Page 15 of Played

“Can I go inside with Caleb?”

Da looks at my face. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You look like you went on a round with Mike Tyson, son.”

I wave. “It’ll be fine, da. He got it out of his system.”

“You just be sure and never let a lass come between you and your brothers.” Da says, lifting his brows for emphasis.

“I think it’s a little late for the lecture, da.” I say, pointing to my broken nose.

He smiles and tousles my hair. “You go on in, then. He’s just inside that door.” Da gestures with his chin at the door in front of us. It’s unmarked.

I rise and go to the door, noting that nobody is stopping me. Inside is another room, with another door, and wooden benches built into the wall, for seating. The glass enclosed offices behind the wall are closed, as the lights are off. It looks like a place where perps come to get booked, and I’m guessing that’s what it is, since Caleb is waiting to see Nathan here. A light turns on and someone walks around, behind the glass, just as I walk in. The officer doesn’t even look up, like he’s trying to pretend that I’m not here. Caleb is scrolling through his phone, and he looks up, glancing at first the officer behind the glass, then at me.

“Ethan. What are you doing here.” He asks, tone slightly deflated, like he was expecting someone else, and is disappointed.

“Went to check on Peg and Laney first. Thought I’d come here and see how things were going. Da told me you were in here. He’s just waiting on Clyde.”

“Aye. I know. I’m waiting for them to finish questioning Nathan, and then I’m going to take a round out of the bastard myself.”

“Who is this Nathan to you, anyway?”

Caleb folds his hands together, parting his knees further. “He was one of Gretchen’s sponsors.” Gretchen was Peg’s mama. The one that died recently. She was a recovered drug user. “Never met the man, but Laney figured it out. The bastard.”

“And he’s from Scotland?”

He nods. “Aye. He came here to take Peg. Son of a bitch. That’s how come he knew Peg would go with him. He should burn in hell for this.”

I lower my head. “Well, I’m glad to see you’re angrier at him than at me.”

“Don’t kid yourself, brother. I’m still plenty vexed at you.”

“Caleb, to be fair, you have secrets, too.” I level with him. “You never told any of us about Gretchen and Peg. And you know as well as I do that I’d never have a child harmed. If I knew that my affair with Freya would harm anyone, you would have been the first to know, and that’s the truth.”

“A lot of good it is for you to tell me this now, Ethan. Look at the mess we’re in.”

“Caleb, you can’t, in all fairness, blame me for this. I know you don’t want to hear it, but even if Freya had fudged over the funds, Nathan jumped ship, man. She would have never been able to place the funds in Wesley Higgins’s account that fast, and from what I understand, you didn’t even record his account information to begin with, so how this is all my fault, I can’t say.”

His jaw muscles are working. I can see him grinding his teeth together in anger. “Look, Ethan, this isn’t the fucking time, man. I’m worked up over Nathan, and I’m ready to fuck him up. Unless you want to come in with me to make sure I don’t murder the bastard, you’re wasting your time.”

“If that’s what I can do to help, brother, I’ll do it.” I tell him.

The officer behind the glass, opens the little slit window, and sticks his head out. “You can go inside now. Wait for the door to buzz.” He says tersely, like just giving us instructions is taxing.

I rise and grab the door, as it buzzes, letting us in. Behind the door is a small cavity, and lining the walls are jail cells, just like in the movies. Inside one of the cells, deep in the back, is who I can only assume is Nathan Mackenzie. He’s sitting on a metal bench, against the wall, hands in his hair, looking every bit as fucked as he is. “You’re lucky the bairn is unharmed, man, because if she wasn’t, I’d fucking kill you, man.” Caleb practically growls, as Nathan lifts his head.

“Save your breath.” Nathan says, defeated.

“I don’t think so, lad. Not when you tried to kidnap my kid. You’re lucky there are bars separating us.”

He lifts a hand. “I get it.” A sigh. “Look, I’m getting extradited, anyway. Not like I was planning to stay in this shithole.”

“My heart bleeds.” Caleb sneers. His hands are at his waist. He gestures with his chin. “Why’d you do it, man. Why’d you get yourself mixed up in this shit.”

He chuckles without mirth. “Money.” A sniff. “Look, I mean no ill intent towards Gretchen, but all the money she was getting from you, she didn’t give me a dime, and I snorted everything away. I needed the money, man. You’d never understand.”

Caleb’s lips purse into a scowl. “You make me fucking sick. I’m glad she never gave you any of it.”

“I am, too, man. Believe me, I’m not proud of this. That’s why I ran. I’d had enough. After you started coming after me, I figured Wesley wasn’t paying me enough to get killed. And I told him I wasn’t laying a finger on the lass, either, so you can rest assured. As far as Wesley was concerned, she could have been thrown in a ditch, but I know her, and I knew her mama, and I made sure that she wasn’t going to get hurt.”

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