Josh stared at Ari. The older brother he’d once worshiped, although that feeling hadn’t survived childhood. By the time he’d left Portland for the Navy, he’d only tolerated the man because of Lori and Ava.
Now they were strangers. Josh hadn’t been face-to-face with his brother since the day he joined the military. The intervening years hadn’t been kind to him. But then, he’d spent the last five months in jail. Now Ari stood before him with new ink on his neck. The long sleeves of his bulky coat probably hid more tattoos, and Josh’s gut clenched to realize they were probably of the neo-Nazi variety.
Their dad had been anti-Semitic. It had been part and parcel of the abuse their mom had tried to shield them from. She’d done the best she could, but it had been impossible to avoid hearing the slurs Dad had hurled and the other subtle and not so subtle ways he’d made it clear her religion made her lesser. Sometime in their teen years, Josh had realized Ari was following in Dad’s footsteps. Now his transformation was complete.
This betrayal hurt even more than the others, because Josh wasn’t the only victim of Ari’s cruelty.
Mom. Lori. Ava.
Ava.
He would not turn and glance at the hotel. Bad enough to know she was probably watching this from above. He wouldn’t give Ari a hint that his daughter was witnessing this moment.
And dammit all, no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t throw the first punch.
“How’d you get out early?” he asked.
“I’ve got connections, baby bro.”
“When did they release you?”
“This morning.”
“And the first thing you do is go to a white supremacist rally?”
“My boys helped me in the joint. Figured I should show up and support them.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
Ari gave an indifferent shrug. “Yep.”
Was it his fault Ari had turned into this monster? Would this have happened if Josh had stayed in Portland instead of joining the Navy?
He could hear Maddie in his mind, telling him that Ari’s decisions weren’t his fault. And yet, he’d known this was the path Ari was on. He’d seen him emulate their father until the two were indistinguishable.
Josh had cut off all ties with their father after their mom died. There was no relationship left to salvage and, without Mom, no reason to try anyway.
“Right after this here rally, I’ll be getting my daughter back from you. Your services are no longer needed.”
“You signed over your parental rights. You have no legal claim.”
“I’ve got myself a kick-ass lawyer who’s gonna take care of that.”
Bile rose in Josh’s throat. His attorney had made it clear that family law could be dicey and parental claims were hard to sever permanently. But given that Ava really had turned Ari in on purpose, she was in more danger from the man than ever. That would help her case if they came before a judge. Add to that the abuse she’d suffered over the years—from being discarded in a dumpster to being imprisoned in her own home—and she had a solid case against being returned to her father’s care.
But Ava didn’t tell her therapist about the abuse.
Shit. This wasn’t the time. He was in the middle of a damn white supremacist rally.
“You’ll be talking to my lawyer,” Josh said.
“Don’t you wanna know who my attorney is?” Ari asked.
“No.”
“But you do. You really do. You see, his sister asked him to help me out. Get me outta jail, so I could take my girl off your hands.”
Josh turned and walked away. He was done with his brother’s bullshit and lies.
“Well, will you look at that. My lawyer is about to speak to the crowd. See, baby bro, you aren’t the only one who’s got political allies. Ravissant is weak compared to the next senator from Oregon.”
Josh’s gaze landed on the speaker platform, where a new speaker was being introduced, and his stomach clenched as Maddie’s brother stepped up to the microphone.
Shivers took over Maddie’s entire body as she glanced from the TV to the window, not quite able to believe her eyes.
Her brother. Her fucking brother had aligned himself with White Patriots to get elected.
It shouldn’t surprise her. He was far from the first in Oregon or Washington politics to go after that particular demographic, and he’d already showed her he had no ethics when it came to collecting votes. But still, it was a blow.
She’d underestimated his hunger for power by a huge margin. But then, no amount of votes was worth this. There was no justification in the world that could make this right.
“That’s your brother, isn’t it?” Ava asked.
Maddie nodded. “It appears Josh isn’t the only one to be surprised by a brother today.”
“So your brother is…he’s one of them?”
Maddie nodded. “Apparently so.”
“I’m sorry, Maddie.”
She took the girl’s hand and squeezed. “I’m sorry your dad is here too.”
“Family can really suck sometimes,” Ava said, squeezing back.
“Sure can.” What an understatement. But Maddie was shocked into numbness. This whole thing was surreal.
She should have realized when her brother mentioned he’d spoken to the Kochers at the museum that night that he was involved with White Patriots. Hell, this whole rally could have been planned as a campaign event. His coming out, so to speak.
