by Hamel, B. B.
He just shrugs and I turn back to Reggie.
His smile falters. “We don’t have the death penalty.”
“You sure about that?” I smile and change tack. “Truth is, you’re screwed, Reggie. I thought we were cool, but that shit back there…” I shake my head.
“High school was a long time ago. I’m not some prop to keep around anymore.”
I laugh softly. “Thing is, you weren’t a prop to me. I actually liked you. I probably was the only one, to be honest.” I meet his gaze and lean back in my chair.
“What do you want?” he snaps. “If you guys have me dead already, why bother with this shit?”
“I want to know something. If you tell me, I might make your life easier.”
He sighs. “I won’t roll over on my own people.”
“No, of course not,” I say. “Not you, not Reggie. Right, Mitch?”
“Right,” Mitch says.
“Thing is, Reg, I remember the skinny little dweeb you used to be.” He flinches and I keep going. “I remember how dorky and pathetic you were. Oh true, you got big, but back then? Nobody gave a shit about you at all. You were a nothing.” I lean forward and meet his gaze. “Except to me, you were a friend. And you tried to kill me.”
He looks away. “I did what I had to do.”
“Sure,” I say. “I get that. We all have hard choices to make. But typically mine don’t involve killing someone that befriended me back in the day.”
“What the fuck do you want?” he snaps.
“Where’s Jaxson?”
“Probably with that dumb bitch Kristi.” He instantly looks like he regrets that.
I cock my head. “Atticus’s ex-girlfriend?”
“They never liked each other,” he mutters.
I lean back and cross my arms. I almost want to laugh, it’s so fucking simple. “You’re in love with her.”
“Fuck no,” he says. “She’s a goddamn slut.”
“You want to fuck her, make babies with her, but instead she’s fucking a bunch of other scumbags. So you, what, you’re still willing to kill for her? Holy shit, Reggie. That’s pathetic.”
“Fuck you,” he growls.
“No, actually, Kristi’s the one getting fucked right now. She’s taking a big meaty cock between her legs, and she’s not thinking about poor Reggie, locked up because of her.”
“Fuck you,” he growls again.
“She’s gonna let you rot while she sucks Jaxson’s dick, isn’t she? I bet she’ll never even bother to visit.”
“You don’t know shit about this,” he says, but I can tell. I hit a nerve, and I’m not backing off it.
“Where are they, Reggie? You want me to stop Jaxson from stretching out her tight little cunt before you get a ride? Tell me where they are.”
“Holed up at that fucking shack. Jaxson brags about fucking whores there all the time, that fucking prick.” He strains against his chains suddenly. “I want to strangle that fucking cunt,” he whispers, eyes bulging.
“Where’s the shack?” I ask him softly.
“Near that casino. I’ll give you an address if you promise me something.”
“What’s that, Reggie?”
“Make sure you put her away for a long fucking time.”
I smile at him. “Sure, Reggie.” I stand up. “Tell Mitch here where we gotta go. I’ll see you around.”
He looks away as I leave the room. I stand in the hallway, breathing deeply. Cora comes out a second later and walks right up to me.
“Jaxson and Kristi,” she says, eyes wide.
“I know.”
“Shit.” She takes a deep breath and lets it out. “We had her. We tried to help her.”
“I know,” I say softly.
“And she was a part of it, wasn’t she?”
“Probably.”
She looks so angry, it’s honestly surprising. She clenches her fists, and I think she might scream. Instead, she takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.
“Let’s fucking get her,” she says finally. “She was there when Atticus died. She was a part of what happened.”
I take her hand in my mind. “We’ll get her,” I promise. “But let me ask you something first.”
She cocks her head. “Okay.”
“Do you think it’s going to make you feel better?”
She bites her lip. “Yeah,” she says finally. “I do.”
“It won’t bring Atticus back. Just remember that. You’ll feel better that they’re locked up, but Atticus will still be gone.”
She nods and looks away. “I know. I think… I think I’ve been ready for him to disappear for a long time.”
“He hasn’t been your brother for years,” I say.
“He hasn’t,” she agrees.
“What will you do, once this is over?”
“I don’t know. Go back to work, go on with my life.”
I nod and let her hand drop. I was just thinking the same thing.
But that means I’d go back to the city, go back to my old job and old life and leave her here alone. She won’t be in danger anymore, but that’s not the only thing I’m concerned about.
The truth is, I don’t want to leave Mason anymore. Really, I don’t want to leave her. I feel like whatever’s happening between us is just starting, and I need to find out where it’s going.
I can feel something inside of me starting to click into place. I didn’t know I was missing something, but now that I’m with Cora, it’s so obvious. I’ve been spending my life sleeping around, fucking whatever attractive woman is in front of me that night, but I was just going through the motions. It was the same thing, night after night, and although the girls were all different, the feelings were the same. It was just lust, empty and simple and worthless.
This last week though, I’ve learned a lot about myself. I think I’ve grown more than I could have guessed, and a lot of that’s all thanks to Cora. She’s been slowly showing me how to be a better man, a little bit at a time.
She’s strong, beautiful, smart, and I’d be stupid to walk away from that.
