The Promise (Wolfe Creek Duet #2)

21

THEA

Wes, Damian, Sutton, and Adrian sit looking at me… waiting to hear why I’ve called this meeting. Clearing my throat, I try to keep my voice neutral. “I need to tell you all something, but I don’t want it to turn into a big deal or anything.”

Maybe that wasn’t the best way to start. All of them give me looks of concern.

“A detective has been asking about Gavin. Apparently, someone misses having the asshole around.”

Damian’s the one I’m most worried about. He’ll likely jump into action, trying to fix the problem. I turn my attention to him, needing to read his face for any signs of what he’s feeling. But he’s already doing the same to me. I smooth away any emotions that might betray me.

Finally, he speaks up. “What exactly did he say?”

This is where I lie. I go over the lines I’ve rehearsed. I need to balance between slight concern and not worrying much at all. “He asked when I last saw him and if I’ve heard from him recently. I told him that we talked at the carnival and that I haven’t heard anything since.” I shrug. “He gave me his card and told me to call him if I hear from him.”

Damian runs his skeletal tattooed hand through his waves. “Okay,” he responds calmly. “Thank you for telling us.” Well, that went better than I expected.

I lean back on the sofa, finally taking a much needed breath.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Adrian barks. “You’re just going to thank her?” He looks around at his brothers for back up. No one gives him anything.

Damian evenly replies, “Her coming to us took a lot. You don’t understand.” I feel guilty that he’s standing up for me when I know I’m not being completely honest.

Adrian scoffs and stands up, looking at his oldest brother. “No, I don’t understand. I don’t understand why no one’s concerned with her knack for attracting trouble. She has a detective following her around!” His swallowing black gaze bores into me and momentarily I feel like I might collapse under the weight of it. Then I push my shoulders back and solidify my commitment to this lie.

“You’re only concerned because you’re a murderer. And because you’re not supposed to be carrying a gun.” The words fly out of my mouth before I can stop them. I don’t care about Adrian’s feelings, but I know it might hurt Wes, Sutton, and Damian. I have to stand my ground, though, so I don’t apologize.

Adrian lunges toward me, but Sutton gets between us, foregoing his cane. He stumbles and I grab him to keep him steady. Wes jumps up to help, getting between us and Adrian.

“Relax,” he says with an edge of warning in his voice as he pushes his brother backwards.

Pointing a finger at me over Wes’ shoulder, he snarls, “You’re going to bring this whole family down, Havoc. And you don’t even care.”

An ember of rage ignites in me. He has no idea how much I care. He has no idea what I’ve been through and what I’m doing to keep them all safe. He has no idea what it’s like to be tormented by someone you loved and trusted. Adrian can’t possibly imagine what it’s like to watch yourself turn into the very monster you’re trying to fight off. And to know that your fate is inevitable, but you’ll gladly give up your freedom for the ones you love.

I harden my gaze. “Well, I wouldn’t be the first to bring this family down, now would I, Sparky? You and Cole have done a fine job of that.”

“That’s enough!” Damian roars. “I’m tired of the back and forth with you two. You don’t have to like each other, but you aren’t going to make things harder with all of this bickering.”

I cross my arms. Sutton sits back down next to me. Wes and Adrian do the same, taking their seats opposite us.

He’s made his point. And he’s right. Adrian and I have no reason to talk to each other. So, unless he says something stupid, he’ll get nothing from me. Asshole.

“I need to get to the studio.” I don’t bother saying goodbye to any of them in particular. I’d be lying if I said that Damian putting his foot down didn’t bruise my ego a bit, plus if I kissed him goodbye, I’d have to be near Adrian. “I’ll be back later.”

“Text me,” Damian calls out. I don’t reply. Of course I will. I don’t need him watching me anymore than he already does.

I’m forced to take Damian’s Audi again. He got tired of me arguing that I didn’t need the heat and could drive my truck again after the weather temporarily warmed up. He didn’t agree and confiscated my keys. I want my truck back. I want everything back to normal, but nothing’s been normal since all of this started months ago. I threw normal out the door as soon as I met Cole.

At least I was able to pull off lying about the detective. Adrian aside, no one questioned my story. In fact, his outburst was likely a good distraction from being asked anything further. Cassie will be happy to hear that. Tomorrow is when our plan really starts unfolding. I swallow down the thick anxiety balling up in my throat. This will work. It has to.

