Leverage (The Brannock Siblings) Read online

  "Ash! You need to talk to me, baby."

  Her eyes focused on his for a moment before her trembling lips parted. "Th-they sh-shot him. They sh-sh-shot my dad. Left him l-lying there. I need to… I need to help him."

  His already erratic heart pounded against his chest and that horrid sick ache he had been feeling since he left her earlier was about to make him black out.

  "Did you call the police already?"

  She shook her head and he cursed as he pulled her up to stand, her hands still clinging to his shoulders. "You need to call them, now! I'm going to go check things-"

  "No! He told me not to. He told me to go to you."

  "What?"

  She took a deep breath and tried to control the sobs that were tearing her apart. "He told me to go to you first, said you would help me."

  He was shocked and extremely confused. Liam would never tell her not to call the police. 'Call first, always'. The mantra had been deep-rooted into his skull since he was a kid.

  "Ash, baby, I need you to tell me exactly what he said," he demanded, keeping his voice calm so she wouldn't panic. He couldn't have controlled the endearment if he tried. She was his at the moment and his mind refused to think otherwise.

  She closed her eyes and tried to remember her father's words, pressing her fingers to her forehead. He couldn't help but catch his breath at how beautiful she was even when she was crying her eyes out. He mentally slapped himself, now was not the time.

  "I had my phone out to call and h-he grabbed my wrist to stop me," she said wearily. It was then that he noticed the blood on her hands and arms, on her tank top. "H-he s-said, 'Not yet. Go to Lucas, he'll know what you need. Lucas first.' Then he passed out. I couldn't do anything, though, because they came back."

  His entire body tightened at her words. She had been in danger and he had been lying in bed trying to ignore the horrible feelings he had.

  "Did they see you?" he choked out.

  She shook her head. "I hid in my closet. I heard them talking, then they left. I came over as soon as I could."

  "Where is he?" he all but barked out. He took a deep breath to stay calm, but was losing it fast.

  "In my room. I found him in my room right beside my closet. There was so much blood, Lucas. I think… I think he's…"

  "No, Ash. Don't. Wait here. Call the police. I'll be back as soon as I can." He grabbed his gun off of the table by the door where he had placed it when she fell into his arms, then tore open his door.

  "What if they come back, Lucas?"

  He turned back to her and saw the concern in her eyes. She was terrified. Afraid that he would get hurt, worried that she was never going to see her dad again.

  He bent down and lifted the shotgun off the floor, thrusting it into her hands. "Keep this with you. I have extra shells in the garage, go get them. Call the police from my landline. Don't tell them who you are, Ash."

  She nodded and her tears immediately started to subside. She was stronger than anyone could imagine. "Okay. Be careful."

  He didn't give her a response, just walked out his door and sprinted toward Liam Brannock's house, hoping against hope that he would find him alive.

  Hoping he wouldn't have to break her heart all over again.

  ***

  He watched as the paramedics lifted the stretcher into the back of the ambulance. Ash's cousin, Mark, nodded his way as he climbed into the back and shut the door. Thankfully, he had been with the first team to respond to the call. He had been the one to check the captain first and would be meticulous in taking care of things from here. Mark had made sure no one else had entered the room as they assessed the captain while Lucas had been doing his best to give a straight story to the responding officers while leaving Ash out of the scenario.

  There was chaos all around him. Lights flashing from all of the police cruisers, people shuffling in and out of the house, and neighbors dressed in robes and slippers hoping to catch a glimpse of what happened. So far, no media had made it out to the house and he hoped it stayed that way.

  Ash was still at his house and hadn't come out. He was desperate to get to her, but he had to take care of things here first.

  One of the officers handed him a leather jacket since he was in nothing but a pair of grey sweats and his feet still stung from the sprint he made to get to the house. When he had arrived, he went through the main level of the house, making sure no one had decided to come back. By the time he made it up the stairs, police sirens had sounded in the distance. He had walked into Ash's room and… he didn't want to think about it. Not yet. Everything had been so surreal and he hadn't been able to truly focus until Mark pushed him aside. After that, things had moved quickly.

  Rains stepped beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You okay, man?"

  His partner had arrived shortly after the first officers showed up and had been walking through the house and perimeter ever since, double checking everything.

  Lucas nodded, but didn't look at him. He kept his eyes on the tail lights of the ambulance as it turned the corner, lights flashing and siren blaring.

  "Did you call this in?" Justin asked as he took in Lucas' appearance.

  He didn't respond, just kept watching the darkness left behind by the one thing holding the last of Ash's happiness. He prayed to God that they hadn't been too late.

  "Guess we have to hand this over to Gibbs and Montgomery."

  That captured Lucas' attention. "Why?" he snapped.

  Justin startled and his eyes widened at the angry response. "The Banetti case. Tell me you aren't thinking that you can do both, Shade."

  "They're both connected. This was Banetti. I don't trust anyone else to handle the captain's anyway."

  "But-"

  "No! We were first in line. You know the rules. Plus, I'm not about to let someone else get the satisfaction of finding out who did this and taking him down."

