Free Leverage (The Brannock Siblings) by Jessica Wilde Page A

while she had been hiding in the
closet.
    "The guy knew he was 63 years old, had mentioned it to
the other one, he knew that he had found something. He said they couldn't move
forward until he was clear. He sounded so familiar, Lucas. I swear I had heard
his voice before."
    "Shit, that could only mean what we had been thinking
all along," he bit out and shook his head. He had trusted all the men he
worked with. Every single one of them. Trusted them with his life. Now he knew
for sure one of them had betrayed them all.
    "Dad was so upset when he got home. He said he found
some things that may mean disappointment." She pulled a hand away from his
and combed her fingers through her long hair. Then her eyes widened as if she
just remembered something important right before that same hand covered her
mouth and those eyes started to water again.
    "Oh, God. He knew they were going to come for
him."
    "What?"
    "He hugged me like he was terrified, Lucas. Told me he
loved me, like he was saying goodbye. He knew ."
    She was sobbing now and new tears fell down her cheeks. He
couldn't hold himself back anymore, he had to hold her, to protect her, comfort
her. So he pulled her off the chair and onto his lap, wrapping his arms around
her and locking her tiny body against his chest while she let it all out.
    "I'll find him, Ash. I swear to you, I'll find out who
did this."
    "I-I need to go back there. I need to clean up
and…" she sniffed and choked on her words.
    "You aren't going anywhere. You're staying here with
me. I don't want you in that house alone and we can't let anyone know you are
here."
    "But the funeral. They'll know anyway in a few
days."
    "Then I have a few days to figure something out. For
now, you live here, where I can keep an eye on you."
    She nodded, "I have to call my brothers."
    Damn! He didn't have a chance to think about that either. He
had been so focused on getting back to Ash, he didn't let Conall and Fergus
know what was happening. They would want to come to Oakland and help with the
investigation, he knew it and he couldn't tell them no.
    "Why don't you get yourself together first. Take a
shower and a few deep breaths. We have a lot to do and I need to make sure you
are okay before I will be able to focus on anything else."
    "Okay," she whispered.
    He didn't like how agreeable she was being, like she had
given up on taking her life into her own hands. It wasn't her, but he didn't
say anything about it because it was probably the only time she would do what he
asked from now on. She wasn't angry enough yet, but she would be.
    He set her up to shower in his bathroom and dressed so he
could run back to her house and grab her some clothes. Everyone had cleared out
of there already and wouldn't be back for a while.
    "Do you know what he meant?" she asked from the
bathroom door while he pulled on a shirt and shoes.
    "About knowing what you'll need?"
    She nodded.
    "Not yet. But I'll figure it out. I do know that you
needed your things. The ones in your closet. They are on the table by the front
door."
    Her shoulders sagged in relief and he figured she had been
planning on getting those things as soon as possible. Thankfully she had showed
him her secret spot so long ago or he would have to let her go back.
    "Thank you," she said and turned into the
bathroom. Before she shut the door, she paused and looked back to him.
"Did anyone see you get them?" Her spot had been a secret for so
long, the one thing only her and her father knew about. It would be important
to her to keep it safe.
    "No, I got it while everyone was heading out. No one
saw me."
    At least he hoped no one saw him. He couldn't tell if the
shadow he saw pass by her door out of the corner of his eye was his imagination
or someone watching him. Everyone had been downstairs when he walked out of the
room, though, so he knew he was only seeing things. He had been so tired. Why wouldn't he be seeing things that weren't there?
    "Good," she said, then shut the