“I’ll text you where to meet me, Slade. Twenty-five minutes,” Meridian informed him. He took a quick glance to his right and Ex looked to his left, but he knew he’d find no danger here. Then Meridian was out of the car with the grace a man his size shouldn’t have, and opened a black umbrella, easily blending into the foot traffic heading east. Towards Ex’s mother’s home.
Ex never asked how his partner intended to pull this off but he had no doubt that he would. He’d let Meridian do this for him even if it could cost them their careers.
Slade had them idling in a church parking lot a couple of blocks from where he’d dropped Meridian off twenty-one minutes ago. Ex heard their driver’s phone ping with a notification, then they were moving again. This was it. He pressed his back into the seat and took a couple of calming breaths. He was surprised at the foreign fluttering in his stomach. He hadn’t felt anything resembling nervousness in years but he recognized the emotion nonetheless.
Meridian walked into the packed two-story town house, still not believing he’d offered to do this. He had no fucking business in his partner’s family home, about to approach his only parent. Their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, all family were supposed to be eliminated from their minds. But the brain didn’t always work that way. Ex’s mind was special and Meridian knew that. It’d been easy for him to forget his past because it’d been such a shitty one. He was more than happy to extinguish his abusive parents from his life.
Ex was different. No one knew of the emotions he clung to tightly and hid under the iron-clad armor he wore on the outside. Regardless of the fact that Ex still felt deeply, it hadn’t made him any less effective at his job and Meridian was proud to be his partner. The two of them were well-known all over the world by corrupt leaders and organizations, and it was all because of Ex. Because he was one of the few of them who still had a goddamn soul... a conscience. Meridian would do anything to make sure Ex never lost it, that was why he was doing this.
He made his way through the solemn crowd that had followed from the gravesite to attend the repast, most of them dressed in black, and chatting quietly. The home was warm and tastefully decorated, though the furniture had been rearranged to accommodate the mourners. He caught snippets of hushed conversations as he walked towards the kitchen at the back of the house where he knew Ex’s mother would be.
“It’s so sad this happened to Evan.”
“I know. He was such a good kid, he was so smart.”
“Two sons killed... I couldn’t imagine,” another lady whispered over the rim of her coffee mug.
Meridian kept his eyes trained on his target location, not stopping to speak to anyone nor meeting the curious gazes that tracked him as he moved. He didn’t appear as if he belonged there, a friend of the family, but his dark suit granted him easy access. He was glad there were only a couple of older women in the eat-in kitchen, fawning over Ex’s mother as she stirred a steaming pot on the stove. She was a lot shorter than him, with a slight form. It looked as if she’d recently lost weight from the way her black suit hung on her body. And while her face continued to hold the same defeated expression he’d seen on her at the gravesite, her fair skin reminded him of his partner and why he was there.
“Melinda. Why don’t you sit down and eat a little something? I’m sure you’ll feel much better than running yourself ragged,” one of them said, trying but failing to pull her friend away from the stove.
Why do other people think they know what’s best for someone else? Meridian didn’t shake his head as he stood inconspicuously in front of an eight-by-ten table beside the patio doors. He perused the ten to twelve different kinds of cakes and pies on offer. He picked up a small plate and put a piece of lemon cake on it and something that resembled a crumbly coffee cake.
“My kitchen does relax me,” Ex’s mother huffed. “Can you ladies just give me a second. Please.”
They stared at her for a long moment as she gazed down at the bubbling dish she was stirring, then warily eyed one another. With resigned sighs, both women retreated into the living room, whispering to each other as if Ex’s mom had gone deaf suddenly.
Meridian moved up close behind her. He reached around and set his plate on the counter in front of her. She tensed for a moment then spun around to meet his glare. He had no reaction to her fright or her gasp. Ex’s mother swallowed thickly, gripping the silver cross hanging around her neck.
“I’m sorry for the loss of your son,” Meridian spoke, his voice as low a timbre as he could get it, however Melinda still flinched.
“You knew Evan?” she asked, a slight frown creasing her smooth forehead. The only wrinkles on her face were the ones in the corners of her eyes and mouth.
“No. I’ve only heard stories of him.”
She tried to take a step back but she was as close as she could get to the stove without getting burned. “From who?”
“From his brother.”
Her lips immediately began to tremble and the other hand—not gripping the cross—flew to her mouth. She appeared to fight to take in air as she panted quick, short breaths. Watery, pale gray eyes stared at him, and he saw the second the realization settled in. Meridian knew that Evan had told his mother that her other son wasn’t dead but actually working deep undercover for the government, but she’d still likely never see him again. Meridian knew of the few clues and trinkets that Ex had sent his family over the years to let them know he hadn’t forgotten about them. He never told anyone that his partner was breaking one of their most important rules. But something about Ex and his family, something about what they’d gone through, was the reason he couldn’t sever all ties with his mom and baby brother. He simply wouldn’t, and that was something that intrigued him most about his partner—a piece of defiance that gave his extremely calculated existence some excitement.
“You knew Xavier?” she said, around a quiet sob.
Meridian shook his head. “No. I know Xavier.”
Her cries got a bit louder and Meridian started to get agitated. One, because he thought the dueling duo would flock back inside and stall him, but he also didn’t like to be around so much emotion.
“Where is he?” she asked in a harsh whisper as she reached out to clutch his arm but instinct had him sidestepping her touch before she could make contact. “My god.”
“Come with me. I’ll take you to him.”
She didn’t budge and neither did he. Melinda looked as if she felt something might not be right, and narrowed her eyes. Meridian appreciated that she wasn’t an idiot, an easy target.
“Bring the lemon cake. It’s still his favorite.”
Melinda’s eyes widened—as though Meridian had passed her test—and she choked back more sobs as she scurried through a side door that Meridian realized was the pantry and grabbed her purse off a hook. She didn’t bother with cake, moving as if she was on a mission. He stood at the patio door waiting for her after she slung a black and gray shawl over her shoulders. Meridian slid the door to the side and eased them outside into the dreary, cold evening with no one else the wiser.
“Your keys,” Meridian mumbled.
Melinda dug aggressively in her small bag and handed the set of keys to him. She got into the passenger seat of her Honda Accord and held her purse tight to her stomach as if she was about to be sick. Meridian backed the car out of the long driveway and headed east. He texted Slade from his smart watch and told him where to meet him. Melinda started to fidget with her hands when he turned into an expensive condo’s underground garage five minutes later, tears streaming down her face.