31. Chapter 31
Chapter 31
We’re sisters. If I’m mad at someone, you are too. Rules are rules.
Three days later
Berlin took the beer Chance set in front of her, then curled up against him on the couch as Hazel stepped into her living room. The whole crew, minus Tiago, was already there. And while it was good to be home, she wanted to know where Redemption Harbor Security stood with the Feds and DEA.
And for the last three days it had been radio silence.
“I’m glad you guys are all here.” Hazel declined a beer that Rowan held out for her with a shake of her head. “Your brother’s doing well,” she said, looking at Chance.
He just nodded, his big body vibrating with energy. They’d stayed at the safe house the last two days, then headed over here this morning once they’d gotten a message from Hazel that they were in the clear.
“Will I be able to talk to him before he leaves?” Chance asked Hazel.
“Yep. I’ve set it up for tomorrow. And I don’t think he’ll be in WITSEC forever, just until the DEA plugs their leaks.”
“Is he safe?” Chance straightened, sitting up on the edge of the couch.
“Yes. A very small team in the marshal’s office knows where he’s going and that’s it. Commander Levine and I have been assigned to a JTF so I, and a few others, are working with a small team within the DEA as we dismantle what’s essentially a pipeline of drugs and humans from Texas to the Georgia/South Carolina area and beyond. With the information we got from the Backwater Bayou Boys and the Uptown Street Kings, and Enzo and Nicola…we’re cleaning house.”
“Are we in any potential danger?” Adalyn asked. “For being involved.”
“Your names aren’t on any official documents. Officially the Acton brothers who attacked Enzo and the women’s hiding spot were taken out by a DEA FAST team. Oh, and we also managed to get Johnny Moore to testify too.”
“You guys picked him up?” Berlin couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice.
“Yeah. He was staying with his sister in California. As far as he says—and I actually believe him—he didn’t know about the human trafficking. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not a saint, but he’s not complete and total scum. He asked for therapy as part of his relocation package and he’s going to be testifying about a lot of stuff, some of it unrelated to the Uptown Street Kings.”
“Eh.” Berlin shrugged. “He’s kind of gross, but I’m glad to hear about the therapy.”
Chance shook his head as he slid his arm around her again.
“True enough, but he’s got a lot of intel it’s clear that he was saving for a rainy day,” Hazel said.
“So, about Brody Williams. Are there any parameters to his deal?” Berlin’s voice was almost deceptively neutral.
Hazel cocked an eyebrow. “You know there are. If he leaves anything out or is less than honest with the prosecutor, then he’s going to jail and the offer of WITSEC is withdrawn.”
“So if you find evidence that he knew about the trafficking…” Berlin trailed off.
“So far he’s claimed that he only knew about the Acton brothers’ drug running and their association with the Backwater crew. And I don’t have anything to say otherwise.”
“Good to know.” Berlin had no doubt that scumbag had known about the trafficking and she was going to prove it. But that was for another day.
“All the women you guys saved are also on their way to new homes with new identities. And in two cases, their families are being granted asylum and being moved as well. Unfortunately we’re not taking out any cartel members, but we’re making a huge dent in their pipeline. The Backwater Bayou crew, the Uptown Street Kings and the Acton brothers are all out of action, hopefully permanently. Which means the Becerra cartel is going to lose a shit ton of money and trust with the people they deal with. This will cripple them so I’m calling a win.”
“What about Santiago Alonso? Was he involved with anything?” The grumpy tattoo artist Santi had come up on her radar when she’d searched his face, but it had been minor run-ins with the law when he was younger. Carlos, on the other hand, had been one of the dead guys Chance had killed in Natchez.
“As far as we can tell, no. And after a very short conversation with him, Camila tells me that he’s glad the Acton brothers will be moving out of town. He’s got no love for law enforcement but he hated those guys, said they ran shit through the tattoo shop but there was nothing he could do about it. Oh, that address you gave us a tip on, the one in Houston, the DEA made a very nice bust there. It was a big hub for the Acton brothers. They had a hacker staying there and he tried to destroy everything before the FAST team busted in, but he wasn’t quick enough. Levine is swimming in evidence right now and your biggest fan.”
“He said that?”
“Not exactly.” Hazel grinned slightly. “But he said he’d buy you a beer any day of the week.”
She’d take it. “What about Luis, from the tattoo parlor?” Berlin asked.
