Chapter Twenty-Five PAISLEY
Chapter Twenty-Five
PAISLEY
Another week passed, and autumn took hold. The days were getting shorter and the nights longer and colder. Although I was never cold at night. Not with Russell. He was my personal furnace, and I was starting to get attached.
This was new for me. I'd never been with a guy who I actually liked this much. It didn't help one bit to have our nights together be so fucking hot it was a miracle we didn't set the house on fire.
After almost a full week of not hearing from my brother, he called three days running. I finally broke down and called him from my cell phone.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked as soon as he answered.
“Thanks for finally answering.”
“I'm not answering. I'm calling you. I have a life, you know.”
“I know you do.”
“What's going on?”
Ryder’s sigh filtered through the line. “I'm in some trouble.”
My stomach twisted with anxiety. “What else is new? You're dealing designer drugs. And maybe, I don't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure you're deep into that drug ring Dad's office is investigating,” I said flatly.
My brother's silence answered for me. I could feel his guilt reverberating through the airwaves of our cell phone connection. “Am I right?” I pressed.
“Yeah,” he said, his tone curt.
“You need to get out of that mess.”
“I’m working on it. I promise. I'm going out of town, and I need you to cover for me with Mom and Dad.”
Nausea rose swiftly in my throat, and I took a deep breath. “If they ask me, I'll just tell them I don't know where you are, but if they ask me more, I won’t lie.”
Another sigh from my brother. “I know. I'm not going to tell you where I am. I'm going to tell them I’m going on vacation.”
“Why are you leaving town?”
“Because there's a problem. A bunch of money and product went missing.”
“You know, when you work with criminals, things like this happen.”
“Paisley, I don't need a fucking lecture,” he snapped.
“Fuck you,” I said hotly. “I'm afraid for you. I'm no high and mighty person. For some people, dealing drugs is their only way out of poverty, but that's not what happened to you. I don't even know how you got into this, and every time I think too hard about it, I feel sick.”
“It was just some fun in college, easy money.”
“And how's it working out now?” My throat was tight, and my chest ached.
Ryder’s laugh was bitter. “Not so great, but I'm gonna skip town for a little bit. Take some distance, and I’ll figure it out.”
“Did you steal money?” I surprised myself by asking.
“Fuck no, I wouldn't do that.”
I almost laughed, but I felt too sick and upset. “You know, Ryder, I didn't think you'd be doing this, so excuse me for being curious.”
“I think I know who did, and that's part of the problem.”
“I thought you were pretty high up in this food chain.” Since I’d accidentally stumbled across what the fuck my brother was doing, I’d tiptoed around asking him too much, but I was feeling more than done with that.
I remembered that afternoon so clearly. He'd been out of town for a weekend and asked me to check on his apartment.
While I was there, some guys had shown up at his house and had a “business transaction” in his kitchen.
They hadn't even known I was there. I'd hidden in the bathroom, where the cat liked to nap in the sink.
She loved the round shape of it. My brother—because he was a sweet guy and more than a drug dealer—didn't even use that bathroom sink because he always wanted it to be dry for her.
“It's not working out, and I'm working on finding a way to unwind this whole thing.”
“Ryder, the kind of people you're dealing with aren't the kind you can just walk away from.”
“Maybe, maybe not, but I'll figure it out.”
“Maybe you should talk to Dad.”
“Are you fucking insane?” he retorted.
“I guess I am,” I muttered. “Do I need to be worried about anything else other than everything I’m worried about with you? I've been freaked out ever since you called me about that guy.”
“No, you should be fine. He got arrested in California, so he’s completely out of the loop. He had a record there, so he's in for plenty of time. I'm going to fall off the radar, and I'll be in touch when I can. I'm going to turn this number off, so don't try to reach me at it again.”
“How the hell am I supposed to call you if I need to?”
“I'll use burner phones and call you.”
My stomach was a whirling dervish of anxiety. Burner phones? What the hell?
“Do I need to be worried about my own numbers getting leaked?”
“No, Paisley. That's the point of burner phones. I use them for a short time and destroy them. I don’t keep anyone’s information in my contacts.” My brother shifted gears abruptly, something he'd done forever. “That Russell guy seems nice.”
“Yeah, he is.”
“Are you dating him?”
I almost choked. “Uh, no.”
My brother chuckled. “I have a vibe that you might not be telling me the truth. Whatever.”
“He’s my roommate. That's it. And he is a good guy. We also work together.”
“So it would be complicated if you did date?”
