Chapter 4
4
ETHAN
“Ethan!”
Turning, I faced the door to the gym and saw Brody. Popping out my earbuds, I slowed the treadmill. “Yeah?”
“You about done?”
I shrugged. “I can be.”
He jerked up his chin. “Meet me in my office.”
Grabbing the towel I had hanging from the arm of the treadmill, I wiped the sweat from my face and neck and stepped down. I wasn’t surprised that Brody wanted to talk to me. He’d been training me since I started a couple of years ago, but it was strange that he was in on a Saturday. Brody loves his wife and four daughters more than anything, so he doesn’t lose a weekend with them for work unless he doesn't have a choice.
Jumping from the treadmill, I pulled off my sweat-soaked T-shirt. I made my way to my gym bag and squatted beside it. I yanked a clean T-shirt out and put it on before tossing my other inside and zipping the bag closed. When I first started at Elite, I rarely used the gym Brody and Jax added, but after watching the guys I worked with and knowing I wanted to move beyond just installing security systems, I decided I needed to get into shape. I’d always been tall and lanky but didn’t carry any muscle until I committed to spending time in the gym, and that commitment had paid off. It wasn’t long before I felt like I could hold my own against the guys, and that was saying something, considering most of them had served in the military and brought the strict exercise regimens they learned home with them. Brody even spent some time training me, which he said was crucial if I ever wanted to do fieldwork.
Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I pushed open the door and headed down the hallway toward Brody’s office. His door was open, so I walked right in and sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk, trying to act as if I wasn’t listening to the conversation he was having with his wife, Gia, but it was nearly impossible when he sat back in his seat and met my stare.
“I should be home in a half hour, and I’ll go look for him.” He rolled his eyes, but he was grinning.
Shaking my head, I chuckled to myself when he continued. “You called Dad?” He leaned his head against the chair and listened before replying. “I know.”
I heard my phone ding and dug it from my pocket while he continued to talk. Smiling, I read the text from my sister.
Everly: Guess what?
Me: What?
Everly: I got the job!!
Relief flooded me when I read those words. I’d been trying like hell to get my sister to leave Florida and come live near me, but she refused until she found a job. She’d applied for so many I lost count, so I had no idea which one she was talking about.
Me: Where?
Everly: The nursing position I told you about with Dr. Campbell.
Smiling, I heard Brody say goodbye, but I didn’t take my eyes off my phone. Dr. Campbell’s office was in New Hope, which meant I could get her close enough to keep an eye on her and my niece.
Me: That’s awesome. Want me to start looking for apartments?
Everly: I’m already on it!
Me: Need to meet with Brody, but I’ll call you as soon as I’m done.
Everly: Okay!! Thanks, E!
Looking up, I met Brody’s eyes and shoved my phone back into my pocket. “Sorry about that.”
“Good news?” he asked with a grin.
I smiled. “My sister got a job here in New Hope.”
He nodded. “Good. I know you’ve been trying to get her here.”
“Yeah. Had no idea it would take so long.”
“Small town.” Brody reminded me of the one thing I constantly forgot, having grown up in a big city. Jobs aren’t always as easy to come by in a town the size of New Hope. “What job?”
“Nurse for Dr. Campbell.”
Brody’s grin widened. “Colin Campbell is a good friend of my brothers.”
“Which ones?” I asked sarcastically, considering he had six brothers.
“Ben and Jake went to high school with him.” He leaned his elbows on his desk. “Want me to say something to them? Have them tell Colin you’re her brother?”
I shook my head. “No, she wouldn’t want that. She wants to do everything on her own.”
“Sounds like you two have a lot in common.”
Chuckling, I nodded. “Guess so.” I pointed at the phone lying on his desk. “Everything okay?”
He grunted. “Damn cat got out. The girls are upset. Lexi called my dad, who’s made it his mission to organize a search party.”
I chuckled. “So just another normal day, then?”
He laughed along with me. “Pretty much.”
“You wanted to talk to me?” I reminded him, suddenly feeling anxious to get out of the office so I could call my sister and help her find a place. I wanted them as close to me as possible.
Brody exhaled loudly and sat back in his chair. “I’m taking you off installs for a while.”
I sat up taller, wondering where the hell this was coming from. I’d been on installs since I started, and even though Brody had been training me for fieldwork, I’d never been given an actual assignment. “Why?”
“Need you somewhere else.” Brody was a man of few words, but that answer was vague even for him.
“Want to give me more information?”
“Someone attempted to poison Beth.”
My eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah.” He ran his hand along the back of his neck. “Striker was with her. They ordered pizza, and after she ate a piece, she got sick. He rushed her to the hospital, and we had the pizza tested. It was positive for arsenic. Police are involved, and they have the pizza box as evidence.”
“Arsenic. Jesus.” I rubbed my hand over my forehead but dropped it when something occurred to me. “Striker didn’t get sick?”
“They ordered two pizzas because Beth likes Hawaiian, but Striker doesn’t. Mila said Beth’s a creature of habit. Does the same shit every day. Same routine and rarely strays. So when she orders pizza, she orders the same kind from the same place.” He paused. “Always has.”
