It’s late afternoon and I’m heading back to my apartment. I spent most of the day with Matt at the police station, meeting his DEA contact, Paulo Dresden. We were mapping out a deal with him. Dresden is a short guy with a receding hairline who smells heavily of smoke and drinks way more coffee than I knew any one person could. He seems like a good guy and Matt trusts him. They went to the academy together.
Most importantly, Dresden has pulled together a good deal for Tyler—well, as good a deal as a person can get in these circumstances. Things won’t be easy for him, since the DEA is proposing a plan that will turn his life upside down—he’ll have to get a new identity and move into the Witness Protection Program.
Everything rests on Tyler agreeing to do this, and I would like to think that’s a possibility, especially if he feels the same way about his brother as Grayson feels about him. I would hope he’d also do anything to keep him safe.
I walk toward my door, a little apprehensive about seeing the guys. Grayson joined Tyler at my place after I called to tell him it’d take me a while to sort things out at the police station. I’m sure they’re going a little stir-crazy. They’ve been hunkered down all day.
My stomach flips at the thought of seeing Grayson. Grayson, who drove me wild last night. I force deep, steadying breaths to calm myself.
He’s just a man. One you’ve spent half the night getting hot and sweaty with, but still just a man.
I open the door and let myself in. My eyes connect with Grayson’s instantly. Seeing someone for the first time after you’ve had sex with him is always nerve-racking, but I didn’t expect to feel the way I do looking at Grayson right now. Like my whole world is centered around this one man.
But suddenly my world gets flipped again. There’s nothing in Grayson’s face or eyes. They’re emotionless and cold. And I don’t know if he’s angry with me for leaving before he woke or just indifferent about what happened between us last night.
My heart sinks. Grayson said a lot of things last night—telling me how much he wanted me—but men generally say those kinds of things when they’ve got their cock deep inside you. It doesn’t necessarily mean they want you forever.
I force a polite smile and gesture for them both to sit in the plushy couch in my living room. “Thanks for your patience,” I say, dropping into a chair across from them. I look at Tyler as I speak because it just seems easier to do. Looking at Grayson right now would be like staring at the sun—it’d blind me. I can smell his cologne, teasing and taunting me. I take a breath and decide to just go straight into it. “I spent the last fourteen hours or so with Sergeant Daughtry—”
“The cop who arrested me?” Grayson demands. His words force me to look at him, and when I do, I swear to God I see jealousy burning in his eyes.
Why would he be jealous? Grayson isn’t looking at me like he cares about me. And he doesn’t know Matt is my ex, anyway…does he?
“Yes. I went to Sergeant Daughtry—Matt—because I trust him—”
Grayson snorts.
I ignore him and focus on Tyler, who is giving Grayson the side-eye. “I told Matt everything both of you told me. I thought it’d be easier to work with Matt on this, since he was the arresting officer in both of your cases. There’s no reason to bring a third party in. Also, Matt has a contact in the DEA named Paulo Dresden. He called Dresden, brought him in, and the three of us hashed out a deal for you, Tyler.”
“What’s the deal?” Grayson asks.
I look at him. His expression is still blank.
“The deal is that both of you make a statement that says that Grayson had nothing to do with the drugs the police found on him that night in Liv. You tell them the only thing Grayson did was hide them for you, Tyler. Even though the police found the drugs on Grayson, Matt is willing to let the charge drop so long as”—I focus on Tyler, because this affects him the most—“you give up names of the main players in the cartel who you work for, and you testify against them—”
“No,” Grayson says, cutting me off.
“Gray…” Tyler says his name in a gentle warning.
“No, Ty. You take this deal, you know what that means? If you testify in a trial, your life will be in danger. You—”
“It’s already in danger,” Tyler cuts him off. “The second I got involved with these people I was putting my life on the line. I got involved and now I have to face the consequences by myself. I can’t let my big brother face them for me.” Tyler turns to me and says, “I’ll be protected, right? By the DEA?”
“Yes. Full protection. Then…” I bite my lip, pausing, because I can guess how Grayson will react to this piece of information. “After the trial, you’ll go into witness protection and be given a new identity.”
“Hell, no,” Grayson says, getting off the couch. “Tyler, you’re not going into witness protection. If you go, I’ll never see you again.”
Tyler gets to his feet, turning to Grayson. “I have to do this. There’s no other choice.”
“I’ll take the rap on the drug charge,” Grayson says, turning to me. I can see the panic in his eyes. “I’ll go to jail. Call Daughtry, tell him that’s the way it’ll be.”
“No,” Tyler says in a firm voice. “I’m not letting you mess up your life for me. I should have never let you take those drugs from me in the first place. This is on me. I screwed up. You have a life and a great career—I saw how hard you worked, all your life, to get into the NFL. And now you have Mel. I won’t have you lose that because of me.”
He puts his hands on Grayson’s upper arms, looking him in the face. His voice drops lower and turns more serious. “Even if I was selfish enough to let you do that, it won’t make any difference anyway, Gray. The cartel knows I was arrested—they left me my first warning when they came to my apartment. Once they realize that there are charges against you that match mine and that I stole those drugs from their stash, they’ll put everything together and I’ll be as good as dead. You too, man. I won’t let that happen.”
Tyler swivels his head toward me and says, “This offer from the DEA is the best chance I have. Right?”
I see fear in his eyes and a desperate need for support, so I give it to him. I push up to my feet and say, “He’s right, Grayson.”
Grayson looks at me and I see the moment he accepts the plan. Hurt fills his eyes and defeat slumps his shoulders. He pulls his eyes from me and back to Tyler. He takes Tyler’s face in his hands, looking him in the eye. “I’ll be there for you the whole way. I won’t let you down.”
“I know, Gray. I know. You never have.”
Then Grayson wraps his arms around his younger brother, and I turn away to look out the window and give them their moment. It also gives me the chance to discreetly wipe away the tear that decided to show up and escape from my eye.
I hear Tyler clear his throat. Then he says, “So what now?”
I turn back to the brothers. “Now we go see Matt Daughtry.”