Page 55 of Cruel Debts (Killers of Port Wylde #4)

FORTY-EIGHT

LIAM

I'd never seen Mistwood's weasel-looking ass so shocked or scared in his life.

But when he worked out that Keehn wasn't there to press charges, things mellowed out a little.

By a little, I meant a fraction of a percent.

Because past the worry that Keehn would want to have him prosecuted, which I hadn't even thought about, was the worry that Keehn would want his life back.

And there couldn't exactly be two Keehn McCoys out there running around with the same social security number, date of birth, and badge number.

We needed to talk to someone skilled in fixing problems like this.

We needed to talk to St. Clair. Only she'd be able to sort this out.

The ride to the Guild was a long, awkward, silent one. Well, except for Keehn and Trinity, who sat together rehashing things he could and couldn't remember, her worry only overshadowed by his guilt.

"I'm so sorry I left like that, Tee," he muttered, his hands gripped around hers like a lifeline. Like if he let her go, she'd disappear.

Asher glanced at the rear view mirror at least ten times in the last six blocks, watching them.

"Do you want me to drive?"

He shook his head and scowled at the road in front of him. "No. I'm fine."

"That's the furthest thing from the truth that I've ever heard." I flick imaginary lint off my shirt. "But whatever."

I returned my attention to the two in the backseat and frowned.

Hawke rolled out with Mistwood in the police cruiser he'd only get to drive one last time, determined to make sure he made it to the Guild without chickening out.

If he bailed now, we'd have more than just a little issue on our hands. We'd have a literal shitstorm. And I wasn't about to take the fall for his ass.

He had some shit to answer for, and it was his responsibility to straighten this out. He knew the risks, taking an identity that didn't belong to him?—

"Should we call Mother and Father and tell them the news?"

Keehn, along with every other man in the car, froze on the spot. His eyes narrowed, and he frowned at his sister like she'd suggested he start a metal band and dye his hair magenta.

"What have our mother and father been doing this whole time?" He waited for an answer, but he wasn't going to get the one he wanted. We all knew it.

Apparently, Trinity did, too, though she had no qualms throwing them under the bus. "They filed a missing persons report when you didn't come home."

"How long was I gone before they did that?"

I could hear the betrayal in his tone. Could sense the hatred he'd had for his parents for years before now, years before he went missing. He'd always harbored resentment of them, even in high school, when the pressure was put on him to be the next heir apparent and take over the business.

Trinity cocked her head to the side. "A week? Maybe two. They just assumed your work took you out of town and that you'd forgotten to call them and let them know."

"They didn't think that," he decided, his chest sagging.

"They didn't care enough to look." His eyes cut to mine in the mirror, and the guilt raced through me as we came to a silent understanding.

"Nobody looked for me. Not like you did.

" He tugged her against his chest, and she went willingly, wrapping her arms around her long-lost brother.

"You shouldn't have had to do that on your own. "

"I wanted to," she whispered. "I knew you were still out there."

His glare at me intensified. "Why didn't you ask for help?"

"From who?" Her sigh was heavy, filled with regret.

"I didn't have anyone. I came here on a pipe dream, a hope that I was right, that you hadn't died, or been kidnapped.

A hope that you were still alive, like I thought you were.

" She pulled back to thump her chest, smiling proudly.

"I could feel in my heart that you just needed to be found. "

"You did good, kid," he told her, giving her the only genuine smile he'd put on from the moment we spotted him following her. "Thank you, Tee."

"I'd do anything for you, Keehn. You're my family." I could hear the tears clogging her throat, and a pang of guilt ran through me and chilled my blood. "I never stopped looking for you. Never stopped hoping."

"I'm glad someone kept the light on for me." His eyes cut away from the mirror, but not before he made it clear what he thought of our lack of effort, one last time.

"This is a nightmare."

St. Clair marched around her office in four-inch heels, staring down not only her ex-husband, but us, and Keehn as well. Though what he did to deserve the glare was beyond my comprehension. He just dared to exist, and that was enough for her, apparently.

Trinity stood before him with her arms crossed, a scowl on her pretty face. "He's an innocent party in all this. As am I, frankly. If you want to find fault, that's fine, but find it with the men responsible."

