Broken Halo: The Montgomery Series, Book 2

by Asher, Brynne

  * * *

  Ellie

  “Ah-hem.”

  I shift, feeling the rock-hard chest under me groan and a hand on my ass tighten.

  “Ball.”

  My eyes fly open and last night comes rushing into my head like a rerun, playing back in my brain, word-for-word, like my favorite Friends episode I’ve seen a million times where Monica and Rachel lose the game show and have to give up their apartment to Chandler and Joey. The unorganic vodka, the fajitas, Eli stabbing me in the back and giving Trig access to Casa de Jen … me telling Trig that our unprotected sex was really unprotected … all of it.

  And lastly, that when Trig squished me into the sofa, I didn’t knee him in the nuts and push him off onto Jen’s thick area rug.

  Trig is now on his back, taking up way more than his fair share of the small space we slept on, and I’m sprawled on top of him. My head is pounding, and when I turn to look, the first thing I see is Trig’s T-shirt pulled up just enough, a smattering of hair disappears into the band of his boxers where his wrinkled dress pants are unbuttoned and unzipped.

  “When I booked an early morning meeting with my lead attorney and a possible new vendor across town, I had no idea I’d have to be his wake-up call, too.” Jen is standing over us holding Griffin, who’s still in his jammies.

  I smile at my son even though it hurts behind my eyes. “Good morning, baby.”

  Griffin babbles, claps his hands, and starts to wiggle in my sister’s arms so she sets him down and he crawls to us. Trig rubs his face as Griffin pulls up and tries to join the mountain of people. Trig places a big hand right on top of Griffin’s head and greets him with a smile and deep voice, rough from sleep. “Hey there, little guy.”

  My heart, it does something—deflates, bursts, splits into a million little pieces… Because it isn’t lost on me that Trig has barely acknowledged Griffin up until now. He wouldn’t even utter his name until I called him on it.

  “Well.” Jen clears her throat again and I look up to her as she takes in the scene unfolding in front of her and I know she’s almost as affected by it as I am. “I just changed his diaper. I’m now officially off aunt-duty. I need to dry my hair. If Trig is going to make the meeting, he’d better get up. You’ll be okay today, Ellie?”

  I start to answer and push up from Trig but he stops me, grabbing the back of my head and before I know it, he’s pulled me in for a kiss that I wouldn’t consider chaste, holding me here longer than necessary. I can tell he wants it to be even less chaste. If we were by ourselves and I wouldn’t protest, I’m sure I’d be on my back by now and he’d be taking advantage of the fact he still has my ripped panties in his pocket.

  I pull away because Griffin starts to yank at my hair and get louder. I need to feed him, go home, and clear my head. I have appointments and can’t be late.

  “I guess that means you’re going to be okay,” Jen quips and I shoot her a dirty look. She turns for her bedroom, and without looking back, says, “Call me later so you can tell me all the things you didn’t last night.”

  I stand, pick up Griffin, and head to the kitchen, ignoring the man who just kissed me in front of my son and my sister. Since I’m a rock star at maneuvering life one-handed with a baby on my hip, I have a banana cut up, a cup of applesauce ready, and a Greek yogurt opened. I sit Griffin on the island and he immediately shovels pieces of banana in his mouth intermittently as I spoon him applesauce and we share the yogurt.

  I hear Trig walking in before I feel his hand at my hip and his body pressed against mine. “Will you be at home tonight or are you going to hide out again? It’s no skin off my back now that I know how to get into your sister’s fortress.”

  “I’m busy,” I lie as Griffin blows bubbles before giggling when I shake my head at him and can’t help but smile. I grab a towel to wipe his face and smile at my baby. “No bubbles, silly.”

  Griffin fists more bananas and Trig gives me a tight squeeze.

  “Ellie,” Trig warns. “I’m not in the mood to chase you around town again. Even if you go to the ranch—I’ll take on Kipp. In fact, I have a lot to say to him.”

