“Really? What were you expecting? A firing squad?”
“Your sheriff friend is out of trouble. You as well. I call that a win,” Luke said.
“Yeah, and now I get to live with the realization that my brother is at the mercy of a man who has manipulated people to murder. Who has ties to a known biker gang, and that Billy will no doubt be swept up in a massive drug bust. That is if Agent Carmichael actually listens to me and proceeds with a delicate touch instead of the freaked-out, pissed-off, bull-in-a-china-shop tactic he no doubt usually favors.”
“Maybe he’s right,” Luke said. “If I were this Mathias, I’d be losing my mind after your infiltration.”
“Oh, I’m sure he is. He’s already shut down the meth trailers and probably hauled everything else out, at least until he’s positive I’m gone. Which could take months. And that scares the shit out of me too.”
“Why?” Luke asked.
“Carmichael. He wants Mathias. Bad. When he sees his evidence vanishing, cue the bull. We’ve all had that one case. You know. The Ripper. Hell, the Woodsman. It makes us nuts, and then we make mistakes.”
Luke frowned. “You think Billy’s in danger?”
“I think anyone at that house and farm is in danger. You were in the same meeting I was. The guy’s a career criminal at the end of his life. He went down last time because of informants. You really think he’ll take that chance again? He got people to kill for him once and he doesn’t have another fifteen years in him.”
“So what do you want to do?” Luke asked.
I sighed. “What can I do? I can’t go to The Apex. Not only will Mathias expose us, if Carmichael finds out, he can charge me with obstruction of justice or tampering with a federal investigation. I’m out of plays, Luke. Or I could just be too exhausted to see the trees for the forest. It feels like every day I’ve been here has really been a week.” I frowned. “I just want to sleep for a month.”
“That’s always an option,” Luke said.
“Starting tomorrow maybe. Tonight I have to go to dinner at an old friend’s house. Joyce called me twice on the road, reminding me I’d promised to come. She must have talked to Grandma, because she invited you too.”
He raised an eyebrow. “She did?”
“Yeah, but I told her I didn’t know your plans, and that you probably couldn’t make it.”
“Do you…not want me to go?”
“What? No! I just didn’t know if you wanted to come back with me to that cesspit of hell. I thought maybe you planned on driving right back to D.C. or were staying the night in Pittsburgh.” I looked away from him. “I-I know my grandparents would love to see you, and I’m sure Joyce already has stories about my awkward teenage years lined up to tell you. Of course Mom’s been in rare form, but I’m sure you can take her.”
“I’m not,” he said with a smirk I caught out of the corner of my eye.
“You’re right. You may be taking your life into your hands facing off against Faye.”
“Yeah, but hearing all sorts of embarrassing stories about little Iris Ballard seems worth the risk. I already made a reservation at The Grey Motor Lodge for the night.”
“Oh, God,” I groaned. “I hope you packed enough sanitizer to cover your whole body. Some of the pros who work out of there might be willing to slather you up.”
“It can’t be worse than that dump they put us up in on the Tripper case. I think the bedbugs had fleas there.”
We grinned at one another. God, he smelled good. Calvin Klein cologne mixed with his natural musk. I hadn’t seen him in weeks. I’d forgotten how his hair stuck up in one spot despite all the product in it. How vibrant his blue eyes could be when the sun was out. How just having him near lowers my anxiety and rage 10 percent. “Thank you.”
“Of course I came.” How we could finish each other’s thoughts. “And we’ll untangle this mess as best we can, okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered with a smile.
He looked me square in the eyes and touched my hand. My whole body lit up. “We got this.”
And goddamned if I didn’t believe him.
Chapter 13
Joyce actually squealed when I told her I’d bring Luke to the barbeque. Squealed. Luke Hudson just had that effect on women ages sixteen to ninety-six. He followed me back to Grey Mills, and I deposited him at the motor lodge with a promise we’d pick him up in an hour. I briefly considered offering him my room at my grandparents’ or at Mom’s, but I knew he’d insist on taking the couch and if I could avoid Mom the rest of the trip, it would be smart all around. He told me he’d survive at the lodge for the night. If it were any longer, and I really couldn’t see that happening, we’d clear the other spare room of its massive clutter—a major undertaking, but we’d do it.
