Page 28 of Finding Home with You

“What’s this about?” he finally asks.

I let out a long breath. “I’m not sure,” I confess. “What do you know?”

Beck shrugs. “Not much to be honest. I met her way back when she used to vacation here with her family. She and Kels kinda latched onto each other, even though me and Kels were a thing and barely coming up for air back then,” he says, a small smile on his face as though he’s remembering back. “Then one day she just showed up here alone and never left,” he adds. “That was probably about a month before I fucked up and took off for Boston, I think.”

“And this family she used to come up here with?” I ask, taking a sip of coffee. “What do you know about them?”

Beck stares at me. “What’s this about, Ryan?”

“Did she come up here with her parents?” I ask, ignoring his question.

Beck takes a long sip of his coffee, his eyes still on me as though he’s trying to work out what the hell is going on here. I know I should just spill it all, but a part of me wonders if he’s been keeping secrets from me too. If maybe he knows more about the woman I’m sleeping with than I do.

“Her mom,” he eventually says, shrugging. “I never saw her old man, at least not that I can remember.”

I push out from the table, standing as I start to pace the room and try to put the pieces together. My sleep deprived brain somehow too slow to connect the dots.

“You know, this would be a lot easier if you just told me whatever the fuck it is that’s bothering you right now,” Beck says. “I might not be a cop anymore, Ryan, but I am still your friend.”

I take a deep breath as I reach into my trouser pocket and pull out the photo. “Recognize this guy?” I ask, sliding the photo on the table, my index finger hovering over the older male.

“Fuck,” Beck breathes out, long and low. “Isn’t that Fitzgerald?” he asks. “And didn’t I hear he’d been arrested a while back?”

“Yep,” I exhale. “It is and he was.”

“And?” Beck says, glancing up at me, a questioning look on his face.

“And,” I continue, moving my finger to the person standing next to him in the photo. “Recognize this person?”

Beck stares at me for a second or two before lowering his eyes to the photo. The second he sees her though I know I haven’t been imagining any of this. The recognition is instant and it’s written all over his face. She’s probably about the age she was when she first started coming up here.

“Holy fuck,” he whispers. “That's…?”

“Yep,” I say lifting my hand. “It is.”

“How the fuck is Erin connected to William Fitzgerald?” he asks, eyes still on the picture as he picks it up now as if to inspect it more closely.

“That’s what I was hoping you could help me with,” I say as I resume my pacing.

“You ask her?”

I shake my head. “No, got in a massive argument about this instead,” I add, gesturing to my arm.

“What’s this?” Beck asks.

I stop, turn to face him as I shrug and roll up my sleeve to expose the bandaged arm. “Little accident,” I say. “Two nights ago when we had the warehouse takedown. Got a tip about some guns and when we went in, we were ambushed. Caught a stray bullet,” I add.

“Jesus Christ, Ryan, you okay?” Beck asks.

I nod. “Yeah, it’s superficial, nothing serious,” I reply, knowing the bullet Beck was on the receiving end of last year was far worse than this one.

Beck shakes his head a little, as though he too is remembering previous events. “I’m glad you’re okay, but I gotta say, I can see why Erin would be worried,” he says. “And pissed off,” he adds.

I nod. “I know, okay, I probably should’ve told her or something, but I was too fucking pissed about this,” I add, gesturing to the photo he’s still holding. “We found it that night,” I explain. “It was in the warehouse, like someone who was there had dropped it and escaped before the shit all hit the fan.”

“Fitzgerald’s crew is connected to the gun thing?” Beck asks, his cop brain kicking back in as he starts to put all the pieces together.

I nod. “Yeah, it would seem he’s got some little protégé running things now he’s behind bars,” I confirm. “But my bigger worry in all of this, is how Erin’s connected to it all.”

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