“You heading back today?”
She knew how it worked, she knew I’d be gone more than I was here, and she’d never been opposed to it. Sometimes I wondered if she preferred it when I was away.
“Yeah.” I smiled down at her. “I shouldn’t be gone as long this time though. We’re close to solving it.”
Her lashes fluttered as she blinked, another new addition since I’d been back. There was a time when Moira only wore jeans and a T-shirt, her face covered in minimal makeup and her nails short. But over the years, she’d changed as much as I had. Her lashes were fake, her nails too, and her hair flawlessly shiny. It wasn’t that I resented that. I didn’t blame her for what I did, but I couldn’t deny the obvious changes over the years.
“Good.” She placed a kiss on my cheek and pulled back, pushing the covers aside and getting out of bed. “Cade misses you when you’re gone.” Not we miss you, but Cade misses you.
I stared at her as she moved around the room, a room I’d spent less time in over the years than the undercover apartments. This wasn’t home to me. It wasn’t the place where I felt at my most comfortable, but it was where Moira and Cade were, which meant it had to be home.
I lay there for entirely too long as she took a shower and then sat at her vanity, covering her face with makeup and doing her hair. She pressed the lid on her perfume bottle and tossed the scent into the air. I couldn’t help but frown at the action. Why didn’t she just spray it directly on her body?
I had to get up and start my day, but I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed. What if today was the day that things got even worse? Could they even get worse than they already had? I wasn’t sure, but I wouldn’t find out by staying here.
“Come on,” Moira said, stopping by the door and flashing a smile at me. “You can take Cade to school. You know he loves when you take him in your Mustang.”
She wasn’t wrong, he loved that car almost as much as I did, and it was the thought of his grin that had me jumping out of bed.
I dressed in dress pants and a shirt and clipped my badge to my belt. I had to go into the office today to see my supervisor, Aaron, before I headed back to Hut and his crew. And Lola, a voice whispered in the back of my mind.
Determined to focus on what was happening right now, I shook my head and made my way downstairs. The soles of my shoes tapped against the light wood, letting everyone in the house know I was coming. I’d worked my ass off to provide them with a house I was proud of. It wasn’t a mansion, but it was more than enough for the three of us.
I walked through the main room and into the open-plan kitchen and was greeted by Cade’s grinning face. He was the perfect mixture of Moira and me, but the older he got, the more he looked like me. His eyes were a shade darker than mine, but his hair was the exact same color.
“Mom said you’re taking me to school today?” It was a question, but he already knew the answer.
“Yeah, son.” I placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Won’t be long before you’re driving yourself though, huh?”
I moved over to the coffeepot, poured myself a cup, and winced at the taste. I wanted my coffee to taste like actual coffee, not a cinnamon roll. I’d have to wait until I got to the office to have a real one.
I dumped the coffee down the sink, pressed a kiss to Moira’s cheek, and grabbed my keys off the side. “Come on then, let’s get this show on the road.”
Cade sprinted after me, his excitement loud and clear. He even laughed as I started the engine, the roar vibrating through the seats. I missed my car as much as I missed Cade while I was away.
“You ready for the year to be over?” I asked when I pulled out of the driveway.
“Hell yeah!” He blinked, shook his head, and then he amended, “I mean yeah.”
“Son, it’s me you’re talking to, not your mom.”
He chuckled and leaned back in his seat. “Mom said she showed you my grades.”
“She did.” My stomach churned. When Moira told me Cade had a tutor to help him focus on school, and up his grades, Lola hadn’t entered my mind.
“Do you think I could keep Lola as a tutor next year? I know she said she’d have to talk to Mom and work out her own schedule, but she really helped.” He paused. “Plus, she’s sexy as hell.”
My hands tightened on the steering wheel, my nostrils flaring. My son was closer in age to her than I was, but that hadn’t mattered to me. Nothing had mattered when it came to Lola, and now I could see how selfish I had been. I had only thought of myself and not the family I’d spent the last fifteen years building.