“He was definitely involved, but he’s low level so he’s not on my radar for now. And it looks like he’s left town.” She shrugged, then glanced at her watch. “I’ve got a meeting to get to, but I wanted to stop by in person to relay everything. I’m going to be busy for the next couple months but you know you can reach out with anything. And thank you guys, for all you’ve done.”
Adalyn stood and walked out with Hazel as Rowan turned to the rest of them. “First things first, I’m starving and want to grill. Berlin, would you care if I bought you a grill, and Chance and I headed out to grab food for dinner?”
She blinked. “You want to buy me a grill?”
“Yeah. Your place is great but you need a few things.”
“Uh, sure, thanks. What’s the second thing?”
“Tiago and Fleur finally set a wedding date so I need help planning a big bash. They don’t want to do separate bachelor and bachelorette parties.”
“And you’re asking me for help?” She couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice.
“Oh, god no,” he said, turning to look at Bradford and Ezra. “But you two are going to help so consider yourself officially enlisted. You too, Chance, if you decide to stick around.”
Ooooh, Berlin wasn’t sure how to respond to that and kind of wanted to punch Rowan in the shoulder right now. But since her own shoulder was still healing from being punctured by a stupid stick (the woods were stupid!) her range of movement was limited.
Chance cleared his throat slightly, but didn’t respond either.
“Jesus, Captain Awkward, way to go.” Bradford smacked Rowan as he stood and headed to the connected kitchen.
Thankfully Adalyn stepped back in at that moment, drawing everyone’s attention to her.
“Your man needs to be fitted for a muzzle,” Ezra called out as he stood as well, stretching his legs.
“I like his mouth very much, thank you, so that won’t be happening.” Adalyn grinned as she stepped into the living room. “So are we going to eat or what? I’m starving.”
“I swear, you two are made for each other.” Berlin stood with Chance, ready to start pulling out stuff for a barbeque, then there was a sharp knock on her front door.
She frowned, wishing she had her phone with her so she could check the cameras, but Adalyn was quick, and hurried out of the room… And moments later strode back in with three familiar women in tow.
Berlin blinked in true surprise to see her three sisters there. “Hey guys…is everything okay?”
“Yeah, of course,” Sydney answered.
Cheyenne was the only blonde, though they all had the same blue-green eyes of their mom. Sydney and Geneva had the same dark hair as Berlin and their mom. But they all had the same build and same facial features. There was no denying they were sisters.
“We’ve been calling and you haven’t responded,” Geneva said.
“I’ve been texting,” she said, feeling a little defensive. The last three days she’d mostly been in bed with Chance. And truthfully, she hadn’t wanted to talk to anyone but him after the whole mess at the lake cabin. She’d needed time to mentally digest everything—was still dealing with it.
“Well we missed you so we decided to plan a little road trip,” Cheyenne said as she dropped a duffel bag on the ground. “We’re going to grab a hotel but—”
“No, you won’t do that. I’ve got the room.” Sort of, but Berlin would make it work. “Ah, guys, these are my sisters, officially.” She’d talked about them, but they’d never actually met her sisters before.
“And you’ve got good timing,” Rowan said as he held out a hand to Geneva. “We’re about to grill burgers and whatever you guys want.”
“Ooh, a party, I’m in.” Sydney grinned.
“Who are you?” Geneva asked Chance pointedly, maybe because he had his arm looped possessively around Berlin.
Exactly the way she liked him holding her. Berlin felt her cheeks heat up. “Ah, guys, this is—”
“I’m Chance. Berlin’s boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?” she blurted before she could order her mouth to stay shut. She really, really liked the sound of that, but they hadn’t discussed the future. They’d mostly holed up and had sex. Like on an industrial level. And she wasn’t complaining. But still.
“It sounds better than lover.” His tone was dry.
She mock shuddered. “Gross, please don’t say that.”
“Fine, boyfriend it is.” He leaned down close to her ear so that only she could hear. “Because I’ll never share you. We’re not dating other people.”
“Boyfriend!” Her sisters practically giggled with glee as they all sized him up.
Seriously, what the hell was happening? She was happy they were here, but couldn’t believe they’d just shown up.
“All right, come on,” Rowan nodded at Chance, who sighed but kissed Berlin soundly before he headed out with the other guys and Adalyn to apparently go buy her a grill and food, while her sisters stayed behind.
“So, boyfriend? He’s gorgeous,” Geneva said with a little awe as they all tackled her in a belated sister hug.
Berlin hugged them back, glad all her sisters were here. She was so proud of them, but she missed them all the time and wished they all lived next door so she could see them every day. Since that wasn’t reality, she would take this time with them.
