by L. Wilder
I’d just finished for the night when I got a text message from Brandon saying that he needed to talk to me and was waiting for me at Aunt Miranda’s. Worried that something was wrong, I grabbed my briefcase and purse and headed for my car. I’d just made it to the front door when Gabby, one of the legal assistants, called out to me.
She was sitting at the front desk, her long red hair perfectly draped over her shoulder and a cheerful smile plastered on her face. Brightly, she said, “Hey there, Marley. Several of us are heading over to The Pub for a couple of drinks. You should come with us.”
I knew her offer was genuine and that she was trying to be friendly, but I just didn’t have it in me to sit around chatting with people from the office. So I replied, “I’d love to, but my brother is in town and I’ve already made plans with him.”
“Oh, don’t be silly! You should totally bring him along. You know what they say… the more, the merrier,” she pushed. A mischievous smirk crossed her face as she said, “Caleb is going to be there. You know he’s been asking about you.”
Caleb was one of the younger attorneys in the office, and I was fully aware of his interest in me. He’d made it painfully obvious with his stupid, flirty comments and constant stares. He’d almost crossed the line several times, but I’d just ignored him. I had no interest in another man, much less dating a creep like Caleb, so I gave her my best fake smile and said, “Thanks for the offer, but I really can’t tonight. Maybe some other time.”
“Sure. Maybe we can get together later in the week,” she answered, sounding more than a little disappointed.
“Sounds good to me,” I told her as I started out the door. “I better get going. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I rushed out to my car and headed straight home, knowing that Brandon wouldn’t have come all the way to Tacoma unless something was up. As I drove up, I saw that he was sitting on the front porch talking to Aunt Miranda, and I could tell from both of their expressions that it wasn’t an easy, lighthearted conversation. Dread washed over me as I got out of the car and started towards them. As soon as I stepped onto the porch, Aunt Miranda stood up and said, “I’ll leave you two to talk.”
Once she’d gone inside, I walked over and dropped my bag on the ground. As I sat down next to him on the swing, I asked, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Dad,” he sighed.
“What about him?”
“He umm… he got suspended from the force today.”
I wanted to fast forward through all the subtleties and get straight to what was going on, but Brandon wasn’t one to rush anything. I struggled to remain calm as I asked, “What do you mean, suspended? Why would they do that?”
“He’s been sent home pending an internal investigation. Other than that, he isn’t telling me much.”
“An investigation of what? You aren’t telling me anything, Brandon!”
“That’s because I don’t really know anything, Marley Jo! Dad’s all tight-lipped about everything… telling me not to worry and that it will all blow over, but from what I’ve heard, he was suspended because there is evidence missing from several big cases. They seem to think he had something to do with it. And he apparently made some deals with a few pretty sketchy guys. It’s bad… really bad.”
“What kind of evidence are we talking about? Files? Phones? Guns? What?”
“Drugs. Lots and lots of drugs.”
“How could anyone think Dad had something to do with missing drugs? That’s insane!”
“They’ve got his name on sign-in logs. He was the last one there before they came up missing. They even have him on camera going in, but not coming out.”
“He’d have to come out, and if he had the drugs with him, they’d have seen that on camera too. That doesn’t make any sense. What about these people they say he’s made deals with? Who are they?”
“Dope dealers. People he’d never think of associating with. It’s all bullshit and no one really believes any of it, but Dad’s pretty torn up about it.”
“Why didn’t he tell me?”
“He’d been talking to Aunt Miranda, and from what she’s told him, he thought you were doing better. I guess he didn’t want you to worry,” he explained. “Besides, you two aren’t exactly on good terms right now.”
“No, I guess we aren’t,” I clipped. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about him and what he’s going through. He should’ve called me.”
“Maybe you should call him. I know it’d mean a lot to him.”
I took a deep breath and sighed. “I will call him later tonight, but in the meantime, what are we going to do?”
“There’s nothing we can do. They have internal investigators coming in, and they’ll find out what’s going on. But no matter what anyone says, I know he didn’t do this.”
“Of course, he didn’t.” My nerves started to run wild as I asked, “What if someone’s trying to frame him or something?”
“Okay, you need to chill with those ‘Criminal Minds’ episodes,” he scoffed. “No one would try to frame Dad. There has to be a better explanation.”
“You’re right. It’s probably just some kind of misunderstanding. They’ll figure it out and lift Dad’s suspension.”
“Let’s hope. I just pray they figure it out soon.”
“Maybe I should come home,” I suggested. “I could check on Dad. I know all of this has to be killing him.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You need to stay put… at least for the time being.”
“Just because I come home, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to do anything stupid,” I argued. “I’ll just come for the night. It would give us a chance to talk.”
“Look, just hold off until we hear more,” he argued.
“Fine, but if anything else happens, I’m coming home.”
He looked over at me and silently studied me before asking, “Are you really doing better?”
“I’m fine, Brandon. You don’t have to worry about me,” I lied.
He cocked his head and said, “I’ll take that as a no.”
