Page 12 of Waggs

Willow stopped talking. “I don’t know that one sweetheart.”

“Uncle Aiden does, he could tell us both.”

Her heart hurt to know how much these two had bonded, and it scared her what might happen when she left. Would Aiden remain in AJ’s life as he promised, or would he disappear again? “How about Uncle Aiden tells us both tomorrow night?”

“All right.” She smiled at her son’s sulky response, but he was soon asleep next to her. Now it was time for her to face the music and explain precisely why she was there and ask for his help.

Chapter 5

Waggs wiped the kitchen down and loaded the dishwasher as he waited for Willow to come back out. From the second she’d walked out of his bedroom, and he’d seen her watching him and AJ, he’d known everything was different about this trip. From her coming with no notice, to the way seeing her in his home made him feel.

He’d ignored his attraction to Willow for so long, except the stolen moments they shared once a year, but he couldn’t ignore it this time. Not when she looked at him with the same desire in her eyes, the same longing.

He had no clue if it could work between them or even if he was right to pursue it, but he struggled to hold back from touching her. Nothing necessarily sexual, but definitely intimate in a way that it was apparent his feelings weren’t the same as a brother-in-law.

Having her and AJ there the last twenty-four hours had shone a light on how lonely he was but not just that. It also showed him how lost he was without Aaron. He’d been the light to his dark, the one to laugh freely and find the humour in everything, who always had a smile for everyone he met. Waggs was always the serious twin, the studious one who stayed in the background.

Was that the problem? Had he lost his spokesperson and now found himself floundering even five years after his death? He’d held back from his team, only allowing them to get so close to him, but maybe it was time to let go of his brother and move on, with just his memories and the bond they’d shared.

“Hey.”

Waggs spun and there she was, standing in the doorway looking like every fantasy come to life. It took every inch of control he had not to pin her against the fridge and kiss her until neither of them could breathe. “You want to talk at the table or in the living room?”

“Living room works for me.”

Waggs held out his hand for her to go ahead and he kept his eyes from the sweet curves of her ass in those shorts. If he’d known how they would torture him when he’d bought them, he’d have either dived in feet first and bought two more pairs, or he would’ve got her some long-sleeved flannel granny nighties instead.

Willow sat down in the corner of the couch facing the window, and he sat on the opposite end. Her body was angled toward him, but he could sense the nerves coming off her as she bounced her knee and wrung her hands. “Stop worrying, Wills. It can’t be that bad, and if it is, we’ll fix it, okay?”

Willow nodded sharply. “Okay.”

“Start at the beginning, and let’s go from there.”

“You know I work for Jerry Edwards Trucking, right?”

Waggs did remember his mother telling him that Willow had gone back to work part-time, and she watched AJ for her occasionally. He didn’t particularly like Edwards, but his son was a much bigger asshole. He was running for the state Senate last he’d heard and gaining some impressive political allies. “Yes.”

“Well, about three months ago, I had to cover maternity leave for the girl in accounts. It was more money and the same hours, so I jumped at the chance. About a month in, I noticed some irregularities.”

“What kind?” Waggs interest was piqued, and his gut didn’t like where this was going at all.

“Every month the manifest said twelve trucks were going out on the last day of each month, but the weight load suggested it was thirteen. I checked back, and it was always the same, but also there were payments on the last of each month that had no name or reference by them. All containers have a reference or number so immigration can track them when they go over the border to either Canada or Mexico.”

Willow shifted in her seat nervously, and Waggs couldn’t take it anymore, he grabbed her hand and pulled her closer so she was next to him and he could feel her warm skin under his hands. His touched settled her, and she continued. “I wanted to be sure, so I asked Emma, a girl who works for Jerry but is dating Ralph, his son. She said she’d check and get back to me. About a week later she came into work looking shaken, pale, and frightened like she was ill or something. She said it was an error and I should leave it alone.”

Waggs rubbed his head to ease the ache building. “Tell me you left it?”

“I did, but then Ralph started coming into the office and hanging around my desk. One day he cornered me and told me it would be better off if I went back to my old role, and perhaps if I wanted to stay safe, I should keep my nose out of things. I just shrugged it off but then two weeks ago I got a thumb drive in the mail, and it has details of girls’ names, with ages, physical descriptors, and a number. It coincides with the dates on the extra container.”

“You think Jerry is running a sex trafficking ring?” Waggs felt nauseous to think she’d been so close to people like that. A woman like Willow was beautiful and would demand a high price for some sick pervert.

“No, I think Ralph is running it but through his dad’s company. Before he died, do you remember Aaron said he had a meeting with someone, and he wouldn’t say who or where?”

Waggs did remember it, it was one of the rare occasions they’d fought, but Aaron was adamant it was his business and nobody else’s. He’d worried Aaron was cheating on Willow, but when he’d proposed, he’d put it down to that.

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Well, in his phone, which they sent back to me after he died, there was a calendar event for a meeting with RE.”