From the way she looked down at her feet, he knew she had, and he wanted to beat the shit out of the guy.
“I haven’t done anything with him except talk, go to dinner, and play video games. Mom doesn’t care. She likes Brian. He gives her money sometimes.”
So Wanda was pimping out her daughter. Another great moment in his fucked-up family album. “If you need something to do, clean up the trailer. It’s disgusting.”
“Why bother? Mom just makes it dirty again. I’m sick of not being appreciated.”
In the background, he heard Wanda hacking away, and he suddenly wanted to get as far away from them as he could.No wonder Pete moved to California. I don’t fuckin’ blame him.“I’m outta here. I’ll be back later, and your ass better be here to help unload the groceries.”
“You gonna give me any money?” she asked in a low voice.
He blew out a long breath. “When I come back. Be here. I’m not joking.” He straddled his bike, gripped the throttle clutch, and took off without a backward glance.
When he returned, night had already fallen. He hopped up the wooden stairs and entered Wanda’s home. Kelsey was stretched out on the couch watching TV, and Wanda was dozing in her recliner.
“I’m back,” he said in a hushed tone.
Kelsey leapt from the couch and followed him out. “Did you bring me any potato chips? You know I like the sour cream and chives.”
“I bought them.” He grabbed seven bags of food, and she grabbed the rest.
In silence, they put the food away, Kelsey’s occasional squeal when she saw something she liked pricking the quiet. After everything was neatly stacked in the fridge and cupboards, Jerry handed her a hundred-dollar bill. She clapped her hands and stuffed it in her bra.
“If you clean the place and keep it neat, I’ll pay you eighty bucks a week.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you serious? Make it a hundred and you have yourself a deal.”
“Eighty bucks. I’m not negotiating.” Her eyes rolled up and her lips pressed together like she was trying to figure out how much that would amount to on a regular basis. “It’s three hundred and twenty dollars a month.”
“Wow. Okay. Deal. When do I start?”
“Tomorrow. The hundred is your first payment. I threw in a twenty-dollar incentive bonus. I’ll do that from time to time. And I have no qualms about firing you if you do a shitty job. Remember that.” He brushed past her and glanced at Wanda, who was still sleeping. He jerked his head toward her. “Don’t tell her about our arrangement.”
“I’d never do that. She’d want me to turn all the money over to her.”
He opened the screen and stepped back in when he saw a man in his early twenties with platinum spiked hair and tattoos on the side of his face and neck, wearing jeans, black leather jacket, and biker boots. Jerry watched him as he walked to one of the trailers, trying to make out the logo on the back of his jacket. He definitely belonged to an MC, but Jerry couldn’t read the name. The guy jumped up the stairs, opened the door, and closed it behind him. Jerry noted the trailer number was 72.
“You know him?”
“Uh-huh.”
“How long’s he been here? And who’s he stayin’ with?”
“He’s been here for about ten days. He’s with a couple of other guys, and they’re staying with Randy and Dolores. Randy and his girlfriend keep to themselves a lot. They’re not friendly at all.”
“Ever notice funny smells coming from their place?”
“Yep. It kinda stinks.” Kelsey wrinkled her nose.
“Do the guy’s two buddies wear the same type of jacket?”
“Yeah. How’d you know?”
“Ever notice what it says?”
“Something with skulls. There’s a big one in the middle and it looks like its head is split open on one side. I don’t know. I don’t see them often. Why you asking all these questions?”
“Just want to make sure I know who’s around here so I can keep you and Wanda safe. Gotta go. Stay in tonight and lock the fucking door.”
