“I met him at a bar once.”
“A bar?”
“Yeah. One of my trips into Austin.”
Feasible.
Cam chuckled, focusing on the road. “And you didn’t think to mention it? Like, hey, Cam, guess who I met today?”
When Cam checked the rearview mirror again, he noticed Roan was looking out the window. “Must’ve slipped my mind.”
Right. There was more to that story, Cam knew. But again, he had learned that pushing Roan only made the man close up more.
Cam pulled the car to a stop in front of the duplex Roan lived in with his youngest sister, Cassie. It had been her place before Roan moved in to help her out with bills. Cam knew she couldn’t keep up with the rent most months because he suspected she was spending whatever money she did have on her drug addiction. Based on the way the house looked, there wasn’t anything left over for upkeep. Not that Roan was hurting for money. The marina was doing great, and Cam knew his friend had more than enough to get by.
“Thanks for the ride. See you tomorrow.” Roan didn’t look back as he hopped out of the car, shut the door, and took off toward the house.
Gannon squeezed Cam’s hand, as though reminding him that he needed to get them home. Without wasting another second, Cam put his foot on the gas and drove down to the other end of the street. He hated leaving Roan like this. However, every attempt he’d made to talk to his best friend had resulted in Roan shutting him out more, usually picking a fight to ensure there was distance between them.
When they were two streets over, Cam glanced over at his husband. “Is it just me or does something seem really off with him?”
Gannon’s dark eyes peered over at him in the dim light of the dashboard. “I assume you mean tonight.”
Cam frowned.
“Babe, he’s seemed off for a long time,” Gannon said. “Ever since you and I got together.”
Yes. Roan had initially had a problem with Cam and Gannon getting together. But they’d worked through that. Roan had even been the best man at their wedding. Surely he wasn’t still worked up about that.
“Okay, sure. He hasn’t been himself for a while, you’re right,” Cam acknowledged. “I know he’s having a hard time dealing with Cassie. But tonight, it was really weird. For some reason, I don’t think we should’ve left him alone.”
This time Gannon was frowning. “He’s not alone, Cam. He’s got his sister living there with him.”
Cam glared over at Gannon. “And we all know how well they get along.”
“Like oil and water, yes,” Gannon stated.
“Exactly. Did you hear him a minute ago?” Cam questioned, although it was rhetorical because Gannon had been in the car. He had to have heard. “He accused me of treating him like a child. It’s always something with him. It’s like he tries to pick a fight whenever I get too close.”
Cam stopped the car before leaving Roan’s neighborhood, turning to look at his husband more fully.
“I haven’t been the greatest friend to him lately. I don’t get to spend much time with him. Since he moved in with Cassie, he won’t let me come over. For whatever reason, he’s stopped coming over to our place. And he’s missed so much work. I know something’s bothering him, but I can’t get him to talk about it.”
“And you think tonight’s gonna be different?” Gannon asked.
Cam shrugged. He didn’t know. But he could confront Roan about it, at least. If he simply barged into his house, no way could Roan blow him off the way he had all this time. No matter how annoying he’d been lately, Roan never backed down. He didn’t want to talk. He didn’t want to hang out. He didn’t want to do anything but go to work and go home. It was as though his sister had taken over his life and he had to spend all his time taking care of her. But for fuck’s sake, the woman was almost thirty years old. She didn’t need Roan holding her hand.
Cam knew Roan needed a friend.
“We’re going back,” Cam said.
“I thought you’d say that.” Gannon smiled. “I go where you go.”
Cam nodded, then pulled a U-ie, heading back to Roan’s house.
The place was nothing more than a rundown POS that was in desperate need of a new roof and some grass in the front yard. According to Roan, it was where Cassie lived, and since he’d practically forced her to let him live with her, he couldn’t be picky.
“I’m not even gonna knock,” Cam said as they sidestepped the cracked walkway on their way up to Roan’s front door.
Music blasted from one of the other duplexes, a baby’s loud wail sounded from nearby, and Cam was fairly certain he smelled pot.
