What greeted him when he went downstairs was something he'd dreamed about for a long time. Drew couldn't even count the amount of times he'd wondered what it would be like to wake up to Charity in his home. That had been an ongoing wish he'd had—late at night when no one was around—when he'd been drinking a little too much. This was what he'd thought of.Hell, back when he was a younger guy, he would dream of it. In those unguarded moments, he would let his mind go to the fantasy of what his life would be like. He'd lived thirteen years watching his mom do things by herself, watching her struggle, but when Liam had come into their lives, things had gotten easier. That wasn't to say things had been completely perfect as soon as they'd moved into his house, but even at that young age—he'd seen how much responsibility Liam had taken on. He'd seen how amazing it was for his mom to have help, and between the two of them he'd learned what it was to count on another person. Everything about
The four of them were worked quietly, each making notes as they continued to rifle through the papers."Ya know," Charity mused about an hour into their session. "I assumed, for some reason, that these would be close to one another. However, going through just what I have here, of the home invasions are all over the county. Bowling Green City responded to some, Warren County Sheriff's responded to some, and even Kentucky State Police responded, so it's no wonder no one's put two and two together yet. There's no pattern in any district, because he's purposely not making one.""I wonder when we put everything together, how many we're going to see, and how many families will be affected," Mandy mused."Going by what we have here? At least twenty-five."For hours they labored, deep into their work. Every once in a while, someone would whistle or take a deep inhale of breath. They knew then that whichever invasion it was it was bad. Out of nowhere, Drew's cell phone went off, making
"How's it going, Squirrel?" Drew asked as he and Dalton arrived at the predetermined meeting place and got off their bikes."I've been better."Taking a good look at the other man, Drew realized he spoke the truth. Squirrel had definitely seen better days. His skin was pale, and it looked like, even though it was not a hot day, he was sweating. As they got closer, they could smell the stench of an addict needing a fix. He'd obviously been sweating for a while, and the blood on his arm told them both he'd taken the fixation of picking at his skin."You're not gonna go crazy on us, are you?" Dalton asked, pulling back his cut to show Squirrel that he carried. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to. Don't go insane, stay level. You got me?"Squirrel scratched his arm, his eyes darting this way and that. "I got you, but we're gonna have to hurry, because I'm gonna need my fucking money."Drew widened his stance and braced his feet. "Nah, man, you don't tell us what we
As they went further into the county, Drew turned on his phone and enabled the GPS so that Travis could track where they were going. That served two purposes. The other members of Heaven Hill would know where they were if help was needed, and later, if they wanted to come back out here themselves, they would know how to get here. Drew had learned to live by his gut, and his gut was telling him now that this was okay. They weren't going to be ambushed once they got there. This was honestly a man who knew they needed information and he needed money. Business transaction, plain and simple.Squirrel stopped his truck in front of a building and motioned for them to come around. "I'm not going inside," he told them as they idled their bikes next to his truck. "If Dixon knows I'm the one who showed you, I'm dead."Drew wanted to tell him he was dead no matter what. The drugs would probably kill him before Dixon could or would."How do we get in?" Dalton asked, looking at the outside, wo
Charity stood up from the kitchen table, stretching her back. Mandy and Dalton had left over an hour ago, and she had spent that time plotting locations on a map and looking for something that would give her an indication of a pattern. So far, nothing."C'mon." Drew walked around the table and grabbed her by the waist. "Dad just called and said they're having a bonfire at the clubhouse. I don't know about you, but I could stand to get out of here and away from this for a while."Earlier, she'd gone to her apartment and gotten some clothes, not sure if she was ready to go back yet. He hadn't seemed like he was having an issue with her staying, so she would do it as long as it felt right. "I think that's the best idea I've heard in a long time."They were having an unseasonably cool October, and a bonfire sounded like a great idea to her. "I'm gonna go change into something that's a little warmer." She indicated the T-shirt she was wearing."I've got a jacket and hoodie you can w
Riding on the backroads of Warren County towards the clubhouse took Charity to places she hadn't been in years. In her mind, she thought back to all those nights she and Drew had snuck out of their respective houses and met each other in a field, in a barn, behind the clubhouse, wherever was available. She gripped him around the waist as he took a curve at a higher rate of speed so that her stomach did a somersault. No matter how fast he went with her on the back of his bike, she felt safe; she'd always felt safe with him.She figured that was one of the reasons she'd agreed to help Meredith with this case, and why she'd decided to come home. It had been long enough, but too, she knew that no matter what, Drew would keep her safe. Oh, she wasn't stupid; if he'd had a woman in his life, she would have declined the plea for help and found someone in the area she knew could take care of business as good as her, but when she'd called Mandy and asked what was going on in Drew's romantic l
She quickly did her business and flushed before walking over to the sink. Turning the water on, she soaped her hands before looking up into the mirror. The woman staring back at her wasn't someone she recognized. There was life in her eyes and redness in her cheeks.Back in North Carolina, it had been about doing anything she could to get ahead and stay ahead. Here, she realized, she was taking things easier. Even though she was working on the case, she was finding time, like now, to live. That was something she had been missing there. She knew the reason for that was Drew.Smiling to herself, she finished up and wiped her hands off before walking out and back towards the kitchen. As soon as she got there, she was met head-on with Tatum."So you knew my brother back when he was my age?" she asked as she loaded the fixings for s'mores into a basket."Tatum," Denise reprimanded. "I told you to leave her alone.""No." Charity shook her head. "It's okay. I did know your brother b
"We've got company."Drew heard the shouted words coming from Jagger and lifted himself up from where he'd been bent over a car checking the spark plugs. Those words hardly ever garnered a reaction in him, but today, his blood started pumping, his heart started pounding.Walking around from behind the hood, he saw two older model pickups pulling into the lot. He wasn't sure who he expected to step out of the driver's seat of one of them, but it sure as fuck wasn't Dixon McCall."Which one of you boys was over at my place the other day?" he asked as he spat out a stream of tobacco juice, standing tall as he faced off against the members of Heaven Hill.Drew and Dalton looked at each other, wondering how he'd found out, but neither one of them were scared."That was me." Drew stepped forward. Purposely he stood with his booted feet apart, lazily wiping his hands on a rag.Dixon tilted his head to the side, appearing to size him up before he strolled over to Drew. When he was