Without giving Pepper another glance, I used the button on the car key to pop the trunk. As soon as I had dropped the bat inside, I slammed it shut and crawled behind the wheel. I had just started the car and was ready to slam it into reverse when the passenger door opened and Pepper flopped into the passenger seat and silently buckled her seatbelt.
“Get out Pepper, I don’t have time to play games,” I choked out through clenched teeth.
I didn’t dare look at her, I was afraid she would see every bit of guilt, fear and murderous intent on my face. When her hand covered mine, I dropped my head and pulled on every bit of strength to not fall apart.
“You go. I go, Aunt Ali. Sure, the Hudsons are great, but you’re home to me. I won’t let you go without me.” Pepper whispered.
I turned my face toward her, ready to blast her for not listening, ready to shout that I didn’t deserve her loyalty; I didn’t deserve the honor of being her home. Not yet, not until I could make sure she was safe and then I would do everything in my power to make sure Pepper was never uprooted and moved around again. Her innocent young face and sparkling blue eyes shimmered with tears and fear. Fear that I was abandoning her. I hated Richard for killing my parents, I hated Lela for not being a good mother but at that moment, I hated myself for putting that fear there; the very same fear I’d had about committing to Matthew. I had been afraid he’d leave me and take all the light he’d brought to my life with him and here I was doing the very thing I had accused him of eventually doing to me. SHIT!
It was a bad idea. Let me rephrase that. It was a really, FUCKING, bad idea to let Pepper come with me. She had no business going with me to face Richard. I wasn’t sure I could keep her safe if Richard managed to overpower me. Yet, looking at those eyes that were silently pleading with me, not to leave her behind, not to abandon her, to trust her to be a help and not a hindrance; I couldn’t do it.
“You will agree, right now, Pepper! You will do exactly what I say, you will go if I say go, and you will run if I tell you to. If you don't swear on your life that you will follow every order I give, then you get out of this car right now. Where I’m going Pepper, it’s not safe, and I can’t do what needs to be done if I’m worried about whether you’ll listen or not.” I let the seriousness of my expression and my cold tone convey to her surprised face, just how serious I was.
Pepper blinked a few times and then a stubborn expression crossed her young face. “I’m with you Aunt Ali,” she replied with the maturity far past her young years. “You and I are family, Baloo, Trevor and the others are family too. We don’t have to be Hudsons to protect our own.” She finished with a tight smile and then sat back in the seat, staring straight ahead.
“You know.” I gasped. There was no question that Pepper’s words came from the mouth of someone who wasn’t surprised I was leaving.
She turned and shrugged. “I was watching a movie in the living room last night when the messenger knocked on the door. No one else was around, so I signed for it, and when I saw who it was from, I decided to take a look. I know what he did, Aunt Ali. I even know why you’re going after him. When I left for work this morning, I left a sticky note on the envelope. I had hoped you would show it to Matt, Dalton or one of the others,” she let out a huge sigh. “I knew about an hour into my shift that if you woke up, read what was in that envelope, that you’d do what you always do. You’d try to handle it yourself, you’d refuse to let Matt or the Hudsons help you because you wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt.” She said quietly, her hard gaze never wavering.
It seemed I had underestimated my young, niece. Inside that, the fifteen-year-old body was the sharp mind of a woman that was wise beyond her years. Mostly like because she had had to be.
“The guilt that if something happened to them, it would be my fault,” I admitted.
Pepper’s face took on a sad expression, took her hand, and squeezed one of mine that were still gripping the steering wheel as if it were a snake I was trying to choke.
“Yes, that guilt. Driven by the guilt that you blame yourself for what Richard Taggart did to your parents. It’s not your fault Aunt Ali. No one could have guessed how evil that man was. For the longest time I thought he was a really cool uncle since the few times I got to see you guys, he would always give me a box of animal crackers and tell me what a natural I was with animals.”