“Lola said that I helped her decide what she wants to be when she finishes college,” Cade went on. He tilted his head to the side and then turned to face me, but I kept my gaze fixed on the road. “Do you know Lola?” I didn’t answer, scared what would come out of my mouth. “Because she seemed to know you last night. I’d never seen her look like that before.”
“I know her,” I managed to grind out, hating how rough my voice sounded. I knew her better than anyone ever had.
“Cool.” That was all he said, but I could see his mind working overtime, trying to figure out my few words, but I wouldn't tell him the truth.
I’d made a mistake with Lola, and I had to fix it before anyone else found out.
A mistake.
The words turned my stomach, but I kept my face straight, and my feelings locked away. It didn’t matter what I felt. All that mattered were Cade and Moira. They were my family, and that was the end of it.
I pulled up outside Cade’s high school and idled next to the curb. “How long will you be gone this time?” he asked.
“Not as long if all goes to plan.”
Cade nodded and picked his bag up off the floor. “I’ll see you soon then, Dad.”
“Love you, son.”
“Love you.”
He pushed open the door, looking back at me as he closed it, and then he was gone, bounding up to his group of friends. I stayed for an extra minute, just watching him and wishing I wasn’t who I was in that moment. I’d betrayed the people I cared about most, and yet the only person I wanted to talk to about it was Lola.
I was screwed.
So screwed.
* * *
BRODY
The moment I walked into Aaron’s office was the first time I felt like I was able to take a full breath in eight days. Just knowing I was going back in had a thrill running through me, and it wasn’t just because of Lola, but the thought of ending the case and bringing Hut down.
“Did the break do you good?” Aaron asked as he leaned back in his seat behind his desk that was covered in files and paperwork.
“Yeah.” It was a half-truth, but he didn’t need to know that. “I’m ready to finish what we started.”
He nodded and steepled his hands on top of a stack of files. “There’s been a new development since you were away.”
I raised a brow. “There has?”
“Yeah. The guys will fill you in, they’re expecting you at the house in two hours.” He tilted his head. “Bring the asshole down, Brody. I don’t need to tell you how to do your job, but you know this one means more.”
I heard what he was saying loud and clear. His daughter had overdosed on the product Hut was selling, and that was one of the reasons why we’d been on this case for so long. He wanted to make sure that when we brought Hut down, there were no loopholes he could jump through.
There was an unwritten rule about being undercover so close to home, but Aaron had wanted Hut to go down for real this time. He didn’t want Hut to get off on charges he’d committed, so he sent the best team he had—which was us. If it had been any other case, I’d have told him it was a no-go, but you couldn’t really say that to a dad who wanted revenge on the piece of shit who’d supplied his daughter with the thing that killed her.
“I’m on it, sir.” I didn’t say another word as I pushed out of the chair and walked out of his office and into the den.
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The den was a collection of desks surrounded by offices. Each office belonged to a team leader that worked out of this floor, but they rarely got used because the teams were always working on new cases.
My office was in the far-left corner, and when I stepped inside, I blew out a big breath. A lone sofa sat against one wall, and that sofa had been used as a bed more times than I could count. I may have been married to Moira by law, but my job was my other half.
I logged on to my computer, catching up with a little paperwork and then grabbed my bag full of the clothes I needed to finish this case. My Mustang was left in the lot, and the shitty car I had to use was grunting to life.
Within two hours, I was walking in the house and being greeted with the grinning faces of my team. “And he returns!” Kyle shouted, holding his hand out for me to shake.
“I’m back and ready to get this case done with.” I threw myself into one of the chairs. “There was a development?”
“Yeah.” Jord reached for a tablet and passed it to me. “Ford wore a wire.”
“He did?” I scrolled through the transcript that someone had typed up, scanning the words. “They’re doing a deal?”
