26. Aubree
26
AUbrEE
THE LIST
“ W hat are you doing today?” I know I have to be at the office in less than an hour, but I’m also painfully aware of the situation my brother has landed himself in. Allowing him to feel the consequences of his actions doesn’t mean I’m free of the ache he’ll experience if Booth catches up with him. “Heading to the bar?”
“I was probably gonna hang around,” Tim lies. “Help Daisy.”
I stop outside Minka’s building, huddling into my jacket and looking up at the man who still, to this day, lies to my face.
But he’s learning, at least.
His lips curl into a delicious smile when my eyes hold his and narrow. “I’m gonna make a few calls and try to get information on Booth and Duane. Chances are we’ll find them in the same place, so if I can help or whatever…”
“ Or you could just come with me.” I grab his hand and walk before the cold air freezes me to the sidewalk. “I know where Duane is, which means you can stay far away from Booth. When this is all said and done, your hands remain clean and you won’t have beef with a mid-level nobody.”
“I already do.” But he walks with me, wrapping his arm over my shoulder and keeping his head on a swivel, his eyes scouring the street in ways I’ve never had to do.
Different worlds. Wildly different experiences.
He leads me right when a shiny black SUV pulls up at the curb, opening the door with fast movements and herding me in without asking my opinion on the matter.
“This city is part of the Malone empire.” He shuffles in beside me and reaches across to fix my seatbelt. “I can walk away from my family, and I can refuse a throne I was born to control. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that this is Malone kingdom.”
“But you don’t want it.”
“True. But that doesn’t mean someone else gets to slide in and take it. If my family doesn’t defend what’s theirs, they forfeit it. And forfeiture is not something we’re apt to do. Booth has been left to roam because he’s a drug dealer at worst. He’s no high-flying gangster who could take a city. And for as long as Copeland was safe for me and my family,” he glances up as the car pulls away from the curb, “as long as you were safe, I didn’t give a shit what the idiot was doing on our streets. But whoever he’s working for isn’t low-level. They’re large, they’re organized, and they’re making a move that just so happens to piss me off. Booth needs to be grounded, and his boss needs to be humbled.” He presses a gentle kiss to my lips, hovering like he thinks it hides his feral smile. “I intend to deal with anyone who thinks stalking and threatening my wife is a solid business plan.”
“But they didn’t know I was your wife. They came for me because of my connection to Duane.”
“They knew I had a vested interest in you. There’s no one in this city who doesn’t know that. If they were smart, they’d have tossed your brother out the front door every single time he tried to party. But I guess they thought I was bluffing.” Another kiss. “This is what happens when you’re born to rule, but don’t. They consider me weak.”
“You’re taking it personally.”
“It is personal! I warned them away from you, Aubree! I told them to stay the fuck away. But they tracked you down in the fucking dark anyway. They touched you. And for that alone, they’ll lose their hands.”
“Tim—”
“They knew,” he growls. “They fucking knew what you are to me, which is why they did what they did, and they did it while you were alone. They had to know I wouldn’t let it stand.”
“Almost like they were trying to lead you into a trap, huh?” I snag my phone and type in Duane’s apartment address, then I hand the device off to the driver in silence, and come back to slide my fingers through Tim’s beard. “Like they were betting on you storming out to avenge me on impulse. How does one take a city, when the namesake lives and breathes peace inside that city?”
“They kill him.” His eyes grow wider, searching mine. “You think?”
I drag him down and kiss his too-firm lips. “I know. They targeted Duane long ago, because of his connection to me, and mine to you. This isn’t an underdeveloped coincidence that would have had you bleeding out in the snow. This was calculated, and would have been successful if you followed your temper last night instead of intellect.”
“It’s a decent theory.” His brows pinch and dig a line across his forehead. “It’s hard to know who to look out for when we don’t even know who Booth works for.”
“All the more reason to move carefully. Staying home and spending the evening with your wife will always be the smarter plan.” I lower my hand and set it on his lap, then I straighten in my seat and glance out the front windshield as we head toward my brother. “The city is in flux right now. Your father only died this year, and Felix’s focus is, understandably, on New York. He can’t guard both coasts, so it makes sense that Copeland is experiencing a shift in its foundations. Whoever this person is, isn’t brave enough to siege New York. But they’re stupid enough to try their luck here, where three of five Malones live.”
