Page 7

Chapter 6

Jude

T he crisp air, the changing leaves, and the knowledge that we’d be back in the woods soon, ready for winter cutting, made fall my favorite time of year.

Since Chloe had promoted me, I’d been spending far too much time in an office, so I was beyond ready for the season. Weeks out at camp, no cell service, just me and the guys, cooking together and playing endless games of darts after long days in the forest. I brought my guitar and usually played while Ripley stole leftovers off the long wooden tables in the main bunkhouse.

I ran my hands through my hair, taking a deep breath, then took a slow sip of coffee. My neck was sore from sleeping on the couch, and I wanted nothing more than to hit the trails, but I had a lot to get done today.

As I lifted my steaming coffee cup to my mouth again, a “damn you, Jude” echoed down the hall.

I smirked into my mug. Ripley picked her head up off the floor and stared at me. I gave her a shrug, then stood and slowly made my way to the master bedroom.

When I stepped through the open door, I grinned. “You rang, Trouble?”

Mila was sitting upright, my dark green blanket pulled up to her waist and her hair plastered to one side of her face. She looked pretty cute, save for the snarl she had aimed at me.

“I said I was sleeping on the couch.”

I took a sip and nodded.

“And you moved me?”

I nodded again.

Her huff caused the hair framing her face to float. “Don’t do that.”

“I told you to take the bed. If you’d listened, I wouldn’t have had to move you.”

Eyes narrowed, she tried to cross her good arm over the one in the sling. She stopped abruptly, though, her face pinching in pain, and rested it at her side again. “How do you even do it? The painkillers aren’t strong enough to keep me from waking up if I’m jostled.”

I shrug. “I’m careful. And you’re welcome, by the way. I hope you had a good night’s sleep.”

She scrunched up her nose, her eyes darting around like she was trying to formulate a denial. In the end, she slumped. “I can sleep on the couch if I want to.”

“No guest of mine, especially one who is seriously injured, is sleeping on the couch when there is a perfectly good bed. I don’t know who raised you, but Debbie Hebert would beat me with a wooden spoon if she knew I let a lady sleep on the couch. While you’re here, you sleep in the bed and I take the couch.”

Her eyes flared. “You are impossible. What kind of macho bullshit is that? Don’t manhandle me.”

“If you weren’t so damn stubborn, I wouldn’t have to.”

She didn’t have a retort ready, but her mouth worked like she was trying to come up with one. For the space of several breaths, we stared at one another, neither of us willing to back down.

“Parker is gonna be here in thirty minutes,” I said when she didn’t snap back. “Do you need help getting dressed?”

She glared at me. “No thank you. But I’d love a cup of coffee.”

I gave her a salute and closed the door behind me. As I padded down the hall, I shook my head. Why did she have to fight everything? She should be taking it easy. Instead, she was duking it out with me at every turn.

I looked down at Ripley, who cocked her head in response, as if confused. I owed her a really long game of fetch for all the disruption to her routine.

With a sigh, I scratched her ears. “I don’t know either, girl.”

* * *

Parker Gagnon was a woman worthy of both respect and fear. We’d hired her to help us untangle some of the secrets and unknowns around my dad and the family business. When it sold, inconsistencies had been discovered, and pulling those threads had led to even more questions.

Since she began working on our situation, I’d spoken to her a few times, but since my job was to run the machines and keep the crews moving, I wasn’t a lot of help when it came to the questions she had regarding the company’s financial records.

Chloe loved her, which meant she was probably excellent at her job. And I had no reason to think otherwise.

But we’d been stuck for quite some time, and with each day that passed, frustration grew.

Now that Mila was here, I prayed she was the missing piece we needed to finally put all this mess behind us.

Parker was tall and sporty and wore her dark hair in a ponytail. She didn’t mince words and was always taking notes.

Unsurprisingly, Mila did not share my fear of the woman. I couldn’t imagine Mila being scared of anyone. Even while she was dressed in baggy sweats and still recovering from her injuries, she was sharp, intense, and confident.

Parker lobbed a few softballs, testing Mila’s responses, probably ensuring she actually knew what she was talking about. But before long, she really dug in.

I poured coffee as they went back and forth, Parker asking questions, using a tone she’d clearly perfected in her law enforcement training and Mila keeping her answers clipped and full of sass.

Despite never wanting any part of it, this mess had somehow landed in my living room.

Most days I focused on the things I could control. I worked and took care of myself and my house. Played my guitar and hiked with my dog.

The fallout from my dad’s crimes honestly felt too big. If I focused on it, I’d lose myself.

A couple of my brothers had been shocked, even upset, when our dad was arrested. And even more so when we learned the extent of his crimes, his responsibility for the death of Frank Gagnon.

Me? I was sad.

My brain couldn’t accept it. Wouldn’t accept it.

Even when all the evidence had been laid out, even after he’d confessed, I struggled to understand.

He’d never been a good father to any of us, even to Gus, who he’d molded to follow in his footsteps. But the man had a great life. He ran the company his grandfather had founded with his brother. He had six sons and the respect of the entire community.

It was hard to believe that wasn’t enough for him.

