Mess You Up (Brooks Crest Book 1)

by Jaxson Kidman

  I wave.

  And then I help myself to another cigarette.

  I sit on a metal table and watch as Rex appears. He’s got new crutches. Which is good. That leg is never going to heal with one crutch.

  That makes me laugh.

  I really can be a prick sometimes.

  I’m not worried about Rex.

  Who Rex is walking with…

  That’s the ticket.

  My phone vibrates next to me.

  It’s Jolie calling me.

  Calling.

  I grab the phone.

  “Hey, sweetie, you okay?”

  “Is it wrong if I say I wanted to hear your voice?” she asks.

  I smile. “Is it wrong if I say I want us to switch to video so I can see you naked?”

  Jolie laughs. “I’m not naked, Mac.”

  “But you could be naked.”

  “Technically, yes.”

  “Say no more then.”

  She sighs. “And just like that I regret calling you.”

  “Then hang up. That’s the best part of a phone call. You can hang up. Or a text. You can ignore it. But you won’t do that…”

  My voice trails off as Rex and Wunder are getting closer.

  Ado is still trying to kiss my ass… or do something to my ass to get me to give him cash. He called Taz to say that a friend of a friend said Teddy and Wunder had been talking about doing their own thing on the side. How they were going to take it away from BC.

  But it’s still wrong.

  And I can’t let that happen.

  “You miss me that much, sweetie?” I ask Jolie.

  “I don’t know,” she says. “I just…”

  “You wanted to hear my voice that bad,” I say. “And I wanted to hear your voice. Want to talk about everything we did? I can’t stop thinking about it…”

  “Mac,” she says.

  I laugh. “I’m kidding. Hey, want to get together and play some strip poker? I can get a full crew rounded up in a second.”

  “I’m hanging up now,” she says.

  “Wait,” I say.

  I look to my right and Taz is staring at me.

  I give a nod.

  And shit hits the fan.

  Rex stops walking.

  Wunder takes a few more steps.

  Taz is like a wild animal stalking its prey.

  He watches too many scary movies.

  He acts like the killer in the movie.

  Walking slow.

  Wunder knows he’s fucked.

  He looks around and sees me.

  I don’t move.

  Wunder turns and thinks he’s going to get away.

  Rex swings one of his crutches and smashes Wunder in the balls.

  That stops him dead in his track.

  “Oh shit,” I whisper.

  “What’s wrong?” Jolie asks.

  “Just thinking about the way you taste, sweetie,” I say. “Licking all that innocence off your body.”

  “Shut up, Mac.”

  “What do you think I want to talk about right now?” I ask.

  Taz takes the first swing at Wunder.

  One solid punch and Wunder is on his back already.

  Les comes forward next and he and Taz take care of the situation.

  They kick and punch Wunder as I talk to Jolie.

  It’s actually kind of relaxing.

  Hearing her voice. Making her laugh. Picturing what she looks like… both dressed and undressed.

  “I was really calling because … I’m just not looking forward to going anywhere today, Mac.”

  “Ah, I get it,” I say. “You want me to tell you to bail on everything you have to do today. I’m sure the law world will be waiting for you tomorrow, sweetie.”

  Taz grabs Wunder’s shirt and lifts him up just to hit him again.

  “I’m not like this, Mac,” Jolie says. “I don’t do lazy.”

  “I guess I wore you out then,” I say.

  Jolie laughs.

  Wunder lets out a painful cry.

  I inch my way off the table and put my feet on the ground.

  Les looks at me and I nod.

  Taz pulls his fist back for another punch and Les stops him.

  “Knowing you, sweetie, you’re probably the smartest one in your entire class,” I say. “You know you’re going to get your law degree. And you’re going to specialize in something badass and you’re going to do something amazing in life. But don’t forget to live life a little too.”

  “How can you say that kind of stuff and be such a bad person?”

  “Who says I’m a bad person?” I ask.

  Wunder looks at me.

  His nose is halfway across his face and his left eye is already swollen shut.

  “If I stay home and get bored, I might bother you,” she says.

  “Bother away,” I say. “Send me some pics…”

  “No,” Jolie says. “You can come get the real thing.”

  I smile bigger. “How red are your cheeks right now because you said that?”

  “Goodbye, Mac.”

  The call goes dead.

  I look at my phone.

  “Goodbye, sweetie.”

  I walk over to Wunder and look down at him.

  “Do I even have to say it?” I ask.

  “No,” Wunder says.

  I look at Rex. “Go get some help, Rex. Let them know your buddy here was trying some kind of fucked up spin move and he ran into a tree. All while he was high as a kite.”

  “I’m not high,” Wunder says.

  I crouch down. “Do you have some of that bad junk on you?”

  Wunder shakes his head.

  “Good,” I say. I put my hand out and Taz gives me something. I drop the pills into Wunder’s hand. “Take these. It’ll help with the pain. And it’ll make your story believable. And I’ll see you next week at this time. This spot. For your next delivery. Got it?”