“So what do you suggest we do, smarty pants?” He grabs my hand and brings it up to nibble on my fingers. “We’re fighting a ghost, and somehow the na?ve, sickly-sweet hippie girl is our Battalion General?”
I snort. “I’m just someone on the outside, fortunate enough to be able to look in with an objective eye. Up here, please.” I lean forward and tap the driver’s shoulder so he can see where I point. “The brownstone.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He indicates right and slows as we approach Duane’s building.
“Our life is a journey,” I explain, “and that journey is constantly changing. Our paths rely on everyone else’s. So me stepping in and saving Duane all the time changed his future. You going out last night to confront a ghost would have changed yours.” I unsnap my belt and wait as he does the same and opens the door. Then he slides out, holding my hand and bringing me to my feet on the sidewalk.
“Ma’am.” The driver steps out of the front and offers my phone back. And though he doesn’t offer his hand, I do. And he’s not in the life where he can afford to refuse. So he shakes my hand and drops his gaze, while beside me, Tim’s eyes narrow in thought .
“Thank you for the ride. We shouldn’t be more than twenty minutes. Would you mind waiting?”
“Of course not.” He’s a hardened man, I know. He’s seen things that visit him in the night. But his cheeks warm now for every second I hold on. “I’ll wait.”
“Thank you.” I release him and loop my arm around Tim’s. “Let’s go inside before we freeze.”
“What was that?” Tim opens the building’s front door and leads me into a lobby only fractionally warmer than outside. “You hitting on my driver, Aubree Grace? Right in front of me like that?”
I roll my eyes. “No. But keep him on staff. I like him.”
“How much do you like him?” Jealousy is like a drum in the air. An insecurity beating at the back of a person’s skull and putting words into an otherwise intelligent man’s mouth. “Should I fire him, reassign him, or kill him?”
“Keep him,” I snicker. “He cares that you’re safe. Known him long?”
His eyes are a perfect molten green, the exact right color to prove my point. “A while. Do we have a problem here?”
“Nope.” I set my hand in his back pocket and burrow into his side. “Duane’s on the second floor. 2B.”
“Yeah.” He leads me up the stairs and toward the dented and dirty door. “I know. Are you prepared for the possibility he had visitors overnight?” He yanks me to a stop just two feet from the door and pulls me around. “I know you like to believe the best in everyone, and maybe your calm thinking saved me from an assassination attempt last night,” and yet, he remains skeptical , “but chances are, Booth’s boy hunted Duane down. If he’s not dead, he’s been tuned up. You won’t like what you see.”
“Assumptions lead to false narratives. And false narratives have been known to start more than a few wars.” I turn to the door and insert the key I was given long ago, then I cross the threshold and step face-first into that overpowering scent of Axe body spray. Because he’s still doing that, I suppose. “Duane?”
I don’t bother watching my back—there’s no one on this planet who would protect me as fiercely as Tim—but I peek into the kitchen, then the living room, littered in old pizza boxes, soda bottles, and a box of tissues.
My nose wrinkles in disgust.
I push the laundry door open and spy the toilet, lid up… hasn’t been cleaned in a while .
“My brother is an unsocialized pig. There’s a reason he’s not in a committed relationship yet.”
“Because he has a gambling addiction?”
“No, because he’s disgusting and lazy. The gambling thing can be fixed. But his refusal to lift a toilet brush, I fear, never will be. Duane?” I knock on the hallway wall to give him time to dress if he needs to. To cover up, if he’s in bed and not decent. “Hey. Wake up.”
“Aubree—” Tim snags my sleeve, slowing me before I can get to his door. “Babe. You’re not being realistic right now, and I don’t want your heart to break when you step in there.”
“My heart is fine. Fractured,” I amend, gently pushing the bedroom door open and staring into almost darkness. “Because his inability to grow up hurts. But nothing is lost until a life is over.”
I catch a lump lying in the middle of the bed, then the sliver of light sneaking past the blinds, shielding the only window. So I cross to the latter and slowly wind the covering up.
“That’s what I’m trying to warn you about,” he groans. “Aubree, this isn’t a world you know, and you’re racing head-first into something you don’t?—”
“Duane?” I step to the bed and swing out fast, sibling to sibling, and slam my hammer-fist to the center of my brother’s solar plexus. “Wake up.”
