“Doesn’t the Army do DNA or something?” Jax rose to pace.
Jason shook his head. “Not when the person has an ID, dog-tags, and is wearing the right uniform. There’s no reason to suspect anything else.”
“So why come here and tell me all this? Why not just let me believe my husband died? What do you possibly hope to gain from this?”
“Ryan was skimming money away from the cartel. Millions. He had a nest egg somewhere, and I intend to find it and give it back to them before they find and off me. And if I found you, so will they.”
“I don’t have any money!”
“I don’t believe for an instant you were married to Ryan, lived with him, wrote to him while he was away, and didn’t know anything about what he was doing.” Jason continued. “I want the money, Beckett. Save yourself a lot of trouble and get it for me.
“You have a gorgeous house, just bought a multi-million dollar business. Money’s coming from somewhere. I don’t believe you don’t know, and neither will the Malatoas. Not for an instant.”
Jax grabbed Jason by his arm and wrenched him from his seat. “You’re leaving now.”
Jason shook free. “No, I’m not. Not until I get the money.”
Murphy and Caleb stood, stepping in front of Beckett to back up their brother. Murphy put his hands on his hips and when he spoke, his voice was very casual. Too casual.
“I’d suggest you do as my brother there told you and go. You’re not welcome here, and you won’t be staying. None of us know anything about what you’re talking about, and we don’t believe it for even a moment.”
Caleb stepped forward. “If you don’t leave in the next ten seconds, you’ll be going out the door flying instead of walking.”
Jason held up his hands in mock surrender. “You’re making a mistake.”
Beckett managed to speak as the soldier reached for the door. “It’s been five years. Why now? Why are you suddenly here?”
“I just got released. I did five years on a plea bargain for my role in the whole damn thing. Do yourselves a favor.” Jason grinned. “Gather up the money and have it ready. The Malatoas will be coming as soon as I tell them you won’t hand it over. They want what’s theirs. You haven’t gotten away with it, no matter how long it’s been. Your husband was a very dangerous, very bad man. If you know where he is or how to get in touch with him, I suggest you do it. Even if he has the money, they’re going to come after you.”
Jax grabbed the man by the arm and yanked open the door. “That’s enough. Get out of here. You have thirty seconds to leave this property before I call an ambulance. Not the police, an ambulance, because I’ll make damn sure you’re going to need one.”
Once the door was closed and locked, Jax turned back to face his brothers and Beckett. Beckett’s face was ashen and pale, and her hands were trembling visibly. Sighing, Jax gathered her into his arms and held her against his chest.
“Shh, baby, it’s okay.”
Beckett hugged him tightly, pressing her face into his shoulder and fighting the urge to cry. Giving herself time to gather her strength and composure, she stepped back and returned to the living room, dropping onto the couch.
“What do we do about this?”
Caleb sat on the coffee table in front of her, taking her hand in his own. “We call the sheriff first thing in the morning and file a report. Obviously the man is deranged. We need to take steps to protect you from him.”
“What if it’s true?” She looked up at Murphy, meeting his eyes. “What if Ryan did those things? What if he’s still alive? What if it’s all true?”
“Then we’ll deal with it.” Murphy sat next to her, sliding his arm around her shoulders. “We’ll deal with whatever happens. If it’s true, if Ryan did what Robbins says, if he’s still alive, he’s no man I’ve ever known and he deserves to rot in a cage.”
Caleb glared at his brother. “It’s not true, Murph.”
“We didn’t think it was possible he’d cheat on his wife, but we’ve got a niece proving otherwise.” Jax plowed his hand through his hair and paced the living room. “Savi. What if he’s headed over there next?”
Caleb pulled out his phone and dialed, explaining the situation to Savi quickly. When he hung up and looked at the other three, he smiled ruefully. “She said he hasn’t been there, but if he shows up, she’ll shoot him. She’s apparently a fantastic shot and keeps the gun loaded.”
Murphy sighed. “One of us should stay with Savi tonight. I’ll stay here, and the other should go to Mom and Dad’s.”
Jax snorted. “If you think Dad needs help, you’ve got another thing coming. He can still hit a buck at three hundred yards.”
