Leverage (The Brannock Siblings) (12 page)

He moved across the kitchen until he was directly behind me
and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Well, your grandparents for one
thing. They aren't getting in from Ireland until early in the morning. Con is
going to pick them up at the airport and they are going to be exhausted. Plus,
it's not really wise to have a get together with everything about this case
being so up in the air. It's too dangerous for everyone."

"Right."

"There's also the fact that the investigation is still
going on and having a bunch of people over at the house might destroy any other
evidence your brothers can find there. They have been going through your dad's
office looking for any other ideas of what he found.
And
, none of us
like the idea of you being close to the guy that was there that night. He would
most likely be there."

"Right," I repeated.

"Let's get you to bed, Ash," he said gently after
a few long moments of silence. Everything sunk in then and I felt exhausted so
I let him lead me into his bedroom and climbed into bed. He had held me close
the last two nights without instigating anything more and I was grateful. I
needed to think about my dad and I spent most of the nights doing just that. I
didn't have any nightmares, but I was restless. Having Lucas next to me helped,
but after what I had just discovered, I felt like it was hurting
him
.

He was being accused of something awful, something he would
never in a million years do, and I was the only one who could vouch for him,
but he wasn't going to give me up to protect himself and I worried that he
would let it go too far. Gibbs and Montgomery had it out for him, but why?

There was a reason my father told me to go to Lucas first.
He must have wanted him on the case and no one else. He didn't know who to
trust either.

My brothers will make it right
, I thought to myself
before drifting off to sleep, surrounded by him.

The next day only fed my fears.

Lucas

Everything went smoothly at the funeral, but Lucas wouldn't
feel relief until he had Ash back to where he knew she would be safe. He had
watched her the whole time, in her fitted black dress, standing next to her
brothers looking so small. She had stared at the casket in front of her, barely
blinking, and refusing to connect her eyes with anything or anyone else. Her
grandparents tried to engage her at one point, but she was too far away in her
own head.

Her brothers had glanced his way several times throughout
the service, all three of them had been keeping a vigilant eye out for anything
out of the ordinary.

If you could even say this was ordinary.

He felt awful that there was no time for any of the
Brannocks to really truly mourn. There was too much tension, too much
uncertainty, and he knew it was going to make Aislinn snap, eventually. Her
brothers looked upset, but they were determined to make things right for their
little sister and it was in his nature to agree with them.

They were all gathered close together, waiting for the
guests to leave in their cars, when Ash spoke in a shaky voice.

"I need a moment. Alone. Please," she pleaded with
her brothers then looked to him. "Please, Lucas. Just a moment. I won't go
far."

Her brothers wouldn't meet his eyes and neither one of them
wanted to tell her no. They knew how hard she had worked to stay strong for
them and accept what they needed her to do.

"Okay," he nodded. "Stay close. We'll keep an
eye on you."

She didn't say anything, didn't give any kind of response.
She just turned and walked away from them and toward a large oak that wasn't
far from her father's grave.

"I think we have all underestimated her," Conall
said, watching her lean against the tree and look up to the sky.

"She doesn't deserve this," he said to them.
"Her whole life has been nothing but 'do this' or 'don't do that', all for
her own safety. She hasn't really lived. Even the last seven years has been
spent trying to find a way to…"

Fergus and Conall looked at him with guilty expressions.

"And now that the captain is gone…" he trailed off
and looked down at his feet, feeling just as guilty as they were. If he hadn't
been so selfish, so incredibly terrified of his feelings for her, she wouldn't
have spent the last seven years of her life feeling like a child in the middle
of nowhere. She wouldn't have missed so much time with her dad.

"You're right, Luke," they muttered.

Justin walked up to their circle then and greeted them with
a sympathetic smile. "My best wishes go out to you all. I wish we could
figure this shit out sooner rather than later."

"Thanks," both Conall and Fergus said in unison.

"That sister of yours seems to be as stoic as you
boys," he said and Lucas felt his fists clench. Justin was looking her way
appreciatively, but her brothers and Lucas each gave the man a hard look.

"She is," Fergus bit out, "doesn't mean you
need to stare at her like a horny teenager."

Justin lifted his hands, palms out, in surrender. "Hey,
I mean no harm. She's beautiful. You guys should be proud of that." He
glanced at Lucas and sighed. "You talk to her much, Shade?"

