32. Lennon
Chapter 32
Lennon
Partnership
G riffin waited by the door for a long minute.
So, that was Baron.
I’d vaguely known what he looked like, but in person, he was far more intense.
And achingly sad.
That bitch had definitely done a number on him. On all of them, as far as I could tell. I’d been horrified and ready to throw hands after Griffin told me about what Irene had done to him. He might not remember it, but there was a high probability that she raped him.
It made me sick inside that he went through that, but one look at Baron, and I saw far more ghosts living inside of him.
“That woman.”
He crossed to me and hauled me up from the couch and into his arms. “If she hurt you.”
I wound my arms around him. “It would hurt me more if you tried to play hero, ace.”
He tucked me under his chin. “I don’t get what she wants.”
I eased back. “It could just be revenge. You and Baron both said she hates to not get her way. Breaking up the band might have pushed her too far. She had complete control over Baron and Marc for years.”
“And couldn’t do the same with me.”
“No. You have to know it was totally fucked up that she drugged you.”
“I know. It was the last straw for me even if the band hadn’t broken apart, I’d have been gone. They could implode all on their own, but it was too far for Marc and certainly hurt Baron. He did and probably still does love her. From the very beginning, he was blinded by her.”
“That’s really sad. He seems like a good man.”
“He is. One of the best I know, but Irene had way too much of a hold on him.”
“Do you think—No, that’s too out there.”
He cupped my face. “What?”
“He said she couldn’t get to him since he was in the middle of nowhere, Montana. Is this what she wanted all along? To get him to come out here?”
“Your mind is terrifying. I don’t think I’d have gone there.”
I laughed. “You probably shouldn’t look at my Netflix history.”
He grinned down at me. “Do you like murder documentaries?”
“Maybe. I blame Kira and Helena. They turned me on to them. Now I can’t stop watching them.”
“When? You’re usually with me.”
I shrugged. “You sleep like a log, dude.”
He hugged me to him. “I do love you madly, darlin’.”
I held on. “Good. You can’t trick me into loving you and think you can leave.”
“ Trick you? I beg your finest pardon?”
“You did.” I pressed my cheek to his chest and listened for his heartbeat. “I’ve been perfectly happy alone for a damn long time.”
“I think that’s a lie. If you were, you wouldn’t have come back to the orchard every year. You love it here just as much as I do.”
I may have enjoyed my time at many of the bars I’d worked at over the years. Since I’d become a hired gun, I’d stopped trying to connect with people.
Until Brothers Three Taproom.
Until Kira found me and lured me in.
“Maybe you’re right.”
“No maybes about it, darlin’.”
“Don’t get smug.” I slipped out of his arms. “I want to go check out the taproom.”
“We both should. And talk to Beckett. If something’s going on and I brought this here?—”
“You didn’t. It’s not your fault.”
He huffed out a breath. “It feels like it.”
“Lock it down. She’s the asshole.”
“Did I mention you’re terrifying?”
“Don’t you forget it.”
A bark had us peering over near the front door.
“Looks like someone needs to pee.”
“Well, he did drink a whole bowl of water. We’ll just take him with us. He’ll just whine and cry the whole time if we don’t.”
“Whipped!” I laughed. “But I couldn’t resist him either. Let me get my shoes and we can go.”
In our bedroom, I found a pair of ballet shoes and grabbed my bag. I sat on the bed and checked my phone to see if Kira texted me.
No one.
I’d texted Annette when I woke up. She wasn’t the best morning person, but the text was read. Not responded to.
“Lenny?”
“Coming.” I found him in the living room. “Sorry. Was checking on Annette.”
“She was in pretty rough shape last night.”
“I know. I’m worried about her.”
“Well, let’s see if anyone is at the taproom at least. If not, then we can go hunt down Beckett or Justin. They’re supposed to be working on the new cabin today.”
“Not sure anyone will be working today.”
He slung his arm around my shoulders. “I don’t mind playing hooky today.”
I pinched his side. “You never do.”
We locked up, and the drive to the taproom was quick. Elmer had his big goofy head out the window with his ears flapping.
There were a lot of cars in the parking lot. My Jeep, for one, and Kain’s truck.
“Oh, shit. We didn’t call Kain last night.” Griffin turned off his truck. “Shit.”
“A lot was going on last night. I’m sure someone called him. Helena would have contacted Bells.”
“Yeah. I hope he’s not pissed.” He got out and came around to my side to open my door and lift Elmer out and set him on the ground.
He did circles around us before taking off up the walkway only to return to make sure we were following.
We went around the back since there was yellow tape around the front doors and railings. I could here banging the closer we got to the patio.
“My freaking kitchen is toast.”
“Hell,” Griffin muttered.
Beckett was talking to someone in a suit. Maybe the arson guy.
I followed Griffin up the stairs to the dining room and my heart sank. There was water damage everywhere. “My bar.” I rushed forward and gasped at the buckling along the bottom of the walnut bar. Most of the floor was water damaged—all the new flooring that had been put in when it opened.