“I didn’t mean for help, but they need to know what’s going on. Unfortunately, this guy didn’t commit a crime. There’s nothing to arrest him for. But he could show back up here, at Vive, at the kids’ school, anywhere.”
“I think we should wait on Mom and Dad until we can go over together. They’ll have a lot of questions.” Caleb’s gaze darkened. “We’ll start taking the kids into the school instead of dropping them off, and make sure we’re right by the door to get them in the afternoon. Beck, I hate to ask, but did you see Ryan’s body when he came home? I know we had a closed-casket, but…”
Beckett shook her head. “They told me it was too bad. There wasn’t much left of him. I didn’t look at anything. I didn’t want to.” She leaned forward, bracing her elbows on her knees and laying her head in her hands. “Who are the Malatoa cartel anyway? I can’t imagine Ryan doing anything with drugs.”
“We also didn’t see him planning to leave his pregnant wife for a drug-addicted waitress who had his love-child.” Murphy held up his hands when she glared at him. “I’m just saying, Ryan obviously wasn’t who we thought he was. I don’t think any of us should be surprised by anything we find out about him. Did you notice anything different? More money than there should have been? Credit card bills? Financial papers that didn’t make sense? Anything?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t go through any of his stuff. I had it boxed up and shipped out here. It’s been in storage ever since.” Beckett looked ashamed. “I had a hundred and thirty-nine dollars in my account when he died. He handled everything when he was home, and when he was gone his check was deposited into my bank account. I got eleven hundred every two weeks.”
“Where is his stuff being stored?” Caleb stood and went to the window, pulling the curtains back to make sure Jason’s car was no longer parked outside.
“Shifty’s in Trenton.”
Murphy slapped his knees and climbed to his feet, retrieving his coat. “Come on. We’ll go down there now. Caleb, you stay here with the kids. Jax, go over to Savi’s and bunk on her couch. I’ll take Beck to the storage unit, and we’ll worry about Mom and Dad tomorrow.”
Beckett followed Murphy out to his truck, standing back to allow him to open the door for her to climb in. Once he’d closed it and rounded the vehicle to get in, he drove to his own house, retrieving a handgun she knew he’d bought to go target shooting. That done, he turned the truck toward the storage units and maneuvered out to the main road.
Uncomfortable, Beckett cleared her throat to get his attention. “Murphy?”
Glancing at her, he lifted his eyebrows. “Hmm?”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“All this. I’d understand if you want to rethink things. I know this is way more trouble than it’s worth.”
Confused, he turned to look at her again, shifting his eyes back and forth between the road and her face. “What in the hell are you talking about?”
“I mean I’d understand if you decided you didn’t want to be with me anymore. I’d get it. Completely. I know this is a lot to handle.”
“Unless you knew Ryan was into something and never told us, you have nothing to apologize for. And no, I haven’t rethought anything. We’re in this together. All the way.” He reached out and took her hand. “
I want to get through this and be able to focus on us moving forward together.”
****
The storage unit was musty and dark. Flipping on the light-switch, Murphy scowled at the one bare bulb that lit up. Lowering the door behind Beckett, he let his eyes trail over the furniture, boxes, and odds and ends.
“Didn’t you keep anything?”
“My clothes. Rhys’s things. I didn’t need anything else. The rental was furnished, so I put everything here, and when I bought the house I couldn’t bear the thought of using the same things Ryan and I used, so I left it.” She began clearing off what had, at one time, been her living room couch.
Murphy pulled out his pocket knife and opened one of the boxes, dropping into a kitchen chair to look through it. “I don’t even know what I’m looking for in here.”
“Anything out of the ordinary, I suppose.” Beckett grabbed a box and ripped into it, sighing deeply. “Of course, nothing is normal now, so take it with a grain of salt.”
The mountains of old bank statements and receipts eventually yielded nine accounts Beckett hadn’t known about. Five credit cards, a checking account, and three safety-deposit boxes. She sat the records aside and continued to dig through things, emptying every pocket of Ryan’s clothes and checking inside every sock.
Murphy made a noise in his throat and looked up, his eyes wide.
“What did you find?” Beckett asked with hesitation.