  Justin sighed then nodded in agreement.

  Good, Lucas thought. I don't have the energy or the desire to try and convince you anyway.

  "Tell me what you want to do and let's destroy this mother fucker," Justin stated.

  Lucas nodded like he always did to acknowledge that he heard him, then turned and strode toward the front door. If Justin was as determined to find out who did this and how it was connected to Banetti, it was one less person he would have to worry about.

  "Hold up, Shade!"

  He looked up to the night sky and growled. Not now.

  Detective Jonathan Gibbs and his partner Ray Montgomery sidled up to Rains with sneers on their faces. "We're taking this one," Gibbs spit out. "You need to focus on Banetti and the information that just came in today. We can't have you trying to handle both."

  "I've got it," he bit out.

  "No, you don't got it. The captain pulled in a new lead today. Surprised he didn't tell you already since you two were chums. DEA wants this shut tight before anyone else is taken out."

  The fury that Lucas had tamped down when he had first saw Ash crying, rose up again. "Taken out?! Is that how you want to treat this? Like another fucking pawn has been tossed out of the game? The man has kids you bastard. A daughter who-"

  He stopped himself before he revealed the one thing that had continued to go right tonight. No one knew about Ash and he needed to keep it that way, otherwise, they could lose their position in this whole mess of an investigation. He didn't know who to trust anymore, but he sure as hell knew who not to trust.

  Justin stepped between them with his hands up and Ray Montgomery had the nerve to look just as resolved as his partner, but like much less of a complete asshole. "Alright guys, let's take a breath. We're all upset about the captain, but that's no reason to get out of control when the very family you are talking about needs us to find the bastards who did this."

  Lucas met his partner's gaze and nodded. Justin raised an eyebrow in question, obviously wanting to know what had gotten Lucas so on edge tonight.

  Didn't matter how
much he trusted the man. No one could know about Ash.

  Gibbs was watching the exchange curiously and muttered something under his breath to Montgomery.

  "Seems like that to me, too," Montgomery replied, loud enough for him to hear.

  The two of them had always been quite a pair, both with dirty blonde hair, both balding, both stocky and short. The only difference was Montgomery was normally a nice guy and tolerable in situations like this, but Gibbs made you want to shove his head up his ass. Something Lucas was having a hard time not doing.

  "Alright. Fuck protocol tonight," Rains stated. "Let's all go in. More eyes means more clues we don't miss."

  Lucas could agree to that. He didn't want to miss a damn thing. He wouldn't.

  He glanced back over toward his house as the men walked passed him, then took a deep breath and followed. He needed to get to her before she lost it completely, but he had to get to her closet first. He couldn't go back without the two boxes he knew were still there. She would be desperate for them.

  He knew her well enough to know it was what she needed right now.

  He thought back to what Ash had told him her father had said last. "He'll know what you need.”

  He was smart enough to know that there was a reason the captain had said those words.

  He just had to figure out what that reason was.

  ***

  It was after six in the morning by the time Lucas walked in his front door. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so completely exhausted. He could barely walk up his front steps without collapsing.

  Thirty minutes after the ambulance had disappeared, Lucas had gotten the call from Mark. The call that had torn his heart right out of his chest from what he was going to have to tell Ash.

  Her dad was gone. Her hero.

  It had taken every bit of strength he had to listen to Mark's words. They had tried to revive him, tried to save him, but there was nothing they could do.

  The second he got inside, he put his things down on the table next to the door and looked around for Ash, almost missing her when he passed his living room. She was curled up in a ball on his big leather recliner with her head hanging at an awkward angle and her hair covering her face. It looked like she hadn't meant to fall asleep, but hadn't been able to hold on any longer.

  He quietly walked over to her and gazed down at her tiny frame. She looked so small, almost lost in the cushions of the chair. She had always been so short, he remembered, like her mother, Isabelle. It didn't help his need to engulf her in his arms and protect her from anything that could possibly harm her.

  He reached out to brush the hair back from her face and she stirred at the contact. Her eyes fluttered open and when she looked up at him, he knew his world would never be the same. No matter how much he fought it or how much he didn't deserve her, he would always know she was it for him, and he would do anything for her.

  Anything.

  "Lucas?" she said, her voice nothing more than a whisper.

  His heart was still pounding hard against his chest, hadn't stopped since she had first pounded on his door. He knelt down in front of the chair as she straightened herself to face him.

  "What time is it?" she rasped and rubbed a hand over her eyes. They were red rimmed and swollen from all the crying she had done. He felt like such an asshole leaving her all alone without knowing what was happening. It must have been torture for her.

  "It's after six. I just got in." His throat felt raw and his voice was husky when he spoke. He didn't like feeling this way. So helpless.

  She looked down at her hands. They were shaking and she was trying to hold them steady while she took deep breaths. Trying to be strong when she didn't have any strength left in her. He reached out and grasped her hands in his, they were so cold and small, and he steadied them for her while he smoothed his thumbs over the silky skin of her knuckles.

  "Look at me, Ash."

