CHAPTER SIX
Eddie McBride was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking Dr. Pepper from a giant Whataburger cup and checking email on his phone when his brother came home.
Jack looked like shit; pale, dark circles under his eyes, his tie loosened, his collar unbuttoned. It was weird, disturbing, to see his brother look like a drunk coming home from a bender, like he was living in some alternate universe where Eddie was the responsible one, where Eddie cleaned up messes Jack made. Sure, Stillwater was different than most towns, but it wasn’t that out of whack with reality.
Eddie watched as Jack made coffee as quietly as possible. “Hey, man. Brought you some taquitos,” Eddie said.
Jack’s brow furrowed. “You in Yourkeville this morning?”
“Had a hankering for taquitos. Sleep at the station again?”
Jack filled the coffee urn with water in silence. He placed the empty glass urn on the burner and clicked the pot on. “You off to work?”
“In a minute,” Eddie said.
Jack sat at the table and fished a taquito out of the bag. He unwrapped one and took a bite. After he swallowed, he said, “We need to talk.”
“About?”
“Your boss. Your job. Why’d you go to work for Joe Doyle of all the businesses in the county?”
“I saw their NOW HIRING sign. I stopped in, and Matt hired me on the spot. The day Julie returned to the loving bosom of her family, as a matter of fact. I didn’t even know who Joe Doyle was. Barely know him now. Why?”
Jack ate the taquito in three bites. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and reached for another. “I find it interesting my brother, who’s been in and out of trouble with drugs for his entire life, so happens to go to work for the biggest drug lord in Yourke County.”
Eddie laughed. “Joe Doyle’s a drug lord? I don’t buy it.”
“Why’d you go to work there?”
“I told you why.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Eddie lifted his hands in surrender. “I don’t know what to tell you. Besides, I’ve never seen anything illegal going on.”
“They’re good. You being on their payroll gives them another layer of protection.”
“How do you figure?”
“They think I’ll go easy on them to save you.”
Eddie laughed. “They don’t know you very well.”
“I bailed you out when you rode into town. Driving eighty with a gram in your pocket. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you did it on purpose.”
Eddie glared at his brother when what he wanted to do was smile. Jack was a damn fine cop. “I’ll quit then. If Doyle is involved in drugs, I don’t want to be involved. I get another strike and I’m going down for twenty years. Maybe Ellie will hire me as a barista.”
“You’re not quitting DI.”
“Make up your mind, dude.”
“You’re going to let Joe Doyle reel you into his operation like a marlin. Make him work for it, but give in in the end.”
Shock threw Eddie back into his chair. “You’re asking me to work for you, against the Doyles?”
“Yes.”
“Wow.” Eddie’s phone buzzed with a message. He swept it off the table and turned it off before Jack could see who it was from. Jack didn’t seem to notice. “You trust me to do it?”
“I don’t have any choice.”
“That’s a vote of confidence.”
Jack leaned across the table, his bloodshot eyes blazing with determination. “This is where you make good on all the shit you’ve done the last twenty years. Pay me and mom back for bailing your sorry ass out of jail over and over. You help me bring Joe Doyle and his organization down or you ride out of town right now.”
“Why do you want to take this guy down so bad?”
Jack sat back. “It’s my job,” he said, voice filled with incredulity at the question.
Eddie knew there was more to it but didn’t press. He didn’t want to push his luck and change Jack’s mind. “I’ll do it on one condition.”
“You are hardly in a position to negotiate.”
“I am anyway. Pull yourself together, man. You look awful.”
“I’m fine.” His voice was clipped, dismissive.
“Have you looked in the mirror lately?”
“You were always the mirror hog, not me.”
Eddie ignored the jab. “I know you like it here and want to stick around, but these people are watching you. After all the shit with Freeman, they don’t trust you. You looking like you’re a walking ghost doesn’t help.”
Jack stood and took his time making himself a cup of coffee. He turned around and leaned against the counter. Jack sipped his drink but kept his eyes on his brother. “Who’s trying to call you?”
“You noticed, huh?”