“Definitely. We're friends,” I insisted even though it was a lie. We were more than friends, and also, we weren't. It was complicated, but I didn't say any of that to my brother. “I love you, Ryder. Stay safe.”
“I will. Love you too.”
We ended the call, and I leaned my head back. I was sitting in my car at Willow Brook Fire & Rescue Station, and there was a tapping on the window. Glancing sideways, I saw Phoebe and Susannah smiling at me.
“Oh, hey, what's up?” I asked as I rolled down the window.
“Come with us,” Phoebe said.
“Uh, where?”
“Wildlands, for dinner. Girls only,” Susannah replied.
“Okay. What time?”
“Now,” Phoebe said, her eyebrows hitching up.
“All right. I'll meet you over there.”
I didn't really need to drive over, but I did since it would be dark by the time we finished dinner. As I walked in, I was worrying over my brother. I had a doer kind of personality, always wanting to solve problems and take action, but I had no idea how to fix this situation. I desperately and pointlessly wished he hadn't been lured by the stupid easy money in college. He’d been a partier back in those days. Of the two of us, I’d definitely been the more straitlaced one.
I wasn't a prude, but I'd been busy with classes and busy with life.
It had never occurred to me that I could’ve made a bunch of money dealing drugs in college.
I let out a sigh and forcibly kicked my worries to the curb.
I was in Alaska. My brother was going wherever he was going, and there really was nothing I could do.
All I could hope for was that he somehow stayed safe and got himself out of this.
I couldn't help the twinge of guilt, though.
I really wanted to dump this on my father so he could somehow fix it, but I had no idea how he could remedy it for my brother.
Once I walked into the restaurant, I scanned the room, and my eyes landed on Phoebe pulling out a chair at a table in the corner. The place was hopping, and I dodged customers as I weaved through the tables.
“Hey,” I said once I reached them. “You all beat me here.”
Susannah grinned. Once we were seated, a waitress appeared. I ordered a water, and we decided to share some appetizers. Once the waitress left, Phoebe glanced over at me, commenting, “I noticed you haven't been drooling over Russell, but he's still staring at your ass.”
I rolled my eyes. “Are you serious?”
Phoebe shrugged lightly. “We can only expect so much. I think he's trying to keep it in check. Except that whenever he looks at you, he's all smoldery.”
“Absolutely.” Susannah nodded emphatically.
“He got all stressed out the other day when we were on a call,” Phoebe added.
“He did?”
She nodded slowly. “Yeah. You were ahead on the trail, and the wind was up during the helicopter landing.”
I blinked at her. “I'm sure he was just generally concerned.”
Phoebe eyed me dubiously, and Susannah’s brows hitched up.
“What?” I pressed. “You're not on our crew.”
“No, but I was on a crew with Ward. And trust me, it's better we're not on the same crew.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It’s not just a Ward thing. I worry about him when he’s out in the field, and I can manage it better if it's not in the moment.”
I didn’t know what to think. “Hmm,” I replied vaguely, relieved when the waitress appeared to deliver our drinks and assure us our appetizers would be out soon.
Another distraction appeared when Susannah waved at a woman I didn't recognize when she approached the table.
I didn't need for the conversation to dwell on Russell and me.
I was getting tired of thinking about him, and I was definitely in over my head.
My ability to manage my expectations as I'd hoped was limited.
Susannah stood from the table as soon as the woman reached us. “Hey!” She gave the woman a big hug. “How are you? It's been a minute since I saw you.”
“It’s been a few years,” the woman offered with a wry smile.
“I heard about your grandmother,” Susannah said. “I'm sorry.”
“Thanks,” the woman replied. “I’m hoping she turns this around, but it’s hard to tell.”
Susannah’s smile was warm. “How long will you be here?”
“A few weeks.”
“Are you meeting anyone here tonight?” Susannah asked. When the woman shook her head, Susannah added, “Do you want to join us?”
“Sure. I mean, if it's okay.” The woman glanced at us.
Susannah turned, gesturing from the woman toward us. “This is Mae Townsend. You remember Phoebe, right?”
Mae smiled. “Of course! I didn’t see you there.”
Phoebe had been looking at something on her phone and finally glanced up. “Oh! Hey!” She stood and hugged Mae as well.
Susannah gestured to me. “This is Paisley. She’s a firefighter.”
Mae smiled warmly. “I grew up here but then moved away for college and never made it back. Are you sure you don't mind me joining you?”
“Of course not. We have an extra chair anyway. Have a seat.” I patted the chair beside me.