aisling grimlock 03 - grim discovery (26 page)

“I’m not working with her,” Braden said, crossing his arms over his chest. “I can’t forgive her.”

“Oh, you’re going to forgive her,” Dad snapped. “You’re going to suck it up and realize that you would’ve probably done exactly the same thing in her position.”

“I would not have done anything of the sort,” Braden protested.

“Oh, please.” Dad rolled his eyes. “You two are the most alike. Cillian would’ve immediately told everyone what he found out and then hit the books for two weeks, because that’s what he does. Redmond would’ve hemmed and hawed for days and skulked around until he exploded. Aidan would’ve drunk himself to the brink of death and then let it slip to Jerry, who wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from telling Aisling. You would’ve handled it exactly as Aisling did, Braden. Although you probably wouldn’t have spent so much time cuddling up with Griffin during the process – and I’m thankful for that.”

Braden’s mouth dropped open. “You … I … we … I am nothing like Aisling.”

“Sometimes I think you two should’ve been the twins,” Dad shot back.

Redmond snorted. “He’s right, Braden,” he said. “You and Aisling are the most alike. That’s why you argue the most.”

“Whatever,” Braden groused. “We are absolutely nothing alike.”

“I don’t understand why we’re pretending this is all okay,” Aidan said. “Did you forget that she spent two weeks lying to us about Mom being alive?”

“I haven’t forgotten anything,” Dad countered. “She’s still my daughter, and no matter what she does, that will never change. I’m sure if Aisling had it to do over again she would … alter … some things. She probably wouldn’t change others. We don’t have time to waste with her second-guessing herself. It is what it is.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, Aidan, but I think you’re more upset that Aisling didn’t confide in you than you are about what she was hiding,” he continued. “You’re not upset because your sister lied to you. You’re upset because your best friend chose to confide in the handsy cop instead of you.”

“We can probably let the handsy cop stuff go now,” Griffin suggested, pouring juice into my glass. “I try really hard not to be handsy around you.”

“And that makes me cringe because that means you’re even more handsy when I’m not around,” Dad said. “I made you dinner last night and didn’t comment on the
My Little Pony
shirt. I’m going to keep calling you handsy.”

“Hey, I’ve been looking for that shirt,” Jerry said.

“It’s in the hamper,” I supplied.

“Did he look better in it than me?”

“No one looks better in that shirt than you,” I said, patting his hand. “I promise.”

“Did you at least get a photo of him in it?” Jerry asked.

“No, she did not,” Griffin snapped.

“I’ll show it to you later,” I whispered.

“If you show that photo to anyone I’ll spank your bottom blue,” Griffin warned.

“Kinky,” Jerry said, winking.

“That will be enough of that,” Dad said, although he didn’t sound particularly perturbed. I think he enjoyed the fact that at least some of the people around the breakfast table were warming up to me again. “So, now that everyone has made up … .”

“I’m not making up with her,” Braden interrupted. “I don’t care how you try to spin this. She lied to us … and it wasn’t a little lie like when she dinged your car and told you I did it.”

“I still maintain that was your fault,” I argued. “If you hadn’t opened the door into that pole … .”

“You parked too close to the pole!”

“You were both at fault as far as that’s concerned,” Dad said. “You weren’t supposed to be driving my car in the first place, Aisling. And as I recall, Braden, Aisling was driving because you got drunk with your friends and needed a ride.”

“That’s neither here nor there,” Braden argued. “She still lied to us.”

“Do you think she feels good about it?” Griffin asked. “She’s been tying herself into knots. She did the best she could, given the circumstances. How many people have to deal with their mother coming back from the dead?”

“No one asked you,” Braden grumbled.

“Don’t talk to Griffin that way,” Dad ordered. “For better or worse, he’s part of the family now. He’s the one Aisling confided in. He stood by her. He dug up information on the fire. He refused to leave her when she was under attack yesterday. He patched up her wounds – although I still maintain I would’ve done a better job.”

“Don’t worry,” Jerry interjected. “I’m sure he kissed her boo-boo just like you used to.”

“Thank you, Jerry,” Dad said, exhaling heavily. “I … will never get that visual out of my head now.”

