by S. M. Butler
~*~*~
Murphy
I crossed to the door, my hand out, but I stopped before I touched it. I couldn’t hear her on the other side, but I had already seen the tears. It wrenched my heart because she’d never cried in front of me before. She’d always been strong and in control of herself.
Her presence pulsed through the wall toward me, like a beacon, but I’d done enough to hurt her today. She’d always been important to me but I’d never told her that and now I’d hurt her far more than I’d ever intended.
“Hey, Murphy.” I did a quick about face as soon as I heard Dylan’s voice. He stood, half leaning in through the doorway. He braced himself with his hands on the doorframe on either side. “Oh, is there food?”
I glanced back at the table. “Yeah, it’s all yours.”
“Awesome!” He practically ran over to the bags, rummaging through them like a kid in a candy store. A really big kid, considering he was about my size.
Looking back at the closed door where Addison was, maybe I was a little jealous, because she’d given up her normal college lifestyle for a man like Alex Giroux. Hell, I wasn’t just jealous. I was an asshole. I’d known about her crush on me as kids, but she was Hardy’s sister. Not to mention that I hadn’t been interested in relationships then. She was too good for me.
“Dude, why are you hovering at that door? It’s kinda creepy-like.” Dylan shoved food into his mouth and said, “Mmph wumpa mush.”
I stepped away from the door. “What the fuck did you just say?”
He held up a finger and chewed, his cheeks puffed out like chipmunk cheeks. He swallowed and said, “I said… why don’t you just go to bed? You’ve been up for like… two days, yo.”
Because I couldn’t sleep. Especially now that I had… I’d initiated that kiss and I’d put something in motion that I had zero right to. Because at this point, it wasn’t just that she was my best friend’s sister. She was also under suspicion of being in league with international criminals.
“I’m fine.”
“Whatever. Your stupid face looks like you got in a fight with Rudolph and stole his nose.” Dylan shrugged. “Also, White wanted to see you.”
Crap. I’d forgotten to go see him yesterday when he’d said to come by. “Thanks.”
This wasn’t going to work. I was a damn mess with her here. I didn’t forget things. Not ever. And I didn’t get mixed up over things that I knew were right. Like making Addison stay until we figured this out.
It was time. Master Chief would be here soon and he’d want to talk to her himself. Maybe I could just let him talk to her, and then I could let go of the confusion. I promised her I would keep her safe, but at the same time, I had a duty to my team, to our mission, and she was not cooperative with that. She was going to make it impossible to get her cleared of collusion with the Giroux family.
I flopped back on the couch, deciding not to go into Addison’s room for the time being.
“You’re not going, are you?” Dylan eyed me from his seat on the opposite side of the couch.
I shook my head. “Nope. Staying here.” Addison had been here several days at this point, though she’d been unconscious for several hours of it. She had to get used to the idea on her own that she needed to help us to help herself. She needed time, and I needed a break from her. I couldn’t take the way she made me feel anymore.
“Figured. I tried.” He shoved more food into his face.
Damn it. Addison had that weird power over me, the one that made me want to crumble at her feet and beg her to give me a chance to show her how much I wanted her when I needed to stay the hell away.
I sighed and leaned my head against the back of the couch. I had to figure this mess out quickly, and Addison needed to start talking sooner. If neither of those happened, I was doomed.
Addison
Two Weeks later…
As soon as Chris walked into the small gym, I knew something had changed. The way his lips were pursed together and the way his shoulders were stiff as he walked. He could hide a lot of things from me, but he was very upset now.
I glanced at Gabe, who nodded, apparently seeing Chris’s mood at the same time I had. “You’re done for today. We’ll work some more tomorrow, okay. You’re doing well.”
“Thanks, Gabe.” I meant it too. He’d been super nice since I came, tending to my leg and helping me build the strength back up after the surgery. Two weeks of physical therapy and resting and I was feeling much better than when I’d come.
Which now that I thought about it, made sense that Chris was upset. His boss was here. He hadn’t said it yet, but I could see it in his expression. He’d been worried about me meeting his master chief or his lieutenant. And now one of them, if not both, were here.
“Don’t worry. It’ll work out,” Gabe said. I stared at him, frowning. “What? You have a crappy poker face.” He grinned and turned away.
I limped over to Chris, over correcting a tad so I didn’t exacerbate anything. I had just done an hour of physical therapy with Gabe, and I was tired. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“You look like someone ran over your puppy.”
“Not quite.”
“What’s wrong?” Though we had settled into an uneasy truce these last couple weeks, there was still an awkward tinge to the air.
“Master Chief Collins is here to see you.”
“I see,” I replied. My heart skipped over its regular beat, slightly speeding up the flow of blood through me. Swallowing, I ran my tongue over my bottom lip, tasting the salt of my sweat from my workout. “Am I going to jail?”
I didn’t really want to know the answer if I was. Regardless of my squeaky clean childhood, I had made mistakes, done things that even though were for a good cause, they were still illegal.
“No. He just needs to talk to you.”
“Okay,” I breathed out. “Should I change?” They’d managed to get me clothes they’d gotten from the house about a week ago, so now I had something of a wardrobe here. It was better than wearing their workout clothes. All of them were so much bigger than I was.