  I put my free hand to Griffin so he doesn’t topple off the counter and turn to Trig. “No. You and my dad don’t need to be anywhere near each other. I’m not kidding, Trig. I have enough to worry about. Do not seek out my dad.”

  “Then I wouldn’t go to the ranch if I were you because wherever you are is where I’m going to be. Now, I’ve got to go so I can grab a shower before my meeting. I’ll call or text later so you can let me know where you are.”

  His expression says a lot, most of it that he’s as serious as World War III, which is what I’m afraid it would turn into if he and my father come to blows. Not that my father can do anything to him now like he could have years ago, but I have no desire to deal with Kipp Montgomery.

  I turn back to Griffin. “I might be at home.”

  “Fair enough.” He reaches around and steals a piece of banana off Griffin’s plate and pops it in his mouth before pressing his lips to my head. “I’ll see you tonight and hope you don’t play hide and seek with me again.”

  I ignore him and his touch.

  Then he puts his hand out for Griffin. “Play hard today, man.”

  Griffin gives Trig five, his little hand sticky and wet, covered in slobber and bananas. I’ve decided, above all else, I need to ignore Trig giving attention to my son. I’m not sure I can take it.

  Trig wipes his hand across his undershirt and I’m finally able to breathe easy as he goes back to the family room and is out the door without another word.

  I look to my son. “I’m in trouble.”

  “Da-da,” he mumbles around his food and wants his spoon to feed himself.

  I give it to him and don’t leave his side, correcting him like I always do. “Ma-ma.”

  “Ma!” he repeats.

  My smile is so big, it might break my face. “Good boy!”

  He offers me a drippy spoonful of yogurt and I take it, making him belly laugh. We play this game for a couple minutes until Jen and Eli join us, both of them in a hurry to get out the door.

  “We’ve got to go.” Jen pours herself a cup of coffee. “But you’d better be prepared to explain later. I don’t appreciate all the secrets.”

  I roll my eyes. “Right. Like you and loverboy here aren’t the king and queen of secrets. Sure, I’ll spill all my deepest thoughts to you right away.”

  Jen, unaffected by my comment, walks over and kisses Griffin in quick fashion so he doesn’t have a chance to touch her. “Love you, sweet boy. Come back and visit me soon.”

  “You going to the studio today, Ellie?” Eli asks.

  I shake my head. “I’ve got appointments at home.”

  Eli nods once and leans into the counter, his expression all business. “Call me if you go anywhere. I’ll let you know when we get eyes on Ray Barrett. I’m expecting it will be today. Jen tells me you have an alarm at home. Keep it on. And let me or Trig know if anything seems off or out of place.”

  “Honestly, Ray just got paroled. He’d be stupid to do anything to jeopardize that. I’m sure you don’t have anything to worry about,” Jen adds.

  “Call me anytime,” Eli offers and I smile, though this one isn’t big and gives me a headache in a whole new way.

  “We’re out of here,” Jen calls and Eli follows her out. “Love you and we’ll talk later.”

  I sigh. “Love you, too.”

  Griffin finishes his breakfast. After I clean him up and wipe down the kitchen, I look down at him where he’s banging two copper measuring cups together. “You ready to go?”

  “Go-go-gogogoogo.”

  I pick him up. “Let’s go. Lord knows, I need a shower after yesterday.”

  18

  Burn It

  Mop your floors and dust your baseboards. It’s like cleanin’ out the corners of your soul.

  Trig

  I always wondered when other kids of shithead p
arents realized how bad they had it. For me, my mother was next to perfect, which always made my father look like an even bigger asshole. From my earliest memories, I hated him and knew he was a son-of-a-bitch before I knew what a son-of-a-bitch was. He had no regard for anyone or anything but himself.

  I never asked my mom why she married him. Or even more, why she stayed as long as she did. It seemed almost cruel to make her say it aloud because I knew. She was trapped—plain and simple. When I got older and realized the shit she put up with—years of cheating, drugs, and his narcissistic behavior—it was easy to see how hard it was for her to claw her way out from that. He made sure of it. Yeah, I might’ve grown up on that land with my asshole father and his shithead brother, but it was always just my mom and me.