“Yeah, holy crap on a cracker,” Sydney added as she stepped back, while Cheyenne nodded her approval. “That is a man man.”
Berlin nodded in agreement. “He is pretty amazing.”
“And he looks at you like you hung the moon,” Cheyenne said, grinning. “Also, I ended things with Toby for good, just FYI. He’s a loser and you were right. I can do better.”
“Hell yeah you can,” Geneva grumbled.
“Why are you guys really here?” Berlin asked as they all settled on the couches.
“To see you,” Cheyenne said. “And I know we should have called, but…you weren’t responding to our calls and we got worried you were mad at us or something.”
Berlin blinked. “I was texting you! And…Chance and I have been kind of occupied the last few days.” Her injured shoulder hadn’t slowed them down at all. If anything, it had given him an excuse to do all the work, and wow, that was like a drug. The man had her so addicted to him, she was never letting go.
“Oh. Ooooh,” Geneva grinned. “Okay then, that’s excusable. So tell us what we’ve missed the last couple weeks.”
Berlin couldn’t tell them everything and for the most part kept them insulated from her work, but they knew that she was in “investigative” work so she could weave in a few fun details, minus all the killing and gore. But telling them about Johnny was actually funny. And she got to hear about their lives in person, not over the phone or via text or video call.
Being with her sisters filled up something inside her. And even though she knew she needed better boundaries in general, these were always going to be her sisters, women she loved more than anything.
***
Chance wasn’t surprised by how much he liked Berlin’s sisters, considering she’d practically raised them. And seeing the joy on her face with them around filled him with…he wasn’t even sure what. But he loved this woman and he wanted her to be happy all the time.
The love thing had taken him off guard, but it was something he knew to his bones.
He didn’t want to just be her boyfriend, but knew he’d have to wait for more. And he could do patience, especially with a woman like Berlin. She was worth waiting for.
Hours later, once everyone except her sisters were gone, he and Berlin were finally alone in her bedroom. She walked out of the bathroom wearing a silky robe and her damp hair in a long braid as she collapsed on the bed next to him. She was already rolling onto his chest as he tucked her in close.
Exactly where she belonged.
“My sisters all like you,” she murmured against his chest, exhaustion clearly creeping in as she idly traced her fingers over his scars along his jaw and collarbone.
It was only seven, but he was beyond tired too, ready to crash and not wake again until the sun was up. “I like them too.”
“Can we go back to the whole boyfriend thing?”
“What’s there to go back to?” He tightened his grip on her, kissed the top of her head. He was ready to get naked, but he didn’t think she was up to it. “And how’s your arm feeling?” She’d insisted on changing her bandage today by herself. He wasn’t even sure why he was annoyed, but he wanted to be the one who took care of her.
“Fine, I guess.”
“You could take the meds you were prescribed.” It had been simple ibuprofen but she’d rejected even that.
She just made a snorting sound.
“I’ll take that as a no.”
“So…we’re like together?” she asked, rolling back slightly to look up at him.
“Yep.” He wasn’t going anywhere.
“Well…how will that work? I live here and you live—”
“I’m moving here. I’d planned to talk to you about it tomorrow, but Adalyn asked if I wanted to work for you guys. She said if I was going to take down bad guys, I should at least get paid for it.”
Berlin blinked and he realized he’d actually surprised her.
“She didn’t tell you?”
“No, that sneak,” she grumbled, but smiled. “So what did you say?”
“That I’d have to talk to you about it, to make sure you were on board. Because I don’t want to invade your workspace.”
“That’s really thoughtful.”
“Why do you sound so surprised by that?”
She laughed lightly. “I’m not, I swear. I’m just surprised she didn’t say anything to me, that’s all. And I’d love it if you worked with me. With us. But only if you really want the job.”
“I’ve been drifting since I got out of the army. My only real goal was to find my brother. And so far I like what I’ve seen. I like what you guys are doing. And…I like working in gray areas.” He’d missed that part of his former life more than he’d thought he would.
“Same.” She grinned up at him.
He planned to put his grandmother’s house up for sale, then split the profits with his brother, who he was still worried about but also proud of. Then he wanted to get a place here—or just move in with Berlin if she’d have him. Leaning down, he brushed his lips over Berlin’s, needing to taste her, claim her. “Are you too tired for anything?” he whispered. “You can lie back and let me do all the work.”
She snickered against his mouth. “Those are the sweetest words ever. And I’m definitely not too tired, I just need to be careful with my arm.”
“I’ve got you,” he murmured, kissing her again. Always.