She couldn’t breathe.
“You can stay here.” She put the offer out there like it didn’t matter. Like an afterthought or a “just think about it” possibility. In reality his answer meant everything to her. She loved him and wanted to build a life with him, but now they had to deal with the implosion of his career. “With me.”
His lack of a response. It was all too much.
But she couldn’t stop. “I mean it, Walker.”
He shook his head. “Right now everything is up in the air. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Yeah, that was the problem.
Chapter Twenty-one
A storm moved in and stayed for two days. The coast got hit with a deluge. It rained every minute of every hour until the rain soaked the soil and turned everything into a giant pile of mush.
The first time the clouds turned from black to gray, Callen ventured outside. He and Declan worked in the relative silence of the early morning while the rest of the household slept. Water dripped down from where it had collected on the trees and a steady wind kept a mist in the air.
Not the perfect work environment but they had to capitalize and now, since neither of them liked being cooped inside. Moving into the potential of day three without fresh air meant they got up early and stared out the window and waited for an opening. It came before seven in the morning and they jumped without complaint.
Callen had just replaced the last of the rotten boards on the caretaker’s cottage when the back door flew open and Grace started stomping across the yard. More like sloshing. Twice her footing slipped and she almost fell.
He was just about to go get her when Declan moved closer and joined him in staring. His voice dropped to a whisper. “What the hell did you do?”
“I have no idea.” But whatever the hell it was it must have been bad.
Grace had only taken the time to throw on a jacket and rain boots. Callen didn’t even know if she wore anything under there. She better have sweats on or she would not be the only angry one in the yard. Last thing she needed was to get sick. The pregnancy finally zipped along without too much in the way of sickness. Inviting that back in any way struck Callen as a really bad idea.
She stopped right in front of him with her arms crossed. Before she could say anything he took a turn. “You have two seconds to get back inside before I carry you there.”
She frowned at him. “I know you’ve been holding off but you need to do something.”
They were clearly talking about two different things. The good news is that whatever fury pinged around inside of her didn’t appear to be aimed at him. No, this was something else.
The bad news? He didn’t have a clue what they were talking about. “What topic are we currently discussing?”
Grace’s worried gaze traveled from Callen to Declan and back again. “Walker is in big trouble with the FBI.”
The anxiety crushing Callen’s windpipe eased. “Didn’t we already know that?”
“Like, he’s on the verge of losing his job. There’s an investigation and everything.” Grace sighed. “I heard it from a friend who’s still in the office. I asked Mallory but she isn’t saying much. But I know enough to understand Walker is really in trouble. Serious trouble.”
Despite his assurances that everything was fine, they’d all seen this coming. Callen had talked with Beck and Declan several times. They wanted to figure out a way to help the guy—he was family after all, and had finally started acting that way. They thought they had a solution but using it carried certain risks and the time hadn’t been right to bring out those guns. Until now.
But Callen had tried to help before this point. “I refused to talk or press charges.”
“Yeah, well, that’s not enough. He lied and used his badge,” Grace said talking right over him. “Look, I know you don’t like him—”
It was time to put that notion to rest. “I like him just fine.”
“Since when?” Declan asked.
Grace looked as if she’d been knocked speechless. It took a few seconds for her to rev up and speak again. “That was going to be my question.”
This seemed obvious, but Callen went ahead and spelled it out. “Oh, come on. He can act like an ass, but as you both have repeatedly told me, so can I. So, how do I hold that against the guy?”
Declan dropped the cracked and rotten wood they’d removed from the building. “He’s still got a lot of anger.”
“He’s got a right to be angry.” Callen had turned this over and thought it through. Yeah, Walker whined a lot about his upbringing, but the guy was entitled to feel left out because, damn it, he was. “Charlie pretended he was never born. I know we say that we’d have been better off if that had happened to us, but we know that’s not true.”
Before he could say anything else, and he had a little more stored inside him, Grace threw her arms around him. Nearly took them both down in the mud. But the kiss was worth it. Even with Declan standing right there being a smart-ass and whistling, Grace didn’t hold back. She treated Callen to one of those long, lingering kisses that had a guy thinking about staying inside with the bedroom door locked.
When she lifted her head he wasn’t sure he still knew his name. “What’s this for?” Not that he cared all that much except that if he could repeat whatever he did right, he wanted to try.
She dropped one last kiss on his mouth then pulled back. “Being the man I love.”
Since she brought it up, he dove in. They’d been going round and round. Maybe this was the time. “Does that mean you’re ready to set a wedding date?”
“I’m assuming it will be soon.” Declan glanced at her stomach then held up his hands in mock surrender. “No offense.”
All amusement faded from her face. “Don’t make me ask about your wedding plans.”
Callen knew that hit landed when Declan closed his eyes and growled. Callen didn’t feel bad. It was time.
Then she turned on him. “And we are still not going to Vegas, so don’t ask.”
“Back to Walker,” Declan said.
