Leverage (The Brannock Siblings) Read online

Lucas didn't look back as he was dragged down the hall to the elevators. Rains called after him saying something about making things right, but he didn't pay attention. The only thing on his mind was Ash and what she was going to do if she found out about this.

  The elevator doors closed on the three of them and Lucas looked over at Gibbs. "Did you really have to be so rough? My shoulder is killing me."

  He chuckled and pushed the button for the underground parking garage instead of the floor where the cells were. "Had to make it look realistic, right? No one would have believed it if I treated you like a kitten."

  Lucas shook his head and smiled, "I don't think anyone would be able to picture you with a kitten, Gibbs."

  The man chuckled again, "True. Justin seemed sincere, eh?"

  Lucas nodded solemnly, "Yeah, I think the guy just wants to help me, but I can't let him. He may be older than me and more experienced, but he's still a kid."

  "Well, he's there if we get desperate. Theresa is going to be here most of the night with all the shit I got her doing. She's going to give me hell when I start."

  "Don't be so sure. Justin's company will probably make it worth it for her." He lifted his arms behind him, gesturing at the cuffs around his wrists, and quirked an eyebrow. "Let's get this over with."

  Gibbs unlocked his cuffs and Lucas pulled out his phone to dial Con and Gus. It was 3 o'clock in the afternoon, they only had a few hours to set everything up before the rest of the detectives took off. He wondered briefly what Ash was doing and felt the urge to call her and check in, but he wouldn't.

  "You ready, Luke?" Gus answered.

  "More than ever."

  Chapter 11

  Ash

  All day, I had been feeling nervous. On edge.

  From the second Lucas left for work, my heart had thumped loudly in my chest, my head had pounded, and I couldn't focus on anything. The night before had been unforgettable. He had made love to me throughout the night despite my arguments for him to get some rest.

  "I can't not touch you, Ash," he had said.

  I smiled, remembering how I woke him up this morning. His alarm had sounded, but I quickly shut it off before it could wake him completely. It always took him a few seconds to actually hear his alarm every morning. He stirred and turned onto his back and the sheet had been kicked down his body until it was just covering his hips and tenting from his morning erection.

  I stifled a giggle then slid down the bed until I was straddling his knees. He didn't even move when I reached out and caressed him with my fingers, but when I slid my lips over him and pulled him into my mouth, he groaned in his sleep and lifted his hips, pushing further. I never thought it would be such a turn on to do something like that for him, but it was. I wasn't completely sure what I was doing, but I think I got it right because he woke up and raked his fingers through my hair before tugging on it to lift me off of him and telling me he was already close to coming.

  I ignored him and took him into my mouth again while using one hand to work him enough for him to finish. He tried to pull me off him once more, but it wasn't a very valiant effort and I wasn't planning on moving. When he came with a roar, I found myself panting from my own arousal and he pulled me over his body and kissed me fiercely before rolling us so he was stretched over me, grinding against me. I hadn't been planning on taking anything for myself and I told him that.

  "Get ready for work, Lucas, then come back and take care of me tonight."

  He smiled widely before kissing his way down my body. "Why not take care of you now, then again when I get home. If you are half as desperate for me as I am for you all day, it would be cruel to leave you like this."

  I stopped protesting when he swiped his tongue over my entrance, taking my breath away. He knew exactly how to touch me, how to make me frantic for him. He slid his fingers inside of me and found a rhythm that brought me to the edge faster than ever before and when his lips wrapped around my clit, my body detonated with my release and he didn't let up until after the last wave coursed through me.

  I didn't move from the bed while he got ready for work, but I watched him and ached all over again at the sight of his muscles flexing and releasing when he dressed. He had always had a beautiful body, took care of himself and worked out, but his body had become near perfect in the last seven years. He kissed me long and slow once more before telling me he loved me, then walked out the door.

  Now, the very thought of what happened this morning was making me feel like I was about to lose it. I knew exactly how desperate he was for me all day because that is how I had felt for most of my life, but today was different. I was desperate to see him just to know he was alright.

  It had been five hours since my brothers stopped by and told me to stay put. They didn't have to really tell me to do anything because, seriously, what else was I going to do? But the way they said it was strange and made me feel like a caged lion.

  Obviously, they were serious about me staying out of sight, but this time they had a look on each of their faces that said they were hiding something from me. It was the same look they had given my mom time and time again and never got away with it, but I wasn't my mother and I didn't want to know what they were hiding. Knowing would only make it worse. Right?

  The niggling fear in the back of my mind forced me to keep my mouth shut, so I let them go without another word, but I hadn't heard from anyone and Lucas said he wouldn't be home until late, but he also said he would check in from time to time.

  I hadn't heard a word.

  I was pacing his bedroom floor, back and forth, tugging on my hair, clutching the locket hanging just above my heart, and trying to think of a way to take my mind off of it. TV didn't work, reading didn't work, I had cleaned the entire house from top to bottom, done the laundry… I still couldn't sit still. I wanted to see him. To know he was safe, then he could take off again and do his thing and I would be able to relax a little bit.

  I picked up his landline one more time and dialed his cell.

  No answer.