Smoke and wetness warred for the smells of the room. Something metal on metal hit with a crash. Griffin rushed forward. The door to the kitchen hung half off its hinges. Probably from when the firefighters were spraying down the room.
Inside was awful.
My eyes pricked at the ashes and wet drywall that was cut out in massive sections. The fire had climbed up behind the grill, nearly to the ceiling.
Thank God, it hadn’t gotten bigger, but the whole kitchen still was wet and caked in soot.
Kain threw a sheet pan from the hallway.“It’s all fucked!”
“Kain, enough! That’s not helping.” Griffin stood in the middle of the chaos. The large square prep table had warped from the heat and a scorch mark marred the center.
Kain’s hair was down and wild. I was pretty sure ashes were in his beard too. He thundered toward Griffin, and I rushed forward. Kain had one hell of a temper.
But instead of screaming at him, he wrapped his massive arms around Griffin. “Thank God, you weren’t hurt last night, bruh .” He lifted him off the floor and shook him before he let him down and came at me.
“Len.” His voice was rough with emotion.
I hugged him, letting him envelope me in his warmth for a moment. “I’m sorry about the kitchen.”
“I just got everything how I like it.” He grunted, then he let me go. “The arson guy made a bunch of notes, but he wouldn’t say a fucking word.”
“He’s out with Beckett now, I think.”
“Suit guy with a shitty mall haircut?”
I laughed. “That’s him.”
“Bah.” He went back down the hall and I heard more crashing.
“You okay?” I asked Griffin.
He looked shell-shocked. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
I hooked an arm through his and led him out of the ruins of the kitchen. I was getting a headache from the mix of the charred remains and the chemicals.
Anger simmered as I saw the destruction once more. Water was nearly as devastating as fire. I’d hoped that we could close off the kitchen and still keep the taproom open, but that was impossible now.
Beckett and Kira were climbing the steps from the patio.
Kira’s eyes were red, but there were no tears. Or they’d come and gone.
“What did he say?”
Kira’s jaw was tight. “Arson. The cooktop was covered in oil and grease. They found the discard bin under the grilling station.”
“Absolutely not. Dawn is as crazy as Kain is about getting the kitchen decontaminated.”
“I know, Len. I know.” Kira caught my hand in a quick squeeze. “But the proof was there. And an accelerant on top of it.”
Griffin paced away, his hands laced behind his head. “This is all my fault.”
Beckett frowned. “We don’t know that.”
“You fucking do.”
“With what proof? I can’t even go to the cops with what we have.” Beckett raised his voice.
“At least it would be on record. No one is taking this seriously because everyone in my band is too damn afraid to own up to what is going on.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Griffin stalked back with his hands fisted at his sides as if he was going to start brawling. “My old bandmate showed up this morning. It’s worse than we even imagined.”
“How bad?”
“Bad.” His voice was little more than a whisper. “And I brought this here. Brought it to you.”
I curled my hands around one of his fisted hands. “You didn’t. How could you know? We still don’t have proof.”
“What are you guys yelling about out here?” Kain’s flip flops announced him before he came into the main dining room. “I can hear you from the garage.”
Well-aware I was going to piss him off, I drew in a steadying breath. “Griffin’s in trouble.”
Kain’s dark eyes went shark-flat. “How so?”
Griffin shot a hard look at me.
“What? We can’t do this alone anymore. Not when it’s not just us that she’s doing this to.”
“Who?” Kain’s voice was a rumble of thunder.
I squeezed Griffin’s hand. “Please tell them.”
“Baron came to see me this morning. Marc, the singer from my band, was hurt a few weeks ago. A motorcycle accident. The cops there think it was just an accident and that Marc is overreacting. Not out of the realm for him, I’m afraid. He doesn’t exactly keep it cool at the best of times.”
Beckett rocked back on his heels. “You think it’s legit?”
“I think it was the same girl who tried to run me off the road a few days ago,” I said in answer.
“What?” Kira stepped to me, gripping my arms. She practically towered over me, and her mama bear eyes were intense. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I just thought it was some jerk on a motorcycle. It was gorgeous that day and I think everyone and their mother was out for a ride. You know how Mitchell Road gets.”
Kira sighed. “Yeah, I do.” She hauled me in for a hug, then she let me go.
I explained what happened and how she actually showed up in my lobby at the apartment building.
“And you didn’t think that was cause for alarm?” Kain asked, his voice deadly calm.
“Well, now I do. Before I just thought it was some asshole who thought they were being funny.”
Griffin wound his arm around my waist. “Oh, it was an asshole. Just not an anonymous one.”
“Yeah, I guess not.”
“But Marc was severely injured. He’s gonna live off the bionic man moniker for a damn long time. Two knees and a hip replacement.”
“Jesus.” Beckett pushed his hat back to tunnel his fingers through his hair, then he put it back on.
“There’s just way too many things to not add up to it being Irene.”
