Page 65 of Property of Quake

“He means gone,” Lyric explains. “Not answering calls, not showing up for work. And she’s not at home. We checked. Her apartment has been cleared out.”

“People don’t disappear for no reason,” Whiz adds. “Not unless they’re dirty… or those who are dirty make them disappear.”

“If she’s not involved,” I begin, allowing for the possibility. “Do you think she knows what Keith and Tom were doing?”

Quake’s expression tells me everything. “Yeah,” he says.

Again, I close my eyes and lean my head against his chest. Carrie approved Melissa staying here. At the time, I viewed it as one less battle to fight. Now, I can’t help but wonder if she knew the walls were closing in.

Taking a deep breath, I tip my head back to look at Quake. “When you find her, you need to hand her over to the police.”

“No,” he says.

“Quake.”

“Whitney.”

I narrow my eyes. “I’m serious, Quake.”

“So am I.”

“Melissa deserves to see justice happen for her. She deserves to see it the right way, a way she can understand. If Carrie played a part in this, Melissa needs to see the system work for her instead of against her.” I pause, knowing my next words are going to hurt, but they’re necessary. “You took away that opportunity as far as Tom goes. At least, I’m assuming you did.” He nods. “That little girl has lost her parents, lost the only home and life she’s ever known. She was thrown into a situation that’s scary in and of itself. Add in this bullshit with Tom and possibly Carrie… She needs this, Quake. We all need this.”

His lips twitch, and that’s not the reaction I expected. “You said ‘bullshit’.”

I think back over my tired and realize he’s right. Surprisingly, I also realize that letting my anger bleed into the words I speak feels pretty damn good. “Yeah, so fucking what? I’m not a nun anymore. I’m a goddamn mama bear protecting her family. Got a problem with it?”

“Nope,” he quips.

“Say any fucking word you want, Whitney,” Lyric adds.

“Please cuss a blue streak,” Whiz jokes. “I’ll feel less bad about swearing in front of you if you join in.”

I laugh lightly, grateful for a little levity in what has fast become a very heavy exchange.

“My word choice aside,” I begin. “Melissa needs to know that speaking up matters, that the people who hurt her don’t get to escape consequences.”

“Killing them is a consequence,” Quake counters.

“Killing them is revenge,” I argue. “And you’ve gotten revenge on two of them. Let her get justice with Carrie… if she’s involved,” I add as an afterthought. “Please.”

“She’s right.”

We all turn to see Pastor leaning against the far wall. He hadn’t ridden with the rest of the brothers, instead choosing to stay behind with us, and I didn’t even realize he entered the room and heard any part of our conversation.

“Melissa is a child, Quake,” he continues, walking toward us. “Do you want her to grow up focused on the evil in the world or do you want her to see that actions have consequences? Do you want her to believe that this moment in time defines her future or that she can move past it, grow from it and learn from it?”

“Damn, brother,” Lyric says.

“I’m with Pastor,” Zombie says quietly.

“Me too,” Whiz adds.

“Times three,” Pilot states.

Quake hangs his head as if giving it some thought. Then, he looks at me with understanding and nods. “We’ll let the police have her.”

Relief moves through me, easing some of the pressure in my chest. But only some. Carrie is still out there somewhere, and if my gut is right and she is involved, she’s desperate. And desperate people are capable of dangerous things.