Leverage (The Brannock Siblings) (5 page)

I heard my dad chuckle as he walked back out of the kitchen,
but I kept my eyes closed. Lucas was probably leaving and then I could finally
breathe. Maybe I would go for a run and clear my head.

Then I remembered that I couldn't go alone and I groaned as
I opened my eyes.

Lucas was standing in front of me, looking down at me with
an amused grin. And when I say he was standing in front of me, I mean he was
right
in front of me with maybe a foot in between us. It was a miracle I was still on
my feet and hadn't mentally checked out completely.

"You planning on running tonight?" he asked. His
breath fanning my face, he was so close.

I couldn't find my voice so I just shrugged.

"Stay in tonight, Ash. It's been a big day."

I nodded in agreement.
Okay, I'll stay
. He didn't
have to tell me twice.

God, Con and Gus would totally come unglued if they saw
me right now.

His head jerked as if to say, "Okay, good," then
he turned away and headed for the front door. I followed him so I could lock up
behind him.

"Goodnight," he said and gave me that infamous
wink.

This time, I was ready for it and I just smiled.
"Goodnight, Lucas."

He walked down the porch steps and I started to close the
door, hoping I would be able to catch up on some much needed sleep tonight so I
could be on top of my game the next day while I was with him.

"Oh, Aislinn?"

My heart thudded to a stop when I heard him call me by my
full name. His voice was rough and made my crazy name sound like the sexiest
word that had ever passed my ears.

"Yeah?" I croaked.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and held my stare.
"I
wouldn't
mind."

"What?"

"Being stuck with you," he said. "No one
could really mind that."

Then he turned and disappeared down the street, leaving me
breathless and extremely confused.

"No sleep for Aislinn tonight then," I said to
myself as I shut the door and turned the deadbolt.

"What was that?" Dad asked from behind me.

I jumped and slammed into the door. "For God's sake,
Dad. Wear a damn bell or something! I swear you are like a cat."

He laughed and made his way up the stairs. "Oh I don't
think so, my dear. You just can't pay attention to anything else when that man
is around. Never have been able to."

"Ugh! I told you already. I'm over it… or I will be…
I'm on my way. Well on my way and there is nothing that will happen to change
my mind."

"Okay, Ash. Whatever you say," he waved without
looking back at me and his voice was distant as he made it to the top of the
stairs and started to his room.

"I'm serious, Daddy."

"Uh huh. I'm sure you are. Goodnight."

I stomped my foot in frustration because I knew he still
didn't believe me. Hell,
I
didn't even believe me. Didn't mean I wasn't
going to try. Lucas Shade had too much power over me and I was going to take
that power back. What better time to do it than when I was forced to be alone
with him because my life could be in danger?

"God, I'm so screwed," I muttered.

"Yes you are."

"Aaah!" I screamed as I jumped back with a hand to
my racing heart and looked up to see my dad at the top of the stairs smiling
down at me. "I'm buying a bell tomorrow!" I yelled, then watched him
walk away laughing.

You'd think he would be more serious at a time like this.

***

Fourteen days into my forced isolation and I was about to
snap.

Dad spent long nights at the station since he went in late
in the afternoon when Lucas came back to stay with me. He was going in as early
as he could so Dad wouldn't have to work so late, but it didn't matter. There
was so much going on with the Banetti case that neither one of them could avoid
thinking about it. I had no idea how either of them were even able to get away
to stay with me, but I didn't question it.

They didn't really tell me what was going on, which was a
good thing. It was too risky for me to know anything. They did, however, tell
me that everything was 'just fine', which it wasn't. Dad was on edge after the
first few nights and Lucas looked like he was primed to kill anyone who walked
through the door that wasn't Liam Brannock.

He ran with me for several nights, making me feel completely
out of shape because I started gasping for air after the first mile and pretty
much begged him to slow down. He did, of course, but that sacrifice earned him
the right to do nothing but tease me for the duration of the run. Something
about 'losing my stamina' because he had to 'slow down to a
stroll'
, and
yes, I am using quote fingers. I admit, all I focused on were the words 'losing
my stamina'. I don't think it would be possible for him and for the sake of
women everywhere, I prayed it wasn't.

Tonight, I had told him I wasn't running, but regretted it
afterwards. I needed to get out, but I needed to be alone. Clear my head.

Lucas didn't really talk much when we ran, but his presence
alone sent a hurricane of thoughts through my mind and it really stressed me
out. Hell, his presence in the house made me feel like I was going to burst out
of my skin, but at least he gave me some space. When we ran, he stayed close to
me. Close enough for me to feel the heat coming off of him.

I decided to kill some time by calling my brothers, both of
which had religiously contacted me twice a day and reminded me to listen to Dad
and Lucas.

I walked up to my room with the phone to my ear, passing
Lucas on the staircase since he was coming down from double checking all the
windows. He lightly touched my wrist as he passed me and nodded questioningly
to the phone.

"I'm calling Conall," I said as I listened to the
ringing in my ear.

"Tell him I said hi," he replied softly.

I nodded and continued up the stairs, noticing that he
stayed rooted to his spot watching me turn down the hall to my bedroom. This
only added to the already frenzied feeling I got when he touched me and when
Conall finally picked up, my voice was breathy.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, his voice strained
with worry.

I cleared my throat, "Um, yeah. Everything is good.
Just had to catch my breath from climbing the stairs." I opened my window
and let the cool night air calm me.

"Uh huh. I take it Lucas is around tonight."

I rolled my eyes. They would never give that up. Probably
because they knew I wouldn't give it up either.