  I haven’t laid eyes on him since I snuck into the back of the courtroom on the day he was sentenced. I needed to hear first-hand how long he’d be rotting in prison. It was the day before I left for California.

  Prison has not been kind to him. He’s aged, sure, but the look on his face in the surveillance videos says it all. He’s out, he’s back, and he’s pissed.

  And that settles in my gut about as well as a gas station enchilada.

  “Got a tracker on his car.”

  I look up from the pictures Pettit just handed me and toss them on my desk. “That was fast. Are you sure you don’t want to bill me?”

  He shrugs. “It isn’t that big of a deal. It was easy. I slid into the parking lot when he checked in with his new parole officer. You can download the app and log in so you can keep track of him on your own. I’ll monitor the cameras and let you know if anything shady is happening on his property.”

  “What’s he driving?”

  Eli flips through the pictures until he gets to the ones I hadn’t looked at yet. “Ford truck, nineteen eighty-four. Plates are registered and current, liability insurance is paid for the next year. So far, he’s on the up-and-up.”

  I flip back to the pictures of him and my uncle. My dad is lighting a cigarette and they’re deep in conversation. It’s like I haven’t been gone from that life for an entire decade. I grew up seeing them just like that.

  I shake my head. “They’re up to their normal shit which is no good. I can see it. I just need to stay one step ahead of him.”

  “One more thing,” Pettit adds and grabs a pen to scribble a long set of letters and numbers. “This is your login. You can check the tracker on your dad’s and Ellie’s car with that. I put it on hers this morning when we left the condo. I know she’s got a security system, but I also added cameras outside her house. Same app, same login. You’ll see it on the feed. I’m not going to tell Jen because she’ll tell Ellie even though I know she’s worried about her sister.”

  “You’ll keep this secret, huh?” I mutter.

  He has the nerve to smile and it’s not even sheepish. “Sorry about that. Jen came to the office and she saw the file on your dad. I had to tell her.”

  I lean back in my chair and run my hand down my face. “It’s all good. I mean, it’s not but it will be.”

  “From the looks of you two last night, I wish you luck.”

  “She’ll come around,” I add, but wonder how long that’ll take.

  Jessica’s voice rings through my speaker. “I’m sorry to interrupt. I know you said to hold your calls, but Mrs. Ketteman is on the line. She said she tried your cell and couldn’t get you. She’s demanding to speak to you and sounds upset.”

  “Sounds like she’s coming around.” Pettit tips his head and I glare at him. “I’ve got a meeting here with the security team. I’ll leave you to it.”

  “Thanks again for this,” I motion to the file and pick up my phone after he leaves. “Angel.”

  “It’s all them, I swear.” She’s crying into the phone, but not like she was crying last night. Today, she’s pissed—I hear the sting in her voice with just those few words. “They planned this whole thing. I hate them, Trig. I’ll leave the country before I let them lay a finger on Griffin. There’s no fucking way.”

  I stand and start to stuff things in my bag, including the file on my father. “Your in-laws?”

  “I hate them,” she cries.

  “Where are you?”

  The phone shuffles and I hear something break.

  “Ellie, are you at home?” I demand.

  “Yes. You promised me, Trig. I can’t lose him.”

  “I’ll be there in fifteen. Sit tight.”

  I hang up and quickly explain to Jessica that I’m leaving early for the second day in a row because of a certain Montgomery, and not the one for whom I work. I don’t spare her a look because I don’t give a shit what she thinks.

  * * *

  I pull up to the McMansion but can’t turn into the driveway. That’s because there are trucks—moving trucks, three of them—blocking the way, all pulled through the circle drive. Her front door is standing wide open and men are moving in and out of the house.

  What the fuck?

  I park and stalk up the drive and stop someone carrying a lamp. “What are you doing with that?”

  He looks at me like I’m an idiot. “Moving it.”

  I look at all the shit sitting on the driveway—dressers, nightstands, dining room chairs, even a china cabinet. Next to them are boxes and boxes, stacked high.