Instantly, his lungs spasm and his body jolts. He wakes with a fright and shoves up in bed, heaving for fresh air and searching frantically for his intruder.
So I sit on the edge and smile as his aqua eyes swing my way.
“Good morning.”
“What the fuck, Aubree?” He chokes for oxygen and considers, if only for a beat, shoving me off his bed so I crash to the floor. But his better senses catch up and his eyes roll into the back of his head as he flops down again. “Why’d you hit me?”
“Because it’s nearly nine o’clock.”
“In the morning?” he snarls. “Aubree! Go away.”
“I won’t. And you’ll sit up and listen to me when I speak.” I grab his face, my fingers digging into his chin much the same way that guy’s did to me last night, then I wait for his eyes to open and focus. For his brain to fully wake, and then for him to swallow the nerves lodged dangerously in his throat. “You’ve created a mess, Duane. For yourself. For me. And for Tim.”
His eyes scan across the room for the first time and stop on my fierce bodyguard. My husband. Lord, my forever partner in crime .
“You know I know, Duane.” I drag his focus back. “And you have to know I’ve known since it all began.”
“Aubree—”
“But I left you to deal with your own drama. Because you’re young and silly and impulsiveness runs in the family. I knew Tim had stepped in and bailed you out of trouble a time or two, but I was allowing the universe to run the show how she wanted to.”
“Aub—”
“Don’t speak. Listen. Your self-centeredness is showing. Because you got into trouble with people you have no clue how to handle, and then that trouble spilled over to me. Now I have some ugly dude accosting me in the street. See how I’m holding you?” I squeeze his face tighter. “This isn’t comfortable, is it?”
He shakes his head as far as my fingers allow.
“Well, this is how your friend grabbed me last night. Because you owe him money, and you got comfortable treating Tim like a lapdog. You’ve lived a life where someone was always going to step in and save you, and though I’d bowed out, refusing to be that person for you anymore, I didn’t communicate my plans with him. So he stepped in, oblivious to the fact he was interfering in a lesson you’re due to learn.”
“I didn’t?—”
“Don’t speak,” I repeat. “Because you’re going to lie, and when I call you out on it, you’ll turn to manipulation and emotional pleas. That’s going to annoy me even more than the lies. Did Booth or anyone come looking for you overnight? Shake or nod. Did anyone visit you?”
He shakes his head.
“You haven’t heard from anyone about debts owed to Sarge’s club or Nathan Booth since early evening yesterday?”
Again, he shakes his head.
So I glance back and smile at Tim. “It was a trap, so I expect you to tell me, ‘ You were right, Aubree . So I vow, for the rest of my life, to always listen to you.’ ” I draw my eyes back around, because Tim isn’t saying that out loud. Not here, anyway. “Do you owe Booth, or was that a lie?”
He nods.
“Yes, you owe? Or yes, it was a lie?”
“I owe,” he mutters under the pressure of my hand. “I messed up, but I?—”
“Stop speaking now.” I release his face and push him back until he lands against his pillows. “I’m done watching this train wreck. So I’m calling it.”
His eyes widen in panic .
“You remember Courtney, don’t you? My best friend all through high school, right up until college when she claimed she and Malcolm hooked up, all because she and Amelia got into an argument and Courtney wanted to break up the happy couple.”
His eyes water in the dim light. He already knows where I’m going with this.
“You remember Carter? We briefly dated in my second year of college, but then he thought, ‘ I’ve done my time. Aubs can pay the piper. I deserve a BJ and lifelong servitude .’”
Tim growls at my back. “Carter who?”
I focus only on my brother. “You know what these people have in common, don’t you, Duane?”
He gulps. Then nods. “Dead To You list.”
“They’re on the Dead To Me list.”
“Dead To You list?” Tim repeats. “What are you?—”
“The Dead To Me list is a cold, lonely, horrible place to be,” I push on. “Worse than Hades, and colder than the tip of the most secluded, body-strewn mountain. Because being dead to me is not a status anyone wishes to be crowned with. It’s the pits of hell, and is one-way only. There’s no coming back, and there’s no forgiveness. A college boyfriend who could have been someone special in my life, dead to me the second he thought he was owed something he wasn’t. My best friend in the whole world? Dead to me, because she messed with my family. My current best friend felt the icy fingers of dead to me when she chewed me out unfairly and buckled under the strain of being in love with Archer Malone. She felt the shift, and she made things better.”
