Page 6 of Lucky Boys
A sarcastic answer was right on the tip of my tongue. It was pretty obvious since he’d shown up at my home like this. But Brooks was a flight risk, and I did not want him fleeing before I knew what was going on.
I tipped my head in acknowledgement. “About what?”
Brooks took a deep breath. “You heard about Marshall Fieldsburg?”
The question threw me for a loop. It was the last thing I’d expected. “The billionaire?” I asked dumbly, like there was another one. Brooks stared at me blankly.
Luckily, Maverick had an intelligent answer for him, “Yeah, it’s all over the news. He was murdered in a gang style execution in his office last night.”
I was . . . not following. Just mentioning the murder had Brooks flinching and a haunted look covering his face. As far as I knew, Brooks and his family had no connection to the guy whatsoever, so why would he react like that?
“Fuck, was it you?” As soon as I said the words, I regretted it. Especially with the way Brooks blanched and stuttered backa few steps. I was glad Maverick had discreetly moved between him and the door.
Brooks was wild and made his living illegally, but he was sweetness personified. He didn’t have it in him to murder anyone, especially in a cold-blooded way like that. The only exception would be to protect his family, but this hit wasn’t that.
“Trouble.” The nickname I used to call him before I’d ruined everything slipped from my lips. “I’m sorry. I know you wouldn’t do that.”
Immediately, Brooks’ expression shuttered. He completely and totally shut down. “Don’t. Just—don’t call me that.”
“Right. I misstepped. I apologize.”
He turned his back on me, ignoring me completely, and focused his attention on Maverick and Skye. I thought I did a decent job not letting it show how much that hurt.
“No,” he snapped, voice colder than I thought it was possible for him, “I didn’t fucking kill him. But—” He took a deep, shuddery breath, some of the typical, more vulnerable Brooks coming through. “I did do a job for him. Last night. And I-I found the body.” His shoulders slumped and he wrapped his arms around himself.
Fuck, my poor boy. I took an involuntary step to him before I stopped. It would not be welcomed and was a great way to get an elbow to the balls.
Thankfully, Skye took over and walked up to Brooks, shoulder bumping him. “I’m sorry, bro. That had to be rough.”
Brooks shrugged, which wasn’t remotely believable, before fishing something out of the pocket of his black joggers. He held it in his fingertips like he was afraid to get a good grasp on it. A flash drive.
“I’m assuming this room and everyone in it is secure?” he asked us.
“Yes, of course,” Mav answered. I gritted my teeth to keep from saying something. It was better for them to handle it, but I didn’t like being ignored in my own damn conference room.
“This is what I stole for him. I broke into Lewis Covington III’s main home, downloaded some encrypted files off his computer, and went straight back to Marshall’s office. I thought it was proof of embezzlement or something. Corporate espionage shit.”
I nodded in understanding. We didn’t take jobs like that, but they were usually quick and easy moneymakers in our line of business, especially for newer teams still trying to make a name for themselves, like Brooks and Diego.
“I just—” He paused and scratched the back of his neck. The sleeve of his hoodie pulled up, exposing at least fifteen bracelets and his tattoo-covered hands and arms. “It just felt off from the beginning, you know? I usually drop the stuff in one of my safe locations, but he insisted I bring it to him immediately. That felt wrong, but the pay was too fucking good so I took it. The job went okay, but when I got to his office, I found . . .” He stopped speaking, but we didn’t need details.
I glanced at Maverick, whose expression was grim. His gray eyes were calculating, and I knew he was already expecting the worst. No matter what was on that flash drive, Brooks’s life was in danger. You didn’t get in the middle of something like that without becoming collateral damage.
“Did you see what was on it?” I asked softly, hoping not to set him off.
Brooks’ jaw ticked, but he answered, “No. We didn’t know what to do with it. We spent the whole fucking night expecting to get raided either by SWAT or whoever killed Fieldburg. When nothing happened, I secured the thing and came right here.” Brooks finally turned to me, looking all kinds of lost, and it broke my heart.
“Trust me when I say if I had any other option, I would’ve taken it, but D didn’t think it would be smart to go to the cops, and we’re not getting our parents involved. We’re in way over our heads, and I’m fucking terrified. I could’ve put Diego in serious danger just because I got hypnotized by the dollar signs.”
I frowned. Were they that tight on money? Emma had mentioned that they helped out with medical bills, but I’d be the first to admit I had no idea how much that cost. I wanted to ask, but one glance at Maverick had me holding my tongue. That was not the fucking point right now.
I tried to process my thoughts. Brooks had swallowed his pride and come to me because he’d felt it was the only place he could go. I wouldn’t betray that or try to undermine the terror he had to be feeling.
I met his eyes. “We’ll help, of course. Can we see the flash drive? I think we need to start there.”
CHAPTER 3
BROOKS
