by T. R. Graves
Below the ground of this grave... in the back of the commune... near the home I've lived in my entire life is a factory where moonshine is distilled and methamphetamines are made. The magnitude of illegal activity going on here—right under my nose—is both astronomical and sickening.
CHAPTER 18
Two Birds And One Stone
Emily
My attention is snatched away from the unbelievable sight when Owen backhands Lorenzo hard enough to drop him to his knees.
"God damn you, Lorenzo! You're single-handedly gonna bring down this entire operation. I gave you Emily, hopin' she'd help calm you down a bit, and last night, you got arrested. I'm gonna end up havin' to kill you to stop you. I don't want to do that, son. There are thin's you can do that nobody else can. Marcus trained you. Now that he's gone, you're all we got," Owen yells.
His face is fire-engine red and he's spitting when he talks. He's pacing around the underground factory, pounding his palm against the table he's standing next to. He's definitely as angry as he'd been when he killed Marcus, but he doesn't kill Lorenzo.
He must really need him.
"Owen, that fuckin' Bryson put 'em there to push me. All I was tryin' to do is go see Emily. We're promised. They can't tell me I can't see her." Lorenzo whined like a spoiled brat.
"That's where you're wrong, son. They can do whatever they want to do. Your job is to learn how to control that temper of yours. Do you understand me?"
"Yeah. I'm learnin' how to do that. I'll get it under control. I promise, Owen," Lorenzo says, standing up, spitting red, and wiping blood from the corner of his lip.
"I don't want to see you back at that hospital. Emily'll be back here tomorrow. I'll sit her down then and make sure she understands she's gonna be your wife. You're just gonna have to be patient with her. She's more innocent than the other women we have in the commune."
Lorenzo smirks like he knows better, but he purposefully doesn't tell Owen what he's seen. He has plans for me, and I suspect those plans involve him using what he knows against me. He doesn't want to play his hand just yet.
"We're not gonna be able to haul any shipments outta here for the next few days. Bryson'll be watchin' this place like a hawk now that you've been arrested. Once he finds out you got bonded out, he's gonna storm this commune like an end of times plague. I can tell you that right now, hoss," Phil says, yelling at Lorenzo and staring at him like he wants to hit him himself.
Based on Phil's clenched jaw, he's not at all satisfied with the minor punishment Owen’s dished out for Lorenzo. Owen steps between Phil and Lorenzo.
"That's enough, you two. We're headin' back to the house. Bryson's team'll be here soon. The information was only bein' held back from him until after five. We've gotta get everybody ready before then."
Lorenzo shakes his head. "I'll stay in the graveyard and guard the fence from back here. Once they get here, you can call me, and I'll stay hidden."
Owen nods. "Fair enough. If you see anything, I want you to sound the alarm. Do you understand me? I don't want you goin' rogue. We have too much at stake."
"Yes, sir," Lorenzo says, bowing his head.
As soon as the three men head toward the stairs, I jerk away from the entrance and hide behind one of the largest tractors. I curve in on myself and hold my breath. I can't afford for any of these men to find me here. I'm supposed to be at the hospital. Not here.
Soon, the light is out and—Jiminy Christmas—they're locking the door to the shed, my only way out of this place. I decide not to focus too much on the locked door. There's plenty down below that I need to investigate.
Now that I know Levi isn’t here or with Lorenzo, I decide to take a few minutes to document for Tope what's going on down here. I pull Ainsley's phone out of my back pocket. I'd not given it back to her earlier, and now, I'm glad. I decide to go down into the factory and take pictures for Tope. I'm going to get him enough evidence to send all of these men away for years and years.
The shed may have been pitch black, but the factory is blindingly bright and as sterile as the hospital I just left. Once I'm all the way down the stairs, I realize there are two separate and distinct labs. The first is a meth lab. It looks like a highly professional pharmaceutical lab complete with beakers, burners, vials, industrial bottles of chemicals, and equipment.
The second is the distillery for the pure moonshine, as evidenced by the two-story tall copper and stainless distillery and the truckloads of yeast, sugar, and grain piled near the hundreds of whiskey barrels.