“I miss him,” I sighed. “But I’ve been thinking about something lately… if he cared about me as much as I thought he did, wouldn’t he have tried to find me? I mean… I know I told him not to and all that, but it kind of surprised me that he let it go that easily. I know it’s silly, but a part of me thought he’d come try to talk me out of it or to get me to come back. I guess I wasn’t as important to him as he was to me.” Brandon’s eyes skirted to the ground, and I could feel the tension rolling off of him as he scooted back against the swing, so I asked, “What?”
He sighed, then cleared his throat. “He did come after you. He came by the house on the day you left.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He came to see you. He wanted to know why you decided to up and leave like you did, but I told him you were already gone.”
“Oh my god! I had no idea. What did you say to him?” I pushed.
“I told him to give you time… that you needed some distance from him and if he cared about you, he’d give you that.”
“I can’t believe you never told me!”
“It wouldn’t have changed anything.”
“Maybe not, but you should’ve said something!” I shouted, unable to control my frustration.
“I guess you should know, he came here too,” he admitted. “Aunt Miranda told him the same thing I did.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me! He came all the way here and no one told me? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“We were trying to protect you! You’d completely shut down. Hell, you weren’t even coming out of your damn bedroom. Telling you that he’d come to talk to you, that he wanted you back, wasn’t going to help a damn thing. It would’ve just made things worse, and you know it!”
I knew he was right, but that didn’t change how I felt. Anger boiled inside of me as I yelled, “But I had a right to know! This is my life! Eve
ryone seems to know what’s best for me, but you’re wrong! Completely, absolutely wrong!”
“Wrong or not, him showing up here doesn’t change anything. Dad still wants you away from him, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you do. The last thing you want is for this guy to end up behind bars, so just leave it alone.”
Feeling completely defeated and hurt, I told him, “I wouldn’t have kept something like this from you, Brandon.” Then with a heavy sigh, I conceded, “I guess it doesn’t change anything though.”
“I’m sorry. I was just trying to protect you,” he muttered, guilt lacing his voice.
“It’s getting late. Are you staying here or heading back?”
“I’m heading home. I’ve got work in the morning,” he answered as he stood up to leave. He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly and said, “I love you, sis.”
As I tried to hold back my tears, I squeezed him and said, “I love you, too.” He let me go and started for the steps. Just before he got to his truck, I called, “Let me know if you hear any more about Dad. Anything at all.”
“I will. Hang in there.”
I watched as he got in his truck, and I waved as he pulled out of the driveway.
I grabbed my things and without stopping to talk to Aunt Miranda, I went straight to my room. I sat down on the edge of the bed and tried to make sense of everything Brandon had just told me. Strangely enough, just knowing that Smokey had come to find me gave me a sense of hope. I’d needed to know that he hadn’t let go so easily. Everything was such a mess. I was still angry with my father, but I knew I needed to call him. Even though I didn’t agree with everything he’d done, he was still my dad. I reached in my purse for my cell phone and was just about to dial his number when I noticed that I had several missed calls and three voicemails from a number I didn’t recognize. I pressed play and listened to the message:
First Message:
“Hi, Marley. This is Carrie from Dr. Webb’s office. I’ve been trying to reach you for the last couple of days. Can you please call me at your earliest convenience?”
Second Message:
“Hello, this is Carrie from Dr. Webb’s office again. I really need to speak with you. Please call me back as soon as possible.”
Third Message:
“Ms. Thompson, this is Dr. Webb. I wanted to call you personally and apologize for the delay with the results of your blood work. We need you to either schedule a follow-up appointment with us or make an appointment with your OB/GYN as soon as possible. It’s important for you to get started on your prenatal vitamins, and your levels will need to be monitored. If you have any questions, please give me a call back. Congratulations.”
Chapter 17
Smokey
We all watched as Boozer’s casket was lowered into the ground. Doc had tried everything he could, but we’d lost Boozer just a few hours after we’d gotten him back to the clubhouse. He was too far gone, but none of us gave up hope until the very end. The air felt heavy as we stood there together, trying to come to terms with losing one of our own. It was never easy, but Boozer’s death hit us hard. He was still prospecting, but we all considered him a brother and honored him as one, burying him with his top rocker. A deafening silence fell upon us as the crank stopped turning, and the casket settled against the cold, hard dirt. Cotton stepped up to the grave with a shovel in his hand and spoke a few comforting words—words I didn’t hear. I was too lost in my own head to listen to anything he was saying. He dropped the first scoop of dirt on top of the casket, and as he passed the shovel on to Guardrail, Cassidy started singing Boozer’s favorite hymn. It was his mother’s only request for the service, and as soon as Cassidy sang the first note of It Is Well with My Soul, tears started streaming down his mother’s face. We all knew she had an amazing voice, but the way Cass sang that song, the sadness in her voice got to us all. Boozer’s mom tried her best to hold it together, but we all knew she was struggling with the fact that she’d lost her only son. Knowing she was hurting, I did what Boozer had asked. I told her that he’d had an accident while out on his bike, and like he’d hoped, she found some comfort in thinking he’d died doing something he loved. She never questioned our explanation and seemed humbled by the fact that so many of her son’s brothers had come to show their respect. I wished it had been true. I wished he’d died while out riding on a beautiful day, but he hadn’t. Instead, he was killed in cold blood, because I wasn’t there to protect him. I’d let him down, and I would live with that regret for the rest of my life.