He could only nod.

"That's good. She going to stick around for a
while?"

He realized he was being an asshole. The man was only trying
to be friendly and they were all treating him like he was going to grab Ash and
run. He worked with the man almost every day and he was a genuine person, only
concerned about how the rest of them were dealing, especially Lucas.

"Nah, man. She is leaving tomorrow morning,"
Fergus replied, obviously softening up to the guy like he had.

"That's too bad. Would be nice to spend some time
together as a family, right? How long have you all been apart?"

Her brothers dove in to the conversation with Justin and
asked their own questions about what it was like to work with Lucas Shade.
Before the man could say anything, they told him how sorry they were that he
had to endure every day with an 'ornery bastard like Luke' and it was like they
had all been friends forever.

Lucas glanced over to where Ash was still standing, but she
wasn't alone anymore and he felt his blood boil. He wasn't doing his job.

Gibbs and Montgomery were talking to her and her back was
turned to Lucas so he couldn't see if what they were saying was making her
upset or not. He didn't hesitate to make his way towards them and he noticed
her brothers stiffen when they turned and saw what he saw, but they stayed
back.

He heard her voice before he got to her and she sounded
pissed. "How
dare
you accuse him of that. He would never do
anything to jeopardize his job or the people he cares about."

Gibbs was watching him approach and smiled like the cat who
ate the canary. "All we are asking is that you be cautious around him. We
know you are leaving tomorrow, but you can't be too careful."

"Too careful about what, asshole?" he said
menacingly.

Ash let him step in front of her, blocking her view of the
two men he wanted to open a hole for and bury in this very spot. He felt one of
her hands grip the back of his jacket and just about lost it. He may not have
gotten along with either one of them, but he thought they had enough respect to
let the captain's family be and not cause them anymore issues. Guess he was
wrong.

"You. It's only a matter of time, Shade. You are the
number one suspect for us."

"Well, it's too bad you aren't in charge of this case
then, huh?"

"Doesn't matter. The evidence is piling up. We just
wanted to make sure Ms. Brannock knows who she is dealing with." He tilted
his head so he could see Ash, "My offer still stands, ma'am. I would be
happy to escort you to the airport, for your own safety, of course."

She scoffed a retort back to him, but only Lucas heard her
and his lips twitched at the filthy words that left her mouth.

Gibbs just kept smiling at her and Lucas was barely able to
contain himself. His fist wanted contact with the shithead's face, but he held
back, knowing it would only upset Ash more. Montgomery looked warily between
the two of them and excused himself before walking away from the potential
brawl.

Lucas filed that away. Looked like the man was cautious
around his partner. Too cautious.

"She doesn't need your protection," Lucas said
dangerously. "I suggest you stay away from her while she is in town. Her
brothers don't take too kindly to… well, anyone really."

He heard Ash snicker behind him and he grinned at the image
that formed in his head. Con and Gus would be happy to hold the man down and
let Lucas beat the hell out of him.

"Don't get too comfortable, Shade," Gibbs replied,
obviously catching the hint. He glanced over to where Con and Gus were watching
him, then backed away carefully before hurrying after his partner.

He felt Ash's hand release his jacket before he took a deep
breath and turned to her. "You okay?"

She nodded, her eyes red from the crying he assumed she had
done while she was alone. "I just can't believe the things they are
accusing you of."

He ran his eyes down her long hair, his fingers itching to
tangle with it. He wondered how it was possible to be so angry and so aroused
at the same time and came to the conclusion that it was only possibly when Ash
was around. She had a power over him that no one else ever would.

"Well, keep
not
believing it. Those two are on
my radar, especially Gibbs. Your brothers don't feel right about them either,
which tells you something."

She gasped, "Do you think he is the leak you are
looking for?"

"Not sure, but it's a start." He turned to watch
Gibbs climb into his car and drive away. "It could just be that he really
actually thinks I'm involved."

She tugged on her hair, "I can't imagine why. He knows
how close you are to my family. He had been working with dad for years."

Yeah, that's what had been going through
his
head,
but people were capable of anything and Gibbs knew that as much as he did.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and bent down to level
with her eyes. "You ready to go, baby?" he asked softly.

Her lips twitched with a smile, the one he had been going
for. It thrilled him to know that the endearment made her at least a little
happy on a day like this. "Yeah, let's go."

