Mistaken by J A Howell Read Free Book Online Page B

contact you?”
    “Yes, but that isn’t to leave this car. You and I both know that could get us in serious trouble,” Luciano's voice grew stern as he eyed his partner.  “I'm going to see what I can find out for him, but I am hoping I find nothing. At least concerning the De La Rochas.”
    “If you need my assistance, you know I've got your back.” Luciano nodded in response to his partner's offer but kept silent, his attention turning back to the passing scenery. All he could think about was those two teenage boys sitting in his office that day ten years ago. Decker didn't think much of them, especially Alex. He really couldn't have cared less about what became of them after entering witness protection.
    In Decker's defense, when they'd caught up with Alex, they could have slapped him with several charges, including attempted murder. But Luciano hadn’t seen a criminal. He had seen a naïve, scared, and misguided boy. Although the events that day were life-altering for those boys, he had hoped that their brief interaction and the steps he had taken to help them would have ensured them a better life. The fact that one of them now lay dead was certainly disheartening.
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
     
    Dillan stretched out as she slowly gave in to consciousness the next morning. Trey was asleep in her living room. He was a complete stranger to her until yesterday morning. She knew little about him other than the most obvious. Everything else about him was murky and unclear. The whole day had been spent awkwardly together as he tagged along on some random errands, then shared a silent dinner with her.  He didn’t talk much at all, which was just as well since she didn’t know what to say to him. She had hoped upon waking that she would realize it was all just some strange dream.  But no, he was here, only a few yards away. Passed out on her couch.
    Sitting up in bed, she grabbed her robe off her chaise lounge, wrapping it around her tightly before swinging her legs off the bed and making her way out of the safety of her bedroom. Opening the door, silence greeted her. Either he was still asleep or he had decided to book it out of there. Part of her hoped for the latter.  As she quietly padded around the corner, he came into view, sprawled out across the couch, a blanket laying over him, his limbs and some of his chest exposed. He was sleeping on his back, just like Jamie used to. She sighed and looked toward the kitchen.
    She needed to take her meds...and coffee...she needed coffee. Taking care not to wake him, Dillan reached into the cabinet, grabbing her prescription bottle, and dumped a couple of pills into her palm before tossing them back with a water bottle she grabbed from the fridge.  She peered over at him as she tried not to clank around the kitchen, setting up the coffee maker.
    He moved, stretching out his legs in his sleep and softly sighing. She couldn't help but watch him. It was eerie seeing him lying there. Memories flashed in her head of Jamie. Times he had fallen asleep on the couch, in almost identical poses. Her finger pressed the power button on the coffee maker and it whirred to life, then she quietly crept back around the bar and into the living room, watching Trey as he turned slightly to his side.  In a way, it was comforting seeing him sleeping, remembering those quiet moments of contentment as she had watched Jamie.  But as much as Trey was identical, even now it was evident how different he was from his brother.
    His slumber didn't seem peaceful at all. Dillan noticed just how much he kept shifting in his sleep, unable to get comfortable. His eyebrows pursed together, and his lips formed into a frown at something distressing in his subconscious. A few times his breathing quickened and his fists clenched. She wondered what could be running through his head at that moment.  The few times she did catch Jamie having a troubling dream, he would never talk to her about them.
    Maybe it was the