Grandma was putting the finishing touches on her potato salad when I came out of my bedroom, now 100 percent more comfortable in khaki shorts, a yellow tank top, a gray-and-white striped cotton blouse with one shoulder bared, and hair in a ponytail. “My my, don’t you look pretty,” she said. If I weren’t so exhausted, I might have even felt that way. I yawned for the eighty-seventh time that hour.
“Thank you. Who was on the phone earlier?” I asked.
Grandma’s mouth twitched. “Your…mother. Seems she ran into Joyce at the supermarket.”
I grimaced. “Oh, God. Don’t say it.”
“She and Khairo will meet us there. She’s bringing watermelon!”
I flopped onto the couch with a loud groan. “You’re shitting me. Seriously? As if this day could get any worse.”
“Your mother knew we were going and—”
“Guilt-tripped Joyce into an invite, no doubt.”
“She should be on her best behavior. Joyce told her about your horrible day at work, and although your mother is upset you haven’t called her today, she rarely misbehaves in public.”
I cringed again. I’d called Hancock, Joyce, Grandma, and even Carol on the ride back from Pittsburgh, but the thought of speaking to Mom had turned my stomach. “There was a reason I didn’t call her, Grandma. I figured any news would be better coming from you. After yesterday…She blew my cover. She put us both in danger. Not to mention all the shit she said to me before, which she didn’t apologize for.”
“She didn’t mean it.” That was my grandmother, the ultimate cheerleader even when the team sure as shit didn’t deserve it.
“And yet she said it,” I countered. “But I swear to Christ, if she says one negative word to Luke…”
“She won’t,” Grandma said. “She knows he’s here to help us.”
“So am I, Grandma, and it still didn’t stop her,” I pointed out.
Grandpa walked into the living room in a festive yellow Hawaiian shirt and jeans. “Two of my favorite ladies. Are you ready to party? Let’s get going. Don’t want to keep Smarty Pants’s admirers waiting. One in particular,” he said with a wink.
In that moment I wished I were back at The Apex or anywhere else on the planet. What happened with Shepherd in my house was going to be a picnic compared to an evening with Luke and my family; I could actually sense it. “Kill me now,” I muttered as I pulled my exhausted carcass off the couch.
My grandparents insisted on getting out of the car to greet Luke when we reached the motor lodge, which was really just a one-story green stucco roach motel where at least two prostitutes lazed by the pool in between dates. When I opened the car door I could actually smell the meth wafting in the breeze. “What’s that putrid stench? Cat urine?” Grandma asked.
“Nothing, Grandma.”
“You’re making him stay here?” Grandpa asked.
“I’m not making him anything. Where else can he stay? Mom’s? I can’t even stay there.”
We reached Luke’s motel room and knocked. He opened the door, all smiles. He hadn’t changed clothes but did untuck his shirt. That was as casual as he ever went. “Mr. and Mrs. Ballard. Hello! I—”
“You are not staying in this hel
lhole,” Grandpa said.
Luke glanced at me, and I rolled my eyes. “I’m sorry?” Luke asked.
“You came all this way to save my grandchildren’s rear ends. You are not staying here. You’ll stay at our house. Iris can have our bedroom, you can take hers, and we’ll stay at Faye’s.”
“Mr. Ballard, I can’t ask you to leave your own home. I—”
“You’re not asking, I’m telling, Agent Man. It’s only for the night. We’ll clear the spare room tomorrow morning. You and Iris pack; Edie and I will go check you out of this dump. And not another damn word,” Grandpa said, holding up a finger. “You’ve saved my granddaughter’s life more than once. It’s the least we can do. The very least. Get packing. Come on, Edie.”
Grandma smiled brightly at Luke and even winked before they both began down the sidewalk toward the office a few doors down. Luke and I just chuckled. “Now you know where I get it from.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Any way I can get out of it?”
“Nope. The decree has been made. But don’t worry. They don’t have to go anywhere. You can have my room and I’ll take the couch.”