He walked her back over to her brothers and quickly
introduced her to Rains.

"It's a pleasure, Ms. Brannock. You take care of this
guy, yeah? Protect his tiny heart," he said to her and slapped Lucas on
the back.

Her eyes narrowed for a moment, studying Rains, then she
shook her head stuttered, "Oh, I-I'm not… we're not…"

Justin laughed, "Okay, I get it. See you all soon."
He walked away and climbed into his car after waving to them once more.

"He's nice. I think I saw him at the station before
with Dad, but I don't think I've ever talked to him. Does he… does he
know?"

Lucas shook his head. "No, he just knows I have a thing
for you and he won't say anything about it, but he is under the impression that
you want nothing to do with me. And we want to keep it that way. For
everyone."

She nodded and glanced at her brothers before blushing and
looking back at Lucas. "Is that why you haven't really touched me
today?"

Her brothers rolled their eyes and groaned.

Lucas felt his heart break a little. He wanted to hold her
and comfort her, but everything else was in the way. He watched her blush
deepen and the need to make her his was unbearable. He placed his hand on the
small of her back and started leading her to the car. "That and I wanted
to give you some space," he murmured in her ear.

She nodded in understanding and they made their way to
Lucas' car with both of her brothers grumbling behind them. He watched Ash take
one last look at her father's grave before smiling and sinking into the
passenger seat while he held her door open. He watched her hands adjust the hem
of her skirt, covering up the small length of leg that had peeked out and he
groaned quietly.

It had been difficult to watch her struggle with everything
today and to give her the space he knew she needed when all he wanted to do was
be the one she leaned on. But now he was going to make sure she got what she
wanted, whether it was space or not.

Her brothers climbed in the back of his car as he started
the engine.

"The next few days are going to be important," he
said as he turned out of the cemetery then glanced in his rear view mirror and
made eye contact with both Conall and Fergus. "I'm going to need you two
to keep your heads down while you help with the investigation. We are all a
little compromised."

Ash looked down at her hands that were fidgeting with her
skirt. "I'm ready to do whatever you need me to."

"Stay close to one of us at all times," he said
quickly.

He knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear, but it was what
she needed to do.

"Okay," she muttered and looked out her window.

He hated to see the disappointment on her face, but it was
necessary. She would probably need some time to accept it now that her brothers
were here and they were going to enforce her protection more than ever before.
He would give her that time, but she was his now and he was going to take care
of her.

***

The next day was pure torture. Lucas had been at the station
going over different leads while Ash and her brothers made the trip to the
airport to set everything up for the supposed flight home that Ash was taking.

Not long after they had left, he got a text from Gus saying they
were being followed by Gibbs. The man was usually more careful than that, but
Lucas presumed he wasn't really trying to be inconspicuous since his feelings
about him had been blatantly obvious. He hadn't been able to focus on anything
for the next couple of hours, worried about Ash and her brothers. Then he got
the text from Gus saying they were on their way back to the house with Ash
hidden in the back seat. He planned on getting the details later even if it was
going to kill him to wait.

Montgomery had been at his desk making endless phone calls
for most of the morning and Lucas hadn't gotten a chance to speak with him
about his partner, until now.

"Hey, Ray. You got a minute?"

He looked up at Lucas who was stalking towards him and
immediately paled. "Um, yeah. What do you need?"

"I just wanted to find out why your partner wants me
off this case so badly?" No point in beating around the bush. If the man
was hiding anything, Lucas would find it.

The detective sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as
if he was fighting off a headache. "Look, Shade. I don't want any trouble
with you, but I gotta admit that the red flags that have been popping up
everywhere are digging you in deep."

"What red flags? Me living down the street from the
captain? Me working my ass off to try to take Banetti down as soon as
possible?" Lucas pressed.

Montgomery shook his head, "I can't discuss this with
you and you know it. If you have nothing to hide, then just keep your head down
for a while and we'll wait and see what comes up. Please." His voice
wasn't threatening or even angry, it was pleading with him.

Lucas didn't expect the man to be so sincere and wasn't sure
exactly how to process it, yet. It did ease his mind, however, that Montgomery
wasn't a part of whatever Gibbs was trying to force.

"I'm just trying to do my job," Lucas said on a
sigh. "Yes, the captain was like a father to me, but I grew up with that
family. There's no way I would do anything to hurt
any
of them like
that."