“Hopefully he’s dressed,” Cam muttered, keeping his eye on his surroundings. He already detested this place and he’d been here all of a minute. How the hell could Roan live in this filth?
“Hopefully his sister’s dressed,” Gannon noted, sounding as though the idea of seeing her naked was far worse than the idea of seeing Roan naked.
“I doubt she’s even home.” Knowing Cassie, she was out somewhere getting high. It was all she ever did. Roan spent all of his time saving her from herself. Or trying to anyway. Cam wondered when the man was going to realize she had to be held responsible for her own actions. Him coming to her rescue every damn time was only enabling her.
“Someone needs to take care of that baby,” Gannon said absently.
Cam took a deep breath as he put his hand on the doorknob. He turned it slowly and yes! It was unlocked.
The next thing Cam knew, he and Gannon were opening Roan’s front door, stepping inside and…
The music sounded even louder in here. As did the baby crying. How thin were the walls? Seriously.
And damn. What was that smell?
The house was completely dark except for a dim light from the kitchen. It wasn’t enough to light up the room, but enough that Cam could see someone over by the couch. On the floor.
“Roan?” Cam fumbled blindly on the wall with his hand. Surely there was a light in here. When he found the switch, he hit it and the room lit up, casting a dingy yellow glow across the cheap furniture and ratty carpet.
And that was when Cam saw them.
“Oh, shit,” Gannon yelled, shoving Cam forward. “Fuck.”
It took a minute for it to register for Cam. He saw Roan and…
“Oh, my God!” Cam bolted across the room, dropping to his knees beside Roan, who was holding his sister, the woman lying motionless on the floor between the cheap brass coffee table littered with cigarette butts and the secondhand couch with what looked to be fast-food wrappers decorating it. “What happened?”
Oh, damn. The smell was so much worse over here.
Cassie’s bleached-blond hair was matted and tangled. Her T-shirt was hanging off her bony shoulder, and her shorts looked as though they hadn’t been washed in days. Her skin was paler than usual, and there was something caked on her lips.
Was that foam?
Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.
“Shit!” Cam yelled at Gannon. “Call 9-1-1. Damn it. I left my phone in the car.”
“It’s too late,” Roan said softly. “Call the police, but it’s not an emergency.”
Cam pressed two fingers to Cassie’s neck, trying to find a pulse because surely this wasn’t happening. No pulse, but he hadn’t really expected one. It only reaffirmed what he feared.
Shit.
Leaning down, he pressed his ear close to her mouth. She wasn’t breathing.
Sitting back on his heels, Cam looked at Roan, then back to Cassie. She looked to be asleep, but he knew better. She wasn’t sleeping. She was dead. And from the looks of it, she’d been that way for probably a couple of hours.
In the background, Cam heard Gannon rattling off the address, but Roan was right, there was no point. The EMTs didn’t have to hurry, because there was nothing they could do for her. The syringe she had used, the needle still piercing her vein, hung from her arm where a strip of yellowed rubber was stretch
ed tight.
Cam knew that Roan had feared this for too long. And just as he’d predicted, Cassie had succumbed to the drug. She had overdosed, and he didn’t think she’d done it on purpose. This was likely a nightly ritual for her and this one time…
Unfortunately, one time was all it took.
Holy shit.
“They’re on their way,” Gannon said, his voice panicky.
“She’s dead,” Cam said, as though saying it would make it truly register.
“I knew something was wrong,” Roan muttered, his voice strained. “I should’ve been here.”
“Man, you can’t—” Cam stopped talking. “Seriously, is your neighbor going to take care of that baby? It’s been crying since we walked up.”
Roan looked up at Cam, and it was as though someone flipped on the light switch in his head. “Oh, my God! Oh, shit!”
Cam stared after Roan as he shot to his feet and practically sprinted down a narrow hallway. Cam looked over at Gannon briefly, but his husband looked as confused as he felt.
“I’ll wait for the police,” Gannon said. “I think you should probably go check on him.”