“No, I’ll take—”
“Luke, after we’re done with this barbeque I am positive I would be able to sleep on a bed of nails at a heavy metal concert. Just get your stuff. He’s right. You cannot stay here. Do you need help packing or—”
“No, I just have to grab my toiletry bag. Hang on.” He disappeared into the bathroom, and I turned around. The prostitutes at the pool were watching it all, trying to figure out what was happening. I waved and was greeted by their scowls. Probably pissed I was taking away a potential john. Not in any lifetime, girls. Luke zipped up his suitcase when I stepped into the room, away from their scorn. “I have to say I’m a little relieved. This place is definitely a close second to the Tripper case motel.”
“Mom worked as a maid here for a few months before she just couldn’t stand it anymore. And that was back when it wasn’t known as hooker central. Some asshole high on crack threatened her and she had to break a toilet lid over his head to get away. She put the guy in a coma.”
“Jesus,” Luke said.
“The asshole woke up, cut a deal for kidnapping, and wrote Mom about a year later apologizing and even thanking her. He’d gotten clean in prison. I think they still email, or did two years ago.”
“She was brave,” Luke said.
“Yeah. Just…keep in mind she does have her good points when you see her tonight.” Luke stared at me. “Yeah, I just found out Joyce invited her too. And she has been fifty shades of certifiable since I arrived in town. I’m apologizing in advance for anything she says or does tonight. Just ignore her as best you can. What do the kids say, ‘Don’t feed the troll’?”
“Does she know I’m coming?”
“I assume so. Please just keep that wonderful Hudson cool, and if you see me about to not heed my own advice, rein me in.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“You are the only one who ever successfully has, you know. You’re the Iris Whisperer,” I said with a smile.
“I always thought of it as taming the beast,” he said with a matching smile.
“Well, between the two of us, you are the beauty,” I said.
“Guess it was meant to be, then,” he said, smile wavering a little as he gazed into my eyes.
My own faltered as well. “Guess it was.”
“You’re all checked out,” Grandpa said, stepping into the motel room, completely breaking the spell. Thank God. “Edie’s in the car. You two ready?”
Luke and I shared a nervous smile. “As we’ll ever be,” I said.
Poor Luke didn’t have to wait until seeing Mom and Joyce before enduring the third degree. The whole ten-minute drive to Joyce’s, Grandpa grilled him on what he’d been up to since they last saw one another. Luke took it in his usual stride, talking about his time in the Art Theft unit. Work. A safe topic. My stomach still hadn’t stopped fluttering since our moment in the motel.
“Have you decided if you’re going back to Art Theft?” I asked. “You know you can write your own ticket to any field office, any division you’d like. What about the Interstate Task Force again?”
The sides of Luke’s mouth twitched. “After I talked to you I actually, uh, had a meeting yesterday afternoon with Reggie. He put my name forward for an ASAC position.”
“Holy shit, Luke! That’s wonderful!” I looked at my grandparents in the front. “He’d basically be running an entire division.”
“It’s in Madrid,” he said with a half-smile.
My own smile waned a little. “Madrid as in Spain?”
“I did spend a year abroad there in college. I speak the language fluently,” he pointed out.
“I know, but…” I shut my mouth before I dug myself in too deep. The tangled vine of knots in my stomach all but strangling it didn’t help. I missed the butterflies. They’d been snuffed out by the word Madrid. “They’d be lucky to have you. And it’s a great stepping-stone.”
“Reggie just threw my hat in the ring. I haven’t got it yet, and even then…” He shrugged.
“No point worrying about it until it happens, Iris,” Grandpa said as we pulled down Joyce’s street.
“I’m not worr—Why—I’m proud of him. He deserves the promotion.” I looked at Luke. “I am proud. I’m not—”
“Uh-huh. Yeah. Right. Keep telling yourself that,” Grandpa said, parking behind Mom’s car. Oh, I wanted to throttle him. “Iris, don’t forget the twelve-pack at your feet. Come on, we’re already late.”
