Page 104 of Fighting With Light

He leans away from the camera, and we can barely hear what he’s saying.

“What’s your plan?” Emerson asks.

“We need proof of association with Costa, and we’re hoping that the connection will lead us to our father. We have one with the Portuguese. But if we can prove that connection in Colombia, then I believe it would be too hard to sweep under the rug.”

“What do you mean, connection with Portugal?” Emerson asks.

“We have proof that a shipment of unmarked, untraceable guns is being shipped from a port in Portugal to the East Coast, Massachusetts, in our father’s district.”

“Well, that could put him away for life,” Kai says.

“Exactly, but it could be hard to prove because of plausible deniability. There’s crime everywhere. So, if we can prove that Fred Coldwell, who is running for governor, is also helping Marco Costa move cocaine into the United States, it’s a slam dunk. The Feds would have no choice but to investigate.”

“Your father has many people in his pockets. There is a reason he’s gotten as far as he has, boys. Are you sure this wouldn’t just make it all worse?” Mom asks.

My heart hurts in my chest, and my brothers are silent. Seeing Mom shot and bleeding out on the stairs of the church where Cordi and Kai got married will haunt me for the rest of my life. I wish I was the one that took the bullet, not her. So maybe this is insane and I’ll get a bullet to the head or my head chopped off by a machete. But guilt is heavy, and so is the weight of bearing someone else’s choices.

We don’t get to decide what my father does, but that doesn’t mean we don’t carry the guilt of what he has done to other people. It has to end.

“This is the only way I’ve been able to figure out how to stop him, Mom. We have to try.”

“Please be careful, I—I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you boys.”

Aelia squeezes my hand, and I squeeze her back. We’ve talked about a lot of things, but some things are too hard to put into words.

“We will, Mom,” I mutter.

“Kai and I will meet you in Colombia in twenty-four hours,” Emerson says.

“If this is what we need to do, then so be it,” Kai says.

I watch him look over at Cordi, and I’m looking at him through a screen, but I can see the nervousness across his features.

“Kai you don’t have to—”

He holds up his hand.

“I do. I’ll see you soon,” he says and then hangs up.

Emerson hangs up, leaving Mom still on the screen.

“Be smart, Liam. Please don’t make me bury a son.”

My throat gets tight, and for the first time in a long time, I want to cry. The last thing I’d want to do to our mother is have her bury one of her children. That’s not how it’s supposed to work, but there is no other option except to put ourselves in harm’s way to put our fathers away. This isn’t just about our family anymore. Other lives are at stake.

“I love you, my sweet boy. Call me later.”

“I love you, too, Mom.”

She smiles softly, and the screen goes dark.

“That was… intense,” Aelia says.

“Does that mean we’ve hit a new milestone in our relationship? You’ve met the family, hell, you met my nephew, that has to count for something.”

A beautiful smile breaks across Aelia’s face, and her shoulders shake with laughter. “Yeah, I’d say so. I hope I didn’t upset them, though,” she says the last words hesitantly.

“I don’t care if they didn’t like it, princess. I know who you are. They just have to trust me.”