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Tommy flipped up his seat so Missy could climb into the back seat. I folded my frame into the driver’s side, gripping the leather-wrapped steering wheel tightly, wishing it was Martin Skellin’s worthless neck instead.
“You sure you’re okay?” I asked, glancing at her in the rearview mirror.
“Yes, Mr. Evans.” Missy clicked her seat belt. “It’s Kyle who’s in trouble.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. The girl seemed too comfortable in her environment, like Addy and Rachel had been way back when. Tommy hadn’t told me what Missy’s story was, but I’d wondered.
Missy’s ice-blue eyes were tear-filled. Her fear cranked up my tension that was already high because of the circumstances, and I’d missed a call from Addy.
As I drove, Missy filled me in.
I knew Addy was heading to the same place as we were, and I was determined to get there first. I had a score to settle with Martin fucking Skellin.
“Tell me everything,” I said tersely as I turned the vintage automobile around.
“I did.” Missy’s lips trembled.
“Not about tonight, darlin’. Everything about Martin and Kyle that you know.” I glanced at my son. “You too. Everything Kyle has told you. Spill.”
When they both started talking at once, I held up a hand.
“You first.” I caught Missy’s gaze in the mirror. “And call me Barry,” I said more gently. “Okay?”
She nodded. “Kyle deals drugs for Martin.”
Fuck.I tried not to let on how that hit me out of left field. I’d been so wrapped up in Addy that I hadn’t been paying attention to the signs.
“He’s Martin’s only rep at the school. He’s the leader of the unaffiliated. He commands respect, but Kyle does what Martin tells him to do.”
“Except when it comes to Claire.”
She nodded. “Kyle is afraid of Martin,” she said grimly. “But he defied a direct order to be with her. Maybe this is my fault. I suggested Footit’s as a safe meeting place.”
“Not your fault,” I said firmly. “The man’s unhinged.”
Martin Skellin terrorized everyone. Even his own nephew.
“Kyle’s fear of Martin is justified,” Tommy said. “He’s not just upper echelon in Southside. There’s no one bigger, not even in La Rasa Prima. He’s armed, and the guys who work for him are packing. He doesn’t just threaten. He can follow through.”
I nodded, having already figured out that part.
“Plus, Kyle thinks he owes Martin, Pop.”
“Why is that?” I asked.
“He saved Kyle from drowning when he was ten.”
Missy leaned forward. “Martin set up Kyle and his uncle with a place to live. Pulled strings to keep him out of foster care.”
That was an eerily familiar scenario. History repeating itself. My tension went up by a factor of a thousand.
I flicked on my blinker and took the next turn hard. My passengers swayed in their seats.
“His parents died then,” I said, remembering.
“Yeah.” Tommy nodded somberly. “Their car went off the road into Lake Washington.”
Collin and Miranda died on impact when their vehicle hit a guardrail. At the time, I was overseas, but I’d read about it in an online paper. The part about Martin diving into the lake and pulling Kyle out of the wreckage just in time had never made sense to me.
