Chapter 10
TEN
BUTCH
“Morning.” Becca stumbles out of the bedroom, rubbing her eyes as she pads across the scarred wood floor toward where I work in the kitchen. “Have you been up long?”
“No.” I pull the coffee pot off the maker and pour the screaming hot liquid into two cups. “Just long enough for this to be done.”
I had a hard time falling asleep last night, but for the first time in a long time, it didn’t have anything to do with my inability to bring a bunch of missing girls home.
It only had to do with one girl. The one with a V-card and perpetually cold feet she spent the whole night pressing against various parts of my body.
And I didn’t hate it.
Becca moves a little faster as her eyes land on the cups.
“Oh thank God.” She snatches one away and swallows down a mouthful I can almost feel burning my own esophagus.
Her eyes light up, a little more of the sleepiness diffusing from their dark depths.
“This is actually pretty decent.” She takes another drink.
“Most people don’t make it strong enough. ”
I take a—much smaller—sip from my own cup, studying the tiny woman in front of me over the rim. She looks fucking adorable in the morning. Her dark hair is messy. Her cheeks are pink. There’s a crease from the pillow lining her jawbone and the pattern of the blanket pressed into her arm.
It almost makes me regret that we have to leave today. Makes me wish we could take another day to pretend life is normal. That we’re just a couple of people getting to know each other better in a cabin in the woods.
And see what else she might ask me for.
After downing half her coffee, Becca takes a deep breath, shoulders squaring as she asks, “Now what?”
I’m not surprised at Becca’s eagerness. I share it.
In many aspects.
“Now, we need to find a place to set up our home base in Memphis. Somewhere I know you’ll be safe.” I wish I had a few options to choose from, but I don’t.
I’ve got one. And it’s going to be a shitshow.
It’s also going to require a lot of explaining. Both to Becca on the drive over, and to the men who treated me like a brother for years.
But I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Becca safe. To find her sister. To find Al’s missing friend.
“Do you have a place in mind?” Becca studies me closely as she finishes her coffee.
I’m guessing she already knows the answer. The woman seems to read me like a book. “I do.” I know Becca has a history with some of the people there. I doubt it’s as questionable as mine, but I don’t know that she’ll be thrilled to revisit it. “And it’s going to take us full-circle.”
“Thanks for not breaking in this time.” Simon looks me up and down, eyes narrowing at my all black ensemble. “What the fuck are you wearing?” His eyes rake over the gear I’ve got strapped to my body. “Is that a fucking bulletproof vest?”
“Do you just want me to stand out here while I answer all your questions, or can we at least come inside?” I glance around the darkened yard behind us, moving closer to Becca. “Because I’d really love to get her inside.”
I know my old—probably former—friend isn’t thrilled about me being here. If it was just me showing up on his doorstep, there’s not a doubt in my mind he’d be slamming the door in my face. But when his narrowed gaze fixes on Becca, I know that’s not going to happen.
Stepping back, Simon stretches one arm out, gesturing to the interior of the house. “Fine. But fair warning, Myra might come downstairs with her nightstand drawer again, and this time I’m not so sure I’ll stop her if she tries to hit you.”
I grunt at the memory of how his girl tried to lobotomize me the last time I was here.
I wish I could be upset about it, but I love that Simon’s found a woman who will defend him.
He’s a good man and deserves that kind of love.
All the men on this street do. That’s why I refused to turn over any information that might have led to their prosecution.
Why I asked to be removed from the undercover op investigating their activities.
Looking back, that was probably the beginning of the end for me at the Memphis PD.
It was when I started to see the lines between right and wrong weren’t as clear-cut as I’d been led to believe.
And it fucked me up. Changed the way I looked at the people working alongside me.
The men I was supposed to be investigating.
The man who inspired me to become like him.
And when I looked at myself, I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror.
After closing the door, Simon turns to Becca. “You want something to drink?”
Her eyes narrow as she looks him up and down, and I almost laugh.
I explained as much as I could on the way here about everything that’s happened since I made sure we went our separate ways. I couldn’t fully dig in, but she knows I did my best to protect the men on this street. To shut down an investigation I could no longer support.