  I had called a few times since my brother's left, hoping he wouldn't be too annoyed with me. I wasn't trying to be clingy, I was just worried out of my mind. I had left a voicemail with the first call, thinking he would call me when he had a moment and hoping that not hearing from him yet meant he was just too busy to call.

  "How the hell did Mom do this all the time?" I asked myself and slammed the phone down in its cradle when it went to voicemail once again.

  Another hour. Nothing. It was now 9 o'clock and my heart was racing. One of them would have checked in by now if everything was okay. They wouldn't leave me to wonder and worry.

  Right?

  "Something's wrong," I whispered to no one.

  I picked up the phone again and dialed another number. He had given me his desk number the first day I had seen him since coming home. Told me to only use it in emergencies, that he would always answer his cell, but in the off chance he didn't, and I needed him, to call that number.

  This was an emergency to me. If I didn't get confirmation that he and my brothers were safe, I was going to have a freaking heart attack.

  It rang several times before someone picked up, but it wasn't Lucas.

  "Rains."

  I hesitated. His voice over the phone sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it and I felt anxious from the moment I heard it. Lucas hadn't told his partner that I was in town, but not because he didn't trust him. It was because he couldn't take the risk of trusting anyone with my safety.

  "I'm looking for Lucas Shade."

  "Oh, umm, right. I guess this is his phone. He isn't in right now, though, can I take a message for him?"

  "Umm, no. Yes. I…" Shit! I was totally screwing this up. I shouldn't have called at all, I should have just waited to hear from someone.

  "Ms. Brannock? Is that you?"

  Double shit!

  "Umm, I just need to speak with Lucas Shade, please. Can you-?"

  "Aislinn, if that
's you, I need to know. We got a problem."

  My heart stuttered and I clutched the phone tighter, my knuckles going white.

  "It's me. What's happened?"

  "Lucas was arrested this afternoon."

  "What?! Why?"

  "He is being accused of your father's murder and leaking vital information about the Banetti case. He doesn't have any kind of alibi and there is some suspicious evidence against him. I don't think he is going to be able to get out of this."

  Lucas was going to kill me, but I couldn't let him continue to hide me when I was the only one who could prove them wrong. I told him what I would do if his career was put in jeopardy. "No, he is innocent and I can prove it."

  "How?"

  "It wasn't safe to tell anyone, but I've been here for weeks now. I was there the night my father was killed. Lucas was just trying to protect me ever since my father got that threat. They said I could be used as leverage and they didn't want to risk me leaving town alone. I've been staying with Lucas for a while now."

  "Wait. You are still in town?"

  "Yes. I am. I can vouch for him. My brothers can, too. Let me get a hold of them."

  "No! They… they are here," he stuttered. "They've been trying to help him, but they weren't here that night. We are going to need you to come in. We gotta help Lucas or his whole career will be destroyed."

  "Okay."

  "I'll send your brothers over to your father's house, can you make it over there safely?"

  "Yes, I can."

  "Okay, Aislinn. Head over there and sit tight. They will be there shortly. And… thanks for your help. I know it's a risk to you, but Lucas is a good man. He doesn't deserve this."

  I nodded, knowing he couldn't see it, but not caring whether or not he knew I agreed with him. Lucas was in trouble, because of me. If I would have just stood up to everyone and done what I knew I needed to do, none of this would have happened.

  I changed into some jeans and a sweater and hurried over to my father's house, locking the door behind me and keeping all the lights off. I sat on the couch for several minutes, waiting. I was terrified for Lucas, but I was also furious at my brothers and the Brannock in me didn't want to let that fury go until I had screamed at one of them, which I needed to do right now.

  I ran up to my room and grabbed my cell phone off of my dresser. It had been off for weeks, but now that I was certain me staying invisible didn't matter anymore, I needed it to take my anger out on one of my brothers.

  If they knew that Lucas had been arrested… and didn't tell me…

  I turned it on and scrolled through the names, finding Conall first. I hit SEND just as a knock came to the door and startled me. The phone almost slipped out of my hands, but I caught it, accidently ending the call.

  I didn't think before I made it to the stairs, assuming it was my brothers at the door, ready to get an earful and take me to Lucas. The second I hit the first step and another knock sounded, I froze.

  They wouldn't be knocking.

  "Aislinn, it's Justin Rains," the shout came from the other side of the door. "Don't be afraid of me. Your brothers sent me. They wanted to hang back and stay with Lucas."

  My brow furrowed with confusion. Not true.

  My brothers wouldn't have sent someone else to get me. They were too protective of me to do that and Lucas wouldn't have let them stay behind.

  Something wasn't right.

  I backed up and stood at the top of the steps.

  "You can trust me, Aislinn. I just want to help."

  I realized he must have been able to see me through the window on the side of the door. Lucas had watched me descend the stairs the night I snuck out. I could see his shadow in the window since all the lights inside were still off.

  "Aislinn, open the door!" he shouted and pounded on it again.

  I couldn't move.

  I couldn't breathe.

  My brothers' words that afternoon ran through my head again.

  "If it's not one of us, don't trust them."

  How could I have been so stupid?