Ouch. Harsh. But fair.

"I never said it was his fault." She blinked slowly, regarding Trinity like she was a bug on the sidewalk. "Or yours, for that matter."

"You didn't have to say it. The looks tell the story your lips hide."

That sounded like downright poetry.

"Tee," Keehn said quietly, reaching out to tug her hand back toward himself. "Don't start a fight."

She took the seat next to him but made it clear in her body language that she wasn't happy about it. She stayed seated for only ten seconds before she was back up again, marching back and forth behind our seats.

"So, how do we fix this little problem presented to us?

" Her eyes rounded on Mistwood, who refused to meet her stare.

"You, I knew about. Your story, your secrets, your fake identity, I knew all that.

That's no surprise to me. But to learn you didn't have a backup or contingency plan in place for if someone else ever figured you out?

That's a disappointment. Because I know you know better than that.

" She leaned against the corner of her desk, a frown marring her classically elegant features.

"You've spent so much time making sure to clean up after my messes, you forgot to clean up your own. "

"I had my priorities," he growled, staring anywhere but at her. "It's not your concern how I spent my time or energy."

"But it is when it affects my organization. When it affects me." Her words were filled with a new kind of hurt, the kind that was born of betrayal and broken love.

I knew all about that.

I had the feeling we were about to be unwilling witnesses to a divorced couple's fallout. And I wasn't interested in that—not in the least bit. But there was no opportunity to open my mouth and speak—not yet.

"And now that you've magically regained your memories?—"

The second her finger swiveled in Keehn's direction, Asher growled in warning.

"Memory loss is not only typical with head injuries like the one he received, but wildly different from person to person. It can last a day, a week, a month, or even be permanent."

"And you're telling me that you want me to believe he's just been wandering around Port Wylde, undiscovered, this whole time.

That you," she pointed to Hawke next, "master of intel and secrecy, couldn't find a single clue to lead you to him?

Never once came across him. And you," she pointed at me next, "never walked by him in the daylight on a mission?

That you never once realized your contact was keeping him in an apartment literally five minutes from the Guild?

" Now she looked at Asher. "Or you, the man who tracked down and assembled this team, never thought to look harder. Ask questions."

Keehn looked visibly uncomfortable. "They had their reasons, I'm sure."

"Reasons that are no longer satisfactory to me."

Trinity stood up, put her hands on her hips, and stepped between Asher and me. "Don't you think you're being a little rude, ripping open old wounds while we're all here? Shouldn't they be allowed some privacy to sort through their own shit before you make it public knowledge?"

"Trinity," I muttered in warning, but she wasn't listening.

"And my brother needs to be seen by a doctor. He needs rest. What he doesn't need is an interrogation." Her hands moved to her chest, where she crossed them in challenge. "Which I assume is one of the next things on your checklist."

"You're pretty brave for a girl who just had to be rescued from her own stupidity."

Hawke was on his feet in a heartbeat, outrage clearly running through his veins. "Now you wait just a minute—that's unfair and playing dirty. She's not stupid ? —"

"She walked out of a safe haven and into the arms of the enemy. I'd say that's stupid enough." Lilly looked at Hawke like he was the idiot here now. "Shut up and sit down, Ghost, before I sit you down myself. Permanently."

She would do it, too. She'd done it to several Guild members who crossed her or disobeyed a tenement of the creed. Lilly St. Clair wouldn't hesitate to put a dog down if it bit back. And Hawke was that dog right now.

"Maybe we should all just let the tempers in the room cool before we make any more rash decisions?—"

Lilly's hand was around Mistwood's throat in a heartbeat. "I don't think you should talk right now, unless you have a suggestion on how to fix this."

"Well, he can't go around being my brother anymore," Trinity said with a huff, stepping her foot right back into the mess. "Keehn should get his name and his life back now that he remembers who he is."

Lilly pursed her lips, regarding Trinity thoughtfully. "And what, then, should Danny do about his own reputation he's built here as Detective McCoy?"

"Detective whatever his name is can get fucked, for all I care. He gained that reputation with the help of Keehn's existing reputation. It's not rightfully his."