Page 79 of When Love Found Us
I nod, unbothered. “Which is no problem at all. I’ll take them down if needed. And hopefully, that fucker will be here so I can take him down too.”
Malerick lets out a dry laugh, disbelief flashing across his face. “You’re just a fucking artist. Are you going to draw them to death?” His voice dips lower. “Unless you’d like to share why you have a state-of-the-art alarm system and a security setup more advanced than my department’s.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“It is when you have someone who might become a?—”
“Blythe is mine. Mine to protect, to cherish.” My voice is pure steel. I step in, close enough that he gets the message loud and clear. “And I’m not giving her away. Do you understand me?”
Malerick lifts his hands in surrender, but his eyes stay on mine, measuring. “I get it. But I need more than what you’re giving me, Atlas. I’m not your enemy. I’m your brother.”
I scoff. “Please. You’ve seen me as your enemy since the moment I stepped into this town. And I was six.”
“It was a different time, Atlas. I was a kid trying to survive. I hated my life. Hated our parents.” His voice lowers, rough at the edges, as if he’s letting the past and the regrets talk instead of him. “If anything, I’m grateful for what you did for my mother. While she was lonely in this town, you visited her more than any of us. You took care of her when she was sick. You still visit her in the cemetery whenever you come to town—even when she wasn’t yours.”
“Therese was cool.” I shrug, keeping it casual.
But Malerick doesn’t let me off that easy. “I’ll help you keep Blythe safe, but you need to tell me what you’re hiding.”
I scoff. “What can you do?”
Malerick scrubs a hand through his hair, exhaling. “First, I’m going to slow things down. A missing persons case from another state doesn’t automatically give him power here. I’ll tell my contacts the case is being reviewed locally. That buys us time.”
Time.
I nod. “And after that?”
“Oh, I don’t fucking know, because you haven’t told me what the fuck you’re hiding, little brother.”
“Let me make some calls,” I tell him, keeping my tone even. “Maybe we can talk about this tomorrow.”
Malerick doesn’t move. His gaze stays locked on me, assessing, weighing whatever calculations are running through his head. Then he shakes his head.
“Those guys. The agents from CQS.” His voice is low, measured. “They aren’t just your friends, are they?”
I don’t react.
It’d be so simple to just tell him the truth. That Sanford and his people don’t work for CQS, but The Organization. That the only reason they stepped in last time was because the owner of CQS is his brother-in-law. That this runs deeper than he knows.
But I don’t.
I lean against the wall, playing with the knife, keeping my expression blank. “Not sure what you’re talking about.”
Malerick lets out a slow exhale, but there’s something knowing in his eyes. He doesn’t press, doesn’t push for more. Just studies me, like he’s already made his own conclusions and he’s waiting to see if I’ll confirm them.
“You talk to your people,” he says finally, voice rough with something I can’t quite place. “When you have the green light to tell me, I’ll be in my office.”
And then he turns, shoulders tight as he stalks down the hallway. Doesn’t look back.
I watch him go, my fingers twitching at my side, the tension in my chest coiled too tight.
Will he help? Or is he going to turn into another problem?
Because if Malerick becomes an obstacle, I’ll have to deal with him, too. And I really don’t want to do that. After all, he’s my fucking brother.
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Malerick Timberbridge doesn’t dealin paranoia.