  Wunder shuts his good eye and nods. “Sure thing, Mac.”

  I stand up and smile at Taz and Les.

  “Fuck, bro, did you just fuck her through the phone?” Taz asks. “That’s a ball draining smile on your face.”

  I walk away.

  Les on my left.

  Taz on my right.

  I let the Wunder thing fall behind me.

  I’m already over it.

  Now I have to go break into a house.

  20

  The first window I broke was just for fun.

  I was a kid. I was bored. Maybe I was looking for attention.

  The first window I broke to cause some serious trouble… well, that’s a whole other story.

  The point I’m making is that I know what I’m doing.

  I know how to put shit together to make sure nobody gets caught.

  Even on houses as big as the one we’re standing outside of.

  There are two brick walls, a big iron gate between them, and then the same iron fence around the rest of the property. The cameras were easy to spot. I wasn’t worried about that.

  It was up to Les and Taz to make sure the property is secure for me to do my thing.

  See, breaking into the house and having the three of us trampling around was just stupid.

  Mama Dae told me exactly what she needs and why.

  This one is about the message. Not the money.

  So I get to play a little.

  Trash a room.

  And whoever this person is… they’ll be shocked. And they’ll know exactly why it happened.

  I walk to the corner of the property and push through the thick shrubs.

  I’m dressed in all black and have a black baseball cap on my head.

  I blend into the night.

  My worst case scenario… well, I have a gun with me.

  One way or another I’m walking away from this thing alive.

  I grab the iron gate and start to climb.

  Lucky for me the top of the gate isn’t fucking pointed. Those are a pain to get o
ver. Mama Dae told me a story once about a guy who slipped and punctured himself on the top of a gate and bled to death. And nobody found him until his body started to smell.

  I have no idea if that’s true or not.

  But I never forgot the story.

  I’m on the other side of the gate and I drop down.

  The house is solid brick.

  There are floodlights that shine on the front of the house.

  This is why rich people make me laugh.

  They need lights to shine on their own fucking house, yet they have their house hidden so nobody can see it.

  I stay along the property line, looking for my entrance.

  After studying satellite images of the house for days, I feel good about the place.

  The house is so big, I could probably move in and nobody would know.

  I dart across the yard and get to the side of the house that seems to be the most neglected.

  Trust me, there’s always a part of these houses that doesn’t get the full attention of the owners.

  I’ve lived in a mansion and I’ve been around them my entire life.

  I notice the back deck and go there next.

  I climb the steps and when I make the first turn, a light turns on.

  Fuck.

  I crouch down behind a chair and wait.

  I have to make sure the light turns off and I have to make sure nobody comes to the sliding glass door.

  Well… the light isn’t turning off.

  And someone comes to the sliding glass door.

  I tense up and watch as a woman opens the door.

  She looks around for a few seconds.

  Then she smacks her lips together.

  “Honey, is that you?” she calls out. “Are you out there, Honey?”

  I don’t know who or what Honey is, but I’m assuming it’s an animal.

  The woman goes back inside the house and I smile when I see that she hasn’t locked the door.

  With the light still on, I take the risk and run toward the door.

  Because if the light turns off and I move again, it’ll come back on.

  I need as little attention as possible.

  I grab the door handle and slide the door open.

  It’s quiet and smooth.

  And then I’m inside the house.

  In the kitchen.

  Or one of the kitchens.

  And just beyond the kitchen is a set of stairs.

  I take a breath and look around.

  It doesn’t look like anyone is in the room.

  But there had been a woman at the door just a moment ago.

  I inch through the kitchen toward the stairs and there’s not a sound to be made or heard.

  I’m a pro at this.

  The rush going through me is only second best to the rush I feel near Jolie.

  And, shit, that’s something I never thought could happen.

  My mind thinks about her again.

  She’s back at her place, studying, wanting to become a lawyer.

  And here I am, breaking into a house to send a message for Mama Dae.

  How’s it going to work, Mac? How is this ever going to work…

  I hurry up the stairs and then I’m at a landing.

  These are the side stairs. Or back stairs.

  The grand staircase is somewhere else.

  I doubt anyone ever uses these stairs.

  I creep forward and make a right turn and I’m standing in a hallway.

  All I can do then is start opening some doors.

  The first door I open, it’s a spare bedroom.

  Everything perfect, gold, and never used.

  I leave the door open.

  And I work my way down the hallway until I open the door at the end of the hallway.

  It’s a massive bedroom.

  It’s got an allure to it… rich asshole.

  I grin and step inside.

  There’s a pair of really fancy and expensive black shoes on the floor.

  I see a rolled-up belt on the bed.

  A tie just tossed there too.

  This has to be the room I’m looking for.

  Now I get to have some fun.

  I open the top right drawer on the dresser and I start unloading all the clothes.

  The perfectly folded undershirts are a mess on the floor.

