Above all Else

by Sophia R Heart

  I was appalled. It was their job to hunt down fugitives and bring them to justice, yet they were accepting money to keep the criminals out of prison.

  “And they’re adding the fugitives to their numbers,” I said. “The fugitives’ names are listed with other members of the crime ring. They’re recruiting them.”

  Kellan swore. “Man, this is so fucked up.”

  I nodded in agreement, trying not to think of Dad. I hadn’t seen his name on the list, but then again, Kellan hadn’t scrolled all the way down. Was that how Dad had gotten all that money, by letting criminals go free? The thought turned my stomach sour.

  I shook my head. That couldn’t be right. It didn’t make sense. Dad had been one of the best bounty hunters in the state. He was well-known for his uncanny ability to track down and arrest fugitives.

  He couldn’t have turned in the amount of criminals he did if he was also recruiting some of them to join the crime ring. That would mean that he’d been tracking even more criminals than anyone was aware. It was impossible. There weren’t enough hours in the day. Plus, Kellan worked with him most of the time. He would have noticed. Whatever Dad’s role in this, it hadn’t been letting fugitives go free.

  When I looked up, it was to see Kellan studying me carefully. I caught his gaze and could see the same questions, the same doubts, mirrored in his eyes that I was sure were in mine.

  “What’s that?” Phoenix said suddenly, pointing at something on the screen. “It says Cosa Nostra underneath each table.”

  I leaned closer towards the monitor and saw that he was right. “Isn’t that–“

  “–the Italian Mafia?” Kellan finished, his face grim. “Yes.”

  “You think they’re behind all this?” I said, flabbergasted.

  “It makes sense. This level of organized crime… it had to have been going on for decades,” Kellan said.

  “Do they really recruit people? I thought it was like something you were born into,” Phoenix said, looking wide-eyed.

  “There’s a difference between working for them, and joining the family. They have people working for them all the time – doesn’t mean they’re Cosa Nostra members.”

  I sat back, defeat weighing my shoulders down. “We are in over our heads,” I said.

  Kellan didn’t agree. “We’ll continue to peruse the lists. We’ll find someone who isn’t mentioned in them. We’ve managed to get this far. They’re not unbeatable,” Kellan said, running a hand through his hair in an agitated motion. He stood up and made for the door, glancing at me before he left. “I need a smoke. It’s late, why don’t you head up and go to sleep? We’ll regroup in the morning.”

  “I’ll grab some sheets.” Phoenix stood hastily. “And a vacuum. The guestrooms haven’t been used in a while.”

  He was up and out of the room before I could protest. I didn’t want him to put himself out. He was already doing more than enough, giving us a safe place to stay.

  I expected Kellan to follow Phoenix out the door, but he hung back, looking like he was debating something. Finally, he grabbed a chair and dragged it closer to me.

  “What?” I asked him when he sat down in front of me, his face serious.

  “April,” he sighed. I jolted at the sound of my name coming out of his mouth, having only heard him say it a handful of times over the past few years. “Luke’s name was on that list.”

  “W–what?” I said, my stomach falling. “I didn’t see it.”

  I’d had my doubts, but I hadn’t wanted to believe them. I’d have accepted any other explanation, not wanting to acknowledge that we really were alone in this. That we truly had no one else to rely on. It was naive, but throughout all of this, I’d held on to the hope that we could turn to Uncle Luke for help.

  That was gone now.

  “You weren’t looking all that closely. You were only searching for one name,” Kellan said knowingly.

  I hated to admit that he was right, but it was true.

  “It wasn’t there,” I said softly. “Dad’s name wasn’t there.”

  “But we don’t know for sure what that means, April,” Kellan said, looking like he truly hated to squash my optimism. “His name might not have been on any of the cash transactions, but it was still on that list.”

  “Why do you have to think the worst of him?” I demanded, standing up. “All he ever did was see the best in you!”

  Kellan sent me a flat look as he stood up, too, his patience finally having run thin.

