Page 35 of Stay in Your Lane!

Colin pressed his lips together. “I get it. I really do. But youknowwhy I’m saying you should leave it alone.”

I could feel Everett’s inquisitive gaze fixed on me, but I stayed focused on Colin. “Yeah. I do. And after what happened to you, you should be evenmorepissed aboutthis.”

“I am,” he growled. “I can be fucking pissed—and I am—but still not want my own brother getting tangled up in it and getting himself killed.”

“Thenyoulook into it!” Everett snapped. “That’s why we got in touch with you!” He threw up his hand—the one that wasn’t being weighed down by my hand on his forearm—and scoffed. “You have a badge and all the training and?—”

“And the real-world experience to know exactly how quickly something like this can backfire,” Colin gritted out. Then he closed his eyes and pushed out a breath. “Listen. I’ll see if I can get my hands on the case files and the M.E.’s preliminary report, okay? It’ll probably take a day or two. Then we can try to get the state bureau involved. See if they’ll look into it.”

Everett squirmed beside me. “But what if what’s in the files does point to a suicide?” He gestured with his phone. “They didn’t photograph the same things we did.”

“Not of the scene, no. But the M.E. will have photos of the body, including that shoe impression, plus the body still as it was found at the scene. If investigators are overlooking obviously irregular details, it’ll be clear, and it’ll be enough to get a state detective interested.” He paused. “I’ll do what I can, all right?” He pointed sharply at us. “But donotgo sniffing around or rattling cages about this until you hear from me again. Got it?”

I nodded. After a moment of reluctance, Everett sighed and did the same.

Colin had to get back out on patrol, so I walked him to the door. On the porch, he faced me and lowered his voice. “Be careful with this shit, Kyle. You’re smart, and you’ve got good instincts.” He tipped his head toward the living room behind me. “Not everyone does.”

I could read between those lines—keep your sidekick on a leash so he doesn’t get himself killed.

“Text me when you have something,” I said.

“Will do.” He lowered his voice a little. “And do not tell Dad about this. You feel me?”

“I won’t tell him.” I knew better—our father would shut this shit down so fast our heads would spin. He wasn’t a dirty cop per se, but he strongly adhered to the Blue Code of Silence.

Apparently satisfied I’d keep my trap shut with our dad and keep Everett on a leash, Colin left, and I went back inside.

Unsurprisingly, Everett was fuming. He’d gotten up off the couch and was pacing furiously by the aquarium. “What the fuck?” He flailed a hand. “Are all the cops in this town either dirty or cowards?”

“He’s…” I sighed, leaning my butt on the couch’s armrest. “He just knows how shit works in this city.”

Everett whipped around to face me, confusion and maybe even some hurt slipping into his expression. “You don’t buy into it, do you? You’re not—We’re not letting this go.” He swallowed. “Are we?”

“No,” I whispered. “But Colin has firsthand experience with how things work in this town, and not just because he’s a cop himself.”

“What do you mean?”

I chewed my lip and folded my arms loosely across my chest. “During his second year, Colin busted another cop for a DUI.Not her first, either. She tried to get out of it with her badge, but he took her in.” I sighed, letting my shoulders sag. “The entire precinct and our whole family came down on him for it. He almost quit because of it.”

“What? Why? She could’ve killed someone!”

“I know. But Colin’s fourth generation cop. The whole family is rabidly against cops ratting out other cops.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Everett said, rolling his eyes.

“I know. That’s…” I scratched the back of my neck. “That’s why I’m not a cop, to tell you the truth.”

“Yeah?”

“Mmhmm. I was planning on going to the academy that year. Be a cop just like almost everyone in my family. But watching Colin fighting to reestablish himself as a trusted cop among both his colleagues and our family?” I shook my head. “I wouldn’t be able to do that. I just couldn’t.”

“Then why did we even pull him into this?” Everett pushed out an exasperated breath. “If you knew he was going to try to shut us down, why bring him into the loop?”

I hadn’t expected his anger to be directed at me, and I tensed. “Because he has access to things we don’t?” I gestured at the door. “He can get his hands on reports and files we can’t, and even though he wants us to back off, he’s still getting those things for us!”

“And then what? He’ll tell us to be quiet anyway? To stay out of it?” He crossed his arms. “I don’t care about cops and their ‘snitches get stitches’ bullshit. This guy was murdered, and I want to find out who did it!”

“So do I! But snitchesdoget stitches, so?—”

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