As we all climbed out of the car, me with the beer, I couldn’t look at Luke. Not even when he rounded the car and was right by my side. My grandparents strolled ahead of us up the driveway toward Joyce and Don’s two-story house.
“It’s a long shot I’ll even get it. And even if I do, that doesn’t mean I’ll take it,” Luke said in a low voice.
“Why the hell wouldn’t you? It’s what you’ve been working for all your life. It’s what you wanted more than anything. What’s more important than that? Besides, what’s keeping you here? I’d go.” He suddenly stopped walking. I turned around. “What?”
He stared at me, mouth curled into an angry O. “You…” He closed his eyes to compose himself before opening them again. They’d instead become diamond hard. “You’re right. What the hell is stopping me? What is keeping me here? Thank you, Iris. You’ve just made my decision that much easier.” He shook his head and started past me to the house.
My body momentarily locked in place. I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to. I wanted to crawl into a hole like I did two years before when life got to be too much. I didn’t know why I was so panicked in the first place. We already lived hundreds of miles apart. Of course it was only a two-hour flight or five hours by car, two and a half if we met halfway. Spain was across a damn ocean, but there was FaceTime. Phone calls. Email. But it was as if he’d just told me he was dying or something. And he’d acted like I’d spat in his face. At that moment I couldn’t figure out either of our reactions. Or I just couldn’t face either. I barely had any energy to stay awake, forget analyzing deep-seeded fears and contemplating life-altering choices. I was a zombie who had to make it through a party without biting someone. That was all I could do that night. So I compartmentalized all the shit, plastered on a smile, and followed the others through the fence’s gate to the backyard, making sure to stay a few paces behind Luke.
The steaks were already grilling and smelled divine when we entered the small backyard. Joyce strolled out of her house holding a bowl of chips. Mom was nursing a beer at the candlelit table while Don and Khairo stood at the grill, also with beers. Don was the Latino version of my grandfather, just as bald and sporting a goatee for as long as I could remember.
“Sorry we’re a little late,” Grandpa said. All eyes turned our way. Don and Khairo smiled, but the women’s expressions were polar opposites. Joyce’s mouth flopped open and her eyes b
ugged out, whereas my mother grimaced—whether at me or Luke, I didn’t know. I didn’t care. Joyce and Don Hernandez, meet Luke Hudson. Luke, Joyce and Don,” Grandpa said with no fanfare.
“Hello. Thank you for including me on such short notice,” Luke said.
Joyce rushed over to him, still starstruck and all but licking her chops. “Of course. Of course! Thank you for being here. Oh, my goodness, how is it you’re even more attractive in person? That doesn’t seem scientifically possible.”
“Joyce!” Grandma admonished.
Luke just politely smiled. “I always have enjoyed defying all scientific possibility.”
Don stepped away from the grill and held out his hand to Luke, who shook it. “You’ll have to forgive my wife. Her filter broke back in ’67.”
“I can forgive a beautiful woman almost anything,” Luke said, making Joyce blush. He smiled at her before looking at Mom and Khairo. “Mr. and Mrs. Lange, nice to see you both again. It’s been too long.”
“Agent Hudson,” Khairo said. Mom just looked away. “Want a beer?”
“I’d love one.”
“Make it two,” Grandpa said.
“Uh, here,” I said, finally stepping forward. I gave Don the pack.
“Thanks, Nancy Drew,” Don said.
“Nancy Drew?” Luke asked.
“It’s what we called her when she kept coming into the station every day when she was ten,” Joyce explained.
“And I’ve hated it since I was ten,” I said with a smirk.
“That’s why we keep calling you it, love,” Joyce said with a matching smirk.
“We called her The Bull at the Academy because she was so stubborn and hard, and God forbid you made her see red,” Luke said.
“Better than Don Juan, Donny,” I said to Luke with a half-smile. “He even flirted with the lunch ladies.”
The group, save for Mom, laughed, but Luke’s smile tightened. “In my defense, they were quite attractive for lunch ladies.”
“And are you seeing anyone now?” Joyce asked, as subtle as a sledgehammer.
Darkness at the Edge of Town Page 24