My brothers all had their theories about why he’d done it. Gus thought it came down to greed, but Owen was convinced he was a sociopath. I wasn’t sure where I fell. I couldn’t put that much energy into trying to decipher his motivations. What I did know was that I wanted this over.

His arrest hadn’t been the end. Not by a long shot. In fact, it was only the beginning of a long nightmare for my family. One that was getting more dangerous by the day.

Mila described the Ape Hanger, a biker bar she’d worked at, and some of the people she’d met—as well as the things she’d seen—to Parker, who furiously scribbled notes.

“So you showed up there like a vigilante Nancy Drew?” Parker asked.

“Yes,” Mila replied.

The comment was likely intended as an insult, but Mila seemed to bask in it.

“One thing I’ve learned as a journalist is that the story is in the people. Always. So getting close to the people was essential. It’s a shady place. No one asks questions. So I kept my head down and observed.”

Parker made a noncommittal hum and scribbled in her notepad.

“Otter, he’s the owner,” Mila explained. “He’s clean, but he turns a blind eye to his patrons who aren’t. And most of them aren’t. His son Razor gets himself mixed up from time to time but isn’t a major player.”

“And who are the major players?”

“They call themselves the syndicate. Some are bikers, some are loggers, and some are business types. They’re the ones responsible for the stream of opioids coming in from Canada. Some of them have matching tattoos.”

Parker’s eyes widened. “Can you describe it?”

“Haven’t seen them up close. A tree or something. Razor doesn’t have one. Probably because he isn’t fully in on the trafficking. I don’t think they trust him not to fuck it up. But some of the guys who run back and forth to Quebec have them. Usually on the hand or forearm. When I went up there for Winter Carnival with Razor, we stayed for a few weeks and met some of the guys on that side of the border.”

“You met with the Canadians?” Parker asked, scratching notes at a ridiculous speed.

“I think so. Eagle seemed to be the one doing business, but he was speaking French, so I couldn’t decode any of what he was saying. Razor was more of a hanger-on.”

Parker pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. “Do you have any idea how much danger you were in palling around with an international drug trafficking organization like that?”

Mila glared at her. “I’m acutely aware, thank you. And I got a pretty good reminder the day before yesterday, when they shot at me and chased me through the woods on ATVs. But I’ve been in war zones before. I know how to take care of myself.”

Parker frowned, her expression dubious. “Okay, then. So where is this evidence?”

“I have to go back for it,” Mila said, her gaze drifting down to the table. “But I have so much. Recordings, notes, photos, paper files.”

I was still trying to wrap my head around this. Mila—or Amy, as I knew her before—had infiltrated this criminal organization and was working to single-handedly take them down from the inside?

As impressive as her bravery was, I was mostly terrified for her.

Parker looked up from her notes. “You didn’t take it with you?”

“Long story. But I can get it,” Mila said.

“How do you know they didn’t get to it first?”

Mila chuckled. “I don’t. But I’d be impressed if they found everything. Razor and his crew are not exactly masterminds.”

Parker pinched the bridge of her nose. “I appreciate the work you’ve done as a civilian—”

Mila huffed.

“But we need to get law enforcement involved.”

“I thought you were law enforcement.”

“I’m going through the background check process. Becoming chief of police in a small town comes with a shocking amount of red tape. But I have great contacts at the FBI.”

“As I explained already, the FBI is compromised.” Mila seemed annoyed.

“How do you know that?”

“They used to joke around about a fed on their payroll. They’d laugh about this investigation being the longest in Bureau history because their guy kept delaying things.”

Parker’s face paled.

The FBI had been sniffing around Hebert Timber for years. We’d had meetings, investigations, and numerous drop-ins. Yet they still hadn’t come up with enough concrete evidence to bust this ring. The only arrest they’d made was an arsonist who torched our machine shop in full view of our security cameras.

With a long breath out, Parker sank down in her chair. “Do you know who it is? Or have a description?”

Mila hummed. “White guy, in his forties or fifties. I saw him once, and I recorded his voice on my phone. At the poker game.”

Parker was back to jotting notes. “This could be worse than we thought.” She peered up at us, pen still moving. “But we can keep it local for now if we need to.”

“What about your last police chief?” Mila asked. “He came into the Ape Hanger all the time.”

Parker’s brows shot up, and I straightened in my seat.

The whole town knew Chief Souza was a bad guy. What he had done to Cole was probably only the tip of the power-abusing iceberg. But involved with drug trafficking?

“Yes. He always ordered a shot of whiskey and an Allagash White. I know he’s on leave, but he’s not locked up, and he still has influence around here, right?”

Parker winced. “Do you know for sure he’s involved?”

“I’ve seen him walk out of the bar with duffel bags full of cash. Does that answer your question?”

“Any other Lovewell PD?”

“No one ever came in dressed in uniform, so I couldn’t tell you. I only recognized Souza because I met with him after Hugo was attacked.”

“Wait a second.” Parker tapped her pen on the table, her lips turned down. “You met with him, and he never recognized you at the bar?”

Mila shrugged. “I cut and dyed my hair before I started this and dressed differently.”

“Fuck.” Parker shook her head. “That dumbass was terrible at his job.”

