Chapter 5 #2
Harrison said nothing. He lifted the other paper cup Emerson’s way.
Emerson sauntered closer and took it from Harrison. He sat down beside his brother, his mind a riot. His brother wasn’t stupid. Far from it. He hoped like hell he didn’t look guilty.
And that Harrison hadn’t been sitting out there listening to them fuck.
“You weren’t supposed to be home yet,” Emerson said.
“Some reporter called me a couple of days ago to make a statement about Charles’s death,” Harrison said. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“I refused to ruin the first vacation you’d had in over two years, especially with two babies on the way,” Emerson said. “An official report hasn’t come out yet, so there wasn’t really much to share other than he’s dead. I figured that could wait until you came back.”
“Fucking reporters. I tried to ignore that call and focus on my mates, but it started driving me nuts. I had to know if this nightmare was truly over.”
“You could’ve just called me instead of coming back early.”
“We got a call about that house we’d put an offer on and lost. The buyer got transferred for work and has to sell.
We go this afternoon to sign the papers.
Cas and Raimy were more than happy to get home early so they could start packing.
Then they can go full on into nesting mode on the new house.
” He chuckled. “You should’ve heard them planning everything on the plane home.
” Harrison’s smile faded. “All I could think about was—is he really dead? Did he find a way to escape prison somehow? Are we all in danger again?”
“And you left your mates alone?” Emerson asked.
“Rand had today off. He’s over there keeping an eye on them under the guise of helping them pack until I get back.”
“Good,” Emerson said. “They probably want to make sure he’s dead, too. They’ll sleep easier knowing it’s confirmed.”
“Honestly, I think they’re so focused on the house and getting everything ready for the babies that their minds didn’t have any space left to consider if Charles was really dead or not,” Harrison said.
“That chapter seems to be closed and they’ve moved on.
I’d rather it stays that way for them, too.
I didn’t tell them why I was really going in. ”
“They’re not stupid, Harry.”
“No, they’re preoccupied. I’ll take it,” Harrison said. He turned to face Emerson. “Do you know anything more than what was in the paper?”
“I went to the morgue to look at the body myself. His face was beaten so badly it was unrecognizable. The weight, height, hair, and eye color were correct, though. The coroner took multiple tissue samples from all over the body and they’re planning to compare dental records, too—though, it didn’t look like many teeth were left from what I saw. Not sure that will help.”
“Have you checked in with Oak?”
“Yep. He’s sending me the lab results the same time he sends them to the coroner,” Emerson said.
“We were the arresting officers. If he’s managed to run, I plan to help hunt him down.”
Emerson grinned. “Is it bad I almost hope he’s still alive?”
“Yeah. That would be terrible,” Harrison said, gawking at him.
“I’ve had two minor fires to investigate since you’ve been gone,” Emerson said. “I’m pulling my hair out.”
“That’s why I never pushed Dad to hire anyone else. But then suddenly I had an arsonist on the loose and I needed help—and didn’t have any.”
“Maybe I can work part time at a station or something once you’re back,” Emerson said. “I’ll be the part-timer.”
“To be honest, I have a feeling that Dad might be retiring soon,” Harrison said. “I think he has other plans for you.”
Emerson chuckled. “Already coveting Dad’s job, are we?”
“Me?” Harrison asked, frowning. “I think he’s set his sights on you being the one.”
“Not hardly,” Emerson said. “He’s never seen fit to give me a captain’s position. No way in hell he’s making me chief.”
“I’ve never been captain. You basically were at your last house, and you know it,” Harrison said.
“Dad noticed, and it’s all I heard about every time I saw him.
And you heard what he said when he promoted you.
You tested higher than I did. You’re one of the best firefighters he’s ever seen. And he’s not wrong.”
Emerson eyed Harrison. “He talked about me with you?”
“He can’t shut up about how amazing you are whenever I see him. Of course, there’s the whole, ‘I wish he’d get his shit together outside of work’, but otherwise, you’re the favorite.”
Emerson’s eyes widened. “All he does is talk about you when I’m with him. Ad nauseum. I assumed you were the favorite.”
Harrison barked with laughter, grinning wide. “No wonder you’ve been so snarky over the last few years. Dad’s been either pitting us against one another or unconsciously irritating the both of us.”
“Knowing him, it’s probably the second one,” Emerson muttered.
Harrison smiled softly. “Yeah, my guess, too.”
