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I’ll worry about questioning that later.
“I can’t believe how I spoke to you when you were going through so much. Sweetie, what were you thinking?”
That confuses the shit out of me.
She shuts the screen door, but leaves the front door open so we can keep an eye on the boys.
“What are you—”
“He told me everything. About Ben. Ben Highland is in a biker gang?” she hisses. My lips twitch with the biker gang notation.
“He is, but he isn’t like them.” A sick feeling unfurls in my stomach. “At least I didn’t think he was.”
Then her words register.
“Who told you about what was going on?” I ask, feeling even more confused.
“I have to find a way to pay that money back. The last thing we want to do is be in debt to criminals. I can’t believe your father worked for them. That asshole! How could he keep that a secret? He could have endangered us all!”
I stumble back as though I’ve been slapped.
“How… Mom, slow down. How do you know all this?”
“That tall guy. The one with all the arm tattoos. He came here and told me all about what happened. Even told me you’d been through enough so to be easy with your return. What did that mean? It sounded like a threat, Eve. And what have you been through? Did someone hurt you?”
I’m not sure what details she has and what details she doesn’t have. And hearing that tall guy with the arm tattoos does not narrow down the source of her information.
“I’m not hurt,” I tell her, avoiding all the details. “Drex took care of me. And things could have been bad. But—”
“What were you thinking?!” she explodes, throwing her hands up.
For the next ten minutes, I have to hear her tell me all the horrible things that could have happened to me and all the shitty ways I could have died. I also hear an in-depth tribute to my stupidity for all of this.
Good to be home.
“And now… Now I have to pay that back, even though that guy told me I didn’t. There’s no way we can risk owing them money. And we have to go to the police. We need their protection. Oh no. I should get the boys in. They shouldn’t be outside.”
I grab her arm, halting her ramble and rant.
“Across the street is some protection,” I say on a sigh. The four pristine bikes that are sitting in the garage of the house across from us are proof Drex is somehow linked to that house. And they must be there for a reason.
“Who? Those guys on motorcycles?” Her face pales. “They’re part of the biker gang?”
Shit. This turns into a twenty minute rant from her.
“Drex won’t let anything happen,” I sigh when she has to take a breath. “But I won’t be staying here regardless. It’s safer for you and the boys if I don’t.”
She covers her mouth with her hand.
“And you can’t go to the cops.”
“So you are in danger?” Her lip trembles, and I run a hand through my hair.
“Not from Drex. Just… Well, Ben and his dad could be an issue. It’s a long, fucking complicated story.”
She gasps, mostly because I said fucking, and more tears start to stream from her eyes. I wish no one had told her anything.
“The cops can handle this,” she hisses. “You’re not leaving. I’ll take the boys to Laura’s. She’s been helping me out and I’ve been helping her.”
No clue who that even is, but I’m sure it’s one of mom’s work friends.
“No, Mom. Those guys across the street will keep you safe. But you won’t need to be kept safe if I’m not here.”
At least that’s what I hope.
She leans against a chair, slowly lowering herself into it.
“Did you pay off the house and get the car back?” I ask her.
She nods slowly. “Do you have enough to support you?” I go on.
She nods again.
That means I can use the small amount of money I had saved for a rainy day in case we got kicked out and needed something to get us by on until we could find a solution. It’s not much, but it’ll be enough to rent a small motel room for a month. One that’s closer to Drex, just in case Benny comes to collect. There’s one place that is cheap to rent by the month. I can find a job from there to support myself and—
“Why can’t we go to the police?” she whimpers.
Sighing, I bend down so that I’m almost eye level with her.
“Because the last thing you need to do is make yourself a target or a loose end. I’ll contact you as often as possible until this all blows over. If Ben calls, I want you to call Drex’s number immediately. If he comes over, I want you to scream across the street. Understand?” I ask, grabbing a piece of paper and scribbling Drex’s number down on it.