  “You think that I don’t wish with everything in me that there’s more to this? That Mario’s name on that flash drive doesn’t mean what others would believe it does?” He spoke fiercely. “Because I do. I wish for it so badly, but I have to think about us too. About protecting ourselves. If life’s taught me anything, it’s that people can turn around and betray you in the blink of an eye.”

  I swallowed, his words hitting me hard. “He’s gone... he could be dead,” I said, my voice cracking with emotion. “I don’t want to spend forever questioning what I thought I knew about him.”

  And then Kellan Reed did something so out of character, so unexpected, that my breath completely left my lungs.

  He hugged me.

  I could feel his hard chest pressed against mine, the elevated pace of his heart ringing in my ears. He pulled back, the conflict in his eyes shaking me to the core.

  “So, it looks like the rooms aren’t in as bad a shape as I originally thought,” Phoenix said, his words entering the room before he did. He stopped short when he came into view, his eyebrow disappearing into his hairline.

  Slowly, Kellan’s arms began to unwind around my waist until they hung loosely at his sides. I took a step back, feeling kind of dazed and a whole lot confused. Our eyes caught and held. When neither of us spoke, but continued to stare at the other, Phoenix said, awkwardly, “I’ve put clean sheets in two of the guestrooms... or are you, uh, sharing?”

  I turned to see a small mischievous spark in Phoenix’s eyes that said he really couldn’t help himself. Kellan sent his best friend a dangerous look – one that would have made anyone else pause – but Phoenix just shrugged.

  Feeling a flush work its way onto my face for no reason, I took another step back.

  “I’m gonna go crash then,” I said, hurrying out of the room. I glanced back once to see Phoenix mock punch Kellan on the shoulder. In retaliation, Kellan shoved him.

  “I was just joking around, man,” Phoenix defended. I stifled a smile as I left the room even as my mind replayed the feel of Kellan’s strong arms wrapped around me and the drum of his strong heartbeat against my chest. “First door on the left,” Phoenix called out after me.

  I went about finding my bed for the night, feeling sadness creep up on me. Seeing the two of them together made me miss Axel, miss that easy interaction that came from a deep friendship. I’d seen Axel last weekend, but with the uncertainty of how long we’d be laying low hanging over our heads, I would have loved to have seen him one more time.

  * * *

  Later that night, there was a knock at my door.

  I rolled over on the bed and glanced at the nightstand. Four AM.

  Sighing, I tossed the covers aside. I’d been trying in vain to fall asleep for the past two hours, unpleasant thoughts plaguing my mind. The sound of those gunshots going off tonight, how loud and terrifying they’d been, replayed over and over again in my mind.

  I thought about Uncle Luke, too. Of him, and whether he knew where Dad was. Whether he’d known all along. He was part of that illegal operation, so it was only logical to assume that he knew what was going on. If Uncle Luke knew, if he’d had any part in Dad’s disappearance... murderous wasn’t even close to how I felt just thinking about it.

  There was another knock just before I opened the door. Kellan stood there, barefoot, in his boxers and a t-shirt.

  “Yeah?” I asked, lifting my eyes to focus on his face just as his eyes rose
from their own perusal.

  I’d taken off my leggings and pulled on a pair of boxers – unworn, with their tags still on – that Phoenix had left for me on the bed. I crossed my arms over my chest, aware I wasn’t wearing a bra, and looked expectantly at Kellan.

  “We need to talk,” he said.

  “It couldn’t have waited until the morning?” I said with a raised eyebrow, but stepped back to let him in. I walked back towards the bed without a word. It was the only invitation he’d be getting.

  “I knew you’d be awake.” When I turned around, he had Phoenix’s guitar in his hands. My eyes shot to his, surprised. “Thought you might want to play.” He shrugged, and if I wasn’t mistaken, he looked kind of bashful.

  “Thanks.” I took the guitar from him, feeling oddly touched.

  “There’s a small thrift shop not far from here that opens up in a few hours. I thought we’d go and grab some clothes for the next few days. Anything else we might need, we can get Phoenix to order online. I don’t think it’s a good idea to hit the mall right now,” Kellan said, leaning against the wall across from the bed.

