Page 9 of Against The Tide

Taking a deep breath and pushing away the sinking feeling inside me, I gather Iris in my arms and head inside. With the door at the side of the house, it takes me by surprise when I find Rafe standing there. I practically jump right out of my skin.

“Rafe…what? What are you doing here?”

I had no idea he knew my address. We’re friends, but he’s never been here. Nora’s never been here. We always had dinners at my parents’ house or at her house.

“I need to talk to you.” He comes closer, and I realize that his expression is twisted with worry.

“I can’t.”

I fumble with the lock while I try to make sure that Iris doesn’t wake and see him. She’ll probably mention it to Carl, and it’ll be another fight that I have to endure.

“Please, Avery.”

“Look, Rafe, we’re friends, and I know you have no other intentions, but Carl isn’t comfortable with us talking, and right now…I-I can’t have another fight with him because of you. I’m sorry, okay?”

“Your dad always looked out for me—he made sure my shit was always legit. He had my back, and I owe it to him to make sure that you don’t get caught up in this.” He holds up a manilla file I didn’t even realize he had in his hand. “It won’t take long, and once I know that you are aware of what’s coming, I’ll leave you to do what you want…”

“What are you talking about?” I stand to the side, knowing that I can’t let him leave without hearing him out. Not when he’s looking at me with the same devastation he had in his eyes when he found out about Dad.

As dubious as it might look, I let him in and lock the door behind us even though Berkeley is possibly the safest neighborhood in DC. We’re in the middle of wealthy suburbia, and although houses come with break-in-proof locks and chains, no one uses them.

“The kitchen’s through there.” I nod toward the right side of the house as I head up the stairs to put Iris in bed. It’s a relief she’s so tired from the restless nights she’s had and the swim practice.

When I come down, Rafe is pacing around the kitchen island, as though he’s debating a problem in his head.

“We don’t have long,” I tell him even though I’m not exactly certain that Carl will show up tonight. The night after my father’s funeral, he stayed at the office and the night after that.

“Has he hurt you?” he asks as I pull two bottles of water from the fridge and place them beside the file on the breakfast bar. “At the wake…”

“If that’s what you want to talk about, I’m fine. We’re fine. So⁠—”

“Carl’s under investigation.” The baffled look I level him with must prompt him to explain further. “He’s under federal investigation for bribery and gratuity.”

My heart drops to my feet so fast that I have to hold on to the counter to steady myself.

“No. N-no,” I stammer, barely able to breathe through the panic spinning inside me. “No, he wouldn’t…”

Except maybe he would. I don’t know.

“How do you know this?”

“I can’t tell you that. I shouldn’t be telling you this either, but I owe it to Rob.” Opening up the file, he turns it to face me. “They don’t have names yet. That being said, it won’t be long until they do.”

I read through the editorial draft of the article for the Washington Post that’s in the file. Unable to breathe or talk, I stare up at him when I’m done.

Rafe knows exactly what I’m thinking when he blows out a weary breath. “Seventeen years, Avery. Accepting funds in exchange for future favors is a federal crime, but the rest…blackmail and extortion, that’s criminal. That’s a completely different sentence.”

I don’t understand what’s happening right now. I do and I don’t. I feel sick with the possibility that it will blow our entire life up.

“The bureau is out for blood. They’re going to turn everything upside down.”

“I don’t understand what he’s done, Rafe. I don’t get it. He only vets the funds. He doesn’t⁠—”

“He had to know. The people they’re investigating…he had to know what was happening and had to cover it up.”

“But he might not.”

“Avery…”