Callen didn’t even try to evade. If Grace had a plan, they would follow it. “What do you want us to do?”
“I don’t know. Figure it out.”
That wasn’t all that helpful. “Any chance you have anything more specific?”
She smiled at him. “You’re his brothers. That’s your job.”
Callen had a feeling they’d be hearing that a lot over the next few months. For whatever reason, maybe because Walker pitched in or because he didn’t seem to be too bad a guy, Callen no longer minded.
***
Walker stepped into the upstairs library, the one Beck usually used as an office, and came to a dead stop. Callen and Declan stood there, at the front of the desk, and stared at him. Not the most welcoming entrance of his life but Walker had experienced worse.
Rather than dance around the topic or try to read minds, he went right to the point. They’d asked him to show up at a set time. It all seemed formal and . . . well, weird. Walker could only assume bad news lay ahead. He guessed his free pass to the guest room had ended.
“What’s going on?” he asked, trying to sound like he didn’t care.
Neither brother moved but Callen finally spoke. “You did nice work on the roof.”
Walker shook his head as he tried to make sense of that sentence. ‘You asked me to come in here to tell me that?”
Declan shook his head but, again, Callen was the one who spoke. “No.”
“I didn’t think so.” This was getting weirder. The idea of being kicked out left him feeling hollow. He thought the mood in the house had improved. That would teach him to get comfortable. You’d think he’d learn.
Callen leaned against the desk. “Grace says you’re in trouble at work.”
At the words Walker’s mind went blank. “What?’”
“The job you keep saying is fine,” Declan said. “That one.”
Confusion gave way to s
omething much darker. He’d sat in Mallory’s condo and spilled his guts. It took a lot for him to do it. His instincts told him to keep the information close and quiet. Now he knew they’d been right. “So much for a man thinking he has privacy.”
Callen shook his head. “You lost me.”
“I told Mallory what was going on, thinking she’d keep it quiet for now.” Disappointment nailed him in the gut. This was more than feeling betrayed. He’d been trying to open up and build something. Trying to give her what he thought she wanted, which was more about him.
This just proved he had no clue what women expected in a relationship.
Declan frowned. “Is it a secret?”
“No.” At least not anymore.
“You’ve got this all wrong.” Callen said. “Grace heard it from some of the people in your office who she keeps in touch with. Grace specifically said Mallory wouldn’t cough up any real information.”
The twisting inside him unclenched. He suddenly felt lighter and less on edge. But guilt followed right behind. Smacked the shit out of him. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, so don’t go nuts and blame Mallory.” Callen went around the desk to sit in the chair. “You have enough woman trouble.”
Walker stood with Declan, facing Callen. “More brotherly advice?”
Declan shot him a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding look. “Seems like you could use some.”
“Probably.” The last of the indignation and rage ran out of Walker and puddled on the floor.
Callen nodded. “Happy we understand each other.”
And they kind of did. All those years of holding it in, letting it fester and nurturing it, and the anger disappeared. Walker would never have said it was possible, but all he felt now was a lingering sense of having wasted a lot of time. “I spent a good portion of my career thinking you had broken the law when, in reality, I did that, in the way I came after you.”
Callen sat back hard in the chair. “We all make bad choices sometimes.”
He was providing a way out. Walker was tempted to take it but he didn’t. Couldn’t. “Thanks but—”
“I ran with Charlie long past the age where I should have known better.” Callen fidgeted in the chair. One minute he sat up and then next he lounged. It was as if he was uncomfortable in his own skin. “I was a kid but that’s not an excuse. And I don’t have an excuse for drinking too much or leaving Grace when she was pregnant.”
“Callen, come on,” Declan said. “Give yourself a break.”
“I’m being honest.” Callen’s gaze shifted to Walker. “If you want to start listing sins I’ve got you beat.”
The news, the same news Walker had waited a lifetime to hear, that verification of Callen’s involvement in Charlie’s schemes at some point, actually made Walker feel a strange sibling protectiveness toward him. Truth was, the information no longer mattered. Those years were gone and Callen had been a kid. No one would fault him. Besides, it sounded as if Callen carried enough guilt on his own.
That craving for vengeance no longer drove Walker. Callen deserved better. Hell, they all did.
“It’s over.” Walker said the words and he meant them. “You cleaned up your mess and seem to be doing fine. That’s what matters.”
Even Declan stared at Walker now. Just stood there with his mouth hanging open.
Callen managed a bit more. “No ‘I told you so’ stuff? Because you’re entitled. You really are. You weren’t wrong about everything. Only your dates got mixed up.”
“I’m sorry I held on for so long.”
Declan treated Walker to one of his shoulder slaps. “Now that is what I’d call progress.”
Walker had to keep from rubbing the spot. Declan had a lot of energy and strength behind those hits. “Remind me of that when I’m working at a laundromat.”
“We might be able to help make that a bit better for you.” Callen opened the desk drawer and pulled out a thick file. It landed in the space right in front of Walker.
