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I let go, watching him hit the floor on his knees, wheezing.
The door jingled as Johnny strolled in, his sharp gaze taking everything in at once. “What’d I miss?”
“Appears the chief of police got drunk and out of hand,” Creed replied, raising his voice just loud enough to carry throughout the diner. “Looks like he needs to sleep it off.” Creed slammed the butt of his gun in the back of Uncle Cal’s head, dropping him instantly.
Johnny nodded, his lips twitching suspiciously. “Sorry for the mess, folks,” he called out, scanning the room. “Have a piece of cobbler on me.” He sauntered to the counter, peeling off a couple of hundreds as he went. “Looking good,” I overheard him tell Lydia as she took the money.
“Take your smooth talking and beat it, Johnny,” she replied tartly, nodding to the heap on the floor that was Uncle Cal. “And take that piece of shit with ya.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” He saluted her and spun on his heel. “You heard her, boys.”
Creed looked down at Uncle Cal then at me, and sighed. “You take that side, I’ll take this side.” We reached down and hauled him up in unison. “God,” Creed groaned under the weight. “He needs to lay off the donuts.”
I grimaced as we towed him to the door Tori helpfully held open for us. “Let’s just get him to the car.”
“Will he fit in the trunk?” Tori questioned, her crowbar lifted. “Maybe we can wedge him?” She added hopefully.
“You worry me,” I told her and she pursed her lips. “Where did Cord go?” She shrugged and I attempted to scan the street but Creed was pulling us in the opposite direction. “Where are you going?” I grunted. “Dump him in the back seat.”
“I thought you were taking him home?” Creed questioned, coming to an abrupt stop. I almost lost my grip, but managed to keep us upright.
“You want me to tuck him in too?” I bitched, more concerned about where Cadence was at the moment. “Let him sleep it off in the car.”
Creed thought about it for a moment, “I mean, that’s between the two of you.” I let go of Uncle Cal and Creed almost collapsed under the weight. “Ass,” he muttered, adjusting his hold. “I’m fine with leaving him in the street.”
“Boys,” Johnny chided in a warning tone. “We clean up our messes.”
“You mean Noah’s mess,” Creed replied as Cord jogged toward us, favoring one leg.
Johnny stepped forward, making eye contact with Creed as Cord slowed to a walk. “That makes it our mess,” he corrected Creed. “Noah is one of us.”
Creed nodded, shooting me an apologetic glance. I stepped in, taking part of Uncle Cal’s weight. “Where’s Cadence?” I demanded as soon as Cord was in earshot.
“Crew has her.”
I grunted in acknowledgement, not exactly pleased but grateful she wasn’t in the middle of this mess.
“What happened to him?” Cord asked, his gaze cutting to Tori. “You didn’t whack him, did you?”
“No,” she drawled, crossing her arms. “That was all Noah and Creed.”
“Nice,” he said admiringly. “Now what?”
“Good question,” I answered, shifting Uncle Cal’s weight. “Waiting on Johnny.”
“I’m debating,” Johnny mumbled, lighting a cigarette. “You really gonna press charges on him?”
“If that’s what Cadence wants,” I answered promptly.
“No, I mean the abuse thing,” Johnny clarified, his hand motioning at my face. “Are you going to nail his ass to the wall? Cause I don’t have a problem putting a bullet in his head and dumping his ass, but if you want to do it all legal like, I can support that.”
Creed and Cord exchanged a surprised glance. “What about Clutch…and Ronnie?” Cord finally asked.
“Ronnie will get justice when we find Rob.” Johnny tilted his head to me. “You’ll make sure Clutch never sees the inside of a jail cell.”
I nodded, hoisting a slipping Uncle Cal up. “If you let me do it my way, I promise to take care of Uncle Cal and keep Clutch safe.”
“Good enough for me,” Johnny answered, shooting a shrewd glance at Creed. “And you?”
“I trust you, brother,” Creed responded, letting Uncle Cal go to clap me on the shoulder. “Watching you put that gun to the back of his head was one of the best moments of my life.” I grunted in reply, struggling under the additional weight. “Now, what the hell are we going to do with him?”
“Dump him on his front step. Maybe he’ll wake up with some sense,” Johnny replied, taking one last draw of his cigarette before flicking it into the trash. “Call Crew, find out where he brought…Cadence,” Johnny hesitated on the name and I nodded in confirmation. “And let Noah know.” He shook his head. “I don’t know why Calvin reacted that way to the girl but you better find out quick.”
“He called her Moira,” Creed mentioned and I wasn’t the only one that noticed Johnny freeze, his hand slowly curling into a fist. “Kinda strange.”