Mila pushed her hair behind her ear with her good hand for what had to be the third or fourth time, which got me thinking it was a tic of hers. That was further evidenced when she stood abruptly, wincing at the movement.

“Respectfully,” she said through gritted teeth. “I’m not going to stop. This situation.” She pointed to the arm cradled in its sling. “Is unfortunate, but I’m too close now.”

“I’m going to ask you to please stand down.” The authority in Parker’s tone was natural. Clearly, it came with the territory in law enforcement. “This is complex and, while I’m impressed with what you’ve put together, one injured woman is not going to take down an entire opioid cartel.”

Mila’s expression darkened as she pulled herself up straighter.

“You should lay low,” Parker said. “Leave town.”

Leave town? No way. Abruptly, I stood. A second later, sensing my mood, Ripley appeared at my side.

“No. She’ll stay here,” I growled.

The response was out of character for me. I was the calm, quiet Hebert brother, and I certainly didn’t make demands like this. But I couldn’t imagine Mila being safe anywhere else. And that was all I wanted, for her to be safe.

“I’m not running away from this,” Mila argued, her good hand balled into a fist at her side.

“You should.” Parker sighed and closed her eyes. “You should go far away and live your life.”

Mila’s eyes flashed with rage. “Whether or not you want to believe it, this isn’t only about your family and your town. My brother’s in a damn coma because of these assholes. My mother has been threatened by goons. So excuse me for caring.”

She stepped up to the table and splayed one hand on it, leaning closer to Parker.

“I’m sorry this is coming at an inconvenient time for you professionally, but I will push forward, and I will find law enforcement to help me.”

My blood ran cold. While I respected her passion, she was hardly in any condition to do this. And in the thirty-six hours she’d spent in my house, I’d learned that she had little to no regard for her personal safety.

“Parker,” I pleaded.

She sighed. “Let me poke around with the FBI. Off the record. See if I can get a sense of where the investigation has stalled. Even if someone there is compromised, the bureau is likely still collecting evidence. There have got to be threads we can pull.”

“I’ll get you all my evidence.” Mila straightened again, her demeanor calming.

“I can’t use illegally obtained evidence.”

“Yes, I’m familiar with the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine, thanks,” Mila snapped. So much for her mood settling. “But in the state of Maine, there are several exceptions, including independent sources. Of which I am.”

Parker tilted her head, regarding Mila, then nodded. “You’re good.”

“No shit,” she replied. “So let’s make a plan.”

Despite the fear still consuming me, I couldn’t help but be proud of her for fighting for what she believed in.

Parker put up a hand. “Okay, okay. We will. But for now, you should lay low. When I’m officially on the job in a month or two—”

“We can’t wait that long.” Mila’s pitch rose, her breathing coming in short pants like she was in pain. Her ribs were probably killing her. “Things change day to day. Who knows how long this information will be good for. You’ve got to move now.”

With a shake of her head, Parker looked at me. “I thought being a small-town police chief would mean dealing with speeding tickets and lost pets.”

“Sorry.” I shrugged. “But we’ve waited years for a lead like this.”

“I need to go pick my daughter up from daycare. Can I trust you to stay here?”

Mila grimaced. “For how long?”

“Give me two weeks. Stay in the house. Let your shoulder heal. Read, relax, spoil the dog. Do not get yourself killed or do anything that would clue them in to your whereabouts or give away that we’re on to them.”

“But my evidence—”

“Let me worry about that. Just hit pause for a damn minute and give me time to catch up.”

Mila bit her lip and narrowed her eyes. From her expression, she wasn’t thrilled about being told to stand down.

Parker arched a brow at me. “Jude, can I trust you to keep her contained?”

Honestly, it was unlikely. Though I didn’t know Mila well, I could guarantee she wasn’t the kind of woman who could be contained or controlled. But I’d do everything I could to protect my family and end this once and for all. If that meant babysitting her, even if she fought me over it, I’d do it.

“Yes. She’ll stay here. I’ll keep her safe. We’re out of the way up here, and I’ve got access to our camps if we need to get off the grid.”

Mila glared at me. It was the same expression she wore when she woke up and discovered she was in my bed. I was getting used to it pretty quickly.

Parker gave me a tight nod. “I’ll be in touch.”

I saw her out, and when I returned to the living room, Mila was pacing. Ripley was on her heels as she wore tracks in my area rug.

“I can’t wait weeks,” she said. “You’re gonna have to help me.”

A long breath escaped me. “Parker said to stand down.”

She halted her movements and tilted her head, looking unimpressed. “Not the first time I’ve been told that.”

I scoffed. “Shocking.”

She stuck her tongue out, her body relaxing a fraction. “You sure you don’t mind that I’m here?”

I stepped up to her, taking in the fading bruises on her face. “It’s no problem.” My hands itched to reach out and cup her jaw, but I fisted them at my sides, resisting the urge.

She grinned, clearly not as affected by our proximity as I was. “Because you’re gonna help me take these fuckers down?”

I frowned. “No, because I’m gonna keep you safe.”

With a step back, she rolled her eyes. “Who said we can’t do both?”