“It’s okay. He’s not going to mind.” He grabbed the crutch from where it leaned. “Here.”
I took it from him but I didn’t move. What was going to happen in this meeting? The tension wafting from Chris was enough to make me hide in my bed.
“Don’t worry so much. Nothing will happen to you today, Addison.”
I nodded and together we walked down the hallway, back toward the interrogation room they’d had me in the first day. I wondered where Murphy was, what he was doing. I hadn’t seen much of him since that day in the common room. Instinct told me that he was avoiding me, and logically, I knew it was true, and that hurt. But I hadn’t been the easiest. Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten onto him, gotten angry because he never acted on feelings that probably didn’t exist.
The smell of the room hadn’t changed. It was still suffocating and metallic. The room was warmer than the rest of the complex, though the whole place was stuffy and hot. It came with being underground, I supposed. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could take being trapped here without losing my mind.
“Sit here,” Chris told me, pointing to a metal folding chair. I couldn’t tell from Chris’s face what he was feeling. Apparently, he’d been taking lessons on stoic-ness from Murphy. His slate eyes were hard, like granite. “Addison…”
“Yes, Chris?”
He sunk into the chair next to me. For the first time since I’d been brought there, he let some emotion through, in his eyes. “I wish you’d talked to me. I wish you’d be honest with me.”
Guilt sat on my chest, heavy and pregnant. If they knew how important I was, now that Alex was dead, how much I’d insinuated myself into the Giroux life, they’d never let me go. My best chance was to keep it from them, and lie to my brother’s face. I met his eyes, determined. “There’s nothing to say.”
Chris’s eyes fell, giving me first glimpse int
o familiar disappointment. “Okay.” The tone he used was more one of dejection and resignation. Hurt and pain cut deep into my lungs, making it almost impossible to breathe normally.
The door opened, catching my eye. Chris glanced up and a quiet “fuck me” escaped his lips.
He stood to greet the older man who entered. This man had presence. He was larger than either my brother or Murphy, stocky and solid. Years of experience were etched on his face, light pencil-fine engravings impressed upon his skin. He greeted my brother, and turned his attention to me. I didn’t move, though I felt the waves of disapproval coming off him. It was almost like my father was in the room again.
“You must be Addison.” His voice was gravelly, though it carried through the room.
“Last time I checked. I fingered the necklace I wore, rubbing my thumb along the back of the locket. This man made me feel about twelve years old. I almost wanted the Giroux family to come and get me right then.
“Good morning. I’m Master Chief Stephen Collins.”
Okay, this was nicer than I expected. Chris shut the door behind Collins, and surprisingly, came back to stand by me. I had expected him to go be with his boss. Collins carried a folder with him, and reading glasses in his hand. He wasn’t in uniform either, which made me wonder exactly what this team did. Seemed they weren’t regular military any longer, or at least, they were authorized not to behave like regular military? I didn’t know for sure what it was. And where was Murphy? Was he watching behind the glass?
He was obviously waiting for me to speak. Maybe introduce myself? I don’t know. I didn’t say anything. He sat down in the chair across from me. “Do you know what you’re doing here?”
“Healing? I got shot, you know.”
Collins chuckled, which surprised me. Chris and Murphy were so serious, but this guy… He cracked a smile. “And how are you feeling now?”
“A little better. Didn’t realize that getting shot would hurt so much.”
“Yeah, it’s not that pleasant,” he agreed. He held up the folder in his hand. It was a plain manilla folder, nothing special about it at all. But it still sent my stomach down into the abyss. “In this folder, I have my guys’ report on the incident at Alex Giroux’s house.”
Incident? The military always made it seem like these things were so ordinary. Incidents. Reports. My word would have been nightmare.
“However, you would have a completely different view from them, and that’s what we’re here for. To complete the picture.”
Okay, that didn’t seem too bad. Nothing I couldn’t handle.
“We have the statement you gave Hardy and Murphy your second day here. Let’s start simple. Is there anything you’d like to add to it?”
I remembered vaguely filling out the statement for them, but I’d been angry at the time, and not feeling particularly cooperative. “No, there’s nothing I’d like to add.”
“I’ve instructed SO3 Hardy to remain here during our talk for your benefit. He is your immediate family here, and I felt that you might be more comfortable with him available for you.”
Ha. Little did he know. Chris and I had been close once upon a time, but three years was a lot of distance. He wasn’t the same brother who had left for boot camp. And we’d done nothing but fight for the last two weeks.
But the master chief wasn’t finished talking. “Our goal here is to get you home. Let you move on with your life. But for that to happen, we need to know what you know about Simon Giroux and his family. They want you. And I need to know why.”
Oh, how I wanted to tell him, if only to taste freedom. But as long as Giroux Enterprises was out there, I wasn’t safe. If these guys let me go, it would only be a matter of time before a Giroux goon picked me up. But maybe that’s what needed to happen.
“What was the nature of your relationship with Alex Giroux?”
I blushed. “It’s personal.”
“Were you involved with him?” Didn’t I answer these questions already?
“Involved with him, how?”