  "Open the God damn door, Aislinn!"

  I started to back away from the stairs. That's when the front door crashed open, the sound of splintering wood deafening in the silence of the house.

  I screamed and bolted to my bedroom, my cell phone still clutched tightly in my hands. I needed to get to my closet, then call.

  I shut the closet door as soon as I crawled in and pressed the small button to unlatch the small door that would protect me. I crawled through and clicked it shut, trying to steady my breathing as quietly as I could. I stayed crouched on the floor knowing my legs wouldn't hold me up. I would just wait him out. He would have to leave from fear of being discovered before he ever found me.

  "We could have done this the easy way, Aislinn," Justin shouted from the stairs. His footsteps were getting closer and I unlocked my phone and dialed Conall once more, praying he would answer before the bastard made it to my room.

  It rang twice before Justin's voice boomed from my bedroom door.

  "You little bitch! I knew I should have taken you out at the airport. You Brannocks are clever. I didn't even think to check whether or not you got on that plane. Just sent one of my guys to Ohio to get you, but low and behold, you weren't at your old apartment. You've been here the whole time."

  The call went to voicemail, but I couldn't speak. My mind screamed at me to say, "Justin Rains is the leak. He killed Dad," but my mouth wouldn't form the words because I finally realized why his voice sounded so familiar.

  It was the same voice I heard the night my father was killed. The same voice I heard from this same spot.

  My fingers shook and I nearly dropped the phone. He won't find me, I thought frantically. I opened my mouth to say the words that would fix everything, but my closet door crashed open and a foot came through the wall above my head. The phone fell from my hands as I screamed and a hand shot through the hole and came down on my head, pulling my hair before slamming my head against the wall.

  "Still choosing the hard way I see," he sneered.

  I clawed at his hand, trying to force it to release my hair, but it was pointless. There was no way to get away from him if he let go anyway. I was trapped and now my head was spinning from the blow.

  "Open it, bitch, or I'll do more than smack you around."

  My body stilled and icy fear slid through my veins as terrifying images ran through my mind. I open the small door a moment later and when he yanked me out of my hiding spot, there was only one thought going through my head.

  Lucas.

  ***

  Lucas

  "This is bullshit!" Gus shouted as we stepped into the elevator at the station. "This is going to take us months, Luke."

  They had been following the other detectives for hours now and every single one of them had pretty much gone straight home to their wives or girlfriends and gone to bed. They had spent the afternoon setting up cameras and wire taps throughout a few of their houses and still had a couple to do, but it was getting late and they had decided to head back to the station and regroup.

  Lucas was just as frustrated as Gus, but he knew it wasn't as simple as following a few guys and having a neon sign pointing to the one they were looking for. He had just hoped, that's all.

  "I know, Gus, but we are a few steps closer."

  Gibbs and Montgomery were just as frustrated and both of them had already expressed their anger, but they didn't say much more. None of them really trusted each other still and it was just getting sad now.

  The elevator door opened and they all stepped out.

  "Shit, I left my phone in the car, I'll be back up in a bit," Conall called after them before he pushed the button to go back down.

  Lucas checked his phone again and saw another call from his landline in his house. He had felt like such an asshole when he didn't answer her calls. He knew she was worried about him, her voicemails had said so, but he had been with Gibbs most of the night
and didn't want to speak with her unless it was in private. He pocketed his phone again, deciding to call her as soon as he could be alone.

  They headed toward the offices with their heads hanging and their eyes drooping. It had been a long day and Lucas wanted nothing more than to climb into bed next to Ash's warm body and hold onto her until morning, forgetting everything around them for just a little while.

  "I thought Rains was supposed to be here," Gus stated as he plopped down in said detective's chair and spun.

  Lucas eyed his partner's desk and looked around the room. "Yeah, he is. Maybe he is still out with Theresa." He turned to Montgomery who looked a little uneasy. "Didn't you say he was still taking her out."

  He nodded and shrugged, "That's what she told me this afternoon when we got back from hauling you out of here."

  "We can check, you know," Gibbs said with a grin.

  "You know where they were going?"

  He shook his head, "Nope, but he has a tracker."

  "What the hell are you talking about?"

  "You didn't know? I was sure Brannock would tell you…" he shrugged and perched himself on Lucas' desk. "The night the captain died, I ran into him on his way out of his office. He looked pissed and I asked him what was going on. He said he was working on a new program to track everyone, keep an eye on all the officers, detectives, pretty much everyone and not just because he didn't trust anyone, but because if something happened to one, we could easily find them. He said he couldn't figure out how to get the software working and was going to wait until the morning to get someone in here to help him out. I'm pretty good with computers, so I told him I could help him. He showed me the program and I got him set up, but that was it. It was still just in trial mode and he was just going to test it out to see if it actually worked before saying anything."

  "And how was he going to do this? Put trackers on vehicles?"

  He shook his head, "No. Badges."

  "Badges," Lucas repeated. "So the plan wasn't to keep this from everyone?"

  "Hell no! He wanted everyone to know that he had eyes on them, but he hadn't gotten there yet. It was something he was still trying to clear, he just wanted to get a head start on it."