I begin snapping pictures, making sure to get as much evidence as possible for Tope. After I've taken several dozen photos, I sit at the lab’s main desk. On it sits a top of the line computer. There are numerous screens and each are bigger than the giant television at the union hall. Owen may have gone out of his way to make sure I never had a computer to actually use, but he hadn't kept me from reading books about them.
Studying this computer, I decide its main purpose is security because the screens have dozens of small cells within them that prove Owen's team is monitoring everything that goes on in the commune. No wonder these people are afraid to even whisper a negative word about Owen and his group of leaders. Given the monitoring system, I'm convinced they can see and hear everything happening within the walls of the commune.
They may be monitoring everything—the front gates, houses, the outside of the shed—but there’s only one place where there are any signs of life. That's the union hall. Owen has everyone gathered there, and they are all frantically bustling around and chattering amongst themselves.
No one notices when Owen and the boys enter the hall. Phil quickly hooks one finger into each corner of his mouth and blows. I can't hear his whistle, but I'm assuming everyone else can because everyone on the screen stops moving and stares toward the direction of the whistle. I see speakers under the computer and reach over to turn them up. I want to hear what the great and powerful Owen tells these people.
"Everybody, listen up. The piece of shit cops'll be here soon. They’re searching for Lorenzo. Y'all may not know this, but I've let him get promised to my Emi. She's been real sick, and he was tryin' to see her. Instead of respectin' us... instead of lettin' that boy stay with his future wife, they antagonized him until he hit someone. We all know he should've known they was gonna do that and he shouldn't have played into their hands like that, but what they did still ain't right. When they get here, I want every one of you to stay quiet. Not a word. Me and Phil've already called Caleb Preston. He'll take care of all this. Now, get back to your houses and hunker down until we give you the green light to come out."
Everyone just stands staring at Owen, not sure when the hunkering down is supposed to start.
"Get up off your asses and get to your houses... NOW!" Owen yells.
With that, women grab their babies and toddlers, cradling them in their arms and slinging them on their hips, while men sweep up their school-aged kids and throw them on their shoulders. Everyone's moving now, and within minutes the union hall is empty with the exception of Owen, Phil, Brian, Joe, and Tess.
Tess never says a word, but Owen knows what she's thinking. "Lorenzo's in the factory. He won't be comin' back to your house for a while. You need to get over to the hospital and tell Emily to keep her fuckin' mouth shut. I know she ain't happy about Lorenzo, but that's gonna be her husband so she might as well get over it. As soon as she gets pregnant with her first baby by him, she'll love him for eternity. That's just how she is."
I can tell by the look on Tess's face that she wants to say something. I can almost hear her teeth's grinding her jaw is so clenched. Owen sees what I see and considers it insubordination at the highest level. With an angry vein popping from his forehead, he rushes over to Tess, grabs her by the throat, and slams her against the nearest table.
"Don't you fuckin' judge me. I've done everythin' you've ever asked me to do for her. You've made me feel guilty about what happened to her mother for the last time
. I run this commune. Not you. Get up to that hospital and tell her to stay quiet. If she don't, I'll take care of both of you just like I took care of her momma... and Marcus. Do you understand me, you fuckin' bitch?"
He doesn't remove his grip from her throat. He's waiting for her to conform. I can see she's trying to wait him out, but it only takes a few minutes before her face turns bone white and she, unable to go without oxygen another second, concedes. When she finally nods, Owen slings her across the floor. There, Tess sucks in several loud and painful breaths.
These computer screens are state of the art. I can tell the instant the blood returns to her face and she's no longer suffocating. I can also see the tears dripping from the corners of her eyes. After she recovers, she wipes her eyes with the backs of her hands, sniffs, and holds her head high. If I hadn't seen what Owen did to her just seconds before, I wouldn't know the altercation ever occurred, especially if I based my judgment on Tess's current demeanor. She is really good at hiding her feelings... covering who she is. I never want to be like her. I want to be who I am, not who others want me to be.