“Only someone who's lived with her would know that.”
“Exactly.” Brody sat back in his seat. “This leads us to believe that Max Skinner is involved somehow. Except his prints aren’t on the box, which means he’s working with someone. It’s too much of a coincidence to ignore that Skinner gets released from prison, and within no time at all, Beth is in the hospital.”
“Why the hell didn’t anyone call me?”
“Kept it under wraps,” Brody admitted. “I wanted you to finish the install, and Chris, Landon and Pike to finish the jobs they were on. They’ll find out at the meeting Monday morning.”
I nodded. “Where do you need me?”
He sighed. “Not sure you’re gonna like it, but I’m putting you on surveillance.”
I shrugged. “I don’t mind that, especially if it means catching this bastard before he does something worse.”
He studied me. “You’ll be doing surveillance with Mila.”
Fuck.
I tried to control my expression, knowing damn well he was watching for one. My reaction to her the first day I met her in the office was not lost on Brody. He knew me well after all these years of working closely, and when I caught him watching me after Jax introduced us, I knew he saw it. He saw what I should’ve hidden, but in my defense, I’d never immediately reacted to a woman like I had that day. I had no idea how to handle it, and in the end, Mila looked away first.
“Not gonna ask if you think you can handle that because I have to put you where I need you.”
“I can handle it,” I reassured him, trying like hell to make it sound believable. “When do we start?”
“Tonight,” he replied. “Need you to get tabs on Max Skinner and find out what he’s doing with his time and who he’s associating with.”
“He still living with his cousin Rick?”
“That was a condition of his parole. As far as we know, he’s still there, but there’s no way in hell he’s just layin’ low. Striker saw him in New Hope and tracked him, but it led to nothing. I need eyes on him so Striker can follow some other leads and not be distracted by what he’s up to.”
“Makes sense,” I agreed.
“This can’t be a problem—” Brody began, but I interrupted.
“Won’t be a problem.”
“We need things to stay strictly professional between you two while you’re working together on this.”
“It will,” I insisted. “You have my word.” When he still looked unconvinced, I continued. “I was initially attracted to her, but I’m past that.” I shrugged. “Besides, she made it very clear she isn’t interested in men.”
While arguing with Striker over his concerns that everyone on our team would want to do more than just work with her, she announced she doesn’t fuck men. She said it just like that, clear as day, and we had no reason not to believe her, considering she was adamant and wasn’t in a relationship.
“Her interest in men is irrelevant. I saw the look on your face, brother. I’m not worried about her interest; I’m worried about you being able to stay focused sitting in a car with her for hours. I’m not sure her sexual preference changes how you see her.”
“It doesn’t,” I admitted. “But I hardly know her.” I shrugged, attempting to play it off. “So I like how she looks. That doesn’t mean I can’t do my job.”
“Good.” He seemed a little more convinced now that I admitted I was still attracted to her but had no plans to do anything about it. “You have any problems, you need to let me know. Nothing can interfere with this. We promised Beth we’d keep her safe in exchange for her help in taking down her brother, Daniel, and we intend to keep that promise.”
“I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to help with that.”
He nodded once. “Call Mila. She’s expecting your call. She did surveillance in her early days with the FBI, and her experience will be beneficial for a job like this.”
“Got it.” I pushed to standing when it was clear we were done. “Anything else?”
He stood and put his hands on his hips. “Let me know what you need to get your sister and niece here safely.”
My shoulders relaxed when I thought of my sister finally moving closer. “Appreciate that.”
“Any reason you’re so anxious to get her close?”
Smirking, I realized I should’ve known Brody would have also picked up on that. “Am I that transparent?”
“Not to the others,” he admitted. “But I’ve worked with you for years, most of the time just the two of us, which means I can pick up on things the others wouldn’t.”
“She’s had a rough time with her ex,” I acknowledged. “I need her close in case he decides he’s not done bothering her.”
Brody narrowed his eyes. “You want Kyle to do some digging?”
“Not yet,” I answered honestly. “The last time I went to Florida, I made it clear that I was watching, and he backed off.”
“But…” Brody encouraged me to continue.
“I don’t trust that he will in the long term.”
“He your niece’s father?”
“Between us, yeah, but he doesn’t know that. They’d broken up, and she found out she was pregnant. She told him the baby belonged to someone else, and he believed her.”
“Birth certificate?”
“She didn’t list a father.”
“She knew better,” he surmised.
“She knew if she listed him, it would give him ammunition. He doesn’t want Riley. He wants my sister, and there’s no way in hell that’s happening.”
“You got a whole team at your back, brother. One call to me, and we’ll take care of it.”
“I know that, but let’s get her here first. I’ll be able to breathe easier if she’s in the same damn town.”
“I get that.”
“Gotta go.” I pointed at the door. “Need to call Mila and my sister.”
“Call me in the morning with an update on both.”
“Will do,” I said before grabbing my bag from the floor and heading toward the door.
I suddenly had a hell of a lot to do, and in both situations, I would have to learn to control my emotions.
And only one situation felt impossible.