Page 19 of Justified Lies
“Absolutely nothing. Seriously. But it’s a vibe I have. Bad juju dancing around you and Eden. She needs you by her side. Don’t fuck that up.”
Fuck, she was right. What the hell was he trying to prove by being here?
“I get it, like I said, but we can only go so far protecting the people we love. Sometimes, the live and learn aspect is the most important part of a relationship that fails.”
“You just said you turned in your brother’s girlfriend.”
“First of all, she was wanted for a felony. Second of all, I’m cool with Aaron dealing with his own girlfriends. If you saw how many women he had while he was fighting…” she rolled her eyes. “And even now. Not that I’m a prude, it’s just gross thinking about my brother that way.”
“But you turned her in.”
“Because of the financial aspect of it. Treat my brother like the skank he is? I’m okay with that. But go after his money? Fuck that.”
Before he could respond, his phone rang. It was a blocked number. Only one other person had his burner cell number.
“What the fuck are you doing outside of TFH?” Lila, aka Sam, demanded.
“Funny thing, Emily asked the same question.”
“That’s because she’s brilliant. I know you want to make Hanson pay for hurting your sister, but we both know what’s going on.”
Yeah. Guilt. If he hadn’t gotten picked up and tortured, Eden wouldn’t have gone rogue to get him.
“So, get out of there. Take Emily out for dinner.”
“Are you insane?”
“No. I think she might be there to save you from being an eejit.”
“Fine.”
“Good, now I have some research to work on. Go away.”
With that, she hung up.
“The women in my life are a pain in the ass.”
“I love you, too, Elwood.”
He sighed. “Where do you want to eat?”
Another blinding smile. “Side Street Inn.”
He started up the car. He knew they were all right, but something was wrong, beyond that, all of their suspects kept getting off’d, and watching the watchers usually worked for him.
He would just need another tactic, or the brewing storm would drown both him and Eden.
Four
“Oh, look, people to bug me,” Charity said as both he and Graeme walked into her lab.
Charity Callahan was the forensic genius for TFH. The African American beauty was married to their FBI liaison, TJ Callahan. She was just starting to show, which meant she must be about six or seven months pregnant. As someone who was into everything superhero and pop culture, she tended to dress as if she were going to a comic con. Today was no exception. She wore a maxi dress with what looked to be tiny Thor hammers all over it. Seeing that her husband’s nickname was Hammer due to being named after the Norse superhero, it made sense.
“You know you wanted to see us,” Graeme said.
She rolled her eyes. “I would if I had anything, but I have nothing.”
“Are you telling me there is no forensic evidence from the murder?” Kap asked, frustration starting to brew. They were less than twenty-four hours into the investigation, and it was starting to get annoying. They knew who the victim was, but his former career had left their investigation in a mess. As usual, the CIA refused to help out with any contacts from Green’s career. National Security. Assholes.