“It’s not as if her boo-boo was in a naughty place,” Jerry replied, nonplussed. “You should get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Jerry, eat your breakfast,” Dad ordered.

I risked a glance at Griffin and found him rubbing his forehead. “I’ll bet you wish we’d stayed in bed all day,” I whispered.

“Jerry always manages to make these meals fun,” Griffin said. “I just … wish he would stick to
My Pretty Pony
shirts instead of naughty boo-boo kisses. I’m going to have nightmares about your father chasing me with a pitchfork now. I know it.”

“It will be a chainsaw, not a pitchfork,” Dad supplied. “You didn’t know I heard that, did you? I have ears like a cat. Don’t forget it.”

“I’m so glad everyone else thinks this is funny,” Braden said. “Personally, I’m disgusted that Aisling is being let off the hook after lying to us.” He stood up, tossing his napkin onto his plate. “Aisling was spoiled rotten when we were growing up because she was the only girl. It was just the way of the world. I accepted it, but I’m not accepting this. She lied and I’m not participating in any of this.”

“Sit down,” Dad snapped.

“No.”

“Either sit down or leave the room.” Dad changed tactics midstream. “If you don’t want to be a part of this, you don’t have to participate. I understand that this is overwhelming and you need time. I’m not going to spend time arguing. That goes for all of you.

“If you’re not going to be part of the solution, though, then you’re a part of the problem, Braden,” he continued. “I don’t want to tell you how to feel. I have no idea what’s going through your mind, but my door is always open if you want to talk. If you don’t want to work with us, then you should give us space. Sniping at Aisling isn’t productive. We need to be productive today.”

Braden was flabbergasted. “So, instead of her getting in trouble I somehow ended up in trouble? How does that work?”

“You’re not in trouble,” Dad said. “You’re hurting, Braden. It’s written all over your face. You need to get yourself together and face what you’re really angry about. I’m telling you right now that it’s not Aisling.”

“Well, thank you for telling me how I feel,” Braden said, kicking his chair out of the way so he could step back from the table. “I guess I’ll go upstairs and think about my feelings until I convince myself that Aisling lying to us isn’t a big deal.”

“Perhaps that’s for the best,” Dad agreed.

I watched Braden go, part of me wanting to follow and beg for forgiveness while the other part wanted to wrestle him to the ground and pinch him until he cried. I didn’t move.

“Does anyone else want to leave?” Dad arched a challenging eyebrow and glanced around the table. “You all can feel whatever you want about this situation. We need to work together, though. If you’re going to hinder the process, leave now.”

Dad waited.

“Okay, everyone eat,” he said. “I have jobs for everyone today … including you, Griffin. If you’re going to be part of this family, you’re getting chores.”

“Oh, good,” Griffin deadpanned. “I can’t wait.”

“Wait until you hear what I want you to do,” Dad countered. “Babysitting is only part of the job.”

Twenty-Five

“We’re here,” Griffin said, putting his Explorer in park and killing the engine before turning toward me. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

I nodded, even though I had no idea I was being truthful.

“Why did she get the front seat?” Redmond complained from behind us. “I’m bigger than she is and I’m mad at her. I should’ve gotten the front seat.”

Griffin rolled his eyes. “She got the front seat because I don’t want to hold your hand.”

“Yeah, that was annoying,” Redmond muttered. “Having to watch you hold her hand and kiss it whenever you stopped at a light gave me heartburn.”

“I think that was the pound of bacon you ate for breakfast,” I countered.

“I’m still angry with you,” Redmond said, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t see why Dad made me come with you guys. You could’ve done this on your own.”

“If you don’t want to come, don’t come,” Griffin said bluntly. “You can sit here and pout until you die of heatstroke for all I care. Well, actually, I might get in trouble for that. You can sit at that picnic table over there if you’re going to pout the whole time. I think those two women are prostitutes and they might give you a hand job if you have ten extra bucks.”

“Whatever.” Redmond eyed the women in question. “They don’t look healthy.”

“This is a high meth area,” Griffin said. “I’m sure they’re not healthy. Given the way you’re acting, though, the release might do you some good.”

I pursed my lips. I knew exactly why Dad sent Redmond with us. Unfortunately, I think Redmond knew, too. That was the crux of the problem.