DAMIAN

Thea must think I’m stupid. I may not know what she’s up to, but I know there’s more to her story than what she told us. If anything about the last few months of knowing her has taught me, it’s that she thinks she can handle things herself. So she’ll downplay the truth.

I try to sort out all the thoughts racing through my mind. Her and Adrian’s issues. What she’s not telling me. And whether she realizes that the detective can very easily pull up Gavin’s phone records to see that they were communicating after July fourth. It’s only a matter of time before the detective catches her in a lie, if he hasn’t already.

I didn’t say anything to her because I don’t want her panicking. I also want her thinking that I fully believe her. On top of everything else I’m dealing with, I’m going to have to add keeping an extra close eye on Thea. And I have the impossible job of figuring out what exactly happened to Gavin.

Maybe I can head all of this off if I can track him down, dead or alive, and figure out a way to have Cole take the hit for what he’s done.

I’m acutely aware that my brothers are looking at me. Waiting. I wonder if they also have a feeling that Thea isn’t telling the whole truth, so they’re expecting me to tell them what the next move is. Being the oldest never gets easier.

Normally, I’d tell Sutton and Wes my plan to find Gavin. But this is a sensitive subject for Adrian. More than likely, my search will turn up Cole and I can’t have emotions getting in the way of what needs to be done. So, I’ll keep the plan to myself, but I need to tell them something.

Walking a fine line between truth and secrecy, I say, “I don’t have a good feeling about this detective and who knows if him being around is going to draw Cole out. He might get nervous that someone’s onto him and try to take control.” I eye Adrian, tailoring my words to keep him docile. “I’m not sure what this will mean for us, but he’s shown us that he has no issues hurting Thea, so I need your help.” I turn my gaze to Wes then to Sutton. “Thea needs the best shot possible if Cole decides to make an appearance. We may not always be around to step in.”

My brothers both look worried. The three of us share the dread of losing her, like we nearly did not so long ago. Protecting her is a top priority, however, it’s unrealistic to have one of us by her side constantly.

“What do you need us to do?” Wes asks, his dark eyes creased with concern.

I’m winging this. It’s a rare occasion for me not to have a plan in place. But I can adjust as I go.

I’ve already started training her on how to use a gun, although the motivation is much different now. We need to get back to the range again soon. I’ll also be tracking her and watching her phone activity more closely—there’ll be little she can get away with if I’m keeping an eye on her. “Wes, I need you to handle her workouts. Add in boxing, wrestling, self-defense… I trust your judgment, but be discreet. I don’t want her knowing that we’re suspicious.”

“What about me?”

Sutton’s still healing, so his part will be less physical and more emotional. Thea will need support and they have that kind of connection. “I need you to keep her grounded. She’s going to be under a lot of stress, so make sure she’s not bottling shit up. You know her better than all of us. If you sense that she’s hiding anything or not doing well, I need you to let me know.” He nods.

I stand and catch Adrian’s stare. “You know I’m not going to ask you to do anything, right?” I watch his face shift. Did he think I’d put Thea in his care somehow? “You don’t even like her,” I reason.

He leans back on the sofa. “I didn’t say anything, D.” Adrian might be able to convince himself with those words, however, he’s not fooling me.

I’m still not convinced that he’s okay with us not rehabilitating Cole if we find him. I shut down the idea when we first brought him home and he hasn’t said anything since, yet I can feel the undercurrent of animosity about that.

We’ve never had to remove someone from the pact, it’s new territory for all of us and as much as Cole is a danger to our lives, he’s still our brother. Sometimes your family has to draw the line and give you the consequences no one else will.

I need Adrian to focus on re-acclimating to regular life and on his tattoo shop. Maybe he just wants to feel useful or like he’s a part of the pact finally. If this was anything aside from protecting Thea, I’d gladly let him help. She’s too important for me to take that risk and trust that he’d have her best interests at heart if it came down to it.

“If I think of anything, I’ll let you know.” It’s a promise I don’t intend to keep, but maybe it’ll make him feel better, even if he’s acting like it’s no big deal.

I head off to my room. I need to sort all of this shit out before I start losing my grip on things. I also have a client meeting to prepare for. How am I supposed to juggle all of this?