  He needed her stormy grey eyes on his. He needed to make sure she understood what he was about to say. When her eyes lifted, he almost decided to lie to her, just so he wouldn't have to see her cry again. He couldn't do that, though, not when he needed her to trust him now more than ever before.

  "He's gone… isn't he," she stated softly.

  He couldn't get the words out. Couldn't tell her that everything was going to be okay, because he wasn't sure what the hell was going to happen now. Liam had found something, and he didn't get the chance to tell anyone before they took care of him.

  "I'm so sorry, baby."

  "I should have done something. I should have done CPR or… something. I didn't even check his pulse to see if he was still alive. Why didn't I do that? He told me to come here, so I did."

  He realized that he never did either. The ambulance had arrived quickly and there wasn't time to do anything at all but pray for a miracle.

  "It was someone who knew him, Lucas," she said fiercely. She looked like she was about to burst, but she didn't cry. She was letting herself be furious, which was the right thing to do, otherwise, she might not make it through.

  "How do you know that?" he asked, just now remembering that she had heard them talking while she had been hiding in the closet.

  "The guy knew he was 63 years old, had mentioned it to the other one, he knew that he had found something. He said they couldn't move forward until he was clear. He sounded so familiar, Lucas. I swear I had heard his voice before."

  "Shit, that could only mean what we had been thinking all along," he bit out and shook his head. He had trusted all the men he worked with. Every single one of them. Trusted them with his life. Now he knew for sure one of them had betrayed them all.

  "Dad was so upset when he got home. He said he found some things that may mean disappointment." She pulled a hand away from his and combed her fingers through her long hair. Then her eyes widened as if she just remembered something important right before that same hand covered her mouth and those eyes started to water again.

  "Oh, God. He knew they were going to come for him."

  "What?"

  "He hugged me like he was terrified, Lucas. Told me he loved me, like he was saying goodbye. He knew."

  She was sobbing now and new tears fell down her cheeks. He couldn't hold himself back anymore, he had to hold her, to protect her, comfort her. So he pulled her off the chair and onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her and locking her tiny body against his chest while she let it all out.

  "I'll find him, Ash. I swear to you, I'll find out who did this."

  "I-I need to go back there. I need to clean up and…" she sniffed and choked on her words.

  "You aren't going anywhere. You're staying here with me. I don't want you in that house alone and we can't let anyone know you are here."

  "But the funeral. They'll know anyway in a few days."

  "Then I have a few days to figure something out. For now, you live here, where I can keep an eye on you."

  She nodded, "I have to call my brothers."

  Damn! He didn't have a chance to think about that either. He had been so focused on getting back to Ash, he didn't let Conall and Fergus know what was happening. They would want to come to Oakland and help with the investigation, he knew it and he couldn't tell them no.

  "Why don't you get yourself together first. Take a shower and a few deep breaths. We have a lot to do and I need to make sure you are okay before I will be able to focus on anything else."

  "Okay," she whispered.

  He didn't like how agreeable she was being, like she had given up on taking her life into her own hands. It wasn't her, but he didn't say anything about it because it was probably the only time she would do what he asked from now on. She wasn't angry enough yet, but she would be.

  He set her up to shower in his bathroom and dressed so he could run back to her house and grab her some clothes. Everyone had cleared out of there already and wouldn't be back for a while.

  "Do you know what he meant?" she asked from the bathroom door
while he pulled on a shirt and shoes.

  "About knowing what you'll need?"

  She nodded.

  "Not yet. But I'll figure it out. I do know that you needed your things. The ones in your closet. They are on the table by the front door."

  Her shoulders sagged in relief and he figured she had been planning on getting those things as soon as possible. Thankfully she had showed him her secret spot so long ago or he would have to let her go back.

  "Thank you," she said and turned into the bathroom. Before she shut the door, she paused and looked back to him. "Did anyone see you get them?" Her spot had been a secret for so long, the one thing only her and her father knew about. It would be important to her to keep it safe.

  "No, I got it while everyone was heading out. No one saw me."

  At least he hoped no one saw him. He couldn't tell if the shadow he saw pass by her door out of the corner of his eye was his imagination or someone watching him. Everyone had been downstairs when he walked out of the room, though, so he knew he was only seeing things. He had been so tired. Why wouldn't he be seeing things that weren't there?

  "Good," she said, then shut the bathroom door.

  He hurried out of the house to get her things, planning on doing another run through the house to see if he could find anything else. The captain was a smart man. He wouldn't have found something and not tried to let someone know, especially since he was aware of the danger to his life. To his daughter's life.

  "I know you left a clue, Liam. Show me where it is."

  Chapter 5

  Ash

  I had washed my father's blood off of my hands after calling the police when Lucas left, but I felt his blood all over me now.

  Dad was dead.

  Could I have done anything more to save him?

  If I hadn't left so selfishly to go on a run, would I have been able to protect him? Or would I have been shot, too? Or worse.

  I couldn't get the image of his unconscious body out of my mind or the guilt I felt for just leaving him on the floor of my bedroom to run to Lucas.