He held up a roll of money secured with a rubber band. “It’s hundreds. There’s got to be ten-thousand dollars here.”
Stalking across the unit, she snatched the bills. “Where the fuck did he get ten-thousand dollars I didn’t know about? Where was it?”
“Inside a box marked ‘Military Re-enrollment Paperwork.’ ”
“A box I’d have had no interest in ever looking in.” She stuffed the money into her jacket pocket. “We’ll turn it in to the police.”
“There are receipts for jewelry, Beck. Expensive jewelry. A lease agreement for a house that doesn’t have your name on it. Some photos with Elaina, a few with women I don’t know.” Murphy continued to rifle through the box. “A joint checking account with her. Looks like his military pay was being split between the two of you when he was gone. What did you find?”
“Five maxed out credit cards. About a hundred thousand dollars’ worth of debt. Jewelry, lingerie, hotels, that sort of thing. A checking account I didn’t know about with thirty-thousand. The one I did had less than half that. God, I could resurrect him just to murder him.” Her voice filled with vitriol and tears, she continued to thumb through things. Her hands stilled and she looked up, paling. “My God.”
“What? What is it?”
Beckett held up three packets, each carefully marked with a name. “Passports. Driver’s licenses. Birth certificates. Money. Credit cards. Identities. Jesus fucking Christ, he had three other identities.” She pressed a hand to her stomach. “What kind of person did I marry? What kind of monster fathered my children?” She shuddered, looking nauseated. Tugging on her hair, she stared at him, frustration, anger, and fear shining in her eyes as she continued. “Who was I letting live in my house and sleep in my bed? Was it all fake? Did he ever love us? The women, the debt, the drugs, the money. I didn’t know about any of it. How naïve and stupid am I that I didn’t know?”
“Neither did we. He didn’t tell us. We didn’t have any idea about this.” Murphy rubbed his hand over his chest where a knot of anger and grief had formed. “I looked up to Ryan. I wanted to be just like him. Great career, serving our country. Beautiful wife and son, a daughter on the way. I looked at his life and envied him. I wanted to be him.”
Beckett went into Murphy’s arms, holding him tightly, giving more comfort than she could possibly know. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his cheek on top of her head. Feeling her against him, her natural inclination to comfort even when she, too, was hurting moved him. He stroked his hand over her hair and breathed in her scent. Right there, surrounded by dusty boxes and old furniture mixed amongst the evidence they had found, Murphy fell unequivocally, head-over-heels in love with his brother’s wife.
Chapter 12
By the time Caleb, Jax, and Savi were brought up to speed, the sky was turning gray. After an extended crying jag in the shower, Beckett collapsed into bed next to Murphy and dropped immediately into sleep, curled up against his back with one arm under her pillow and the other around him.
Discovering merely three hours later that she’d forgotten to shut off the alarm for church, she leaned over Murphy and slapped at the clock. She laughed despite her headache when he rolled onto his back and lifted her on top of him.
“Morning.” Sleepy, Murphy drew her down for a kiss. She returned it, grateful neither of them had been asleep long enough for morning breath.
Beckett slid up to straddle his hips and sat up, her hands on his chest and her hair an explosion of red curls around her face. “Morning. I’m not going to go today. I don’t really feel like sitting in church and praising God right now, truthfully.”
“Don’t blame you. Can’t say as I much feel like it, either. We could take the kids down to the pancake place and have breakfast. My treat.”
Smiling, Beckett leaned down for another kiss. “If I don’t wake them, they won’t get up for at least another hour. We could take each other’s minds off everything.”
Murphy sat up, bringing their chests flush together and lifted her tank enough to slide his hands up her back. “I’m very okay with that plan.”
****
The door opened and Rhys ran in, already wearing his church clothes. “Mom, I heard the alarm! We’ll be late!” The eight-year old stopped in his tracks and stared at his mother in bed with his uncle.
Angry tears welled in his eyes at the sight of Beckett in her pajamas, hair mussed, and Murphy wearing only jeans.
“How could you? Why’d you have to go and ruin everything?”
The little boy bolted from the room, his footsteps descending the steps. Murphy shifted Beckett and yanked on his shirt, grabbing his socks and boots on his way out of the room.
