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As I try to process the fact Teddy has a brother, attempting to figure out if he is just as ruthless and cruel, the doorbell rings. Teddy looks to my bedroom door as he jumps into his jeans.
“Is that him?”
He shakes his head, buttoning his jeans. “He isn’t supposed to be here until this evening.”
Once Teddy is dressed, someone beats on my door, sending two hard knocks vibrating through my room. Teddy walks over and opens it, revealing Lucas on the other side.
“Chief is here,” he says, glancing at me with a grin from over Teddy’s shoulder. “I can, uh, tell him to come back.” He darts his eyes away from me and runs his hand over the back of his neck.
“Not necessary. We’re done here.” Teddy walks to me and grabs my hand, leading me out of the room past Lucas.
“So, I take it she’s off-limits now?” he questions, sprinting up behind us. There isn’t an ounce of humor in his voice.
“She’s always been off-limits,” Teddy huffs, flashing his eyes behind him for a second with a grin before continuing into the foyer of the house.
Sloan stands by the door, dressed in his khaki uniform with his badge pinned to his chest and a gun holstered to his side. When he catches sight of me, he smiles and opens his arms wide. “Charlie! I haven’t seen you in weeks.”
I smile at him with the same enthusiasm and embrace him. “I’ve been… busy.” I laugh.
He steps back, putting his hands on my shoulders, and looks at me up and down. Once his eyes meet my face again, he speaks. “Are these boys treating you okay? I can take them out if not.” He grins, but something in his voice tells me he isn’t playing.
Lucas scrunches his forehead. “Yeah, right, old man. We would have you buried before you ever got the chance.”
Sloan shakes his head, then moves closer to me. “I’m serious, Charlie. If you ever need help, with anything, you call me. I promised your dad I would look out for you. I feel I’ve already failed.” His smile falls.
I run my hand up and down his arm. “I’m fine. Promise.”
He clears his throat and gives me a curt nod, then turns to Teddy. “There was another overdose today. We found the cartel’s signature bag with the victim again. We asked the junkie with him where they got it. After some threatening of jail time and some not-so-conventional ways of interrogation, he admitted they bought from the Morenos.”
Teddy’s face turns dark. “Where did you find him?”
Sloan releases a breath and takes a step back. “Southside, by the freeway.”
“My territory.”
Sloan nods. “Your territory.”
“Did you pick up Hugo?”
“Nope.” Sloan shakes out his shoulders and hooks his thumbs into his belt loops. “Because of how we got the information, there was no formal report. I can’t get a warrant without cause, and the junkie won’t speak now.”
Teddy nods and looks to Lucas, who smiles in return. “Thanks, Chief. We will handle it.”
I watch the whole encounter, confused. I knew Sloan had to have been working with Teddy, but why?
Teddy sends Lucas away to do god knows what, so I take the chance to ask Sloan all of my burning questions. “Why are you helping them? Or why are they helping you, shall I say, with something as simple as an overdose?”
Sloan looks to Teddy as his attention turns back to us. Teddy gives him an encouraging nod to go ahead and answer. “When your mom died all those years ago, it drove your dad crazy. There has always been a drug problem here, everyone knows it, but your dad wanted to get to the root of it. He felt if he could stop the flow of drugs coming in, he could save your mom. He went to Hale here”—he uses his thumb to point to Teddy—“and asked for help. He knew he would want them gone as much as he did. With the cartel being the pushers and almost careless in a way, it could bring more heat to the town. Your guy here deals guns. We all know it, but the fucker is too smart to leave a trace or any hard evidence.” He laughs in a sad way. “But still, more heat in this town is the last thing he wants, so your dad fed on that. He told Hale if he helped stop the drugs, he would turn a blind eye to his gun deals, if he was to ever catch him.
“Unfortunately, your momma died before they got the chance to do anything. After that, your dad became obsessed. He never could figure out who was behind the cartel, pulling the strings. He swore they had someone on the inside, getting rid of evidence, misplacing files, that sort of thing. The closest we’ve come is the Morenos. Those fucked-up junkies are tight-lipped because they know if they talk, they’re dead, or even worse, the cartel will cut off their supply. It’s a big fucked-up circle, but I promised your dad I would continue the hunt and try to get to the bottom of it.”
My mind spins, trying to make sense of what he just said. I knew my dad loved my mom, but I didn’t know it went this far. “So, he basically turned dirty just to help my mom, but the bitch died anyway?” I question out loud more to myself than anyone.
Sloan shakes his head. “Technically he was never dirty. Hale is smart and never leaves a trace of his doings and has never admitted to anything. Everything I say about him is purely suspicion.”
“How does that make things better?”
“It doesn’t, but sometimes you have to pick which demons you’d rather dance with.”
