17. Chapter 17
Chapter 17
I came, I saw, I made it awkward.
“Morning,” Berlin managed to get out as Chance stepped into the kitchen. She tried to keep her voice normal, and none of the others had looked at her weird so maybe she’d pulled it off? Fingers crossed.
“Morning.” Chance’s voice was deep and delicious and not something she needed to be thinking about, but that one word slid right through to her core. Especially now that she knew what he tasted like, had felt the energy and hunger rolling through him as he’d kissed her back. Not that acting they’d done in front of the Uptown Street Kings, but a real, way-too-short kiss where she’d been ready to strip naked and ride him right in the middle of the living room.
Gah.
After talking to Adalyn last night about what she’d found out, Adalyn had gathered the others and now they had a plan. Everything was so last minute, something Berlin normally hated.
Okay, still did.
But they couldn’t wait for another opportunity if the Backwater Bayou Boys were going to make a drug run. According to Hazel, they would be making a run tomorrow so Berlin and the others had to get in place now. She’d felt weird about going to Chance last night to tell him everything—especially after she’d realized he’d moved all his stuff from their shared room.
Of course he had, but still, it had stung. So she’d simply texted him, like a coward, telling him the plan even though only a wall had separated them. That wall might as well be in between them now.
“Coffee smells good,” he continued, his voice still annoyingly normal.
Okay, then so…that was good at least. But he still hadn’t made eye contact with her.
Inwardly frowning, she tried to keep her expression neutral as she looked at Adalyn. “Are we ready?”
“Yep. Rowan secured a place for us and both SUVs are packed up. I’ve got the drones like you requested as well as everything we’ll need.” Sighing slightly, she looked at Chance. “There’s no chance we can talk you out of coming with us?”
Berlin cleared her throat. This had been a disagreement she’d had with Adalyn last night and she’d thought they’d settled things. No way were they leaving Chance behind.
“Nope.” Chance didn’t look up as he screwed on the top to an insulated to-go travel mug.
“For the record, I don’t like this,” Adalyn continued as Chance met her gaze. “But I also recognize that this isn’t a normal job—”
“I appreciate what you guys are doing, but I’m not your client. And I’m guessing I’m better trained than most of your actual clients.”
Adalyn’s jaw tightened once. “Fair enough. But I want to make it clear that we’re not using lethal force.”
“Wasn’t planning on it.”
Berlin held in another sigh that desperately wanted to escape. She’d had this same discussion with Adalyn last night, and while she understood Adalyn’s wariness—this was definitely out of the realm of their normal operating procedures—she wished Adalyn trusted her more. Things might be weird between her and Chance but she knew he’d be an asset for this.
“Okay, then we’re good,” Adalyn said. “Also…if I give an order, I expect you to follow it. We’re used to working together as a team and my priority is keeping my people safe and finding your brother. But we don’t act like asshole cowboys. Got it?”
Chance nodded at her. “Understood. I won’t put anyone in danger.” His gaze flicked to Berlin’s and for a long, pregnant moment she was caught in those dark eyes.
Until he broke contact, and she swore she could feel the loss of that connection like a physical break. She wanted to talk to him, but had no idea how.
Or what to say.
The kiss last night had been incredible, even if it had been foolish.. But…he brought out a different side of her. One she wanted to explore, even if the timing was quite possibly the worst ever.
“You can ride with me,” Rowan said to Chance, clearly not asking.
Chance paused, but nodded, falling into step with the other big man as they headed out the side door.
Adalyn simply said, “You good?”
“Yep.” Berlin patted the case she’d slung over her shoulder, which had all her gear and anything she might need for the job.
Anticipation buzzed through her, like with any job, but this one was different for a multitude of reasons. She didn’t want to let Chance down, couldn’t bear for him to lose his brother.
***
After hours of driving northwest, Berlin glanced around the dusty, swampy surroundings of the one-lane road. “Are you sure you couldn’t have just flown us in here?”
Adalyn laughed lightly from the driver’s seat. “We have way too much gear, and even if we didn’t, there’s no good place to land around here.”
And they’d have potentially given away their arrival to anyone watching the skies. Which might be happening. “Why did Rowan want Chance to ride with him?” she asked, even though they had to be getting close to their destination. She should have asked earlier, but she hadn’t wanted to bring up Chance and… Whatever, apparently this was the day she was a coward.
“Just to get to know him, get a feel for how he’ll work with the crew.”
“Oh.”
“Did you think they were going to haze him or something?”
“Maybe. No. Rowan wouldn’t do that.”
“Tiago would.”
“Yeah…Bradford might too. He’s a wild card.” And still he was one of her favorites. Maybe that was why. She never knew what to expect from him.
Adalyn snickered. “I know. He’s too quiet sometimes. Makes me wonder what he’s plotting.”
“I’m surprised Ezra didn’t want to come today.”
