“Are you good?” he asked at her tone, more aware of the world around him than seconds before. His heart threatened to pump out of his chest.
“Yes. I had just gone to the surf. It’s warm here today. I had to run through the sand to answer. How are you? How’re my girls?” she asked as if she didn’t have a real care in the world.
He narrowed his eyes. She was playing on the beach while he was back here trying to piece together anything to help keep her alive?
The fuck?
“I’m at the storage unit,” he finally muttered, unable to keep the disgust from his tone. “I just saw what was in there. What the fuck, Mom?”
“It’s been years since I’ve been there,” she said. “Was there anything left?”
“Yeah, ten pallets of cash,” he barked.
“Really? That much?” For some reason, her astonishment gave him a marginal amount of ease.
“What’s up with the flash drive?” he asked.
“Did you open it?”
“Yeah.” This time, his tone portrayed lots of things. One being, what the hell was she thinking?
“The more time that passes the more I’m convinced that no one knows about those accounts,” she spoke quietly, making him have to really pay attention to hear her.
“I haven’t told anyone about any of this. I wanted to check it out myself first,” he started then pivoted back to how she let all this happen. “Mom, I’m not the one to question your actions. I’ve done a lot of shit myself, but how did neither one of you understand how this was destined to play out?” He extended his hand as if to drive the point home while his mind raced. Truly, this was never going to end any other way.
“Son, I hear the judgment in your voice, and I even agree with it, but you have to understand the billions of dollars that passed through your father’s hands over the last thirty years. He was never honest about any part of it. He stole drugs and sold them on the streets himself. He took money off the top of every transaction. He’s had no less than fifteen federal handlers within the attorney general’s office, all quitting because your father was such a pig,” she explained.
“What about Dixie? What does she know?” Dev asked.
“Augh. She’s gonna be sorely unhappy. As far as I know, she never knew anything. Your father owns nothing in his own name. Everything’s in the club’s name which is technically owned by the government. You can’t intervene on her behalf…” Whatever the last sentence meant, he wasn’t a hundred percent sure, but there was never any situation where he helped Dixie with anything. He burst out with a harsh laugh.
“I hate that fucking cu—”
“Dev…”
“I hate that bitch.” Dev only rolled his eyes, tempering his words for his mom’s benefit. “So what’s my plan? What the fuck do I do with all this?”
She went silent on the other end of the line. He only heard a bird squawk and perhaps the roar of the ocean in the background.
“What’s Cash saying since your father’s accident?” she finally asked.
Accident? Seriously? More like a slaughter.
How did he explain how much everything inside him had changed? That he didn’t want to lie to Cash ever again? He didn’t think he needed to, but he also wasn’t going to. Not anymore. Especially not for his fucked-up family. And he was done with the club. If he could quit today, right here right now, there’d be no question, he would.
“So I was right. You do care deeply for him,” his mother said, causing his brows to drop.
“Fuck yeah I do. How could I not?” What a dumb question.
“Devin, listen to me. Do this for me. Take this in steps. Give Cash the key to the storage unit then let that discovery ride for a few days. See if it’s enough to satisfy his superiors. If he’s tasked with finding more, disclose one account at a time. Don’t feel bad about it. You and your sister and those little girls got a raw deal at every turn, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. We owe you a better life. There’s enough money to give you a new start.”
“Do you have adequate security on you?” he asked, because she could use all this hidden money to protect herself, and it still might not be enough.
“Yes. I promise you I’m completely taken care of. Do not worry about me,” she said. “If you have to give Cash all the information on the hard drive, I still have plenty for all of us. Just keep me posted as you go. I want you all to travel here. It’s beautiful. I’m in a bungalow right off the ocean. You’ll love it here. The girls will too. Tell Shanna I love her,” she explained, hurrying through her explanation.
“Where are you?” he asked absently.
“Thailand,” she answered.