So I want to catch Jaxson and Kristi, but I also don’t, because I don’t want this to end.
“Come on,” I say. “Let’s go get ready.”
She grins at me. “I was born ready.”
I roll my eyes. “You’d make such a good detective.”
We wait for Mitch to come back out before we leave, the address tucked into my pocket, a promise from Mitch to hold off for at least a day before they raid the place. I’m nervous, and I know I’m going about this all wrong, but we have to see it through.
24
Cora
We sit in Wyatt’s car for a few minutes, just idling and staring at the long dirt road. We haven’t said much in a little while, and I can feel my nerves building. Wyatt doesn’t look nervous at all, and keeps drumming on the steering wheel to the beat of whatever song’s playing on the radio.
Finally, I can’t stand it anymore. “What are we waiting for?”
“Nothing,” he admits. “I just wanted to make sure you were ready to do this.”
“I’m ready,” I say.
“Are you sure?” He looks at me, head cocked. “This might get dangerous.”
“I know that. But I’ve come this far.”
He sighs and leans toward me. “I don’t want to risk you. But I won’t say you can’t come.”
“I’m ready,” I repeat, and that seems to satisfy him. He kills the engine, reaches across me, opens the glovebox, and pulls out a gun. He checks to make sure it’s loaded before we climb out and he slips the gun into his waistband.
I don’t say anything as we start walking. We step off the dirt road and cut through the woods, trying to step lightly over fallen leaves and twigs. I stay close to Wyatt. I’m scared as hell, and his gun isn’t making me feel any better, but I won’t run away from this.
We move through the woods, and up ahead, I can just start to spot a small house. As we
get closer, I realize that it’s basically just a trailer that’s been bolted into the ground, which can’t be a good idea. The thing’s falling apart, the roof is covered in moss, and the walls are all a dirty off-white muddy color.
But there’s a light on inside. Wyatt stops and crouches, dragging me down next to him. “This is it,” he says. “Last chance to turn back.”
“Let’s go,” I say.
He nods. “Okay. Follow my lead.”
We start moving across the open space, over toward the trailer. We get to the side and pause, listening. There’s a TV on inside and voices talking low. We move up to the front and Wyatt pulls the gun from his jeans, holding it ready in front of him.
Slowly, agonizingly, he opens the screen door. It doesn’t make a sound. I hold it open for him as he goes around and suddenly kicks open the front door in a burst of action.
I follow him inside. The trailer itself is a goddamn mess. There’s trash all over the place, and it smells like moldy bread. I have to step over a little pile of needles as I move up the steps.
“Jaxson!” Wyatt shouts. “Stop!”
I turn the corner as Wyatt barrels down through the trailer. I spot Jaxson just ahead of him. Kristi is sitting in a little booth, head in her hands, mumbling to herself. There’s a small TV on the counter near her, playing some sitcom.
She doesn’t even look up as he comes past, and I notice that her arm’s tied off. She must have just shot up as we came in here, and Jaxson probably didn’t have the chance to set himself up yet. I follow them into the back room, just as Wyatt curses.
There’s a large window out the back, wide open. Wyatt dives out through it, clearly following after Jaxson. I spot Jaxson running to the tree line, Wyatt following after him, shouting.
I turn back into the trailer. The room’s a mess, and the idea that anyone could possibly live in here repulses me beyond belief. I move back into the main room, where Kristi’s still passed out at the table.
Gently, I take the rubber hose from around her arm. I take the needle from her arm and place it back on the table. She mumbles something and I lean her back against the seat.
There’s a bottle of water on the floor by her feet. I grab it, open the cap, and wait a few minutes. Her eyes start to flutter, like she’s coming back awake, so I throw the water in her face.
She sputters, eyes opening. “What,” she says, slowly, her voice thick. “Jax?”
“You helped him,” I say softly.
Kristi blinks at me, slowly coming to. “What?” she says again.
I slam my hands on the tabletop. “Atticus.”
She groans, rubbing her face. “The fuck is this,” she says. “Jax? How high am I?”
“You’re not high enough,” I say. I reach out, grab her hand, and smash it down onto the table.
“Ow,” she says, dazed
I slam my fist down onto her hand again.
“Fuck!” she says, pulling it back. I can see some more of her comes back. “The fuck is happening?”
“We know it was Jaxson,” I say to her. “And we know you’re with him. You helped kill Atticus, didn’t you? The guy you were supposed to be with.”
She groans and shakes her head. “No, I didn’t want to.”
I clench my jaw. “But you did.”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like that.” I can’t tell if she’s still high or what, but she looks more lucid. She’s not making eye contact, her gaze is directly on the floor, but her voice sounds more coherent. “Jax said nobody would get hurt.”
“But he did get hurt. Atticus got killed, and brutally. How, Kristi? How did you let it happen?”
“I didn’t mean to.” She starts crying then, and I almost feel bad for her. At least until she keeps talking. “They started arguing. And Atticus wouldn’t give up the shit. It was crazy, they were yelling, and that’s when Jax just started stabbing him.”
A shiver runs through her visibly.
“What happened next?” I ask softly.