Jack raised his eyebrows and waited.
“It was a text and don’t worry. It’s nothing illegal.” Eddie stood. “I have to go.”
At the door, Jack caught Eddie’s arm. “This is just between us. No one else knows.”
Julie walked in the kitchen wearing running clothes and made a beeline for the coffee. “Morning.”
“Morning,” the brothers said in unison.
Julie poured her coffee. “Eddie, isn’t it about time you got your own place?”
“He can stay here as long as he wants,” Jack said.
Julie replaced the pot on the warmer, picked up her cup, and turned to the brothers with a forced smile. “Of course he can. I figured he would want to have a place of his own to entertain his girlfriend.”
“Thanks for being so concerned about my social life, Jules.” Pebbles of ice ricocheted around his empty cup as he shook it. Eddie walked over to Julie, who leaned against the sink. He stared down at her with a knowing, private smile. “Excuse me.”
She stepped aside, and Eddie tossed the cup in the trash beneath the sink. “Have a nice run. I hope you trip and break your ankle.”
“I hope you get crushed under a crate of apples.”
Eddie walked out the back door and to his bike, letting the screen door bang behind him. He turned his baseball cap backward, straddled his Harley, and revved the engine, just to piss off Jules. He drove slowly down the driveway and tried to get his head around the idea that his straight-laced, rule-following brother had asked him, the family fuck-up, to spy on Joe Doyle.
Instead of turning to the left and work, Eddie turned right, drove a few hundred yards, and turned left again up a steep, overgrown dirt track. Halfway up the road, he saw who he was looking for.
He shut off the bike, the silence always a little shocking. He smiled at Ellie Martin.
“Hey, Fabio,” she said.
“You know you love it.”
“I don’t trust any man whose hair is longer than mine.”
“So, if I cut my hair, you’ll trust me?”
“Probably not.”
“Where’s Amy?”
Ellie jerked her thumb in the direction of the German church on the top of the hill. “She walks home down the other side. It’s quicker.”
“How was the run?”
Despite the chill November morning, Ellie wore thin running shorts and a half-marathon T-shirt from 2010. With her hair pulled back, her long neck and strong jaw were accentuated. Eddie had always been a sucker for swan-like necks, and the urge to pepper kisses up and down Ellie’s had been a difficult thing to resist for the past six weeks.
“Good,” she said.
“You ran before you met Amy didn’t you?”
Ellie looked abashed. “Yeah. She’s getting there, but she’s still slow.”
“It was a four-mile cool down for you.”
“Pretty much.” Ellie shrugged. “I enjoy her company.”
“Want a ride?”
She raised an eyebrow. “The last time you took me for a ride on that thing, you almost killed me.”
“In my defense, I didn’t know where I was going and you were a shitty navigator.”
“Your hair was blocking my view of the road.”
Eddie nodded to the back of the bike. “I’ll take you straight home, I promise. You’re finished with your run, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Come on. This bike isn’t dangerous.”
She stepped forward and Eddie knew he had her. “It’s not the bike I’m worried about.”
He grinned. “Smart girl.”
She swung her leg over the bike and settled in as he started it. When he didn’t feel her arms go around his waist, he looked behind him and saw her grasping the back of the seat.
“Don’t trust yourself, huh?” He revved the engine.
“Shut up and drive,” she yelled. But she was grinning.
He drove down the road, turned right, and passed Julie, in running clothes, leaving her driveway. Eddie gave her the middle finger with a smile.
“See what I saved you from?” he called over his shoulder.
“Thank you.”
They were at the front of her store within a minute. Ellie got off the bike and thanked him for the ride.
“Want to catch a bite to eat tonight?” Eddie said.
“I don’t think so.”
“Come on, Ellie. Everyone thinks we’re dating anyway. Do you want to make liars out of half the town?”
“Half the town were liars before you rode in, trust me.”
“I’m going to keep asking.”
“And, I’m going to keep saying no.”
“Oh, you have no idea how good I am at wearing women down.”
She laughed. “I bet I do.”