  I swallowed. “Couldn’t – couldn’t we go back to your place or mine during the daytime?”

  He was silent for a minute. “It would be a stupid risk to take. There’d most likely be someone waiting for us to return. We’ll stay here and lay low.”

  “And then?” I asked.

  “Then... I don’t really know,” he said, and I realized he was stumbling around in the dark, just like me. I expected Kellan to always know what to do next and maybe that was unfair of me. He was older, he had experience in this world I was only now having my eyes opened to, but that didn’t mean he was all-knowing. At the end of the day, he was doing the best he could, same as me.

  We were both silent for some time, the uncertainty that was our future hanging over our heads like a dark cloud. When the silence became stifling, I adjusted Phoenix’s guitar on my lap, letting my fingers fly over the cords. Kellan’s eyes slid shut, contentment washing over his face as I began to sing a song about a girl and a guy and falling in love.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  * * *

  - NOW -

  THE NEXT DAY, I decided to make us all some lunch. Phoenix was in his den, also known as the crazy computer room, working, and I wanted to do something nice for him. He’d been the perfect host, and I really appreciated him having us, and hell, I wanted to give Kellan a little peace offering too.

  He’d gotten up at the butt-crack of dawn to go shopping with me. I hadn’t had any cash on me, but Kellan had plenty. The backpack that had been hidden behind his bedroom wall? It had been stashed with cash. Part of me wondered about it – why he’d felt it was necessary to hide such a large amount of cash. I didn’t ask, just mentally kept note of how much he’d spent so I could pay him back.

  He hadn’t purchased anything for himself, and when I’d probed, he’d admitted that he had a stash of clothes at Phoenix’s place. He’d only suggested the shopping trip for me. He’d done a lot for me these past few weeks and had pretty much saved my life yesterday.

  Last night, when he’d come to my room, it felt like we’d really… connected. Cliché as that might sound. He’d sat on the floor for almost an hour, just listening to me play. We’d never really spent time together, just for the sake of enjoying each other’s company. Last night had been a first.

  Kellan sat at the kitchen table now, perusing the laptop in front of him, while I raided Phoenix’s cupboards to see what he had in stock.

  Kellan hadn’t moved from the kitchen table since we’d gotten back from the shopping trip a few hours ago. I’d found some pretty cute outfits and they were currently in the wash, getting thoroughly rinsed, before I wore them.

  Kellan had on an old sweatshirt of his and looked casual in a way that I hadn’t seen in years – not since we were teenagers, living under the same roof. He’d slipped his shoes off, and his feet, clad in black socks, were propped up against another chair across from him. His hair was charmingly ruffled, and he’d rolled up the sleeves of his grey sweatshirt to reveal his strong forearms.

  The way I was watching him, one would think that I was still the eleven-year-old with a crush on the older bad boy. I was an idiot.

  I shook my head and raided the contents of Phoenix's cupboards. I’d found chicken and vegetables in the refrigerator, and some noodles, onions, and soy sauce among other useful ingredients in the cupboards. I decided to make chicken stir-fry, but it appeared that Phoenix had no cooking oil in his kitchen whatsoever.

  I opened another cupboard in the beautiful kitchen, and to my surprise, found it stocked not with food or appliances, but with medication. There had to be at least twenty different types of medication on the shelves.

  I grabbed a bottle. Prozac. It didn’t sound familiar, but there were a few bottles of it. Feeling a little concerned, I replaced the bottle and shut the cupboard firmly. Maybe I'd ask Kellan about his friend’s extensive drug collection later, or maybe I wouldn’t. I didn’t want to broach what might be a sensitive topic. His collection was staggering, but it was pretty much the same size as Mom’s when she’d been sick.

  Phoenix came into the kitchen a little while later, and I watched him curiously as I wiped my hands on a dishtowel. Physically speaking, Phoenix looked fine, and I wondered at the reason behind all the medication in his kitchen cupboard.

