Beneath the Truth

by Meghan March

  Could I have given him my forgiveness?

  Water droplets slid down my cheeks, and I didn’t know if it was from the spray or another source.

  “He was my dad. The best man I’d ever known until—” I broke off, not wanting to say it.

  “He was human, Rhett. People make mistakes. I thought my dad was invincible too, but he’s not.”

  “But he didn’t betray everyone who believed in him!” My shoulders shook.

  Ari pressed her lips to my chest. “No, but you have to give him grace anyway. Holding on to the anger isn’t going to change what happened. Someday, you’re going to have to forgive him—and yourself. You won’t be able to move on until you do.”

  Intellectually, I knew she was right, but it wasn’t easy. The tight grip that held my anger and feelings of betrayal loosened a little.

  He was human.

  My father was only a man. An imperfect man. A man who believed he deserved more than he was being given, so he found a way to get it—and paid the ultimate price.

  There was nothing I could do to change what happened. He’d already suffered for the sins he’d committed.

  I’m sorry, Dad. I’m sorry you felt like you had to do this. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you find your way free. I’m so fucking sorry.

  The words echoed in my head and tore open the wounds festering inside me. Ari never loosened her grip, and I lost track of time as I let go.

  52

  Rhett

  The next morning, Ari’s phone woke us both up from a dead sleep. She snatched it up and hit the button to answer.

  “Hello?”

  Even without it being on speaker, Esme’s voice came through loud and clear. “Security hasn’t been able to find Jan. There’s no sign of her.”

  “Shit,” I muttered, my brain roaring to life.

  “But that’s not why I’m freaking the fuck out. Erik didn’t show up for our Soul Cycle class. He never misses. He’s not answering his phone either. I’m heading to his apartment right now.”

  “Wait, what?” Ari sputtered. “No. If you’re—”

  I snatched the phone out of her hand. “Esme?”

  “Yeah? Who the hell is this?”

  “Hennessy.”

  “Oh my God, if I weren’t losing my shit right now, I’d be freaking out over the fact that you’re clearly in bed together.”

  “Not important. What’s important is that you stay the fuck away from Erik’s apartment. Is there a manager you can call? Someone who can check on him?”

  “I already called and they didn’t answer. I have to go check myself.”

  Ari rubbed her eyes, turning them red. “Don’t let her—”

  I held up a hand. “Esme, listen to me. If something happened to Erik, what matters most is making sure nothing happens to you.”

  “You can’t stop me from going. He’s my best friend, dammit!”

  I knew from her determined tone that nothing I could say would change her mind, so I had to secure her safety another way. “If you’re going to his place, don’t go near his door without the manager. Wait for someone to walk up there with you. If there’s any sign of tampering with the lock or door, get back in your car and call the cops. I’ll check on things from my end and call you back.”

  “But—”

  “Call the manager.”

  “Tell her I said she better not go up there by herself,” Ari said, her tone panicked.

  “Your boss forbids you to do this by yourself, and she doesn’t care if you have a key.” I was guessing about the last part, but it was a safe assumption.

  “Okay. Fine. But I’m going. I’ll call as soon as I get there.”

  “Good. We’ll be waiting.”

  When I ended the call, Ari clutched the covers to her chest. “Oh my God. Do you think . . .”

  Snatching my phone from the nightstand, I dialed Heath. “I don’t know, but your brother better have an update, because this shit ain’t cool.”

  Heath answered on the first ring. “What’s happening?”

  “Two of Ari’s employees are missing. Where are things at on your end? The Feds bringing Carlos in?”

  A moment of heavy silence stretched for too long before he answered. “Not yet. They’re trying to do this smart because they want him to flip, and—”

  “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. The Feds really think he’s going to betray his whole family? And for what? Fucking idiots.”

  “I can’t make them bring him in. You know that.”

  “Yeah, well, if something happens to your sister’s employees, it’s gonna be on them for not getting off their asses.”

  “I know it’s frustrating. We’re making progress. The gears just turn slow with all the red tape. You get how it is.”

  “Tell them to move faster. They might have more to investigate than just him if they don’t hurry the fuck up.”

  “I’ll relay the message. Anything else? Ari okay?”

  I met her stare. “She’s safe, and that’s what matters.”

  “Good deal, brother. Take care of her.”

  “You know I will.”

  I hung up and grabbed Ari’s hand. “They haven’t brought him in.”

  She cleared her throat. “I gathered that. What are we going to do if something happened to Erik or Jan? I can’t . . .” She trailed off as if the words got caught in her throat.

  I reached out to loop an arm around her and pulled her against my chest. “Don’t borrow trouble. We’ll take it as it comes.”

  “Okay.” When I finally released her, she rolled to the side of the bed. “I need my computer. I need to dig. I have to feel like I’m doing something instead of just waiting and hoping.”

  “You do that, and I’ll call Esme.”

  She nodded and left the room. I used her phone to call her employee back.

  “Did you find out something?” Esme asked in lieu of a greeting.