I blew out the breath that I hadn’t known I’d been holding in this whole time. That was Richard, charming and engaging on the outside and cold and calculating on the inside. I knew Pepper was trying to make me feel better, and there was a part of me that even reasoned that she was right. Yet, the overwhelming grief that I felt when I thought about all the holidays, birthday and any kind of days that my parents had missed, I found that I wasn’t ready to absolve myself. Maybe when Richard was brought to justice, then I could give myself a reprieve from the guilt that I knew was going to eat me alive.
“I love you, Pepper,” I told her with a smile. “When this is over, you, Trevor, Baloo and the others are all going to come live with me. Amber built us a huge compound with room for the animals, a large house for us and even a small cottage for Trevor.” I told her, loving the happy expression that filled her small face.
“What about Matt? Won’t he live with us too? He loves you, Aunt Ali.” Her small face looked up me expectantly. I didn’t want to lie to her, I knew Matt was going to be livid. No scratch that, Matthew Hudson was going to absolutely, positively, pissed beyond measure that not only had I taken his car on a dangerous solo mission but after everything we had said last night, the happy place we had finally gotten to, I had cut him out of the loop. I was pretty sure this was going to be a deal breaker, where Matt was concerned. As much as my heart hurt at the thought of Matt no longer wanting me, not that I could blame him, at least he and his family would be safe.
“That will be up to Matthew, Pepper. What I’m doing, my refusal to include him. It’s going to devastate him. He’s going to see it as a betrayal of trust, and he would be right. I don’t trust him to let me handle this on my own, and I need to take care of it, Pepper. I can’t start a new life, always looking over my shoulder. If Richard ever did anything to you, Trevor, the animals or any of the Hudsons, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. You understand? And no texting the Hudsons. I can’t have them putting up roadblocks before I even get out of town. Can I count on you?” I asked, knowing it was a lot to comprehend for a teenager.
“Oh, you can always depend on me. And I understand Aunt Ali, I just think you underestimating Matt and the rest of the Hudson family. They love us, they accept us, and that makes us one of them, and I seriously doubt they’re just going to let us skip out on them.” Pepper replied grinning.
Putting the car in reverse, I gave a small shake of my head. That was exactly why I had to get Richard to confess what he had done because I knew I’d have Hudsons on my tail before I even crossed the county line.
Matt
The warm tongue bathing my face was definitely not Alison’s. Rolling over to avoid the tongue bath that Chompers was happily bestowing upon my sleeping body, I growled and burrowed deeper into my warm bed. Instinctively I reached out to bring Ali’s body closer to mine. Today we were going to finish the conversation that the little temptress had successfully distracted me from last night. I even had the ring I had picked out for her in the nightstand. I was lucky she limited her tirade of emptying my drawers to just my dresser, otherwise she would have discovered my surprise for her. Now I just had to get the little minx to say yes. Of course, this was going to have to be after I got a few hours of sleep. Something that would be made easier if Chompers hadn’t come in my room and drown me in doggy slobber.
However, when I reached my hand out and felt around for Alison, all I felt was cold sheets. I forced one eye open, followed by the reluctant other. Blinking to adjust to the light coming through the window from the sun, I sat up with a start.
I scrubbed my hands up and down my fac
e and Chompers took that moment to jump onto my bed and attempt to cover me in sloppy kisses.
“Whoa, come on boy. I know I have to get used to this animal thing and lack of personal space, but let me wake up first,” I complained. Not be able to resist the adorable mutt, I scratched him behind the ears even let him get in a lick or two. A year ago, I would have pushed the dog off my bed and immediately washed my sheets to ensure no dog hair got into my bed. Yet, being attacked with affection from the ugly mutt that Alison had saved in Ireland had me understanding why she loved these fur balls. It seemed that when an animal trusted and loved you, they did it without reservation and conditions.
Giving Chompers another pat on the head, I pushed out of the bed taking the sheet with me, since it felt awkward to be naked in front of Chompers. Looking at the mess in my room, I forced myself not to take the time to clean it all up. Instead, I foraged for boxes, jeans, a turtleneck and socks and quickly used the bathroom and got dressed.
