given them the instrument to ruin their life, crushed him. It went against everything he stood for. He noticed that even his fingers were tense. He forced himself to calm. “So you quit dealing?”
“Yeah.”
“I bet that went over well.”
Brody slumped on the couch beside James, his face buried in his hands. “Not so well, really. He called, asking me to meet him. I didn’t show at the location we’d agreed on. The guy kept calling me, and I got tired of it. I called a friend of mine who had a brother on the force. It got crazy for a while. They didn’t really have anything against me, I didn’t tell them everything, but they knew I had dealt. They wanted to pin some charges on me but they admitted there wasn’t much they could do.” Brody stood up and limped around the room, his fists clenching and unclenching.
“What happened next?”
Brody stilled with his hands on his hips, his lips thinner than normal. “The cops had me meet with the dealer. They busted him and his family. They took down his organization. He went to jail. His brother went to jail, and his sister too. Their mom died while they were on the inside. They vowed to kill me. Burned down my dad’s old house and everything. I was relocated to live here. I thought I was in the clear, but now I’m not sure. I think I fucked up.”
James absorbed the information. If a drug dealer was after Brody, it could get hairy. He had no qualms about shutting down a dealer, but he knew nothing about this guy Brody had connections to. There were different levels of drug dealers. The guys they took care of were scumbags. A low-level marijuana dealer wasn’t like a guy who traded people as well as smack. But Brody had said he’d dealt harder stuff.
Brody glanced back at him, his brows knit together, frown lines deep on his forehead. “Are you going to say anything?”
“I think we can help you.”
“You aren’t going to abandon me because of what I did?”
James rose moved to stand next to Brody, noticing that his chest heaved with each breath. James ran his hand down Brody’s back, wrapping his fingers around Brody’s waist. “No, no condemnation. I can kind of understand it. I don’t like that you were dealing.”
“I don’t like it either. I hated doing that. We were poor.”
“You weren’t doing that, dealing, before your dad got sick?”
Brody shook his head. “I’m not innocent. I’ve done some bad things in my past, but I always stayed away from drugs. I was trying hard to clean myself up when my dad got sick.”
James thought of all the people he’d killed, many of them government sanctioned, and then there were the ones he’d offed while living at the ranch. “I’ve got no room to criticize what you’ve done. I don’t think it’s safe for you to be here alone. Actually, it might not be safe to let you stay here at all.”
“Where could I go?”
“For now, we’ll stay put while I think through this and do some investigating. So did you get any help in changing your identity?”
Brody walked to the kitchen, his back stiff. “There are things I can’t talk about. I made a mistake.”
James followed after Brody, closing the distance. “If you were in witness protection and did something like contact an old friend, you may need to be relocated.”
“It’s been too long. I’m not in contact with my helper, and I haven’t been in the last year. Life was calm, things were going great.”
“Shit, let me guess, your name isn’t even Brody?”
Brody shook his head and drew in a slow breath. “Will you help me?”
James sighed. “I need your real information.”
“No, I can’t.”
“Trust me,” James begged.
Their gazes locked. Brody’s eyes narrowed before he turned and hung his head. “How can I trust you after what I saw out at the ranch? You guys are scary.”
James wrapped his arms around Brody’s waist and pulled him close. “I won’t let them hurt you, but you have to tell me everything. I
“Yeah.”
“I bet that went over well.”
Brody slumped on the couch beside James, his face buried in his hands. “Not so well, really. He called, asking me to meet him. I didn’t show at the location we’d agreed on. The guy kept calling me, and I got tired of it. I called a friend of mine who had a brother on the force. It got crazy for a while. They didn’t really have anything against me, I didn’t tell them everything, but they knew I had dealt. They wanted to pin some charges on me but they admitted there wasn’t much they could do.” Brody stood up and limped around the room, his fists clenching and unclenching.
“What happened next?”
Brody stilled with his hands on his hips, his lips thinner than normal. “The cops had me meet with the dealer. They busted him and his family. They took down his organization. He went to jail. His brother went to jail, and his sister too. Their mom died while they were on the inside. They vowed to kill me. Burned down my dad’s old house and everything. I was relocated to live here. I thought I was in the clear, but now I’m not sure. I think I fucked up.”
James absorbed the information. If a drug dealer was after Brody, it could get hairy. He had no qualms about shutting down a dealer, but he knew nothing about this guy Brody had connections to. There were different levels of drug dealers. The guys they took care of were scumbags. A low-level marijuana dealer wasn’t like a guy who traded people as well as smack. But Brody had said he’d dealt harder stuff.
Brody glanced back at him, his brows knit together, frown lines deep on his forehead. “Are you going to say anything?”
“I think we can help you.”
“You aren’t going to abandon me because of what I did?”
James rose moved to stand next to Brody, noticing that his chest heaved with each breath. James ran his hand down Brody’s back, wrapping his fingers around Brody’s waist. “No, no condemnation. I can kind of understand it. I don’t like that you were dealing.”
“I don’t like it either. I hated doing that. We were poor.”
“You weren’t doing that, dealing, before your dad got sick?”
Brody shook his head. “I’m not innocent. I’ve done some bad things in my past, but I always stayed away from drugs. I was trying hard to clean myself up when my dad got sick.”
James thought of all the people he’d killed, many of them government sanctioned, and then there were the ones he’d offed while living at the ranch. “I’ve got no room to criticize what you’ve done. I don’t think it’s safe for you to be here alone. Actually, it might not be safe to let you stay here at all.”
“Where could I go?”
“For now, we’ll stay put while I think through this and do some investigating. So did you get any help in changing your identity?”
Brody walked to the kitchen, his back stiff. “There are things I can’t talk about. I made a mistake.”
James followed after Brody, closing the distance. “If you were in witness protection and did something like contact an old friend, you may need to be relocated.”
“It’s been too long. I’m not in contact with my helper, and I haven’t been in the last year. Life was calm, things were going great.”
“Shit, let me guess, your name isn’t even Brody?”
Brody shook his head and drew in a slow breath. “Will you help me?”
James sighed. “I need your real information.”
“No, I can’t.”
“Trust me,” James begged.
Their gazes locked. Brody’s eyes narrowed before he turned and hung his head. “How can I trust you after what I saw out at the ranch? You guys are scary.”
James wrapped his arms around Brody’s waist and pulled him close. “I won’t let them hurt you, but you have to tell me everything. I
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