“Yeah,” Ryan grunted. “Twice as much as Carson takes, and this new buyer has demanded Hut be there.”
“But Hut is never there for the exchange.” I flicked my gaze up to the guys. “That’s our in.”
“Yep,” Jord said. “We’re gonna take this motherfucker down once and for all.”
“Did he say when?”
“That’s what we’re hoping you’re gonna find out,” Kyle told me, placing his hands on the back of his head. “’Bout time you got back in there, huh?”
I should have told the guys what happened—it was protocol, but they’d demand we pull back, and who knew how long it would take to get an inside man again. I wouldn’t do that. I stood, my body buzzing with energy I hadn’t felt since I walked out of Lola’s bedroom over a week ago. I was ready to get this case finished, but more than anything, I was ready to see her face again. I’d brave the storm and hope like hell that she hadn’t already told Hut about me.
“I’ll call you later,” I threw over my shoulder, my feet carrying me out of the warehouse and to the car.
The outcomes for what could happen when I walked into Hut’s house were endless, but the need to get in there was overwhelming. Above all, I was doing my job, but making sure Lola was safe in the process was paramount. I had to do everything I could to get her away from him, even if she couldn’t stand the sight of me.
Having been home for a week, I noticed every little difference the streets here had: the broken streetlights, the graffiti marking people’s territory, the trash lining the cracked sidewalks. We were only an hour or so away, and yet, it was like night and day.
My stomach dipped as I pulled up behind Hut’s SUV. He was expecting me back because I’d kept in contact with him while I was gone, but I wasn’t sure what reception I’d receive. He hadn’t wanted me to leave, but I hadn’t given him a choice. I knew it had looked suspicious right after what he did to Ted and Jace, but there was nothing I could do about it.
I pulled in a deep breath as I switched the engine off, my gaze veering to the window I knew was Lola’s bedroom. All that greeted me was an open blind. If luck was on my side, she’d already be at college or work.
Fuck.
She’d been under my nose that entire time, working and attending school only a few minutes away from where I lived. How the hell had that happened?
Shaking the thoughts from my head, I closed my eyes and zoned in. I was Brody, a member of Hut’s crew, not Brody, the cheater and liar that I’d become.
Each step to the front door felt heavier than the last, and by the time I was pushing said door open, my nerves were haywire. This could be the end. I could be walking into a house full of enemies.
“Brody!” Hut shouted, bouncing out of the kitchen and toward me in the living room. His lips were spread into such a huge grin I was sure it would break his face. As he came closer, I saw how shot his pupils were, and then it all made sense. Of course, he was high before lunchtime.
“Hut.”
He threw his hand at me, doing his stupid “crew handshake” and I gritted my teeth. He was a grown-ass man with his own secret handshake. How sadder could you get?
He pulled away and turned around, heading back into the kitchen where Ford and Quinn were bagging up white powder.
“How was the funeral?”
“It was okay.” I shrugged and leaned on the counter nearest the coffeepot. “Funeral is a funeral, you know?”
“Nah.” Hut shook his head, sitting at the small table, not fully focusing on anything around him. “Never been to a funeral. Don’t see the point. They’re dead, ain’t like they know what’s happenin'.”
I gripped the counter behind me, trying to keep my hands under control. It didn’t matter if they knew or not—it was about respecting the person who had died. I hadn’t attended a funeral, but his disrespect was clear. But then, I didn’t think he knew the meaning of respect. He hadn’t gotten to where he was right now by following all the rules, silent or written.
Ford nodded at me at the same time Quinn waved his hand in the air, and I noticed Jace was missing. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask where he was, but then I reminded myself I’d just walked in the door. I needed to ease back into things, make them forget I was gone in the first place.
“We’re heading over to Carson’s place tonight,” Hut said, leaning back in his chair. “I’m gonna crash until we need to go.” He stood and stumbled his way out of the kitchen, his footsteps banging on the stairs, and then a door slammed.