Walking down the stairs, I heard commotion in the kitchen. I imagined Alison sitting at the large table, probably talking with Dalton or Camille, possibly even Reece if he hadn’t any morning appointments today. Wide-awake, excited about the future ahead of me, I was looking forward to giving Alison the hottest good morning kiss she’d ever had.
“No fair leaving the bed without giving me a good morning kiss,” I announced figuring that Alison’s face would blush a deep crimson. However, I halted to a dead stop when I glanced around the kitchen and saw everyone except the one person I was looking for.
“Where the hell is Alison?” I demanded to my wide-eyed family. Reece was feeding a bottle to Wyatt and Lucas was talking on his phone in a serious tone. Synclair and Sara, both of whom should be at the restaurant, were standing next to the sink with very concerned looks and Dalton and Camille were sitting with his laptop perched on the table, not even bothering to look up.
Synclair answered. One moment the feisty redhead was standing near the sink and the next, she was poking me in the chest. “Where is Alison?” Poke. “Where is Alison?” Another poke. “We were hoping you could tell us, Matthew. While you’re at it, why don’t you tell us where Pepper is too?” Synclair demanded, frowning when I caught her finger before she could poke me again. For a little thing, her jabs really hurt. Giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, I released her finger and immediately jumped to my left to get out of Synclair’s grabbing range.
Rubbing my chest, I growled, “I thought Pepper was working a shift at the restaurant today?” I asked. I hadn’t had a cup of coffee yet, and I was having trouble understanding why everyone was in the kitchen.
“She did, but she left a little after nine or so. She said she had to check on Alison.” Sara explained as she placed a cup of coffee in my grateful hands. Sniffing it for any signs of Camille’s special Irish coffee, I groaned as the dark, whiskey free liquid slid down my throat.
“How’d she get here, she doesn’t drive,” I asked as I enjoyed the burn of my first cup of coffee for the day. I looked up and caught Reece scowling at me. I wasn’t sure what I had done to warrant a scowl since I had only been awake for about fifteen minutes.
“I dropped her off. I was going to see Joe Renton’s horses that are about to give birth so I gave her a ride.” Reece practically hissed at me.
“Why am I being stared at like I’m the idiot in the room?” I asked no longer able to take the frustrated glances from everyone. Even Camille was looking at me like I was two Mc Nuggets short of the happy meal.
Synclair growled, and Camille stood up and waved her off. “Matthew,” she began in her Irish accent, “did ya not notice the parcel that arrived last night?” she asked in a voice that was deceptively sweet.
I shook my head and looked down at the table and noticed several papers laid out and an empty manila envelope. I looked closer and realized it was addressed, Alison. Another look told me it had come from Amber. Understanding hit like a lightning bolt straight to my heart, and I suddenly felt sick and nervous at the same time.
“It’s the file that Amber’s investigators put together on Alison’s ex-husband,” I replied in a voice I didn’t even recognize as my own.
“Brilliant, the man can add. Now, guess who signed for the package that was delivered last night around eight in the evening?” Camille continued like she was leading a child
“Pepper,” I blurted out as the pieces started to fall into place.
“So what would you do if you found out the man you’d married, against your parents’ wishes had murdered them and almost you along with them?” Synclair snapped her hazel eyes flashing with anger.
Tripping over my own tongue, I had no idea what to say. I knew that Alison had overheard Amber, Dalton and I talking. I knew she had heard Amber’s ideas about her parent’s death, but I thought she was processing it all calmly. She had seemed fine last night, hadn’t she? Thinking back, I was beginning to think that her tirade last night was more about her parents and less about my neatness quirk.
“I think the very worst thing someone could do was not address something so utterly devastating and instead only think with his penis.” Synclair bit out from across the table.
A lump formed in my throat. I had been so determined to get Alison on board my happily ever after plan that I had missed, just how affected she’d been by Amber’s words.