  What the hell’s going on? I left her just five hours ago.

  I move through the open front door. Her dining room, which was full of fancy shit the last time I was here, is now empty. I turn and look through the glass French doors and so is the office. The only thing in the room is a printer, sitting alone on the floor with wires tossed in a dusty corner.

  “Ellie?” I yell from her front door.

  “Ma’am, do you want us to box up the mattress?”

  “I don’t care. No, wait. Burn it!” she demands right as I walk around the corner and into her enormous kitchen. She’s standing there with Griffin on her hip and her other hand in a box of vanilla wafers. She stuffs one in her mouth right before shoving another one into the baby’s eager hands covered in sticky, cookie mush. I thought the banana was a mess this morning. And I doubt those cookies are organic.

  “Angel?”

  Her blue eyes zip to mine and I can tell she’s been crying. She chews up the cookie she just popped in her mouth and her eyes well again. I’m so fucking sick of seeing her cry.

  I toss my phone on her kitchen counter and go to her sink, nabbing a paper towel and wetting it. When I get back to them, I smirk at Griffin, who seems to be constantly sticky, and proceed to wipe him down. “Baby, if you’re packing up to run away from me, I’ve got to admit, that hurts my feelings.”

  She doesn’t hesitate and grabs a stack of papers sitting on a large manila envelope. “I was served, Trig. I didn’t think it could get any worse. Robert’s parents have filed for grandparent visitation rights. I didn’t even know that was a thing.”

  I finish cleaning up Griffin as he twists and turns, trying to escape the wet rag, and take the papers from her. Skimming and flipping through to the end, even without reading the fine print, she’s right. Teresa and Carl Ketteman have filed for visitation rights of their grandson. And from first look, they’ve cited the CPS visits and have somehow found out about the marijuana charges.

  Shit.

  I rub my jaw and try not to show my concern, but the CPS investigation along with the marijuana isn’t good. I sigh, put the papers down, and look back to her house, addressing the other issue at hand. “What’s up with the furniture?”

  She absently looks through her house at the men moving around. “I’m donating it all. It’s going to the North Texas Women’s Shelter. Other than the bed. No one deserves the hex of the bed Robert slept in. I told them to burn it.”

  I look around. “Everything’s going?”

  “No,” she says like I’m the crazy one. “I like the family room furniture. Everything in the master is going, all his office shit, and the dining room. Even t
he china and silver his mother forced me to register for because it was her fucking family pattern. She must have super powers and know that I want that shit gone because, I swear, as soon as they started boxing it up, I was served with these fucking papers.”

  I frown and look at the baby. “Do you always talk that way in front of him?”

  She gives Griffin a bounce in her arms and kisses his clean cheek. “He barely says mama yet. He only torments me with dada, over and over again.” She looks up at me and her face falls. “I swear, I’m not just being a bitch. They’re not nice people. If the court makes me, I’ll let them see him but I will not allow him to be alone with them. I won’t.”

  I reach in the vanilla wafer box and hand Griffin another cookie, because what the hell. “I need to figure out who planted the drugs.”

  “They’re used to getting their way—in everything. They’re relentless.”

  I start a text to Pettit to fill him in that I need him to speed things up on the Kettemans before looking back to Ellie. “I can be relentless, too. Lucky for you, I’m on your side.”

  “You’re here again.”

  Ellie and I turn at the same time, her brushing my chest with her shoulder and not moving away. There’s so much commotion going on, we didn’t hear him come in.

  He’s just as happy to see me as he was the other day.

  “Kipp.” I steel my voice as I greet the man who tried to fuck with the younger me. I put my hand low on Ellie’s back and feel her tense but I can’t keep the sarcasm out of my tone when I say, “Can’t tell you how good it is to see you again.”

  * * *

  Ellie

  “Dad.” I suck in air when I feel Trig’s fingers flirt with the top of my ass. “What are you doing here?”

  My dad, who is still glaring at Trig, demands, “What is he doing here again?”