Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
“S pill it, bro.”
Ace glanced up from the paperwork on his desk to see BJ standing in the office’s open doorway.
“I try not to spill our product. It can be a safety hazard.”
BJ blinked. “Was that a joke?”
Was it? Maybe. All the time he’d been spending with Millie was making him feel more jovial. She made him laugh, made him want to loosen up and stop worrying all the time over everything. When he was with her, he could just…be.
“Did you need something, BJ?’
BJ shook off his surprise and stepped into the office, moving until he stood right in front of the desk. “What’s going on with you?”
Ace glanced down at the papers in front of him, confused as to why his twin was being so odd. “I’m going over the inventory order like I do every week.”
“I’m not talking about that.” BJ frowned.
“Then what are you talking about, because I have to say, I’m confused.”
BJ pulled out the chair facing the desk and sat. Leaning back, he narrowed his eyes, suspicion filling the face that Ace stared at everyday in the mirror.
“Something is up with you,” BJ said. “My twindar is off the charts.”
Ace might not believe in Tarot or any of that stuff Millie did—he would not even think about how her reading came true—but he did believe in twindar. When they were ten, Ace was inside helping their mother with the dishes while BJ was playing outside. All of a sudden, Ace screamed out in pain as something sharp stabbed him in the leg. Turned out BJ had gotten stung by a bee at that exact moment. There had been other moments over the years where he and his brother had felt each other’s pain, worry, even upcoming illnesses. Twindar was a thing. And damn his brother for tuning into his right now.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ace said, going back to his papers. Maybe his brother would take the hint and leave.
“Bullshit.”
Dammit.
Not that he’d really expected BJ to leave. His brother was as stubborn as he was. All the Jackson siblings were. It was in their DNA.
“I went by your place yesterday to see if you wanted to go hike St. Mary’s and you weren’t there.” BJ smiled, like the cat who ate the canary. “Where were you so early in the day?”
Ace shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“I was out getting groceries,” he lied.
“Naw, your car was still there.”
Of course it was because Millie had picked him up in her car and they’d gone for a walk out at a secluded hiking spot he knew of. The hiking had turned from a lovely morning walk to him taking her up against a tree in broad daylight. Something he’d never in a million years imagined he’d do, but she brought out something in him. Something wild and freeing.
“Maybe I walked to town,” Ace insisted, refusing to fall to his brother’s baiting.
“And walked home with bags of groceries? I don’t think so,” BJ snorted. “I know you like to keep up with the calisthenics, but that’s why you have the workout space in your garage.”
Dammit! Why did his brother know him so well?
“I’m gonna ask again,” BJ leaned forward. “What’s up with you, Ace? Are you seeing someone?”
He wanted to wipe that smartass grin off his twin’s face. How the hell did BJ guess?
“No,” Ace said, still firmly committed to his lie. “Why would you say that?”
“You’ve been sneaking around, disappearing without telling anyone where you’re going. Sounds like a secret relationship to me.”
Ace shook his head. “You have to stop reading Penny’s romance novels. They’re giving you ridiculous ideas.”
“You should start reading them.” BJ pointed a finger at him. “They’re really good storytelling and they give you some great ideas, if you know what I mean.”
He wished he didn’t know what his brother meant. He was happy for BJ, but the last thing he wanted to think about was his siblings’ sex lives. No matter how satisfied they might be with them. That was just wrong.
But he might borrow a book from Penny next time he dropped by.
Just out of curiosity.
“I’m not secretly seeing someone,” he said, bile rising in the back of his throat as he lied to BJ. He hated lying, even more so to his family. But he couldn’t tell BJ or anyone about him and Millie. They’d agreed to keep it a secret. Still, he knew his brother would keep on pressing until he got something. Some excuse for Ace’s strange behavior. He had to reveal something.
“We have a thief.” Ace let out a harsh sigh. He’d hoped to keep this information from his siblings until he caught the person, but it seemed there was no stopping it from getting out now.
BJ’s happy smile slipped, body tensing as he leaned forward, placing his arms on the desk. “What?”
“Someone is stealing from the till at the bar.”
“Who?”
The word rushed out of his brother full of the same pain and betrayal Ace himself felt. Jacks was a small family run business. They considered their employees an extension of family. It hurt to know one of them would take from them like this.
“I don’t know, yet.” Ace answered truthfully. “But I’m working on it.”
BJ pushed out of his chair, pacing back and forth in the small office. “How long has this been going on?”
“It looks to be a few months, but I just found out about it a couple weeks ago.”
“Months!” BJ roared, his expression filled with disbelief and anger.
Ace held a finger to his lips. It was midday, not a lot of activity going on, but there were still staff around. He rose from his chair, moving around the desk and heading to the office door. Popping his head out he gave a quick glance around, sighing in relief when he didn’t spot anyone in the distilling area. Firmly closing the door, he pulled the blinds closed so no one could see in and locked the door. This was not a conversation he wanted anyone privy to.