Each of the brothers took their turn with the shovel until Boozer was completely buried. When it was done, Doc said a few final words, and then we all got on our bikes and rode out to Cape Flattery. We spent hours riding along the coastline, paying tribute to our fallen brother. When the sun started to set, we headed back to the clubhouse for a family gathering. It was tradition: giving us time to come together to share our grief and think back on our time with Boozer, our friend and our brother.
I was standing by the fire when Cotton came over to me and said, “I know it’s hard, but you gotta come to terms with this. You did your job. You covered your boys, and what happened wasn’t your fault.”
“Maybe not, but I should’ve made sure he was better prepared to handle himself.”
“He made a mistake. Doesn’t mean he wasn’t prepared or didn’t know what he was doing.”
“It was a rookie mistake. One he should’ve never made.”
“His mistake got us our first real lead. You gotta give him credit for that,” Cotton explained. “We’ll get this guy. You can count on that. Boozer won’t have died in vain.”
“Any word from Big Mike?”
“He’s still working on it. They knew where our cameras were located. Managed to dodge them from what we can tell, but he’s still going through all the feed. If there is something, he’ll find it.”
“What do you think is up with this cop? You think he’s snooping around so he can shut us down, or do you think there’s more to it?”
“Oh, there’s definitely more to it. I just don’t know what the fuck it is. Got word that the sheriff was suspended earlier this week. Thinking he might be the one Boozer saw.”
“Sheriff Thompson?”
“Yep. The one and only. Looks like your girl’s dad has gotten himself in a mess. Stole drugs from the county evidence room. And I’m not talking about some measly amount either. He took enough to supply half the damn county.”
“That can’t be right,” I told him. I’d done my research. I knew everything there was to know about MJ’s father. I’d seen all the commendations he’d earned, along with the long list of awards he’d won, and he was the last man I’d ever expect to get himself wrapped up in some kind of drug distribution. It just didn’t add up, so I asked, “Got any more information on that?”
“No. Why?”
“There’s something up with that. A guy like him… no way he’d get involved with that kind of mess. I feel it in my gut. It’s definitely something we need look into. There might be some kind of connection.”
“Yeah, there’s a connection alright. The guy fucked up. Didn’t make the money he wanted to with the drugs he unloaded, so he thought he’d try to get his hands on our shipment,” he growled.
“I don’t think that’s how it played out, Prez. You gotta trust me on this.”
“I’m thinking you might be a bit biased when it comes to this Thompson guy.”
There wasn’t a club member anywhere that would ever side with a cop, and I wasn’t either. But I knew something wasn’t right, so I said, “He’s a fucking cop. Enough said. Just thinking it’s something we ought to look into.”
“I’ll get Big to check it out, but for now, we’re closing the warehouse. Nitro is setting up a place for delivery. We should know the new location by morning.”
“So we’re moving forward?”
“Absolutely. Just gotta play it smart. Not going to let t
hese motherfuckers keep us down,” Cotton growled. “Just be set for tomorrow. We’ll expect everyone there.”
“You can count on me. Whatever you need,” I assured him.
As he turned to leave, he gave me a pat on the shoulder and said, “Grab yourself another beer, and I’ll let you know if Big Mike comes up with anything.”
“Thanks, brother.”
He walked away, leaving me standing alone by the fire, and I took a deep breath as I stared at the crackling blaze before me. I was lost in a trance, staring deep into the fire as I thought about the night that Boozer died and the moment the word “cop” had come from his mouth. I was recalling the pained look in his eyes as he lay there fighting for his life when Tristen walked up and stood next to me. She didn’t say a word as she offered me a beer. We stood there silently, gazing into the fire. I had no idea how long we’d been standing there when I looked over to her and saw the soft glow of the firelight against her skin. I contemplated taking her back to my room, wondering if I’d find any comfort in having her warm body next to mine. But I shook it off. I just couldn’t do it. Even though she looked beautiful standing there, I couldn’t stomach the thought of having her in my bed. There was only one woman I wanted in my arms, and no substitute would do.
I was surprised when she placed her hand on my arm and said, “I’m heading inside to help clean up. If you need anything, just let me know.”
I smiled and said, “Thanks, Tris. Appreciate that.”
It was getting late and the brothers were starting to clear out. We all knew we had a few long days ahead, so I figured it was time for me to do the same. I started for my bike and had just made it to the parking lot when I spotted Maverick helping Henley over to their car. She was a sight to behold as she waddled next him with one hand on her belly and the other on her lower back. She looked like she was going to have that baby at any minute, and I couldn’t help but smile as I watched Maverick try to ease her into that damn car. He was so careful with her, treating her like precious cargo as he held her hand, slowly lowering her into the seat. It looked like she had the world’s largest basketball centered right in the middle of her stomach, but she was beautiful. Pregnancy suited her, even if she’d say it was hell. We all knew how excited they both were, and in no time, they’d have their son in their arms. Then the real fun would begin. Maverick closed the door and when he started for the driver’s side, I gave him a chin lift. He did the same in return as he got inside the car.