“Jesus.” Quinn ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t think he’s been sober since you left, Brody.”
“He hasn’t?” I raised a brow, looking at the empty space he’d just been sitting in.
“Nah.” Ford threw another baggie into a pile. “And Jace is AWOL—ain’t got any idea where he is.”
I pushed up off the counter, frowning. Had Hut gotten rid of him too? “Maybe he’s recovering after the beating he took.” I hoped I sounded carefree, but I had a feeling I didn’t.
“His girlfriend doesn’t know where he is,” Ford continued and turned to face me. “For all we know he’s lying in a ditch somewhere.”
“And Hut knows he’s missing?”
Quinn rolled his eyes and blew out a breath. “He said he don’t give a shit.” Quinn glanced at Ford and then back to me. “But if he talks, then Hut’s fucked.”
I nodded, knowing Jace hadn’t talked to anyone, because if he had, I would have been one of the first to know.
“We’re gonna go and see if we can find him,” Ford announced, throwing a last baggie on the pile and standing to clear everything away. “Hut will be out for at least eight hours, so we have time.”
Quinn helped clear the things away into a box and hefted it into his arms so he could put it beneath the floorboard under the table.
“Wanna join us?” Quinn asked. “Three people are better than two.”
“Yeah, sure.” I stepped forward, already clutching the keys in my hand when light footsteps bounded above us. My heart rate picked up, my palms starting to sweat.
“I’ll take the south side. Quinn, you take the east, and Brody can take the west.” Ford moved over to the sink, but I could only just hear him over the whooshing in my ears. “We can meet in the north side in a couple hours.”
“Okay—”
It was the only word I managed to get out before Lola stepped into the kitchen. She was staring down at something in her bag, a frown on her face that I craved to smooth out. I urged her silently to look up, to stare into my eyes and show me what she was feeling, but she didn’t. She just stood there, rifling through her bag like it held all the answers.
“We’ll meet you in a couple of hours,” Ford said, walking past Lola.
Lola’s head snapped up, her eyes widen
ing, and lips parting. Neither of us said a word as Ford and Quinn walked past her. We didn’t move a muscle when the front door clicked closed. We stood there, caught in a web that neither of us could escape.
“Brody.”
I shivered at her soft voice, my body willing me to move forward, but I couldn’t. I was stuck. “Lola.”
Her body swaying toward me, and her hazel eyes shined, but there wasn’t an iota of hatred in them. Maybe she’d forgiven me, or maybe she’d pushed everything that happened to the back of her mind.
“Let me explain,” I said, finally getting control over my body and stepping forward.
Her back straightened, the look disappearing, and in its place a fierce determination. “No,” she ground out, her voice low but deadly. “You don’t get to do this.” She lifted her arms and spread them wide. “Why are you here?”
“I—”
Her laugh cut me off. “Never mind, I don’t know why I asked. You’re here for him.” She stepped away. “I’m so goddamn stupid. For a second there, I thought you’d come back for me, but that’d be another lie, huh, Brody?”
Everything she said was true, even though I didn’t want to admit that part of me had craved to see her, even if it was just one last time. “Please, you don’t understand.”
“I understand just fine.” Her eyes narrowed, and she let her arms drop, clapping them off the sides of her thighs. “I understand that you lied. I understand that you used me. I understand that you have a wife and kid at home.” Her eyes fluttered closed, so I took another step toward her, hoping that closing the space between us would work in my favor.
“I never wanted to hurt you,” I said, my voice carrying over to her on a whisper.
Her eyes snapped open. “Well, tough luck because you did.” She brought her hand to her chest, and I zoned in on her shaking fingers. “I warned you what you could do to me, and you did it anyway. You know what’s worse than a liar?” I opened my mouth to answer, but she beat me to it. “A cheat. You’re a liar and a cheat, Brody.”
“I know, and if I could do anything—”
“Is Brody even your real name?”
Down Fall: Fallen Duet: Book Two Page 2