“Marc talked to the cops?” Kain asked. “They just didn’t believe him.”
“Pretty much.”
“At least there’s a paper trail. And enough to go to the cops.”
I nodded. “Even if they think we’re crazy, we need to talk to them.”
“Even with that, the insurance is going to be a hard sell to cover all this damage. Even if it was malicious intent, it just looks like negligence.” Beckett held a hand up. “Even if we know it’s not.”
I tipped my head back. God, even the rafters were covered in soot from the smoke. “This is awful.”
“Yeah. The orchard has definitely been turning a profit—especially the taproom lately—but not a full remodel profit. I’ll have to look into a business loan, but we’ve been borrowing against all the equity for the rentals so I don’t know how much I could get right now.”
Griffin stroked a thumb along my lower back. “What about a benefit?”
Beckett crossed his arms. “We don’t ask for handouts around here.”
“Look, this place is very popular with a lot of people. It wouldn’t be a handout if they just wanted their space back. Not to mention, I happen to have a billionaire brother and sister.” Griffin thumbed his hand at Kain.
“You know I would help in a minute. This is my place too.”
“Do I need to say no handouts again? Maybe louder for the back?” Beckett’s voice was tight with anger.
“What about a partner?” I asked.
“I love you, Kain, but I don’t want you as a partner.”
“Not Kain, me .” I rushed on. “I went to Florida with Griffin because I was looking at a property. But nothing ever feels as right as this place to me. I keep trying to find one, but it just doesn’t. I have credit and four-million-dollars saved up.”
“Four what?” Griffin spluttered.
I shrugged. “You think that club in Florida was cheap, ace?”
“No, but you had an investor,” he muttered.
“I did. But this won’t cost that much and still, I’d have enough to expand here if you were open to it.”
Beckett frowned and glanced at Kira. “This is your place, Key.”
“There was a reason I brought Lennon here. She’s definitely helped our place grow just by her name and now because she’s trained our people to be some of the best bartenders in the area.” Kira twisted her fingers together. “We should probably talk to Ronan too, but he’s more worried about the ciders than what I do at the taproom.”
Griffin looked down at me. “Is this what you want?”
“I love it here. And since we’re closed in the winter, I’d have the flexibility to do other things.”
“We’d need to talk to lawyers—” Beckett began.
I interrupted. “Oh, no doubt there. I want both of us protected if we do this. Period.”
I’d seen too many bars come and go when my mother had been alive. Why she’d had so many different jobs throughout her lifetime. The wandering I’d been doing for so long had brought me here in the end.
That had to mean something.
“But we still need to deal with the crazy fuck,” Kain said, folding his arms over his chest. “Which we are going to talk about at length.” He narrowed his gaze at Griffin, then me.
I swallowed hard, but I nodded.
“I agree that the police should be involved. Turnbull is a damn small town, so we just have a sheriff’s office.”
I leaned against Griffin for a moment. “We’ll go talk to them. Together.”
Kira’s lips twitched. “So, you two, huh?”
Griffin pulled me closer. “All the way. I’m going to marry her.”
“Excuse me?” I swiveled my head to stare at him.
“Relax, Lenny. It’s going to be great.”
“You did not ask me, ace.”
“I know.” He lowered his hand from my back to my hand and laced our fingers. “I will.”
“Who says I’m saying yes?”
Beckett laughed. “That’s the taproom. Never boring.”
“I would really like it to be boring, thanks.” Kira blew a lock of hair out of her face. “I have enough excitement at home.”
Beckett’s face went serious. “And I have more than just me to protect now.”
Kain’s eyebrows shot up. “Brah! Are congratulations in order?”
Beckett’s face went ruddy. “Yeah. Helena is pregnant. Due in December.”
“Look at you with the good timing.” Kain grabbed him into a bear hug. “Happy for you.”
Beckett grunted. “Thanks. Can you put me down?”
“Sorry.” He rubbed his hands together. “More babies to spoil.”
“When are you making one of your own?”
“Bells wants to do the big wedding thing first. My girl wants a slice of traditional, I’m giving her a slice of traditional.” The wide grin faded. “We are going to talk, though.”
“I’ll leave you guys to it. Let me know what the sheriff says.” Beckett tipped his hat. He glanced at me. “We’ll make some plans after we talk contracts.”
I nodded. “Definitely.”
Kira gave me a reassuring smile. “We’ll figure this out, guys. It’s what we do here at the orchard.”
“Thanks, Kira.”
“Not much we can do here for now. Especially if the police want to look around. Why don’t you all clear out.”
“Oh, hey. How is Ronnie?”
“She’s okay. She gets sprung from the hospital today. They wanted to keep her overnight to make sure her lungs were clear enough.”
“Good. Tell her we’re thinking about her.”
Kira nodded. “Will do.”
Griffin pulled my hand up to his lips, pressing a kiss to my wrist. “Think we need to go talk to Baron again.”
“I’m coming too,” Kain said cheerfully.
“Great,” Griffin and I said in unison.