  "Smells delicious," Phoenix complimented, rubbing his stomach appreciatively as he grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. He hadn’t noticed the peculiar way I’d observed him, but I could tell that Kellan had. He watched me curiously as he folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. "It's been forever since I've had a real home cooked meal."

  "Really? I thought you were an experienced chef," I said lightly, the enthusiasm in Phoenix’s voice hard to ignore. Kellan grunted, pushing away from the table.

  "I can bake a mean cake," Phoenix admitted. "My cooking, though... well, it sucks."

  “Well grab a plate and help yourselves,” I said, dishing myself a generous serving. After piling up our plates, we all settled down on the kitchen table.

  “Oh. Before I forget...” Looking like he'd just remembered something, Phoenix pulled my cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to me.

  "Um, thanks," I said after a pause. What the hell?

  Seeing my bewilderment, Kellan spoke up. "I got Phoenix to secure your phone for you and put in a new SIM card. It’ll prevent any calls, or forms of communication, from being traced.”

  I had completely forgotten that Kellan had my cell phone. It had been the last thing on my mind.

  "They can really trace my phone?” I asked. “Don’t they, I don’t know, need my phone number or something to do it?”

  “Yes, they can trace it,” Kellan said. “And they could easily have acquired your number through Luke.”

  Uncle Luke.

  Thinking about him both pained and infuriated me. He’d been in my life forever. There were barbecues in the summer at Luke's house, endless nights of him bringing dinner over for me and Dad after mom passed away, and sleepovers at his place in the winter when the heating in our shitty apartment was playing up. He'd been my uncle in every sense of the word, but now I saw him in a new light, as someone untrustworthy and motivated by greed.

  Still, he came nowhere near to the pain and anguish I felt thinking about Dad being part of that crime ring.

  I brushed thoughts of them aside. Knowing I could safely use my phone, there was only one person that I wanted to contact. “I want to text Axel.”

  Kellan set his fork down, the full force of his penetrating stare zeroing in on me. "Is that wise?"

  I turned towards the expert, wanting his input.

  "They can’t track her phone." Phoenix looked thoughtful. "Though, they may be tracking his.”

  The thought sent fear straight to my heart.

  “Is there any chance Luke ha
s his phone number?" Kellan turned towards me, looking alert.

  I shook my head. "I don’t think so. Will he be okay? You don’t think they’d go after him to get to me, do you?”

  Kellan and Phoenix exchanged a glance. I looked between them, the few bites I’d eaten dangerously close to coming back up to the surface.

  “I think,” Kellan said, “that they’d use any means at their disposal to get that flash drive back.”

  “So they could go after Axel,” I whispered.

  Kellan nodded. “Then again, a few break-ins are nothing to a group like this. It could be that we really aren’t even that high on their radar. I’d rather not underestimate them though.” He looked like the next few words cost him, but he said them anyway. "Text him if you want. In fact, you should get him to pack a bag and spend the next few days here while we come up with a plan.”

  Phoenix nodded, chewing his food. “I think that’s a great idea.”

  I nodded. Pushing back from the table, I felt a sudden urgency to speak to Axel.

  “Is there a plan? I mean, do you have any ideas?” Phoenix asked Kellan, swallowing a forkful.

  "I know this cop. Max. He wasn’t exactly a friend, but someone I grabbed a beer with sometimes. His dad’s also a cop – he was friends with Mario, actually.

  “What’s his dad’s name?” I asked curiously. I’d gotten to know a lot of Dad’s friends over the years.

  “Cameron Reynolds.”

  “Sounds familiar, but I can’t put a face to the name,” I told him.

  “Well, both their names weren’t on the flash drive. And Max always seemed like a pretty cool guy. Drank a little too much on occasion, and chased one too many skirts, but he… well, he was an honest son of a bitch, and had this sense of honor about him. I was thinking of contacting him.”

  "And doing what?" Phoenix said curiously, his fork scraping against his plate as he finished his food. My plate was barely touched. I’d completely lost my appetite.