Southern Comfort - Fern Michaels [62]
Tick took a deep breath. Memories of those days after the murder of Sally and the kids flashed before his eyes. He’d been unable to protect them, unable to save them from the drug-crazed killer who took their lives so callously and carelessly. He wasn’t going to take a chance losing his twin. Though they hadn’t seen much of each other in the past eight years, Tick was as protective as ever. He wished he’d never asked him to come along on this . . . inane quest . . . for what? To get themselves hurt? Stupid, Tick, stupid, stupid, stupid!
But life was all about taking chances, he knew that better than anyone. With a sudden change of heart, Tick said, “Follow me.” If Pete was man enough to take an unknown risk, Tick had to be man enough to allow him to do so. But he’d cover his ass no matter what. Clearly, he hadn’t been thinking straight when he’d decided to drag him along. He wasn’t about to let his brother out of his sight, not even for a minute.
“Leave the gear. No one will bother it,” he said over his shoulder. The gear could be replaced. Pete couldn’t.
Pete dropped his goggles on the sand. “Whatever you say, Patrick. You’re the big man. Former Atlanta police officer. Famous author. You know what’s best for everyone. Just do what good old Patrick Kelly says, and you’ll never go wrong. No, sir.”
Tick stopped, and Pete slammed into his back. Tick turned around to look his brother squarely in the face. “I’m an asshole, I know. It’s just . . . I can’t lose you now that you’re back in my life. It just hit me back there. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m sorry, Pete. I didn’t mean to belittle you or make you feel like a wuss. I’m the wuss. I’m . . . afraid to do anything anymore. I’ve been on this damned island so long, I forget things. Like common sense and good old-fashioned manners. This”—Tick held his arms out to either side—“midnight swim brought everything back. All those years as a cop kicked in, then left me as fast as it hit me. I’m not even sure I could protect you if something were to happen. Let’s just walk back to the house, forget this ever happened.”
Pete shook his head from side to side like a dog, his wet hair throwing water all over his brother. “No way. You’re not taking the easy way out this time. You think something’s going on at the place, so we’re gonna find out exactly what it is. We look out for each other, Tick. No questions. Now let’s go before this gets any mushier. Pull your dick out of the drawer, strap it on, and be the cop you’ve always been.”
Tick couldn’t help but laugh quietly, then he nodded and proceeded to walk toward that thing.
As he walked alongside his brother, Tick had a quickie heart-to-heart with himself. His blood pumped at the thought of getting involved with another investigation even though he thought he might’ve lost some of his nerve. Since he’d finished his last book and wasn’t in any mad rush to start another, he figured he might as well see what he could find out about the place that had loomed in the background of his beach life for almost as long as he’d lived on Mango Key.
He thought about the two women, his neighbors, though they were only temporary. Kate, the quiet one. The one he had his eye on. Once he’d sobered up and started living again, if you could call what he’d been doing those first few years living, he’d met a woman in Miami who took care of his physical needs. Now, he wanted something more. A partner, a friend, and a lover. Could Kate be the one? He wasn’t sure of anything just then. However, he’d made a mental decision, one he planned to stick to. Life was too short. From that second forward, he planned on living the rest of his life to the fullest. And deciding there was no time like the present, he walked a little faster, held his head a little higher, and flashed an ear-to-ear grin at no one.
Up ahead, he spied Bird waiting patiently on top of the iron gates at the front of the mansion. “Get the girls! Get