“They started taking tiny amounts. So small they could have been chalked up to clerical errors. But the amounts have gotten bigger and bigger.”
BJ shook his head, fists clenching as he asked, “How much?”
“I can’t be sure of the exact amount but we’re looking at around ten thousand.”
His brother stopped pacing, jaw dropping wide as he turned to face Ace.
“Ten fucking thousand dollars?”
Ace nodded.
“And the security cameras didn’t catch anything?”
He shook his head. “No. Whoever is doing this knows to avoid them.”
BJ collapsed in the chair, running a hand over his face. “Then it has to be an inside job.”
Yup. It hurt, but it was true. Whoever was stealing from them had to be someone who knew all the ins and outs of Jacks and the only people who did were the employees.
“Do Del and Charlie know?”
“No.” Ace sighed. “I haven’t told anyone yet.”
“Why, Ace?” BJ stood, confronting him. “Why the hell didn’t you tell us?”
“I didn’t want to worry you all,” he admitted.
“It’s our business too.” BJ frowned. “You can’t block us out like this.”
He knew this news was upsetting. He’d been pissed as hell when he found out. But that didn’t give his brother the right to take out his frustration on him. Ace stood, placing his hand on the desk and leaning right back in BJ’s face.
“I wasn’t blocking you out. I was trying to handle it. Once I figured out who was stealing and why I was going to call a meeting so we could figure out what to do next.”
“Have you contacted the authorities?”
“No.” He held up one hand. “No cops. They’d turn this place upside down to find the thief and arrest whoever is stealing.”
B’s brow furrowed. “But don’t we want that? This person stole thousands of dollars from us. They should be arrested.”
Maybe. Ace had no idea why, but he suspected the person who did this did it out of desperation, not greed. Or maybe that’s just what he wanted to think. People assumed he was an asshole who was suspicious of everyone, but that wasn’t true. He knew sometimes people were stuck between a rock and a hard place and just needed a little compassion. A little help. What if the person stealing from them just needed help and was too proud to ask?
“What if it’s Kelley?” He asked.
BJ reared back, shock covering his face. “Kelley…Kelley wouldn’t…”
“Her girlfriend’s food truck is tanking. She needs an influx of cash to save it. Or Brad. He’s saving up for a trip to France so he can propose to his boyfriend. Bertie’s dog injured his leg and now she’s got a huge vet bill to pay, and Danni—”
“Whoa, hold on, slow down.” BJ held up a hand, stopping the spew of information. “How do you know all this?”
Ace let out a heavy breath. It was time to reveal his secret. Not all of it. For some reason he still wanted to keep his relationship with Millie to himself. Something just for him. But he had to tell his brother about his informant.
“Millie is spying on the staff for me.”
“She’s what?”
Ace slunk back down into his chair. The weight of the world pressing down on him as he told BJ about the deal he made with Millie to snoop around Jacks and find evidence of the thief.
“You told Millie and not me?”
He could hear the pain in his twin’s voice. It cut him to his very core.
“No. She came into the office one day and saw the paperwork. Put two and two together and guessed someone was stealing from us.”
“The woman is smart,” BJ nodded, taking a seat across from Ace.
That she was. Smart, funny, beautiful, dynamite in bed. She was the whole damn package.
BJ sat back, a contemplative expression on his face. “She agreed to spy for you?”
“Not at first,” he admitted. He told BJ the story of Millie coming into the office, finding the evidence and how he’d convinced her to spy for them by offering her money. Money he now knew was going to help her open her studio and leave Jacks.
Leave me.
The hell? Where did that thought come from? People left Jacks all the time. It was common in the service industry. Very few workers stayed at the same establishment for long. It wasn’t like she was leaving town. She just wasn’t going to be here. He wouldn’t get to see her at work every day. Steal kisses from her in the walk in. Exchange secret glances across the crowded bar.
Shit he really was sounding like a sad sack. He needed to get his head in the game and focus on the task at hand.
The thief.
“It does make sense to have Millie spy,” BJ admitted. “No one is going to admit anything to us.”
Exactly what he thought.
“But,” his brother continued. “Doesn’t that put her in danger? I mean, what if the thief finds out she’s onto them? They might hurt her to stop her from talking?”
Fuck! He hadn’t thought of that. Ace sucked in a sharp breath, his heart pounding at the thought of anyone hurting Millie. No. Absolutely not! He’d fucking tear anyone apart if they so much as made her frown.
Shit!
“Ace?” BJ frowned, “You okay?”
No. he most certainly was not okay. He’d put the woman he cared about in harm’s way without even realizing it. He was an ass. He needed to fix this. They needed a new plan. Now.