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“You’re both good men,” I tell him. “And Charlene is lucky to have you by her side. Thank you for reaching out to me, Toby. I mean it. I will think about the whole remodeling gig, too. I’ll be honest, I like that house and I would love to be the one who finishes the job. But I do need to think about it. Really think about it.”
“I totally get it,” he says. “Whatever you need in the meantime, Avery, don’t hesitate to ask.”
12
Fallon
The better part of my week is spent less in the shop and more driving around Lincoln County with Kellan, looking into everything we can about Charlene. Where she goes, who she talks to, who she works with. Luke has a detail on her in the meantime, but we’re following closely the trail of breadcrumbs she leaves behind—whether on purpose or not, that remains to be seen. She’s a tricky woman, and I doubt prison has made her kinder.
I’m not buying the whole reformed criminal act, either.
She lied through her teeth before and I’ve no doubt she’ll do it again. Hell, her money moves damn near got us killed on that submarine and Luke lost his leg. Charlene didn’t know who we were at the time, but the fact that she willingly helped finance mercenaries in foreign, hostile countries speaks volumes. When she did find out who we were, she never said a word. She never had the intention of being truthful. She deceived us, betrayed us. I will never forgive her, nor will I forget.
“How is Avery?” I ask Kellan as we’re driving through North Platte. “I haven’t seen her since yesterday morning.”
“She’s okay. Helen said she’s looking into other home projects in the area,” Kellan replies, his eyes fixed on the road.
The trouble with us twins is that we can often feel each other on a deeper level. We resonate with one another in ways that most people cannot. His anxiety echoes with mine. His tension creeps through my bones. My anger weighs on his shoulders. We’ve been this way for as long as I can remember.
“You feel bad about the way you dragged her out of Charlene’s house, huh?” I let a heavy sigh roll off my chest. It’s been there for a while, now. Another will take its place soon enough.
“I’m not proud of myself. And I’ve apologized to her more than once. I still feel like shit.”
“Be glad it was you who got to her first, and not me. I would’ve started something with that Toby asshole.”
Kellan smiles vaguely. “I’ve got Luke looking into him. We’ve got a tail on the guy, but he’s a slippery motherfucker. He finds a way to lose us whenever he leaves Hershey. I don’t know how he does it.”
“He’s a professional,” I reply. “Don’t believe a word he says to Avery. I don’t trust him.”
“You don’t trust anybody.”
“I trust you. I also trust Luke, Avery, Helen, and Marcus. I don’t trust a prick who is willingly working for someone like Charlene Maddox though,” I say.
There’s plenty of traffic for us to wade through, but I don’t mind. The more time I spend in the car with Kellan, the less time there is to let the anger get the better of me. If there is one thing I’ll always be grateful for, it’s my brother’s presence. He’s an expertat pulling me out of a dark spot, and Charlene’s unexpected return has thrown me for one hell of a loop.
“I wish she didn’t have to know,” I add after a long and heavy pause.
“Avery?”
“Yeah.”
“I agree. But it’s inevitable,” Kellan replies. “We will have to tell her the whole truth, eventually.”
“Eventually.”
“But not today.”
“Not tomorrow, either” I say as I check a roughly drafted to-do list on my phone. “Who else are we supposed to meet with today?”
Kellan frowns slightly. “Charlene’s parole officer. He’ll have most of the information we need.”
“Do you think he’ll tell us everything?”
“You keep forgetting that I’m the Sheriff of Lincoln County,” he shoots back with a confident smirk. “If ever there was a time for me to abuse the scope of this badge, this is it.”
“Alright, then. Full speed ahead,” I reply with a cool grin. But the memories keep flooding my brain, turning me inside out and pricking me with slivers of guilt and resentment. I need to say it again and aloud, if only to keep myself from unraveling. “I’m serious, Kellan. We can’t tell Avery everything. She really doesn’t need to know all the details.”
“Fallon, the three of us already talked about this, and as much as I hate to admit it, Luke made a good point earlier today,” my brother says. “It’s better if Avery hears everything from us and not Charlene. We’ve already fumbled it once with her by not telling her about Charlene in the first place. Look at how the universe fucked us over with that home renovation project. What were the odds, huh?”