“Aisling, if you don’t want to see this, you don’t have to,” Griffin said, grabbing my hand. I had no idea whether he was doing it to irk Redmond or soothe me. It was probably a combination of both. “I can go and look around. I’m not expecting to find much back there.”

“I want to go,” I said. “I’ve never been here. It’s not as if she’ll be here. Truthfully, I think Dad sent us here just so he could say we did due diligence. I don’t expect to find anything here either.”

Redmond was morose. “I’ve been here before.”

I shifted in my seat. Dad doled out various jobs over the course of breakfast. He tasked Cillian with research, which was his forte. He wanted background on the Grimponds and a possible motive for them to lie. He also wanted any information Cillian might have missed the first time around when he looked into Genevieve Toth.

He tasked Aidan with hitting a few local reaper haunts to see what he could find out. Of course Jerry wanted to go with him. He was in the middle of picking out the perfect undercover outfit – leather pants and vest were a must – when I swooped in and reminded him that he had another meeting with the picky wedding couple he couldn’t miss. Aidan reluctantly thanked me for the rescue, although his tone was cold. In truth, Jerry would get his ass kicked in a reaper establishment. I was saving Jerry as much as Aidan.

Dad dumped all of our reapings – five in total – on Braden. I wasn’t present for that conversation, but Braden’s cursing could be heard two wings away. He took this as another personal affront. There was nothing I could do about that, so I opted to push it out of my mind.

Dad intended to spend his day talking to the colleagues he’d distanced himself from. He hoped someone would be able to give him a motive. That’s what bothered him most. The possibility of Mom being alive left him conflicted and bitter, but someone purposely working against him and trying to hurt his family infuriated him. He needed to know why someone would be underhanded enough to do it.

That left Redmond to do busywork with Griffin and me. I couldn’t tell who was more annoyed at the grouping, but Redmond’s pouting was pushing Griffin closer to a verbal smackdown.

I glanced at Redmond. His face was hard to read as he stared at the overgrown Detroit lot. The apartment building where Mom purportedly died was long gone. Only rubble remained. I knew there was nothing to find here, yet I was so worried about keeping my father on my side I agreed to his suggestion without giving the motives behind the task further thought.

“Did you come down here that night?”

“I came the next day,” Redmond said. “Braden was with me. He didn’t believe she was dead. He thought it had to be a mistake. There was something about seeing the burned-out shell that … snapped him out of that.”

“Did you believe she was still alive?”

“I believed that … our lives were never going to be the same,” Redmond said, finally meeting my gaze. “I guess I was right on that front.”

We hopped out of the Explorer and Griffin linked his fingers with mine to keep me close as we picked our way through the lot. The bulk of the block was empty and abandoned, and what remained looked like fronts for illegal activities. The hand-drawn medical marijuana sign in front of the tattoo parlor almost made me laugh out loud.

In most cities, developers would’ve swooped in to put up a new building as soon as the smoke cleared. Detroit was a different story. This city struggled to regroup – and the struggle was nowhere close to complete.

“There’s not much left,” I mused, flinching when Griffin tugged me closer to him to keep me from stepping on a rickety-looking plank.

“Watch where you’re stepping, baby,” Griffin ordered. “You’re already a walking bruise. With your luck, you’ll fall into a hole and we’ll have the whole media circus out here when we try to get you out.”

“At least gargoyles couldn’t get me in a hole.”

“Yeah, well, that’s bugging me,” Griffin said.

“What’s bugging you?”

“Why did the gargoyles attack last night and then disappear overnight?” Redmond supplied. “They clearly wanted to make their presence known and then … poof … they’re gone. That’s what’s bugging him.”

Griffin grunted his agreement. “It’s like someone is trying to scare Aisling,” he said. “I don’t like the focus being solely on her.”

“I think it’s clear they want Aisling,” Redmond said, instinctively grabbing the shoulder of my shirt to drag me from an overturned, rusted-out metal canister. “Don’t touch anything, Ais. You’re likely to get hepatitis or something. There are used needles all over the place.”

Two days ago I would’ve been angry about his bossy nature. Today I was merely relieved he wasn’t trying to pull my hair out. “Thanks,” I murmured.