“Aubree, you’re being?—”
“You will have a place on the list, Duane, brother or not. And you know that’s the end of us. There’s no coming back. Because you’re messing with my family, and we’ve already established that’s a line I will gleefully strangle lesser people for.” I slap his forehead when he attempts to sit up again. But when my skin touches his, fear slides across and prickles my pores. Regret. His aching anxiety. “You’re better than this. Mom and Daddy raised you better than to gamble money you don’t have and treat people so poorly.” I hook a thumb over my shoulder. “Attempting to blackmail him, all so he’d continue to pay your debt?”
Tim bristles at my back. “I didn’t tell her that. I didn’t say shit.”
But of course, Duane gulps. “I know.”
“So I’m only going to say this once. If you step foot across the threshold of any establishment ever again with the intention to gamble, I invite you to bring your own pen to add your name to my list. If you gamble, ever again, we’re done. If you treat Tim, or anyone else I love, the way you have these past few months, then we’re over.”
“I’m sorr?—”
“You know how to be a decent person, and I take responsibility for the part I played in robbing you of valuable learning opportunities. This is why I’m giving you this warning. But if you don’t heed it, then I’ll consider that a conscious choice where you value cheap vices over a relationship with your sister.” I lean in and smack a kiss to the center of his forehead. “You’d think the first set of bruises on your face would have made you smarter. But here we are, and now you’ll learn.”
“I’m sorry, Aubree.” His eyes swim with emotion. “I really am.”
“I know you are. Get up, shower, and get dressed. Then I’ll be at the house for dinner on the weekend. You’ll be there too, and you’ll tell me all about your new job. I trust you’ll put your best foot forward and start looking today.”
I push up to stand and turn to a bewildered Tim. “We can go.”
“We can…” He looks past me to my brother. Then me. Then Duane again. “That’s it? Kid has been shaking me down for months, and he got the I’m disappointed in you talk?”
“Would you prefer I add him to the list now and call it a day?”
“No.” He follows me into the hall when I pass. “I don’t know what I want. But threatening him with a made-up list and?—”
“It’s not made up,” Duane calls from the room. “It’s real. The fact you’ve never experienced it means she really likes you.”
“See?” I stop at the apartment door and turn back to grab Tim’s lapels. Stepping onto my toes, I press a kiss to the underside of his jaw and tremble when his hands cup my face. “Your family deals with things one way, and mine deals with things another way. I’m not so obnoxious as to claim ours is better than yours, but if I ever find myself in a position where I might be tempted to use your methods, then my target is already on the list anyway. Come on.” I turn on my heels and pull the apartment door open to reveal a blissfully empty hallway. Because Tim’s driver is watching the only building entrance, and he’ll keep his Malone safe, even at the expense of his own life. “I need to get to work. And though I know you’ll continue your search into the Booth stuff today, even against my well-thought-out advice, I’m certain you’ll be safe and update me when I’m done for the day.”
“You’re way too fuckin’ comfortable telling people what to do.” He pulls the door shut after we pass through and wraps his arm perilously tight around my neck as we maneuver the stairs. “Since when did you get so brave?”
“I’ve always been brave when it comes to my family’s safety. The fear of not having you around is worse than the fear of being threatened by some mid-level wanker.”
“ Y ou’re late.” Minka glances up from her computer when I stride into her office a mere three minutes after nine. But her lips curl into a playful smile when I set a fresh coffee by her hand. “I struggle to understand where you disappeared to, considering we had breakfast together.”
“I had some family stuff to take care of. And I wouldn’t be late if not for the coffee line.” I flash a beaming grin. “For the record, Chief.”
“Mmhmm.” She sits back, her chair squeaking in protest, and picks up her coffee to inhale the bitter scent. “We’ll do rounds and stuff shortly. But before we get to that…”
“I’m married. And sleeping with your brother-in-law. And yes, last night, some asswipe thought he could lead Tim into an ambush that would end his life. That cover everything?”