“Don’t worry. I got this one. Get Harlow ready.” He followed Rhys down the stairs, yelling at Caleb when he saw his brother in the living room. “Caleb! Grab him!”
Stepping in front of Rhys, Caleb laid a hand on his shoulder and stopped him before he could get to the front door.
“Sorry. Under orders.” He lifted his brows when Murphy came down the stairs looking rumpled. “Was it bad?”
“No.” Murphy grabbed his coat and handed Rhys his. “Put this on. Rhys and I just need to have a little man-to-man talk is all. Get the girls and meet us at the pancake place down on Elm in an hour.”
Rhys struggled when Murphy nudged him toward the door. “I don’t want to go with you. You’re not my dad!”
Ignoring the pang of hurt, Murphy placed his hand between Rhys’s shoulder blades and pushed him out the door. “You don’t have a choice, short stuff.” He glanced back at Caleb. “Try to calm Beckett down, would you? She looked about ready to cry.”
Sighing, Caleb nodded, muttering under his breath just loud enough for Murphy to hear what he said. “Now I’m the one with all the responsibilities and none of the benefits.”
Murphy loaded his nephew into his truck and slid behind the wheel, driving the short distance to the beach. When Rhys resisted getting out, Murphy lifted him and sat him on the ground, marching the boy onto the pier. Sitting down, he patted the planks next to him.
“You’ll hear me out, and then you’ll have your say.”
Looking miserable and hurt, Rhys crossed his arms. “You were kissing my mom. Like really kissing her. Like a dad kisses a mom. Not like you kiss Mom.”
“You’re right. I was kissing her.”
Rhys sat down and glared at Murphy. “Why?”
“Because I like her.”
“Like girls and boys, or like you used to?”
“Both.”
“Nope.” Murphy pulled a pack of gum from his pocket and took a stick, offering the other to Rhys. “We haven’t been hiding anything from you, Rhys. I’m not messing with your mom.”
“Do Uncle Caleb and Uncle Jax kiss her like that, too?”
Only if they wanted to die.
Murphy shook his head. “No son, they don’t.”
“Are you going to keep kissing her?”
“I am.” He dared putting his hand on Rhys’s shoulder. “Do you remember your dad?”
“No.” Shaking his head, Rhys dragged his hand across his eyes to banish tears. “Mom has pictures. I know he was your bother, like I’m Harlow’s. And I know Caleb and Jax are your brothers, too.”
“You know a lot.”
“I know my dad was a bad man.”
Taken aback, Murphy stared out at the ocean thoughtfully. “How do you know that?”
Looking pleased Murphy wasn’t correcting him, Rhys chewed the gum thoughtfully. “I heard the man at the house last night. I heard Mom cry, and you, Uncle Caleb, and Uncle Jax got mad and made him go. I know it was about my dad. And I know Lyla is older than Harlow, so I know Dad had another kid with someone else when he was supposed to be married to my mom. That makes him a bad man.”
Damn. The kid did know a lot.
“It’s complicated, kiddo. Your dad did some bad things. Mom’s upset because she didn’t know, and we’re upset both because we didn’t know and because we don’t like to see your mom upset.”
Rhys turned to face his uncle. “You promise you aren’t messing with her?”
“I promise.”
“And you promise you aren’t spending time with me and Harlow just so Mom’ll kiss you?”
“I promise that, too. I love you and your sister. I love your mom. We’re all family.”
“What happens if Mom doesn’t want you kissing her anymore?”
“Then I won’t kiss her anymore, but I’ll still hang out with you and Harlow.” A tight knot formed in Murphy’s chest at the thought of things going back to how they were. “Rhys, I know it’s been hard on you since your dad died. You’ve always tried to do too much and be too grown up. I’ve watched you try to take care of your mom and sister even though it’s not your job, and I know you’ve thought of yourself as the man of the house for a long time. I respect you for what you’ve done. You’re a great kid and you’re going to grow into a good man. I don’t want to stop or change it.” Leaning in and draping an arm around Rhys’s shoulder, he whispered, “Can I tell you a secret?”
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