“Jax stabs him, over and over, yelling like a fucking animal, and I just… I shot him. I freaked. I didn’t know what else to do.”
I lean back and stare at her. So that’s how it happened. Atticus really was robbed during a drug deal, but he was robbed and killed by the two people he probably felt closest to in the world. Jaxson stabbed him multiple times, and Kristi put him out of his misery with a gunshot to the face.
I groan and shake my head. “Why?” I ask her.
“I didn’t know.” She sobs and leans forward, head in her hands. “Jaxson made me do it.”
I want to hit her. I want to hurt her so badly that it nearly pulls me apart. I’m not the kind of person to cause someone else pain just because I want to, and I don’t think Atticus would want me to, either. He was always a gentle person, despite the addiction. But this is his killer, the woman he was supposed to be with.
“How long were you with Jaxson?” I ask her instead of kicking her face in.
“Months,” she sobs.
“You were cheating on my brother.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
She’s so pathetic. I stand up and leave the trailer, not able to sit there a second longer. As soon as I get outside, I suddenly feel dizzy, overwhelmed. I stumble, mind reeling, and fall to my knees.
My brother was stabbed by his closest friend, and shot in the head by his girlfriend. Jaxson and Kristi were sleeping together, cheating on him, and their last moments with him were to murder him. That was how my brother died, alone, broken, betrayed. He was probably confused and angry and in pain, and it’s all because of these scum.
I break down, tears spilling from my eyes. I can’t stop myself. I sob and fall over onto my side, holding myself, breath coming in ragged.
There’s a voice then, and someone pulls me into their arms. It takes me a second to realize that it’s Wyatt, whispering in my ear. He holds me tight while I sob, and slowly my tears subside until I’m looking up at him.
He smiles at me. “It’s over,” he says.
“You got him?”
He nods. “He’s tied up in our car right now. Mitch and the police are on the way.” He glances at the trailer. “What about Kristi?”
“She’s in there,” I say.
“Good.” He sighs and holds me tighter. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I whisper. “I just want to go home.”
“Let’s get you home then.” He slowly stands me up. I can hear sirens in the distance, getting closer. “It’s all over, Cora. It’s going to be okay.”
“Yeah. It’ll be okay.”
We walk back toward the car. The sirens get louder, but all I can hear are Wyatt’s words, whispered softly in my ear. I don’t want him to ever let me go, never ever, but part of me knows that this is the end. He’s going to leave, and I’m going to be left here, trying to pick up the pieces of my broken life.
More chills run through me as Wyatt takes me home, and I don’t know where to go.
Chapter Twenty-Five; Wyatt
25
Wyatt
A few days pass and we don’t hear much from Mitch or the Mason police in general.
Cora is slowly coming back to herself. We spend most of our time together, going to eat around Mason, walking through the nature preserve, and watching old movies together. At night, I make her feel alive again, get her nice and exhausted so she can fall asleep in my arms.
Neither of us talks about me leaving. The case is finished, we both know what happened now, but I’m still here, still in town. Cora could go back to her apartment, but instead we both stay in my crappy little motel room, although the staff isn’t exactly happy to have me around considering the damage to their other room.
Saturday comes, and I get a call from my captain. “Haven’t heard a word from you,” he says to me.
“Sorry about that.” I lean up against the railing outside of our room. “This case has been tricky.”
“I made some cal
ls.” I feel a chill run down my spine. “I know they made arrests.”
I clench my jaw. “That’s not all there is.”
“What, you still cleaning up their fucking mess, son? Come back and do your damn job.”
I think fast. I can’t explain to him that I want to stay because I’m falling for Cora. I couldn’t possibly explain that to him, and frankly, it’s not a good excuse. He’d fire my ass in a second.
“Her mother’s still missing,” I say quickly. “We’re trying to find her.”
That’s only half a lie. Cora got a call from her mom the day after she went missing, right after we caught Kristi and Jaxson. She said that she’s okay, but she’s taking some time to herself. Cora said she sounded drunk, which wasn’t a surprise. Her mom didn’t bother to say where she was.
He groans. “What the hell did you get yourself into?”
“It’s complicated here,” I admit.
“Damn small towns. You know, out here in the city, shit’s simple. Gangs are clear, they kill each other, we clean it up and arrest some of them. We have a way of life, a balance. But out there, it’s the damn Wild West still.”
I can’t say I disagree, although there’s not really a balance in the city, either. The gangs still do whatever they want and we’re left trying to chase them down after it’s all over.
“Just a few more days, sir,” I say to him. “Please. I’ll be back and work all the shit cases, if that’s what it’ll take.”
“You’ll work those shit cases, all right. And you’ll fucking close them. Got it?”
“Got it,” I say.
“I want you back here Tuesday morning. No fucking later.”
“Understood, sir.”
He hangs up the phone without another word. I sigh to myself, shaking my head. I don’t know why I bothered buying that time, it’s just a few more days to get even more attached to Cora before I have to go back home.
I just can’t help myself. I go back into the room and she looks up at me, her smile so bright and genuine. I don’t think anyone’s ever smiled like that at me in my whole life, and it feels os damn good. Cora wants to be around me, wants to be near me all the time, and I love it.