“Oh he did, but I made him finish out his honeymoon. He didn’t fight me too hard.” She cleared her throat pointedly. “Because some people know how to take vacations.”
“Oh my god, after we find Chance’s brother I’ll take a break. For real.”
“Hmm. So, who’s been texting you this whole drive?”
“Ah…my sisters. One’s dealing with a work crisis, the other a romantic one, and Cheyenne is back to believing her boyfriend is cheating on her. Which he definitely is. I hacked his phone records,” she added.
Adalyn raised an eyebrow.
“Fine. And his social media. I want to give the info to Cheyenne but I’m second-guessing myself. Is it really my business?”
“She’s your sister. And if someone was cheating on you, I’d tell you, for the record.”
“Yeah but you wouldn’t, like, hack his shit,” she muttered. “Sometimes I think I really do need better boundaries.”
“What? Who the hell is putting this in your head?” Adalyn demanded as they bounced over a pothole. Or maybe it was just a hole considering this was a dirt road through a bunch of woods.
“No one. I think maybe I’m having an identity crisis or something.” She groaned at herself and looked out the window at the passing trees. Everything was a blur of green and brown. “Bradford said I needed to put myself first, to figure out who I am. And I honestly don’t know if I even know. I’m so used to taking care of my sisters that it feels weird to…not. To pull back. But then I feel guilty for not helping when they ask. Mari has this way of just listening when I talk and it’s amazing. It’s like she has all her shit figured out and understands social cues and boundaries in a way I’m worried I never will. And now that I’ve dumped all this on you…” She covered her face, annoyed with herself for the verbal diarrhea. “I’m realizing that now is probably not the time for all this. See? I suck with boundaries.”
“First of all, you don’t suck at anything. Second, don’t compare yourself to Mari, who is awesome, for the record. But you guys had very different upbringings, and if you think she has her shit together… Well you’re probably not wrong. But this isn’t about her or anyone else. If your sisters ask for advice, give it. But if they’re just venting, then listen and commiserate. That’s it.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Of course it’s not. It’s going to be so hard at first and maybe always. Especially when you can see the writing on the wall in the case of a bad relationship. So if Cheyenne texts you or calls you and says ‘oh my god, I think my boyfriend is cheating on me,’ what do you say?”
“I feel like threatening to burn his place down to the studs is wrong,” she said dryly.
Adalyn snort-laughed. “Well, probably wrong. No, it’s definitely wrong. Let’s try again. She’s not asking for advice. So…”
“So…I say, ‘I’m sorry you’re worried about him and I’m here for you’?”
“Is that a question?”
“Maybe? No…that’s what I say.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Berlin shook her head slightly. “That’s too easy.”
“Nope. It’s not. Especially when you know the jerk is cheating on her. And sisters are different than other people. There are different rules so some of this won’t always apply. And I think you can give her proof that he’s cheating on her under certain circumstances. But if she has a pattern of staying with him after she knows he’s cheated on her—”
“She does.”
“Okay then, she’s just venting. What did you say when she texted you?”
“Nothing.” Because Berlin was floundering, and questioning everything lately. Ugh . She pulled out her phone and reread Cheyenne’s text.
I think Toby is cheating on me. He keeps putting his phone down when I walk into a room, and he’s ignoring incoming texts when I’m around.
She typed out a response, then reread it a couple of times. I’m sorry you’re struggling right now and I’m here for you. She wanted to tell Cheyenne so badly that her stupid boyfriend was cheating on her but this was not her first rodeo and she couldn’t keep doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result. She hit send, shoved out a sigh as she leaned back in her seat.
Then Adalyn hit another dip in the road, cursed under her breath. “At least we’re almost there.”
When Berlin’s phone buzzed again, she glanced at the incoming text. It was Cheyenne again. What do you think I should do?
“Well now she’s asking for advice,” she muttered more to herself than Adalyn. Again, she was tempted to give her sister proof of her boyfriend’s cheating ways, but her gut told her that was the wrong move. With her other sisters it would be the right move, but with Cheyenne, it would blow up in her face. She texted back again: Trust your instinct. You have a really smart inner voice who only wants good things for you.
A moment later Cheyenne texted back a couple heart emojis.
Berlin groaned and tossed her phone down. “It’s really hard not telling her the truth.”
“She already knows the truth,” Adalyn said as they pulled into a clearing with a cabin, a firepit and…
“Oh my god, is that an outhouse?” Berlin stared out the window at the sight before them. “What. The. Hell.”
Adalyn just laughed, as if it was hilarious.
“You told me Rowan found us a decent place to stay.”
“No, I said he found a hideout not far from an airboat rental place.”
Berlin bit back a response as she eyed their surroundings. The cabin looked okay on the outside, but an outhouse? Gross. But she’d reserve judgment until later.
Until she discovered if they actually had working plumbing or not.