They sat in a silence that was a little more comfortable than it had been in a while.
“Finally selling Uncle Lenny’s boat, hmm?”
“It’s my boat,” Emerson corrected, the comfort he’d felt lost.
Harrison chuckled. “I know, but it’s always his boat in my mind.” His twin took a long sip of coffee. “Honestly, it surprises me you haven’t sold it before now. You hated Lenny.”
“And he hated me,” Emerson added before finally taking his first sip of the coffee. It was lukewarm by then, and he barely tasted anything.
“Yet he willed you his sole possession when he died. I’ve always wondered what that was about.”
“A belated apology,” Emerson muttered.
Harrison frowned.
Emerson pointed to the hull. “I think I was standing just about there when he choked the life out of me. We were, what… thirteen?”
“I’d almost forgotten about that,” Harrison said. “I think we were a little older. At least fourteen or fifteen.”
Emerson wasn’t sure why he’d even asked. The memory was etched in his mind. They’d been just barely thirteen and he’d seen a rage in the man’s eyes that he’d never witnessed before, or since. There was no doubt that his uncle would’ve killed him given half the chance.
Had he seen himself in me? Did he know what I was?
Harry snorted. “You did egg him on.”
“Are you suggesting an adult alpha had the right to choke a teenager?”
“No, but you know as well as I do that your mouth has gotten you into trouble over the years. Never stopped you, of course.”
“I only speak the truth. Not my problem if he couldn’t take it.”
Harrison took another drink, silent for a few seconds. “I miss Uncle Lenny. Not the Lenny who died, but the Lenny from before his accident. Man, do you remember those fishing trips with him, Dad, and Fitz? I don’t think Luke was old enough before Lenny got hurt.”
“I sometimes wonder if they were so different. The two Lennies,” Emerson said. “We were too young to really remember how he was before he got hurt. Some memories have a way of hiding the bad parts, I think.”
“It wasn’t just the accident, though. Dad said an omega broke his heart. Not sure when that happened, but I remember thinking I never wanted an omega if I’d end up like him. I think that’s why I held on to Cass so tight. I didn’t want an omega.”
“And now you have two.”
Emerson sipped his lukewarm coffee, not willing to offer up the news that their uncle might have been alpha-attracted and that omega probably didn’t exist. Maybe he did but it had been an alpha who’d broken Lenny instead.
His mind drifted to Dashiell Keller, his chest aching. He had his own alpha slowly torturing him and was in danger of turning into the very broken man he’d hated. There he was, a lonely alpha living on a boat, mourning the man who might’ve been.
Harrison turned to stare at Emerson. “You often give tours of your boat shirtless?”
Emerson’s jaw clenched. “I spilled coffee on my uniform shirt when I got here. I’m soaking it in the bathroom right now, so it doesn’t stain.”
Harrison glanced at his sweatpants. “Wearing those into the office?”
“If you have a question, just fucking ask,” Emerson said, a wave of nausea hitting him, praying his brother didn’t take him up on the opportunity.
Harrison searched his face for a few seconds before turning away and rising to his feet. “I’m going to head on into the office and start digging.” He spun to take a hard look at Emerson. “See you in a bit, hmm?”
“Yeah. In a bit,” Emerson said.
Harrison climbed onto the dock. Before he left, he turned to face Emerson again. “Don’t sell to that guy.”
“Why not?”
“He doesn’t fit you,” Harry said before his eyes got wide. “The boat, I mean. He doesn’t fit the boat.” Harrison shrugged, turned, and walked away.
Emerson sat there for far too long, staring at the empty spot where his brother had stood, wondering if his twin understood what he was. If so, there hadn’t been recriminations in his brother’s eyes—not that he’d seen.
Could he trust Harrison with his secret?
The one he’d held so tight that he’d kept all his brothers at arm’s length to protect it.
He missed them. Even when he was in the same room as his entire family, the loneliness tore at his soul. If it went on much longer, he wasn’t sure how much soul he’d have left.
He’d become a lonely, bitter old man like Lenny.
It hit him then that he was nearing the age his uncle had been that day. If they’d been thirteen, his father had been thirty-eight. Lenny had been the younger brother and had been maybe thirty-five. Harrison and Emerson would turn thirty-five on their next birthday.
By forty, Lenny was gone by his own hand.
Emerson rose, opening the cup to pour the leftover coffee into the bay, before returning to get ready for work. Something had to change, before he followed Lenny to the grave.