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“But what if—”
“Like I said, I’ll handle it.” He cut me off. “Just don’t talk to him anymore, and if you see him, steer clear. Can you do that for me?”
“Of course but I—”
“Good, can you take off tomorrow night, and I’ll come pick you up? I miss you.” And just like that the worry was pushed aside as my heart flutter
ed at the mention of him missing me.
He was right about Rollins, a few nights later he showed up again at the restaurant, and I ignored him. Mama even noticed that I’d been ignoring his table.
“That is a payin’ customer, Jonna Lee.”
“Mama, I’m busy. It’s not my fault Carina can’t keep up with her share of tables. Either you tell her to get faster, or I’m going to quit.” I threw a false tantrum I knew would cause her to leave me alone, and it worked. Every time I looked at Detective Rollins his eyes were on me, and dread gathered in the pit of my stomach.
Later that night on the way up to my apartment I heard voices coming from the side of the building near the stairs. I peeked around the corner to see my brother Woody and Rollins talking in low tones. Woody was nodding his head, and Rollins patted him on the side of his arm before walking away.
Anger rose to my cheeks, and before I even knew what I was doing I was storming over to Woody.
“What are you doing talking to the cops?” I threw my head into the direction Rollins went. Woody stared at me for a second, clearly confused.
“Wait, how do you know that was a cop?” He squinted at me and crossed his arms.
“Come on, Woody. I’m not stupid. I know that was a cop.” I decided to just keep my accusation strong and hope he didn’t question me further about it. “Why were you talking to him?”
“None of your business,” he barked and started to turn away. I grabbed his arm and turned him back to me.
“Fine, don’t tell me, but I’m sure Mama and Daddy will want to know why when I tell them.” Woody stopped struggling against my hand.
“You would tell them, too. God, you’re such a pain in the ass.” He huffed, walked two steps away, kicked a rock, and then walked back to me. “He was just asking me some questions.”
“About?” I crossed my arms and tapped my foot impatiently. Woody glared at me for a long time.
“If I tell you, you have to promise not to say anything, Jonna.”
“Woody?.?.?.”
“I’m serious. A lot of shit is riding on it.” I considered his request for a moment. I didn’t want to agree to keep a secret, especially from Mack, but I wanted Woody to tell me.
“Fine,” I agreed, knowing there was no way I would keep my promise.
“You’re full of shit, so I’ll add this in to sweeten the pot. I know about the restraining order against Travis Frye. I don’t know how you managed to keep it from Mama and Pop, but I’ll make sure they know and you can say good-bye to your little apartment.”
“God, you’re such a tool, Woody.”
“Do we have a deal or not?”
“Fine.”
When Woody seemed satisfied, he told me that he’d been approached by Rollins that night. Woody had a court date in a month for racing and driving on a suspended license. It was his third offense, so he was almost certain to go to jail for at least a year. Nobody knew about the tickets and all of the trouble it had caused him, not our parents or Drew. Rollins told him he would make the jail time go away if he told him what he knew about Mack. What sort of things he was involved in including where and when races were scheduled.
“And you agreed to it! Woody, how could you?” I wailed, unable to believe that Woody was willing to snitch.
“What? You would rather I go to jail? I thought it was a sweet deal, and since when do you give a shit about Mack King?”
I put my hand to my face and rubbed my cheeks repeatedly. My first thought was that Woody had gotten himself in trouble so he should suffer the consequences of that, even if it meant jail time. But then I thought about how Mack was also making trouble for himself by being involved in illegal activity. Didn’t he also deserve to go to prison? God, I hated feeling like this, but I knew in my heart that I’d rather my own brother be the one to get locked up, not Mack. I was a horrible person.
“I guess you have to do what you have to do.” I felt all the energy drain from my body, and my voice sounded weak. I didn’t wait for a reply from Woody. I went up the stairs, dropped onto my bed, and cried myself to sleep. How could I tell Mack that my own brother was a willing participant in building Rollins’s case against him, one that would probably put him away for a long time?