Yeah.
Someone probably should.
ROAN THREW OPEN THE BEDROOM door and smacked the light switch on the wall.
Relief slammed into him, damn near taking him to his knees when he saw Liam in his crib. Sure, the baby was screaming bloody murder, but at least he was safe where he was.
Pulling in a calming breath, Roan reached for the little boy, lifting him into his arms and murmuring softly as he held him close to his chest.
Aww, damn. He was soaked clean through. The outfit Roan had dressed him in before going to the game was drenched.
“It’s okay, baby boy. I’m so, so sorry. Shh … shh … shh. God, it’s gonna be all right. I swear to you.”
Roan ignored the pee soaking through his shirt, doing his best to soothe the tiny little boy he clutched in his arms.
“Liam, I’m here now. I’ve got you.”
It only took a few seconds for Liam to quiet, his screams turning to choked sobs as he fought to catch his breath. God only knew how long Liam had been lying there, screaming at the top of his lungs. The duplex that shared a wall with Cassie’s was empty, so no one had been there to hear him. Roan probably would’ve heard him if he hadn’t been shocked to the roots of his hair at finding his sister laid out on the living room floor, her body cold…
Cassie was dead.
A shiver trickled down his spine as his brain processed everything that’d taken place in the last few minutes.
“I’ve got you,” Roan whispered to Liam as the reality of it all sank in. Liam’s mother was dead. “I promise. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
Roan turned to the door, finding Cam standing there staring at him. His eyes were wide, his jaw damn near unhinged.
“Uh… Holy … sh—”
This was what Roan had been trying to avoid by keeping his friends away. Not because he necessarily wanted to take on the task of raising his sister’s son on his own, but because it was all too much to handle and he was trying to deal with it.
The house was a disgusting mess. It didn’t matter that Roan cleaned it morning and night, it was as though Cassie purposely messed it up. Roan hadn’t wanted anyone to see the place, certainly not his friends.
And no one should’ve had to come in to find Cassie’s lifeless body on the floor, proof that she hadn’t tried to stay on the straight and narrow dangling from her arm.
“Is that…?” Cam seemed at a loss for words, his eyes wide, eyebrows scraping his hairline.
“My sister’s son?” Roan nodded. “Yeah. His name’s Liam.”
Cam took a step closer. “He’s tiny. How old is he?”
“One month, yesterday.”
“Cam? Roan?” Gannon’s calm, smooth voice floated into the room from somewhere down the hallway. “The police are here.”
Roan looked at Cam. “I know I have a lot of explaining to do, but…”
Cam shook his head. “I’ll talk to the police. Tell them what I can.”
“I need to change him,” Roan whispered, looking down at the sweet little boy cradled in his arms. He was trying to fight the tears, hating that this precious boy was going to go through life without his mother. Roan’s own mother hadn’t died, but he’d lived his life as though she had.
“Sure thing. I’ll … uh… Yeah.”
Roan turned to the changing table and placed Liam squarely in the center, then went to work removing the wet clothes and changing his soggy diaper as quickly and efficiently as he could. God knew he’d had enough practice over the last four weeks.
When he was finished, he dumped the soiled diaper in the pail, picked Liam up, and cradled him against his shoulder, keeping his hand across Liam’s back, his fingers keeping his head secure. He took a second to peer around the room. Everything was new. The crib, changing table, dresser. Roan had purchased every piece of furniture, every stitch of clothing, the diapers, wipes, powder, baby bath. All of it.
Every single thing Liam had, Roan had bought for him. And not begrudgingly either. He’d bought it because he wanted to ensure Liam had what he needed.
“What’re we gonna do, baby boy?” he whispered as he headed toward the kitchen.
A quick peek at the counter proved what he’d feared. Cassie hadn’t fed him tonight. Every day Roan filled the bottles with water and placed them on the counter so Cassie would have them. The only thing she had to do was add formula. Roan even kept the can beside the bottles with a Post-It note advising how much formula for her to use. By providing the bottles, it allowed Roan to keep track of what she’d done and what she hadn’t. For the most part, his sister had tried. More accurately, she had wanted to try.