Her voice is clipped when she says, “I’m fine.”
I was trying to prepare her for what we were gonna face coming here, but maybe I should have held a little more back. Allowed her to make a few of her own observations instead of warning her my presence might not be exactly welcomed.
Because she seems to be a little pissed about that.
“This is Becca.” I lay out the basics of what I know is my ace in the hole. “I need somewhere safe for her to stay.”
I don’t remember Simon meeting her a decade ago—when Becca was friendly with a few of the women who now live on this block—but even if he had, it’s been ten fucking years. I don’t expect him to remember her.
At least he better fucking not.
Simon’s brows lift as he crosses both arms over his chest and leans back against the counter. “So you came here for a favor.” His glare is sharp enough to cut glass as it digs into me. “After breaking in and then fucking disappearing again.”
I figured he’d be chapped about that. I didn’t know someone was living in this building. Last time I was here, both it and the one across the street were vacant. I was simply trying to see if I could use it without anyone knowing.
The answer to that is clearly no, and it’s a double-edged sword. If I can’t get in here without being noticed, no one can. It means Becca will be safe. I won’t have to worry during times I might have to leave her behind.
But it also means I’ve got to nut up and hope they’re still the kind of men they used to be. Men who will do anything to protect an innocent woman. And Becca’s about as innocent as it gets.
Well, a little less so after last night.
After taking a deep breath, I begin to plead my case. “She’s in real fucking danger, and this is the only place I know I can bring her where I won’t have to worry.”
“So you brought someone being threatened by God knows who to our neighborhood where our families live?” Simon’s laugh is bitter. “You really don’t give a shit about us, do you?” He pushes off the counter. “I wanted to believe you weren’t a piece of shit, but I guess I should have seen the signs.”
Becca’s eyes bounce between us, her brows pinched in confusion. “Why would he think you’re a piece of shit?”
I blow out a breath. “Because he thinks I left everyone here behind to go join a crime syndicate.”
Becca studies me for a second before returning her gaze to Simon. “Interesting.”
Simon starts to laugh, the sound bitter. “Interesting isn’t the word I would use.” He stretches his arms wide. “So what happened? Did you fuck around with your new friends and find out they were way too ready to stab you in the back at the first opportunity?”
Becca’s wariness seems to soften. She continues analyzing Simon a few seconds before turning back to me. “You have to tell him the truth.”
Simon’s still laughing, but now it’s incredulous. “So she knows the truth?”
Simon’s lady friend comes into the kitchen. Her blue gaze sweeps the room before resting on him, her pale brows pinched in concern. “What’s going on?”
He reaches for her, pulling her close. Like a man trying to stake his claim. He’s got nothing to worry about. I’m not interested in the blonde tucked tight to his side. Or any other woman, for that matter.
Well… Not any other woman.
“Butch brought Becca here so we could keep her safe.”
The blonde locks onto Becca. “Are you safe?” She tips her head at me. “With him?”
Becca lifts her eyebrows, eyes widening on me. “Well?”
I look to the ceiling as I wipe a hand down my face. “She’s safe with me.” I’ve gotta tell them the truth. The reality of why I left. What I really was. “She’s safe with me because up until very recently, I was with the Memphis PD.”
Simon blinks, stunned into silence for a second. “You’re a cop?”
“I was a cop,” On some level it feels freeing to admit that’s in my past. “I’ve been undercover with them for nearly a decade.”
I barely have time to brace before Simon steps toward me, swinging a punch into my jaw. I stumble back, caught a little off-guard by the swift shift to violence. Blinking a few times, one hand comes to my throbbing face as I run my tongue around my mouth, looking for loose teeth.
“What’s wrong with you?” Becca steps right up to Simon, putting her small frame between us before shoving him hard in the chest. “He left everything because of you guys.”
I drop my arm, squaring my shoulders as Simon prepares to hit me again. But before he can even wind up, Becca yanks off one of her shoes and slaps him across the face with it.
