Page 14 of Axe-ing for Trouble
“You dated her?” Owen asked, his tone firm.
“Not exactly. I met her at the dojo in Heartsborough. She came to some of the self-defense classes I assisted with. She came to the Moose one night while I was playing too.”
Every set of eyes in the room widened at me. I was not a monk, but I tended to keep my private life private.
“And she came home with me. Told me her name was Amy. Said she was from New Hampshire and was a bartender in Heartsborough.”
And I was a chump. I’d believed every word the beautiful, captivating girl had spoken. She’d enamored me from the moment I saw her swaying to the music. The feeling had only grown as the night went on. She’d been so smart and animated, telling me stories about weird food she’d eaten while traveling and her favorite places to ski. It was easy, being in her presence. So learning that it was all a lie had messed with my head.
“She left before I woke up the next morning. I assumed she’d gone back to New Hampshire and pushed her out of my mind.” Or tried to, at least, but I keep that to myself. “Then, months later, the FBI showed up at my door claiming she was a missing person.”
“Shit,” Finn hissed.
“And now she’s here,” Gus said. “Do we believe her? What’s to say she’s not lying again?”
I clenched my fists on the table in front of me as rage boiled in my gut. The urge to defend and protect Mila was so strong, but why? I barely knew her, and the circumstances of her arrival were suspect at best.
Though the doubt was there, I’d seen the pain in her eyes. I’d watched her suffer while Willa put her shoulder back in, and I’d sensed how scared she’d been when she walked through my door.
I couldn’t help but want to protect her. Whatever was going on, she was in deep. And she was in no shape to fight this on her own.
“She has the credentials,” Chloe said. “I had my guy run a background check. She’s legit. Journalism degree from Yale, was a producer for the International News Network, and spent three years writing for the Portland Herald Tribune.”
She angled forward and placed a manilla folder in the middle of the table.
“Here are some of her articles. Deep dives into opioids and government corruption. She’s got the goods.”
“So she can help us?” Finn zeroed in on me.
I had no idea. And honestly, I was more concerned with helping her. But we’d been up against this for years, and with the information Chloe had given us, it was hard not to hope she could.
“Why didn’t she go to the police?” Noah asked.
“She says she’s seen Souza colluding with various criminals at the bar. Claims he’s dirty and so are some of his deputies,” I say. “Same with the FBI. And given our own experiences, I think she may be right.”
All around the table, my brothers were nodding. We’d learned the hard way that we couldn’t always trust law enforcement.
Cole had pulled out knitting needles and yarn at some point. I wasn’t surprised. The activity helped soothe his anxiety. “She’s gotta talk to Parker.”
“Of course.” Chloe nodded. “We’ll loop her in.”
We’d hired Parker Gagnon a while back to help us investigate and work through some of the strange occurrences that had taken place since my father’s arrest. Thefts and vandalism had both been problems, and Lila and Owen had discovered accounting issues. Then there was the attack on Hugo.
Parker had worked for the state police for a time and had FBI contacts, but so far, we were still chasing down leads and trying to follow the money to the top.
“Do you think she’ll take off again?” Finn asked. He’d shown up with his shoulder-length hair down but had pulled it up into a bun as we talked.
“Doubtful,” Cole said, saving me from having to vouch for her. “She was adamant about not calling the police or going to the hospital. We had to hold her down while Willa popped her shoulder back in. Trust me. She’s scared and hurt. I think it’s best if we let her lie low while we coordinate with Parker.”
Noah fidgeted beside me. We’d been in here too long for him. I was surprised he wasn’t up and pacing or doing pushups to work off his pent-up energy; he was an outdoors kind of guy, always moving. “Can she stay with you?”
I nodded. She was already at my house, and it was secluded and private, so it made sense.
“No,” Gus said. “It’s not safe for you if she’s there.” He gave me that big brother glare he’d mastered before I could even remember. “Who knows what kind of trouble she’ll bring with her.”
I took a deep breath and collected my thoughts. Mila was my responsibility. It had only been twelve hours, but that fact had already sunken into my bones. “I’ll deal with this,” I said. “You’ve all sacrificed so much. And you’ve got families.”
Finn cleared his throat. “Do you think she really has evidence to take them down?”