She really had.
She hadn’t been the greatest mom. No one could dispute that. More than half the time, Roan was the one who got up with Liam in the middle of the night because she refused to get out of bed. In the beginning, Cassie had seemed willing to give the mothering thing a shot. A week in and Roan realized he would have to do more than simply monitor her. She started relying more and more on him to take care of Liam, and Roan had done what was natural. He’d taken care of the little boy knowing his sister wouldn’t.
Roan fought the tears that were threatening as he pulled the lid off the formula can and got to work getting Liam’s bottle ready. The little boy wouldn’t be quiet for long.
Gannon appeared in the kitchen. “They’d like to talk to you.” Gannon nodded toward Liam. “May I?”
Clearly Cam had given Gannon a heads-up, because he didn’t seem at all surprised to see an infant in Roan’s arms.
Roan knew he needed to deal with this, but he hated letting go of Liam. If he could, he would hold the boy forever, right there against his heart, keeping him safe and protected from the world. In just the few short weeks of his life, he’d had to endure so much. More than he should have.
“Sure,” Roan said, reluctantly passing Liam over.
“He’s tiny,” Gannon said softly, his eyes warm as they roamed over Liam’s small form. “So tiny.”
Yeah. He was.
Gannon took him, gently cradling his head and situating him so he could handle the bottle.
“I’ll sit here,” Gannon told him, glancing over at the table.
“Okay.”
Roan shook the bottle to mix the formula and water, then made sure the nipple was working. After handing it off to Gannon, he swallowed hard and steeled himself for dealing with the police.
Someone—likely Gannon—had kindly draped a sheet over Cassie’s body. Roan kept his attention on the man standing in the doorway, otherwise, his knees would likely give out on him and he’d be in a heap on the floor.
“Detective Wayne Simpson,” the man greeted him, all business.
Roan nodded, waiting for the questions.
“You’re”—the detective peered at his notepad—“Cassie’s
brother? Roan?”
“Roan Gregory, yes,” he confirmed.
He quickly gave the man the story of how he’d come home to find her lifeless on the floor, the syringe still dangling from her arm. He answered questions as best he could. Yes, Cassie was a drug addict. Yes, she had been trying to get clean. No, he didn’t know where she got the drugs from. Yes, the little boy was her son, but Roan had guardianship. Yes, he had the papers to prove it. No, he did not intend to stay here in this house. Yes, he would be the one arranging the funeral.
Cam remained right by his side, handling as many of the questions as the detective allowed. He steered Roan out of the way when someone—he didn’t even know who—wheeled Cassie’s body out of the house.
It all took less than an hour, and by the time things calmed down, Roan felt numb.
It was too late to save Cassie. He was too late.
He rubbed his fist over his heart. The damn thing ached. A physical pain he didn’t much care for.
“She overdosed,” Roan mumbled. “Just like I knew she would.” He took a deep breath, tried to hold back the tears, but he couldn’t stop them this time. “Goddammit, Cassie.”
Staring into space, Roan recalled the last conversation they’d had before her hateful texts. It’d been right before he left for the game.
“Are you sure you don’t mind me going?” Roan asked for the third time.
Cassie peered up from the television long enough to roll her eyes. “I’m quite capable of taking care of myself.”
It wasn’t her he was worried about.
“And Liam,” she added belatedly. “We’ll be fine.”
“I just bathed him. He’s got clean clothes and a dry diaper. He’ll be ready to eat in an hour. Can you handle that?” Roan knew his tone was harder than he’d meant it to be, but it was difficult for him to trust Cassie to do what she said she’d do.
“I’m his mother, Roan. I think I know when my kid wants to eat.”
He bit back a retort. “The game starts at seven. I’ll be home around ten. Ten thirty at the latest.”
Cassie waved him off, her attention once again on the television.
Harmless (Pier 70 Book 4) Page 4