I changed the subject and we spent the next half hour
talking about a new case he was currently working on. Conall had made detective
two years ago and was good at what he did, but not as good as Lucas. He had
told me many times that he contacted Lucas whenever he was stuck on something
and talked to him. Of course, he got clearance to do this. His boss had tried
to get Lucas to transfer there, but was never successful. Didn't mean he
wouldn't let the very best help out once in a while.

After saying goodbye to Conall, I made a quick call to
Fergus who was in the middle of some kind of celebration with his fellow
officers. Gus was working his way up in the ranks and would probably make
detective here soon. He focused on the cases that involved missing children.
For some reason, he had a gift for solving those kinds of cases. He had found
several missing children in the years he had been in law enforcement, the first
of which had changed his life completely.

The little girl was tied up in a shack in the middle of
nowhere. Gus hadn't been assigned to anything since he was still doing patrols,
but he had overheard a few key facts about the case and got a gut feeling about
where the little girl was based on some of the evidence that had been
collected. How? I have no idea. He had decided to take a drive out there.
Wouldn't hurt anyone to look, right?

Well, he had used his gun for the first time that night and
had taken down a convicted pedophile after the guy had attacked him while he
was trying to untie the little girl. It had taken him a while to get back to
himself and he never actually did. He had calmed down a lot since then.

We agreed to talk early the next morning and said our goodbyes.
I sprawled out on my and tried to relax, but I was anxious, on edge, and
itching for a good run or something to really wipe me out for the night. I was
just sitting up to go tell Lucas I had changed my mind when I saw him standing
in the doorway of my bedroom.

"Your dad is home. Just wanted to say goodbye," he
muttered.

I glanced at the clock. Dad was back earlier than he had
been the last several nights.

"Okay, good. Thank you, Lucas."

He nodded and waved goodbye before walking away and I wished
I would have come up with something intriguing to say to him. Talking to him
had always been difficult before, but lately, I realized that silence was
comfortable when it was just me and him. We didn't
need
to speak and
that, in itself, was comforting.

I heard him saying goodbye to my dad, then heard the sound
of the deadbolt being turned before my father's footsteps sounded on the
stairs.

Dad appeared in my doorway a few seconds later with a grim
expression.

"Everything good?" I asked cautiously.

His lips thinned into a straight line, but he nodded.
"Just found some things that may mean disappointment. Not too happy about
it."

I tilted my head, watching his movements and understanding
that he was really beat down tonight. "Anything I can do?"

He shook his head, "No, my beauty. Nothing other than
what you are doing."

"Okay."

He hesitated a moment, then strode forward and gathered me
in his arms. I was used to his nervous hugs whenever he was worried about me,
but this one was different. My gut churned when he tightened his hold on me.

"I love ye, my beauty. Doonah ever think
otherwise."

His words made me even more nervous. His Irish accent was
more prominent and I don't think I had heard him talk like that in years.

"Daddy?"

"I've got some work to do yet. I'll see ye in the
morning."

He released me abruptly, kissed the top of my head, and
walked out of the room.

Something big must have come up, that or he was just
extremely tired. I wasn't about to fool myself into thinking the latter.

That's when I got a stupid idea and ran with it. Literally.
I didn't want to leave him when he was so worried, but I needed to get out of
the house. Clear my thoughts and focus on anything I could do to help my dad,
so I grabbed my running shoes and pulled my hair up, then quietly descended the
stairs. He was in his office that was on the other side of the house, but I
didn't want to deal with a lecture until I had gotten back.

I left through the back door and immediately started to run.
Things would be clearer, less stressful for me when I got back.

***

I had been gone 45 minutes.

That's all.

I started walking when I hit the end of my street so I could
cool down and I almost missed it. A car tore away from my house, sending gravel
shooting up into the air. I watched the tail lights disappear as it turned the
next corner and every muscle in my body tensed.

That's when I started to run faster than I ever had before.

I ran to the front door, which was left wide open, something
Dad would have never allowed. I didn't hesitate to go inside even though
everything I had ever been taught told me not to.

I had to get to Dad.

I opened the compartment in the grandfather clock next to
the door and pulled out the shotgun he had hidden there and a couple shells
which I immediately loaded, then I quietly made my way around the main floor,
not daring to call out in case someone was still here.

I didn't find him, but I found a mess in his office. Papers
were scattered, drawers were ripped out of the desk. His computer was shattered
on the floor and there was a big hole in the wall above it like it had been
thrown against the wall.

My heart was racing and I had to force myself to breathe
steadily so I wouldn't get dizzy.

I moved out of the office quickly, less concerned with being
heard, and tore up the stairs. He wasn't in his room and as I made my way to
Conall's old room which was next to his, I heard a moan coming from mine.

I backed up against the wall and clutched the gun to my
chest.

"Ash."

My father's voice was strained, in pain, and weak.

I burst into my bedroom and found him lying on the floor
next to my closet, clutching his stomach. I dropped to the floor, releasing my
grip on the gun and failing to hold back the tears that sprang forward.

"Daddy!"

"I knew it was you when I heard you crash through my
bedroom. Sounded like a herd of elephants. Remind Conall to retrain you on
stealth."

"Daddy, this is no time to joke around!" I cried.

He was bleeding. A lot. I looked around the room for
something to help put pressure against the wound. I could see now that he had
been shot in the stomach and the size of the puddle of blood underneath him
told me I didn't have much time. I pulled my phone out of my pocket so I could
call the police.

His hand shot out and grasped my wrist.

"No," he said. "It will all be alright, my
beauty. I promise you."

It was the last thing I expected from him. 'Call first,
always'. He had ingrained that into my brain over the years and
nothing
was alright about this.

"Daddy, I'm calling the police. We need to get you an
ambulance."

"No," he repeated and squeezed my wrist harder.
His eyelids were heavy and he was extremely pale. He was losing too much blood
and would go unconscious any second now.