“I wondered if it was an ambush, too.” She sips her coffee and studies me over the lip. “There’s no way Booth and his people are unaware of Tim’s claim. Marriage and all that mess aside, six months ago, even before he touched you, everyone knew. So them cornering you last night, but not hurting you, was a message they wanted to get back to the home base.”
“They almost succeeded, too. He was pissed, and he was ready to tear them apart.”
“As one would expect of a Malone. Tim creates an unprecedented situation, because he was born into his power, but refuses to carry it. Whoever is pulling Booth’s strings is attempting, but failing, to figure him out.”
“Hard to figure a guy out when he’s notoriously quiet and controlled. He could be impulsive, like Felix and Cato, or deadly like Micah. Or he could be a complete outlier, like Archer, who chose to pick up a badge instead of an army. But they can’t know, because Tim has refused, up to this point, to show his hand.”
“Which would have come undone last night if not for your intervention.” She drags her lip between her teeth and studies me. “How’d you figure it out so quick? It took me, Archer, Fletch, and Cato an hour to come to the same conclusion you did on the spot.”
“Intuition.” I snag my coffee—a venti vanilla latte with four shots of espresso, four pumps of vanilla, two pumps of caramel, double whip, and salt on top—and take a slow, satisfying sip. “Some could say it was a lucky guess.”
“No.” She shakes her head, impressing me with the confidence in her voice. “Not lucky. You saved his life.”
“I had eggs on toast, and fantastic sex.” A blush warms my cheeks and spreads down into my chest. Because maybe it’s true, and maybe I’m a grown ass woman, but it wasn’t so long ago I was a complete novice on the subject. “It didn’t take a great deal of convincing on my part.”
“Clothes off. Crook your finger.” She snorts. “Works every time. Are we doing this now?”
“Talking sex?”
She rolls her eyes. “During business hours, even. Jesus, this is not who I am.”
“You’re banging a Malone. I’m banging a Malone…”
“Complaints?”
My cheeks fire red. “No. You?”
She snickers. “No. If anything, we’re getting better at it as time goes on. Marriage?”
“I’m gonna ask for a divorce.” I push up to stand when the elevator dings outside her office and the mayor steps out in a crisp black suit. “I didn’t consent, and so, he doesn’t receive. It’s either that, or he goes on the Dead To Me list. And considering I actually kind of like him, I’d rather he stayed off.” I turn from my chair and stride across to the glass door, pulling it wide, and grinning at the guy old enough to be my father.
But holy hell, objectively speaking, he’s sexy enough to almost create competition for Tim. “Good to see you again, Mayor Lawrence. I’ll leave you both to it.”
“You can stay.” He stalks across the threshold, unbuttoning his suit jacket, and completely ignoring the contempt with which Minka regards him. It’s a love hate relationship mostly rooted in the former. “Chief Mayet.” He sits in my seat and lifts his ankle to rest it on the opposite knee. “You look rested.”
“Eight straight. Can I help you, Justin?”
I take my venti abomination and dance to the sofa pushed up against the glass wall. Because watching these two duke it out will always remain in my top five favorite pastimes.
“Checking in on the Bay murders.” He picks at an invisible speck of lint on his pants. “And you have all six bodies inside your facility. I cannot effectively run a city if I don’t know what’s happening within it.”
“I can confirm all six are dead.” She sips her coffee like the evil warlord she is, grinning behind the lip. “All six died of a bullet wound. Some were close range. Some were not. Though ballistics are not yet complete, so it’s not really for me to make a determination on that. None of the six were biologically related, so far as I can tell. Though testing is pended. Our lab is a little backed up.” Her eyes flicker with mischief. “My birthday is coming up, Justin.”
His lips flatten instantly. “You want me to buy you a gift?”
“I could do with an extra tox tech. Effective immediately.”
He barks out a laugh. “You want an eighty-thousand dollar a year gift?” He clicks his tongue. “You won’t take my calls, but you’ll take my money?”
“In a New York second. Do we have a deal?”
“Absolutely not. But seeing as how we’re at the end of another year, put together your reports and show me where your budget is going. Then we can discuss.”
“So for my birthday, you’re gifting me with… paperwork?”
“Means to an end,” he quips. “Bay six?”
“Not even my cops’ case, so I’m not privy to the minutia. I’m hearing whispers that Nathan Booth is experiencing a rebellion from within. His boss wants him in the grave, but missed. Booth is a liability, and the dude standing above him is sick of said weakness. Sounds like gangland drama to me.”
