“Bradley,” Isaac replied, not bothering to look at him.
Seeing the two men together was equally shocking and horrifying.
“Oh, shit!Isaacis your brother?”I blurted, unable to hide my surprise. How had I not made the connection before? Amelia had told me Brad’s brother was gay, but never in a million years would I have thought it was someone I’d slept with! I’d hooked up with Isaac both times I’d come to Reedsport with Beckett. First, for his case and then again when I’d helped him move.
Brad glanced between us, then narrowed his eyes at Isaac who just smirked and threw his hands up. “Hey, don’t look at me. Your partner here sought me out.Both times.”
I grumbled a curse another my breath. “It was—”
“Please, for the love of God, don’t finish that sentence,” Brad groaned. “I really don’t want to know about my baby brother’s sexcapades.”
Isaac laughed.
I let out the breath I’d been holding when I saw Brad smile. At least he wasn’t going to hold it against me. “Fair enough.”
“Are you signing up for the fundraiser?” Isaac asked.
I glanced at the table he was pointing to, where several brochures were displayed advertising the fundraiser for Hotshots Sports. It made me wonder if I’d see Rey later.
“Oh, he’s already signed up,” Brad said.
I whipped my head around. “What?”
“Hey, you’re the new guy. We put your name down first. Ryan, Benson, and Jared are on the list too.”
I groaned, while Isaac clasped a hand on my arm and squeezed. “Ooh, I can’t wait.”
Brad started to say something just as a call crackled through our earpieces. Our eyes locked as we listened to the dispatcher give the details of a possible domestic dispute being reported by a neighbor. Brad confirmed we’d check it out before we quickly said farewell and headed back to the car.
“Our tires tread this neighborhood far more than it should,” Brad said as we sped down the highway, “so you might want to get acquainted with the surroundings.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“It’s better than it was, but it’s still not the safest place to be. There are a few families who like to remind the others they’re in charge, if you get my drift.”
I nodded. “I hear you.”
I was on edge when we pulled into the trailer park about a mile outside of Reedsport a few minutes later. I’d seen too many drug busts and heard of too many gun-shot victims in places like this, so I was taking it all in with a keen eye. A few people were outside smoking cigarettes and casting us icy stares. One man with thick, inked arms stood a little straighter when I made eye contact, clearly sending a signal he was the alpha on this turf.
“It’s this one,” Brad said, coming to a stop in front of a neglected, single-wide home. From the outside, there didn’t appear to be any evidence of violence. No broken windows, busted doorknobs, and I didn’t hear any raised voices either. A sign hung on the door that readBeware of Dog,though only silence greeted us when Brad knocked. A middle-aged couple answered the door a minute later, and I decided to hang back while Brad questioned them about the disturbance.
A child, no older than five or six caught my attention, standing on the other side of the low fence separating the two properties. Her dark hair was in a tangled mess down her back, and she wore nothing more than a nightgown with a large hole on one side, yet she was giving me a tremendous smile that revealed a missing tooth. It tugged at my heart.
I gave her a small wave. “Hello.”
“Is it true that you go to people’s houses if kids get out of their beds after bedtime?”
I barely suppressed a laugh. “Oh, of course. I have to; it’s my job!”
She wrinkled her brows. “Mom said your job is to p‘otect us.”
“That’s only one part of my job. The other part is to make sure kids follow the rules and that means going to bed on time.”
The door of the neighboring home opened and a young lady stepped out on the front step. She had the same facial features as the young girl and same dark hair but was far too young to be this girl’s mother. The careful way she kept an eye on the child though told me she filled that role often.
“Sami, come inside. Dinner’s ready.”
The girl waved at me before turning on her heel. “Bye!”
I watched her go, conflicted by our interaction. From what I’d seen so far, every house in this trailer park was damaged in some way, and there was litter and weeds everywhere. The jackass across the street was still watching us with a fierce look in his eyes and I knew he wouldn’t back down from a fight. This was not a place children should have to grow up. All I could do was remind myself of her smile and hope her innocence would hold on a little longer.
I turned my attention back to Brad, who was just finishing with the couple. The husband and wife admitted to yelling in the heat of an argument and complained loudly how rude it was for their neighbors to call them in.
Since we couldn’t see any signs of physical violence, there was little we could do besides suggest they tone it down.
As we drove back into Reedsport, Brad was unusually quiet. He’d been on edge since we pulled into the neighborhood and I’d originally chalked it up to preparing for a call. But as I studied him, I thought I saw something deeper hidden in the lines of his eyes, a pain I didn’t understand. We hadn’t shared much about our personal lives, other than where we grew up and how we came to be police officers, yet the sudden change in his demeanor made me think the visit to the trailer park triggered something for him.
I usually tried to stay uninvested and out of people’s personal business, so it surprised me how much I wanted to ask Brad about what was bothering him. He had been nothing but kind to me since I’d met him and I truly didn’t like seeing him this way. But I also wasn’t sure I had the right to know. We weren’t exactly friends. Not really.
Instead, I quietly tacked it on to the growing list of things I hoped to one day find out.
