Josh and I shared a relieved look. This felt like a best-case scenario. Brad’s crimes were about to come to light. His family didn’t seem likely to impede an investigation into them. The cops were going to think that he’d fled the country, which meant they wouldn’t have any reason to look for a body.
Holy shit. Were we actually going to get away with what we’d done? It felt like we might, but I didn’t want to jinx myself by thinking about it too much.
Instead, I sidled closer to Josh while my cousin turned back around in his seat and continued his phone call. Josh wrapped an arm around my shoulders and resettled his blanket so we were both covered by it. He leaned down and nuzzled his nose into my hair just above my ear. I closed my eyes and was starting to relax when he spoke, low enough so only I would hear his words.
“That’s twice now that you’ve broken a promise to me, Aly. I hope you can handle the consequences.”
My eyes flashed wide. Shit. I’d told him I’d stay behind and failed to keep my word. Again. But in my defense, there were extenuating circumstances in both situations. He had to realize that, right?
I wanted to mention it, plead my case, but this wasn’t the time. Josh was a rational guy – for the most part. Maybe I could convince him to see reason once I got him alone. Anyone in my place would have done the same. Most importantly, he would have, but I could already hear his counterpoint of, “Yeah, but then I wouldn’t have promised to stay put in the first place.”
You think I would have learned after the first breach of trust, but nooo, I just had to do it a second time. Honestly, I couldn’t even blame Josh for being angry about that. Trust was the foundation of any good relationship, and I’d drilled holes in ours right after it had been laid. Maybe I could find some way to make it better by apologizing. By telling him I wouldn’t do it again.
But, god help me, a large part of me was too excited by the idea of him punishing me to say anything. Unlike me, he’d done nothing to break my trust so far, and I had a feeling that anything he doled out would be as pleasurable as it was torturous.
The next twenty minutes passed in a blur as I dreamt up all the sinful ways my boyfriend could correct my bad behavior. I had visions of whips and chains, hand necklaces and nipple clamps. Before Josh, my sex life had been the epitome of vanilla, but between social media, the salacious books I’d read, and the kink-specific porn I’d watched, it was easy to imagine all the delicious punishments in my future, and thinking about them was much better than thinking of the night we’d just had.
I must not have been the only one lost to their thoughts because the drive back to the warehouse passed in near silence. As soon as we pulled up to the rear of the building where we’d started the night, Josh told me to stay put and then slipped out of the SUV to preheat his car so I wouldn’t get cold again. On the surface, the gesture was sweet as hell, but there was a wolfish gleam in his eyes when he looked at me that made me feel like I was being hunted.
“Hey,” Junior said.
I turned from watching Josh’s shadowy form stride through the night and looked at my cousin. Judging by Junior’s expression, he’d been trying to get my attention for a while. “Yeah?”
“You remember what to do if the cops ever show up asking questions?”
“Tell them I don’t know anything,” I said.
“And if they keep asking?”
“Demand to speak to a lawyer.”
Junior nodded. “Good. I’ll have our guy call you tomorrow so you know who’s representing you.”
“Thank you for everything,” I said. After all, if not for my family’s help, Josh and I probably would have gotten caught. When I thought about it that way, having dinner with them once a month felt like a small price to pay.
Junior shrugged. “You’re family. It’s what we do.”
Was it really so uncomplicated to him? “Still, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, starting to look uncomfortable. He glanced out his window at Josh’s idling car. “How’d he know what a dead body smells like?”
Josh’s story wasn’t mine to tell, but this was Junior’s second time asking the question, and I had a feeling that if I didn’t tell him something, he’d start digging into my boyfriend’s past. I’d do whatever I could to avoid that, for both mine and Josh’s sakes.
Lying wasn’t my forte, but I gave it my best shot. “He found a deer rotting in the woods when he was a kid, and it traumatized him. Said he’d never forget the smell.”
Junior grimaced. “I bet.”
“How’d your men recognize it?” I asked, hoping to turn the tables.
He met my gaze head-on, looking more like his father than ever. “How do you think?”
It was my turn to grimace. No wonder my hackles had risen the second I laid eyes on them. At first, staying behind in the van seemed like the easiest thing in the world because it meant I’d be able to put so much space between me and the dead-eyed crew of ex-soldiers.
I’d been equally happy to stay behind with Josh after they’d aborted their mission, deciding I’d rather risk my boyfriend’s wrath than be trapped in a van with them. Now, watching Josh get out of his car and stalk toward my door, I wondered why I’d made that decision. Junior would have been with me if I’d stayed put, and I didn’t doubt that he would shoot anyone who made a move for me. Had I stayed behind because, subconsciously, part of me hoped to add to my punishment? Or was it just that I couldn’t bear the thought of abandoning my boyfriend?
I shook my head to clear it. Maybe my subconscious played a small part, but more than anything, my reaction had been knee-jerk. Josh was staying behind, so I would, too. End of discussion. I would have never forgiven myself if I’d left him and something happened. And deep down, part of me wondered if leaving him had been the plan all along. After all, Josh was responsible for Brad’s death. If not for the basement bodies, would the team have found another excuse to bail prematurely and leave him to fend for himself and hopefully get caught?
The thought made me shudder. If I hadn’t gotten out of the van when I had, would my cousin have ordered us to drive to the pickup spot? Or would he have tried to overpower me and leave Josh behind?
Maybe I was being paranoid or mean-spirited by thinking such things about my relatives, but my gut was telling me that I was onto something, and so far, it hadn’t led me astray. I might have softened some toward my mobster family members, but I would never trust them, especially not with my boyfriend’s welfare, which would likely make our upcoming dinners about as fun as running through the woods at night during winter.
Josh opened my door, pulling me from my dark thoughts. His gaze bored into mine, the anemic glow of the distant floodlights painting his face half in light, half in shadow, reminding me of his mask. “Ready?”
I nodded and held my arms out. One look at Josh was enough for me to realize that no matter the consequences or reasons behind my actions, I wouldn’t change my decision to stay with him. Our fates were twined together, for better or for worse.
He reached in and scooped me out of the backseat, blankets and all, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tight. “Thanks, Junior,” he called into the cabin.
“You owe us one,” my cousin called back.
Josh nodded. “You know how to find me.”
With that, he turned and strode toward his car, shuffling me when we reached it so he could open my door and settle me into the seat. He even went so far as to move it forward so my feet were closer to the heater. Ducking down, he tucked the blanket tight around me. “You good? Comfy?”