Seriously, at this point, I wanted to kick my own ass. I had been a selfish, insensitive dick head. How would I react if I had just discovered that someone I used to care about had possibly murdered my parents and left me with permanent physical damage? Angry! Murderous, white hot, no holds barred, revenge seeking pissed! That’s how I would have felt. However, that was me, I knew Alison would definitely be angry, she would definitely want justice but there was one thing I knew Alison would feel that scared me beyond any of the first emotions I had described.
“Guilty. Alison’s going to blame herself for her parents’ death because they never liked him and she married the asshole anyway.” I shuddered with panic when I thought about how angry at herself, Alison probably was.
“That would be my guess too.” Lucas chimed in as he placed his phone on the table.
“That was John. He and his team were called out about six hours ago. They are wheels up in ten minutes. He spoke to Trevor last night, and everything was quiet. No one had ventured near Alison’s sanctuary, and Trevor was confident he could handle the animals on his own. John called someone to head over there to stay with Trevor but the guy just called John to let him know his flight was delayed, and he won’t arrive until later this evening.” Lucas grimly informed the room.
Shaking my head, I tried to wrap my mind around the events causing my morning to quickly go to shit.
“Let me get this straight. Pepper, signed for and probably read the file that Amber’s people sent over for Alison. Alison apparently found the manila envelope addressed to her and opened it up and found… What?” I asked looking straight at Dalton. I knew he wasn’t just gaming on that laptop. Dalton was a top notch, recon expert. When it came to electronics, he was a nerdy genius, so if his face was glued to the screen, then it was probable that it had to do with Alison and Pepper.
Dalton looked up, and his light green eyes looked pissed off and sympathetic. He shut the laptop, and Camille patted his hand in a comforting gesture. “Someone, I am assuming Alison, went through the file and highlighted different areas. If you put them together in the right order, they create a pretty clear trail.” Dalton explained as he put his arm around Camille and kissed her forehead.
Impatient and feeling my panic wrench up more and more by the minute, I barked, “A clear trail to what? To Richard Taggart, the developers, who Dalton? For fuck’ sake spell it out, I’m dying here.” I pleaded.
“Okay, I’ll lay it out for you.” Dalton stood, and when I walked closer to the table, he used his large hand to shove me down into the chair nearest him. He pushed a paper in front of me, and I scanned it and surmised that
it was Ronald Taggart’s phone records. Some phone numbers were highlighted, and they seemed to coincide with the dates before and after Ali’s father’s Jeep had careened off the road. I looked back up at Dalton, and he nodded as he slammed down another document. This paper had a photo of a police officer named Nathan Philips, judging by the call records it seemed that Richard Taggart had called him several times in the days before the accident and even more after. I was about to ask Dalton about the connection when he slammed down a copy of the final police report on the crash. It was ruled an accident, driver error and signed by Officer Nathan Philips. That is just a little too coincidental!
Before I could even voice those suspicions, Dalton grabbed a page off the printer that was set up on the desk in the far corner of the kitchen and placed it in front of me. It was a picture of Alison’s ex-asshat posing with Officer Nathan Philips during a reunion at a local high school. Wonderful, thug one and thug two were high school besties!
“That’s not all,” Dalton said as he placed another sheet in front of me. Frankly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to see anymore, and I was losing time. I needed to find Alison before she did something dangerously stupid in her bid to redeem herself from her guilt about her parents.
“Okay, enough! Walk me through later. Tell me the highlights.” I barked feeling my heart begin to slam against my chest. Alison’s ex-was a murderer, and my guess was she was heading right for him.
“Okay fine. The police investigator actually noted that the brake lines appeared to be cut and the odds of that happening on its own with that neat of a slice are slim to none. However, that didn’t make it into the final report. I’m sure we owe that to Officer Philips. If that’s not bad enough, the other number belongs to a thug friend of Taggart’s. By thug, I mean the real deal. The guy has a rap sheet as long as my arm and is under investigation for the mysterious death of his wife.” Dalton gave me a pointed look, and I groaned.
No Refunds No Exchanges: A Hudson Family Series- Book 4- Matt and Ali Page 34