"I'll be at the hospital if you need me," Tess says, leaving the union hall.
Owen has my blood boiling, and I'm just about to slam my fists on the table like Owen did when he was yelling at Lorenzo when I see there’s a camera watching the fence hole I used to sneak into the commune. Knowing that, I'm absolutely sure that Owen and his team have footage of me sneaking in and out of the fence even if they don't know it. Lorenzo will use it to prove his case. Somehow, I'll have to delete those files.
I'm just about to give it a try when Lorenzo comes into view on one of the cameras. It's the one right outside the shed.
Holy shit! He's got Levi! Holy shit!
Lorenzo has a gun to the side of Levi's head. The anger I just felt toward Owen is a drop in the bucket when compared to how furious I am with Lorenzo right now. I want to charge him, claw his eyes out, and give Levi the best chance he'll have at saving his life. Instantly, I cross that plan off. Lorenzo's been hunting his whole life, and he's one of the best shots in the commune. The only person better is Phil. Lorenzo'll kill Levi for sure if I do anything like that.
It occurs to me that I have the advantage over Lorenzo. He has no idea I'm down here. I'm gonna find a hiding place and a weapon. I look around, trying to find something that could be used to hurt, or kill, Lorenzo if that's what I need to do to save Levi.
That's when I see several shovels dug into and standing up in the mounds of grain. They may normally be used to scoop the grain into the distillery, but for me, they’re going to be used to chop the head off of the snake who’s threatening Levi's life.
I dash toward the distillery, grab the biggest shovel there, and slide back behind the double stacked whiskey barrels just as Lorenzo opens the door to the factory. The factory is so quiet that their every step echoes like its being held to a microphone. When Levi steps onto the next to the last rung, Lorenzo gives him a shove. He'd assumed Levi would stumble and fall, but Levi's more graceful than he expected. Levi trips and quickly turns around to lash out at Lorenzo.
Lorenzo still has the gun, and it’s pointed straight at Levi's head. There's nothing I can do. If I make one move, he'll shoot me and then shoot Levi. I have no choice but to sit quiet and bear witness to the atrocity playing out in front of me.
Lorenzo points Levi in the direction near the computer. I can tell by the way he takes inventory that he's checking to see where everyone is and making sure he's on his own with Levi. After he's accounted for everyone, he smirks at Levi.
"I'm glad you came to me instead of making me find you. I wasn't lyin' when I said I'd kill Emily," Lorenzo says, taunting Levi.
Levi rolls his eyes. "Yeah. I have you pegged as one of those pieces of shit men who'll beat up a woman. What I don't have you pegged for is a man who’ll fight another man in a fair match. No guns. No weapons. You won't do that because you know you’d never come out on top of that fight," Levi said with an air of boredom. I knew him well enough to know bored was the last thing he was feeling, but Lorenzo didn't.
"I may not have a doctor for a grandfather or a lawyer for a cousin, but I wasn't born yesterday, man. I have the advantage, and I plan to keep it that way. If it means keepin' a gun trained on you, so be it," Lorenzo says while pulling an aluminum chair out to the middle of the floor.
While Lorenzo’s busy with his project, I notice Levi looking around and searching for his own weapon. His eyes quickly rest on the remaining shovels. Like me, he’d like nothing more than to take a shovel to Lorenzo. As soon as Lorenzo glances up from tying ropes to the chair, Levi jerks his attention away from the shovels. The last thing he wants is for Lorenzo to realize what he was thinking. He wants to take him off guard just like me.
Lorenzo pats the chair's seat. "I want you to sit here."
Levi looks at the chair skeptically. Lorenzo points the gun at Levi, letting him know there are no options.
Levi shakes his head and sits down. Lorenzo ties Levi's hands behind him and then to the chair. Then, he ties Levi's first leg to the chair's leg, going so far as to lift Levi's jeans up so there’s no slack. When he's finished with the first leg, he grabs Levi's free leg and ties it just as tight as the first.
He must’ve done a good job of securing Levi because Levi looks as pissed as I've ever seen him.