Jesus. Josh had wondered at the purpose for the frequency of rallies. Was this it? Politics? Was it all a distorted get-out-the-vote campaign to put white supremacists in key government positions?
Would her parents still support Alan after this? Or had her perfect brother finally gone too far?
“Goddammit, Alan,” she whispered under her breath. Why hadn’t she seen this coming? Why hadn’t she realized the extent of his hunger for power?
He would do or say anything for a vote.
Her brother’s speech was being broadcast by every network covering the rally—free national coverage for a campaign speech—and the crowd cheered as Alan spoke about immigrants stealing the American dream from “real” Americans.
Some might think this was political suicide, but not in the current political climate of Oregon. Several times in the last year, extremist groups had organized protests in Salem that gave elected officials an excuse to run off and not do their duty, effectively shutting down state government. The fires of racism were being stoked on every level. Her brother was just stepping in to reap the benefits of the uncontrolled burn.
She reached for the volume button to shut it off.
“No,” Ava said. “We need to hear it. It’s important to know the enemy.”
She nodded and set the remote down, sighing as she did so. “You’re right.”
But still, she couldn’t watch, so she returned to the window to look at the crowd. Using the binoculars, she quickly spotted Ava’s dad, Ari, who remained by the bridge.
Josh was nowhere to be seen.
She frowned again at Ari’s thick coat—warm for the August day, but by the river, there would be the occasional cool breeze. He tucked his head down, and his lips moved, as if he were talking into the collar of his coat.
So the guy wore a wire. Nice.
“Are you getting video of this?” she asked Ava, glancing at the camera on the tripod.
“Yeah. If Dad throws the first punch, I’ll have proof.”
Maddie smiled as she followed Ari’s path through the crowd with the binoculars. Clearly, someone had gotten him out of jail to mess with Josh, which was alarming in and of itself. The WPs wanted Josh distracted, and they’d pulled out all the stops.
Was that why C-IV had invited them to the historical society benefit? To make sure Josh knew Alan was her brother? To further divide his attention today?
Ari moved out of sight under the bridge, and she watched the other side closely, waiting for him to emerge. He did, finally, but he no longer wore the heavy coat.
Instinct said something was off.
She picked up her cell phone. She needed to tell Josh.
Tisdale urged the White Patriots to take the bridge as a demonstration of how they would reclaim America. The crowd surged toward the bridge in response. It had happened at other rallies here, where one faction or another tried to take over the bridge and stop traffic. In the past, police had even allowed it, but they were supposed to prevent it if possible.
Now, the crowd moved en masse. Josh’s team held their line, blocking the curved walkway ramp and stairs on the north side of the bridge, but if the police didn’t back them, this could get ugly.
He got a cell call via his headset. The voice ID said it was Maddie. She wouldn’t call right now unless it was important, so he accepted the call.
She didn’t waste time with preliminaries. “Ari disappeared under the bridge, and when he came out the other side, the heavy coat he was wearing was gone.”
“Shit. Thanks for the heads-up. Gotta go.” He clicked off without waiting for her response and radioed the team. “I’m checking out something suspicious left under the bridge. Chase, move up to my position.”
He pushed his way through the crowd, heading for the pedestrian underpass.
Ava had joined Maddie at the window, watching the surging of the crowd as they pushed beyond the barricades and swarmed the curved ramp to storm the bridge. “They just…shoved aside the blue shirts,” Ava said, distress in her voice. “Why didn’t the police stop them?”
Two officers had moved a barricade, essentially welcoming White Patriots to seize the bridge. Once there was a hole in the line, the rest was a blur.
“Did you get a video of that?” Maddie asked.
Ava checked the camera on the tripod. “Yes, video is still running.”
“I hope you can clearly see the police officers’ faces.”
“The news cameras might have gotten it too.”
“Not if they were all focused on the stage.” Maddie pointed to the TV, which still showed her brother at the podium.
She was so not going to family dinner next month or any month after. Not if her brother was invited.
She put the binoculars to her eyes again and scanned the scene in the park below, spotting Josh working his way through the crowd next to the railing that lined the walkway above the Willamette River. He disappeared under the bridge, enveloped in a group of counterprotesters.
Seconds passed. A full minute? The top of the bridge filled with White Patriots. Cars were forced to stop on the metal grating near the end of the span. Shouts—audible through the TV—went up from the crowd on top of the bridge.
Suddenly, a massive boom sounded. The hotel shook. Ava gasped, and Maddie watched in shock and horror as the west end of the bridge collapsed.