Hunter's POV

After the shower, I walk back to the kitchen where I find Suri putting the final touches on our breakfast. She turns towards me with a smile on her face. "You've got a visitor. She's waiting for you in the living room."

I'm not expecting anyone. Why would my sister let a stranger into my house?

The kitchen is open-plan, and I enter the living room through it. The woman has her back towards me. I clear my throat. "Can I help you?"
The woman turns around, and a smile slowly spreads across her face. "It's nice to see you again, Hunter. I hear you have some information about a case that I'm working on?" Her brown hair is tied in a bun on top of her head, her brown eyes sparkle with mischief, and she has tanned skin.

"Maia Stone," I step close to her and wrap my arms around her. "It's been a long time since we last saw each other."

She chuckles. "I saw you six months ago when you were at the FBI Headquarters. Kris hasn't stopped talking about you since you were there. I'm glad that I don't spend time in the office anymore. It's been good being on a case."

I step away from her. "The case brought you back home. How many people have you run into since you've been here?"

"None," she crosses her arms. "I'm not a memorable person. You're one of the people who remembers me, even though we were never close. Just peers that had a few classes together." Maia takes a seat and waits for me to sit.

Sitting across from her, I ask, "Maia, I know you're here to put an end to corrupt cops on the force. With this case, I have a feeling it involves one of the people that you're looking into."

"How is that?" She pulls a pen and notepad out of her pocket.

"Can we do this off the record first? I would be happy to give you a statement if it proves to be something."

"I trust you, Hunter. It's why I knew I had to talk to you right away when Tomas came to me."

"The car Toby was driving was tampered with. As he approached the stop sign, he looked panicked and screamed, "I can't stop." Then I saw the crash.
"Do you think anyone else heard it?"

I shake my head. "They were too far away."

"Where's the car now? I went to the scene, and it wasn't there." She stood and moved towards me."People are after the car, and if it's not in a safe place, someone will do their best to steal it and cover the evidence.

"Tomas has a mechanical friend who's taken the car. I wouldn't worry about anyone getting too close to the vehicle, as this guy doesn't do too well with authority."

"Would you be able to see the car?"

"Yes, why?"

"I want you to take me there so that I can make a report. If someone finds out about the car, I want to make sure that I have all the proof I need to undermine the cop that's doing these things to innocent people."

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I send a message to my Lawyer.

Me: Can you meet us at the mechanics? Maia wants to look at the car.

It doesn't take too long before I get a reply back.

Tomas: I will meet you there. I'll give my man the heads up. He doesn't like surprises.

Me: Okay, thanks. I'm going to have breakfast. How about we meet in an hour?

Tomas: I can work with that. You owe me triple time for the time I'm giving you today.

Me: I can deal with that.

A chuckle leaves my lips. "My lawyer is being a pain today. He hoped to spend the day with his family, but I'm pulling him into work."

Maia touches her stomach. "That food smells amazing. Do you think there's enough for me?"

As we enter the kitchen, Suri looks up from the stove. "There's plenty of food. Hunter can sometimes be a pig, so I've made it a habit to make extra." She looks between Maia and me before saying. "You have to go out after breakfast, don't you?"

"Yes, I will be gone for two hours max. Then I will help you with preparing dinner." I hold my pinkie out to her.

Suri wraps it around mine. "Don't let me down, big brother." She puts some plates on the table and we begin to eat breakfast.

On the table, we have bacon, eggs, toast, hash browns, and star-shaped pancakes.

Growing up, Mom made them in heart shapes because she wanted us to know how much she loves us. So, having Suri doing stars reminds me of how she likes to look up at the sky at night.

After breakfast, Maia and I say 'goodbye' to Suri before walking out the door.

***

It doesn't take long before we're pulling up in front of Tomas's friend's garage. The metal garage door is pulled down, and the closed sign is displayed on the front door.

Tomas pulls his BMW into the driveway and parks behind Maia's car. He looks between us and says. "I never thought I would see the day that Hunter would be friends with a cop."

Maia folds her arms and looks at him. "You know I'm a Fed, Tomas. Hunter and I went to school together, and having that connection with me makes him trust that I'm the right one for the job. What you have to say doesn't matter. Where's Lance?"

Tomas's mouth drops open. "How do you know about Lance?"

Lance opens the door to the garage and looks at all of us. "Maia, what are you doing here?" His face pales as he looks at the woman with us.

She moves to the door and pushes him aside. "I don't care about what you're doing, Lance. I'm here to look at the car and take photos of evidence that it has been tampered with."

"You won't take me in?"

Maia shakes her head. "Lance, I took you in because you were under surveillance for some of your dodgy dealings." She wraps her arms around him. "Big Brother, it's good to see you again."

Tomas looks at me and mouths 'Big Brother.'

I wasn't expecting that.

Growing up, Maia mentioned having a brother, but he was older than us by five years, so we never saw him around.

Lance takes us to the car and shows Maia around it, pointing to different parts. She then takes photos of it and writes notes on her phone. "Is there anything else that I can help you with?"

Maia steps away from the car. "Someone might come for the car, and when they do, I want you to let them take it." She shows us her phone. "I have the evidence here to show it's been tampered with."

"Are you serious?" Lance asks. "If they break in here to take the car, who will pay for the damage? I won't be able to pay for it."

She gives him a card that has her details on it. "Call me. I'll deal with it. Mom wants you home for Thanksgiving dinner."

He shakes his head. "I'm busy." Lance shuts up at the look on Maia's face. "Fine, I'll be there for an hour tops. You know how Dad and I are when we're together."

Hugging him, Maia says. "See you tonight, brother." She walks out of the garage with me following.

"That's the mysterious brother I heard so much about. Did you recognise the address when I gave it to you?"

"Yes," she added, looking at the building. "I remember the first time I came here. A couple of months after I joined the Feds, we had to arrest Lance because he was stealing cars and stripping them to replace parts from cars involved in the illegal street races."

I was part of that, but after a police chase, I made sure to stay clear of being arrested for my part in the illegal race. While running, I pulled into a bar and took shelter until the cops gave up the chase.

Maia smiles at me. "You took part in it before Lance was arrested?"

"Yes, but I was never caught. I don't think Lance would remember me from that time."

Lance walks out the door at that moment, Tomas following behind him. "I remember you, Hunter. You were one of the best drivers I've seen. When shit hit the fan I knew you would run and protect yourself and from what I've heard you're a successful businessman. Stay out of trouble, man."

"I will." I climb into Maia's car and wait for her.