The minute Lorenzo has Levi tied and rendered powerless he balls his fist up and punches Levi in the stomach. I have to cover my mouth to keep from revealing my hiding spot when Levi groans in pain.
Levi
Dammit, that hurt!
My attention is pulled away from the pain in my stomach when I see something, someone, moving back behind the whiskey barrels. Knowing something Lorenzo doesn't might be my only advantage now that he has me tied up. I'm going to have to work hard to prevent Lorenzo from discovering what I know.
While he stands smug beside my chair, I quickly scan the area near the barrels. I'm trying to see if the person hiding is someone I can use to help me... to take Lorenzo down and keep Emily from ever having to deal with this asshole again, or if this person is someone else I'm going to have to fight before the end of this day.
Holy shit! is all I can think when I see Emily's chocolate-brown eyes peeking around the barrel and watching me like she's about to run out and try to save me.
One thing's for certain. I have to keep Lorenzo's attention focused on me. If he finds Emily here, he'll fuck her in front of me just to make us suffer. Two birds with one stone would be his rationale.
Emily
"That's for fuckin' Emily," Lorenzo whispers into Levi's ear.
Levi's head jerks toward Lorenzo. He's trying to understand how Lorenzo knows what we did. He knows neither Tope nor I would ever tell him.
Lorenzo slits his eyes and clears up the mystery. "I snuck into Emily's hospital room last night. I can't tell you how shocked I was when I saw you in the bed with her. I climbed into the closet with a plan to beat the shit out of her as soon as you left. A few seconds later, the two of you started makin' out. I should be thankin' you because when she came in your mouth, I came in my hand harder than I've ever came before," Lorenzo says, closing his eyes and grinning as if that memory is one of the fondest of his lifetime. "Jeez, I'd do anythin' to strip her down, spread her open, and taste her right now. Until that minute, I thought if I wanted to keep doin' that kind of stuff, I'd have to go to the union hall and be with one of the whores. Now that I know my little Emi ain't a virgin... and she's open to some kinky bedroom play, hell... my life with her is lookin' better all the time."
If looks could kill, Lorenzo would spontaneously explode. Levi and I are eyeing him with all the hate we can muster. "You fucking asshole. She's too good for you. If you lay one hand on her, I swear to God, I'll cut you up digit by digit and feed you to the wolves," Levi says, bucking the chair and trying to free himself.
Lorenzo laughs. Then he considers what Levi said. "That's not such a bad id
ea. I think that’s exactly what I'll do to you. I wonder what your cousin will say when there's no body. It’ll certainly make prosecution a very difficult job."
"Do whatever you want, you sick son of a bitch. You'll never get your hands on Emily. I've given her everything she needs to run away. With me or without me, she's leaving here and never coming back. I met you at the fence so I could kill you myself or buy her some time. Either way, she'll have a life where she doesn't have to worry about being raped or stalked. The more time you take with me, the farther away she's getting," Levi says, chuckling.
Lorenzo’s caught off guard with that information. Then, he shrugs. "I've known her longer than you. She doesn't abandon the people she cares about. Not only are there a lot of them here at the commune, but now I have you. I'll call her later and let her know you're here. She'll break her neck gettin' back when she finds that out."
"Why don't you just leave her alone? She doesn't want anything to do with you. Why can't you just accept that and move on?"
"I want her for all the reasons you want her. She's more beautiful than anyone I've ever seen. I've been followin’ after her like a dog in heat for years, and she's never even paid one second of attention to me. I've gone so far as to threaten to kill anyone who asked Owen if she could be promised to them. My plan to make it look like no one else wanted her has been real effective. It's the only reason Owen finally agreed to let us be promised. Just face it. She's what I want, and I'm gonna get her. One way or the other."
Levi quirks up one side of his lip. He's taunting Lorenzo the way Lorenzo was taunting him a few minutes ago.
"I'm not sure if you realize this, but most women like to be romanced... not raped.”
Lorenzo punches Levi again. This time, it’s in the jaw.
Levi closes his eyes, waiting for the pain to ebb a little. When he opens them, he's so angry there might as well be daggers shooting from them.