  My fingers hit the bottom of the drawer and I know that sound.

  I feel around and I’m able to lift the bottom of the drawer, revealing a secret place to hide…

  “Money,” I whisper.

  Now Mama Dae made it clear she wants nothing to do with the cash.

  So I take handfuls and throw it all around me.

  It’s raining money for a few seconds.

  Then I go to the next drawer.

  Silk and tight underwear.

  I’m talking huggers.

  That I won’t touch.

  But it makes me smile.

  I go to the next drawer… and the next… and the next…

  And I just start dumping clothes all over the floor.

  On the dresser itself there’s a black box.

  I open it and it’s full of jewelry.

  Rings, bracelets, necklaces… all for a man.

  But they’re all top of the line stuff.

  Real gold. Heavy silver. Diamonds.

  I can’t imagine anyone actually wearing the stuff, but whatever.

  I slide a diamond ring onto my pinky.

  I look at myself in the mirror and I grin.

  There’s a wild part of me that dares me to take a picture and send it to Jolie.

  Just to show her how far the dark side of Mac can go.

  But I knew better than to do that.

  I put the diamond ring to the mirror and I press as hard as I can and make a line.

  It scratches the mirror but that’s not the effect I want.

  I look down at the dresser and nod.

  I swipe my left hand across the dresser and then jam the diamond ring into the wood.

  It’s perfect.

  It cuts beautifully and it ruins the dresser.

  And I get to write this asshole a nice message from Mama Dae.

  There’s a lot I could write.

  But I keep it simple.

  I just make a bunch of dollar signs.

  It’ll drive everyone nuts.

  Why the fuck would someone break into the house, dump money on the floor and then carve dollar signs into the dresser?

  When I’m done, I put the diamond ring on the dresser.

  I turn and wonder what I can do next.

  To be honest, what I’ve done is good enough.

  There’s a nightstand with some pictures on it.

  At the very least I can break all the picture frames.

  Just to give the allure of a bigger threat.

  My phone vibrates in my back pocket.

  It’s just at text from Les.

  Checking in on things.

  I text him I’ll be five more minutes and to have Taz get the SUV ready.

  He texts me that the outside is quiet and clear.

  This is all going perfect.

  I walk to the nightstand and pick up the first picture.

  There’s the guy.

  Shirtless on a boat, holding up a fish.

  No.

  A shark.

  Wearing sunglasses with a million-dollar smile.

  “Douchebag,” I whisper.

  I smash the picture frame off the edge of the nightstand and toss it on the bed.

  I grab the next picture and I stare.

  It’s the guy with his family.

  His wife.

  His daughter.

  She’s a young girl.

  But the picture looks old…

  My eyes look to the nightstand again.

  I grab another picture.

  This one is very recent of the guy’s daughter.

  “Fuck,” I whisper.

  It’s a picture of Jolie.r />
  I run to the gate and climb it faster than I’ve ever climbed a gate in my life.

  I jump down to the ground and pain shoots up my ankles.

  I pause for a second to catch my breath before running again.

  When I met up with Les, I point and keep going.

  He doesn’t question me.

  He just starts to run too.

  We run to the road where Taz is parked across it with all the SUV’s lights off.

  I point for Les to take the front seat, which I never do.

  I open the back door of the SUV and jump inside.

  “GO!” Les yells when he gets into the SUV.

  “Fuck,” Taz says.

  He turns on the lights and peels away.

  “How bad is it?” Les asks me.

  I look at the picture of Jolie.

  “It’s fucking bad,” I say.

  “What happened?” Taz asks. “Alarms? Get caught?”

  I finally look up. I shake my head. “No, that’s fine. The job went perfect. The place is trashed. The message is sent.”

  “What?” Les asks. “Then why the fuck are we running?”

  “I found something,” I say.

  “What?” Taz asks.

  “That guy… that house…”

  I lean forward and put the picture down.

  Les looks at it and he looks up. “Motherfucker.”

  “What is it?” Taz asks.

  “It’s his girl,” Les says.

  “Who?”

  “It’s Jolie,” Les says. “That was her house.”

  “No,” Taz says.

  I reach for and grab the picture. “She doesn’t live there anymore. She’s on her own. She’s… fuck. This is fucked. Fuck.”

  “What’s the plan now, bro?” Les asks.

  “Get to the house,” I say. “Then I’m heading out alone.”

  “Alone?” Taz asks. “What are you going to do about this?”

  I lift my gaze from the beautiful picture of Jolie on the beach.

  “I’m going to find out the fucking truth… tonight.”

  The truth takes me to Mama Dae’s.

  She’s not one to like anyone just showing up unannounced.

  But the circumstances here are different.

  I knock on the door and step back.

  When Mama Dae opens the door, she’s holding a shotgun in her hands.

  “Mac?” she asks.

  She’s in a long nightgown and has curlers in her hair.

  “We need to talk,” I say.

  “Are you crazy? You almost got shot.”