  “Carlos Herrera is still walking free. You need to be careful.”

  “This is my best friend we’re talking about. I would do anything for him.”

  “And he would want you to stay safe.”

  “I’ll call you back as soon as I get there. Give me five minutes.”

  I paced the room while I waited, and finally, the phone rang.

  “He’s not here, but his door was unlocked! Erik wouldn’t do that. Ever.”

  “Don’t go inside. Call the cops.”

  “They won’t take a missing-person report for forty-eight hours. I saw him eighteen hours ago.”

  Fuck. I knew that all too well.

  “We’ll call in a favor and have someone come check it out. Lock the door, keep your key, and go to the office. Stay there until you hear from me.”

  “Okay. But if something happened to Erik . . .”

  “I’m going to tell you the same thing I just told your boss—don’t borrow trouble.”

  We said good-bye and I hung up. I yanked on jeans and followed the scent of coffee to the kitchen where Ari was standing on one leg, the other foot pressed against her inner thigh like she was attempting a yoga pose, her fingers flying over the keyboard.

  “Do I want to ask what you’re doing?”

  “Probably not.”

  “How many felonies?”

  “None, if I don’t get caught.”

  It was amazing how little her absolute lack of remorse for breaking the law bothered me. In this situation, if one of my friends were missing, I’d feel the same way.

  I stepped up behind her, dropping a palm on each shoulder. “Don’t get caught.”

  “Don’t worry. It’s the Feds. They’re not that good at back tracing.”

  I looked over her shoulder. “What are you looking for?”

  “I wanted to see what kind of surveillance they were running, and what they were planning to bring Carlos in for, but there’s not a single mention of his name anywhere. Not even a basic file. Didn’t Heath say they were investigating him? There shou
ld be something.”

  “Maybe they’re keeping it off the books.”

  “Or maybe they’re not doing jack shit,” Ari countered. “No warrants. No reports. No surveillance. Nada. Who the hell is Heath having look into this anyway?”

  “He didn’t give me a name. I’ll find out.”

  Her fingers kept flying. “If he weren’t my brother, I’d wonder if he was lying about having someone look into it, because there’s literally nothing. It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “They have to be keeping it off the books then. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were. I’ll get in touch with him again.”

  I fired off a text to Heath asking for a name. His response came just as quickly.

  * * *

  Heath: Tell Ari to quit doing her thing. I’m working on it.

  * * *

  When I relayed his message to her, her face screwed up into an angry expression and she grabbed her own phone.

  * * *

  Ari: I have two employees missing, and one of them is Erik. His apartment was unlocked. Don’t tell me not to do anything about it.

  Heath: I’ll call in a favor and have them check on him. Probably nothing.

  Ari: Cops are already involved. Do better.

  * * *

  Ari released a growl of frustration. “He knows Erik and Esme are basically my family!”

  “I know. We’re going to figure it out. Let’s brainstorm.”

  53

  Ariel

  Esme called back two hours later, and this time the panic in her voice had morphed into hysteria.

  “The cops won’t do anything. His car is here but his bike is missing, so they said he must be out for a long ride.” She paused. “But I hacked into his search-engine history, and before we left work last night, he looked up Jan Hofer’s address. What if . . . what if he went to find her and something bad happened? What if he never even made it home last night? He’s back on that stupid ride your bike to work kick again, and Jan’s place isn’t that far from his.”

  Dread curdled in my belly. “Shit,” I whispered.

  “I’m hacking all the camera feeds around his and Jan’s places. If the cops won’t do anything, I’ll find him my damn self,” Esme vowed.

  “Good. I’ve got part of the security team looking for Carlos, and I’m running down any properties he could be at.”

  “If you find an address—”

  “No, Esme. You go nowhere by yourself. Promise me.”

  “Fine, but if that asshole did something to him—”

  “It’ll be on me, and I’ll make sure he gets what’s coming to him, I swear it.” I wished I could hug her, because both of us needed it. “Stay safe, and call me if you find anything.”

  “You too.”

  We hung up, and I turned into Rhett’s arms. I didn’t realize I was shaking until he tightened his hold on me.

  “I don’t like this, Rhett. I really, really don’t like this.” I swallowed back the urge to cry, but tears burned behind my eyes.

  He pulled back and lifted my chin. “Your ex knew how close Erik and Esme were to you?”

  I nodded. “I talked about them both all the time. I swear to God, if he touches one hair on Erik’s head . . .”

  He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “We’ll make sure he pays.”

  I stepped out of his embrace and grabbed my laptop, ready to tear Carlos’s life to shreds.

  Rhett paced the kitchen. “Something doesn’t feel right. I know I said having cartel connections in California and New Orleans didn’t mean they were related, but this seems like too much coincidence to me. We need to know if they’re related. The same cartel. The same people.”

  The knot in my stomach grew. “How? Why? What’s the common link?”

  “I keep turning it over and over, and I keep coming up with the same answer.”

  “What?”

  He met my gaze. “You are.”

