Chapter 9
Luke peeked in on his mom after his shower. “You all set, Mom?”
“Hmm? Yes, dear, I’m fine. You don’t have to hover.” She was sitting up in her bed with a book open on her lap, and her foot up on a pillow.
“Yell if you need anything, okay? I’m right next door.” He drummed his fingers against the door jamb.
“Come here a second and close the door.” Mom waved him in and he did as he was told. She opened the drawer of her nightstand and pulled out something that made his eyebrows rise.
“Is that…?”
She nodded. “He’s been leaving a wad of money on the counter almost every night. Luke… there’s got to be a thousand dollars here.”
He clenched his jaw and ran a hand through his hair. “I can help with the bill once it gets here, if you don’t want to take his money.”
“It’s not that I don’t appreciate the help. Lord knows I would never ask, and I never charged either of you rent. But I’m worried. Where is he getting this money?” She rubbed a hand over her face. “You don’t think… my letter…”
Luke patted her shoulder. “I’ll get to the bottom of it, I promise.”
She tucked Aaron’s money away once more with a frown. “Be careful.”
He grinned. “Always am.” Then he kissed her forehead. “Get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Good night, Luke.”
Returning to his room, Luke went through the motions like he was going to sleep, turning off the lights, closing his curtain. But he shucked his lounge pants to reveal his black cargo pants, pulled on a jacket, black beanie, and his boots, then sat on his bed and waited.
Aaron wasn’t stupid. He didn’t leave right away.
About an hour later, Luke heard his brother’s door open before shutting quietly.
Then he heard footsteps padding down the stairs.
If Luke had been asleep, he wouldn’t have heard a thing.
Aaron even stepped over the fourth stair that had been creaking since Dad died before getting a chance to fix it.
Luke silently opened his bedroom door and heard the squeak of the side door. Stepping to his window, he watched Aaron go into the shed and pull out his bike, then noted the direction he drove off.
As soon as Aaron turned the corner, Luke bolted for the door.
Hawthorn Hills was deadly silent as Luke followed his brother at a distance. He kept his lights off so Aaron wouldn’t know he was being followed. Dangerous, yes, but Luke had done this before when following a perp. Heartbreak would cripple him if he thought about Aaron as anything else right now.
He followed the eBike to the trailer park on the outskirts of town and swore. It was poorly lit, and Aaron didn’t need roads with transportation built for off-roading. As Aaron escaped into the woods, Luke parked the car behind a darkened trailer and followed him on foot.
Fuck, he wished he could have put a tracker on that damn eBike.
It would have made this so much easier, but Ross would never let him take one for personal reasons.
He patted his jacket to reassure himself he had his weapon.
He’d have paperwork to fill out if he had to use it, but he’d only use it in self-defense. Or defense of his brother.
But he didn’t intend to fight tonight. This was a reconnaissance mission.
He followed the sound of the bike until it came to a stop.
There, ahead, a trailer with one light in the window.
It was the furthest back from any road, deep in the woods.
Luke pulled out his night vision binoculars from his pocket and zoomed in.
Aaron trudged through the detritus up to the trailer, and knocked.
The door cracked open, Aaron said something to whoever was on the other side, and then the door opened fully and let him inside.
Luke checked his surroundings for Aaron’s bike, then ducked behind a bush, keeping it between him and the trailer. He zoomed in on the trailer again, waiting for Aaron to come back.
A car came winding up the gravel road, right up to the trailer. Luke ducked his binoculars down so the driver wouldn’t notice the glare. So, there was a road up here, but Aaron didn’t use it on his bike. Someone else walked up to the door, and the cycle repeated. Where was Aaron?
Eventually Aaron came back out, with a package in his hand. Luke watched as he placed it in the crate he’d tied to the back of his bike and tied the lid down, then rode away.
But Luke was stuck until the driver of the car came out.
While he waited, he pulled out his phone and pinned his location.
When the door opened again, he quickly turned the screen off and pocketed his phone again.
The unknown driver also had a package, which he stashed in the trunk before getting behind the wheel and driving off.
Once he was certain the coast was clear, Luke backed away from the trailer and returned to his car. The packages Aaron and his — colleague? — both carried had been carefully wrapped to hide what was inside. But he knew how to find out.
Shit, what if Aaron got home before him and saw his car was gone?
Luke came up with a story of not being able to sleep and going for a drive while he returned to their house.
But Aaron wasn’t home yet. Thanking whatever deity had decided to smile upon him, Luke had barely turned the car off when he heard the telltale whirr of an electric bike engine. Aaron was home.
He slid down in the car and heard Aaron drive up to the shed, then lock his bike away. The front door opened and shut so quietly he hardly heard it. He waited for Aaron’s light to come on behind his curtain, then slowly opened the car door, and eased it shut silently.
Luke padded softly to the shed, unlocking it with the key he’d had since high school, back when it was his job to mow the lawn in the spring and summer. The door opened on silent hinges, and Luke slipped inside and closed it behind him.
Pulling out a tiny flashlight, Luke shone it on the crate on Aaron’s bike, tied shut with a rope in a simple double knot.
Easy enough to replace. He put the end of the flashlight in his mouth and tugged the rope open.
It fell to the ground. His heart pounded in his chest, and he wiped his sweaty palms on his thighs. What was his little brother up to?
The moment of truth had arrived. Luke lifted the lid of the crate and inhaled sharply through his nose. He switched the flashlight to his other hand to get closer. Unwrapping the plastic confirmed his worst fears. White powder filled the baggies in the crate.
Aaron was selling drugs.
Luke closed his eyes and pushed down the emotional ache. He’d have to treat this like any other crime scene. Luke took photos on his phone, then replaced everything just as it had been, tying the rope back around the crate so Aaron wouldn’t suspect a thing.
He replaced the lock on the shed and slipped quietly into the house. Taking his boots off, Luke crept up the stairs, skipping the fourth one that creaked. He ducked back into his bedroom and changed back into his lounge pants, but he couldn’t sleep.
What was he going to do?