“I’m going to keep teasing you until that laugh reaches your eyes.”
She tucked her chin and narrowed her eyes. Her smile faded. “I don’t need you to cheer me up, Eddie. I’m fine.”
“Are you? Because my brother is miserable.”
Ellie looked down the street at the stoplight. “I’m sorry to hear it.” When she looked back at Eddie, her face was tight, her expression hardened. “But, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“Maybe I can.” Ellie crossed her arms over her chest and waited. “I’ve spent a lifetime getting away with shit, doing things behind people’s backs,” Eddie said.
“You’ve also gotten caught a lot.”
Eddie waved his hand. “Doesn’t even scratch the surface of what I haven’t been caught for.”
He stood and pulled her close. She stared him in the eyes, unblinking. Anger tinged her voice when she said, “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Julie is about to run right around the corner. If you want to keep her beady little focus off of you, she needs to believe we have something going on.”
“Why would she focus on me? I haven’t been around Jack in weeks.”
“Julie is suspicious of everyone.” He saw Julie over Ellie’s shoulder. He put his hand at the base of Ellie’s neck, pulled her forward, and slid his hand down to rest below the waistband of her shorts. He whispered in her ear, “If you and Jack want to see each other, I can arrange it where no one will know.”
“Oh, really? How?”
He massaged her neck and rubbed his cheek against hers. “Well, I haven’t figured it out yet.” He waved at Julie behind Ellie’s back. Julie returned his middle finger from earlier and turned the other way.
Ellie chuckled. “It’s tougher than you think to be devious in a small town.”
“Maybe, but not impossible.” Eddie pulled her tighter, felt her tense and try to lean away. “There is another option.”
“For you to take your hand off my ass?”
“Take me upstairs. I’ll help you forget all about Jack.”
“Hmm,” she purred and ran her hand up the back of his neck and into his hair. She gripped his hair and pulled his head back. Her eyes were dark with anger. “I would rather gouge my eyes out with a dull, rusty spoon.”
He released her and laughed. “You’re a goddamn amazing woman. The more I know you, the more I hate that bastard of a brother of mine. But,” Eddie shrugged and leaned back against his bike. “Jack’s the settling type. I’m not, and you need the settling type, don’t you?”
“I don’t need anyone.”
“Aw now, don’t get all independent on me. I’d like nothing more than to steal you from Jack, and, fair warning, I’m going to keep trying.”
“Why?”
“Cause deep down, you like it.”
“I do not.”
Eddie swung his leg over his bike. “Yeah, you do. But, don’t worry. I won’t tell Jack. It might send the poor guy over the edge. Keep my other offer in mind. Between you and me, I don’t think Jack will make it to January.”
“What do you mean?” She stepped forward and placed a hand on Eddie’s arm to keep him from starting his Harley. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing some time alone with you won’t fix.”
She sighed. “Eddie, the only way I can survive this is not to be around him.” Her expression was so naked with fear and loneliness it took Eddie’s breath away. For the first time, he saw in her what he saw daily in Jack. A steely resolve came over him.
He covered her hand with his and smiled. “Do you have a sister?”
She shook her head and forced a laugh. “Sorry.”
He lifted her chin with his finger. “Hey. I think making the town believe we are circling each other is a good idea.”
“No, it’s not. If Jack and I do have a future, the last thing we need is for the town to think I’ve fucked both brothers. Play it up to Julie, fine. But don’t you dare spread it around town that we’re sleeping together.”
Eddie held up three fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
She stepped back. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Anytime.”
Eddie watched her climb the stairs to her apartment until she was lost from view. He pulled out his cell phone and hit redial.
“Hey,” Eddie said. “You won’t believe the conversation I just had.”
“With who? Doyle?”
“No. My brother. He wants me to spy on Doyle for him.”
There was a beat of silence on the other end of the line.
“Fine. Everything still runs through me.”
“I wasn’t asking permission.” Eddie hung up and pocketed the phone. “Bastard.”
He watched Ellie’s light turn on in her apartment, revved his Harley, and drove down Main to work.