Chapter Three

Trinity

I was sitting next to Stephen, my husband, clutching his hand as he began to talk to Luke. Luke wasn’t just my best friend, he was the brother I never had. I loved him like family.

I thought dealing with the police was tough, but I was wrong. This was the hardest thing I’d ever done—admitting to my best friend that I’d been keeping secrets from him.

Luke said, “Alright, you got me stoned. Now spill it.”

Stephen replied, “Luke, I need you to understand that everything I’m about to tell you is in the past. The moment Trinity came into my life, it all stopped. My family is everything to me.”

Luke responded, “Okay. I hope so.”

Stephen took a deep breath and said, “Luke, I used to be one of the main cocaine distributors in Chicago.”

Luke laughed, “Yeah, sure. If you say so, mate.”

I watched as Luke’s eyes darted from Stephen to me, then to Clint and Mia.

“You’re serious?” Luke asked.

“I am, mate,” Stephen replied.

Luke sat there, looking stunned. I didn’t know what he was going to do next. Stephen must have felt my hand shaking because he held it tighter and kissed my forehead.

“Luke?” I asked.

“Just...just give me a minute to process this,” Luke said.

Several minutes passed before Luke spoke again.

“Did you know when you two started dating?” he asked.

“No, Luke,” I replied, looking down at my hands. I could see the hurt in his eyes. I’d kept a big secret from him.

“How long have you known?” Luke asked.

“Since the night of Clint and Mia’s wedding,” I replied.

“Right,” Luke said.

“Luke, I’m sorry,” I said.

“I’m sure you are,” Luke replied. “Look, I get that we all have pasts, Stephen. It’s not ideal, but if you say you stopped for your family, then I accept that. I have to. I have nothing else to go on. What I’m struggling with is that you’ve known for years and never trusted me enough to tell me. Especially when I’m supposed to be one of the most important people in your lives.”

Stephen said, “Look, Luke, I understand your frustration. But I hope you can appreciate why we couldn’t tell you.”

“So you could tell Trinity and put her at risk, even though you promised me you wouldn’t ever do that, but you couldn’t tell me,” Luke said.

“It’s not like that, mate,” Stephen replied.

“Ahaha, oh okay. You’ll have to excuse me if I’m struggling to accept this,” Luke said.

“Of course,” Stephen said. “Yes, Trinity found out the night of Clint and Mia’s wedding, and what followed were some of the worst days of my life. But I made her a promise in those weeks that followed, and the decision to get out of that life was made before I proposed to her. I promised her I would.”

“How noble of you,” Luke said.

“I probably deserve that,” Stephen said. “But I can assure you it’s not a promise I ever intend on breaking.”

“That’s great, mate,” Luke said. “But I don’t understand what that has to do with what just happened the last few days.”

“Just give us a sec—” I started.

“I’m talking to Stephen right now,” Luke interrupted.

The look Luke gave me nearly broke my heart. The pain, the anger, the confusion. I felt a tear slide down my cheek.

“Do you remember Mike, who used to work with me and Chad?” Stephen asked.

“Yeah?” Luke replied.

“Chad got himself into a bit of a mess and tried to clean it up himself, but he messed it up,” Stephen said.

“In what way?” Luke asked.

“He was caught doing a drop one night a few years ago. The problem was he was caught by some corrupt cops, one of them was Mike,” Stephen explained.

“So Mike was a cop?” Luke asked.

“Yes, he led Chad to believe he had been placed in an undercover operation. However, that wasn’t entirely true. Chad was used for a while by them to obtain supposed evidence against us, which is what Chad believed he was doing to keep himself out of jail,” Stephen said.

“That wasn’t what Mike was up to. Mike was corrupt, and he was working with two other members that we are definitely aware of from the CPD who were taking our stock from Chad and selling it on through their own distributors,” Stephen continued.

“Mike and Chad went over to Spain, as you know, and they managed to track down Chad and lean on him again. They have been threatening Clint and I for a long while now, and things have escalated,” Stephen said.

“How so?” Luke asked.

“Mike, their agent, has done a runner and disappeared. Fair to assume considering he was corrupt, but they seem intent on blaming us unless we gave them what they wanted,” Stephen said.

“Which was?” Luke asked.

“More drugs, Luke,” Stephen replied.

“So I guess the real question is, what did you do?” Luke asked.

“My solicitor, Benji, made a deal with the Chief of Police and the DA to set up a sting to expose the corruption under the nose,” Stephen said.

“Well, that clearly went well since you have all just been held over on what charges exactly?” Luke asked.

“Murder,” Stephen replied.

“What the...! Okay, I feel like I’m still missing something here,” Luke said.

God, I wish I could tell him, but I can’t. I promised Stephen I wouldn’t.

“The sting took place when we were arrested a few days ago. The Chief heard something during the sting he didn’t like, and my Solicitor is representing us all to get it resolved,” Stephen said.

“And what was it he heard?” Luke asked.

“Chad made a comment alluding to the fact that Mike could be dead. I don’t know where Mike is, as he was last seen heading to Spain, but after Chad said this, the corrupt police officer that was pressuring him killed him,” Stephen said.

“Oh my god!” Luke exclaimed.

“He decided he became disposable to him. And the Chief, who had made a deal with Benji, decided to arrest us to investigate it all. At this stage, we still have a committal hearing, so we have to leave it with Benji to do what he can, and we do as he says,” Stephen explained.

Luke sat back, looking shocked and bewildered.

“Luke?” I asked.

“Trin, it’s fine. I get it, okay. It’s a lot! If I’m feeling like this, I can empathize with how you felt or feel. What I’m struggling with is the fact you kept this from me for so long. We tell each other everything,” Luke said.

“I know, Luke, and I’m so sorry. I wanted to tell you,” I said.

“Luke, believe me, there were many times. I had to make the call not to tell you. I understand if that’s something you can’t forgive, but I had to make a decision at the time, and at least by you not knowing, you couldn’t be implicated in something you weren’t a part of,” Stephen said.

Luke just nodded slowly. He seemed to accept this but didn’t say anything more. He sat back and sparked the rest of the spliff as Todd just rubbed his back for comfort.

Luke’s voice is soft, but firm. “I’m glad you’re back home tonight with your kids. That’s where you should be.”

Stephen’s gratitude is palpable. “We can’t thank you enough for looking after them. I hope you know how much we all appreciate you both.”

Luke just nods, a simple pat on Todd’s leg his only response. He rises from his seat and walks over to me. His eyes are a storm of emotions, the hurt still raw and visible. He kneels in front of me, leaning forward to press a kiss to my forehead.

“I need some time, babe,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper. “To process. Alright?”

I can only nod, biting back the tears threatening to spill over.

“I love you,” he promises. “We’ll talk soon.”

“Okay,” I manage to choke out. “I love you too.”

I watch as they say their goodbyes, shaking hands with Clint, Dave, and Stephen. They share warm hugs with Mia and Felicity, and then they’re bending down to give all the kids a big hug and a kiss.

Stephen and I stand at the door, waving as they pull out of our driveway. Tears stream down my face, and I can’t help but wonder when he’ll be back.