  54

  Ariel

  Two hours later, the pounding behind my eyes reached migraine proportions. I’d sent a list of properties to my security team to search, and then I started on another angle. One I never expected to be considering.

  Something was wrong here. Very wrong.

  Rhett was outside briefing the security team, and I rose from the table on shaky legs and went to the fridge for a bottle of water while I waited for him to return. Another cup of coffee might put me right over the edge. I’d chugged half the bottle when Rhett returned. One look at my face was all it took for him to read me.

  “What did you find?” He came toward me as he asked the question.

  “Didn’t you say Heath had taken himself off the IA investigation about your dad because of a conflict of interest?”

  Rhett nodded. “That’s what he said.”

  My belly flopped like a fish dying on the banks of the lake. “He’s on the reports about your dad. All of them. For the last year.”

  Rhett’s expression turned to stone. “What? That’s impossible.”

  I set the water bottle on the counter and wiped my hands on my shorts, clutching the hem. “He’s not just part of the investigation.” I paused, meeting Rhett’s gaze. “He’s leading it.”

  Rhett’s face drained of color, leaving it ashen. “Why the fuck would he lie to me about it then? It doesn’t make any goddamned sense. He knew that I didn’t care either way. I just wanted the truth. He could’ve told me he stayed on it, and I would’ve been happy that someone competent was working it.”

  I swallowed. “That’s the other thing that doesn’t make any sense. His reports are like a fifth grader put them together. Totally basic. Lacking any useful information. It was almost like . . .”

  “What?” Rhett demanded.

  “Like he was stalling.”

  “Why the hell would he—”

  “I have no idea. Could he have been trying to help?”

  From his narrowed eyes, it didn’t look like Rhett was ready to give Heath the benefit of the doubt. And, honestly, from what I’d seen, I was having trouble too.

  “Show me.”

  I grabbed the copies I’d printed out and handed them over. Rhett flipped through the pages, the line between his eyebrows deepening until they nearly touched. He kept his head down as he started to speak.

  “Heath’s a competent cop. This isn’t even rookie work. I don’t know how his superiors didn’t kick him off the case for this shit.”

  “It doesn’t make sense.”

  Finally, Rhett looked up, his mouth set in a grim line. “There are only two possible explanations. Either he was trying to help and stall the investigation, or someone didn’t want him closing the case and so he deliberately dragged it out as long as he could.” He skipped to the last report and held it out. “This is what they were using to arrest him, and this information could’ve been in the first report, over a year ago. It doesn’t make sense for Heath to sandbag this.”

  I glanced down at the sheet, and it sounded like an intelligent human being had strung together the sentences, which was at odds with the reports for the year prior.

  “Could Heath . . . would he . . .” I didn’t even want to voice the possibility that my brother could have been deliberately blocking the investigation for whoever it was going to implicate.

  “I don’t know. But we need to dig deeper into your brother and any possible motives.” Rhett looked pointedly at me. “Can you do that?”

  Disloyalty burned through my veins like acid, but if Heath had done something . . .

  “If he’s the connection from the department to me, and then me to Carlos, then this all starts to make a little more sense. I have to look.”

  55

  Rhett

  Ari pulled Heath’s phone records and I spent hours going through them. The number of burner phones contacting him on a regular basis did nothing but raise the level of my suspicion.

  What the hell did you get yourself into, Heath?

  While Ari dug for more information
, my phone rang.

  “We’ve got a package out at the front gate. Flower delivery van dropped it off, didn’t wait for one of us to get there for signatures.”

  A feeling of foreboding slithered over me. “What the fuck is it? Do we need the bomb squad?”

  Ari’s fingers froze on the keyboard as soon as I said bomb squad.

  “One of the guys on the team worked as EOD for a couple months. He’s assessing it before we open it.”

  “I’m coming out. Don’t open it until I get there.”

  Still unmoving, Ari stared at me. “A bomb?”

  I shook my head. “Not likely, but we’re not taking any chances. If someone is trying to get to you, they’re going to have to go through all of us first.”

  She bolted out of her chair. “You are not getting blown up for me, Rhett Hennessy. No way.”

  I crossed the room and yanked her into my arms. “This fucker has already proven he’s resourceful and fucking dangerous. You’re not taking any chances.”

  “What about you? I refuse to let him take you too.”

  I grasped her shoulders. “We’re going to be careful. Wait inside. I’ll go see what the hell is going on out there, and I’ll tell you when it’s safe.” When she opened her mouth to argue, I put a finger over her lips. “Safe, Ari. Just let me keep you fucking safe.”

  “Okay. Fine.”

  I pressed a hard kiss to her lips. “Thank you.”

  As soon as I walked out the front door, I was glad I made her promise. The guys had created a perimeter around the box in the driveway outside the front fence, and one approached it carefully.

  When I shut the door, Carver turned toward me to ask, “Who else knew she was staying here?”

  “The article in the paper made it clear she was in town, but at this house? Just family—mine and hers—and a couple of her employees.”