Now Simon’s the one holding his cheek, expression shocked as he looks down at the woman preparing to smack him a second time. But then the blonde jumps into the middle of the chaos, grabbing Becca by the hair and yanking her away from Simon.
Becca yelps, shoe dropping to the floor as both hands go to her head, trying to loosen the hold the other woman has on her.
“Fucking hell.” I grab for Becca, looping one arm around her waist at the same time Simon grabs the blonde.
He speaks to her quietly. “Let her go, sweetheart.”
“She hurt you.” The blonde looks absolutely feral. Almost as dangerous as the woman I’m now trying to wrangle as she grips the blonde’s wrists and swings her feet, trying to get a kick in. “I’m not letting anyone hurt you again.”
“I’m okay.” Simon tries to work Becca’s hair out of her grip. “She was just looking out for Butch the same way you’re looking out for me.” He manages to get one hand loose. “Let her go, baby.”
The blonde still looks ready to throw hands, but she slowly loosens the tight wind she has on Becca, releasing her. The second she’s loose, I pull Becca back against my chest, wrapping an arm across her front as I pin her to me.
A slow smile works onto my face in spite of the circumstance. “Nice to see you finally found a woman who’s as crazy over you as you are over her.”
I’m genuinely happy for him. For what he’s found. The life he’s built.
And I feel bad for disrupting it. For putting him in this position. I wouldn’t do it if I wasn’t desperate. I wouldn’t do it if I was on my own.
But having Becca with me has changed the way I do things. And if I have to eat crow to keep her safe, that’s what I’m going to do.
I’m not surprised when Simon insists on sharing the information he just obtained from me with everyone else on the block, and as we go next door to Christian’s house, I brace for what’s coming.
Becca sticks close at my side, chin lifted defiantly as the men I spent years beside tear into me.
She studies each of them, and I’m a little worried she’s plotting against the group.
Forming a plan to make them eat every foul word they’re throwing at me.
I’m starting to discover Becca isn’t as harmless as she appears. It’s easy to underestimate her. Because even though she’s smart and can hold her own when it comes to anything involving brainpower, she’s barely five fucking feet tall. Small and cute and in no way intimidating.
Not the kind of woman anyone would have expected to slap Simon across the face with her shoe, before trying to take out his girlfriend’s shins.
It’s been a long time since someone had my back, and I’m not mad that Becca is the one who does. Actually, she might give us one hell of an advantage. Because no one will ever see her coming.
Well… hopefully I will. Soon.
After what feels like forfuckingever, Simon and the men he considers his brothers are done tearing me a new asshole.
I don’t blame them for being mad. Not for the way I lied to them all those years or for me bringing Becca here now.
But I have no intention of actually bringing a threat to their doorsteps.
That’s specifically why I chose to come here.
No one will expect it. An undercover cop managing to maintain a cordial relationship with the people they were investigating is fucking unheard of.
Another thing I’m using to my advantage.
By the time we’re walking out of Christian’s house, it’s late as fuck, and I need to get Becca as settled as she can possibly be in the place we’re going to be staying.
It’s barely habitable, but that’s one more reason no one will think to look here.
Not the cops. Not Alaskan Security. And not whoever Trevor Hawthorne was in bed with.
Leading Becca across the street, I study her face as she takes in the dilapidated building in front of us. It’s the worst one on the block, which is why no one else has tried to turn it into a home. My gut clenches a little knowing it was likely assumed I would one day occupy it.
I guess technically that’s happening.
Leading her around to the back, I tell Becca to wait just inside as I go deeper into the building.
Using my phone as a flashlight, I find a fully enclosed room with no windows to the outside.
I flip the switch beside the doorway, and the bare bulb dangling from the center of the ceiling glows dimly.
There’s a hint of mildew drifting through the air, but the floor is swept, and the walls are intact.
It’s nowhere near as nice as the hotel Becca was in before, but at least here I don’t have to worry about some hired thug snatching her from under my nose.
Anyone trying to sneak into the cul-de-sac will set off one of the dozens of cameras around the place. Then come face-to-face with a line of men who’ve killed before, and aren’t afraid to kill again to keep their families safe.
And I’m one of them.