Chapter 22
A.J. stilled next to Josie. This afternoon, she’d watched Fluff wiggle under the porch, with Ellie bellycrawling behind him, and it must have triggered her.
Instinctively, A.J. knew where Josie’s story would lead, and the only thing he could do was hold her as she offered up this raw part of her soul.
“My dad was a violent man. I imagine he must have had a softer side, or my mother wouldn’t have fallen in love with him, but I don’t remember it.
She did her best to keep his attention and anger focused on her, and Charlie became something of an expert at keeping the two of us out of harm’s way.
I knew once Charlie was old enough and big enough, he would go after our dad, but he never got the chance. ”
Adam had seen his share of violence, but it was the violence of war, not violence perpetrated on someone you were supposed to love and care for.
He had zero tolerance for men who hurt women or children, or hell, even animals.
He was a patient man, with a long fuse and an empathetic heart, but nothing tripped his protective wires more than the sort of abuse Josie, Charlie, and their mom had endured.
He had to contain the simmering rage in his gut, though, because Josie needed him to listen, not act.
There was nothing he could do about her past anyway, but he could be here beside her now, and he could make sure her future, and the future they’d build together, was full of love and light and joy.
“I was nine and Charlie was eleven when it happened,” Josie said.
She shivered, and Adam pulled the blanket around them.
“When he came home that night, he smelled like beer. I didn’t know what it was at the time, but I knew when he stumbled in the door, or slurred his words, or smelled funny, things would be bad.
Charlie knew it too. All three of us were in the living room when he slammed the kitchen door open and yelled for Mom.
She looked scared, I saw it in her eyes, but she grabbed Charlie by the shoulders and told him to keep me safe, no matter what. ”
“He yelled, and something crashed, a dish maybe. Mom tried to calm him down, but he got angrier and angrier. Charlie peeked around the corner, with me huddled behind him, and he went rigid, but only for a second. I think he saw the gun, but I never asked him about it.”
Josie’s words came faster and faster, and she trembled in his arms.
“Charlie pulled me out the back door and shut it quietly behind us, and we snuck down the steps and under the back porch. One panel had come loose, so we could move it out of the way to get underneath. We had to crouch, but it was bigger than a crawl space. Charlie had dug a little bit out in the center, and sometimes we’d pretend we were in a spaceship or a magic portal.
That night, we just huddled under there together.
We heard the gunshots. I didn’t know what they were, but I knew something was horribly wrong. Then, it was so quiet afterward.”
A.J.’s stomach churned. He couldn’t imagine his children going through something so awful. Trauma like that left deep scars, and he didn’t think he understood yet all the ways Josie had been marked by the cumulative abuse or by this one horrific night.
The tension Josie still held in her shoulders told Adam she hadn’t quite finished her story, so he stroked his fingers up and down her arm and waited.
“I don’t know how long we stayed under the porch, but eventually Charlie told me to wait there. He was going to check on Mom. But it was dark, and I was scared, so I followed him into the house. There was so much blood,” she said.
By now her voice was barely a whisper, and she shook from head to toe.
“Oh god, Josie,” A.J. said, wrapping his body around hers.
He’d known the bare bones of the story before, but not the details. Not the fact that Josie and Charlie, two kids just a little older than his own, had hidden outside in the dark, terrified. Not the fact that they’d seen their parents’ bodies, bloody and broken.
Josie rolled over in A.J.’s arms, wrapped herself around him, and tucked her head into his chest.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered.
“I know,” she answered.
They lay entwined in the silence of the night until Josie’s breath became deep and regular.
Sleep didn’t come easily for A.J., though, as he stared at the ceiling.
This woman in his arms was so strong, so resilient, he was in awe of her.
Despite the horror of her childhood, she’d made a good life for herself.
She’d used her own experiences to better help others, channeled her energy and skills into meaningful work, and never lost her faith in humanity.
In some ways, he was like that, too, he supposed.
Despite losing his wife, the mother of his children, he hadn’t given up on love, or on his family or friends, or on the work he believed in.
He’d leaned into the pain and allowed it to work its way through him.
Allie’s loss was a raw wound that had healed into scar tissue.
It would always be there as a reminder of Allie’s beautiful spirit and of the life they’d had together, but he’d learned to live around it. Not just live but thrive.
His last thoughts before sleep pulled him under were actually of Charlie, the sailor he’d loved like a younger brother.
Charlie’s strength, loyalty, and deeply protective soul had been forged from the same trauma as Josie.
A.J. understood Charlie better now, and his heart cracked a little bit knowing he’d only gained this insight after the man was already gone.
***
When Josie opened her eyes the next morning and smiled up at him, there’d been a lightness in her expression. Still, A.J. kept a close eye on her as she pushed Ellie on the swing in Fiona and Jake’s backyard.
The barbecue was in full swing. The sound of children’s laughter filled the air, the smell of freshly cut grass and charcoal from the grill tingled his nostrils, and the warm summer sunshine beat pleasantly on his face. He breathed in deeply and allowed himself to simply appreciate the moment.