Master Chief smiled. “Sexually? Emotionally?”
“I said it was personal.” My feelings over Alex were so complicated, even more so since Murphy had popped back into my life.
“Was there a sexual relationship?”
“That’s none of your business, Master Chief Collins. What is your fascination with my sex life?” I spoke evenly, hoping my face was as even as my voice had managed to be.
“It’s important that we have all the facts, Ms. Hardy.” Did they really need to ask obvious questions? I was 21, red-blooded, and Alex was a very good-looking man. Or he had been, when he was alive. Not to mention that I’d been living in the house with him for almost eight months. A girl had needs.
“I wasn’t a fucking nun, if that’s what you want to know,” I snapped. “What else would you like to know about it? How many times? How good it was? Did he fuck me from behind? Was I on top? Did he do me in the ass?” I laughed, even more when Chris’s groan ended on another curse. “Maybe you’d like to know about that time he tied me to the bed. That was a good one.”
Oh, the look on the man’s face was gorgeous. Like I’d ever have let Alex tie me down. But the result of my words nearly had me rolling on the floor. I restrained myself nicely.
“Addison—” Collins raised his hand when Chris stepped forward.
“It’s fine. She’s been cooped up here for a week, son. I don’t blame her for being a bit… surly.” His eyes cased over me.
I glared. “I’m sitting right here.”
“Maybe we’re going about this wrong.”
“Oh, you think?” I quipped. “Maybe you could be honest with me, for once.”
“Petty Officer Hardy, have a seat next to your sister.” Chris frowned, but he did as his boss said without a word in protest. “Let’s talk real things.”
“Master Chief?”
I leaned forward, even as Chris hesitated, holding Master Chief Collins’ gaze. “Real things? What do you consider real things?”
He flipped open the folder and slid a paper clipped sheet to me. I glanced down at the paper, reading over the words. I swallowed the lump turning in my throat. “You can’t be serious.”
Chris grabbed the paper from me and read over it. Quiet, unsettled anger fell over him. “Master Chief… really?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m serious as a fucking heart attack,” he replied. “You’ve done some unlawful things, little Addison Hardy, from Oak Creek, Texas.”
I froze, watching the man as he folded his hands together in front of him, the smugness in his demeanor terrifying.
“Addy?” Chris’s face crushed me.
“Alex and I did a lot of things together.” I told them. “I was trying to get him free of his family. Everything we did was toward that goal.”
“So you stole from the Giroux family? No wonder Rene shot Alex.” Chris said. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”
“It wasn’t exactly stealing. That money was being funneled into their trafficking enterprises.”
“So you two funneled it into something else?” Collins said.
I paused.
That wasn’t exactly it. Most of that money was sitting in a vault where no Giroux could touch it. But no one knew that except Alex and me. That was my most important secret. We needed it untraceable, unfindable.
“Yes.”
“Into what?”
I paused again. How much could I tell them?
“Addison, help us out here,” Chris said. I glanced at him, and saw the pleading in his eyes. “You’re looking at prison. Please don’t make me watch you go to prison.” I studied his face, thinking over the last year or so. My world was either about to crumble around me or grow exponentially. I wasn’t sure which. And I wasn’t sure which choice would land me where. So I took a chance.
I cleared my throat. “We funneled it into cash.”
“Cash?” Chris blinked at me. “Why cash?”
“Because banks ar
e traceable. And we needed to be invisible. It’s all hidden in a vault.”
“Where’s the vault?”
“I don’t know,” I lied. One of the keys rested on a chain around my neck.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I don’t know where it is. Alex didn’t want me to know. But I had to be there to unlock it. It took both of us to unlock the vault.” Another lie. It was just flowing now.
Collins leaned back in his chair. He crossed his arms. The master chief’s eyes narrowed at me, like he was trying to see deep into my soul, only I wasn’t sure he believed in souls.
I said. I wasn’t feeling particularly charitable, and revealing a secret that I’d held close for many months didn’t make me any happier about it.
“Maybe you could think a little harder. My good will only goes so far.”
“Are you threatening me?” That was a dumb question. Of course he was.
“No, I’m making you a promise, Miss Hardy.” The man didn’t have a threatening undertone. It was matter of fact tone. Like it was a done deal. “You cooperate and you don’t go to prison.”
“Listen, you don’t know anything about me. I can’t do what you need me to do.” Fear slithered through my body, like water just below its freezing point. Prison did not sound like anything I’d like. Of course, wasn’t that the point of prison? I’d done bad things in the name of good. Didn’t that count for something?
“Master Chief—”
He didn’t let Chris finish. “You can either help us, Miss Hardy, or you can cool your heels in prison for theft and human trafficking. I bet I could even tack on terrorism charges.”
“You’re kind of a bastard, aren’t you, Master Chief Collins?”
“Oh, yeah,” he replied evenly. “I’ve had a very long Navy career, little girl. I’ve seen the likes of you many times. You’re righteous, and you think that you’re doing the right thing. And you may have your family snowed into believing that, but I don’t. You’re the worst kind of criminal because you actually believe that you’re doing the right thing.”
Oh. This was going to be a fun day.
