Page 116 of Brutal Truths

I have no words. They’ve been swallowed by the sorrow overtaking me.

Grams watched him die.

Witnessed her husband’s murder and had the presence of mind to act. To hide the gun, to protect what mattered, before everything slipped away again.

I’m not so sure I could’ve done that.

And here my grandmother’s mind, which has trouble recalling what year it is, somehow didn’t fail her when she needed it the most.

“Alma.” Aiden breaks the void, his voice steady where mine refuses to be. “I’m sorry you had to witness that. No one should have to go through something like that. I promise I will hunt down the men responsible and make them pay.”

“Thank you, dear.” The breath she lets out is long and tired. “Please take care of my sweet girl. I know that was hard for her to hear. I’m tired. It’s been a long day.”

It’s been a long fucking two weeks. A long day doesn’t even scratch the surface.

Exhaustion hangs in the air, but something else settles in deeper. The ugly truth of what comes next. When she wakes, there’s a strong chance she won’t remember what she told us.

And as wrong as it feels to think it, maybe that’s a kindness. Better in the long run if she doesn’t have to relive the moment he was taken from her. Even if that means I have to remind her every day he’s gone.

“Can I ask you one more thing before Misty helps you get ready for bed?” Aiden asks.

Dislike coils in my stomach, but she’s the only person who can help.

“I’ll do my best, but it’s getting hard to keep things straight. My head hurts.”

He nods and then throws a wink my way. “So, let me get this straight, I have to stroke that metal cock to get the walls inside your gallery to open? Seriously?”

For a split second, the weight in the car lifts.

Grandmother laughs, full and unfiltered, dragging the rest of us with her. “It’s just a good stiff knob, boy. I’m sure you’ve given yours a pull a time or two.”

“Goodnight, Alma,” Aiden growls.

But it’s not the same kind he does with me. This one is more playful and meant to help ease the tension hanging in the air.

The moment doesn’t last; it never does.

Pauly mumbles a few words before a door shuts and his voice comes over the line loud and clear. “Well, fuck me.”

Every muscle in my body tightens.

“Tell me that arsehole didn’t get his hands on that gun.” Aiden’s tone drops, all humor gone.

“Gun’s locked away tight. Still can’t figure out how she got in here. Door was secured, I made sure of it.”

“Wait!” My focus snaps back. “She was hiding in your makeshift office?”

“In the closet,” Pauly confirms. “Found her tucked deep into the back when I went to put the bag away. She looked like a frightened child. I’m not convinced she knew where she was or how she got here.”

“She did not, I’m sure.” I drag a hand over my face, as I try to process it all.

Speaking up from the front, Darius interrupts. “I’m sending a team to help you. They will secure the firearm and any other evidence. Crispin’s working with the pathologist, reexamining the body to make sure nothing gets shoved aside. Feels like someone on the inside is tampering with things. Not on my watch. Not with this case. It’s personal.”

The conversation continues, but I block it out.

One detail refuses to let me go. The part where Grams mentioned the person helping Drake.

Bitterness builds slowly at first, then I reach that point where it boils over into a rage I can’t control.