his career than anything else."
"Maybe. Give me the extra drive. I don't want you carrying around the last bit of evidence we have on my dad. I'll put it in my safe in the bedroom."
"You sure?" I touched the side of her face, seeing more strength in her than I had before. Life was forcing her to grow up as it had me so many years ago.
"I'm sure." She took the drive and walked back to the couch, laying down and curling up on her side. It took everything inside of me to blow her a kiss and walk out of the house instead of joining her. With the event only a few hours away, time was of the essence. If Jeremy or Brant were going to make their move, they needed to do it now.
I drove down the street, trying to think through what the fuck we were going to do if neither of them stepped up. I didn't expect too much from Jeremy, but my brother seemed pretty sure of Brant.
Jeremy wanted to meet up at an ice cream shop that Cole and I haunted all the time when we were boys running the streets. Where I highly doubted that the guy knew what the place meant to me, I couldn't help but feel a little suspicious.
He was sitting near the back of the shop and simply waved as I walked in.
I stopped by the counter and got a scoop of vanilla in a cup before heading his way. The older woman who served me the ice cream gave me a crooked smile, but never said a thing.
"Thanks for reaching out." Jeremy glanced up as I approached.
"Yep. I figure that it's far more safe for you to hold onto these things. Chloe is my number one concern, and the less involved we are in this shit, the better."
"Agreed. Do you have all three of the drives?" He laid his hands flat on the table and started to tap his fingers as if he were nervous.
"Yeah." I pulled them out of my pocket and gave them to him.
"Did you watch the video?"
"Nope. I've been a little busy trying to keep up with everything that Mitch has me involved in."
"I understand." He tucked the zip drives in his pocket.
"Why didn't you take this to the police years ago when it happened?"
"Because it was recorded from my phone." He stood up as if the meeting were already over. "I couldn't have them pin the murders on me too."
"And now?"
"I could care less what happens to me. I'm tired of living in the shadows. Mitch will make it to the top by stepping over whoever's corpse he needs to. I'm sure my time is coming. The only reason he's left me alive thus far is because I have this against him." He pulled out one of the drives. "The night he had someone break into my apartment and take them, I knew I was in danger again."
"But you followed the campaign everywhere. Why? I would think you would want to steer clear of him." I took another bite of my ice cream, trying hard to appear calm. The fact that my heart was racing was irrelevant. I needed Jeremy to do the right thing, and me frightening him wouldn't help that at all.
"It's better to be behind the guy who's after you than in front of him, right? If he turns, I can protect myself from getting hit from the front, but if he's behind me, I have no protection. I'm open for any arrow he wants to shoot."
"When are you turning this in?"
"Soon." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm waiting to hear back on something I'm working on today. After I get that behind me, I'll take care of this." He gave me an odd smile. "Thanks again, and tell Chloe I said hello."
I didn't have a response, so I didn't give one. The guy was off in more ways than one. My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out to see that Mitch was calling.
"Great," I mumbled and put the phone to my ear. "Senator?"
"Make sure that you and Chloe are at the event at six p.m. in La Jolla tonight. I just filmed the announcement on my new campaign manager and my running mate. Don't be late for the celebration tonight, and don't disappoint me."
"And who exactly are you going to have beside you for the rest of the campaign?" I wasn't going to speak to his demands. He knew I'd have Chloe there when he wanted her there. It was a simple request and one that neither of us needed to spend too much time on.
"You'll find out shortly with the rest of the world." He dropped the call.
I smirked and set my phone down. The guy was a total dick and nothing like the man everyone believed him to be. I called my brother after finishing my ice cream just to catch up.
"Hey. Where are you?" Cole sounded a little out of breath.
"I'm just leaving a meeting with Jeremy. I gave him the zip drives. I'm not sure he's got the balls to follow through with turning Mitch in, but we'll see."
"I'm thinking we might be on our own, Bro."
"What? Why? Even if Jeremy doesn't take the evidence to the police, I'm pretty sure Brant will. Jeremy was th
e one filming that night, so there's an added layer of concern for him. He doesn't want to go to jail for the crime, but he sure as fuck deserves to."
"I'm leaving the office." He let out a long sigh. "Mitch just announced his new campaign manager and running mate. Do you have a TV around you? It's not good, Ian."
"No TV." I got up and walked out of the ice cream shop. "Who was it?"
My brother's pause left my mind wondering into the darkest alleys possible.
"His new manager is Jeremy, Ian."
"What? No fucking way. I just saw the guy and-" I paused and glanced around. Was that what he was waiting to hear back on? Ice water ran through my veins. Surely not.
"Yeah, and it just gets better."
I pressed my hand to the brick wall beside me and shook off the sickness rising in my chest. "Tell me."
I knew before he said it.
"His running mate for the Presidency is Brant Thomas. I would assume Brant will pull out now that you've given him the evidence of what Mitch did, right? He has too. There's no way he would be involved in any of that."
I needed to see the rest of the video. I was missing something. We all were.
"I don't know, bro. Come to the party tonight in La Jolla. I'm going to grab Chloe and explain everything to her. I guess tonight we'll find out if Brant really is who he says he is."
"Be careful, Ian. Nothing seems to be turning out like we originally thought. Watch your back until I'm there to do it for you."
"You too." I put my phone in my back pocket and rubbed my chest as I jogged toward my bike. Jeremy was joining Mitch again? Why did that not surprise me? Maybe the bastard agreed to meet me to get the zip drives back for safe keeping. Maybe he had no intent of turning Mitch in.
All he wanted was his career back, and it would seem that Mitch was prepared to give it to him, but what about Brant?
There was no way he would take the stage with Mitch when he knew that Mitch was at the helm of his family's murder.
"Unless he was part of the scandal." I got on my bike and swallowed the bile that rose up my throat. There was no way he was that type of monster. That would make him worse than Mitch. I couldn't swallow that. Surely he'd pull out of the race and take Mitch down like Cole and I hoped he would.