Chapter One
Carter
Starting every morning shift with a walk around town made Carter feel like part of the community. The town he and his brother Hudson had been born in but left before they had started school was now home once again. Carter had dragged Hudson back after leaving Boston, needing a slower pace of life.
It was a nice place, friendly, and fast growing with the help of a well-off family who owned most of the private land beside the state park. Carter had yet to get to know the men living in the big house outside of town limits, only catching glimpse of them around, but he’d heard the stories and rumors that were rampant around town.
The same house his brother had gone to and spent the night at.
Carter was really trying not to worry about his younger brother. Hudson was a grown man that had every right to make friends with who he wanted. More than friends, from the way Hudson spoke about Bastian. Except Hudson was also too naively kind and trusting.
Passing the bakery, Carter had to stop himself from going inside. Since returning to this town, Carter was dedicated to turning over a new leaf. Walking when and where he could, eating healthily, and getting out in the fresh air. Taking the time to enjoy life instead of just existing.
Boston had felt like home until it became the place that Carter had lost himself in. Working double shifts for the Boston PD, eating takeout and fast food for every meal, barely havingtime to even see his brother. Carter hadn’t even recognized himself in the mirror the last few months they’d been there.
Then his partner was injured on the job and Carter couldn’t do it any longer. Couldn’t live that way. He was bone-tired, exhausted trying to prove himself, and just disgusted with the justice system that he’d spent his adult life working for.
The hardest thing that he’d ever had to do was tell Hudson that their parents had died in a car accident. At eighteen and just graduating from high school with Hudson aged sixteen, Carter hadn’t been prepared for what had come. Being a big brother slash parent to a confused and devastated brother. That night still haunted Carter’s dreams. Hudson had howled and cried as Carter had been unable to do anything except make promises he hadn’t even been sure he could keep.
He had kept every single promise he had ever made his brother. Raising Hudson on his own was difficult, yet the one thing that Carter was most proud of. Instead of going to school to become a lawyer, Carter had worked himself from a patrol cop to a detective. Carter had thought it was what he wanted.
The second hardest thing he’d done in his life was to sit his brother down and explain that Carter had to get out of Boston. That he was burnt out and…lost. Carter had feared Hudson’s reaction. Instead of panicking or wishing Carter well and staying, Hudson had taken a few quiet moments before asking where they were moving.
Home.
At least, the only other place that had been home.
Truthfully, Carter didn’t remember the town or when they’d lived there. He’d seen an ad for a police officer online andrecognized the name of the town. He’d looked it up on a newly built website and had just felt like he needed to be there.
The mayor had placed ads across social media and Carter had just stumbled on them as he’d lain in his bed scrolling one night when he hadn’t been able to sleep.
Once he’d gotten the idea to move. Yeah, Carter had not wasted time. He’d spoken to Hudson and they both applied for positions.
Home.
Was that what this feeling inside his chest was when he spotted Mrs. Rose from the library crossing the street? Or when his next-door neighbor Mel invited him over for coffee on the porch? It sure felt like something close to that.
Carter had been proud of years of service to the Boston PD, but this small town that no one really knew about gave him a true purpose.
Sure, he wasn’t chasing down drug dealers or stopping a murder or looking at trouble around every corner. No. Not here. Carter was making sure that his new neighbors were safe and happy. He’d given up his wrinkled and worn suits to wear a uniform once again.
Ahead he spotted his brother on the sidewalk and grinned. He would often run into his brother or a friend as he made his rounds. The perk of living in a small town.
“Hey, Hud!” Carter called jogging across the street.
Hudson whirled around as something like panic crossed his face.
What the fuck? Why would Hudson look at him like that? Was Hudson hiding something from him. Had his new boyfriend gotten Hudson mixed up in trouble? It had been one fucking day!
“Hey, Carter,” Hudson greeted. He glanced nervously toward the red brick building he was standing in front of then back at Carter.
“What are you doing in town?” Carter asked. “I thought you were still hanging out with Bastian.” Or had Bastian already taken off on him? Carter knew Bastian hadn’t been around the area for long. He was newer to town than even Carter and Hudson were. If that dick had fucked Hudson then left or some bullshit like that, Carter had no problem using his resources to track him down.
Hudson had texted earlier saying that he was hanging out with Bastian for the day and didn’t plan on coming home that night. But here Hudson stood in the middle of town. Something was up.
Carter’s gut never failed him. He knew something was going on with his brother.
“Bastian needed to stop by the office to pick something up,” Hudson explained. The excuse was vague.
