Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Malerick’s hand grips the edge of his desk as he stares at the mess of papers spread across it. Floor plans of the Doherty mansion, maps of Birchwood Springs, and hastily scrawled notes litter every inch of the otherwise pristine surface. The window behind him is cracked open just enough to let in the crisp night air, but it doesn’t calm him. Nothing will tonight.
His phone buzzes.
“Gil?” he says as soon as he answers.
“Yeah, it’s me,” comes Gil’s gruff voice on the other end of the line. “Farrow’s here too. Your brother is safe in Seattle with his new bride.”
“Thank you for taking care of them. I feel like I put a target on them,” Malerick sighs not understanding where things went wrong. They were so careful, weren’t they?
“What’s the update, Timberbridge?” Gil requests.
Malerick scrubs a hand over his jaw, taking a moment before answering. “They weren’t trying to kill anyone. If they were, my brother and his bride would be dead,” he says, his voice low and measured, “but they were trying to send a message. That was a warning, not an attack. The explosion was calculated—it hit an isolated part of the mansion and didn’t spread. Not until they were out and safe.”
Silence stretches on the line for a beat before Gil speaks, his voice laced with irritation. “We didn’t think they’d actually do anything. They’ve been circling Birchwood Springs for months, sure, but this is different. They’ve escalated.”
“That’s an understatement,” Malerick mutters, dropping heavily into his chair. He glances at the papers again, trying to make sense of what feels like chaos. “My guess is that they lost the easy way to get Maple Haven—by taking it from Ms. Monroe legally. Now they’re trying to scare her. I bet the next move is offering her money to buy her out.”
“Probably. That’s the Hollow Syndicate MO,” Farrow replies. “They’ve been sniffing around for control of the town for a while now, but we thought they’d stay quiet—play the long game. Guess we were wrong. You got to be careful, next is Old Birchwood Timber.”
Malerick leans back in his chair, his jaw tight. The Hollow Syndicate. Birchwood Springs doesn’t get much in the way of organized trouble—this is a small town, not a crime capital. But the Hollow Syndicate isn’t just trouble. They’re a well-oiled operation with interests in buying up businesses, laundering money through seemingly harmless enterprises, and using quiet intimidation to get what they want. The best part is we’re just a few steps from Canada and not too far from the ports. They can smuggle product without being noticed. Not when they have a legit business to run.
“Ledger and Galeana were lucky,” Malerick says after a moment, his voice tight. “If that explosion had hit the kitchen—” He stops himself, unwilling to finish the thought.
Sure, he doesn’t get along with his brother, but Ledger’s his youngest brother and he loves him no matter what. He has to protect him.
“You’re right. They knew exactly what they were doing,” Farrow says calmly. “It was never about hurting them—yet. The syndicate doesn’t kill on the first move. They scare. They take. Then they settle in like termites until there’s nothing left.”
“And Galeana’s the termite target,” Gil adds. “That house, that business—it’s all hers now. It’s a big enough prize that the syndicate’s willing to get messy to control it. Their next step will be your family’s company.”
Malerick exhales slowly, gripping his phone tighter. “The marriage certificate’s been filed. The lawyers are finalizing the transfer of Doherty’s assets as we speak. Once it’s in Galeana’s hands, the property’s—including Maple Haven—officially hers. They know that.”
“Yeah,” Farrow mutters. “And they’re not thrilled about it. The syndicate doesn’t like losing, Mal. You know that.”
“I do.”
Malerick stares at the map pinned to the far wall, his mind racing. He thought the wedding would scare the assholes, instead he fucked up everything.
“Any word on how they pulled it off?” Gil asks, already jotting notes on the legal pad in front of him.
“Not yet,” Malerick replies. “The men on the security team during the wedding swear they didn’t see or hear anything unusual. They were careful. This was either someone they missed or something planted long before the wedding.”
“Long before?” Gil asks. “Like a sleeper asset?”
“It’s possible,” Farrow says carefully. “We’ll look into it, but right now, priority one is Galeana and Ledger’s safety. She has to go back soon. Show that she’s not afraid of them. We already have a few men with her and we’ll figure out if we want to add more.”
“We can’t be using civilians for this.” Malerick’s frustration flares again. “How the hell are we supposed to keep them safe when they’re this careful?”
“We got resources,” Gil reminds him.
He’s right and I’m a Timberbridge. If there’s one thing I should do it’s protect what’s mine, my family. Galeana is ours too. She’s Ledge’s and we have to protect her. Fuck. I did this, I asked my brother to do this thinking it’d be easy. And he doesn’t even realize what he’s walked into.
There’s a beat of silence before Gil says, “You’re worried about your brother?”
Malerick scoffs quietly, shaking his head even though they can’t see him. “Yeah, of course I am. But you’re right, we have people for that.”
“Then don’t let that happen,” Farrow says simply. “The Hollow Syndicate’s just poking the bear right now. But if we show weakness, they’ll come back swinging.”
Malerick clenches his jaw. “We won’t let it get that far.”
“Of course we won’t, but we still need to figure out how to take care of them before they continue spreading along the northern border,” Gil says. “We need to go, but if you have anything to discuss, call us.”
“You got it.”
“Keep up the good work, sheriff ,” Gil says before ending the call.