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I playfully smacked him on his uninjured arm. “Yes the money, you big freaking idiot! This whole time you acted like you were innocent, but you really did steal the money from Sid.”
“I know. I know. Go ahead, lay into me. I deserve it.”
“I don’t want to lay into you,” I said, with more than a little annoyance. “I want to hear you explain yourself.”
“It goes back to the beginning,” he said softly. Like it was a story he didn’t want to tell. “I thought they were a normal biker gang. Hanging out, drinking, looking for fights. Innocent shit. Then I learned they were moving drugs. I didn’t want to be part of that. But the thing was, Ihadbeen part of it. For months I helped them while not knowing. Or at least, while lying to myself about it.”
“You’ve told me all this.”
“The point I’m getting to,” he replied, “is that simply leaving seemed inadequate. I’d already done so much harm by being a Copperhead. I had to do something more.”
“And stealing some cash magically balanced the karma scales?”
“It was a weak rebellion, I know,” he admitted. “But it felt better than doing nothing. I thought it might convince the other Copperheads that Sid wasn’t invincible. That if one person could steal from him, anyone could. But then…”
“Then they killed your sister.”
“The guilt I felt…” He paused to swallow, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “It’s hard to explain. Once she was dead, it was like that money had been traded for her life. I didn’t want it, but at the same time I couldn’t give it back, because it would mean her death was for nothing. So even when I thought Sid was going to harm you that day on the road, when he beat up my truck…” He shrugged, still not looking at me. “Iwantedto say something to save you, but I couldn’t make my tongue work. It felt like I was betraying Theresa.”
I took his hand and squeezed it. He closed his eyes and paused as if collecting himself. When he spoke, his voice was thick with emotion. More than I’d ever seen from the toughened man.
“I know it might not make sense. But it’s like I made a deal with the devil, and I couldn’t take it back. That money was all that was left of my sister.”
“I understand,” I whispered, close to tears myself.
“Do you?”
“I understand why you feel that way, even if I don’t understand the emotion itself. I can’t imagine losing someone so close to me and having it be my fault. The guilt would make me…”
“Want to die?” he finished.
I didn’t know what to say to make him feel better. I doubted therewereany magic words for him. So all I said was, “I’m so sorry, Jayce. For everything.”
He opened his eyes and looked down at me. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry. For going after Sid back there on the road even though you were on my bike. I knew if I didn’t take that chance, I would regret it for the rest of my life.”
“It worked out in the end,” I said. “I don’t necessarily agree with it since you were riskingmylife too, but I get why you did it.”
The ghost of a smile twitched on his lips. “In my defense, you had a chance to get off the bike.”
I chuckled at that, and Jayce joined in. Soon we were laughing so hard that the unshed tears from before streamed down our eyes.
I was wiping my eyes when the activity over at the police station kicked up. A handful of cops ran out to their cars and began driving away in a hurry.
“We’d better see what that’s all about.”
We met my dad as he came rushing out of the station. His eyes locked onto mine and he waved. “Honey, come quick. They found something.”
54
Charlotte
Jayce and I stood on the side of the frontage road by the interstate, struggling not to laugh.
At a glance, it was obvious what had happened. Tire marks curved around the corner and off the road, leading to where a grey Honda Accord was stuck in the ditch. Two individual motorcycle tire marks had skidded to a stop in front of the wreck. The driver door was opened, with boot prints in the mud leading over to a tree.
A tree where Scott swung gently, upside-down, tied by his feet.
Completely naked.
