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“Come on, Zak, it’s me, man, just let me explain. I’m not fucking Axel,” he spits out, anger coming to the fore now as my accusations become clear.
“No? Then tell me what the fuck you’re doing here?”
He lowers his hands and begins to turn, which I allow, but I keep my blade pointed at him. Once he’s facing me, I place the tip beneath his chin. I hear Maddox and Ripley talking then a phone ringing.
“Maddox asked me to find Rocky, right? Well, this is where his location pinged this morning.” I let his words settle in my mind. They make sense given what Maddox just showed me, but why do I still feel like we are missing something here. Rocky.
“If Rocky was here then where in the fuck is he now?” I begin to scan the room, lowering my blade. My eyes land back on Lila and there’s a small tug at my heart. I didn’t love the girl, but she meant something for a while. As I take in her bloodied body, I notice a piece of paper resting on her stomach.
This time I don’t worry about the blood on the floor, we’ve already trampled through it anyway, and walk toward the bed. Her eyes are open, and her face is frozen in an almost grimace. Looking away, I carefully pick up the paper by the corner and hold it up so I can read it.
Looking for your friend? He’s a little busy right now, but maybe I’ll let you see him later. Think of him as payment for Marchant. When you’re ready to talk, you know where I am, and you know just what I want.
“Mad, you might want to take a look at this,” I call out, turning to face Bowser as Maddox steps into the room. “It seems that Rocky was here, and I’m guessing that he and Lila were screwing. Right, Bowser?”
Bowser’s eyes snap to mine, and I see a moment of jealousy flash in his eyes. “Like I said to Maddox, I didn’t know who he was screwing.”
“Yeah, maybe, but what about you though? You fucking her too? That who you were talking to the other morning, huh?”
“Fuck off! Why the hell do you care who’s fucking her? You treated her like a piece of shit and dropped her arse as soon as Roxy came back on the scene. You don—”
The paper slips from my fingers, floating in slow motion down to the floor as I snatch out and grab B by the throat. “If you want to take your next breath, I suggest you shut your fucking mouth before I cut it wide then stitch it back to-fucking-gether permanently.” My blade now sits precariously at the corner of Bowser’s mouth, waiting teasingly for him to say another word.
Maddox picks the paper up, and his face transforms gradually like a pot of water simmering away nicely then bubbles over. His silence speaks volumes. It’s also a warning that he’s had enough of Rogers’ cat and mouse game and shit is about to get real. I know how he feels because I feel it too. This was not meant to go down this way. Things have become much more completed than we imagined they would.
The Acers involvement is small fry, and Rogers is just using them to do his dirty work. Bonner’s involvement isn’t a surprise. We knew Bonner would try to worm his way in, and with the promise of more territory to a man like Bonner, it was always a dead cert. Kavanagh—he’s a wild card, and one we had no idea about. If what Rox says is true and he’s been stringing Rogers along the whole time, then Rogers must be fucking spitting feathers over his betrayal. It would explain the shooting at his place, although none of us really know who the target was yet. Every one of us in that room has a big red cross on their back.
“Get Mitch on the phone, Zak. Ripley, I want you to take Bowser back to his and watch him.” Bowser’s lip turns up and he snorts derisively but doesn’t argue, his eyes on me the whole time. He knows his loyalty is in question right now and the best thing he can do is play along. If he has nothing to hide, then he’s got fuck all to worry about.
I keep my knife trained on Bowser while pulling my phone free with my other hand. Ripley steps forward, taking Bowser by the arm and begins to lead him away.
I hear him muttering to Ripley about this being some kind of fucking joke, that he’d never betray us, and we should know better. That’s what they all fucking say.
I call Mitch, who answers on the second ring. “Where are you, Zak? Please tell me you aren’t at the address I gave Maddox this morning?”
“Okay, I won’t tell you that then.”
“Fuck! You need to get out of there. Someone called in claiming they heard screams coming from there and I’m guessing whose ever house that is they aren’t breathing anymore. So get the fuck out now.” The line goes dead.
“I heard. Let’s move before they get here. We’ll have to hope that Mitch manages to cover any evidence left behind.” Folding the bloodied paper, he slips it in his pocket and heads for the front door. I take one last look around the room, noticing the men’s shoes and jeans among the clothing strewn around the room, then follow Maddox as sirens sound in the distance.
We pull away from the house just as the old bill turn into the road, lights on and sirens blaring. Fucking cops have never heard of the concept of stealth.
Maddox grips the steering wheel, no doubt imagining Rogers’ neck, and fumes silently all the way home.
When we pull up to the house, the first thing I notice is Roxy’s car is missing again. Maddox notices too as he slams the breaks on and storms from the car, nearly snapping the door off from the force when he throws it open.
“Roxanne!” Maddox bellows as he stomps through the house. “Roxanne!”
Kavanagh appears from the lounge as Maddox runs up the stairs. “What’s going on?”
“Have you seen Rox?” I ask him, listening to Maddox’s heavy footsteps on the floor above as he searches for her.
“Not for the last hour or so, why?” Kavanagh says, as Star appears at the top of the stairs followed by Maddox, who slips past, jogging back down.
Maddox rips the folded note from his pocket and slams it against Kavanagh’s chest. A spot of blood smears his crisp white shirt. He rolls his eyes as he takes the paper and begins unfolding it.
“This is an expensive shirt you know, Lawler.”