He stared at the brown nameless cover. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s a partial catalogue of the items we found buried in the yard.” Declan flipped open the cover to show a page with a long list and several columns. “We photographed everything and Sophie has done this amazing job of cross-referencing the items with the crimes and victims. She still has some work to do, but this is pretty extensive.”
Walker’s mind shifted back to those holes in the yard. He’d expected a few necklaces and an explanation about finding them mixed in with their grandmother’s stuff. This was an investigation file. As organized and clear as anything the FBI put together.
He flipped through more of the pages. “There’s a lot of information here.”
And an incredible amount of merchandise. Charlie sure didn’t disappoint. The man who claimed to have been broke right before his death had who knew how much stashed away. The guy just never stopped lying.
“Aren’t you going to ask if we stole the items or helped Charlie or whatever else you might be thinking?” Callen wrapped his fingers around the arms of the chair. “Honestly, we can’t prove we weren’t involved.”
No, Walker instinctively knew the truth. This was not about the sons trying to get away with something. Nothing in the way they lived their lives suggested they were criminals. They didn’t have large sums of cash. More importantly their personality profiles didn’t fit at all.
Even now they handed him the evidence that could get them in trouble. That was trust. “I’m assuming this was Charlie and Grandma Nanette. The Nanette part is new information. Always suspected but never confirmed until now.”
Declan nodded. “Looks like it.”
“We always vowed to disclose any items we could track down or find and try to get them back to the victims.” Callen never broke his intense unblinking stare. “If you want, you can take that job.”
Declan pushed the file closer to Walker. “And take all the credit. It might save your job.”
This didn’t make sense. He may believe them, but many others didn’t. Walker couldn’t understand why they’d give away evidence like this. “Why?”
“You need this, we don’t. Being the one who delivers this to the FBI might make your road easier.”
Callen provided an explanation but the reason was clear to Walker. They were treating him like a brother. Not just saying the words or reading the information on a birth certificate. They acted on it.
The realization humbled him. Conflicting feelings of confusion and something he couldn’t quite name . . . happiness, possibly, hit him. He needed to return at least some of that trust with a hard truth. “The FBI is going to swarm the house. Make your lives a fucking misery. Again.”
“We know.” Declan’s voice barely rose above a whisper and Callen nodded in agreement.
They said that, but that had to mean they’d forgotten about the intensity of life under the microscope. “You sure you want to go through this again? You have a baby on the way, Callen.”
“No, I don’t want any of it and certainly don’t want it near Grace, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Walker heard the answer in his head before Callen even uttered it. “I had a feeling you’d say that.”
“Why?”
Walker felt his first bit of amusement in days. “Family intuition.”
Callen smiled back. “Possibly.”
Chapter Twenty-two
Callen paced the guest room. He looked for any sign of Walker. Hell, a shoelace. But there was nothing there. Empty closet and drawers. Nothing in the connecting bathroom. No car in the driveway. No file.
That lying fucker.
Callen tried to think of everything that could go wrong now and his knees almost buckled. He had to think, thanks to the friendship between Walker and Grace, he might still leave her unscathed. She could get through the pregnancy while whatever was about to come down, did.
Declan stepped into the doorway and shook his head. “I’ve checked the S
evern Motel and looked at the diner. No one has seen him. I thought maybe someone at a gas station, but no. He must have left during the night.”
Callen knew that was going to be the answer. “He’s gone.”
Footsteps sounded in the hallway. The sound of female laughter preceded them. This is not how he wanted Grace to find out. Knowing Leah and her general dislike of and only partial thawing for Walker, Callen sort of didn’t want her to find out at all. At least not from him. Let Declan have that job.
Grace saw his face and her smile faded. “What’s wrong?”
She snaked around Declan and walked into the room. Her gaze went to the stripped bed and the pile of sheets on the floor.
Before Callen could find the right words, Declan broke in. “Walker left and took the file.”
The explanation was quick and succinct. Between the clenched teeth and balled fists, he looked ready to blow. Somehow he reined it in, but Callen didn’t think that would last long. It might just be for Grace’s benefit. Either that, or the full impact of what this betrayal could lead to hadn’t set in.
It had for Callen. Depending on the way Walker presented the information they’d be fighting off a new round of accusations. There was no way to stop some questioning, but that was different from using words that suggested they all knew what was happening and hid it. With Callen’s luck, Walker would spin this that he found the folder and uncovered everything.
Leah tugged on Declan’s sleeve until he glanced up at her. “What file?”
“We gave him the file on the evidence we found in the yard.”
Her eyes bulged. “Why would you do that?”
Declan ran a hand through his hair. It looked like he was trying to stay rational and calm but was fighting a losing battle with his control. “His job was in trouble and—”
Enough. Callen jumped right to the problem. “Walker screwed us. We bought the act and it bit us.”
There. No need to pretty it up.
Walker was a nasty piece of shit. For a few weeks he conned them.
Guess he really was Charlie’s son.
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