He took a long swallow of beer and, with his eyes fixed on his girls, he caught the moment Ellie decided to jump off the swing.
Her exuberant laughter rang out across the yard and then she was airborne.
From where A.J. stood, he could see Josie’s expression of alarm turn to relief when Ellie landed safely on two feet.
He’d long since learned he couldn’t curb Ellie’s bold personality, and honestly, he had no desire to, but he could probably attribute a few gray hairs to his daredevil of a daughter.
Ellie jumped up and down, and Josie clapped and whistled. When Ellie skipped off to join the other kids in the sandbox, Josie’s eyes met his across the lawn. She gave him a bright smile and a small wave, and then wandered over to the drink table to join Fiona and Lissa.
“Well, this has developed quickly,” Cam said with a smirk.
There was no point denying it, and A.J. didn’t want to anyway.
“She’s…” He paused, not really sure he could capture his thoughts with words.
“Beautiful, sweet, kind, a little awkward, brilliant, and great with your kids,” Cam said, finishing for him.
“Exactly,” A.J. said, taking another pull of his beer. “Whoever said you were an emotionally stunted Neanderthal with a limited vocabulary doesn’t know you like I do.”
Marco and Jake, who stood next to Cam and A.J., beers in hand, burst out laughing. Cam flipped them all off.
“Happy for you, man,” Marco said, a grin still plastered on his face.
“I never would have predicted it, but you two are a really good fit,” Jake added.
“I’m grateful, that’s for sure,” A.J. said.
He glanced toward the group of women clustered under the party tent engaged in a conversation of their own, and his expression turned serious.
“I was going to wait until tomorrow, but since you’re here now…” A.J. said.
The mood around him shifted instantly.
“What’s going on?” Cam asked.
A.J. glanced at Josie, who was still occupied laughing and chatting.
“She wanted to just enjoy today, but Jake, I need you on something first thing tomorrow,” A.J. said.
“Talk to me,” Jake said.
“Josie felt like someone was watching her, first at the cemetery and then outside her house.”
“A stalker?” Cam’s voice turned icy and his expression deadly.
No one in their small group would ever forget the condition they’d found Lissa in after a stalker had abducted her. A.J. quickly shook his head.
“No, apparently, she has a half-brother.”
“What the actual fuck?” Jake’s voice reflected everyone’s shock.
Cam processed the info quickly, and his eyes narrowed. “Are you sure he’s legit?”
“Not a hundred percent, but Josie’s pretty convinced. She thought she was hallucinating Charlie at the graveyard.”
Jake took a half step backward, and Cam clamped a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
Marco rubbed a hand over his dark beard. “Why did he only reach out now? What does he want?”
“Money, I think,” A.J. answered.
“Motherfucker,” Cam growled.
“Yeah, that’s my general impression. The thing is, all Josie and Charlie’s inheritance was from their mother’s side of the family.
In addition to being an abusive, murderous bastard, their father lived off his wife’s money.
This guy, the half-brother, if he is who he says he is, has no claim to any of it,” A.J. said.
“And the asshole knows it?” Jake asked, sucking in a breath and attempting to pull himself together.
“He does now. He showed up on Josie’s doorstep yesterday, and she let him in.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Cam barked.
“I know, but apparently, he looks a lot like Charlie,” A.J. said, throwing a concerned glance at Jake.
Jake swallowed hard, blinked, and then the lethal operator took over. “I’ll look into him.”
“Thank you,” A.J. said.
“Anything else we should know?” Cam asked.
“His name is Kevin Murray. Apparently, he didn’t know he had siblings until, by some twisted coincidence, his mother also died recently. She gave Murray his father’s identity as some sort of deathbed confession.”
“You need any security at Josie’s place?” Cam asked.
“I’ve added her to my tracking app, and she’s got a pretty good setup at her house, but honestly, I want her close to me. I’m going to ask her to stay at the house until we have better intel on this guy,” he answered.
His home was equipped with a state-of-the-art security system, of course, but if he was honest with himself, he wanted her there regardless.
He was at an age where he trusted his read on people, listened to his gut, and recognized a good thing when it stared him in the face.
His and Josie’s relationship might be moving at an accelerated pace, but life was too fucking short to let go of this chance when everything in him wanted to grab onto it with both hands.
“Are you gonna let her leave if this fucker doesn’t pose a threat?” Jake teased, the smirk back on his face.
“Hell no,” A.J. said, and the tension in the group broke.
“Good,” Cam said.
“Gotta go help set up the sound system, but I’ll get you some answers ASAP,” Jake said, tossing A.J. a pointed look.
“Appreciate it,” A.J. answered.
A weight lifted from A.J.’s shoulders now that the team knew the situation. It didn’t make sense to A.J. that Kevin Murray would give Josie any real trouble, but a small nagging feeling in his gut told him not to let this go, and that feeling had saved his skin on more than one occasion.