“Not your cops’ case,” he ponders thoughtfully. “But you hear whispers. I came here, confident that word spreads inside that bar you frequent.”
Stunned, my brows pop high and draw Minka’s gaze.
He’s calling her out. Married to a cop… married to a gangster.
“Like I said,” she grits behind a falsely sweet smile. “Whispers. I’m only processing the bodies, and as we stand, I have nothing substantial to add to the case except COD, TOD, and later, when the lab catches up, stomach and blood results. Though I doubt the latter will show up much of anything.”
“Have we established how they came to be down at the bay?” I question, regrettably drawing two sets of shrewd eyes my way. “I mean…” I hide behind my coffee cup. “Why were they there? Did Nathan order them there? Or maybe Nathan’s boss did? Perhaps they were getting along with th eir shooter until an argument broke out. Money flows up, right? So maybe Nathan owed the guy money for the drugs he pedals. Or… there are a million variations of the same story. But ultimately, Nathan remains alive.”
“And in the wind,” Justin rumbles. “His premises have been emptied, his regular hangouts have tumbleweeds, and his friends aren’t talking.”
“Are you aware of Nathan Booth’s relationship with Jada Watson?” Minka drags her bottom lip between her teeth, her stare hard and unrelenting. “I’m certain you know of Detective Fletcher’s ex-wife’s… issues.”
He dips his chin. “I’m aware.”
“That’s a relationship built upon coercion, drug dependency, and toxicity. But it’s a relationship all the same. She’s caught in his web of bullshit, and as far as we know, she’s been staying with him for the last month or so. If his house is empty, I can’t help but wonder if Jada went with him.”
“I’ve heard nothing about where he went or who he went with.” Justin moves his foot in gentle, rhythmic bounces. “Though it would certainly concern me if my friend was in a relationship with someone like Booth.”
“She’s not a friend,” I cut in callously. “Jada is poison upon the people she claims to love. Better she’s in Nathan’s bed, than on this side of the city bringing harm to innocents.”
“Drug addiction is a sickness,” Minka counters carefully. “Does she not deserve grace?”
“Drug addicts deserve to receive the help on offer. Jada, on the other hand, deserves nothing.”
“Harsh.” Justin turns back to his little pet. “Do you share the same sentiments?”
“I consider Jada a weak, fickle, and selfish woman. I don’t think she deserves to be beaten and stomped on. Nor do I think she deserves the family she left behind.”
“She would sell her daughter if given half the chance.” I sip my coffee and hate the words that spill from my tongue. That her venomous energy won’t leave me in peace. “It’s our duty not to allow her room to find that chance.”
“Well… On that note.” Justin pushes to his feet and fixes the buttons of his jacket. “You’ll pick up the phone and call me if anything breaks on the Bay murders, won’t you?”
“I’m certain you could approach the investigating detectives for that.” Minka sits back and smiles up at the man who wants to parent her. “Getting your information from me sounds like an exercise in redundancy. ”
“Sounds like a handy excuse to lambast the invention of the telephone.” He glances across at me. “I’m confident you understand my request.”
“I do. If we hear anything…”
“Good.” He winks and turns on his heels, striding through the door and making a beeline for the elevator.
“You need to get your Jada hate under control.”
“Hmm?”
“I understand that you’re protective of Fletch and Mia, but making accusations against a sick woman is hardly helpful.”
“I made no accusations.”
“You said she would sell her daughter?—”
“And I meant what I said. I didn’t accuse her of selling Mia. I said she would , if she could .” I stand, too, and start toward the door. It’s time to begin rounds. “I also said it’s our job to shield the little girl and rob her mother of the chance. I fail to see the issue. Doctor Kirk,” I duck my head through the doorway and get our youngest tech’s attention before he enters the coffee room. “Rounds. Bring everyone in, please.”
“After that, I want you to drop by Doctor Flynn’s Bay DBs,” Minka rumbles. “See what you see.”
“You don’t think she’s done the job?”
She flattens her lips and lifts her shoulders just a fraction of an inch. “I think I’d like for you to see what you see. Extra eyes never hurt anyone, and rotating the DBs to a new tech is good business.”